Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy (8 page)

“This is wrong, Draven.”

Not everyone had been scared away
by the man’s glare. Facing the group was a tiny woman with four
white diamonds floating above her shoulder.

“Rubbish, Lana. I’m
trying to find the Greenwoods. We’re desperate, not that you’d
know, living in the library.”

Lana didn’t flinch. “I’m
going to stop this.”

“Oh, put a cork in it,”
Draven said, waving a hand at her.

Lana turned to Ben and he met her
level-headed stare. He saw a flicker of curiosity before she finally
turned and left.

“Let’s go,”
Draven said.

The woman holding his leash gave
a little tug and Ben was yanked forward up the grand staircase. He
tried to resist, but it was futile and he soon realised it would be
better to save his energy.

“What’s going on?”
Ben asked.

“Silence,” the woman
said. “You will find out soon enough. You are not in any danger
here.”

“Really? Are all newcomers
treated like dogs then?”

“I said, be quiet,”
she said and flicked the rope. Ben felt a painful shock run through
his body. “You will find out soon enough.”

They climbed to the fourth floor
where they left the stairs and stopped in front of double doors. On
them was a sign in red lettering that read “Department of
Wardens” and below it was a symbol of a miniature world map.
They went through the doors into a grand hallway that spanned left
and right. In front of them, facing the doors, was a mighty statue of
a large, rather pompous-looking fellow. Before Ben could read the
description at the statue’s base, he was jerked right. The
hallway was lavishly decorated, with deep red walls and wood
panelling. There were doors at regular intervals with signs like
“Goblin Search – South East”, “Illegal Elf
Immigrants”, “Tracking Centre” and many more, each
more bizarre than the last.

“I want the team ready in
five,” Draven said. Two of the group instantly peeled off and
doubled back the way they had come. Ben turned to see which door they
might enter, but his head was forced forward.

Despite the woman’s earlier
claim that they weren’t in danger, Ben’s heart was
beating hard. He thought about shouting for help, but who would come?
Besides, it would only result in getting hurt again.

Ben forced his own anxiety aside.
Draven seemed to think this would help the search for Ben’s
parents. Did he think Ben knew something?

Draven cursed loudly the moment
they turned the next corner.

The lady waiting by the nearest
door caught Ben by surprise. She wore a flowery red dress and had
long, silvery hair elegantly piled up on her head. She wasn’t
young, but her wrinkles were so fine and delicate Ben couldn’t
decide whether she was old enough to be his mother or his
grandmother. Her eyes were a sparkling grey and her ears were
slightly pointed. Floating above her right shoulder were five small
green diamonds.

“Good afternoon, Mr.
Leventhorpe,” she said in a rich voice.

“What do you want, Wren?”
Draven asked roughly.

They had stopped by the door,
which, Ben noticed, said “Warden Director”.

“I have come for these two
charming young boys,” Wren said.

Draven stepped forward, thrusting
his chin out. “They’re not yours to take.”

Wren raised a slender finger.
“Quite true, Draven. However, they are not yours either and
they are certainly not under arrest.” She turned to Ben, and
Charlie. “If you’ll come with me, I can provide you with
some long overdue answers.”

Draven glared, daring Ben or
Charlie to defy him.

“Yes, please,” Ben
said and Charlie nodded vigorously. The leashes around their torsos
immediately disappeared.

“You idiot,” Draven
said, shaking a hairy fist at Wren. “You realise what you’re
doing? You’re jeopardising my rescue operation. The entire
Institute and England could fall because of you.”

“Oh, don’t be so
melodramatic, Draven.”

Draven turned to Ben, a look of
desperation in his eyes. “There could be spells on the boy. I’d
stake my life on Greg and Jane putting some sort of tracking spell or
even a shield. If we could trace that, we might be able to locate
them.”

For the first time, Ben started
listening.

“You might be right. Why
don’t you convene the Executive Council and arrange something
properly?”

“We don’t have time
for that,” Draven said, raising his voice. “Our position
weakens every minute we waste in bringing the Greenwoods to justice.”
His eyes narrowed to slits and he pointed a finger at Wren’s
face. “When the Council asks why we delayed, you’re going
to be in deep trouble, and I’m going to
love
watching you squirm and plead your innocence.”

