The Magi (The Magi Series) (27 page)

Paul leaned in and whispered to Elijah. “Should we tell him that all the sides of a perfect hexagon are the same size, and he only had to measure it once?” Elijah almost spit out his drink.

“You’d have thought he would have caught on after three or four measurements,” Elijah whispered back.

Isaac was still telling them his heroic stories of finding their difficult shapes when they heard a noise at the other end of the dining area. Everyone turned around to see Becca straining to reach her papers from the hand of a taller boy—a first-level Novice. About three or four older boys were also crowded around shouting taunts and insults at Becca as she looked like she was about to burst into tears. One of the other boys had a hold of her measuring tape, unraveled it, and was mock-measuring Becca’s head.

“Lookey here, Shawn,” said the boy with the measuring tape, “it’s true what they say. Their heads
are
smaller than normal.” The other boys laughed and continued making fun. Elijah looked around for an adult nearby, but for the first time since the break-in, he saw none. Not even a soldier was present. Becca stood tall and proud, holding her head up, willing herself not to cry. She had given up trying to get her papers and looked like she just wanted to get away.

“Will you please hand me my papers?” she asked in an unwavering voice, avoiding eye contact. Shawn, still holding her papers in one hand, stuck his other hand under her chin and raised it so she was forced to face him. She scowled, refusing to look him in the eye.

Paul turned back around in his seat, away from the scene, and started aggressively picking at his food with his fork. His breathing became deeper and heavier than normal as he tore his salmon into little shreds on his plate, not eating a single piece.

Elijah watched Shawn as he walked toward Becca, backing her into the wall. He grabbed the measuring tape from his friend.

“I think this would look better around your neck, don’t you?” Shawn said in a soft voice, looking maliciously into Becca’s eyes. His friends were starting to look a little more uneasy at how far Shawn was taking the bullying. Becca’s lips were pressed together and her chin began to quiver as he slowly wrapped the tape around her neck. He dropped her papers, where she had her collected geometry data, and got real close to her face so their noses were practically touching. Elijah wanted to do something to help her, but he didn’t know what.

At that exact moment, a shocking thing happened. Paul, who had been practically tearing holes in his plate, threw down his fork, wheeled himself around, and charged Shawn. Becca must have made a face because Shawn turned to look just as Paul caught him under the chin with his forearm, and slammed him against the wall, forcing a choking sound out of Shawn. Even though he was younger, Paul was bigger and taller. None of Shawn’s friends dared do anything as Paul looked like a wild animal, cornered in a cage. He continued glaring at Shawn with those ferocious eyes, and Shawn dropped the measuring tape on the ground, probably not even realizing it.

“You okay?” Paul asked Becca in a low voice through clenched teeth, still glowering at Shawn. Becca’s chin trembled even more and she nodded, but didn’t speak. “Get your stuff.” Becca grabbed her papers and her measuring tape and ran out of the dining area. The entire room was at a complete standstill, eyeing the scene that took just seconds to unfold. When Paul eventually released Shawn, he gave him a final shove, just for good measure. Shawn fixed his shirt and yelled at Paul as he was walking away.

“TRAITOR! MALIPHIST LOVER!!”

Paul ignored the comment and sat back down with the rest of his friends. They all ate in silence for the remainder of lunch.

On the way down to the library to finish their work, Elijah asked Hannah in a whispered voice why Shawn and the other boys treated Becca that way. Elijah felt sick about the scene he witnessed and wondered how those boys could call themselves Magi if they behaved exactly like he imagined Maliphists would behave.

“I’m not sure,” Hannah said. “It’s sad, but there are some families in the community that think they have a right to treat Maliphists like that, even though they’re taught to find the good in the world.”

“And it just goes on like that? No one does anything about it?” Elijah asked, disgusted.

“Maybe if they were adults, they would have been disciplined,” she answered.

Elijah shook his head. “It just doesn’t seem right. Plus, she’s not even a Maliphist!” Hannah didn’t have an answer for Elijah, but no answer would have made him feel better anyway.

When Saturday morning arrived, Elijah woke up with mixed feelings. He was excited about his training with Olivia, but he was also apprehensive about the lesson. What if he didn’t understand as much as he was supposed to? She told him the previous week that she thought he was ready. What if he wasn’t?

Two soldiers escorted Elijah to Olivia’s house. Since the Maliphist break-in, the presence of soldiers had become a normal part of life for students. Elijah had met or at least recognized most of the soldiers. He even recognized the soldier walking behind him because he kept watch outside Elijah’s window at night. When they arrived, Olivia, wearing her usual dark green cloak, invited Elijah inside.

“Sit down.” She offered Elijah a large, steaming cup of hot citrus cider. “As promised,” she said, handing it to Elijah. He held it in his hands, warming them up and giving the cup a chance to cool. “Well, are you ready?” Olivia asked.

“I think so,” Elijah responded.

“Let’s start with the basics. When you learned about our history, you learned that the Magi started out looking for the good in the world, remember?”

“Yes, I remember,” Elijah said thinking back to his conversation with Arthur.

“I put you through that same trial when I left you alone to learn about the elements. You did exactly what our ancestors did when they searched to understand the world, although they had less direction than you have now.” Elijah nodded slowly as he followed along. “Now listen carefully as I speak because this will be difficult to follow.” Olivia began talking very slowly.

“The world we live in, as you know, is divided into parts that appear very different from each other. I’m not just talking about the elements. I mean every living thing—you and I included. These living things may seem different, but when anything is created, the creator always leaves behind fingerprints. Each creation, therefore, has something in common. We have been touched by the same fingerprints. As such, we are connected with everything
else
that has been touched by these fingerprints. And that’s the key! It is through this connection that we can access the elements. Do you remember our first lesson when you wanted to know how it’s possible to move the elements?”

