The Magi (The Magi Series) (37 page)

The old man, limping severely and holding a walking stick, approached Olivia, and Roddick rushed over to give him support.

“This is Phinneas,” Olivia explained to Elijah. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for him. All of you,” she said looking at Paul and Becca too. “It took a great amount of courage for you to act so selflessly.” There was a gentle pause as all of them took in what just happened. “Well,” Olivia said, breaking the silence, “I suggest we get a move on.”

Elijah was thankful for the ended conversation. He was beginning to feel dizzy, and he needed to sit down, even if it was on the uncomfortable back of a horse. Master Roddick, seeing Elijah’s weary face, offered to ride with him so he could rest along the way, and they all kicked off and rode swiftly back to Savenridge.

****

CHAPTER 20: THE PLAN

Elijah fell asleep on the ride back. When he eventually woke up, he found himself lying comfortably in the Roddick house late Saturday morning. Even though he only slept the night, Elijah felt like it had been months. His frantic escape from Malpetra seemed like a distant memory now as he stared at the sunlit walls of the room. He was fully awake, but he stayed in the bed for another hour just listening to the commotion outside the bedroom door. It was after breakfast, and Mrs. Roddick was helping the girls paint pictures of their favorite season. Lizzy was saying she liked summer the best, but from what Elijah heard, it sounded like she kept painting parts from all four seasons and was also copying Tirzah, who did not appreciate it.

“Mommy, make her stop copying,” Tirzah pleaded. “Besides, it doesn’t snow in the summer. You’re doing it all wrong.”

“But I like the snow the best,” said Lizzy.

“Then you should have chosen to paint winter,” Tirzah corrected.

“But I like the sun the best too.
And
the leaves.”

“You can’t like all those things the
best
!”

“Why not?”

Elijah chuckled to himself hearing the girls in the next room. He finally decided to get out of bed and venture into the other rooms. His body ached all over, and he was hungry, but more than that, he was unbelievably thirsty! He wanted to just stick his head inside a river and drink until his stomach sloshed with water.

“Oh, good heavens!” said Mrs. Roddick when Elijah finally decided to emerge. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. Elijah thought that he could hear Mrs. Roddick fight back tears as she hugged him, but when she let go and faced him, she showed no signs of crying. “Now don’t you think that just because you got back safely that that excuses you from what you did!” she said suddenly stern, waving a finger at him. Elijah looked at the wall where he had taken the weapons. The sword and shield were back hanging where they were before.

“I hope you can forgive me, Mrs. Roddick,” Elijah apologized. “I’m sorry for taking the weapons without asking.”

Mrs. Roddick huffed. “I could care less about that! It’s
you
I care about. Glen and I were worried sick when we heard what you had done!”

Master Roddick entered the house during their conversation and looked at Mrs. Roddick while she scolded Elijah.

“Let’s not make him feel any worse about anything,” said Roddick. “What’s done is done."

“Just as long as he doesn’t think he can do it again,” she said pointing her finger back at Elijah as she walked him into the kitchen.

“Let’s just enjoy what we have now and celebrate the return of loved ones, shall we?” Roddick stated.

“Speaking of,” Mrs. Roddick piped in, handing Elijah a cup of water, which he inhaled. “Some of your friends came by to see you not too long ago while you were sleeping comatose.” Another cup inhaled. “I told them I didn’t know when you’d be available, so they said for me to send you to the Maybury’s place when you were up.” Elijah lit up. There was so much to talk about with his friends!

“I can walk you over there once you’ve finished,” Master Roddick said watching Elijah finish up one plate of food and then ask for doubles, which Mrs. Roddick gladly obliged. With a mouthful of sweet sausage, Elijah answered Mr. Roddick with a nod and then dove back into his second helping, forgetting all sense of civility and manners. After he had his fill, Elijah sat back in his chair, feeling rather bloated.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Master Roddick said. “Olivia wants to see you kids at the barracks when you return on Monday.”

