The Magi (The Magi Series) (25 page)

“That’s all right,” said Roddick. “Have you been keeping warm in this weather?”

“Oh, heck yeah,” said Walter. “The outside don’t look like much, but it stays warm in here if you keep busy.”

“This is Elijah,” said Master Roddick getting straight to the point. Walter and Elijah shook hands. “We were wondering if you could answer some questions he has about his family.” Walter finished wiping off his hands and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger.

“I see,” he said. “Well, I’m not sure what I can do, but I’ll give it a go.”

Elijah shifted uncomfortably, not sure where he should begin. He cleared his throat. “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about my uncle.”

“Who’s your uncle?” Walter asked.

“Stanley Hawk.”

Walter nodded his head when he heard the name. “Sure, I know of Stan,” Walter said plainly. Elijah sat up where he was sitting and eagerly wet his lips. This was it, he thought to himself. After months of questions, he was finally going to get some answers. “He was a foreign marshal,” Walter continued, “stationed in—California, I think.” Walter was looking up at the ceiling seemingly trying to remember Stan. “And you say he’s your uncle?”

Elijah nodded. “Yes. I lived with him a few months ago—before he was taken by the Maliphists.”

“I see,” Walter said. There was a silent moment among them while Walter sat scratching his chin. Both Elijah and Roddick waited to hear what he had to say. “What is it you want to know?”

“I’d like to know what happened to him,” Elijah said. “And if you knew him I wondered if you also knew my parents.”

“Who are your parents?”

“William and Julia Hawk.”

Walter continued to think. “I don’t think I’ve heard of a Hawk other than your uncle. I’m sorry, young man.” Elijah felt a huge sense of disappointment that sank into his stomach like a lead weight. He knew Walter was probably the best chance he had at finding out the link between the Magi and his parents, but it was sounding like there wasn’t. His uncle was now his only hope for answers, and he was locked inside the Maliphist prison.

“Do you know what happened to my uncle?” Elijah asked again, more directly.

“I’m not sure I know much about that either,” Walter said. “The way the marshals work is a little complicated. For the most part, they work alone. Your uncle didn’t have lots of contact with Savenridge other than reporting Maliphist activity when necessary. I know that last fall there was a lot of activity going on in his general region—near the border, I think—so he was busy working with other marshals in the area to stop it. What the activity was, I don’t know. I remembered hearing from the other marshals in his area that he had to leave with a sudden emergency, and he never returned. Until the Maliphists came to the city a few weeks ago, we never knew what happened to him. I assumed he was captured when he left.” At this, Elijah felt guilty. He knew it was because of him that Uncle Stan left. He was coming back to help Elijah escape Detective Scott. “That’s what I know,” Walter stated shrugging his shoulders.

“Elijah’s parents were attacked by Maliphists late last summer,” Roddick said while Elijah was still trying to process the story Walter gave him. “They were murdered. Do you know anything about that?”

Walter thought for a minute. “No. I don’t think I do. That would have been Stan’s region though, and I never heard from him about any murder.”

Elijah was puzzled. Why wouldn’t his uncle report his own brother’s murder, especially if part of his job was to report Maliphist activity? What would make Uncle Stan keep that a secret?

Master Roddick looked at Elijah to make sure there wasn’t anything else he wanted to ask. Elijah thought of something. “Why would my uncle be a Magi?”

Walter looked curiously at Elijah. “You’re gonna have to help me out a little.”

“I’m not a Magi—at least not before a few weeks ago. I don’t think my parents were Magi. I don’t know any relatives that are. Why would
he
be one?” Elijah repeated.

“Who knows?” said Walter. “You would have to ask an elder. That’s not my job. All I do is coordinate foreign marshals. And make clocks, of course.” Elijah nodded, understanding that he had gotten as much out of Walter as he was going to get. Oddly, he was satisfied with his answers, even though he was disappointed. He had learned as much as he was going to without talking with Uncle Stan himself, and until he was freed from the Maliphist prison, Elijah’s answers would have to wait.

“Thank you,” Elijah said to Walter as he and Roddick got up to leave.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,” said Walter as he retrieved his double eye magnifying glasses to continue working on his clock. “In fact, here—” Walter walked over to one of his many workbenches in the front room and picked up a small mantel clock, similar to the one he had been working on. “Have this. It’s the least I can do for the nephew of one of my marshals. If you don’t like that one, I have a shop in town with more you can choose from.”

“Thanks,” said Elijah gratefully, “but you really don’t have to—”

“Oh, nonsense!” Walter grunted. “Take it. I insist.”

“Well, this is perfect. Thank you very much.” Elijah looked at the clock with the word “Henderson” engraved in small gold letters at the base of it, and Walter took notice.

“It’s m’name. Most clocks in town are Henderson clocks. Take a look.” Elijah smiled and thanked Walter again for his time and the clock.

On the way back to the training barracks, the wind and snow had gotten so strong that Roddick and the two soldiers had to use their elemental power to keep them all from being blown away. Elijah tucked his new clock under his cloak to keep from getting it wet, but in doing so, he left his face exposed, which in the fierce wind was almost unbearable.

It was a relief to Elijah when they got back to the training barracks not just because they were sheltered from the storm, but also because it appeared no one had been kidnapped this time. The last time Elijah left on his day off, Samuel was taken, but this time all was normal.

Roddick said goodbye to Elijah and left for his house.

“Stay safe,” he said leaving.

“I will, thanks,” Elijah said back to him. He returned to his room and put his new clock on the table next to his bed. He wound it and stared at it for a long time, wondering how he was going to get the answers he needed. He had reached a dead end, and he knew the only way to learn more was to get Uncle Stan out of the prison, which made him suddenly angry. No one seemed to be doing anything about it. Everyone seemed content to be worried, but why didn’t anyone care to do more?

