Royal Institute of Magic: The Shadowseeker (Book 2) (22 page)

“Thank you, Lindell,” Wren said. “Please convey my thanks once again to your chairman.”

Lindell gave her a little bow, and turned to go. Lornor stood there for a moment, his hands extended, as if he wanted to strangle the lot of them.

“Come now, Lornor,” the elf said. “Let's get back to work.”

For a minute, Lornor looked as if he was going to launch himself at them – not helped by Ben's insolent grin and wave. But, eventually, he disappeared back into the SpellWorks castle, leaving Ben, Charlie and Natalie alone at the entrance with Wren.

“Let's go, before they change their minds, shall we?” Wren said, with the merest hint of a smile.

As soon as they made it to the bottom, Ben felt a beautiful surge of freedom that made him want to dance. Wren, however, did not share his delight.

“I think you owe me an explanation. Needless to say, the Institute is very unhappy. We are, among other things, peace keepers and even law makers; we do not expect our apprentices to fly in the face of the very things we stand for,” Wren said.

The tone in Wren’s voice brought Ben back to earth with a thud. He glanced at Charlie and Natalie; both looked dumbfounded and were clearly unable to come up with a convincing story. Ben thought fast. How much could he say without giving the game away? He still remembered Queen Elizabeth's orders to his great ancestor, Michael Greenwood: the Institute were not to know about the Armour. But they were in so much trouble, he had to say something to justify their actions.

“We were looking for my parents,” Ben said slowly, careful to keep his voice measured and to look Wren right in the eye.

“At SpellWorks?” Wren said, raising her eyebrows.

Ben nodded. Now for the tricky part. The trick to a good lie was to keep it as close to the truth as possible.

“We found some books, and this pouch” – Ben held the pouch up for a moment – “in my grandma's attic. The books were all from an author called Lornor Taren. We knew it was a long shot, but we thought to track him down, in case my parents might have done the same, because they were obviously quite interested in him.”

“And had they?”

Ben paused, just for a moment. Lying could seriously backfire if Wren managed to extract the truth from Lornor, though he very much doubted that mad old elf would tell the Institute anything.

“Yes, they had.”

It was the first time Ben had seen Wren truly surprised. “What did they want with Lornor?”

“I'm not sure,” Ben said, planting his next lie carefully. “It turns out Lornor isn't very fond of the Institute.”

“A slight understatement,” Wren said. She was silent for a moment, staring ahead thoughtfully. Ben dared not glance at Charlie or Natalie, in case they let something slip. He could feel his body shaking slightly, whether from the day's ordeal or from nerves, he couldn't tell, but he clenched his fists hard to try to stop it. The next words Wren uttered could decide their fate. He went over his story in his head, but could see no way he could have improved it without putting them in more trouble.

“At some point, Ben, you are going to have to trust us,” Wren said, giving him a kindly look. “If not the Institute, then at least me.”

Ben nodded, but didn't trust himself to speak.

“Your story has enough truth that I believe I can convince the executive council not to expel you,” Wren said. “I only ask one thing. When the time comes and the odds are stacked against you too heavily, come to me, as a friend and ally, not an Institute Director. You have a remarkable talent for survival, Ben Greenwood, but I fear your luck may run out.”

“I will do that,” Ben said, and he was surprised to find that he meant it.

Wren smiled, her eyes lighting up in the way that always made Ben feel a little better.

“Good! Now, I want all of you to take the Dragonway straight home. You look like you all need some rest. I don't want to put any pressure on you, but, believe me, you will need to be at your best for the exam tomorrow.”

The morning of the exam was another bright, sunny day, but Ben barely noticed the weather. While waiting for Charlie by his house, Ben started reciting a complicated trade formula when dealing with dwarves that he had learnt just last night. His body had mostly recovered from the physical battering it had taken yesterday, thanks to some powerful healing spells from Wren, but he now felt a little sick, and his stomach did unpleasant somersaults every time he thought of the exam. Ben had taken plenty of tests at school, but he had never felt like this. The difference was that he cared about this one; he really cared. The thought of failing and being dumped out of the Institute was too awful to think about.

