The Magi (The Magi Series) (29 page)

“What are you saying?” he asked.

“I’m saying they had help! And if they had help from someone inside the barracks, then you’re still in danger.” The boys again looked at each other in alarm.

Feeling the urgency return, Elijah broke the silence. “Well, it doesn’t matter now anyhow. We were just leaving. Are you guys still helping?” Paul, Isaac, and Adam looked a little more tentatively than before.

“What are you talking about?” asked Becca, sharply.

“It doesn’t mat—” Paul started.

“We’re helping Hannah!” Elijah interrupted. “So, we appreciate the concern, but we have to get going.”

“Help? How are you planning on helping?” Becca asked.

“Oh, let’s not go through this all again,” Paul huffed. “We don’t expect you to understand—heck, I’m not sure I understand—but we’re going to follow the Maliphists, since no one else will, and bring Hannah back—or at least we’re going to die trying to help her,” he said half joking, half serious. To Elijah’s surprise, Becca didn’t look surprised. Nor did she look judgmental. She only stood still, with a curious look on her face.

“What are you planning on doing when you catch up to them?” Becca asked. The boys looked at one another.

“We haven’t worked that out yet,” answered Elijah.

“How are you going to catch up to them?” she asked.

“We haven’t exactly worked that out yet either,” answered Elijah.

“How are you planning on leaving Savenridge without anyone noticing?” she asked. Silence. “Do any of you even know where the Maliphists are headed?”

“Okay!” Elijah blurted. “So we don’t really know what we’re doing!”

“I’ll say!” Becca said with authority. There was another awkward silence among the four boys who were still ready to help Hannah, but were beginning to understand their own helplessness.

“Well,” Elijah said, “we’re just going to have to work this out quickly. All we need is a plan. How do we get out of the barracks unnoticed?” They all thought for a moment.

“Elijah’s window!” Isaac suddenly said to the rest of the group. “You said yourself there wasn’t a guard there, right? We can go through your broken window and then hide in the woods behind the barracks.”

“Okay, that might work,” said Elijah. “Then how do we get out of the city? Someone’s bound to see us!”

“Not if we’re careful,” Paul said. “Word can’t have reached the entire city yet, so if we stay hidden and don’t attract attention to ourselves, we can slip out—at least long enough to get to the less populated areas of Savenridge.”

“No,” Elijah corrected, “I mean
out
. Out of the city. There’s practically a fortress around the city. I’m assuming it’s just as hard to get out as it is to get in.”

“If the Maliphists can do it, why can’t we?” Paul asked.

Becca shook her head. “They had help. You won’t.” There was another moment of thinking as they hit another snag in their plan.

“Wait a minute!” Isaac said, looking encouraged. “The northern entrance!”

“Are you kidding?!?” Paul asked practically shouting. The others shushed him, so he talked quieter. “That’s the closest entrance to Malpetra. It’ll be crawling with soldiers!”

“I’m not talking about the main entrance,” Isaac continued. “About a mile or so east of the entrance, there’s a hidden marshal’s stable that has a small opening for the horses to enter and exit Savenridge. Most people don’t know about it, but when Pappy used to work there, he would like to take the horses out of the gates and let them run—away from the city.”

“Hey—” Elijah said pondering Isaac’s idea, “horses would be perfect! We need to catch up to the Maliphists anyway. Do you think we could get some?”

“Maybe,” Isaac said. “We would have to be really careful, and I’d get in so much trouble if we got caught. But I think we might be able to.”

“Okay,” Elijah said, starting to piece the plan together. “So assuming everything goes perfectly, we now have a way out of the city. Now what? We need to follow them.”

“But how do we do that? Do any of you know where Malpetra is?” Isaac asked.

“Becca does,” Paul said.

Becca looked at Paul with a smirk. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going with you guys! I’m the one person here who realizes just how stupid this idea is. I know what you’re up against.”

“All the more reason to come with us,” said Elijah. “With you, we’re stronger. You can tell us what we need to know and what we need to do. Without you, we’re going out there blind.”

