The Sphere (The Magi Series #2) (27 page)

Elijah let Thomas give the whole thing.  Then, almost as surprising
as his presentation, Thomas gave Elijah credit for finding a lot of
information.  He wished desperately to be able to talk with his friends about
what he saw and how he stumbled upon Thomas.  They would most certainly have
ideas about why he was in the attic.  As it was, Elijah was forced to come up
with his own theories, and unfortunately, he had none.

The following Wednesday’s elemental training with Master
Young was fun.  For the first time since he had been substituting for Olivia,
Young didn’t bring his notes with him.  Instead, he just made up the lesson as
he went.  He told Elijah that for the entire day, he would attack him with
certain elements and Elijah was supposed to block it any way he could.  He
could use a counter element, or he could use the block attack they had been
working on.

For hours, both Master Young and Elijah flew through the
forest and around the river firing elemental attacks at each other.  Young even
let Elijah go on the offensive if he wished, as long as he used restraint.

“We don’t actually want to kill each other, now do we?”
Young joked.

Master Young was obviously more skilled, and thus was on the
offensive for most of the time, but Elijah got in a few shots that knocked
Young over, or at least took him by surprise.  It was the most fun Elijah had
had since the start of term.

When they finished, Master Young sat on a giant log by the
river, breathing heavily.  Elijah sat next to him, panting and laughing.

“We should do that more often,” Elijah said.

Master Young smiled.  “I’d love to.  But to be honest, I’m
not sure I was supposed to even do that today.”

“What do you mean?” Elijah gasped.  He scooped some of the
river water and drank it.

“I only did what I did today because I didn’t know what else
to do.”

Elijah shook his head.  “Why not?”

“Because,” Master Young continued, “I’ve run out of plans. 
Olivia gave me week-by-week plans.  She even gave me a few extra plans in case
I ran out.  But we did those weeks ago.”

“So what does that mean?” Elijah asked.

“I don’t know,” said Master Young.  “But I’m pretty sure she
expected to be back a lot sooner than this.  According to her plans, she should
have been back by now.”

Chapter
13:

THE NEW COUNCIL

For three full days, Elijah did nothing but consume himself
with Olivia’s absence.  Olivia had told him she might be gone for a couple of
months.  It was already November and as far as he knew, nobody had heard from
her.  During Master Constantine’s class, he was sure he failed his geography
test while thinking about whether or not to say something to someone.  During
mental training, he was even questioned by Master Ismai to make sure everything
was all right.  He faked an illness, which Ismai made a bigger deal of than
necessary, and Elijah sat by himself wondering if Olivia was even alive!  He
misfiled books, tripped over the towering ladder to the second floor of the library,
and nodded mindlessly to Becca as she talked to him.

Snap!

Elijah blinked and came to.

“Hello?  Is anyone in there?”  Becca’s nose practically
touched Elijah’s, and she continued to snap her fingers into his ears until he
backed up in confusion.

“What was that for?” Elijah asked.

“I was just wondering if there was an actual person in there
or if you had been bitten by a zombie,” Becca answered.  “You’ve looked dead
for a few days now.  Are you okay?”

Elijah considered spilling everything right then.  He
wondered how long he was supposed to keep the sphere a secret.  What if the
worst happened?  What if Olivia actually died on her journey?  Eventually he
needed to tell someone to keep the search going.  It was, after all, up to
him.  But was Becca the right person to tell?  How loyal was she to him?  She
practically gave her life last year to save him, but then again, she didn’t
want to.

He decided to test the waters.  “Can I ask you a question
and not have you ask me anything back?”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going,” Becca replied.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.  Go ahead.  I’ll bite my tongue.”

Elijah breathed deeply.  “I know something.  Something kind
of big.  Well, something really big.  But I’m not supposed to say anything to anyone
under any circumstance.”

“Am I supposed to say something now?” Becca asked.  “Oops. 
That was a question.  I’m sorry.”

“No.  The problem is…grr…”  Elijah became flustered.  He
couldn’t say anything without giving things away.  “I think I need to tell
someone,” he finally said.

“And you want to tell me?”

“No.  I don’t know.  Maybe.”

“Elijah, I won’t be able to help you unless you give me more
information or I ask questions,” Becca said.

“Fine.  I’ll tell you what I can, but you have to promise
not to say a word to anyone about this.”

Becca became very quiet and rigid.  Her eyes lost their
playfulness and they began penetrating Elijah’s gaze.  She grabbed his arm and
led him into the back of the library where there were no students close by.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I know something that’s supposed to be kept a secret,”
Elijah began.  “I guess you could say I’m on some sort of a quest.  Except I’m
not actually on it.  I just know about it.  Olivia’s on it.”

“Is that why you have that new cute mentor with the glasses
as a substitute?” Becca asked.

“Gross.”

She shrugged.  “Anyway, continue.”

“Yes,” Elijah said, “she’s been gone a long time.  Almost
two months.  And I’m getting concerned that she should have been back by now. 
But I can’t say anything because if I do, I’d be giving things away.  But if I
don’t and she’s hurt or dead or something…I just don’t know how long I should
wait before I do something or say something.  Does that make sense?”

Becca looked as though the gears inside her head were
turning extra fast.  She crossed her arms and stared at the ground.

“Who all knows about this?” Becca asked finally.

“No one,” Elijah answered.  “Well, no one except me and
Phinneas.”

“Then go ask Phinneas!” Becca said.

Elijah shook his head.  “Phinneas won’t be any help. 
He’s…he’s not exactly with it these days.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s losing his memory a bit.  And it’s getting
worse.  There’s a reason Olivia didn’t take him with her.”

“Gosh,” Becca said.  “I don’t think anyone knows about
that.  I had no idea.”

