Royal Institute of Magic: The Shadowseeker (Book 2) (8 page)

The door to the library was large and well used, and creaked as it opened. They entered a vast open room that reminded Ben of the old museums in London. There was a huge globe floating in the centre of the room, circling slowly, with all the countries mapped out, including the Unseen Kingdoms. Running along the walls were colourful illustrations detailing a timeline of the Institute’s history. Then there were dozens of exhibition stands showing things like the evolution of spellshooters, various animals and foods found in the Unseen Kingdoms, and charts showing every type of spell with its composition element and strength.

“Over here,” Charlie said, tugging on Ben's sleeve.

He led them to an adjoining room that was filled with benches and tables with small lamps. Ben spotted many apprentices in groups of twos and threes – friends choosing to study together. Not everyone was an apprentice and Ben spotted diamonds of various colours. There was a quiet, calm feel about the place that reminded Ben of the few libraries he'd ventured into.

“Guys! Over here!”

A high-pitched, cheerful voice cut through the quiet concentration and several people looked up angrily, making hushing noises. The perpetrator was Jimmy Stroud, the goofy boy they'd seen at muster. He seemed oblivious to the dark looks, waving enthusiastically at them.

“Should we pretend we can't see him?” Charlie whispered.

“Don't be so harsh,” Ben said, with a smile.

Jimmy was one of the few apprentices studying alone, and his face lit up when Ben and Charlie sat down opposite him.

“Hey, guys!” Jimmy said, with such enthusiasm that a trace of spittle left his mouth and hit Charlie right on the forehead. “Welcome to the newbie table. This is where all the new chaps sit. Zach and Raphy should be here. They've gone to the toilet and are taking an unusually long time to get back.”

“When did they leave?” Charlie asked.

Jimmy glanced at his watch. “Oh, about twenty minutes ago. But I'm saving these seats for when they return.” He patted the bench next to him. “It can be really hard finding space here sometimes.”

The angry glances continued, and a couple of older boys looked as though they were going to come over.

“Could you lower your voice a bit?” Charlie said. “I think people prefer it quiet in a library.”

“Oh right, sorry,” Jimmy said, in quite possibly the loudest whisper outside of Ogre-ville. “You're not the first person to tell me that, actually.”

Ben had met a few geeks in his time, but Jimmy was up there with the best of them. He made Charlie look cool.

“Listen, me and Charlie are going to study for a bit. We're new here, so it would be great if you could let us concentrate for a while. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, okay, sure,” Jimmy said, his thin, straggly hair bobbing up and down as he nodded. “Hey, if you need anything, just ask. I've only been here a month, but I know quite a lot already.”

Jimmy turned back to his book. He seemed to have a runny nose and resorted to sniffing a lot. Charlie looked up once or twice in irritation, but the moment he placed his handbook on the table he forgot Jimmy existed.

Ben opened the hardback cover. On the first page, in large letters, were the words
First Grade Checklist
. Below that each department was listed with their corresponding colour. On the right edge of the page were tabs guiding you to the departments’ relevant sections.

“How do we know where to start? I guess we have to pick a subject?” Charlie asked. He was already thumbing through the book.

“I know where I'm starting,” Ben replied. He turned straight to the tab marked in green, and went to the first page.

“Department of Spellswords: First Grade.”

There was a list of numbered actions; each one was titled “theory” or “practical”. The theory steps pointed to different sections of books to read. The titles sounded far more interesting than your average science book – “Introduction to Spellswords”, “How a Spellshooter Works” and “The Basics of Combat” to name just a few. The practical steps were even more interesting, but they were always paired with a theory step that had to be completed first.

“I suggest we do three steps of each department, before switching to the next. That way we never fall behind on any one area,” Charlie said.

“Good idea,” Ben said, and got to his feet to find the first book.

“You guys need a hand?” Jimmy asked, rising with them.

“No, we're okay, thanks,” Ben said, putting a hand on Jimmy's shoulder and easing him back down. “Save the seats for us, though, okay? We'll be back in a minute.”

They headed to the book shelves. They were packed tight and went all the way up to the ceiling. Occasionally a ladder lay resting against the books, to help the reader reach the top shelves.