“I might be able to
tell
you what you need to know, but you won’t be able to do anything about it. You have no defense against them! None of you can even move an element, let alone use them in combat.”

Elijah briefly wondered if he should reveal his ability to move the snow with Olivia earlier that day. He decided against it because Becca was still right. He may have been able to move the snow, but he couldn’t use it effectively.

“So we need weapons,” Isaac said, continuing to answer Becca’s concerns. “Something to fight with.”

“I can get a hold of a sword and shield,” Elijah said, remembering the antique weapons hanging on the wall at the Roddick’s house. He knew it was for display mostly, but they could be used if necessary. “Can anyone else think of anything?”

Becca looked amused. “Swords and spears and shields? They’re going to attack you with elements! You need something to fight
that
. A shield might be fine to protect yourself now and then, but you’re going to need something that can be used at longer ranges.”

“What about a crossbow?” Paul asked. “My dad bought me one to have fun with before he left us. I’ve only got a few arrows, but I think it works.”

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” said Elijah. Becca shook her head, clearly disagreeing with their plan. “Now here’s what we’ll do,” he continued. “After we find a way out of the barracks, we’ll have to split up. Isaac, you go to the northern entrance and get the horses ready. Paul, you go get your crossbow. Adam, you and I will go to Master Roddick’s house and get the sword and shield off the wall.” He looked at Becca who still appeared agitated. “Are you coming?”

“Why would I come?” she replied bitterly.

“Because you care about Hannah,” said the meek voice of Adam. Everyone turned around at his comment and looked at him—even Becca. “I see it in your eyes. You’re scared for her, and deep down, you want to help. You know it’s the right thing to do. You’re a good person, Becca, and you’re not about to let the only friends you may have sacrifice themselves without helping them.” Becca was looking down at the ground with a tormented look on her face. They all stood silently, waiting for Becca to make up her mind.

“Okay,” she said with a very unconvincing look and tone. “I’ll come. But only to feed you information. I’m not stupid enough to fight them.” Isaac ran over and hugged Becca, which made her stiffen. She made a polite gesture back as Isaac let go.

“Alright,” said Elijah. “Let’s split up now and meet in my room to go out the window.” The five ran out of the arena room, through the training arena, up the flight of stairs, and to the main floor. The area was still very busy, but the chaos had died down. Soldiers and trainers were still searching the grounds while students were grouped up, comparing experiences of the night’s events. Just as Elijah was about to make it to the staircase leading up to the rooms, Mr. Button spotted him and flagged him down.

“Elijah!” Mr. Button called. “Over here!” Paul shot Elijah a look of concern as Elijah stopped.

“Go,” Elijah whispered to Paul. “Get everyone out. Do what you all need to do. I’ll make it out.” Paul and the others casually walked up to their rooms undetected while Elijah walked toward Mr. Button.

“Elijah! Thank goodness you’re okay,” said Mr. Button, looking like the stress of the night was going to make him keel over. “I thought for sure they had taken you too. How did you escape?”

“Luck,” he said. “I was in the wash room at the time.”

“Did you see them?” Mr. Button asked.

“No,” Elijah said, which was sort of the truth. He hadn’t seen them until they were carrying Hannah away.

“Well,” said Mr. Button looking even more frazzled, “we’ll still need to keep you safe. Let me flag down a soldier to keep watch over your safety tonight.” Muttering something to himself, Mr. Button started to walk over to the nearest guard, who was looking in the other direction. Elijah’s heart skipped a beat. There would be no way for him to escape tonight if he was being watched by a soldier. He had to think fast.

“Wait!” said Elijah. Mr. Button turned around. “There’s a guard downstairs that I feel more comfortable with. He’s been watching over me when I do my elemental training. Can you go get him?” Mr. Button looked at Elijah curiously. “I’ll go walk over to this guard and wait by him until you get back.” It was the worst excuse Elijah thought he had ever heard, but it was the fastest thing he could come up with. Amazingly, it seemed to work. Mr. Button nodded his head, and without alerting the nearby guard, he walked toward the staircase. Elijah slowly walked toward the guard to appease Mr. Button’s worry, but as soon as Mr. Button started to walk down the stairs, Elijah turned sharply and ran as fast as he could up the stairs to his room, taking two or three stairs at a time.

