The Sphere (The Magi Series #2) (6 page)

Elijah sat up.  “I remember putting the book inside my
uncle’s storage garage, but I don’t think I remember how to get back there. 
Are you sure sending me out all alone is a good idea?”

“Alone?”  Olivia looked amused.  “Who said anything about
you going alone?”

“Oh.  But I thought—”

Olivia smiled.  “I said
I
wasn’t going with you. 
You’re crazy if you think I would send my star pupil out there all alone with
things being the way they are.”

Elijah was relieved.  “Who’s going with me?”

“I should think your uncle would be more than qualified,”
she said.

Elijah lit up.  The mere thought of going on a quest with
Uncle Stan made him smile from ear to ear.  “What do I tell him once I see
him?” he asked, his goofy grin still plastered on his face.

“You don’t have to tell him anything,” Olivia said.  “Just tell
him where you need to go.”

“What if he asks?” Elijah inquired.

“He won’t,” Olivia stated.

Elijah frowned.  “But when you tell him he’s going to take
me wherever I need to go, won’t he be curious?”

“Possibly,” Olivia said.  “But he’s a marshal.  He’s used to
getting orders without explanation.  He’s not escorting you as an uncle.  He
has a job to do.  And part of a marshal’s job is to act without question.  But
I know he’ll take extra caution with his nephew.  At least, that’s what he told
me last week when I summoned him for the job.”

Elijah let out a quiet laugh.  He should have known that
Olivia would have had everything ready for him.  Still, he couldn’t help
feeling like there was a quite demanding task in front of him, and not being
able to talk about it with his own uncle would be hard.

“So what happens when we find the book and cube?” Elijah
questioned.

“Then we are one step closer to stopping the Maliphists,”
Olivia answered.  “We will have the first of the four cubes and hopefully the
information we’ll need to find the other three.”

Elijah thought for a moment.  How did Olivia know about the
cube his parents had?  She didn’t know his parents or Kyria.  She obviously
knew about the cubes in general, but how did she know where it was?  The only
thing he could come up with was that Olivia figured out his parents had it, and
therefore it would have to be with their things.

“So after we get this first cube,” Elijah stated, “we will
be looking for three other cubes that have a water and a fire and a wind element
inside?”

“Precisely!”

“And then we’re done?”

“Don’t forget the sphere itself,” Olivia warned.

“But I thought you said the book will tell us where the
sphere is,” Elijah said.

Olivia shook her head.  “I said the book contained clues. 
And anyway, I’m not exactly sure what all is in the book.  I’m sure it has
changed since I last saw it.”

Elijah was puzzled, but before he could say anything, Olivia
leaned in close to speak to him.  “When you get the book, you mustn’t read it
until I’ve had a chance to look through it.  Do you understand?”

“Why?” Elijah asked with a hint of irritation.  Olivia
glared at him, her gentle expression melting away, and Elijah was immediately
reminded of a very stern teacher looking at her class when it became too
noisy.  “Right.  You can’t tell me.”

Olivia nodded.

“When are we doing this?” Elijah asked.

“You and your uncle will leave when the teachers leave for
Saint Phillip’s Academy.  If we are in fact being watched, you two will easily
blend in with them.”

“What happens if we don’t?” Elijah asked.  “What if we’re
separated?  What do I do?”

Olivia stood up and motioned for Elijah to follow her.  She
turned a corner and walked down the hall to the very back room.  As soon as Elijah
walked inside, he became dizzy.  The entire room, including the floor and the
tabletops, was covered in organized piles of paper and maps.  Drawings of cubes
and spheres and endless notes were tacked onto the walls practically blinding
Elijah.  On one wall, a chart labeled
POSSIBLE LOCATIONS
hung with photographs, drawings,
and lists of names of cities scribbled underneath.  The maps that hung from the
walls also had pictures attached, dating back years.  Notebooks and scrapbooks
and bound books and all sorts of other tediously documented items were stacked
in neat piles across the room.  This was clearly the home of a lifetime of
research.

