Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy (26 page)

“No,” Charlie said.
“What is odd is how your parents came to have such an item.”

“Maybe they stole it.”

The words were spoken softly. The
thought gave Ben the chills, but it was starting to make sense. What
if his parents had a criminal record because they stole this thing
from the Institute?

“No.” Charlie was
shaking his head, his voice firm. “We can’t jump to
conclusions.”

But Ben couldn’t stop
thinking about his parents. All this time he had never doubted their
reason for disappearing, but now he felt a glimmer of uncertainty. He
took a deep breath and managed to put aside his doubts; thankfully,
there were plenty of other things to occupy his thoughts.

“Something still doesn’t
fit,” Ben said. “Why did that dark elf kid mention
Elizabeth’s legacy when I deflected his spell?”

“Good point,” Charlie
said. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, but had no suitable reply.

The great forest slowly began to
dominate their view; even from a distance the trees were an
impressive and intimidating sight, tall and proud. They spanned the
horizon as far as the eye could see.

With the revelation of
Elizabeth’s legacy, Ben had almost forgotten about their
pursuers, but it all came rushing back the moment he heard the
whooshing sound from behind. A purple flare sailed towards them,
falling short of their cart. Ben saw three taxis in pursuit, each
filled with a handful of ratlings and the single dark elf firing the
spells.

“They are measuring the
distance,” Charlie said, with a mixture of anxiety and
fascination. He stared into the space where the flare had fallen.
“That one was twenty yards short.”

“Can we go any faster?”
Ben asked.

“We’re flat out,
mate,” the driver said. “Unfortunately, we only have one
pegasus pulling, your pursuers have two.”

The flares continued to fire at
the cart every few minutes, with Charlie shouting out distances.

“Fifteen yards.”

It was like being in a 3D movie.
The purple bolt started off as a speck in the distance and slowly
grew larger as it approached, before falling away.

“Ten yards.”

Ben was beginning to feel the
heat from the flares.

“Five yards.”
Charlie’s voice had gone up an octave. Ben could almost reach
out and touch the purple sparks.

The driver cracked his whip.
“We’re almost at the forest.”

A bolt zipped by the left wheel.

A sickening thought hit Ben.
“Even if we make it to the forest unscathed, we will soon have
lots of those annoying ratlings plus a few dark elves on our tail.
Are you ready for more running?”

“No,” Charlie said
immediately. “Not even if my life depended on it.”

“Which it does.”

“Still no.”

To Ben’s surprise, the
driver spoke up. “You won’t need to worry about them once
you hit the forest.”

“What do you mean?”
Charlie asked.

They reached the forest as he
spoke. What Ben could see between the branches looked dark and
uninviting.

“Watch,” the driver
said.

The pursuers fired again, but
they had clearly slowed down and the bolt got nowhere near them.
Suddenly they turned and veered away.

“They are afraid of the
forest,” the driver said, flashing a toothy grin at them.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “If
they are scared, shouldn’t we be scared too?”

“Frankly – yes.”

They started descending and, just
as it seemed they would land on the tree tops, they entered a large
circular clearing. It looked like an abandoned picnic site. The grass
was overgrown and there were several upended wooden tables and
benches scattered haphazardly. Ben spotted a large sign and a
semblance of a path leading into the forest.

The driver landed with a bump
near the centre of the clearing. They stepped out and Ben groaned
with pleasure at the chance to stretch his legs.

“How much do we owe you?”
Charlie asked.

“It’s normally fifty
pounds, but I’ll give you a discount for giving me the chance
to tick off those dark elves. Let’s call it forty.”

Charlie gave him the money. He
thanked him and handed Charlie a small spell pellet.

“Just fire that, and I’ll
come and pick you up; only from here, mind. I won’t go into the
forest.”

Ben watched him fly away, until
it was just the two of them alone in the clearing, surrounded by the
forest.

“Not the most welcoming of signs, is it?” Charlie said.

They were at the point the path
started into the forest.

