The Sphere (The Magi Series #2) (45 page)

“There’s nothing to grab onto!” he called.  “There’s no rope
down here!”

He couldn’t hear anything anymore but the sound of draining
water.  He waited and continued to wave his arms around frantically, hoping by
some miracle his hand would connect with the rope, but he was certain he would
be sucked down before his friends help him.

All of a sudden, Elijah wondered if he could help his own
situation.  He felt like an idiot for not thinking of this before.  He was a
Magi, after all.  He stopped waving his arms around and tried to calm his
mind.  The water beneath him was massive, and it would require an enormous
amount of concentration, but he was determined to try anyway.  He focused on
the water.  It would fall naturally.  He wanted to move it back up.  To fill
the well again.  Elijah concentrated.  Focused.  His breathing slowed until he
was nearly holding his breath.

It was no use.  He wasn’t strong enough to raise the water
completely.  However, he felt like it was not draining as fast as before. 
Elijah wondered how long he could keep it up.

Just then, something hit the water, and Elijah immediately
grabbed in the general direction of the sound and his hand hit something.  In
doing so, his concentration broke, and the water released.  Elijah took one
last stab at the rope and he grabbed ahold of it just before the water completely
emptied.  He was left hanging onto a rope above a bottomless pit below.  The
moment the water drained, the pressure left and the air was easier to breath.

“Hold on, Elijah!” Paul grunted.  Elijah gripped the rope
tightly.

It took Paul, Hannah, and Becca almost fifteen minutes of
pulling to finally get Elijah up to safety.  The minute he reached the ledge
and hoisted himself up, they all collapsed and gasped for air, which was much
less stuffy with the water being drained.

“I wonder…” Paul wheezed.  “…if the cube is down there.”

“You’re welcome to go check,” Elijah said.

“I’m good,” Paul replied.

They crawled back to the room with the lion heads and fell
to the floor, exhausted.  Elijah laid on his back looking up at the lion’s
bottom jaw.  It was so large and so odd-looking with no apparent purpose.  It
didn’t even fit with the rest of the architecture.  He dreaded going into any
more.

Then, something caught his eye.  Just beneath the lion’s
jaw, where the neck met the throat, was a carving.  A symbol.  Elijah stood up
to read it.  He recognized the chiseled marking.  It was the symbol for water. 
It was small, but plain as day.  He touched it to make sure he wasn’t seeing
things.  Then, he ran to one of the other heads that had passage ways.  Sure
enough, the next one had the earth symbol.  The moment he found wind, he
stopped.  It was the passageway just across from the one they just came out of.

“This is where the cube is,” Elijah said.

“And you know this, how?” Paul asked.

“This is Orphea.  It’s the ancient city of wind, right?”
Elijah said.

“Yeah, so?”

“Look at the neck of the lions,” Elijah instructed.  “What
do you see on it?”

“It’s just a neck, man!” Paul said.

“No, no,” Becca said.  She stood up to see it better.  “I
see something.”  Becca licked her thumb and wiped the symbol on the stone to
see it better.  “You’re right, Elijah.  It’s the water symbol.”

“And didn’t we all almost just die in water?” Elijah said. 
“I would bet you anything that each of these have some sort of deadly booby
trap or whatever related to each of the four elements.”

“So why is that one the one we want to go into?” Paul asked.

“Because it’s wind,” Elijah answered.

“Great!” Paul exclaimed.  “So we get to die by wind instead
of fire or earth?”

“Where else would the wind cube be protected?” Elijah asked.

The other three sat still, considering Elijah’s discovery.

“Look, I’m going,” Elijah said.  “If you don’t believe me,
stay here.”

“Oh I’ll go,” Paul said, “but I just want it put out there
that I’d rather die by fire than being ripped apart by some tornado.”

“When it’s your time to go,” Becca said, “I’ll let the
healers know.”

They each climbed into the head of the lion and through the
long passageway, just like the last time.  Though not as stuffy and hard to
breathe, this one was much longer.  They made their way more cautiously, hoping
the ground didn’t crumble beneath them again.  They let out a sigh of relief
when they eventually reached the end and stepped down into another hallway,
which was so narrow only two of them could walk through at the same time.

