Royal Institute of Magic: The Shadowseeker (Book 2) (27 page)

It was one of those rare days where Ben barely noticed their arrival into Taecia or their walk up to the Institute. His legs were on automatic, his mind engrossed in every possibility that might befall them when they entered the cavern. He came back into the real world only when he heard Natalie's voice. They had passed the Institute walls and were approaching the water fountain. Natalie was talking to a couple of Threes, whose names Ben had forgotten. Both were guys and they were clearly trying to chat her up. Ben watched with amusement, Charlie less so, as Natalie eventually managed to excuse herself.

“Sorry about that,” Natalie said, looking a little embarrassed and also slightly concerned, Ben was surprised to see. “I hope they don't report me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm going to be skipping the morning's chores, and may also miss this afternoon's study period,” Natalie said. “My plan had been to say that I wasn't feeling well, but they've just seen me looking perfectly healthy.”

“They won't tell,” Ben assured her. “That would ruin their chances of going out with you.”

Natalie had the good grace to blush, but Ben knew she wasn't ignorant of her beauty and that he was probably right.

“Shall we get going?” Charlie asked, a little stiffly, clearly uncomfortable with the topic of conversation.

They had to wait twenty minutes for an opportune moment to sneak round the back of the Institute. Ben found the door within the door easily this time. They crawled through and walked silently down the stairs until they reached the dungeon. Ben took a little longer to locate the stone that triggered the trap door, for it was no longer in the same place. Despite knowing exactly how far down the jump was into the hole, Ben still felt a shot of adrenaline when he dropped off the ledge into the darkness. He landed hard, but managed to stay on his feet this time. Charlie landed with a bump and a roll, whereas Natalie landed smoothly.

Ben walked to the edge and stared down at the mighty cavern, dimly lit by a faint glow that came from somewhere above. There were rocks, crags and stalactites everywhere. Ben's trained eye picked the best place to start their descent.

“Climbing isn't my strong point,” Charlie said, joining Ben at the edge.

“Natalie and I will help you,” Ben said. He was starting to suspect that Natalie was a better climber than he was.

“What's our plan?” Charlie asked. “And please don't give me some simplistic answer. We're about to encounter an animal that can take down a dragon.”

“According to Lornor, the forreck is most comfortable at the deepest level of the cavern,” Ben said. “So we go down, until we can't go down any further.”

“And then what?” Natalie asked.

“Once we are fairly certain we know where the forreck is, we wait for the solar eclipse, at 12:17pm. Then we approach with extreme caution.”

“And if the forreck is still alive and kicking?”

“Then we retreat,” Ben said reluctantly. “Let's hope that's not the case, otherwise we can say goodbye to Elizabeth's Boots.”

“I like the plan,” Natalie said. “It's 9:30am now, so that gives us nearly three hours to get down there.”

Ben rubbed his hands together. “Let's get going.”

Ben considered himself a good climber, but, as he had suspected, Natalie turned out to be even better. Ben could reach for unlikely holds and take reckless risks, but Natalie's balance was phenomenal and she could jump like a gazelle, leaping from one precipice to the next, while Ben and Charlie stared on in astonishment. Charlie tried gamely to keep up, but Ben and Natalie would often have to wait or help by pointing out holds. Ben was glad they had allocated so much time, because it was slow going, and the cavern seemed to have no end. Thoughts of the forreck and Elizabeth's Boots receded; all effort was focused on reaching the bottom of the cavern. A glance up and Ben was reminded how far they had come; their entrance point was no longer visible. Ben wasn't even sure if he remembered how to get back.

“What's that?”

They were taking a brief rest on a small ledge, and Charlie had wandered to the edge. He was pointing at something down below.

Ben and Natalie joined him, and instantly saw what he was talking about. A strange blue fog covered a plateau less than twenty feet below them

“Uh oh,” Natalie said.

“I don't suppose that's a good 'uh oh',” Charlie said. “As in, uh oh, that weird blue fog will levitate us serenely to the bottom of this endless cavern.”

“Not quite,” Natalie said. “That blue fog is a spell cloud. They are used to defend an area because they can stay put for years without disappearing. When we enter that fog, we will trigger a spell.”

“What's it doing here?” Ben asked.