“South Trail # 1

“Danger: Do not proceed beyond this point.”

It was clear nobody had been here
in a while. The forest had almost consumed the path with grass and
shrubbery.

“Where did the library book
say the elves had been spotted?” Ben asked.

“Most of the sightings
occurred four miles down this trail.”

“Well, we’d better
get going then,” Ben said, rubbing his hands together.

The forest was like no other he’d
been in. The trees were mostly pine and their branches
started at some height, creating a great canopy. The green light
filtering through gave the place an enchanted feel and Ben half
expected a unicorn to come bounding through. He could feel life
radiating from the trees and it created an energy that made his skin
tingle. There were all sorts of noises coming from the tree tops and
other sounds deeper within the forest.

“What’s the plan?”
Charlie asked.

“Simple really. We find the
elves, ask them a few questions about my parents and the Floating
Prison, then leave.”

“That’s not really a
plan,” Charlie said, swatting a stray branch aside. “It’s
just a bunch of things you want to do. What happens if we can’t
find the elves? Or if we find them but they’re not friendly?”

“I’ll think of
something,” Ben said, throwing Charlie a lopsided smile.

“One of these days that’s
not going to work,” Charlie sighed.

Ben set a steady pace and they
kept a sharp eye out for anything unusual, trying to quell any unease
fuelled by Natalie’s stories. They saw a lynx, several deer and
even a brown bear, which ambled across the path, but nothing more.

The path started to deteriorate
as they progressed deeper into the forest and, after less than an
hour, there was nothing left of it.

“Where did it go?”
Charlie asked, staring at the forest floor.

Ben brushed a few branches aside.
“It must have worn away over time. We’ve been heading
roughly straight the whole time so if we continue we should stay on
track.”

The sun was starting to set when
Ben decided to stop briefly for food. The forest had changed little
during their four-mile hike, but then they had only made the smallest
of inroads into this vast land of trees. Even at this relative edge
of the forest, Ben knew if they lost their bearings they would be
completely lost.

They took out their sandwiches
and settled down by the base of a giant pine tree.

“I never thought I’d
say this,” said Charlie, licking his fingers as he finished off
his baguette, “but I’m starting to hope we encounter
these wood elves sooner rather than later. It’s getting dark
and I don’t fancy sleeping here.”

They resumed their hike, a steady
march through the mighty pines, but neither of them saw the slightest
sign of an elf. With the rapidly fading light, spotting them was
becoming less and less likely.

A sudden thump came from behind
and Ben turned. Charlie had tripped over a branch and was getting to
his feet, rubbing his backside.

“I can’t see where
I’m going anymore,” Charlie said, as he picked himself
up.

Ben rubbed his eyes. He wanted to
continue, reluctant to admit defeat, but even his legs were starting
to feel the long hike.

“There’s no point
going on. We won’t see any wood elves like this unless we bump
into one.”

They picked a spot to rest in
between two large trees, with enough canopy above to protect them
from rain. They talked to fend off their unease while darkness
descended. Without the sunlight the forest became an ominous,
daunting place. Soon Ben had to squint to see his hand in front of
his face.

“Take your pouch out,”
Charlie said.

As soon as the pouch left his
pocket it cast a warm glow on their little camp, fighting back the
darkness. Ben and Charlie placed their pouches in the middle creating
a pseudo camp fire.

“How did you know they did
that?”

“Natalie told me.”
Charlie stared at the small glow. “I hope she still has hers. I
bet it’s really dark in prison.”

Eventually tiredness crept in.
They agreed to rotate a shift so that someone was always on guard
throughout the night. Charlie volunteered to go first, insisting
sleep was impossible here. Ben had no such problems; with his back
against the trunk, he closed his eyes and almost immediately started
drifting off.

A whooshing noise cut through the
air. Ben opened his eyes just as an arrow thudded into the tree an
inch above his head. At the same time another arrow thunked into
Charlie’s tree.

