The Shadowseeker - Victor Kloss Page 0,80

turned it carefully. The door clicked, and opened. Ben turned round and grinned at Natalie and Charlie, whose excitement mirrored his own.

Inside was a set of stairs that descended steeply into an inky blackness. Ben crawled through the doorway and clambered onto the stairs. He stood up and grazed his head on the ceiling. The passageway was so narrow he could reach out and touch both walls with his hands. The air felt stale and it was cold enough to make him shiver. He went down a couple of steps, giving Charlie and Natalie enough room to squeeze in. Charlie shut the little door behind them and they were instantly plunged into darkness. Ben put his hand on the wall for fear of losing his balance.

“Sorry,” Charlie said, his voice echoing from behind. “I don't suppose anyone brought a torch?”

“I did actually,” Natalie said. She fired her spellshooter and a beam of light shone forth. The darkness was so intense that the light only penetrated a couple of steps, but it was enough for Ben to make his way slowly down. The stairs led them to a long, wide passageway with old torch lamps hanging from the walls, giving the place a dim, gloomy ambience.

“The dungeon,” Charlie said softly.

At regular intervals along the passageway were prison cells, their doors ajar. Ben walked slowly, inspecting each cell. They were uniformly empty, save for one, which contained a pile of old bones. At the end of the passageway was a set of keys hanging from the wall; they looked like they were for the cell doors.

“Twenty cells,” Natalie said. “Most in need of a good spring clean.”

Ben surveyed the dungeon, hands on hips. “There's nothing here.”

“I wouldn't expect there to be,” Charlie said. “Lornor said the boots and the forreck were in a cavern, not a dungeon.”

“So now what?”

“If there is a cavern underneath the Institute, there's a good chance it’s connected to this dungeon. We just have to find it.”

They spent the next hour inspecting every inch of the dungeon, searching for clues. Each cell looked as though it had been cleaned out before it had been abandoned. Ben even took to inspecting the walls of each cell, searching for a possible secret entrance to the cavern. Finally, the three of them sank down against the wall, exhausted.

“I was sure we'd find the cavern entrance here,” Natalie said.

So had Ben. He had been so sure, he hadn't even considered that they might make it underneath the Institute and still fail. He wanted to get up and search the place again, but he knew it would be pointless.

Charlie's thoughtful face was in contrast to Ben’s and Natalie's dejected ones. He was tapping a chubby finger against his lip.

“I think we're doing this wrong,” Charlie said. “We've been stuck like this before and you, Ben, have always managed to get us through because of your unique position.”

“That's right,” Natalie said, sitting up straighter. “I completely forgot about that. As a Guardian, you're able to access hidden parts of the Institute.”

Ben felt a glimmer of hope, but it didn't quite match Natalie's sudden exuberance. “Normally that happens when we hit a barrier or a wall that we can't get past. How would that work here? I can't go around feeling every inch of surface – we'd be here all week.”

“Who says you always need a wall?” Charlie said. “Why don't you try it now and see what happens?”

“Try what?”

Charlie gave a vague wave. “You know, your Guardian thing, whatever it is you do that results in suddenly finding a hidden passageway.”

“Right. Well, normally I spin around, tap my head three times and sacrifice a goat to Fortuna, the god of luck.”

Charlie made a show of looking around. “We might have an issue with the goat.”

“Guys, come on,” Natalie said. “Really, Ben, is there nothing you can do? I know it's different from other times, but we're kind of desperate. In case you've forgotten, the solar eclipse is tomorrow.”

“I haven't forgotten,” Ben said. He got to his feet, and started pacing the dungeon slowly. Joking aside, the Guardian aspect was a good idea; it was how they got into the dungeon in the first place. Ben took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Where hadn't they looked? The answer came to him so suddenly his eyes jolted open.

The floor.

“What are you doing?” Charlie asked.

“Shh, let him concentrate.”

Ben had got onto his hands and knees. He knew immediately he had done the right thing. A