The Seventh Mountain (14 page)

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. I’m not kidding.”

“I thought everybody knew what Magi
were.”

Chenoa said, “You’ve heard of the wise men
that brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child,
haven’t you?”

“You mean the three kings from the
Orient?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Only, there were twelve.
They were the Council of Elders from The First Mountain.”

“They were Magi?”

“Duh…”

“There’re seven mountains?”

Nick said, “Yeah, and seven orphanages. Each
mountain sponsors an orphanage.”

“That means that there are a lot of
Magi.”

“More than a million formally trained Magi
and more than ten million thaumaturgies and apprentices.”

“What are thumb… a-tar-gies?”

“Thau - ma - ter - gies. They are Magi who
trained as an apprentice under a Magi. Normally, they aren’t as
skilled as formally trained Magi.”

“How come nobody knows about them?”

“Magi keep themselves secret. That’s part of
being a Magi.”

Shana was at the next booth, taking their
orders. She finished and Mark asked, “Why did everyone dream about
me?”

“Now that’s a real mystery, that is. Nobody
knows for sure.”

“What does it mean?”

“It can only mean one thing. We are meant to
know who you are and that you are the one that is supposed to have
that staff.”

“What’s the staff for?”

“Nobody knows that either. It has to be
important, though.”

“Mr. Thorpe, the algebra teacher, says that
it’s a mystery to the Council of Elders, too. He says that they
think Benrah is after this staff.” Mark raised the staff a little.
“He says that every artifact that Benrah collects increases his
power.”

“If Mr. Thorpe says that Benrah is after
that staff, well, all I have to say is you had better keep a close
eye on it.”

“Benrah? Who is Benrah?” Chenoa was leaning
toward Mark.

“Mr. Thorpe says his name means ‘The Son of
Evil.’ He’s also called Teknon Kakos. That means the same thing.
That’s all I know.”

Shana said, “That’s right. He’s the most
evil thing that has ever existed and that’s no blarney.”

“What’s he want the staff for?” Nick was in
on the conversation now.

“I don’t know. Mr. Thorpe says that part of
it is missing.” Mark held up the staff and pointed to the bottom of
it. “That’s all I know about it.”

“Aye, we don’t know that either. Mr. McGraw,
the museum curator, would love to study it. So would the guys in
the science and engineering section. Mrs. Shadowitz has ordered
that the staff is to be left with you. The Council of Elders
believes that it is important for you to have that staff at all
times.”

“I didn’t know how important it was.”

“Well, now you know. Mind ya, keep it safe.”
Shana turned and walked off.

“So, you’re from North Carolina. Tell me
about your family.” It was obvious that Jamal was changing the
subject.

“My dad is a Marine. My mom is nice. My
brother is adopted. How about your family.”

“My family lives in New York. My grandfather
came here from Ethiopia. My father was born in New York. My
mother’s family has lived here so long that she doesn’t know where
her family came from. My elder brother, Idaltu, has finished school
here. My grandfather wanted us to go to The Third Mountain, in
Africa, but my father said no, The Seventh Mountain is better.”

Chenoa said, “My family is Occoneechee,
related to the Sioux and Black Foot. We live in southern Virginia.
My father and grandfather are Magi.”

Nick said, “My family lives in Kansas. I
have a brother here, Ivan. He is a sophomore, first level. My
grandparents came here from Serbia.”

Mark looked at Jamal. “Why do you ask about
our families?”

“My grandfather took me to Ethiopia when I
was young. He took me to a herd of goats and said, “You see the
goats. They are all together. Never far. Family.’” Jamal held his
hand out and brought his fingers together like he was picking an
invisible grape. “He took me to the chicken house and said, ‘You
see the chickens. They are all together. Family.’” Jamal made the
same motion with his hand. “He uncovered a mouse nest with his rod.
‘The mice, all together. Family.’ He took me to the plain and said,
‘See the lions. All together. Family. Family is important. Never
forget what I have shown you.’ Ever since then, family has been
important to me.”

Chenoa said, “Family is important. If the
Occoneechee families had not stayed together as families and hidden
during the time of The Trail of Tears, then they would no longer
exist. It’s through family that the knowledge of the Occoneechee
has survived.”

