The High Council

by Victor Kloss

  “Prince Ictid,” the Director of the Institute replied, and the ice in his voice could have frozen the entire castle solid. “Still doing your master’s bidding, I see,” he said sharply, his own gaze narrowing as a smug little smile touched his lips. He raised his sword, and Ben was pleased to see that the gold in the prince’s eyes had faded back to a few speckles. Somehow the moment had passed, and Ben didn’t know which way it would have gone in the end if they hadn’t been so spectacularly interrupted.

  There was a moment when the two princes faced each other, each watching the other and waiting for him to make the first move.

  Then, as if all too aware that this might be only a temporary reprieve, the prince let out a roar, “For the Institute!” and charged his opposite, his sword held high and his spellshooter levelled at chest height.

  Ben paused for a second before he made a decision. They had to get out. They had to do what they had come here for, or die trying.

  He turned towards the only guard blocking their way and leaped towards him, knowing that the other Guardians would follow.

  “For the Institute! For the Queen!” he screamed, defiant despite the odds.

  The sound of running feet and shouting told him that his friends had indeed joined the fray.

  The guard’s double swords swiped and slashed, keeping Elizabeth’s Sword at bay and almost cutting Ben’s head clean off if not for Joshua saving his life again. He’d lost count now how many times the Guardian of the Shield had been there for him.

  Half a dozen spells of different types flew in and around, smashing into the dark elf and finally breaching his defence. Ben moved forwards and slipped under the elf’s guard, a scream escaping the warrior’s lips as Ben stabbed the sword up between his ribs, blood gushing out in a garish red.

  Ben backed off, slightly sick at the brutality of it all but heart pumping with adrenaline at the same time. He turned to his friends, circled around him and the dead elf.

  “It’s time to end this.”

  — Chapter Twenty-Nine —

  Where the Real Fight Is

  Just as they turned to head out Ben noticed the two Shadowseekers homing in on Wren. He paused, torn between finishing their mission and leaving another friend to die.

  “Go!” Wren shouted, seeing Ben hesitate.

  She waved her hand and a stream of small gold darts shot forth, straight for Prince Ictid’s remaining bodyguards. One of them deflected the tiny missiles with his sword, another with a pane of purple light, and a third simply sidestepped, but the fourth cried out as several of the darts slammed into his cheek, neck, and shoulder.

  “We will handle this!”

  Ben still hesitated. He knew that Wren and Prince Robert were incredibly skilled, but Ictid was a monster, almost insanely powerful. With the Shadowseekers and his personal bodyguards, Ben knew that even those two would be hard pressed to get out of here alive.

  Of course, the coldly logical part of Ben knew that it didn’t matter. Whether Wren and the prince won or not, as long as they delayed Ictid so that Ben could reach Suktar they would have succeeded in at least giving him a chance to deliver the final blow. Warring with this logic was another part of him — the part that was still grieving Krobeg’s death — and Ben was finding it extremely hard to handle the emotional strain of possibly losing another so fast.

  “Ben!” Natalie shouted. “She’s right. We need to go!” The sound of Natalie’s voice spurred Ben into action. Natalie adored Wren and was completely devoted to the Spellsword Director. If she had the courage to leave her, Ben could hardly fail to do the same.

  He sprinted for the exit, but just as they were going to turn down a corridor he couldn’t resist one last glance over his shoulder. Prince Robert and Prince Ictid were trading sword blows and spells, Robert using a spellshooter that was more advanced than any Ben had ever laid eyes on, and Ictid using only his own innate magical gifts as an Unseen. Ten feet away, Wren was facing the two Shadowseekers and the remaining bodyguards on her own and, as Ben watched, one of them slid around behind his fellows, raised his sword, and suddenly darted in, lunging at Wren from the side while she was busy fending off the others. Just as his blade was about to stab deep into her unprotected side a gleaming green disc appeared, knocking it aside. The blade shattered and the dark elf warrior snarled in frustration, tossing the useless sword handle aside and drawing a long, wicked-looking dagger instead. Ben glanced around, wondering who had saved Wren, and gave a shout of encouragement as Dagmar stepped up beside the Spellsword Director, her own spellshooter drawn and levelled at their opponents.