“My guess is that Charlotte Rowe set up various defensive measures to stop people getting down to the bottom.”

“What sort of spell do you think is in the spell cloud?” Charlie asked.

Natalie shrugged. “The possibilities are endless.”

“Well, let's find out,” Ben said. He picked up a stone, and threw it into the fog. A fireball, no bigger than a tennis ball, formed from nowhere and flew right into the stone, turning it into a black mess.

The three of them watched in stunned silence.

“Time to look for an alternate way down,” Charlie said.

But after five minutes of searching, they saw no way round without losing a substantial amount of time.

“Better we lose time than our skin, surely?” Charlie said.

“I'd rather not lose either,” Ben said. He bent down and picked up several stones. “I wonder what would happen if I did this.”

He threw three stones, a fraction of a second between them. The first one attracted a fireball, but the moment the second stone entered the fog, the fireball diverted its path and hit the second stone, leaving the first one untouched. The third stone was hit by another fireball.

“See that!” Ben said, pointing with excitement at the blue fog.

“I saw two of the three stones get burnt to a crisp,” Charlie said.

“That's right,” Ben said, grinning. “The first one didn't get hit.” He started searching for more stones and picking them up. “We can use these like submarines use counter-measures, to divert the fireballs away from us.”

“That might work,” Natalie said, and she joined Ben searching for stones.

“It's fraught with risk and has little chance of success,” Charlie said. “Which means it's a typical Ben plan.” He sighed and joined in the hunt for stones.

When their pockets were full, they started down the small cliff, approaching the blue fog slowly. Ben, who was the furthest down, stopped just a foot from the fog.

“The plateau is small,” Ben said. “We should be able to run through it in a matter of seconds. Then there is the jump – do you think you can make it, Charlie?”

The jump in question was a five-foot gap at the end of the foggy plateau, which led to another huge rock and safety.

“I should be okay,” Charlie said, his voice a little shaky. “So who goes first?”

“We go together,” Ben said, staring grimly at the blue fog. “That will confuse it more, and I doubt it can produce enough fire balls to stop all of us. I will lead, as I think the person in front will attract the most. Are you both ready?”

“No,” Charlie said, at the same time as Natalie said, “Yes.”

“On three,” Ben said. “One, two… three!”

Ben leapt off the cliff and dropped right into the blue fog. He hit the ground running. From the corner of his eye he saw the first fireball materialise and speed towards him, tinted blue from the fog. Ben threw a stone to the side of him. The fireball swerved, leaving a trail of smoke, and engulfed the stone. Even as it exploded, another fireball formed, but its target was elsewhere – Charlie or Natalie, Ben couldn't see who. The edge of the plateau was fast approaching, and Ben could see another fireball coming his way, but he didn't have time to divert it. He planted his foot firmly on the edge of the cliff and leapt. Something hot scorched his trailing leg and he gave a cry of pain. He lost momentum and only just cleared the gap, rolling and sliding on the new rock. He sat up, and was promptly knocked down again as Charlie rolled into him. He looked frazzled and wide-eyed, but unhurt.

“That wasn't so bad,” Natalie said.

Ben hadn't seen her jump the gap, but from the looks of it she had sailed across serenely, and looked unharmed.

“Yes, let's do it again, shall we?” Charlie said, getting to his feet.

Ben rubbed his left thigh as he rose. His trousers were singed and the skin was red and tender.

“Ben, are you okay?” Natalie asked, with alarm.

“I'm fine,” Ben said, grimacing. It stung badly, but he didn't want to make a scene. “Let's keep going. It's just passed 10:30am, which means we have less than two hours left.”

Ben had a nasty feeling they would be seeing more spell clouds, and less than twenty minutes later his fear was realised. With time starting to become pressing, Ben was reluctant to let the spell clouds divert their course, but occasionally it was unavoidable, as it was when they encountered a pale yellow fog that instantly turned a thrown stone to ice, or the red fog that caused another stone to explode. Despite that, they made steady progress, climbing ever downwards, until they encountered the black fog. It floated within a small passage that was squeezed between two huge rocks.

“It looks thicker than the others,” Charlie commented.

Ben threw a stone into the mist. Nothing happened.