The room was almost pitch black.  Becca threw out a ball of
fire so they could see a little better.  As the light from the fire sailed
through the air, they could see unlit torches on both sides of the walls. 
Becca and Elijah took their time trying to get the right distance with their
flames so they could light one of the torches on fire.  Elijah successfully lit
three before Becca got her first one lit.  Paul and Hannah watched from behind.

“Once you two are finished playing your little fireball
game, let us know so we can get on with it,” Paul spat.

“Wow, Elijah!” Hannah exclaimed.  “You’re really good at
that!”

“Seriously,” Becca said.  “I had no idea you were such a
natural.  What about the other elements?”

“I’m pretty good with water,” Elijah said.  He looked over
at Paul who was crossing his arms and pretending to look at the walls around
him.  “I’m horrible with wind, though.”

Becca took three steps forward and peered down into what
appeared to be a large pit.  “Okay,” she said.  “Looks like we’re stuck.”  In
front of them, stretching on for about twenty feet, was a very large hole
filled with bone spikes, very similar to the one Adam fell into, only this pit
stretched out much longer.

“Well, this is attractive,” Paul said.  “Just lay a carpet
over it and no one will know the difference.”

“I guess if you have a trap like this,” Becca said, “plus a guard
standing here waiting to kill whoever shows up, that’s a pretty good fortress. 
Not to mention just finding this place.”

“But what’s the significance?” Elijah asked, still
considering the booby trap.  “How does this have to do with wind?”

“You’d have to be really good at controlling wind to get
across,” Hannah suggested.

“That’s true!” Becca responded.  “Only the wind controllers
would really be able to be successful here.”

Elijah looked up.  He saw what appeared to be another hole
in the ceiling that stretched for several dozen feet.  He couldn’t see the top
from behind the pit.

“What do you suppose that is?” he said pointing up.

Paul wedged his way between Becca and Elijah and walked to
the very edge of the spiked pit, got down on his knees and stretched his body
out as far as it would go to look up.  He looked like a feather would knock him
off his balance the way he was leaning.  It made Elijah nervous.

“Elijah, do your fire ball thingy up there,” Paul said. 
Elijah tried to shoot a stream of fire up the small opening, but it hit the
side and came barreling toward them all.  They dropped to the ground to get out
of its way.

“I take back what I said about being impressed by your
skills,” Paul said.  “But before your little trick tried to kill us all, I’m
pretty sure I saw the cube way up there.”

“Really?” Elijah asked.

“There’s
something
way up there anyway, sitting on
some sort of ledge,” Paul said.

He felt as though they were so close, but yet so far.  “So
how are we supposed to get it down?”

“We’re not supposed to,” Becca explained.  “Remember?  This
is what the Magi were trying to
prevent
.”

“Well, giving up isn’t an option,” Elijah said.  “We have to
find a way to get it down.  You said a wind controller would be the only person
able to get it down, right?  How do we use wind to get it down?”

“Create a powerful enough storm to knock it down, I
suppose,” Becca said.

“What about sucking it down?” Elijah asked.  “If we can
create enough of a wind current just under the opening, wouldn’t it create
suction?”

“Can any of you use wind?” Becca asked.  “Elijah, you said
you weren’t good at it.  I’m okay…good enough to knock Paul down, anyway.”  She
smirked at Paul who scowled back.  “But I’m not good enough to create a strong current. 
What about you, Hannah?”

Hannah shook her head.  “I don’t think I can even make a
current.”

“Paul?”

Paul looked up at the opening.  Then he looked at Elijah. 
Elijah gave him a nod of encouragement.  Paul walked to the edge of the large hole
with the bone spikes.  He stood very still for a few moments and let out
several deep breaths before slowly lifting his hands toward the sky.  Elijah
felt a gust of wind blow by his face and then quickly fade out.

“C’mon, Paul,” Elijah whispered softly to himself.

Paul again reached behind him and flung his arms.  Elijah
felt another gust, a little stronger this time, but it again went away
quickly.  Paul kept his arms up for a little while before letting them down in
defeat.

“This is stupid!” Paul said, turning around.  “Why don’t we
just build a ladder up there and take it down?”

