Ben Blazze and Heimdall's Orb

Chapter 18: Arthur's classmate

At the end of the last period, an avalanche of students flooded the corridors. They were making the pretty usual racket you'd expect at any school. The kids flying at half-height or crawling across ceiling and walls, on the other hand, were not usual at all.

Ben left the room with his five friends, laughing at Kaleb's silliness and Anna Julia's sarcasm. In the corridor, a teacher approached him. It was Rainor Ethir, the one who ended the fight in the cafeteria.

"Can I talk to you in private?" he said to Ben.

"Er... did I do something wrong?" fretted Ben.

"No, not at all. It's about your father."

Ben's eyes widened, and Sweetflower hurried to interfere: "Professor, I am on a Council's mission to protect and guide Ben. If you want to speak to him, I must be with you."

"Um... I don't think that's necessary," resisted Rainor.

"I insist, professor. I've received specific instructions on this," asserted the Caeli girl.

"OK. It doesn't matter," Ethir acquiesced, not looking at her.

They said goodbye to the others and followed the professor to his office. Once accommodated, Ethir asked:

"You are Arthur Blazze's son, right?"

"Yes, sir. I'm Ben, and this is Sweetflower," he replied anxiously. "Do you know anything about my father?"

"Your father and I were friends and classmates here. That's why I called you. I never knew what happened to him. Can you tell me what you know?"

Ben told everything he knew. After listening carefully, Prof. Ethir asked:

"What about the DUPER tracking signal? Didn't the Council send anyone to rescue Arthur?"

"The tracking signal disappeared a few minutes after the DUPER's security mechanism activated," intervened Sweetflower. "The Council sent a team to the last known location, but they found no sign of Mr. Blazze."

"That's so uncanny! Was there a fault in his DUPER?" asked the professor, tilting his head. He looked concerned, but something in his tone unsettled Sweetflower.

"After that episode," she replied, "there were two more similar cases. The Council is working on the assumption that The Acharn has found a way to block the signal."

"This is crazy! How could he have discovered that?" asked the professor, again sounding condescending to her.

"I have no idea," replied Sweetflower. "The good news is that the DUPER security barrier still proved to be 100% effective. Even with our technology, it would not be possible to break it."

"So what now, Ben?" Ethir asked.

"I want to find my father, but I don't know where to start. Would the Council help me?"

"I think we can..."

"Do not count on it," Ethir interrupted Sweetflower. "If they have tried to find him and didn't succeed, it's more likely that not only they won't help but also won't allow you to try."

"But ..." Sweetflower was about to dispute with him but gave up. "He is right, Ben."

"Then I'll do it myself," Ben decided.

"Ben, this is madness!" the Caeli protested and looked at Professor Ethir, hoping for backup. But none came.

"Listen, Sweetflower," Ben said, "I can't stay here living a peaceful life knowing that my father is out there, in the hands of this crazy dude!" he affirmed. "But where do I start? I don't even know the last location of his signal!" Now he was the one looking at Ethir, hoping for backup. And it came.

"Arthur was always very organized," said the professor. "He must have left notes or some record of the expedition planning at home. Have you looked through his things?"

"Nothing but a glance."

"I would start there. Let me know if something comes up or if I can help you with anything," Ethir said. Ben and Sweetflower got up and were ready to leave. Before they got to the door, the professor added: "Be wise and don't tell about this to anyone. That would jeopardize any chance you might have."

In the car, on their way home, they talked through the DUPERs' connection. Sweetflower had already transfigured into a hamster and was hiding in Ben's backpack.

What did you make out of professor Ethir, Sweetflower? Ben asked.

I don't know. He is right about not telling this to anyone. But don't you think it's weird that he is encouraging us to take action? We are kids. We're supposed to do this kind of thing in spite of an adult's counsel, not because of it. Besides, I've got this uneasy feeling about him, she replied.

"What are you talking about?!" Ben asked out loud.

"Excuse me, Mr. Blazze?" Thomas asked, puzzled.

"Sorry, Thomas. I was talking to myself," Ben replied.

He's nice and a friend of my father's; he addressed Sweetflower in thought. He knows we cannot count on the authorities to find him, as you said yourself.

Before we think about it, let's see what information we can find out, right? She knew it would be useless to argue with Ben at that moment.

Do you think alien officers searched my grandmother's house after my father disappeared?

Probably. But even so, they wouldn't have looked in the attic, as only you had the access token.

That's where we will start looking, then.