There was a moment’s shock
as they looked at the arrows. They scrambled to their feet.

“Stay put,” Ben
hissed. He could see the fear in Charlie’s jittery movements.
Ben searched for the intruder, but the light from the pouches didn’t
extend far.

A hollow voice floated into the
clearing. “You are trespassing. The arrows are the only warning
you will get. Leave now.”

Ben saw no one. The voice was
impossible to trace; it seemed to come from everywhere.

“We should go,”
Charlie said, fighting for calm.

“No.” Ben cupped his
hands to his mouth to create a little megaphone. “My name is
Ben Greenwood,” he shouted. “You might know my parents.”

A pause. Silence.

“You are trespassing,”
the voice repeated. “The arrows are the only warning you will
get. Leave now.”

Charlie rubbed his forehead. “I
don’t think that helped, Ben.”

But Ben shook his head, a glint
in his eye. “They didn’t deny it.”

“You are trespassing. The
arrows are the only warning you will get. Leave now.”

“No,” Charlie
admitted, “but it sounds like a stuck record player.”

“Please,” Ben said,
speaking to the forest. “I’m trying to find my parents.
Just tell me if they were here.”

Further silence. Ben’s
heart sounded like a beating drum counting the seconds.

A small figure stepped into the
clearing. He was an elf child. There was a glow surrounding him that
gave the elf an angelic look.

“You were given a warning,
but you chose to ignore it.”

“Shall we run?”
Charlie whispered. The fear had gone from his voice. It was hard to
be truly scared when faced with a child elf no taller than your
waist.

“No.” Ben turned to
the elf. “Listen, we just—”

You will join your Institute friends.
The
child’s voice resonated inside his head.
They
too ignored our warning. You will work for us, rebuilding the forest
your people damaged.

The voice was soft, reasonable,
but compelling. Ben wanted to ignore it and repeat his call for help,
but instead he found himself listening.

Your name is no longer important. Whatever purpose you had is no longer
important. When we feel you have paid your due, we will release you.

Ben was vaguely aware that
Charlie was listening in rapt attention. His eyes were starting to
glaze.

Follow the green light. It will direct you to your new home.

The light came from behind them.
It was as if someone was aiming a powerful filtered torch into the
clearing.

Follow the light.

The child elf stared at them with
a pleasant smile. Ben shook himself, trying to get the voice out of
his head, but it kept repeating – patient, calm, but impossibly
insistent.

You will forget your name. You will forget your purpose. Follow the light.

The urge to listen was
overwhelming. His mind felt sluggish. He took a step towards the
green light.

Charlie had disappeared from the
clearing. Ben could just make out his shadowy figure in the distance,
following the green light. Ben wanted to call out, but his vocal
chords weren’t working. He was losing control of his body. His
mind started to blank. Summoning the very last remnants of
determinism, he suppressed the voice inside his head enough to think.

His name was Ben Greenwood. He
was here to find his parents.

His parents. Their smiling faces
floated into his mind. Ben locked every ounce of his focus on to
them, softening the power of the voice.

He turned away from the green
light and toward the child elf, who was still smiling pleasantly.

Ben took a step forward. Some
unknown force grabbed the back of his jacket and one step forward
became two steps back. Ben grit his teeth and lifted a leg. It
hovered in the air and swung as if he were going to step back again.

There was no force pulling him
back. It was all in his head. Ben screamed in defiance and managed a
tiny shuffle forward. His head exploded with pain. Ben took another
step forward. The pain intensified, but the elf was now almost within
reach.

Colours exploded in front of
Ben’s face and the world seemed to sway. He managed to stay on
his feet, but he could no longer see properly. In his mind’s
eye he visualised the elf’s position. One more step and he
reached out, his hands grasping the soft fabric of the elf’s
shirt. He yanked it towards him, lifting the elf off his feet, so
those big, green eyes were inches from his own.

“Stop whatever you are
doing,” Ben said, in a husky whisper, “or I’ll
break your little neck.”