“For what?” Elijah asked.

“Could be lots of things. I ran into her at the infirmary and she just mentioned that she wanted to see you.”

“The infirmary?”

“Yeah. That’s where Phinneas and your uncle are. I’m afraid that spending six months in a Maliphist prison isn’t exactly the best place to keep good health.”

“Will I be able to see him?”

“I would imagine so. But I would give him a little while to rest. Maybe we’ll go tomorrow.”

Elijah understood, but he wanted to talk to his uncle right away. He was finally going to get some of the answers to his questions about his parents, about his past, about the night his uncle was taken. Having to wait was going to be hard.

When they reached the Maybury house, Elijah could hear a commotion inside. It sounded like cheerful laughter. Sure enough, when Mr. Maybury opened the door, Elijah was practically mauled by five teenagers, all bursting at the seams to visit with their friend and ask all sorts of questions. As Master Roddick started to leave, Mr. Maybury stopped him.

“Why don’t you come in and visit, Glen?” he asked. “We have room.” Roddick came in, thanked Mr. Maybury gratefully, and they both helped themselves to a cup of cinnamon cider in the other room.

Elijah’s visit was like a reunion, though they had all just seen each other days ago. Hannah and Adam had been filled in on most of the story already. Isaac, who had been recovering in the infirmary, needed even more information since he was mostly unconscious during the whole ordeal. Becca and Paul were the most eager to hear Elijah’s story after he was taken by the guard into Malpetra.

“I have to be honest,” said Paul. “I thought we were all done for as soon as you ran into that guard. What happened?” The others sat on the edge of their seat, like small children hearing a tall tale. Elijah walked them through everything from talking with the warden to his intense run through the streets of Malpetra and out of the canyon. Their eyes and heads sank a little when Elijah told them about Samuel and how he was staying with the Maliphists. Adam seemed to take this the hardest, though he didn’t speak a word.

“So, we’re never going to see him again?” Hannah asked sadly.

“I guess not,” said Elijah. “He said he wants to stay.”

“They’d never let him out anyway, even if he did want to go,” said Paul morosely. “What a stupid decision. He has no idea who those people are.” Everyone looked uncomfortably at Becca when Paul said that, but she didn’t seem to be offended.

Elijah finished his story talking about the battle between Olivia, Roddick, Uncle Stan, and the three Maliphists. Having never seen the elements used in battle before, everyone was again back on the edge of their seats as Elijah recounted everything that he was able to see from the fight. After he was finished, and the other friends had their questions answered, Elijah turned to Paul and Becca.

“So, how did you guys get out of the prison anyway?” he asked.

“We almost didn’t,” said Paul. “It was taking so long to find Phinneas, and as soon as you were captured, we realized we wouldn’t be able to recognize your uncle since we never met him. We were going to leave, but then we got caught.”

Elijah shook his head, stunned. “You were caught?” he asked loudly. Paul and Becca looked at each other again.

“Sort of,” Becca said slowly. “My dad had friends that worked as prison guards when he used to be a guard himself. Some of them still work there. Some of them still remember him and are—like him.”

“What do you mean ‘like’ him?” Elijah asked.

“I mean—they are against the rule of Cain. They don’t agree with his attempt to gain total control of Malpetra like he’s doing. Remember how I told you that my family left because we were afraid of Luther Cain?” Becca asked. Elijah nodded trying to piece together Becca’s narration. “Well, there are some that still believe the way my father believed, but they’re afraid to leave. So they still live in Malpetra, but secretly, they do whatever they can to keep Cain out of power.”

“You mean like spies?” Elijah asked.

“Kind of,” Becca replied. “But they’re not working for anyone else. My father says that they just do what they can to keep him out of power, even though they’re surrounded by his rapidly growing kingdom.” Roddick and Mr. Maybury walked slowly into the room as Becca’s story caught their attention. “Anyway,” she continued, aware of their presence, “we were caught by a guard who knew my family, so he helped us.”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly,” said Paul. “He really had a hard time deciding whether to help us or arrest us.”