Jamal said, “You know a lot about
Occoneechee history.”

“Not really, my dad tells stories sometimes.
He knows a lot about Occoneechee legend.”

“I wish I knew more about Ethiopian
legend.”

Shana returned and sat the plates down on
the table. The group ate fast in order to make it to the signet
shop on time.

 
* *
* 

At the signet shop Tim said, “We will wait
out here. Mr. Diefenderfer will be here at exactly 8 o’clock.”

Mr. Diefenderfer walked up to the shop. “Ah…
good morning… Tim… and young Magi. You may enter… and make… your
selections. If I may give advice… young Magi… make a selection…
that speaks meaning… to who you are. You will… after… making your
selection… be required… to articulate… and expound upon… that very
meaning. Your counselor… Tim… will hear your words… and judge… the
truth of them. If he agrees… then… and only then… will your
selection… be accepted.” With that, he opened the door to let
everyone in.

Mark and Nick followed Mr. Diefenderfer to
the drawer where he had stored the rings that they had selected.
They took the rings back outside to show Tim.

Nick showed his first.

“What does this mean to you?” Tim examined
the emblem.

“I like it.”

“I know that. What does it mean to you?”

“It doesn’t mean anything special. I just
like it.”

“Take it back in and look for one that has a
special meaning to who you are. Let me see yours, Mark”

He handed the ring to Tim. “I like the lion
on the mountaintop. My dad has a tattoo just like it. Whenever I’m
with my dad, I know that I’m safe. I also think that it has special
meaning to him, too. I don’t really know. He never talked about it.
It’s like it’s part of my family.”

“It is a part of your family. That crest has
been in existence for thousands of years. Take it back in so that
you can have your name put in it. Then you can head over to the
bookstore and get your textbooks. You can also pick up anything on
your list today except for the class tunics. You don’t know your
tribe colors yet. Class tunics have to be in tribe colors. Oh, and
it is also best to wait on getting the telescope until later. I
will see you at lunch.”

Mark bought most of the stuff on his list
except for clothing and a telescope. He bought a backpack to put it
all in. That made it much easier to carry. He went back to the
barracks and put all of the things into his footlocker.

He used the stairs next to the barracks to
go down to the first level and back to The Oasis. He got to the
bottom and heard a strange sounding voice.

“That looks good to eat.”

He looked around. No one was there. He
stepped toward the corridor at the bottom of the stairs. He looked
around the corner and there she was. She was crouching low,
stalking him.
Was it the lioness that spoke
? Terror gripped
his mind. He knew, in a flash, that she meant to eat him. He
couldn’t help but think to himself,
I wonder what I taste
like?

The strange voice answered. “I don’t know
what you taste like. I’m hungry. My babies are hungry.”

Mark was startled at the response. He had to
think fast.

“If you eat me, then they are going to kill
you. What about your babies?”

The sentence formed clearly in Mark’s mind.
“My babies are hungry. They must eat.”

“What would they like to eat?”

“My milk. I have no milk. I must eat.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“You.”

Mark saw her hind legs tensing, pulsing up
and down; preparing for the leap and the kill.

“Besides me. If you eat me they will kill
you. What about your babies?”

An image of a gazelle, running across an
open plain, came into his mind.

“Is that what you want?”

There was no answer. The image of the
gazelle persisted in Mark’s mind. He could actually smell it.

“Show me where you stay and where your
babies are. I’ll see what I can do about getting you some gazelle
to eat. I’m sure I can get some at The Oasis.”

Her hind legs raised, slightly, one after
the other, claws flexing. She was trying to dig in to the stone
floor before her pounce. He felt her overpowering hunger deep in
his mind.

“If you kill me, they’ll kill you. I can get
you something to eat.”

Her hind legs relaxed. “My babies must
eat.”

“Show me where you live. I’ll get you
something to eat.”

She relaxed, stood and turned. The door
leading outside had been propped open with a mop. Mark followed the
lioness out onto the grounds. She led him across the wide expanse
of desert sand to the outer wall. It had to have been at least a
mile to the barrier.

