The Magi (The Magi Series) (5 page)

Detective Scott had been looking around the house ever since he came in and never really took an interest in Elijah’s presence. He finally turned to Elijah and smiled. “You don’t mind if I look around do you?” he said, ignoring Elijah’s question. Elijah began to panic. What was a homicide detective doing so far from his area, and why was he investigating something other than a murder scene?

“I really do have to get going,” Elijah responded, trying to sound impatient. He hoped the detective would get the message.

“It’ll just take a minute,” said Detective Scott, who was already walking away toward Elijah’s bedroom. Elijah followed him, becoming more and more uncomfortable. Something was not right about this. As Detective Scott looked through his bedroom, Elijah stepped inside.

“I’m going to make a phone call,” he stated. “I’m sure someone will be wondering where I am.” Detective Scott stood up slowly and put his hands in his pockets. They stood studying each other for a long time. Elijah may have been frightened of the detective, but he stood his ground. He was determined not to show fear. Finally, Detective Scott relaxed and began to walk out of the room.

“No need, I’m just doing my job. I’ll let myself out.” As he was walking down the hall, he said, “It’s a bit drafty in here. Your uncle would be wise to turn on the heater so you don’t catch cold. That wouldn’t look good for the courts.” Elijah glared at him as he walked out the door. He didn’t shut it until he saw Detective Scott’s car turn the corner. Uncle Stan could not get back fast enough.

Elijah had trouble focusing for the rest of the night. He had forgotten all about the pictures and the cube of dirt that had been so fascinating just a little while ago. He was now obsessed with wondering why Detective Scott was in the house. What was in his room that the detective needed to see? Was he here to check on living conditions? Homicide detectives didn’t care about child custody, did they? Elijah was so confused and mixed up that he found himself pacing the living room floor for hours, deep in thought.

Elijah desperately tried to dismiss the visit so he could get some sleep, but he kept imagining the detective going through his bedroom. He didn’t look long, so he was either scared away quickly or he saw what he needed to see. Elijah looked around. There didn’t seem to be anything
to
see. He had only been living in Uncle Stan’s house for a short while, so he hadn’t had time to fix the room as he liked. The walls were bare, the furniture was minimal, and it was mostly clean except a few clothes scattered about on the floor. All of a sudden, Elijah’s stomach dropped as he remembered the treasures he kept to remember his family. He was currently carrying the pocket watch, but the others were in a box under his bed. Did the detective take them? He dove under the bed and pulled out the box. He lifted the lid and sighed. They were still there—two diaries and a locket. He felt a great wave of relief hit him as he sat frozen by his bed for a long time. It was well after one o’clock when Elijah finally felt comfortable enough to go to bed. He left on the lights, crawled under the covers, and went to sleep surprisingly fast—after he had turned on the heater, of course.

Elijah woke up early the next morning. The daylight helped settle his nerves from the visit the night before. He found that it was easier to forget about Detective Scott with something promising on the horizon. He thought about what he might find at the library and became excited. Maybe he would find a connection to his past. This prospect made Elijah shake with anticipation. He almost tripped running down the front steps.

Autumn had definitely arrived, bringing with it a cold, crisp wind. Living most of his life in a warmer climate, Elijah loved the opportunity to bundle up. The trees lined the streets and the leaves were turning yellow and red. Most of the leaves were still on the trees, but many were on the ground, wet from the moisture of the morning. During his journey, he noticed other children on their way to school. Elijah wondered when Uncle Stan would discuss the subject of education. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to face a new school, but since his uncle hadn’t yet brought it up, Elijah left that subject alone.

After a couple of hours, he arrived at the library. It was a huge building with tall pillars in front of the entrance. Elijah always had mixed feelings about libraries. He loved to read, and the thought of thousands of unread books was fascinating, but many times he felt lost and overwhelmed by the possibilities. It was good that he had a book in mind this time. He walked up to the front and was greeted by the librarian—a young man.

“Hi. My name is Elijah and I believe you are holding a book for me.”

“Okay, do you remember the title?” The young man turned around and began shuffling through the reserved books even before Elijah had time to answer.

“Um, something about myths and history,” Elijah said. He knew he sounded stupid, but he had forgotten to write down the title at the other library.

“Hm,” the librarian said, continuing to file through the books. “Ah, is it
Historical Myths and Analysis
?” He picked up a book with “Elijah” written on a piece of paper rubber banded to it. Elijah took the book and flipped to the back to find the index of names. It took him just a second to find “Tibirus”.

“Yes. This is it. Thank you.” Elijah walked to a table in the middle of the library and sat down.

The entry on Tibirus was very short. It started at the middle of page 234 and ended at the top of 235. He began to read:

TIBIRUS

“
(MYTH) - Tibirus was widely considered the leader of the separation movement that began in 1135 A.D. The Magi, a mystical group of people, about which very little is known, separated themselves from the common public in order to avoid being killed. Many believed these people who called themselves Magi to be possessed by evil spirits, and there was a call for action to cleanse the Magi from their towns and villages. Tibirus, sensing the Magi could not withstand an attack from the entire town, began to call for separation and the Magi went into hiding.

(ANALYSIS) – Most scholars agree that the Magi are just legend, but that there may have been a real person named Tibirus, who lived in the 12
^th
century. There are few, if any, records of his existence, but he is mentioned a few places in medieval archives, which may lead to the conclusion he existed. Whether he led an exodus out of his village is unknown. While the Magi may be legend, more than one source has mentioned them and their connection with evil spirits. There has been no mention of Magi since the 13
^th
century.”

Elijah felt like he learned more about the Magi than Tibirus, but he was still short of information that made any sense. Who were the Magi? Why did people think they were possessed with evil spirits? If Tibirus was trying to help save them, he was obviously unsuccessful since Elijah had never heard of a group called the Magi.

