The Magi (The Magi Series) (31 page)

“I’ll go,” Elijah said immediately. “The reason we’re here is because of me, so it’s my responsibility. If I’m not back after a while, or you hear a struggle, leave me.”

“You can go ahead and believe that we’re going to leave you,” said Paul defiantly, “but we’re not.” Elijah shook his head, but he knew it was useless to argue. He turned, took a deep breath, and nervously stepped into the opening of the icy blue cave with nothing but his wooden shield.

Inside, the cave looked different. The blue color was still noticeable because it was reflected inside, making it seem like he was underwater, but there was no ice—just rocks and dirt. Elijah’s heart crashed into his chest with every step he took. The tunnel that led into the cave echoed loudly, and he did all he could to keep quiet.

Through twists and turns, and even a few dead ends, Elijah continued on, peering this way and that. He hoped that he wouldn’t get lost and trapped before he had the chance to help Hannah. Soon, however, down one particularly long tunnel, Elijah saw the flickering of fire and began to feel the cave warm up the closer he got. He came to the edge of a massive room inside the cave and scanned it for any sign of Hannah.

Elijah immediately saw the two other Maliphists. They were both lying down, with their backs to him. The Maliphists were facing the wall of the cave, and on the wall were large shadows made by the light from the fire. Elijah found it difficult to keep from casting shadows as he slowly moved toward the Maliphists.

Elijah finally spotted Hannah behind the fire. He assumed she would be right next to the Maliphists, but to his delight, she was sitting alone, looking awake some twenty feet away from them. Elijah wondered if the Maliphists inside weren’t concerned with her leaving because the other was standing guard outside. At least, that’s what they thought. He waved vigorously, trying to get her attention, but she didn’t see him. He inched closer, trying as hard as he could to get her attention, all the while trying not to make a sound.

When he was only a few feet from Hannah, one of the Maliphists rolled over, still asleep. Elijah immediately recognized him. It was the rider who killed his parents! Had he been carrying his sword, he wondered if he would be tempted to walk over and end the Maliphist right then and there. He forced himself to remain focused and suppressed his anger. Elijah looked over at Hannah, who was actually sleeping while sitting up. From a distance she looked healthy and alert, but as Elijah saw Hannah up close, her appearance told a different story. Her face was dirty, her hair tangled, and she looked utterly exhausted! Only a few more steps and he would be next to her.

Just as he was about to reach out, her eyes popped open. Thankfully, she didn’t make a sound. Her eyes widened in eagerness when she saw Elijah, but she seemed to understand her silence was important. She held out her arms, showing Elijah that they were tied together. Her wrists were red and raw with pieces of her skin dangling from her flesh where the ropes dug in. She had apparently been putting up a fight. Her feet were also bound and fastened snugly to a nearby root protruding from the ground.

Elijah went to work. He carefully placed his shield on the ground and began untying her feet. He decided to leave her arms alone. If he could get her out of the cave safely, he could untie them later.

To his surprise, the rope came off the root easily. Untying Hannah’s feet, however, was much harder. The rope was thin, so it was tied extremely tight. Just moving the rope was difficult, and he wished that he had the sword with him. He knew he had limited time before the two Maliphists would wake up, and the rope was very difficult to untie. For several minutes, Elijah worked as Hannah continued to look up to make sure the Maliphists stayed asleep.

Finally, after his fingers were beginning to cramp and his heart was about to explode with panic, the last of the knots came undone. Hannah immediately stood up, but being tied in one position for so long caused her legs to buckle, and she slipped suddenly. The sound of crunching dirt and rock seemed to fire off like a cannon. Both froze in fear, but amazingly, the Maliphists continue sleeping. When Hannah was sure she had feeling back in her legs, and she wouldn’t slip again, Elijah picked up the wooden shield, and they both continued back through the labyrinth of the cave.

How Elijah was able to find his way back to the opening without trouble, he didn’t know. They bolted through the cave’s entrance and were immediately greeted by Paul, Adam, and Isaac. Becca stepped back and watched as the boys helped untie Hannah’s arms. As soon as she was free, everyone but Becca embraced each other. Becca, however, wasn’t given the opportunity to stay away for long. As soon as Hannah finished hugging the other three boys, she walked over to Becca and threw her arms around her as well. Becca froze uncomfortably.