“Doesn't seem too bad,” Ben commented.

Natalie, however, was frowning. “If it's not doing anything, it must be a mind spell.”

“What sort of mind spell?” Charlie asked.

“It could be anything that controls your emotions, thoughts or feelings.”

“That doesn't sound pleasant,” Charlie said.

“Makes a nice change to being blasted a thousand different ways, though,” Ben said, throwing another stone into the fog just to make sure. Again, nothing happened. “You guys ready?”

It was hard to determine exactly how long the fog went on for within the passageway, but to Ben it didn't look like more than thirty feet – a quick sprint and they would be through in a matter of seconds. The passageway was too narrow for them to walk abreast, so Ben lined up first, followed by Charlie and then Natalie.

Ben wouldn't admit it to the others, but as he looked into the black fog, he was more concerned by it than any of the previous fogs they had encountered. Ben hated not being in control. The idea that a spell could affect him mentally gave him the shivers.

“Having second thoughts?” Charlie asked hopefully from behind, after Ben hadn't moved.

“No,” Ben said. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the fog. The moment he did so, the fog shifted and swirled. Ben saw a shape form. The figure came forwards, and before Ben could react it collided with him. There was a sudden pressure in his head, and Ben felt a presence enter his mind – at least it tried to. It stopped on the threshold of his consciousness and stayed there, a floating malice, until Ben made it through the fog, whereupon it retreated and disappeared.

“Well, that wasn't too bad, though a little unpleasant,” Ben said. He turned around.

Charlie and Natalie had yet to enter the fog.

“What's the hold up?” Ben asked. They weren't far away and his voice carried easily.

“How did you get through?” Charlie called back.

“What do you mean?” Ben asked, frowning. “Barely anything happened.”

“Clearly not for you,” Natalie said. “But the moment Charlie and I entered the fog, we suddenly had the strongest desire to turn around. Before we knew it, we ended up back here.”

“Why did it not affect me? I'm not mentally stronger than you guys.”

“I bet it's your Guardian status again,” Charlie mused. “All these spells were set up by Charlotte Rowe. I reckon the only people she intended to enter were other Guardians.”

Ben measured the distance. It really wasn't far. “Have you tried running? Maybe you'll get over here before the spell has time to kick in.”

“Worth a go,” Charlie said. He took a step back, and then charged into the mist at full pelt. He had taken no more than three steps into it when he suddenly did an about turn and ran back to Natalie as fast as he had entered.

“Nope,” Charlie said, panting, hands on knees.

“It's really bizarre,” Natalie added. “The moment I enter the fog, I suddenly think how terrible it would be if I made it across, and that it would be far better to stay on this side. I lose control of my mind, and since my mind controls my body, I'm totally helpless.”

Ben ran a hand through his hair with an air of frustration. “There's no way after everything we've gone through that we're going to stop here.”

Ben walked back through the fog, experiencing no more effects than his first time through, until he was with Charlie and Natalie again.

“Right. You might not want to get across, but you won't have much choice if I drag you with me,” Ben said, a devilish smile on his lips.

“That might work,” Natalie said.

“Unless it drives us insane,” Charlie added.

“I think it would take a lot more to break a mind,” Ben said. “As long as I can get you across promptly, you'll be fine.”

“I didn't realise you had a degree in psychology.”

“I think Ben's right,” Natalie said, pursing her lips. “The key will be getting us over there quickly.”

“Don't worry about that,” Ben said, going through the motions of limbering up. “Right, who's first?”

“Me,” Charlie said, somewhat reluctantly.

Ben placed his hands on Charlie's shoulders. “Let's go.”

They managed a couple of steps into the mist before Charlie's eyes suddenly took on a distant, disorientated look. He slowed, and then stopped. Ben urged him forwards, but Charlie resisted. Ben changed his grip into a bear hug, and yanked Charlie forwards. Charlie instantly became a dead weight and fell to the floor, breathing softly, but clearly unconscious. With a curse about Charlie's weight, Ben grabbed him under the arms and pulled him through the fog. The distance seemed far greater when it involved dragging a body, especially one as rounded as Charlie’s. Ben was breathing heavily by the time he exited the fog, and collapsed on the floor next to Charlie.