The Magi (The Magi Series) (22 page)

“Did anyone else see?” Mr. Button asked Adam, who Elijah thought might keel over from the pressure of being questioned.

“There was a girl that was walking up the stairs that saw too,” Adam muttered.

“Who?” interrogated Mr. Button.

“I don’t know her name, but I’ve seen her in trainings. I think she’s in her preliminary year too.”

“Okay,” said Mr. Button. “I have some things to take care of, but I need to talk with you four still. Go directly downstairs into my quarters and wait for me. Do NOT wander off, understand? I’ll be in there as soon as I find this girl.”

Elijah, Paul, Isaac, and Adam walked down the stairs into the main room with the oval fire pit, witnessing a scene at the front doors as the trainers and teachers were fielding questions from concerned parents.

“We’ve searched the entire facility and have taken all precautions necessary to keep the students safe,” Elijah heard a trainer say. “Soldiers will be here shortly.”

Elijah sensed the panic rising from the adults outside, and he knew that things could get ugly fast.

The four boys walked down the stairs into the training arena and approached Mr. Button’s quarters, which was tucked away at the far end of the arena. As soon as they made it to the bottom, Elijah shuddered. During training, when lots of students were using the equipment and doing their exercises, the massive room wasn’t at all scary. With just the four of them, however, in the wake of the Maliphist kidnapping, the arena was a big, dark place where potential danger lurked. The flickering shadows caused by the torches made Elijah jump now and then. Each step they took echoed loudly throughout the entire building. There would be no sneaking around here.

The closer the boys got to Mr. Button’s quarters, the quicker they walked, hustling to get there and finally closing the door behind them. At first, after finding a comfortable place to sit, they just looked around, avoiding eye contact. Surprisingly, it was Adam that spoke first.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” he said to Elijah. Elijah nodded, looking at the ground. He hadn’t had time to digest what had happened. It was scary to think just how easily the Maliphists could break in and take a child in such a closely watched place with only a couple people seeing.

After a short wait, Mr. Button walked in followed by a very thin girl with long brown hair and large brown eyes. Elijah recognized her from his mental training classes and remembered thinking she was very pretty, except she frequently carried a smirk on her face that made her seem less attractive.

“Gentlemen, this is Becca Uribe. I believe you know her seeing as you are all in your preliminaries,” Button said. “Have a seat, sweetheart.” She found a chair and glided over to it, sitting down delicately, immediately crossing her legs and folding her hands on her lap. “So let’s run through what happened. You start Adam.”

Adam looked quickly around the room before he began. “Almost everyone was gone. I went into the washroom and I heard a noise, so I peaked out and saw two of them.”

“The Maliphists?” asked Button.

“Yes,” Adam replied. “One had Samuel already, and the other shot that piece of wood through Elijah’s door.”

“Did they see you?” Mr. Button asked.

“No. I don’t think so.”

“And you didn’t try to help?” Paul asked in a judgmental tone.

Adam looked hurt.

“It’s good that you didn’t,” said Mr. Button shooting a look at Paul, who at this point was getting restless with the talking. “If you had, you might have been taken too, or worse. How about you?” he asked Becca.

“You mean did they see me, or what’s my story?” she asked in a very matter-of- fact tone.

“Both.”

“I was just walking up the stairs to my room. I happened to see them taking that boy into Elijah’s room.”

“Why were they taking Samuel into Elijah’s room?” Mr. Button asked.

Becca shrugged.

“Did they see you?” he continued.

“I don’t know. Possibly,” she stated without a hint of fear or worry.

“Did you catch up on old times?” Paul asked jerkily. Becca pursed her lips and glared at him.

“That’s enough, Paul,” Mr. Button scolded. Paul snorted and huffed and went back to fidgeting. “Did anything happen after that?” Mr. Button continued, talking to both Becca and Adam. Becca shook her head. Adam, however, nodded.

“I think they went out Elijah’s window,” Adam answered. “I heard them in there, and they never came back out after they took Samuel in.”

