by Victor Kloss
“Just because I’m not familiar with it doesn’t mean I can’t learn,” Ben said. “What’s this game about?”
“Imagine capture the flag,” Simon said. “You know that game where you have two teams and each has to find the other’s flag?”
“Yes, I’ve played that game a few times,” Ben said.
Simon grinned, and rubbed his hands together. “Good. Now add spellshooters, a crazy arena, a couple of darzels, and a lot of crazy magic stuff happening, and you’ve got spellstrike.”
“Sounds pretty mad,” Ben said, his smile slowly turning into a grin.
“Oh it is,” Simon said, nodding manically. “It’s utterly bonkers.”
Ben was aware that Aaron was looking at him keenly, eagerly almost. He tried to ignore it, but couldn’t help thinking this might be a nice way to even the score a little.
“When is the battleground available?” Ben asked.
“Two weeks this Saturday,” Aaron said.
Ben frowned. The supposed day before the dark elf attack. A rather unfortunate coincidence.
“If you can’t make it, I understand,” Aaron said, with one of his diamond smiles. He loosened his spellshooter from his holster. “Though I’m not sure where I’ll find another apprentice who can match my B1 spellshooter.”
Simon whooped, and proceeded to touch the spellshooter and pretend that it sizzled his finger.
“I just upgraded a couple of days ago,” Aaron said, with a grin. “They’re nice, aren’t they? So sharp, yet powerful. I’m not sure I could go back to a G6 now.”
“They are nice,” Ben said, with a casual nod. He released his own spellshooter, revealing the two blue bands at the tip of the barrel.
“I also upgraded,” Ben said. “The B1 is nice, but the B2 is frankly a beast.”
He re-holstered his spellshooter, and left them all open-mouthed, except for Simon, who was literally screaming like a girl.
Ben glanced back as he headed down the stairs. “The date sounds fine. Looking forward to it.”
He headed straight down to the common room, where he found Charlie and Natalie.
“Done,” Ben said, collapsing on the chair. “But before we get into the important stuff, I have a confession to make.”
He quickly relayed the exchange that had occurred upstairs.
“Oh, Ben, you shouldn’t have accepted,” Natalie said. “I know how fun spellstrike is, but the timing is absolutely terrible.”
“You’ve played it, then?” Ben said. “That’s good, because you can tell me what it’s about.”
Natalie put a hand to her forehead. “My goodness, I forgot. You haven’t even played it, have you? There go our chances.”
“Who said you were on my team?” Ben said, with a teasing smile.
“I’m a good winger; you’ll need me,” Natalie said, pointing a finger at him. “But that doesn’t matter. You need to forfeit. You’ll never win if you’ve never played before. The captain is the most important man on the team, and you can bet Aaron is amazing. He’s amazing at everything else.”
“I’m not quitting,” Ben said stubbornly. “I’ve just told them I’ll play. I only need eight players, and it’s two weeks away. Plenty of time to learn the game.”
There was a thump, as a large book landed on the table.
“There’s your homework,” Charlie said, resettling himself. He was breathing a little heavily. “While you two were bickering, I popped up to the library and found something on the sport.”
Ben turned the book in his direction. The Dummies’ Guide to Spellstrike.
Ben fanned through the pages, suddenly rather less confident. “This is a guide for dummies? I dread to think what a normal guide looks like.”
“It does look like an interesting game,” Charlie admitted. “There are all sorts of positions, tactics, spells, and even a couple of darzels involved – those dragon crocodiles we flew. They even play it professionally in the Unseen Kingdoms. Taecia has a decent team, apparently.”
“We should go see them play,” Ben said.
“Tickets will be all sold out,” Natalie said. She shook her head firmly. “Anyway, you’re not getting it. As you can see, it takes months, not weeks, to understand the game, and years to master it. That includes playing time and playing with a team that you know and trust. The whole thing is completely unreal. Sorry, I’m sounding like Charlie.”
“Apology accepted,” Charlie said, with a smile.
