The Magi

The walk back to the Roddick home was surreal. Elijah tried to focus on one thought at a time, but a whirlwind of emotions flooded his mind. He was filled with an anger he had never felt before. Just thinking about the Maliphists—especially the yellow-eyed rider—made his entire body tense up. He felt like exploding with rage. He wanted to destroy something.

Elijah was also filled with fear. He was scared for his uncle locked away in some sort of Maliphist prison. He wished Olivia had just let the Maliphists take him. At least then, two people—his uncle and Olivia’s husband, Phinneas—would be saved.

But most of all, Elijah was consumed with questions. What did the Maliphists want from him? Could they carry out their threat and take him from Savenridge? And the question gnawing at him most of all: How did his family relate to all of this? Elijah couldn’t overlook the obvious links between his family and the Magi. The large book left to him at his uncle’s house. His father and uncle’s picture at Saint Phillip’s Academy—a battlefield for the Magi. And apparently, his uncle was some sort of Magi marshal, whatever that was. A connection had to be there!

Focusing on just one thought proved to be difficult, so Elijah let them all spill into one another, creating a melting pot of feelings.

When he was finally able to focus, he found himself sitting in front of the Roddick’s fireplace, gazing at the dancing fire. He let his eyes drift out of focus, causing the fire blur into a mass of yellow and orange. He eventually fell asleep in front of the fireplace in a trance-like state.

Early the next morning, before the sun rose completely and the new dawn brought the first shadows of the day into the house, Roddick joined Elijah in the front room. Elijah had been awake for several hours, staring blankly at the dying embers of the fire. Roddick looked as though he hadn’t slept much that night either. His face looked scruffier than normal. His eyes were swollen, and his shoulders drooped.

“Are you okay?” Roddick asked.

Elijah remained silent. Of course he wasn’t okay! He wasn’t sure if he would ever be okay. Roddick shifted uncomfortably, waiting patiently before he spoke again. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

“Did you know?” Elijah asked, deciding he wasn’t going to escape conversation. “About my uncle, I mean. Did you know he was there—in their city?”

Roddick looked down and breathed out a heavy sigh. “No. I didn’t. I’m really sorry.”

“Do you know my uncle?”

“I’m sorry, Elijah.”

“What about my parents? William and Julia Hawk. Did you know them?”

Roddick shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. I’m so sorry.”

Elijah knew it was a long shot, but he thought maybe Roddick had some answers. Perhaps, he thought to himself, there wasn’t a connection at all. Maybe the events that happened the night his parents were killed were just coincidence. Maybe the rider with the yellow eyes was looking for his uncle then, and his family got in the way. After all, his father did stand between Elijah and the rider.

But then he remembered his father’s voice: There is a plan.

“Why me?” Elijah asked suddenly.

“Why you?”

“I mean—why did you decide to bring me here?” Elijah asked. “Of all the kids at the school, why did you choose me?”

Roddick looked as though he had never thought of this question himself. He bent over, resting his elbows on his knees and covered his mouth with his hands, deep in thought.

“When I offered to help—at first—I was just trying to guide a lost student.” Elijah remembered that feeling. He remembered the kindness of Master Roddick at a time when he needed it most. It almost made Elijah feel guilty now for demanding answers from him. “I think—” Roddick continued slowly, “I think there was something inside me that saw your potential. You have such a unique mind. I thought you would fit in here. I still believe I made the right choice.”

They let the crackle of the fire continue their conversation for a few moments. The silence was comforting. Elijah wasn’t quite ready to call everything a coincidence yet. He decided to let Roddick in on his secret.

“Master Roddick, I need to tell you something.” Roddick straightened up. “That man—the rider with the yellow eyes,” Elijah began. “He’s not just someone who has my uncle locked up.” Elijah took a deep breath. “He killed my parents.”

“How do you know?” asked Roddick.

“His eyes. I remember them.”

“You mean they were yellow?”

Elijah nodded.

Roddick scratched his face before deciding what to say. “Elijah, there’s more than one person around with yellow eyes—especially Maliphists.”

Elijah stared at the fire. “Maybe so. But I know those eyes. When they looked at me, I felt—” Elijah thought back to the night he ran for his life. That memory haunted him still, even these many months later.

“What did you feel?” Roddick urged.

“I can’t explain it,” said Elijah. “I just know it was him. And now, he wants me again.”

Roddick put his hand on Elijah’s shoulder. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure you’re safe. You have friends here.”

“Am I safe?” Elijah asked.