Elijah nodded.

“It’s only possible,” Olivia continued, “by accessing something the Magi call the Soul. The Soul is the fingerprint of the creator. Once a Soul connects to another Soul, they unite and become one. So if your Soul is able to access the Soul of an element, you can control that element the same way you would control your own body.” Elijah listened acutely as Olivia paused to give Elijah a chance to process.

“I’m still not sure I understand what you mean by the fingerprints,” Elijah said.

Olivia sat back and sighed. “Okay, let me explain it another way. Think of a baby being born. At the point of their creation, something is left with them, connecting them to their parents. The blood that runs in the veins of the baby is the same blood that runs in veins of the parents, right? You can even see similar facial features, mannerisms, personalities, and so on. The baby is a different being from their parents, but they have been touched with something that unites them. It’s the same when a sibling is born. The sibling may be quite different from the first child, but the same touch of unity connects them to each other and to their parents. They are made from the same mold, so to speak—the same Soul. Have you ever heard of twins being able to practically read each others’ minds?”

Elijah nodded his head. He used to know a set of twins that claimed that they could sometimes know what the other was thinking.

“Do you think that’s by coincidence, or by something that connects them?”

“I guess it makes sense since they came from the same parents,” Elijah admitted.

“It certainly does. This ‘mind-reading’ happens when their Souls are connected as one,” Olivia explained.

“So how do you do that?” Elijah asked. “How do you connect your Soul with the Soul of an element?”

“Ah,” Olivia said, raising a finger. “That is done through emotion, the first step. You have to have a similar, strong emotion to connect two Souls. Do you remember the three things I told you that must unite to control an element? Emotion, focus, and knowledge. All three need to happen simultaneously in your mind, but binding them together at the same time is an unbelievably difficult process, especially at first.”

“Emotion, focus, and knowledge. What do I do with them?” Elijah asked.

“First, you must access the Soul of the element. Think of a machine. In order to work the machine, you first have to turn the power on somehow—maybe flipping a switch or pulling a lever. That’s what emotion does. It accesses the element that you want to control. Make sense?”

“Sort of,” Elijah said. “But what do you mean by emotion? Am I supposed to just feel emotion and think of the element I want to move?”

“Do you remember telling me what you felt when you sat alone learning about the different elements?” Elijah nodded. “The elements have different personalities! You discovered and explained each to me at the end of every lesson. Let’s review. Do you remember what you felt when you spent time with water?”

“I felt calm. Like I was at peace the more I observed,” Elijah said.

“Exactly,” said Olivia. “Water’s personality—its essence—is peacefulness and serenity. You felt it because you have a connection to it. Deep down somewhere, there is peace in your life you can access. Therefore, in order to access the element of water—or, turn on the machine—you need to have an emotional moment where you become peaceful and calm.” Elijah remembered the first time he saw Roddick use water when he saved Samuel from the pale-faced man. Roddick had closed his eyes and looked extremely focused while still at peace, even during a violent situation. “What about fire?” she asked, moving on. “What personality do you remember fire having?”

“Angry. Violent. Destructive,” Elijah answered.

“The element of fire is accessed through those same emotions. When you are angry, you are more likely to access fire. In order to do so, you must find anger somewhere inside you,” she said.

“That sounds the easiest to do,” Elijah kidded.

“Actually, it is,” Olivia answered. “It’s also the most dangerous
because
it can be accessed so easily. What about earth?”

“It takes care of life,” answered Elijah.

“Yes. Earth requires care. It requires a sense of responsibility to grow and cultivate.”

“How do you
feel
that?” Elijah asked. “I care for people I know, and I know how to take care of things, but how does someone just access care?”

Olivia smiled. “Different people are more prone to certain emotions because it is natural to their personality. You probably know people who are calmer than others. You know people that are more aggressive than others. You probably even know people who are more caring than others. Who is the most caring person you’ve ever known?”

“My mom,” Elijah said, immediately thinking of her patient and kind spirit.

Olivia smiled big. “Remember when I asked you to think about something that needs support and life? The answer is a child. Children cling to their mothers for life. Why then would mothers be more likely to access earth?”

“Because they care for their children,” Elijah said, the light now dawning on him.

“Precisely! They have a tendency to access earth because a huge part of their life revolves around the care of their children. It becomes easy for Magi mothers to access the earth element because earth’s Soul—or personality—is care. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that we call it Mother Earth?”

“What about before they become mothers?” Elijah asked.

“Ah,” Olivia said. “Many Magi change the primary element they use during their lifetime. It’s very common for a woman to change her elemental tendency when she becomes a mother. Her whole life changes then. So do her emotions. Therefore, the ability to access the element will change as well. Understand?”

“Yes, I think so,” said Elijah.

“Okay, let’s move on. What about wind?”

“The wind was wild. It was unpredictable,” he answered.

“So from what you’ve learned so far today,” Olivia prompted, “tell me how you would access wind.”

“Um, I would need to first access or connect to a wild and unpredictable emotion,” Elijah said a little unsure of his answer.

“Good. Now let’s review. Tell me the first step. How do you access an element? Do you remember?”

“You need to connect to an emotion that is similar to the personality of the element you’re trying to access.”

“Right. Now, the second step is focus. This also relies on what you learned when you were observing the elements. Once you have successfully accessed the element, meaning you’ve connected your Souls, you need to control it. You have to move it from where it is to where you want it to go. This takes an incredible amount of focus.”