She disappeared through a doorway that was
formed by the wall overlapping and not touching. Mark followed her
through. For a second, he thought that he was back in North
Carolina. There were vast fields full of crops. He saw wheat, corn,
soybeans and hay. The rest was too far away for him to make out
what it was.

“There you are. We have been looking all
over for you. Where have you been?” The man in the gray tunic
hadn’t noticed Mark.

“She’s hungry.” The guy was evidently
startled by Mark’s voice. He had been leaning over talking to the
lioness. He jumped and then straightened up to look at Mark. He was
a rather ugly man with greasy hair and a pock marked face. His
caked, moldering teeth were chipped and ragged and his breath was
foul, smelling of onions and garlic. His unkempt fingernails were
loaded with dirt; in fact, he was very dirty all over.

“I know she’s hungry, I’ve been looking for
her for a solid week. Hey, students aren’t allowed out here. You
need to leave.”

“Okay, I’m going. I promised her some
gazelle. Can you get her some?”

“She’ll get what we give her and that’s
all.”

“I promised her that she would get gazelle.
That’s what she wants.”

“I said that she would get what we give her.
We feed the lions good. Besides, we don’t have any gazelle
here.”

The man bent and rubbed the lioness on her
back and under her chin.

Mark said, “Did you know that she was in the
school? She was getting ready to pounce on me before I promised her
some gazelle.”

“Oh! That’s a big no-no.” The gamekeeper put
his hands on her cheeks and shook his head, changing his voice as
if he were talking to a baby. “She shouldn’t be anywhere near the
school except during a flags match.”

“Well, she was in the school and was going
to pounce on me. I promised to get her some gazelle. I’m going to
keep my promise.”

The filthy man stood back up and stepped up
to Mark. His breath made Mark take a step back.

“How many times do I have to tell you, we
don’t got no gazelle?”

Mark said, “You can get her some.”

“Who are you to be telling me what I can and
can’t do?”

“I didn’t mean it to sound that way. I just
meant that a Magi can get anything they want to eat.”

“I’m not a Magi.”

“I thought everyone here was a Magi.”

“Nope.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

He looked back at the lioness and scratched
his head before looking back at Mark.

“Hey, you can talk to animals, can’t
you?”

“I don’t know if you could call it talking
or not. I can see what’s in her mind and she understands me.”

“Yeah, I thought so. Do you know where her
cubs are? We haven’t been able to find them since they were
born.”

“No, but I’m sure that if you ask her, after
she has eaten her gazelle, that she will take you to them.”

“You’re just thick headed. We don’t got no
gazelle!”

“I’ll get her some. Meet me at the Oasis and
I’ll give it to you for her.”

“No. I’m taking her back. You, get out of
here! I’ve got work to do.”

Mark started back across the grounds toward
The Oasis. He remembered a time that he was being chased by Keith
Green and his gang of bullies. He had been dumped over a chain link
fence into the yard of Beaufort, a particularly vicious German
Shepherd dog. He somehow knew that the dog wouldn’t hurt him. It
was as if the dog had projected that thought into his mind.

Mark smiled when he remembered another time
that the dog did get a denim chew toy from the seat of one of the
bully’s pants. Mark had not thought about that incident again,
until now.

Beaufort’s not chewing him up made more
sense now. He wondered if he had had the ability to understand
animals all along and just not known it, or if it was something
special about being a Magi here at the school.

Back at The Oasis, Mark found Nick, Chenoa
and Jamal. They were at a booth eating lunch. He sat down with
them.

“Where have you been? We looked all over the
place for you.” Chenoa seemed a little agitated.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me. I might surprise you.”

Mark motioned for everyone to lean in close.
“Okay. I was leaving the barracks after putting my things up. I
heard this strange voice say, ‘That looks good to eat.’ I looked
around and no one was there. I looked around the corner and there
was a lioness. She was going to eat me. I heard her voice in my
head. She said she had to eat so she could feed her babies. I
promised her a gazelle instead of me. She led me back to her
keeper. I tried to make him promise to get her a gazelle… I told
you, you wouldn’t believe me.”