The Shadowseeker - Victor Kloss Page 0,3

grinned, grabbed the backpack he had packed last night, and bounded down the stairs three at a time.

“I'm going out for the day,” Ben told his grandma. She had her back to him, facing the TV, but turned around slowly in her swivel recliner.

“I hope you're going to look for a job,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously. “You need to start pulling your weight around here at some point. My pension isn't designed for two.”

“I've got a job,” Ben said firmly. “In fact, that's where I'm going now.” He gave her a friendly wave and his most impudent grin. “I'll be back late, so don't wait up.”

He left before she could respond with another barbed comment and found Charlie outside, standing by a large tree in front of the neighbour's house.

“I needed the tree to hide behind in case your grandmother stepped outside,” Charlie explained, as they started down the road together. “I swear she can sense when I'm around; it's uncanny and, frankly, quite scary.”

Almost as scary as his grandma, in Ben's opinion, were the clothes Charlie was wearing. He had a blue and white chequered shirt with beige trousers – both looked like they'd been ironed to within an inch of their lives. His black leather shoes shone as if he'd spent the last hour buffing them and he wore a large backpack with both straps over his shoulders. It was clearly heavy because he was hunched over while carrying it, making him look even smaller than usual. There was even a glean of sweat on his forehead.

“I want to make a good impression,” Charlie said, when Ben questioned his choice of clothes. “I know you'll breeze through the apprenticeship programme, but it's not going to be easy for me.”

“I doubt that,” Ben replied. “Anyway, there will be plenty of studying to do, which you're great at. We have a whole new world to learn about. You'll be fine, trust me.”

Charlie brightened a little, and started to show some of the excitement that was threatening to burst at Ben's seams.

“I can't believe we're finally going,” Charlie said. “I had to make up the most terrible lie to fool my parents. I told them I'd been accepted for an apprenticeship programme at a respectable web design firm. They took it rather well, but I have a feeling Wren had one of her Spellswords do some sort of magic to help them buy it.”

“Wouldn't surprise me,” Ben said. “Anyway, your parents work all hours of the week, right? And you'll be home on the weekends.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said, lapping up the support. “They won't miss me. So, what do you think our first day will be like? I've gone over it in my head a hundred times and each one is different.”

They talked with growing excitement for the next twenty minutes through the dull housing estate to the town centre. The weather was perfect, with blue skies and a bright sun beaming down on them, adding to their good moods.

“Did you hear that?” Charlie asked suddenly, raising a chubby finger. He rolled his eyes, indicating that the sound came from behind.

Ben glanced casually backwards and saw two men in suits walking behind them, deep in conversation. Ben perked his ears up to listen.

“…I've seen four Wardens already,” the taller of the two was saying. “I've never seen so much security around the Croydon headquarters before.”

Ben couldn't believe they were talking so openly about the Institute on such a busy street. There were people constantly walking alongside and past them. Strangely, nobody seemed interested in what the two men were saying. Was everyone completely lost in their own worlds or was there something more to it?

“I've seen five Wardens,” the smaller man was saying. “You didn't see the one at the corner just now. Slim fella, easy to miss. There are probably half a dozen others we missed. The good ones are impossible to spot. You think this is all because of the dark elves?”

“Course it is,” the taller one said. His voice was deep and gruff, even for his size. “The Institute has been on alert for the last couple of weeks. Haven't you heard the rumours about the invasion on Fiorgan?”

“I heard the dark elves were threatening to attack, but they haven't done anything yet.”

The tall man gave a humph. “Could happen any moment. I heard there have been plenty of troop movements – and that's not rumour. Let's not forget how tactically important Fiorgan is. It's the gateway to