“Safer than anywhere else, I imagine,” said Roddick. “But I’m not going to lie; you are in danger. Those are very powerful people after you, but you have some very powerful people protecting you, too.”

Elijah wasn’t sure if he appreciated the honesty, or if he would have liked Roddick to paint him a more encouraging picture.

“Tell you what,” said Roddick thoughtfully. “Maybe I can find someone who may be able to shed more light on your uncle. Maybe even your parents. I will ask around and try to get more information. I really am sorry I’m not more help.” Master Roddick got up and patted Elijah’s shoulder for comfort. “Let’s get something to eat.”

The Roddick household started to wake up. In the loft were the sounds of two little girls arguing over a toy, and the thumps and bumps of Mrs. Roddick getting dressed and ready in another room.

All of a sudden, Elijah remembered Samuel.

“What happened to Samuel yesterday?” Elijah asked as Master Roddick walked back into the front room holding pots and pans for breakfast.

“Oh, yeah. The council agreed to let him stay and train. It took a while, though. Poor Samuel was questioned to death. They had a lot of concerns.”

“Where is he?”

“He was taken in by another family for the remainder of the holidays until everyone returns to the barracks for the second term.”

“Where will I go during the holidays?” Elijah asked.

“Here, of course!” Roddick exclaimed.

Elijah was speechless. He knew the Roddick family cared for him, but taking him in for only a night or two was very different than caring for him as a member of the family. Elijah wished he could say something worthy of his gratitude.

The final days of the winter recess were much more delightful. Elijah spent the majority of the time with the Roddicks. He frequently helped Mrs. Roddick around the house as she worked to keep it tidy while chasing after her girls. Elijah found himself spending a good amount of time playing hide and seek with the Roddick children. The game the girls loved most involved climbing all over Elijah and making him carrying them around the house. He enjoyed every minute.

He took time to visit with Mrs. Roddick too. He learned all about Master Roddick’s journeys between Savenridge and Saint Phillip’s Academy. Apparently, the teachers from Savenridge shared a position. For one term, Roddick would stay at the school and teach. Then, he would get to spend the entire second term with his family. Elijah wondered how hard it was for the Roddick family to spend so long away from their husband and father.

By far, Elijah enjoyed Christmas the most. A few days before Christmas Day, Master Roddick woke Elijah up early in the morning to buy a Christmas tree from the city center marketplace. It seemed to Elijah that every second from that moment on was spent decorating the house. They hung tinsel, which the girls used to drape over Elijah. They hung wreaths and ornaments, which the girls used to hang on Elijah. They wrapped presents, during which time, Elijah hid from the Roddick girls.

Despite the Maliphist threat, a large crowd gathered on Christmas Eve at the center of the marketplace. A very long table was set out in the middle of the path and one by one, families and loved ones arrived with food and placed it on the table. Then, everyone ate like kings and spent the evening enjoying each other’s company. Elijah couldn’t remember the last time he ate until he was about to explode, but regardless of his stomach ache, he had the time of his life. However, as much fun as he had, he missed his family during his first Christmas without them.

Elijah’s experience at the marketplace on Christmas piqued his curiosity. He had never seen such a place. When he asked Master Roddick, he explained that the marketplace was new and different every day. It was impossible to guess what you were going to find! Christmas trees during the holidays. Fireworks for the new year.

Roddick also told Elijah a story about Mrs. Roddick coming home from the market with a bird caller for the girls. It worked very well! After an entire day of blowing the bird caller, the girls had successfully summoned hundreds and hundreds of birds. Mrs. Roddick didn’t question why Tirzah and Lizzy kept coming in asking for bread (and when the bread ran out, other bits of food). After hearing a deafening amount of chirping, she finally went outside. The entire roof was covered with birds, and many more were waiting close by for their share of food. It took Master Roddick two months to clean up the poop.

One of the most fascinating things Elijah found about Savenridge was the variety of animals—wild and tame. Many animals were sold and cared for by many of the Magi.

Elijah noticed lots of horse stables. Master Roddick explained that horses were kept close by for important journeys outside the Savenridge walls.

“What kinds of journeys do they take?” Elijah asked curiously.

“Depends,” answered Roddick. “Most are used by our local marshals.”

“What’s a marshal?” Elijah inquired. He remembered the name mentioned before.

“The marshals are a sort of Magi police,” he explained. “It sounds like your uncle was one. There are many kinds of marshals. Most are located outside the city working in secret to stop the Maliphists, but we have local marshals keeping order here in the city.”