  Two against four. That seemed like a much fairer fight.

  Natalie was tugging on Ben’s arm. “We need to get out of here,” she reminded him urgently. “Before they decide to ignore Wren and the prince and come after us instead!”

  Ben nodded and allowed her to lead him away. They crossed the junction point, making their way towards the opposite side. As he walked, Ben looked over and met Prince Robert’s gaze for a second. The prince’s eyes were clear and focused, and he gave Ben a sharp nod before turning back to face Ictid once more. Ben felt a great deal better about everything all of a sudden. If they made it through the battle with Suktar, they’d see if the prince was permanently over his need for the armour, but at least for now Prince Robert seemed to have come to terms with the fact that it was the Guardians, not him, who would wield Elizabeth’s Armour.

  Charlie, Abigail and Josh were already waiting just past the junction.

  “I don’t like leaving Wren, Dagmar and the prince to face those guys alone,” Charlie stated, glancing back towards the fight raging safely behind them. “But I know we all agree we don’t really have a choice.”

  Ben nodded. “We need to find Suktar and end all this,” he agreed. “Abigail, is there any chance you can use the helm to figure out where he is?” He didn’t bother to point out that this was crucial now. Elizabeth’s Boots had done their job and gotten them to the palace, but finding Suktar was another matter.

  Abigail was already pale from her first real battle. Ben had seen her fighting just as hard as any of the others, and she looked wiped from it. At his suggestion her cheeks went even whiter, but after a second she nodded.

  “I think so,” she answered softly.

  Pulling the helm from her pack, she simply stared at it for a moment. Then, with a deep sigh, she lifted the helm up and slipped it down over her head.

  Instantly Ben saw her eyes lose focus and her body stiffen. He knew that meant Abigail’s mind was now soaring free, scanning their immediate surroundings before branching outwards.

  He also knew it was a risk having her use the helm here in Suktar’s fortress, but they really had no other options left. They were out of time and out of choices. With the number of guards around in this place, and all the people dying in the fighting all over the Unseen and Seen Kingdoms, time was absolutely of the essence. The sooner he found Suktar, the sooner he could face off… against possibly the most powerful, brutal, borderline godlike sorcerer in the world. Ben shook his head and sighed. Ridiculous, but he had to try. Judging from the exterior, this castle was huge. There was no way Ben had the time to search the entire place for his adversary, not when every moment counted.

  Ben was brought back to the present as he noticed Abigail shuddering and shaking her head. “No, no, no,” she whispered, her skin nearly chalk white. But after another moment she opened her eyes very suddenly and yanked the helm from her head. “I found him,” she gasped. “And I was able to get away before he tried to grab me again.” She shuddered slightly, accepting a quick hug from Natalie before turning to Ben again. “He is waiting for you in his throne room. Ben, I have to come with you. With the helm I can barely stop him from completely overwhelming my mind, and without the helm’s protection you won’t get anywhere close to him, let alone win a fight.” She gently put her hand on his forearm, showing she didn’t mean to offend him.

  Ben gave her a quick hug t
o reassure her. “You continue to amaze me.” She flashed a brief smile at that, but it faded fast. The stress was getting to all of them.

  Ben turned to Charlie and Natalie. “You two need to get somewhere safe,” he ordered, looking at his best friends. Then he nodded to Josh and Abigail. “Okay, guys, it’s time to go put a stop to this evil maniac once and for all.”

  Josh grunted in agreement, appreciating Ben’s attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m ready,” he stated, adjusting the artefact on his arm. “Let’s go.”

  But Charlie shook his head. “I’m not,” he said.

  Ben stared at his best friend. “You can’t come with me this time, Charlie,” he insisted. “I’m sorry, it’s just too dangerous.”

