Read Royal Institute of Magic: Elizabeth's Legacy for Free Online Page B

of
resistance, then he was through and into the passage beyond.
    A few moments later a bug-eyed
Charlie appeared.
    “Ingenious,” Charlie
said, his voice brimming with excitement as they resumed their
journey. “That illusion with the stone was as good as I’ve
seen. I wonder where they hid the projector.”
    For some reason Ben felt
disappointed at Charlie’s logical explanation.
    “That archway was odd,
wasn’t it?”
    Charlie shrugged, as if the
shimmering archway with the green eye was nothing compared to the
disappearing stone.
    Ben wasn’t so easily
convinced. “What did you make of that warning about electronics
blowing up?”
    “A silly joke,”
Charlie said, waving his hand. “You were right, by the way. The
magic refers to illusion and trickery. I’ve heard of other such
organisations, like the Magic Circle.”
    Ben didn’t want to burst
Charlie’s bubble, but the idea of his parents spending endless
hours mastering crazy card tricks was unthinkable. And how much
trouble could one get into being in the magic business? It didn’t
add up.
    Before he could argue the matter,
the sound of voices echoed down the tunnel. Lots of voices, too many
for a narrow tunnel, unless there was an almighty queue ahead. But
they could see nothing for the passage curved out of sight.
    A rush of air threw Ben’s
tousled hair back and he exchanged a surprised look with Charlie.
There shouldn’t be any wind underground.
    Ben hurried forward, ignoring
Charlie’s pleas of caution. With every step the noise grew –
voices, footsteps, even laughter. As he approached what must be the
final bend, Ben saw a sign hanging from the tunnel ceiling. He
recognised it instantly and stopped.
    It was the London Underground
symbol: a red circle with a blue horizontal bar and the word
“Croydon” written on it.
    He stared at it until Charlie
caught up. Neither of them said anything. They both knew Croydon had
no Underground station and if it did, it certainly wouldn’t be
this far below the Earth’s surface.
    With overwhelming curiosity, Ben
rounded the final bend.

— Chapter Six —
Trains and Dragons
    Despite
the sign, Ben didn’t believe they were about to enter Croydon
Underground Station. He assumed somebody had put up the symbol as a
joke, a memento or maybe even a tribute to the real Underground.
    He assumed wrong.
    It wasn’t the same as the
more familiar London Underground, but there was no denying this was a
station. The platform was half the usual length and the track only a
foot below the ground. A gentle glow came from the great vaulted
ceiling, casting ample light on the scene below.
    The platform was buzzing with
people. Some were waiting at the edge of the platform, others sat
around circular wooden tables chatting. Several had drinks and food,
perhaps sourced from the small shops that hugged the back of the
platform. Ben spotted people wearing holsters with the strange toy
guns, but nobody was giving them a second glance.
    Ben and Charlie stood together,
staring openly at everyone and everything. After a moment, Ben
realised something wasn’t right.
    “Ben,” whispered
Charlie. He was watching the nearest table, looking slightly bemused.
“Look closely at the two on the left,” Charlie said
softly, pointing.
    They were wearing elaborate
masks, giving them pointed ears, unnaturally high cheek bones and
big, slanted eyes. Their casual jeans and long-sleeve shirts were a
bizarre contrast to the facial get-up.
    It wasn’t just them, Ben
realised. There were three on the next table with painted green faces
and several others walking round with similar costumes.
    “They must be going to a
fancy dress party.”
    “Why would they walk around
like that here though?” Charlie asked. “Check out that
guy on that table. If he ever came to our school, the bullies would
forget I ever existed.”
    Ben’s reply died in his
throat. Standing near the platform’s edge was the most peculiar
man Ben had ever seen. He was