The Shadowseeker - Victor Kloss Page 0,16

boys and girls. Ben guessed most to be about sixteen to twenty, though he spotted a few adults old enough to be his parent. Ben and Charlie surveyed the scene and received a few curious glances.

“I feel like this is my first day at school,” Charlie whispered. “And not in a good way.”

“Relax,” Ben said. “Let's get some food. I'm hungry.”

They made their way to a set of trolleys at the end of the room and Ben piled his plate full of veal, potatoes and a couple of obligatory vegetables. He found a few empty seats at the end of one of the tables.

“Did you notice that many people have more than one diamond?” Charlie said, sitting down opposite Ben. “They must have a ranking system for apprentices just like the main departments of the Institute.”

Charlie was right. Many of the older kids had several colourless diamonds above their right shoulders. It took some willpower to focus on eating rather than staring at everyone. Ben was mid tucking into a juicy potato when he heard a familiar voice from across the room.

“Ben! Charlie!”

Natalie was waving at them. She was mingling with a group of friends and appeared very much the centre of attention, which didn't surprise Ben, as most of her friends were boys. As soon as she spotted them she detached herself, to the disappointment of her suitors, and came running over.

Ben had almost forgotten how attractive she was. Her dark brown hair fell in curls over her shoulder, and there was something exotic about her almond-shaped green eyes. She was slim, but shapely; even her slightly pointed ears, due to her tenuous elf heritage, added to her looks.

Ben stood up as she approached, hastily wiping his mouth, and Natalie flung her arms around him.

“You made it!” she said. “You passed the test!”

Natalie turned to Charlie and he stood up awkwardly, almost knocking his chair over. He received a hug that was just as enthusiastic, though perhaps slightly gentler.

“Don't stop eating,” Natalie said, motioning at both of them to sit, and then doing so herself, choosing a seat next to Charlie. “The Initiation Test leaves you starving. I'm really sorry I couldn't tell you anything about it. The rules are very strict. I knew you'd both pass of course, but I was still nervous. Have you been chosen by a locker yet?”

“Funny way of putting it, but, yes,” Ben said. He couldn't help smiling at Natalie's effusiveness. Charlie appeared momentarily flustered by it, but that could just have been his re-adjustment period to having a close friendship with someone as pretty as Natalie.

“We have so much to catch up on, I hardly know where to start,” Natalie continued.

“You have two diamonds now,” Charlie said. His voice sounded a little squeaky, but he pressed on. “Did you graduate or something?”

Ben hadn't noticed the extra diamond floating above her shoulder, but he did so now.

“I passed the first grade exam last week,” Natalie said. “It wasn't too bad. My Spellsword work isn't great and I only just scraped past that part of the exam. But enough about me, I want to hear about you guys. How was your trip here?”

Together Ben and Charlie recounted their morning, from the attack at the Croydon headquarters to the Initiation Test. When Ben mentioned the ghost of Elizabeth labelling him as a Guardian, both Charlie and Natalie interrupted him at the same time.

“What does that mean?” Charlie asked. Both he and Ben turned to Natalie expectantly.

“I've never heard of it before,” she said. “But it sounds important. She said 'another' Guardian? Who else is there?”

“My parents, maybe,” Ben said.

They debated the matter in hushed tones for the next several minutes, but as none of them had any real insight to add, they were soon going round in circles and decided to move on. By the time they'd finished, Ben had cleaned his plate and was eyeing up seconds.

“I can't believe that attack on Croydon,” Natalie said, her locks falling over her forehead as she shook her head. “The security on the Dragonway is really tight. There are very few breaches.”

“So you've no idea what a Shadowseeker is, then?” Ben asked.

“No, but I bet we can find out in the library. I would also like to know what animal he was riding.”

“Do you think the attack had anything to do with Ben, or was it just a coincidence that he happened to be there?” Charlie asked. The topic of mystery solving had quickly melted his lingering