Elijah’s thoughts were broken by a sharp crack of lightning followed immediately by the most violent roll of thunder he had ever heard. Judging by the sound, Elijah figured it struck right on top of the training barracks. He walked over to the window and looked out for the possibility of more lightning. As he did this, he saw a few people gathering just outside the doors at the side of the building. The lightning must have hit the building. Not to be left out of the loop, he walked outside to see the commotion.

By the time he arrived, a larger group of students had gathered to see the damage. The soldiers and adults of the training barracks, who were obviously not at all impressed with the damage, were trying to shoo the students back inside the building. Elijah decided to have a quick peek as everyone else was heading back, already having their fill of the excitement.

The lightning had indeed hit the building. But that wasn’t what made Elijah’s mouth drop open. As he looked at the damage, he remembered seeing this same mysterious mark on the side of another building, not too long ago. There, on the side of the training barracks was a small hole with black around it. It was still smoking slightly. This hole, although slightly bigger in size, was exactly what Elijah remembered seeing months ago on the side of his parents’ house. It was what killed them.

****

CHAPTER 15: THE SOUL

Elijah sat on his bed, staring at the wall. It had been a long time since he last thought about the night his parents were murdered. So much had happened since then, and things were finally starting to piece together. He knew who killed his parents—the Maliphist rider with yellow eyes. Seeing the small burn marks on the side of the barracks, he now knew
how
they died. By fire—or in their case fire in the form of lightning. The only thing he didn’t know was
why
they were killed.

He wanted to ask Olivia more about everything, but he didn’t end up seeing her for many weeks. The storm that started Sunday turned into one of the longest storms Savenridge had experienced in a long time. Heavy winds and snow pelted the city for weeks until close to March, so most of the mentors cancelled training sessions until it subsided. During the tempest, only students in the advanced Novice levels were allowed to take the opportunity to go outside during the massive storm to practice controlling the fierce winds. It wasn’t often that they had winds of this nature to practice with.

Since they had extra time due to cancelled training, Elijah had more time to spend in the library. He enjoyed reading uninterrupted in the cozy chairs by the fire. Not wanting to make the same mistake with his friends as he did with Samuel, he used this time to talk with them, getting to know them better. He learned that Paul’s dad, Victor, was something like a postman in Savenridge, before he deserted his family to join the Maliphists in Malpetra. Victor used to deliver produce and other goods to people in the rural areas of Savenridge. Isaac’s grandparents were retired, but his grandfather, Monty, used to work at the stables, caring for the horses used by the local marshals. Isaac apparently spent lots of time at the stables when he was younger, and after retirement, whenever his grandfather missed his four-legged friends, he and Isaac would return to the stables, caring for them at no cost. All the current stable hands knew Monty and Isaac. Adam’s adopted parents were both bankers at the Savenridge Treasury. At the mention of money, Elijah asked about the Magi currency.

“We use gold coins for everything,” Adam explained. “Gold never changes, so it’s easy to exchange with the other Magi communities.” Elijah never paid attention to the money when he went to the market with Master Roddick, so when Adam showed him a few gold coins to satisfy his curiosity, Elijah was astonished by the fine detail on each coin. Each one had a symbol, just like the symbols on the stone tower in the center of town, of a particular element. Even though they were worth the same, Elijah learned, each individual Magi preferred to collect coins with their own chosen element.

On one of the days they were kept inside, Elijah tried talking with Becca. He was on his way to the library and noticed her sitting by the oval fire reading a book. He felt sorry for her sitting alone as everyone else ignored her, so he decided to sit next to her. Other than seeing her snap at a few of his friends, he had no reason to dislike her, but she did give Elijah the feeling that he should keep his distance. He figured before he wrote her off as being a horrible person, he should at least try to talk with her. As soon as he sat down, she lowered her book, glared at him, then quickly raised it up again.

“Can I help you?” she asked coldly behind her book.

“I just wanted to say hi,” Elijah said weakly, his voice shaking. Becca didn’t answer him. She continued to read her book. He was tempted to leave, but he gathered his courage to speak again. “Do you mind if I read here too?” Becca lowered her book again, this time with squinted eyes, trying to figure out Elijah’s motives. She studied him intensely with her big brown eyes, making Elijah extremely uncomfortable. Then, when he continued to stay, her face went back to normal, (normal for her) and she relaxed some.

“Go ahead,” she answered dryly. “It’s not my chair, so I guess you’re free to use it.” Elijah picked up a book out of his bag and pretended to read. For some reason, at that particular moment, he found the courage to be direct with Becca.

“Can I ask you why you’re so mean to everyone?” He was sure that she was going to throw her book at him. To his relief, she simply closed it and put it down.

“I can’t help that other people think I’m being mean,” she said bitterly. But something in her voice told him that she
did
care. “I think some people just need to take things less personally. After all, life isn’t always nice.”

Elijah figured that nothing was going to change her mind, so he decided to leave it be. He stayed for a while and read before he excused himself and thanked her for letting him sit there. As he was leaving, he stole a glance at her. Her face was still buried in her book, but he thought he detected her usual smirk soften into just the slightest smile.

He was unclear when exactly he noticed it, but during the weeks of the storm, Elijah observed a slight change in his body. He still felt too skinny, but he was sure he detected some growth in his muscles, especially around the chest and arms. He also noticed a change in his focus. Elijah had always liked to read for pleasure, but he was easily distracted by any little sound or movement around him. It used to take him a long time to read because he kept losing his place. Now, because of his mental training, he was able to shut everything else out. Reading, doing homework, listening to someone talk—he found he was able to concentrate on these things much easier now.