“Did
you
see them come out?” Mr. Button asked Becca.

“No,” she responded. “I only saw them for a second.” Mr. Button scratched his bald head and bit his lower lip.

“And that’s when you came looking for me,” Mr. Button said to Adam piecing the story together. Adam nodded. Mr. Button turned in Elijah’s direction but was looking at the long list of names and destinations on the dismissal log. “According to the dismissal logs, you went to visit the Roddick family?”

“I was there all day,” Elijah said, feeling defensive.

“You’re not in trouble Elijah, I just need to get everything straight. As you can imagine this is a delicate situation.”

“Can I go now?” asked Becca in a tone that was part polite, part annoyed.

“Keeping you from something?” Paul interjected sarcastically. “Bet you’re just itching to get back to your own kind, aren’t you?” Becca closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting to maintain her composure.

“If you have nothing else to add,” Mr. Button said, “you may go. Isaac, will you make sure she gets upstairs safely?”

“Sure,” Isaac replied, his usual smile erased from his face. Becca rolled her eyes and walked out the door while Isaac followed quite a ways behind her. As Mr. Button poked his head outside to make sure they both were okay, Elijah leaned over to Paul.

“What’s with her?” he asked.

Paul snorted. “She’s one of them. Her family came to Savenridge from Malpetra about a year ago.”

“Malpetra?” Elijah asked.

“The Maliphist city. It’s where they’re keeping your uncle and Phinneas. And now Samuel,” explained Paul.

“And Becca’s a Maliphist?” Elijah asked, shocked that she would be here living with the Magi.

“Well, apparently not anymore,” Paul said. “When the Uribe family arrived at Savenridge, they had defected from Malpetra. They talked with the elder council and everything and swore their allegiance to the Magi, but I don’t trust them. Especially her! You saw her! She acted like this was no big deal. Like Maliphists just show up every weekend to kidnap someone. Plus, she thinks she’s better than everyone else.” Elijah had a slight temptation to say ‘Look who’s talking’ but wisely decided against it.

Mr. Button left his quarters for just a second and came back into the room carrying lots of blankets and pillows. Behind him was a man in a black cloak. Elijah hadn’t seen anyone in Savenridge wearing black before. The man stayed outside the door even when Mr. Button walked into the room and threw the bedding into a pile on the floor. Isaac soon returned to the room after walking Becca upstairs.

“I think it’s best that you four stay here for tonight,” Mr. Button said, shuffling paperwork. “The soldiers are here now, and they’ll be surrounding the training quarters during the night. We’ll also have a soldier right outside this door for your protection.” He pointed at the black-cloaked man. “We’ll try to get this whole thing straightened out by morning.”

Mr. Button walked out the door and closed it. There were no windows in the room, just a desk and lots of papers scattered everywhere. It was very untidy. After a long silence, when all four boys had picked out their bedding and a spot on the floor to sleep, Adam’s bottom lip began to quiver.

“You’re right,” he said. “I should have done something.” Elijah knew he was talking about helping Samuel, and he felt awful for Adam at that moment. Clearly, he hadn’t gotten over Paul’s earlier comment. Paul noticed too, and his eyebrows slowly lifted in sympathy as he realized what his words had done to Adam.

“I’m sorry Adam,” Paul said, his voice suddenly gentle. “I didn’t mean it. I was just…look, Button was right. Anyone willing to break in right in front of everyone and take someone wouldn’t think twice about killing a kid. You did the right thing.”

Isaac leaned over and patted Adam on the shoulder. Adam conjured up a smile that looked forced while he wiped away the water from his eyes before they turned to tears and ran down his cheeks.

“I just keep thinking about Samuel,” Adam continued. “I know how he feels. At least, I knew how he felt
here
.”

“What do you mean?” Elijah asked, thinking about how little he actually knew Samuel. Elijah was the one person that Samuel knew in Savenridge, and he realized he never took the time to really talk with him.