But as bad as Ben felt, it was nothing compared to Charlie, who looked absolutely miserable.

“I don't know what you're worried about,” Ben said, as they started walking. “You're an exam master.”

“School exams,” Charlie said, staring forlornly at the pavement. “And only because you know what to expect. You sit down, and answer questions from stuff you've studied in a book. This is completely different. We have absolutely no clue what it entails.”

They spent most of the journey to the Institute discussing what they might encounter and quizzing each other on each department in a final flurry of revision.

Before they knew it, they were back in Taecia, climbing the hill to the Institute. As they passed the Institute's walls and approached the entrance, Ben felt a flutter of nerves, unconnected with the forthcoming exam.

“Do you think Wren managed to convince the executive council to let us stay?” Charlie asked, voicing the exact question that was on Ben's mind.

“I think so,” Ben said. “I can't imagine the guards letting us through the gates otherwise.”

Nevertheless, Ben passed through the Institute entrance with a feeling of trepidation, which lasted until Natalie met them inside, with a big smile.

“We're off the hook!” she said, raising her hand so they could both give her a high five. “Wren worked her magic, as usual. The only thing we have to do is forty hours of community service.”

“I'll take that,” Ben said, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. He had been so focused on the exam he hadn't realised how much his uncertainty about his future at the Institute had been affecting him.

“How are you guys doing? Are you feeling confident?”

“We'd be feeling more confident if you told us a bit about the exam,” Ben said, flashing her a cheeky smile.

“You know I can't,” Natalie said, giving Ben a stern frown. “The only thing I can tell you is that it's different for each person. But you'll both be absolutely fine, trust me.”

They headed up the stairs together.

“Were you confident when you took the exam?” Charlie asked.

“No,” Natalie admitted. “I was a bundle of nerves, far worse than both of you. But I think you two are better prepared than I was.”

“Let's hope you're right.”

Muster proceeded as normal, though Ben was thinking so much about the exam Dagmar had to repeat his name three times before he answered. As everyone began filing out, Dagmar instructed them to stay. Natalie caught their eyes and gave them a thumbs up, before disappearing with the rest, leaving Ben and Charlie alone.

Dagmar looked even wearier than normal, but Ben didn't have time to think about that right now. His attention was on only one thing: the exam.

“Follow me,” Dagmar said.

She led them out of the muster room and along the hallway, stopping at a series of doors Ben hadn't paid much attention to before. They were labelled “Exam Room #1”, “Exam Room #2”, and so on. Dagmar stopped in between rooms four and five. From her pocket she pulled out two small purple envelopes. One had Ben's name written on it; the other Charlie's.

“Do not open these until you are inside the exam room,” she said, handing them the envelopes. “This is not like your ordinary exam you take at school. There are no questions; no right or wrong answers. You will be given a task, and it is up to you how you complete it. The more you can display what you have learnt in each department, the better your marks will be. You have until six o'clock to complete the exam, though the quicker you complete it, the higher you will score. Your final grade will be comprised of individual scores for each department. Failure to complete the exam, or complete it with a score too low, and you will not be invited to continue to the next grade of the apprenticeship. Your performance will be closely monitored by an Institute examiner, though you will not see him, and he will not intervene unless it is a matter of life or death. Any questions?”

Ben knew he'd have some the moment he entered the exam room, but his mind had gone temporarily blank. Charlie looked incapable of speech.

“Very well. You may start the exam.” She gave them the merest flicker of a smile, which was all the encouragement they were going to get from her. “Good luck.”

She walked away, leaving Ben and Charlie alone, staring at their envelopes.

“Good luck, Charlie,” Ben said.

Charlie nodded, returned the sentiment, and walked numbly into room number five. Ben watched him go, and then, preparing himself for anything, pushed open the door to room number four.