“Of course he did!” said Becca. “If he was caught helping us, it would be the end of him—and probably us too!” Paul shrugged nonchalantly. “The point is,” Becca defended, “he helped us. He knew Phinneas and your uncle were Cain’s projects, so that’s what finally persuaded him. He told us where they were, and he stood guard while we let them out. Then, he walked us out a secret way—a way I didn’t know of, and we got out of there as soon as we could.”

“Did you happen to catch his name?” asked Master Roddick in a serious tone, still listening to Becca’s account.

“No,” she said, looking up. “I’m sorry.” Roddick nodded his head, looking disappointed. There was a silence that permeated the room for a moment until Becca’s eyes popped open. “Oh!” she said standing up. She walked over to a table and grabbed something from it. She ran her hands gently over two dark brown books before handing it to Elijah. His heart melted. There in his hands, he once again held Kyria’s diaries. He looked up at Becca wanting to say thank you, but words wouldn’t come out. She understood, however, and smiled at him. “Apparently, it was also being held in the high interest wing. The guard told us that Cain had been using it for something very important, so he just handed it over to us.”

Elijah continued staring down at the diaries, which were more abused-looking than the last time he saw it. He noticed that the one with the lock was unlatched, looking like it had been forced open. Another silence filled the room, but this time it was for Elijah’s benefit. He was tempted, for just a moment, to open it right then and there and begin reading. However, he forced himself to keep it closed until the right time. He wanted to talk to Uncle Stan first.

Elijah swallowed uncomfortably. “How can we thank this guard?” he asked, knowing that his question sounded silly, but he needed to ask it anyway. Mr. Maybury spoke after no one answered.

“I think we just need to keep doing what we can to protect the good in the world—however we can—just like this guard did. It seems that there is still hope out there.” Mr. Maybury’s words apparently gave them all something to think about because the mood was much more thoughtful for the rest of the time they spent together.

It wasn’t long before everyone had their fill of talking about their adventure and began to talk about their normal routines—physical training, elemental training, and what they were being served for lunches and dinners in the dining area when they returned. Finally, it was time to leave, and after they said goodbye, Elijah got up and left with Master Roddick.

On Sunday morning, Elijah woke up ready to talk to his uncle. Master Roddick showed him to the infirmary, which wasn’t too far from where the Roddicks lived. It was a very plain-looking building with two floors. The first floor was for the more emergent cases. Beds lined the room all the way down a long hallway. Up the stairs to the second floor was another hallway with lots of rooms.

One of the nurses walked Elijah into Uncle Stan’s room. The room was bare with white walls and two very old-looking beds. There was a window for patients to look out, but other than that, not much entertainment was available. Uncle Stan was awake, lying in the bed closest to the window, and when Elijah walked into the room, he sat up gingerly.

“Hey, Eli!” he said in a cheerful voice, grunting as he moved. He looked much healthier than when Elijah last saw him. He was still very thin, but his color was back and he had been given a shave and haircut, which did wonders for his appearance. Mr. Roddick waved at Uncle Stan and let Elijah know that he was going to be waiting for him downstairs whenever he was finished. Elijah sat down on the second bed, right next to his uncle.

“So tell me,” said Uncle Stan. “Did you bring the hairbrush?”

Elijah looked puzzled. “The hairbrush?”

“The last time we talked, I told you to get money out of my hairbrush, remember?” Uncle Stan asked. Elijah chuckled, remembering their last conversation. “For some reason, that was stuck in my mind the entire time I was rotting away in that horrible place. I waited six months to make that joke. It doesn’t seem so funny now.” His eyes became cloudy as if he was in a far away place. “That was a long time ago, wasn’t it?” Elijah watched Uncle Stan apprehensively. There was something different about his uncle. The months of loneliness obviously had an effect on him.