He wanted to learn more. He asked the librarian to look up other books on the Magi, but there were none he found that had anything close to the myth from the first book. The other books relating to the Magi only had to do with the Christmas story. He reached a dead end. Elijah desperately wanted to get his hands on the book at his uncle’s house. That was certain to have more information.

After perusing some interesting-looking books—based mostly on the covers—he finally decided to head back to his uncle’s house. Even though he had not found what he wanted, Elijah was satisfied with his day. He had fun researching at the library and spending a day walking and reading and thinking. Besides, he could locate the book as soon as he asked his uncle about it. Thinking of Uncle Stan made him feel suddenly guilty. He flat-out ignored his uncle’s request to stay put until he got home. Hopefully, if he could explain that he was careful, Uncle Stan wouldn’t be mad.

Elijah got back close to sunset and opened the front door. The phone was ringing as he walked in.

“Hello?”

“Where the heck have you been?!?” Uncle Stan asked almost shouting.

“I went to the library across town. They had this book—”

“Nevermind that,” said Uncle Stan. “So you’re okay? I’ve been calling all day.”

“Yes, I’m okay,” Elijah said, feeling horrible.

“Good.” Uncle Stan seemed to immediately calm down and turned into his usual casual self. “Boy, you sure are a bookworm. Whatcha read?”

“Oh, I just researched some stuff.” Elijah wasn’t ready to admit what he was actually doing.

“That’s good. Well, I hate to tell you, but I’m going to be gone again tonight. I just wanted to check up on you and see if anything exciting happened while I was gone—besides you going missing for a whole day.” Elijah was relieved to hear Uncle Stan start to joke again.

“Nothing exciting. Oh, Detective Scott came up here and looked around.” There was a long, uncomfortable pause. “Hello?”

“I’m here,” said Uncle Stan in a tone that made Elijah worried. There was another pause, and this time Elijah let Uncle Stan speak first. “What did he want?”

“He wouldn’t tell me. He just looked around. He went into my room and—” Elijah wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

“Elijah,” Uncle Stan interrupted, “I want you to leave the house. Meet me at Liberty Park. It’s about a mile north of the house. You need to leave now. Can you do that?”

“Yes,” said Elijah, feeling the sense of panic returning. “Can you tell me why?”

“I don’t have time over the phone,” said Uncle Stan impatiently. “I really wish I could, but you’re going to have to wait until I can meet you.”

“Am I in danger here?” Elijah decided to ask directly so he didn’t spend the rest of the night worried if he didn’t have to be.

“I honestly don’t know,” Uncle Stan answered. “But to be safe, I want you to grab some warm clothes, something to snack on, and go wait for me at the park. It might take me a while, but I should be there before sunrise.”

Before sunrise? How far away was he?

“Okay,” Elijah agreed.

“You’ll be fine Eli. If you think you’ll need cash, you know where to find it. Just don’t bring the brush. That might make you look too pretty.” Elijah was thankful for Uncle Stan at that moment. He felt calm and safer knowing Uncle Stan was going to be there as soon as he could.

Elijah hung up the phone and flew to the bedroom. He grabbed his jacket and for some reason, he felt the need to take the diaries, locket, and pocket watch. He removed them from the shoebox and, luckily, they fit inside his jacket pockets. He ran down the street as fast as he could, not certain he even locked the door.

After about a quarter mile of running, Elijah slowed down so he didn’t attract attention. He got the impression that getting out of the house was more important to Uncle Stan than meeting at the park quickly.

He arrived sooner than he expected and walked over to a nearby bench to sit down. It was deathly quiet. Usually, Elijah liked silence, but this was eerie. He began to look around. He noticed there was a street lamp overhead lighting up the bench. “Genius,” he thought to himself sarcastically as he jumped off. Anybody passing by would see him sitting there, and he was trying to be unseen. Elijah moved deeper into the park, crouched next to a tree in the shadows, and covered up with his blanket. It was getting cold. He looked around for anything suspicious or dangerous, but the park was deserted.

A low wind blew noisily and made him shiver. Elijah was keenly aware of every sound. There was a rustle in the bushes that turned out to be a small animal. A leaf blowing on the pavement made him jump until he realized what it was. Thankfully, Elijah soon began to grow accustomed to the sounds around him, and he relaxed a little. His eyes grew tired and heavy, and before long he began to lean against the tree for rest.

When Elijah awoke, the sun was shining through the trees. It had been morning for awhile. He pulled out his pocket watch. It read 8:19. He scanned the park looking for Uncle Stan, but he was nowhere to be seen. He decided to give his uncle another hour. Elijah began to get hungry and realized he hadn’t gotten the snack his uncle told him to get—or the money. He didn’t think he would need the money, but a snack would have been perfect now.

As the hour ticked by, Elijah worried that he had not heard Uncle Stan right. He got up and walked to a nearby park sign to check. Sure enough, it read “Liberty Park”. Elijah wondered if there was another Liberty Park around, or if he was in a smaller part of a bigger park. He spent the better part of the hour looking around the area. Finally, he decided that Uncle Stan wasn’t going to show. Elijah gathered his belongings and walked back to the house. Maybe Uncle Stan came by, didn’t see him, and went back home, Elijah thought to himself. He really didn’t believe that, but there weren’t a lot of options left that he liked.

As Elijah turned the corner onto his street, his heart began to race. He saw two police cars in the driveway.

“This can’t be happening,” Elijah spoke out loud, suddenly concerned for his uncle. He walked up the driveway and watched as Detective Scott emerged from one of the cars and stood to face Elijah.