He opened the door and stormed
through, his entourage following behind. It slammed shut.

Wren smiled serenely at them.
“Who fancies a cup of tea?”

They followed Wren back to the grand staircase.

“A few more flights, I’m
afraid,” she said in her rich voice. “Allow me to
apologise on behalf of Draven. I know he might come across as the
devil incarnate, but deep down he’s not a bad person.”

“Could he really track my
parents if they had cast spells on me?”

“In theory, yes.”

Ben couldn’t believe he was
throwing the word “spell” around with such nonchalance.
Spells meant magic. The evidence was everywhere, but hearing adults
say it gave it credence.

Charlie was puffing by the time
they left the staircase and entered another set of double doors. This
time the sign said “Department of Spellswords” with a
sword shown below it. Beyond the doors was another statue, this one
of a cheerful man holding a sword in one hand and one of those
strange guns in the other.

“Michael James,” Wren
said, noticing their interest. “He was the first Spellsword
Director; quite a man by all accounts.”

Without the pre-occupation of
being captured, lassoed and marched by a raving madman, Ben was able
to admire the hallway. This floor wasn’t as lavish, but it felt
spacious, with white walls and wooden beams. As they followed the
hallway round the corners, Ben started to get a feel for the place.
On every floor there seemed to be a corridor that looped round, with
rooms branching off. Ben was sure that if they kept walking they
would be back at the double doors.

The hallway was busy and several
people passed by, nodding respectfully at Wren and giving Ben and
Charlie curious looks. Wren seemed to know everyone’s name and
graced all who passed with a smile.

“Here we are,” she
said.

They stopped by a door that said
“Spellsword Director” and Wren pushed it open.

Ben wasn’t sure if he’d
stepped into a luxurious office or a hotel suite. At the back of the
long room, by the window, was a sturdy wooden desk and an ornate
antique chair. Against one of the walls was a suite of high-backed,
deep brown furniture surrounding a small, exquisitely carved oak
table. There were paintings of incredible landscapes on the walls and
behind the sofa was a mural of a world map. Light spilled in from the
window as if the sun had parked itself just outside the Institute,
giving the room a bright, airy feel.

“Natalie, could you make
tea for three please – plus yourself if you want a cup?”
Wren said. She had popped her head in an adjacent room Ben hadn’t
noticed.

Charlie walked over to the sofa
and was staring at the map on the wall. “Oh my,” he said.

Ben couldn’t see what the
fuss was about. It was a map – albeit a big one at least ten
feet wide.

“Look, Ben,” Charlie
said. He leant on the sofa and pointed up at different
countries.“These countries don’t exist on our maps.”

He pointed to a dozen countries –
some small, some as big as France – scattered across the map.

“You know your geography,
Charlie,” Wren said. She sat down on the sofa. Charlie took a
step back and half fell into a luxurious, brown chair. Ben sat down
on the remaining chair.

“I can only imagine the
questions you must have,” Wren said, giving them both a lengthy
look. “So, you tell me, where would you like to start?”

“My parents,” Ben
replied instantly. Questions buzzed round his head, but he chose his
first one carefully. There was one thing he needed to be absolutely
certain of. “Are they okay?”

It was clear Wren saw Ben’s
concern. “They are alive. We’d know if they weren’t.
As to their well-being, that is harder to say as we don’t know
where they are.”

Ben’s elation at their
safety was tempered by their unknown whereabouts.

“Why are they being accused
of treason?”

Her grey eyes held his and Ben
had a feeling she was considering withholding the truth. He was about
to demand it when she broke the little stand-off.

“There is a dark elf king
by the name of Suktar. It would take hours to recount the long and
bloody history of his empire. Suffice it to say that over the
centuries it is not the French or the Spanish who have been England’s
greatest threat, but Erellia, King Suktar’s kingdom.”

“What does he have to do
with my parents?”