When he walked into his room, it was empty. Apparently, the rest of his friends had already left. Approaching the window, he saw how they escaped. They had used the rope that sat at the bottom of Elijah’s wooden chest all term and tied it to one of the wooden legs of the chest for support. Elijah immediately grabbed the rope, climbed out of the window, and slowly scaled down the side of the barracks. When he thought it was safe to drop, he let go, landing harder than he had anticipated. He then darted around the side of the barracks, heading for the safety of the trees. It was a longer run than he remembered it looking. Elijah was sure he would be spotted, but he safely made it to the cover of the woods, and Adam and Becca were waiting for him.

“Paul and Isaac left already to get their stuff,” said Becca. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help until after we get out of Savenridge, so I’ll follow you.”

“Okay,” said Elijah. “The Roddicks live across the river this way,” he said pointing southeast, back towards the center of the city. “I only know one way to get there, but I think it’ll be too easy to be seen.” Elijah thought about the large open land frequently traveled. Even though it was the middle of the night, he didn’t want to risk being caught. “Do either of you know another way over the river?”

“Well,” said Adam, “if you follow the tree line here for a while, it eventually comes close to the river. But we’ll still be in the open when we cross, and I’m not even sure there’s a way to cross.”

“Then let’s do that,” Elijah instructed. The three of them dashed along the treeline, weaving around the low-hanging branches and small bushes.

They eventually arrived at the clearing where they needed to cross the river. To their delight, they found an old bridge where the river narrowed. It was dilapidated, looking like it hadn’t been used in years, but they crossed it easily and continued their way toward the Roddick’s house.

When they reached the edge of the woods, Elijah, Adam, and Becca lingered to scope out the area. It was a deathly quiet night, which concerned Elijah because their movements would stand out to anyone paying attention. Just beyond the trees, where they were hiding, were the backs of the shops and quaint buildings of the city center. Elijah, Adam, and Becca slowly crept to the darkest-looking building, making sure they kept in the shadows. They hugged the back of the building, which happened to be a small flower shop, edged their way to the side, and carefully looked across the path dividing the city center. Elijah waved Becca and Adam closer to him.

“We’re going to have to cross the path,” he whispered, pointing in the direction of the stone tower. “Master Roddick lives behind those shops on the other side.”

“Does it make sense for all of us to go?” asked Becca. “If we’re trying not to be seen, three of us will be more noticeable than one.”

Elijah agreed. “Okay,” he whispered even quieter. “I’ll go alone. Go back to the woods and wait.” They did what they were told, and when Elijah saw that they were safely positioned in the thick trees, he darted out into the city center and crouched beneath the shadows of the stone tower. He knew that being in the shadows made him hard to see, especially with his dark brown gear, but he felt completely exposed looking at the wide open path, surrounded by the homes and shops of the city center.

Finally, when he thought it was safe, he ran across the other half of the path and found another shop—Walter Henderson’s Clocks and Repairs—to hide behind. The hanging wooden sign that had the initials W.H. for Walter Henderson written overhead swung in the wind and made creaking sounds in the death of the night. Elijah quickly snuck around the back of the shop and worked his way toward the Roddick house, jumping from shadow to shadow.

When he reached the house, Elijah was very careful. He knew the shops in town were most likely deserted in the middle of the night, but the homes were not. They were all full of sleeping families. It wouldn’t be long before the houses around would stir from word of the Maliphist break-in, so he had to hurry. As he made it to the front door of the house, a horrible wave of guilt flooded Elijah. He was planning on breaking into the house that he had been welcomed into. He was going to take something that belonged to a family that loved him. More than that, he knew the Roddicks would be most upset and devastated at his seemingly careless and dangerous attempt to go after the Maliphists. He only hoped that he would have the chance to later explain and apologize.