Olivia showed Elijah to a small table.  “Have a seat.”  As
Elijah sat down, carefully moving aside a stack of papers, Olivia pulled out a
leather pouch.  She removed several pieces of parchment paper—some flat and
some rolled up and tied.  Olivia hurried back over to the table and quickly moved
aside more stacks of papers and notes and unrolled two maps in front of Elijah. 
One was the entire city of Savenridge with land markers and important areas
labeled in red ink.  Another was a map from Savenridge to Saint Phillip’s
Academy.

“Of course, your uncle knows what I am about to tell you,
but this should ease your mind a bit.”  She continued smoothing out the wrinkled
map.  “Let’s start here.”  She pointed to the Southern Gates at the lower right
corner.  “As I said, you will leave with the teachers for the academy.  When
the crowds gather to say goodbye, which they do every year, you will need to
slip away and head to the southern stables, here.”  Olivia dragged her finger
across the map, along the city center road and toward the river, where the
southern stables were labeled.  “Your uncle will be waiting for you at the
stables.  He will take care of everything, but he mustn’t be seen, so stay
close to him and follow orders.”

Elijah continued looking at the map.  “Okay, then what?”

Olivia moved the map and pointed to the very top, where it
said
NORTHERN
GATES
.  “You both will travel north on horseback and exit the city from
the hidden stables just east of the Northern Gates, just at the edge of the
Eastern Forest.  I believe you already know that way out of the city,” she said
with a smirk. 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Elijah said,
coyly.

“I only wish that was true.”

Elijah could only grin.  He and his friends used the hidden
stables to exit the city when they rescued Hannah last year.  They never told
anyone how they escaped, but Olivia and a few others who knew about the stables
put two and two together.

“Okay,” Elijah said, returning to the map.  “So we’ll follow
the teachers to Saint Phillip’s.  Then what?”

“You’ll go to the train station.”

“The train station?”

“Yes.  The Magi use a very secluded common-man freight train
station, tucked away in the middle of the southern Canadian wilderness.  You’ll
be coming from here,” she said, pointing to Savenridge on the map, “and you’ll
want to end up here.”  She slid her hand in a direct line to Saint Phillip’s
Academy.  There was a marking on the map but no label.  She took out a red pen
and made a circle around the spot.  Our marshals use this station when they
want to travel south quickly.  You and your uncle will sneak onto one and ride
it south to the second stop in Region 2.”

“What’s Region 2?” Elijah asked.

Olivia pulled out another map, as if she anticipated
Elijah’s question.  It was a map of North America, but without borders or
names.  Instead, it had land markers and new kinds of borders Elijah had never
seen before.

Olivia said, “To understand this map, you need to understand
the Maliphists’ goal.  In order to better organize their attacks and delivery
of children to academies like Saint Phillip’s, the Maliphists have divided up
the earth into different regions.  So these borders are the Maliphists’ borders,
not ours.  Saint Phillip’s Academy is where the Maliphists deliver children who
live in Region 2.  So when Maliphists deliver children who live here,” she
said, running her finger along the border between Region 2 and 3, “they will be
delivered to Saint Phillip’s.  Of course, the Magi know of these regions too.  So
the foreign marshals have divided up our forces to work in these regions.”

“So, my uncle works in Region 2?” Elijah asked.  “Last year
I heard that he was responsible for this area.”

“Yes,” Olivia answered.  “And that is one reason I am having
you go with him.  He knows this area better than anyone—more than me I would
imagine.”

“What am I supposed to say to the Roddicks?” Elijah asked.

“Leave that to me,” Olivia said.  “You just worry about
getting the book and the cube.”

Elijah stayed silent.  The reality of what he was about to
do hadn’t yet sunk in.  He knew his mission would be more difficult than he was
imagining, but just then, he was more concerned with simple details like
answering the questions about his disappearance and whether or not he would
miss any training.

Olivia put her hand on Elijah’s shoulder.  “I know you need
time to think about everything,” she said, finally breaking the silence. 
“Unfortunately, I don’t have much comfort for you.  Difficult tasks lie ahead,
Elijah, and as I said before, this is just the beginning.  Our next steps
depend entirely on the contents of that book, so you must not fail.  Everything
hinges on this first task.”

Elijah felt his throat go immediately dry and he took
another sip of his chilled cider.  This time, the liquid didn’t soothe his
throat.