Ben glanced at a huge brown book titled
A Brief History of the Troll Wars
, sandwiched between two other equally interesting titles. “Any idea where we should start looking? You spend a lot of time in libraries. How do they work?”

“It's pretty simple,” Charlie said. “Each section is cross-referenced by subject and then placed in alphabetical order. So we just need to find the Spellsword section and then look for the letter 'I'.”

Charlie led them deeper into the library, turning left and right until Ben was completely lost. The light was poor and the occasional ray highlighted the dust particles coming off some of the older books that probably hadn't been touched in years. The soft footsteps and rustle of pages faded away as they worked themselves deeper into the library.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Ben said.

Charlie's eyes were scanning each shelf. “We should be coming up to it.”

“Maybe we should have recruited Jimmy's help after all,” Ben said.

“You don't mean that – ah, here it is!”

Charlie bent down and picked up two copies of a thin green book titled
An Introduction to Spellswords
.

“Well done,” Ben said. “Now it's just the simple matter of getting out of here. Any ideas?”

“I made sure I remembered each turn we took. Now I just have to reverse that. Where would you be without me?”

“Completely lost,” Ben admitted. “Let's get— what was that?”

Something moved, right on the edge of Ben's peripheral vision. He would have missed it if not for the tiny ray of light peeking through the books; there was a small gap between two shelves just ahead of him.

“What is it?”

“I thought I saw someone,” Ben said.

He walked over to the gap, but there was nobody there. Ben frowned. He was sure he had seen somebody, yet there was nowhere to hide. It was as if the person had just disappeared.

“I don't like that look on your face,” Charlie said. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Ben said, shaking his head.

The lie came easily. He didn't want to scare Charlie when he didn't have any proof, but when Ben replayed the moment in his mind, he could have sworn he saw the glimmer of steel.

The sudden sound of quick, heavy footsteps made them both jump. They were coming from just round the corner.

“Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Hornberger,” Dagmar said, as she came into view. Under her arm were several dusty books, as well as her rod.

“Ms. Borovich!” Charlie said.

Ben thought he caught a flicker of surprise in Dagmar's eyes, but if so, it was gone in an instant. “What brings you to this section of the library?” she asked.

“Looking for our first book,” Ben said, and Charlie held them up helpfully.

“I see.” A subtle furrowing of the brow was the only indication of her displeasure. “You do realise there is a section for first-grade books near the front, right next to the study room?”

“Ah. We didn't know that,” Charlie said, scratching his head.

“Please stick to that in future,” Dagmar said. “You are nearing the restricted section of the library, which is out of bounds for apprentices.”

“We'll do that,” Ben assured her.

Dagmar gave them both a nod and then strode on by. Charlie and even Ben felt compelled to step back and give her plenty of space as she passed. She stopped, right at the gap in the shelf where Ben thought he'd seen something. She frowned and gave a sniff, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second. Then she tapped her rod thoughtfully and disappeared amongst the shelves.

“Should we tell someone?” Charlie asked.

Ben waited until they were back in the pleasant atmosphere of the main library before revealing to Charlie what he'd really seen.

Ben shook his head. “Definitely not. They'd have someone watching over me in an instant, and then our chances of searching for my parents would vanish.”

“That's true,” Charlie admitted. “Do you think that glimpse of steel you saw could have been from the Shadowseeker?”

“I don't think so,” Ben said, with a certainty that was mainly for Charlie's benefit. “It could have been anything.”

The calm, peaceful ambience of members reading helped Ben take his mind off the Shadowseeker and he soon spotted Jimmy waving at them with great enthusiasm.

“I saved your seats, like you asked,” Jimmy said, with a surprised smile. Ben suspected that Jimmy hadn't expected them to return.

“Oh, crap,” Charlie said, as they sat down.

“What?”

Charlie, mindful of Jimmy sitting next to them, spoke carefully. “We forgot to search for the other things.”

Guardians and Shadowseekers, Ben realised. How could they have forgotten? He consoled himself with the knowledge that there would be ample opportunity to research them in the future.