  “I know,” Charlie agreed. “Believe me, I know! But I’m not just going to hide somewhere. There’s something else Natalie and I can do instead.” He straightened up and lifted his chin. “We can find and free your parents. Both of your parents.”

  Ben frowned. Finding his parents would be dangerous, and freeing them borderline impossible. He was about to say as much, but Natalie cut him off.

  “Don’t even think about it.” She had her arms crossed over her chest and a frown wrinkling her smooth elven forehead. “You are about to go and face off against Mr. Powerful himself, a probable suicide mission, and you want us to hide in a closet?” She tapped her foot rapidly, cheeks slightly flushed.

  Ben tried a quick backpedal. “It’s not that…”

  The foot carried on tapping and Ben was trying to work out what to say when Charlie piped up again.

  “Listen,” Charlie said. “You and Josh were both pretty much off your game earlier because you were hoping we’d be able to find and rescue your parents right away. But unless you have insanely good luck, there is no way for you to search this entire castle for them, not without weeks and weeks.” He puffed up his chest. “We can look for them for you, and you can go after Suktar knowing we’ll be on it.”

  Ben considered that a moment. He, Josh, and Abigail made a strong, tight little team to go after Suktar. They could find him, fight him on both a physical and mental level and, with a Mount Everest-sized amount of luck, defeat him.

  Charlie and Natalie would not be much help with that, but Charlie was right: they could find and free his parents and Josh’s dad. Then they could all escape to someplace safe, and at least Ben wouldn’t have to stare at the exact same spot on the wall for much longer.

  “Alright,” he agreed finally. “You want to go look for our parents, that would be great. I do, however, want to point out that this is easily up there as a contestant for one of the worst plans I or any of us has ever come up with.” A collection of brief smiles passed across his friends’ faces. He sighed and turned to Joshua and Abigail. “Shall we?”

  They both nodded, and together the three of them turned away. Before they could leave, however, Natalie grabbed Ben in a fierce hug.

  “Be safe, please,” she told him very seriously once she’d pulled back.

  “You too,” he replied, hugging her back. Charlie joined them, and Ben immediately grabbed his best friend in a hug as well. “Watch each other’s backs,” Ben urged once he’d released them both. “Okay?”

  “You got it,” Charlie agreed. “We’ll take care of this, you just go deal with Sauron.”

  Ben rolled his eyes. “I will,” he promised. “Be careful!”

  “Yeah, you too.” Charlie replied. His eyes looked suspiciously damp in the dim light and he blinked and turned quickly away.

  Ben led Joshua and Abigail away down a side corridor, one that would take them deeper into the castle. He did not let himself look back. He couldn’t think about his friends right now or about the battle still raging behind them. As they’d all said, he had to focus on Suktar now, and nothing else. When that was done, then he could relax.

  Assuming he was still alive by then.

  — Chapter Thirty —

  The King of Erellia

  The corridors were wide and incredibly high now that they were close to where the lords of the dark elf realm had their chambers. Great arched passages, decorated with paintings and tapestries of all types and scenes, were lit by grand chandeliers, each supporting hundreds of candles.

  They trotted along, three abreast with Abigail slightly in front. After travelling to the throne room in her mind’s eye she instinctively knew the way.

  Abigail paused suddenly and held out her hand. “Someone’s coming — quick, this way!”

  After turning back the way they had come, she darted into a side door and ushered the others in, shutting it quickly. The room was utterly dark until Joshua pulled out a box of matches and lit one. Although not much, it showed where they were.

  “Er, Abigail. This is a closet.”

  Ben could just see her rolling her eyes in the dimness. “I know that, you ninny! Hang on a second.” Joshua went to say something as well, but she grabbed his arm hard.

  After a few minutes had passed Abigail opened the door slightly and looked out, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Okay, it’s clear.” She walked out, followed by the boys. After a few steps she rounded on them, hands on hips. “Now you two listen here, and you listen good! You boys may think you’ve got the hardest task with taking out Suktar, but you’ve missed one small detail. It’s not going to be a simple stroll to his throne room. I didn’t mention it before, but his palace is crawling with dark elves of all types.” She took a step forwards, wagging her finger at them.