Ben knew he wasn’t going to convince them, so he decided to play the ace up his sleeve. He told them about the meeting with Aaron. When he was finished, he found himself dealing with two very different reactions.
“Well, I can strike his name off my Christmas card list,” Charlie said matter-of-factly.
Natalie was shaking her head slowly. “Did it happen exactly like that?”
“What do you mean?” Ben said, frowning. “Why would I alter it?”
Natalie gave an almost embarrassed shrug. “Oh, I don’t know. Jealousy perhaps? To make him look like the evil one.”
To Ben’s surprise, Charlie burst out laughing.
“Natalie, I have known Ben all my life, and never once have I known him to be jealous.”
“Not entirely true,” Ben said. “Remember Carl, our striker at school? I was always jealous of how he could curl the ball into the top corner every single time. It was ridiculous. I swear he had a robotic leg.”
Natalie began slowly winding strands of hair between two of her fingers. “So it’s true? He’s really a power-hungry creep?”
“Afraid so,” Ben said, surprised at how much pleasure he took in ruining Aaron’s credibility in front of Natalie.
“He always comes across so nice,” Natalie said softly. “We had so many good talks together.”
“Don’t worry about it. He’s fooled practically everyone else.”
“Moving on,” Charlie said, slapping the spellstrike book. “We now have a motive for beating the hell out of Aaron, but that doesn’t really help us, since we’re still going to get whipped.”
“Charlie’s right. This just makes things worse.”
Ben had to admit, he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Okay, let’s not worry about this now. It’s hardly the most important thing we’re dealing with. Can we move on? I’ve been working a whole week to upgrade my spellshooter so I can cast the right spell to get us into Hunter’s house. Now we just need to get it.”
Natalie got up. “You’re right. Let me just get some tea. I need it, after listening to all that.”
Charlie pulled out a folded piece of paper, and spread it out on the coffee table, on top of the spellstrike book. At the top of the paper, Charlie had scrawled the words “Spell Repository”. A rough map had been drawn that looked a bit like a maze, with numbers written at various sections on the paper.
“It looks confusing because it is,” Charlie said.
“What am I even looking at?” Ben asked, bending over to get a closer look. Natalie returned with three cups of tea, and soon they were all poring over the sketch with a hot cup in their hands.
“This work of art is a detailed map of the spell storage room,” Charlie said. He tapped the bottom of the page. “Here is the entrance point. These numbers on the map represent the spell grades, and the colours beside them indicate what elements they consist of.”
“Impressive,” Ben said, noting the location of the grade-four spells.
“The hardest part was wandering round the place without attracting suspicion,” Charlie said. “The security in there is pretty mean. We almost got kicked out a couple of times.”
Ben picked up the map. “You guys did a good job.”
“Are you sure you want to do this today?” Natalie asked. “We could always wait until tomorrow, when you’ve had a chance to rest.”
It was tempting. Ben felt physically and mentally exhausted. Breaking into Hunter’s house could wait a few more hours. Had it just been a matter of the helm and the Guardian
, he might have agreed, but there were his parents to consider.
“No,” Ben said, standing up. “I’m okay. Let’s go steal some spells.”
Ben headed back up the stairs, holding out the map, trying to cram all the key places he needed to remember into his brain. Charlie and Natalie were either side of him, and both were taking turns to pump him with last-minute instructions.
“Whatever you do, don’t try to fool security,” Charlie said. “It won’t work – they’re too smart. Stuffing pellets down your trousers or even trying to swallow them are non-starters. I’ve seen others try. Everything must go in your spellshooter’s orb.”
“In the orb – got it,” Ben said.
Natalie took over. “Remember, they can identify the spells in your orb just by looking. If you do get caught, just play dumb and put them back. We’ll have to try another day. Don’t try to run, because you will be caught.”
Ben nodded. “Great. This just gets better and better. Anything else?”
“Nope, I think we covered everything,” Charlie said.
Ben had been listening and reading the map so diligently he hadn’t realised they had entered the Spellsword Department and had stopped by a door that said “Spell Repository”.