“Keep trying,” Becca insisted.  “You were doing well.”

“I don’t need your encouragement!” Paul snapped.  “This is
wind.  It’s uncontrollable.  How are you supposed to control something that’s
uncontrollable?”

“Don’t control it,” Elijah said.  “Just create it.  And when
the timing’s right, urge it in the right direction.  Just create it and build
on it.”

Paul looked like he was about to tell Elijah off, but just
then he turned around and aggressively flung his hands up.  Again, Elijah felt
a strong gust—the strongest he had felt yet.  This time, Paul didn’t stop.  He
created another gust.  Then another.  He continued to reach back, looking like
he was pulling something behind him and thrusting it forward.  Each time he
did, a stronger and stronger gust of wind came roaring past.  Elijah, Becca, and
Hannah had to hold onto the walls to keep from falling over.  Paul looked like
he was unbalanced himself, on the edge of falling every direction at the same
time.  Still, he didn’t stop reaching for more until the winds were so strong, they
had to lay flat on the floor to keep from being knocked over, and it was then
that Paul shot his hands upward toward the opening.

They heard an enormous crash and explosion above them, and a
large portion of the ceiling began to collapse.  The whole room shook as piles
and piles of marble stone and dirt from the ceiling caved in around them.  Elijah
tried his best to cover Becca and Hannah from the falling debris, but he
couldn’t even reach them.  It seemed as if all the wind Paul created had
collected inside the opening where the cube rested and then exploded out like a
cannon, bringing the entire structure down with it.

It took a minute for Elijah to register that the noise and
shaking had stopped.  Dust and particles of debris filled the air.  Elijah
searched the area for Paul, but he couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Paul?” Becca coughed.  “Paul, are you okay?  PAUL?!?”

Becca ran to where Paul used to be.  She heaved chunks of
fallen marble and bricks, but he wasn’t there.

“Where is he?!?” she turned and asked frantically.  Her eyes
were panic-stricken.  She pushed over other piles of rubble that were around
where Paul stood just seconds ago.  But she found nothing there.  Elijah tried
searching through a pile by him but Becca shooed him away as she dove into the
rubble, tearing it apart, handful by handful.

Then, from behind another pile in the distance, a voice
said, “Well that sure was fun.”

Elijah let out a sigh of relief accompanied by an
uncontrollable smile.  He wasn’t sure if it was pride or joy or relief, but
Elijah couldn’t help grinning ear to ear.

Becca bolted toward Paul and threw her arms around him. 
Then, realizing what she was doing she let go and punched him right in the jaw.

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!?” Paul shouted, rubbing his mouth.

“That was for letting us all think you were dead,” Becca
said.  “Not that we cared.  It’d be nice not to have a sarcastic response to
every sentence.”  Her comment would have been more convincing if she hadn’t had
tears streaming down her face.

“Look!” Hannah said.  She ran over to the pile of rubble and
retrieved a small cube.  She carefully dusted off the sides and then held it
precariously over to Elijah.  “I’m too afraid I’m going to break it.”

Elijah laughed.  “I’m sure the whole Magi world would thank
you if you could.  It’s impossible to break for some reason.”  Elijah took the
cube and looked at it closely.  Inside it looked empty with just the smallest
whitish wisps that appeared every once in a while.  It was mesmerizing.

“Who knew that something so small could be worth killing
for,” Hannah said.

“Well, let’s get out of here now that we have it,” Paul
said.  “I’m hungry.”  He smiled.  “Is it me or am I starting to sound like
Isaac?”

Elijah, Paul, Hannah, and Becca retraced their steps back
through the passageway, into the room with the lion heads, and out of the
large, pointed building.

Going down the mountain steps was much easier than going
up.  Even the jump across the fallen bridge seemed less difficult with the
weight of finding the cube off their shoulders.  They each had bumps and
bruises from the collapse, but that didn’t hurt their spirits as they
descended.

Once they reached the bottom of the mountainside, they
crossed the river and looked up.

“Where’s the tower?” Hannah asked.  Thin clouds of dust and
debris were still surrounding the area where the altar used to be.

“I think that’s what fell,” Elijah said.  “The tower was
where the cube was.  Only on the inside.”