“I thought all Magi were good,” Elijah said.

Roddick smiled. “All Magi try to be good, but there are lots of Magi that aren’t the nicest people at times. We have our squabbles and conflicts. Savenridge has seen its fair share go bad, too.”

“What happens to them?” asked Elijah.

Roddick flashed his eyebrows. “They’re sent to a place called Valcore. It’s a city made entirely of stone, where elements can’t be used. The Magi send their criminals there. If a Magi goes bad—turns evil or threatens our existence in any way—they are taken straight to a city where they are held and can never leave. Savenridge isn’t the only city that sends them there. Valcore holds criminals from all the Magi cities.”

“There’s more than one Magi city?” Elijah asked.

“Oh yes!” said Roddick. “The Magi live all over the world.”

“Where is Valcore?”

Roddick shook his head. “I don’t know. No one knows except the marshals who transport the Magi criminals there.”

“So would my uncle know?” Elijah asked.

“I don’t think so,” answered Roddick. “Your uncle would have been an outsider. He worked among the common people. That’s why it’s going to be hard finding someone who knows him. Outsider marshals usually work alone so people can’t trace them back to us.” Elijah began to feel discouraged. He was running out of leads to find out what happened to his parents.

The last day of the holiday recess was emotional. Elijah was supposed to report to the training quarters by the end of the day. After a scrumptious dinner, when it was close to the time Elijah needed to leave, Mrs. Roddick was still giving Elijah training pointers, as she had been doing all day. She continued reminding him it was going to be tough, but he shouldn’t get discouraged.

“Remember, you can always come here and ask questions,” she said. “Plus, then I can make you a nice home-cooked meal, or if you’d prefer, I can bring it to you at the barracks whenever you’re feeling lonely.”

“Miranda, he’s going to be fine,” said Roddick chuckling. “And you’re really not supposed to do that. Let him experience it for himself.”

Miranda shot Mr. Roddick a scowl and then resumed instruction. “You’re going to be behind, so remember to ask for help. Keep your emotions in check, but also use them to help you. Get lots of rest and drink lots of water, especially at first. Don’t forget to do the mind exercises they teach you. Oh,” she said suddenly. “For heavens sake, be careful. If something happened to you, I don’t know what I’d—”

“—Oh, Miranda for Pete’s sake,” Roddick interrupted. “You’re going to confuse him before he even gets there.”

“Oh all right, Glen,” said Miranda a little irritated at her husband. She stepped forward to hug Elijah goodbye. She leaned in and whispered into his ear. “We’ll just keep the homemade meal to ourselves then, huh?” Elijah smiled and hugged Mrs. Roddick back. He would miss her warmth and kindness. Before he knew it, the Roddick girls were hanging on his legs too.

“G’bye Elijah,” said Tirzah. “Come back soon.” Elijah bent down and gave them both a big hug. It was the most wonderful moment he had felt since before his own family was taken away from him.

Master Roddick left Elijah with Mr. Button at the training quarters just after sunset. It was a warmer night outside than earlier in the week, but the large fire in the middle of the oval room felt good. Mr. Button escorted Elijah up the large staircase to the second floor. They came to a room with chairs and couches overlooking a giant window. The room, which Mr. Button called the neutral area, divided two massive hallways each lined with rooms. They turned right and stopped halfway down the hall.

“This hall is for the boys,” Mr. Button said. “The other hall on the other side of the neutral area is for the girls. I shouldn’t have to tell you you’re not allowed over there. I walk the halls many times during the day and night, so I’d better not catch you even thinking about going over there, eh?” Elijah nodded in understanding.

“Yes, sir.”

“Here is your room,” Mr. Button said as he opened up a wooden door on the left side. To Elijah’s delight, his room had a window. Mr. Button opened it, allowing fresh air into the room. Right under the window was a very large wooden chest with a big brass latch. The chest was almost as long as the wall. Elijah ran his hand over the dark maple wood.

“It’s for your belongings,” explained Mr. Button. “Here.” Mr. Button opened one half of the chest, and Elijah saw dozens of compartments for his belongings. After Saint Phillip’s Academy, this was quite a treasure. To his surprise, Elijah found that not all of the compartments were empty. He had apparently been supplied with clothes—lots of them! There were winter clothes, summer clothes, hats, gloves, shoes, boots, scarves, and a brown outfit that intrigued Elijah the most. He pulled it out and examined it.

“It’s for training,” said Mr. Button, referring to the outfit. All students in training wear brown.”