“Are we ready?” Natalie said.
They all stuck out their watches.
“Seven minutes should do the trick,” Charlie said. “Timing is critical, Ben. You will have one chance, at exactly seven minutes, to escape. If you’re not ready, then just abort.”
They looked at each other, gave a nod, and then Ben opened the door.
Despite the time constraint, Ben still paused to admire the place. It was a warehouse, stacked high and wide with shelves holding every conceivable spell, stored in small, coloured trays. There must have been thousands of them. Signs hung from the ceiling, detailing the strength and colour of the spells below.
“What you looking for?” a high-pitched, impatient voice asked.
Floating in front of him was a pixie, with three white diamonds above his shoulder. He had a sharp nose, intelligent eyes, and soft, dainty wings, which were at odds with his rough, almost rude, tone.
“Earth and air, grade-three,” Ben said.
The pixie glanced at Ben’s spellshooter, his eyes narrowing. Eventually he nodded.
“Shelf 7A, towards the back.”
Ben thanked the pixie and started walking, making sure to keep his pace unhurried. He spotted several other pixies, as he walked. Many were replenishing stock; others were flying to and fro, often calling to each other in their rough, angry voices.
“Jojo needs some more grade-four dazzle spells in the fire/air/earth department.”
“Tell him we’re out. They’re on order.”
“I’ve got a dispatch from the Warden Department. They want more tracking spells.”
“They’re bleeding us dry!”
Conversations went on as the pixies came and went, adding a lively atmosphere that otherwise would have resembled more of a library.
Ben made it to the earth/air grade-three section. He stopped for a moment, pretending to peruse the spells. With a quick look to make sure there were no pixies or any other Institute members about, he kept on walking. His eyes were focused on the grade-four sign, deeper in the warehouse. His breathing sounded unusually loud when he stopped again. It’s just the echo, he told himself. The spells seemed to exude an energy here, and many of them were contained in magically sealed boxes.
Ben glanced at his watch. Four minutes left. He started inspecting the shelves, his eyes searching out the spell names. Magic Sealant. Spirit Shield. Ward Breaker.
Bingo.
Ben took one more glance about, before delving into the box. It wasn’t sealed, but he hadn’t expected it to be, as it was a weaker grade-four spell. He extracted two spells, and quickly inserted them into his orb. He took several deep breaths and waited until his heart rate was back to something approaching normal, before setting of at a measured pace back to the entrance.
Ben checked his watch again. One minute thirty. He slowed, just a fraction. The last thing he wanted was to be caught at the entrance. They would take one glance at his spellshooter and he’d be done for.
One minute.
Ben smiled at a passing Diplomat, who was browsing the grade-two water spells.
Thirty seconds.
Ben could see two pixies guarding the entrance, one facing each way, to catch people coming in and out. The pixie watching for people leaving looked his way. Ben slowed, pretending to study a shelf, careful to block direct vision to his spellshooter.
Fifteen seconds.
The pixie had spotted him. Had the pixie seen something wrong with Ben’s spellshooter?
Shit. He should have hung back and waited. The pixies were so sharp, they could spot guilt a mile away.
The pixie started flying towards him.
An almighty crash echoed in the warehouse, followed by several violent curses. Ben looked up in mild surprise – it would have looked strange had he not – and the pixie flying towards him suddenly halted.
“Emergency spillage in shelf 3C,” a pixie announced, his voice echoing magically throughout the warehouse. “Time-sensitive spells, need help now!”
The pixie cursed, and flew to help. His associate at the entrance did the same.
Ben wanted to sprint like mad. He knew he had but moments before the entrance would be guarded again. But he forced himself into a casual walk, his heart pounding. He could feel a bead of sweat running down his forehead, but he dared not wipe it. From his peripheral vision, he could see more pixies coming to aid the spillage.
Ben opened the door casually, and stepped out of the Spell Repository, back into the Spellsword corridor. The moment he did so, he sprinted for his life, and didn’t stop until he was back in the apprentice common room.