The room was bare except for a long table, covered with an expensive-looking tablecloth. On it was a peculiar array of items. There was a file, with several sheets of paper inside. On the cover were the words “Grignak Bronny. Street goblin. ID NO: JK677751”. Next to the file was a plain silver necklace, with a tag that read “JK677751”. Ben recognised the necklace instantly; it was a tracker and could be used to locate a designated Unseen, in this instance, Grignak Bronny. The only other item on the table was money – two hundred pounds, in twenty-pound notes.

Ben made certain there was nothing else on the table, even searching underneath the table cloth. Satisfied there wasn't, he finally took out the envelope that Dagmar had given him, and began reading.

“EXAM:
APPRENTICESHIP, FIRST GRADE. BEN GREENWOOD.

Mission Goal:

Find and return Grignak Bronny to the Institute.

Mission Details:

Street goblin Grignak has violated his Institute Travel Card by leaving London and fleeing to the village of Lampton Green. Reason unknown. You are to return Grignak to the Institute in a safe and secure manner. Should the target become hostile, use force as necessary, maintaining discretion at all times.”

Ben read the mission three times, making sure he’d gleaned the significance of every single word. The Institute Travel Card was a legal okay to visit, or even live in, certain parts of the United Kingdom – in Grignak's case, London. It was a way to make sure the population of Unseens remained properly controlled. Violating the terms of your Institute Travel Card was a criminal offence.

Ben folded the message up neatly and tucked it in his pocket, then stared at the file. Inside was a detailed profile of Grignak, the knowledge of which could be crucial when he confronted the goblin. Dagmar's words came floating back to him.
“The more you can display what you have learnt in each department, the better your marks will be.”
This was clearly an opportunity to demonstrate his Scholar knowledge.

Ben pocketed the money and the necklace, and tucked the file under his arm, before leaving the room. The moment he stepped outside, he noticed that the diamond on his right shoulder was flashing. The Institute members and apprentices he passed made it clear they would not talk or interrupt anything he was doing.

Ben hurried up the main staircase and went straight to the library. He found an empty table, sat down, and opened the file. He started reading, slowly and methodically, about the sorry and often illegal story of Grignak Bronny. There was a wealth of information on Grignak's past employment, his family, and even the various crimes he had committed. When he was done, he put the file down. Now what? There were plenty of other potential avenues he could explore, but Ben wasn't sure how much they would help. He checked his watch. It was almost 10am. No, there simply wasn't enough time to sit here and do research all day. However, there was one thing he did need to find out about.

Ben hit the library shelves, searching for anything he could find on street goblins, which turned out to be frustratingly difficult. He eventually found a book titled
101 Goblins and Where to Find Them
in the children's section. Inside, Ben found a helpful description of the street goblin.

“Hundreds of years of city dwelling has turned these goblins into street-smart, survival experts. They are smaller than your typical goblin and often scrawny in appearance, with a hooked nose and intelligent, scheming eyes. They are ferocious fighters, and particularly resistant to Earth magic and most mind spells. Many street goblins now live within the UK, having migrated from the Unseen Kingdoms to London, Birmingham and Leeds. Those that manage to avoid petty crime normally work in the food industry. Due to their physical prowess, some have managed to find employment in the sporting world, most notably, Bolgop Grimp, who plays League 1 football for Crawley Town.”

Ben spent a further twenty minutes gleaning what information he could from other books, but he made slow progress, and the time factor was starting to weigh heavily on him. After a fruitless search through
Goblins: A Political History,
Ben had had enough. It was now coming up to 11am. Ben felt a tiny quiver of panic, which he quelled instantly. There was still time, but he couldn't hang around here any longer.

Ben took a few pieces of the file on Grignak that he felt he might need and tucked them in his pocket. He then left the Institute at a jog.

The next step in his mission had become obvious as soon as he had read the task and seen the money. There was no way Ben could defeat a street goblin without some assistance. He needed spells.

Ben headed to Taecia Square, following a series of winding lanes, which eventually led to a large, well-trodden path filled with people with shopping on their minds. A mighty arch soon came into view, towering above the buildings. On the front it read “Queen Elizabeth’s Taecia”.