“I came from Saint Phillip’s Academy too,” Adam said, not making eye contact with any of the boys. “It was a little over a year ago. I was an orphan for nine years before I came to Savenridge. My parents decided to just leave me with some random family when I was three, and I went from one boarding school to the next until I ended up at the academy, and then finally here.” He shook his head and wiped his eyes again. “I love living here and everything, but no matter how great your life is or how nice your adopted family is, it never takes the sting away from not being wanted by your real parents. It feels like a big hole—like a puzzle missing one piece. It’s not right without it.” Paul was looking at the ground now, his restlessness returning. Isaac was looking directly at Adam, who now held his legs and rested his chin on his knees as he talked. “I know how alone Samuel felt, but I can’t even imagine how scared and more alone he feels now. I’m sure it wouldn’t have done any good, but at least if I had done something to help, he would have known that he wasn’t alone. That someone cared enough to try.”

Adam Flemming may have been a shy, quiet boy that didn’t like to talk much, but when he did, it was hard not to listen. The three other boys kept quiet for a while, letting Adam’s words sink in. They thought about Samuel. They thought about what he might be feeling now and hoped that he was okay. Elijah felt guilty. It was his fault that Samuel was taken. It would be his fault if more students were taken. He decided right then that in the morning, he would request to be taken to Malpetra in exchange for as many prisoners as they would give up. He was not worth all of this.

To take his mind off of everything, Elijah decided to keep the conversation going. He looked at Adam.

“I didn’t know you came from Saint Phillip’s Academy.” Adam nodded his head. “Are either of
you
from there?” Elijah asked Paul and Isaac.

“No,” said Paul. “I live with my mom here. My worthless father decided to join the Maliphists three years ago and left my mom here alone to raise me and my two sisters. I tell ya, it’s hard to not want to use the Magi power to go over to Malpetra and crush him within an inch of his life for that. But I’d still knock him out if I ever get the chance. I don’t need any element for that. Just a good right hook.” He took a swing at the air.

“What about you?” Elijah asked Isaac.

“I live with my grandparents, Monty and Isabelle Rogers. Or, Mammy and Pappy to me.” He smiled and Elijah saw the old, happy Isaac return as he talked about his family. “My mom and dad and older brother, Caleb, are all marshals. They work outside the city, so I don’t see them much. But they’re around for holidays and I’ll get to see them lots during the summer break.”

Elijah perked up hearing this. “Marshals? You mean, the Magi who work to stop Maliphists?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Would they know my uncle?”

Isaac shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe.”

“When do they come back to the city?”

“Not for a long time,” Isaac said disappointed. Elijah’s shoulders sank and he sighed in defeat.

“I can ask my grandparents,” said Isaac trying to give Elijah a little hope. “They might know something.”

“Thanks,” said Elijah.

The four boys only stayed up a while longer. When the conversation waned, Paul got up and doused the torch, signaling that it was time for bed. Even so, it took a long time for each of them to finally fall asleep. When he finally began to drift off, Elijah wondered if Samuel was having a hard time falling asleep too, wherever he was.

The next morning, Mr. Button woke the boys up early. It was obvious that he had been up all night. Dark circles surrounded his eyes. His face and body were droopy, and he walked a little slower than normal. The atmosphere of the entire training facility was much different than it had been before. Instead of the energy and pulse of students going to their training exercises, the barracks looked deserted. When someone did venture out, a soldier followed close by.

Mr. Button took the boys upstairs and told them that their rooms had been thoroughly inspected and cleared to live in again. He released Adam, Paul, and Isaac to go to their own rooms, reminding them to return to training as soon as they could get ready. He then escorted Elijah to his room, a soldier following closely behind.

“You’re room is safe, but we’ve got a soldier directly under your window just in case,” Mr. Button said. “And we’ll have one outside your door, too. I know that may be a nuisance, but it’s best to be cautious, eh? We need to keep you safe.”