“Suktar is accusing your
parents of murdering his son, Prince Ictid. He is threatening to
break a truce we have worked hard to establish unless they are
brought to justice.”

Ben was grateful he was sitting
down. Head spinning, he grabbed the armrests.

“Murder?”

Wren’s kind eyes found his
and their warmth soothed his rising panic. “I am convinced it’s
nonsense,” she said, “as is the majority of the
Institute. Your dad can be unruly at times and a terrible influence
on your mother, but they are two of the most honest people I know.”

Ben was struck by how well Wren
seemed to know his mum and dad. “Did my parents work here?”

“They do work here,”
Wren replied. “In fact, they are two of my best Spellswords.”

“What is a Spellsword?”

“Sorry, how would you know
that?” Wren said, admonishing herself. “Spellswords are
the Institute’s armed forces. As the name suggests, they are
trained in both spell and sword to combat everything the Unseen
Kingdoms can offer.”

Ben turned away, staring into
light coming from the window, trying to take everything in.

“I thought my parents
worked for Greenpeace. I thought they had a normal life – you
know, drive to work, do normal work stuff, pick me up, bug me about
homework.” He smiled sadly. “Turns out I didn’t
know them as well as I thought.”

“That’s not true,”
Wren said softly. “Yes, they didn’t reveal their true
occupation, but you knew them in every other sense.”

Ben knew he should be delighted
to discover their exciting profession, but he felt slightly empty.
Why had they never told him about it? Why conceal something as
incredible as this?

“Not everyone seems as
convinced as you that my parents are innocent,” Ben said,
thinking of Draven’s remarks.
Our position weakens every minute we waste in bringing the Greenwoods to
justice.

“There is little evidence
of their guilt and certainly not enough to convict them, but Suktar
is very persuasive and very powerful. Even so, had Greg and Jane
fought their case, they would have had every chance of proving their
innocence. Unfortunately, they have disappeared without a trace,
which is a big mark against them.”

Disappeared without a trace.
The words lingered
in his head. All this time he had assumed they had been forced to
flee and were unable to return. But what if they left voluntarily?
What if they could come back, but wouldn’t? The thought rocked
him and made him go cold.

“They must have a reason,”
Ben said softly, trying to keep the doubt from his voice.

“I am sure they did,”
Wren agreed, “but they have yet to share it with anyone. And if
Suktar decides to break the truce, there could be a full-scale war.
To buy ourselves time, it was decided we should side with Suktar.
Once we find the Greenwoods, we will decide what to do.”

“We found a letter you
wrote to my mum. You mentioned rumours that put them in danger?”

“Yes, I remember writing
that,” Wren said, nodding. “The rumours were in relation
to the murder. I urged your parents to come in and prove their
innocence, but they didn’t.”

“Why would Suktar want
Ben’s parents if they didn’t kill his son?” Charlie
asked, finally plucking up the courage to ask a question.

“We don’t know,”
Wren said, “but I can tell you, Ben, your parents are the most
wanted people in the Unseen Kingdoms. Between the Institute and
Suktar’s empire, ninety percent of the population are looking
for them.

Ben smiled, feeling a peculiar
sense of pride. In five minutes they had gone from being Greenpeace
employees to the most wanted couple in the… in the what?

“What are the Unseen
Kingdoms?” Charlie asked, getting there a fraction before Ben.

Before Wren could answer a girl
came in carrying a pot of tea and a plate of biscuits. She couldn’t
have been much older than Ben with dark brown hair that fell in curls
over her shoulders. There was something exotic about her green eyes,
which were intent on balancing the tray. Her ears were pointed, but
less than Wren’s. There was a single colourless diamond
hovering over her shoulder.

“Sorry it took so long,”
she said, in a down-to-earth way that was at odds with her movie star
looks. “We were out of biscuits, so I had to run out and get
more. I hope you two like ginger snaps.”

After an awkward pause Ben
realised she was talking to him and Charlie.

“I love them, thanks,”
he said, giving her a lopsided smile. He knew from school that girls
liked his smiles, but this time it did nothing. Charlie mumbled a
response, but most of it was lost because he had said it to his lap.