The Shadowseeker - Victor Kloss Page 0,55
like maniacs. They spent a lot of time in the library, going through their handbooks, and also re-doing any practical tests they had difficulty with. Charlie was eventually able to ignite the level five pellet, and finished his Spellsword checklist. Ben finally managed to learn the proper etiquette for the ten different types of troll.
That night Ben was so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, despite the excitement of tomorrow's SpellWorks visit looming.
The next morning, Ben and Charlie met Natalie outside Taecia's Dragonway. Being the weekend, they were all more casually dressed, and Ben was again reminded of how pretty Natalie was. She wore a flowery green dress, matching her almond-like eyes, and her hair flowed over her shoulders. On her hip her spellshooter was holstered.
“So, where to?” Ben asked.
“Back onto the Dragonway.”
They headed back over the station's bridge and down the stairs to platform seven. As they passed a train map, Charlie stopped and inspected their route. He looked up at Natalie with surprise.
“SpellWorks have their own station?”
“They have their own island, actually,” Natalie said, smiling at Charlie's astonishment. “It's just off the coast of Italy.”
The dragon arrived on time and they found themselves alone in a carriage. The journey passed quickly, despite Natalie's refusal to describe what SpellWorks looked like, claiming she couldn't do it justice. The juddering deceleration less than two hours later announced their arrival at SpellWorks station. Ben's stomach hit the seat bar and the train went into a steep incline as it headed towards the surface. They emerged into the light and the dragon coasted gently down the platform. Ben, who wasn't prone to gaping, felt his jaw open. Everything seemed to be constructed of glass or crystal, from the shiny platform floor to the gleaming columns that held up the high glass ceiling. The place was pristine and there was a pleasant fragrance in the air. Ben wasn't sure if they had entered a train station or a palace.
“Come on, guys, get out,” Natalie said, nudging Ben and Charlie, who were both so busy staring they had completely forgotten to exit the carriage. Ben soon noticed another oddity: there was no bridge connecting the platforms, and no obvious way to cross them.
“Wow – look at that!”
Charlie was pointing at a small family. They were flying serenely over the platforms, and landed safely on the other side. Ben saw another couple do the same, then several more.
“Over here,” Natalie said.
She directed them to a sign, cast in glass, that said “Hand here”. On the sign was a cut-out shape of a hand.
“Just think where you want to go,” Natalie said, smiling at their expressions. “Watch.”
Natalie pressed her slender hand onto the sign. Immediately she rose into the air and glided across the platforms.
“Seems simple enough.” Ben grinned. “Do you want to go next?”
“I think I'll watch you, actually,” Charlie said.
Ben spread his hand and pressed it against the sign, matching the hand imprint. He felt his stomach leave him for a second as his body started a gentle ascent. Ben gave a little whoop and kicked his legs. Upwards he went, until he envisioned the exit in his mind, at which point he started going forwards. He sailed over several platforms, easily clearing the dragons and their carriages, before landing gently at the other side of the station, next to Natalie. Ben immediately turned and saw a slightly flustered Charlie sailing through the air, his arms and legs wobbling.
“Excuse me!” he said, as he landed heavily in between Ben and Natalie. “Ow, sorry about that.”
Natalie led them through a grand, intricately decorated crystal archway, and out of the station. Ben felt like he'd entered another universe. He stopped and stared, not caring that he was blocking the station's entrance, forgetting everything except the view that greeted him.
Four magnificent castles, with turrets and huge spiral towers, lined the grassy landscape in the distance. Each was tinted in a different colour – red, white, blue and green. Hovering above each one was a huge animated hologram bearing that castle's element – a burning log fire for the red castle; a cascading waterfall for the blue; a spinning tornado for the white; and a swaying tree for the green. A road led from each castle and then converged, forming one large causeway, which cut through the grassy plains and led to a fifty-foot-high crystal fence that surrounded the castles. Running around the perimeter of the fence was another road, which was