“What about the other colors?” Elijah asked, thinking about the cloaks he saw the Magi wear in town.

“The other colors represent our selected element,” said Mr. Button. Elijah squinted and furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Selected element?”

“Yes. Each of us has an element we are more natural to. One that speaks to us louder. That’s the one we use,” Mr. Button said. Elijah remembered Roddick trying to explain this to him on their way to the city. Master Roddick used water, and he wore a blue cloak in town. He assumed this was what Mr. Button meant by an element ‘speaking louder’ to them.

“What do the colors stand for?” asked Elijah.

“Well, brown is for training. Blue is for water, green is for earth, white is for wind, and red is for fire.”

“When do I choose my element?” asked Elijah. Mr. Button’s eyes got real wide and he shook his head.

“Oooooh, I can’t tell you that,” he said slowly. “You’re gonna have to make that decision with your mentor, not me. But be patient, eh? You haven’t even been through preliminaries yet. You’ve got a ways to go,” said Mr. Button.

“Preliminaries?”

Mr. Button grinned. “You’ll find out tomorrow. I’d suggest lots of rest tonight. You ever swing an ax for six hours and then try to climb a tree?”

Elijah looked horrified and wondered what he had gotten himself into. “No.”

“Well,” Mr. Button said, “after tomorrow, you’ll only wish your body felt like that.” Mr. Button gave Elijah a key to his chest and walked toward the door. “Sweet dreams.” He left Elijah standing with his mouth hanging open.

Elijah walked over to the large wooden chest that lined the wall under the window. He used his new key to lock the chest and then to unlock it, just to make sure it worked. He opened both sides of the chest and began to survey the items inside. The compartments were more fascinating to him than the new clothes he had been given.

He pulled his pack off his shoulder and unloaded his belongings. Mrs. Roddick had packed Elijah a sack of non-perishable food and wrapped a loaf of sweet bread for him. Master Roddick gave him the boots he used to climb the mountain on his journey to Savenridge. He put them next to the boots already in the chest. As he did, he noticed a long, thick line of rope coiled up in the bottom of the chest. He thought it would have been helpful to have it on the journey to Savenridge, so he moved the boots next to the rope. Finally, and most carefully of all, Elijah selected a compartment to be the new home of his mother’s locket, Kyria’s diaries, and his father’s pocket watch. He closed the chest, but kept the diaries.

Elijah walked over to his bed and held Kyria’s locked diary on his lap. He had been carrying her diaries ever since he left his uncle’s house, but he never read a single entry. It was too painful. Now, nearly five months later, it felt right.

He picked up the unlocked diary first. The inside cover had an inscription.

“To my little cricket:

I hope this is something you can use. Keep it safe.

-Dad”

Elijah flipped to the first page.

“Dear Diary –

Oh man! Did I really just start with ‘Dear Diary’? Lame.

Anyway, I hope to find this book useful. One day I may read back and think how stupid this all sounds. Or maybe one day I can share this with my daughters. Maybe it will help them sort out their thoughts too. Until next time…”

—Kyria

Elijah sighed. His sister would have no more thoughts to put down. There would be no daughters of hers to share this with. It was unfair!

He considered putting the diary down, but each time he told himself to stop, he read another entry. And then another. On and on he went, until he was almost finished. He felt surprisingly comforted reading it, as though he learned things about his sister he never knew. Some of her entries were silly, but some were quite deep.

The last entry, however, made him sit up as he read.

“January 12

I found something out today. Something I can’t write about. I’m not sure what to think now. I’m sad Elijah doesn’t know. I don’t know how I’m going to keep it a secret from him for so long. I hope when he finds out, he will forgive me.

-Kyria”

Elijah reached for the locked diary, ready to pry it open. No one alive seemed to be able to answer the questions about his family, but maybe here, inside a book he had held for months, he could get some answers. Kyria apparently knew something he didn’t. Was this about the Magi? Did she know about this world?

The only thing keeping him from finding out was a tiny golden lock.

At first, Elijah thought opening the lock would be simple. It didn’t look very big, so he tried to gently pull it open. No luck. He pulled harder. The golden lock remained. Before long, Elijah was violently banging the lock on the floor in frustration to get it open. He heard a metallic noise, and he thought it opened. Upon further inspection, however, he saw it remained locked, but the continuous smashing caused a dent in the lock, which made Elijah upset at himself. He was dying to know what was inside, but he couldn’t bring himself to do any more damage to his sister’s memories.