“Yes, well—er—let’s go!” she said letting go of Hannah. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible!” They all ran as fast as their adrenaline would take them into the forest and leapt onto their horses. What a story they would have for everyone in Savenridge! They had triumphed over the Maliphists without using any elements or weapons. They just used their courage.

Hannah jumped onto the horse with Becca and they were on their way back through the forest and into the clearing. Suddenly, Becca pulled back on her reins and brought her horse to a stop. Everyone looked around wondering what happened, but Becca’s eyes were focused on the tree line up ahead and to the left. She began to tremble and her breathing quickened.

“Becca, what’s wrong?” Elijah asked, alarmed.

She didn’t have to answer. Appearing from the trees in front of them came three horses being ridden by the three Maliphists from the cave. The Maliphists brought their horses to a halt, directly in front of them, blocking the way back to Savenridge.

****

CHAPTER 17: LUTHER CAIN

The events that took place during the next ten minutes were unlike anything ever heard of by the Magi children who now stood facing three deadly Maliphists at the edge of the forest. One of the Maliphists, a light-skinned man with curly blonde hair, was rubbing the back of his neck where Paul had hit him. The other two looked toward Elijah smugly. For a moment, nothing was said or done. The six children and the Maliphists stared at each other, waiting for someone to make a move. As Elijah looked at each of them, he noticed that all three of them also had yellow eyes. The other two Maliphists’ eyes were not as vibrant as the third, but Elijah didn’t care about the other two. They hadn’t murdered his parents.

The light of the day made it much easier for Elijah to see other features of the Maliphists. The rider who killed his parents had long, dark hair. His cheekbones were extremely high so that when he smiled, his grin was evil-looking. His eyes were sunken in, and his chin was pointy. The other two had light hair. One had a goatee just on his chin, while the other, the one Paul had hit with a club, had a smooth face and short, curly hair. He would have been good-looking had his eyes not been cold and unforgiving.

Finally, after a moment had passed, the Maliphist who killed Elijah’s parents dismounted his horse and walked into the middle of their standoff. He shot Becca a look of recognition before fixing his gaze on Elijah. He smiled devilishly at him.

“Do you miss your parents?” he asked Elijah with mock sympathy. His words felt like a white-hot blade had been thrust into the middle of Elijah’s chest. Hate consumed him, and it took everything in him not to jump off his horse and run after the Maliphist, but reason took over because he knew if he attacked, that would surely be the last thing he would do. His blood continued to boil, however, and suddenly, right above them all, a crack of lightning streaked across the sky. Elijah saw all three Maliphists look up.

“Careful there, Roland, he doesn’t know how to use it, but he’s got the gift,” said the one with the goatee to the dark-haired Maliphist. Ignoring the warning, Roland laughed and raised up his arms, flinging them toward Elijah. Sensing imminent danger, Elijah instinctively held out his shield in front of him and Isaac, and they were struck with something extremely powerful and hot. They both fell off their horse and onto their backs, sinking through the melting snow to the dirt of the earth below. Isaac got the worst of it as he was knocked unconscious from the force of Roland’s attack hitting the shield, but the shield, protecting him from the bolt, took the initial blow and saved his life. It was even strong enough to knock Elijah off the horse. Elijah looked over at his shield lying on the ground apart from him. The mark the bolt left was unmistakably the same small burn mark that he saw on the side of his parents’ house.

Everyone else got off their horses and prepared for battle. Elijah knew it would be short. None of his friends could hope to match the power of the Maliphists. Nevertheless, they prepared to die fighting. This was, after all, the oath they all swore to uphold in front of the Magi council. They lived to protect the good. They would now die fighting evil.