Ben glanced down at the book,
Introduction to Spellswords
, in front of him, and he was gripped with a rare eagerness to start reading. He opened the book and flicked to the first page.

“Spellsword was the first department to be established by Queen Elizabeth, only months after she discovered the Unseen Kingdoms. Initially they were soldiers, skilled in both spellshooting and weaponry, but their role quickly expanded, thanks largely to Michael James, the first Spellsword Director, whose contribution to the department remains unparalleled. Today they are senior and superior to the armed forces of most Unseen Kingdoms. Many battles can be avoided simply by their presence. However, should force be required, it is common knowledge that one Spellsword is the equivalent to a fully armed military squad.”

Ben paused, trying to digest what he'd just read. He was learning about his ancestor in the founding years of the Institute. It was crazy. How many times would Michael be mentioned during their studies? Ben had to resist the urge to see what else he could find, and continued reading. The rest of the chapter read like an enthralling fantasy novel. When Ben finished, he looked up, eager to discuss the chapter with Charlie.

But Charlie had disappeared.

“He's gone back into the library to search for another book. He seemed pretty excited about it,” Jimmy said, seeing Ben's confusion.

Ben had been so engrossed in the book he hadn't heard Charlie leave.

“Your friend is a really fast student,” Jimmy said. “He completed all the questions and left about ten minutes ago.”

“Questions?”

“You know, the questions you answer after studying the theory.”

Ben referred back to his handbook and to the Spellsword checklist. Jimmy was right; beneath the step detailing what to read was a set of questions to answer. It took Ben another twenty minutes to answer everything, occasionally having to refer back to the chapter he read. By the time he had finished, Charlie had returned and was watching Ben intently, his chubby fingers tapping against each other.

“Finally,” Charlie said, with an air of impatience.

“Where have you been?”

“Researching,” Charlie said, a smile creasing his face. He made a subtle nod towards Jimmy. “I'll explain on the way. Let's go.”

By the time they left the library, Charlie was bubbling with excitement. “I finished about thirty minutes ago. I didn't want to keep going as I thought it would be better if we were at the same point on the checklist.”

“How did you finish so fast?”

“I'm a quick reader,” Charlie said, waving a dismissive hand. “Anyway, while you were finishing, I thought I'd try to find what I could about Guardians and Shadowseekers.”

Suddenly, he had Ben's undivided attention. “What did you find?”

Charlie raised a chubby finger. “I know this is going to sound annoying, but I want to wait until we meet up with Natalie because I really don't like explaining things twice.”

Ben ran a hand through his hair. “That is annoying. When are we going to see her?”

“By the entrance at 3pm, remember? That's less than ten minutes away. I suggest we drop our handbooks off with the examiner and head over.”

“The examiner?”

“Oh yeah, Jimmy told me about him while you were glued to the book,” Charlie said, with a smile. “He's the guy who checks our answers. Look.”

Charlie was pointing to a door they had stopped by.
Examiner’s Room. Knock Before Entering
.

“Maybe I should double-check what I wrote,” Ben said, looking at his handbook with concern. His face lit up hopefully. “Could I compare my answers with yours?”

“Absolutely not,” Charlie said. “I'm sure you did fine.”

Ben knew better than to argue the point. There were some rules Charlie would never break.

With a little sigh, Ben knocked on the door.

“Come in, come in. By that I mean both of you.”

Ben exchanged a surprised look with Charlie.

“How did he know there are two of us?” Charlie asked.

“I don't know, but I have a feeling this could be interesting.”

Ben opened the door into a small office, dominated by one big desk in the middle. On the left side of the desk was a basket, piled halfway to the ceiling with Institute Handbooks. On the right was another basket with a smaller collection of handbooks. In the middle was a man, for lack of a better word, sitting on a chair. He was so small the table came up to his chin and his legs were too short to dangle off the chair. He had a long grey beard, which trailed down to the floor, tied together by a bunch of colourful elastic bands. His face was wrinkled and his arched eyebrows were accented by the bald head. In his long bony fingers was an expensive-looking pen. Three white diamonds hovered above his right shoulder.