Hearing a loud knock at his door, Elijah placed the diary in the chest and opened the door. In front of him stood a boy about Elijah’s age. He was very good-looking with sad, brown eyes and smooth, dark skin. He reminded Elijah of a lost child.

“Hi,” Elijah said trying to be friendly. The boy held out his hand and Elijah shook it.

“Are you okay?” the boy asked timidly.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I made so much noise,” Elijah said.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” The boy had a sincerity about him Elijah liked. He looked Elijah directly in the eyes and never wavered.

“I’m sorry,” Elijah said. “I was trying to—fix something—and I must have made more noise than I thought. My name’s Elijah.”

“I’m Adam Flemming. I’m sorry to bother you.” He turned abruptly and walked away. Elijah watched Adam enter his room, which was four doors down on the other side of the hall. All around, he saw lots of boys meandering the halls, visiting with one another. Elijah felt a sudden pang of loneliness. Clearly, most of the boys knew each other and were getting reacquainted after the short recess. Elijah didn’t know anyone. He was about to walk back into his room and close the door when he saw a familiar face approaching.

“Samuel!” Elijah exclaimed. “You want to come in?”

“Sure,” said Samuel. Elijah flopped on the bed and Samuel grabbed the chair in front of Elijah’s desk.

“I haven’t seen you since I left the council. How did that go?” he asked.

“It was strange,” Samuel admitted. “They kept asking me all these questions about my background and what I believed. Lots more than they asked you.” Elijah remembered Master Roddick saying something about Samuel’s case being very different, but he didn’t say why.

“What do you mean?”

“I dunno. They just wanted to know what I thought about certain situations. Like they asked me what I would do if I saw someone bigger than me hurting someone else. Or, if I had lots of money what I would do with it. Things like that.”

“What did you say?”

“You try remembering every answer to about a thousand questions asked by different people! I’m sure after a while I didn’t even make sense. I’m not even sure I spoke the same language after all that,” Samuel said chuckling. Elijah laughed with Samuel. “But it’s over.”

“So who’s your family?” asked Elijah. “I mean the family you stay with.”

“Some old couple,” Samuel replied. “They’re real nice. They just don’t talk much and they go to bed real early. I was pretty bored most of the recess, but I got to come here a day early. I’ve been here since yesterday, and I’m real excited now. Can you believe what we’re going to learn to do?” Elijah wasn’t sure what Samuel was talking about. He surely couldn’t be talking about the training Mr. Button mentioned because Elijah was not excited about that at all.

“Learn to do what?”

“Like what Master Roddick did to that guy who hit me at Saint Phillip’s,” answered Samuel. “I just think it’s gonna be fun, don’t you?” Elijah really hadn’t thought about it. He had been so preoccupied with the Maliphists and learning about his family he hadn’t had time to think about what he was going to be learning.

“Maybe,” said Elijah.

Samuel looked down the hall. “Hey, you wanna play checkers?”

“Sure. Where? Do you have a set?”

“No, but we can get one downstairs. We can play by that oval fire pit!”

Samuel led him down the stairs to the first floor. It looked completely different now than it did when Elijah first visited the barracks. There were kids and teenagers everywhere. Most of the seats were taken by older students visiting. He noticed a few second glances and stares his way. Elijah was used to the stares ever since Maliphists came into town and threatened to take him. Even the older Magi would glance at him when he would accompany the Roddicks into the town center, but they were all very friendly and supportive.

Elijah followed Samuel, who obviously knew where he was headed. As they passed other students, Elijah overheard a conversation from a group of girls. They were talking about some boy, who by the way it sounded, they all had a crush on. Apparently this fellow had smiled and said ‘hello’ to one of the girls over the recess, and she had made up her mind he was going to marry her. The other girls seemed to be quite thrilled with this notion, which confused Elijah seeing that they all liked this boy.

Samuel walked through a door and into a room Elijah hadn’t noticed. It was filled with games and different crafts. Most likely, he didn’t notice it because he had his eye on Hannah at the time. Thinking about that moment now embarrassed him again even though she didn’t seem to be around. He glanced around, telling himself he didn’t want to see her. She was nowhere in sight.

When Samuel walked out of the room, he carried a cloth board and a bag of checkers pieces. They got down on their bellies, flush against the soft carpet, and played checkers until they were the last ones around. The eventual silence in the large oval room told them it was time to go to bed.

Had Elijah known what was in store for him in the morning, he would have listened to Mr. Button and gone to bed much earlier.