“I think that’s all for now,” Olivia said with a feeling of
finality.  “Do you have any questions?”

“Tons!”

Olivia chuckled.  “Any I can answer?”

“Not likely,” Elijah said.

“Well then,” she said, “how about that tart?”

The morning the teachers were set to depart for Saint
Phillip’s Academy was very windy and drizzly.  Elijah sat in bed, listening to
the rain gently spray against the window, when Roddick knocked on his door and
asked him to take a walk.  The request alone wasn’t unusual, but something in
Roddick’s tone sounded like this was more than just a walk.

Elijah expected them to go into the marketplace, like they
had on many occasions, but instead, Roddick blazed a trail deep into the woods
behind the house.  Elijah practically had to run to keep up with him at first,
but after they were very far from any of the surrounding houses, Roddick’s pace
slowed down and he sort of strolled along lazily through the trees.

“I thought we could take a little walk and talk some,” he
said.  Roddick bent down so that his shaggy hair dangled over his face, and he picked
up a couple of rocks that he carefully inspected and then tossed into a nearby
stream.  Elijah saw no reason that a perfectly good stream should be left
alone, so he grabbed his own pile of rocks and hurled them in one at a time. 
“I was just thinking,” Roddick continued, “that the next time I see you, you’ll
be inching your way closer to fifteen.  That seems unreal!  I know we haven’t
known each other all that long, but…well…I wanted to say that I’m going to miss
seeing you, Elijah.  And I hope I’ve done well with you these past few
months.”  He absentmindedly chewed on his lower lip.  “Now that I’m leaving—”

“But you’re not leaving forever,” Elijah interrupted.

Roddick sighed.  “It’s just…I don’t know.  You’re as close
to a son as I have—maybe that I’ll ever have, and now that you’re getting to be
a young man—”  He paused to throw another pair of stones into the stream. 
“Well, I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay while I’m gone.”

Elijah nodded his head as he continued looking down and
collecting stones.  His silence made Roddick shift uncomfortably, and he
scratched the back of his head and stopped his stone-throwing.  “I’m not trying
to pry, Elijah, and I know it’s not the same as having your real father talk
with you.  I just wanted you to give you a chance to talk or open up before I
left…only if you want.”

Elijah looked directly at Master Roddick, and for the first
time, he noticed a resemblance to his father, aside from the long, shaggy
hair.  As time had passed, Elijah had begun to forget small details about his
parents.  His memory of their features had blurred, but there were times, like
right then, that he was reminded of his family with something simple like an
expression or a laugh.

“I miss them,” Elijah said flatly.  “My family, I mean.”

“Oh—I’m sorry, Elijah.  I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t.  I just wanted to tell you.”  Elijah
sighed and looked at the ground as he continued to talk.  “My dad used to wake
me and Kyria up early on Saturdays to make breakfast.  I got to cook the eggs
because I could always get them fluffy.  Kyria liked cooking the bacon. 
Sometimes we would surprise my mom with breakfast in bed.  My dad would walk
over and give her a kiss on the head—just enough to wake her up, and then we
would all eat on the bed.”  Elijah felt like his memory was almost a dream. 
When he snapped out of it, he chuckled softly, realizing his story came out of
nowhere!  Roddick didn’t look fazed.

“That sounds wonderful” he said.

“It was,” Elijah replied.  He turned his head to look
Roddick in the eyes.  “I miss my family so much it hurts sometimes to think
about it.  I don’t say those sorts of things to my friends often.  But I can
say them to you.  Somehow, it doesn’t hurt so much with you.  I’m sure my
friends would listen and everything, but it might make them uncomfortable to
hear, you know?  But I feel like I can talk about those things with you, like
you won’t judge me for it.  I used to only feel that way around my family.”

Roddick beamed, but didn’t say a word.  He and Elijah only
sat still and looked at the water.  After a moment’s hesitation, Roddick
finally said, “
Did
you want to talk about your family?”

“No,” Elijah said, and he smiled up at Roddick.  “But if I
do, I’ll save it for when you get back.”

Master Roddick put his arm around Elijah.  “I’ll look
forward to it.”