“I’ll make this simple,” said Roland, his dark hair gently blowing in the wind. “I’m only here for you,” he said to Elijah. “The rest of you made a valiant attempt at rescuing your own, but it’s over now. If we have to, we’ll kill you all. So get out of our way!” Paul was the first to run to Elijah’s aid. He stood in front of Elijah with his crossbow in hand, pointed at the Maliphists. Roland laughed and shot out another bolt, hitting the crossbow and sending it flying through the air. As it ripped out, the force and speed of it tore at Paul’s hand, causing a stream of blood to spew onto the white snow. Still, Paul didn’t move a muscle. Becca, Hannah, and Adam soon followed, leaving Isaac for the moment, and all of them together made a wall between Elijah and the Maliphists.

This was it. The Maliphists looked at each other, resigned to destroy the four children protecting their friend. Elijah tried to fight his way through his friends, begging them to let the Maliphists take him, but they stood their ground, ignoring his pleas. The Maliphists raised their hands. Paul Hetfield, Hannah Maybury, Becca Uribe, and Adam Flemming prepared for death, but if they had to die, they all were satisfied to die this way.

Curiously, at that moment, all the horses began to panic and rear up for no apparent reason. The Maliphists postponed their attack.

“What are you doing?” the smooth-faced Maliphist asked. Elijah and his friends looked at each other in confusion, but seconds later, they heard what the Maliphists were talking about. It started out as a low rumbling sound, like thunder from very far away. But it kept growing. The sound grew louder and louder, intensifying with every second. Everyone, even the Maliphists, looked scared. Before long the ground began to shake. At first, it moved with a light rolling, like an earthquake, but the shaking continued to magnify.

Suddenly, the earth directly under them jolted violently, so much so that it was hard to remain standing. Elijah had witnessed a few earthquakes when he lived with his parents, but this was a hundred times worse. He felt like he was trying to stand on top of a volcano just before the top blew off the mountain. Paul ran over to Isaac, who was still on the ground, and stood by him, ready to protect his unconscious friend if the shaking got worse. The Maliphists backed up, trying to locate their horses, but the animals had long since run away.

As if the crushing earth was not enough, the snow began to shake away, and the ground between the Maliphists and the Magi children tore open. It soon began to cave in, rapidly eroding away toward the Maliphists. The earth consumed everything in its path, and the hole was getting bigger. The Maliphists, now wide-eyed with terror were stuck as they had been surrounded by the growing pit. The crashing earth began to consume itself, and the Maliphists went with it, swallowed up limb by limb down the hungry crater. The Maliphists struggled for their lives as the piles and piles and masses and masses of dirt were being thrown onto them the farther they sank, their hands desperately reaching for help. At last, they were gone. Silenced by the earth. Through it all, Elijah couldn’t help feeling a sense of pity as he watched the helplessness and vulnerability of the Maliphists hanging on for life, but ultimately failing.

No one knew what to say. They had just escaped almost certain death, but none of them could explain how. They looked at each other at a loss for words in front of the giant hole gaping in front of them. Concerned that the disaster wasn’t over, they stayed where they were, prepared to run if they needed to. Elijah was the first to move. He walked cautiously over to the place where he last saw the three Maliphists and slowly peered over the edge of the abyss. The fall alone would have killed them, but being crushed by the massive weight of the tons and tons of dirt made their deaths certain.

Elijah was suddenly overcome with emotion. The astonishing events of the last ten minutes brought a feeling of finality to the death of his parents. The man who killed them was now silenced. Elijah collapsed at the foot of the crater, violently sobbing in anger. Feelings and memories from his past rushed to meet him as he thought about what that horrible man took from him.

Elijah’s friends immediately rushed to his comfort, sensing that what just happened meant more to Elijah than an amazing miracle. Elijah felt the embrace of his friends and the healing hands of comfort placed on his back and shoulders. The earth, just moments ago violent and unsteady, also seemed to try to comfort Elijah because not a sound could be heard for miles. It stood still for a rare moment, letting him release his emotions into the crisp winter air. Then, like a signal that it was time to be done, a gentle wind picked up and blew its way through the open clearing where the six young men and women courageously stood. Elijah wiped his eyes and sat down on the cold, wet snow, still staring into the hole.