  Despite himself, Ben took a step back and noticed Joshua do the same.

  “I can get you past all of them, even though I am almost crying in terror, but we’ve got to do this! So you both pay attention and do what I say, and just maybe we’ll get there in one piece!” Abigail gave a sharp nod, turned on her heel and started walking rapidly in the other direction.

  After a moment she turned around, noticing neither Ben nor Joshua had moved.

  “Well?”

  They looked at each other, and Joshua leant over to Ben. “I have a feeling we just found out who’s really in charge.”

  Ben chuckled to himself and got moving, but after a moment the brief humour died in his throat.

  Although Abigail mentioned that it was only a half-hour walk to the throne room, it took a few hours before they were close. Every few minutes Abigail was stopping them and launching in a different direction, opening a door and shutting them in or just having them stop in place while she somehow hid them in plain sight. Ben’s heart was in his mouth as a patrol marched by within inches of where they were pushed up against a wall, one of them even looking right at him before carrying on.

  As they hunched down behind a column Abigail whispered to them both, “It’s another few corridors, through a large entry room and then what seemed like a tunnel of sorts. On the other side of the tunnel there is a great round room, like a dome, and through that are the doors.”

  She stood up and knuckled the small of her back, sighing to herself.

  “We’ll be so close to Suktar, I’m not sure the helm can fully hide us, and there’ll be no doubling back anymore. We have one route now, and one route alone.”

  Ben stood as well and looked up and down the hallway they were in. “Well, you’ve done an incredible job as it is, getting us this far. I can really see why Elizabeth did what she did creating the Guardians. I can’t imagine trying to do this myself.”

  Abigail smiled nervously. “Sadly, I think this was the easy part.” She put her hand on her stomach and took a few breaths.

  Joshua joined them, shield at the ready and spellshooter out. “You’ve got us here, like you said you would. Now we’ve got to do our part.”

  He nodded to Ben, who nodded back. Ben had that feeling he sometimes got when a plan was beginning to form. Joshua evidently noticed.

  “Ben, no. Whatever your plan is, just no.”

  Ben threw his hands in the air. “What? You haven’t even heard it yet! And believe me, I�
�ve got a feeling this is the best one yet!”

  Joshua groaned, but they started moving slowly towards the end of the hallway as Ben laid out his idea. To his surprise Josh started nodding, and Abigail rubbed her hands together in what he suspected might be enthusiasm.

  “So just follow my lead,” Ben concluded. “We really don’t know how powerful he is. Ictid alone was way too much for us, but that was before we had the armour. That said, from what Charlie managed to find out, Suktar makes Ictid look like a Sunday school choir boy.”

  They rounded a corner and suddenly a huge tunnel faced them. It was dark enough that Ben couldn’t see the sides or ceiling once they were inside.

  “Where is everyone?” Ben whispered to Abigail, feeling like talking loudly was somehow wrong in this place.

  “This seems intentional,” she answered in a matching whisper. “I don’t sense anyone in here, but I’m sure it was inhabited when I came through before.”

  The intense dark and total silence were unnerving, and Ben and Joshua moved together shoulder to shoulder, with Abigail now behind them. Finally, they came to the entrance of what could only be the king of the dark elves’ throne room.

  A set of massive black iron doors in a towering, arched frame of glittering black stone loomed above them.

  “You guys ready?” Ben asked. He had the sword in one hand and his spellshooter in the other, and was gripping both tightly. Josh nodded and held up the shield, and Abigail, mouth set in a firm line, also nodded right before adjusting the helm.

  Joshua looked at him and shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but if I had to face an insanely powerful lunatic intent on world domination, I can’t think of a better person to fight him with.” He holstered his spellshooter and held out his hand. “Greenwood, it’s been an experience to be continuously annoyed by you.” He smiled and winked. “And I’d be honoured to fight and die beside you, if that’s what it takes to stop this creature.”