He faced an anxious wait before Natalie and Charlie filed in ten minutes later.
“Did you get it?” Charlie asked immediately.
Ben smiled, tapping his spellshooter in answer.
“Thank god for that,” Natalie said. “I don’t think I could go through that again.”
“What happened?”
“It went exactly as planned,” Charlie said, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. “I ’accidentally’ fell over and caused about a thousand pounds’ worth of damage. The pixies weren’t happy. They were making all sorts of threats to me, my apprenticeship and even my family.”
“They’re full of hot air,” Natalie said. “Several of them actually looked ready to explode.”
“But you got out okay?”
“Yeah, they checked us a dozen times, before letting us go. You got out at the perfect time, Ben, because moments later, they had half a dozen pixies blocking anyone from coming in or out without being subjected to a full body search.”
Ben grinned. “Well, I’m glad I missed that.”
“So now what?” Charlie asked.
Ben glanced at his watch. It was past three o’clock, and there was a good chance Hunter would be home from school by the time they reached his house.
The break-in would have to wait until tomorrow.
— Chapter Nineteen —
Unseen Activity
Ben couldn’t remember the last time he slept so deeply, but the following morning he felt better than he had in a long time. He arrived at Tiddlehurst with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Even his parents’ problems seemed less burdensome; after all, they were closing in on the helm and its Guardian, which would bring them that much closer to rescuing his parents.
The morning was crisp, the sky blue, and the autumn leaves were beginning to decorate the pavement.
Ben had just finished casting the tracking spell as part of his scouting duties, when he saw Charlie and Natalie round the corner.
“You guys ready for some more breaking and entering?” Ben said, with a grin.
“I feel like we’re turning this into a career,” Cha
rlie replied, pulling his jacket tighter around his neck.
They began their walk through town. It wasn’t long before they were heading down a gentle hill towards the station, and approaching Hunter’s small, detached house.
“Are we sure he’s not in?” Natalie asked.
In answer, Ben walked up and rang the doorbell. Nobody answered. He stepped back and shouted Hunter’s name, inspecting the windows.
“I think he’s out,” Ben said.
He pulled out his spellshooter. “Time to see if this ward-breaker spell will get us inside.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Natalie asked.
“I will need quiet.” His expression turned serious. “I’ve never cast a grade-four spell out in the open, and never one this powerful. It’s going to be tough. Please don’t disrupt me, no matter how long I’m taking.”
Both Charlie and Natalie took a step back, giving Ben space. Ben gave them one last look, and with total sincerity said, “If things go wrong or if the ward-breaker spell isn’t strong enough, get ready to run.”
“Wonderful,” Charlie muttered.
“You’ll be fine, Ben,” Natalie said, her green eyes anxious.
Ben walked right up to the front door. Chances were that if he fired the spell, the aim would be terrible, so he needed to be close enough so that it was almost impossible to miss. He cracked his neck, and took a deep breath in, flexing his hands. He knew Charlie and Natalie would warn him if there was any external distractions, which comforted him. He closed his eyes and let the noises fade away to an inconsequential buzz. He raised the spellshooter and focused on the orb. Willpower, concentration, vision. He commanded the ward-breaker spell down the orb. He wasn’t surprised when it didn’t move, and then cursed himself for expecting failure. He tried again, and saw the spell wobble. Gritting his teeth, he kept commanding the spell towards the barrel. Slowly – ever so slowly – the pellet started to move. Ben gritted his teeth and was vaguely aware that he was groaning with effort. The pellet slipped into the barrel. Ben pulled the trigger. The spell shot forth with such power that Ben was thrown to the ground. The spell veered off to the left, and despite Ben’s proximity to the house, it almost missed. There was a flash of light as the spell hit the door. A halo of energy expanded, forming a ring around the house. It floated slowly upwards, before coming down again, as if it was scanning. Ben heard several cracking noises and saw bursts of coloured lights pop at various sections of the house. It lasted a full minute, before the halo disappeared.