Suddenly, Elijah realized why Olivia might not have wanted
Phinneas out.  It wasn’t that she was afraid he might say something about the
sphere.  It could have been that she didn’t want his condition to become public.

“Yeah, well…it’s safe to say I’m the only person other than
Olivia who knows what we know.”

Becca thought again for a minute.  “Why is that?”

“I have no idea,” Elijah admitted.  “I’ve wondered that
myself.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange that a secret this big—and I’m
just assuming it’s big because you’re so uptight about it—wouldn’t be something
she reveals to the council?  Or anyone else, for that matter, except a
fourteen-year-old boy.  A boy new to the Magi?”  She paused.  “That’s where we
need to start.”

Elijah frowned.  “What do you mean?”

“We need to start by asking why you?  Why not an adult?  Why
not someone else?”

“I told you I don’t know,” Elijah said.  “And anyway, how’s
this going to help with deciding whether or not to say something?”

“Elijah, you’re so concerned with the immediate problem. 
Dig a little.  Think about the bigger picture.”

Becca seemed to be going somewhere that Elijah couldn’t
follow.  It was as if she was leading him to some conclusion she had already
come to and he was along for the ride.  It made him feel stupid, but he was too
curious to be offended.

“Okay,” Elijah relinquished.  “What are you asking?”

“It seems to me that Olivia either trusts you more than
anyone else, or she
distrusts
everyone else.”

“So which is it?” Elijah asked.

“No clue!” Becca said.  “
I’m
not the one with the
answers.  I’m just helping you come to a conclusion.”

“Well, she told Phinneas,” Elijah said.  “But that makes
sense since he’s her husband.  Except I don’t think she actually told him.  I
think they knew together.”  Elijah thought more.  “Why am I special?”

“What puts you on even terms with Phinneas?” Becca added.

“Nothing,” said Elijah.  “I mean, I know she likes me and
sees potential in me, but I can’t think of anything.”

“Which means you’re no one special.  Except she trusts you,”
Becca said.  “That’s the key.  She told someone she trusts.  Maybe since you’re
new she knew you couldn’t possibly be
un
trustworthy.  Or maybe she saw
something in you that made her trust you.”

“So then why not the council?” Elijah asked.  “Why am I more
trustworthy than
them
?”  Becca looked at Elijah as though he had arrived
at her conclusion.  Suddenly, Elijah understood.  “She doesn’t trust them,” he
said.  “She’s keeping it from the council.”  Elijah paused.  He thought about Bernard,
the messenger who brought Olivia the note.  Bernard came from the council, so
they were obviously aware of the sphere.  Or they were now.  But they weren’t
aware of Olivia’s search.  What made her search so important?  Why was their
knowledge of the sphere okay but their knowledge of her
looking
for the
sphere not?

“So then I guess I can’t tell anyone,” Elijah concluded.  He
threw up his arms in frustration.  “That leaves me where I was before!  So
there’s someone she doesn’t trust in the council.  But what am I supposed to do
about it other than not tell them?  Or not tell anyone who
would
tell
them?”

Becca shook her head.  “I don’t know.”

“How long should I wait?  Eventually, I’ll
have
to do
something if she doesn’t come back soon.”

“I can only help you with what I know,” Becca repeated. 
“What are the options?”

“Telling or not telling,” Elijah answered.

“No, no.  I get that part.  I mean with Olivia.  Let’s say
she’s dead somewhere.  That’s one option, or possibility.  What’s another?”

“That she’s not dead, but something went wrong,” Elijah answered. 
“Something that’s keeping her from getting back here.”

“Okay, what else?”

“Um…I guess it could just be taking longer than she expected
and everything’s fine.”

“Okay, what else?”

“I think that’s it,” Elijah said.

“So, no matter what, she’s delayed,” Becca said.

“Yeah.”

“So if she’s dead, you’re on your own.”

“Yeah.”

“And if something’s wrong, you’re on your own and only you
know what to do.”

“But that’s the thing.  I don’t
know
what to do.”

“You didn’t think about this possibility?  Did Olivia
prepare you for the possibility that you could be on your own?”

“Well, she kind of did.  Yeah.  She did.  But she only said
that I would be on my own.  She didn’t tell me what to do.”

“So then, act as if you were on your own.  Take control. 
Assume the worst.  Then, if she’s fine, you did what you needed to do.”

“But what if I do something wrong like tell someone I wasn’t
supposed to tell?”  Elijah was beginning to feel his heart rate pick up.  The
weight of his responsibility was beginning to feel heavier and heavier the more
he thought about it.

“Then do what Olivia did,” Becca answered.  “She told
someone she trusted.  Who do
you
trust?”

“I don’t know,” Elijah said.

“I don’t believe that,” Becca said.

“Well, I could tell Mrs. Roddick,” Elijah said.  “But then,
she’s got a lot going on, and I don’t want to overwhelm her.  Plus, Master
Roddick has ties to the council.  Not that he would say anything, but he acted
a little weird when—”

Elijah stopped when he saw Becca’s confused face.

“I’m going to have to think about it,” Elijah said.

He didn’t, though.  He knew the answer even before Becca
turned to continue filing her pile of books before the end of their shift.

Elijah followed the early group to the Western Forest Sunday
morning.  He followed the river as it twisted and turned and finally branched
off into smaller streams.  He took the stream that led close to the Rose
residence.

Elijah stepped inside just like he had done once a week for
the past two months.  Only this time, he wasn’t there to check on Phinneas.  He
needed information.  He had to make a plan, and it started with the house.

Phinneas greeted him warmly, just as he always had.

“Good day, Elijah.  What brings you here?”

“I actually would like to talk with you, Phinneas,” Elijah
said.  “Do you have a minute?”

“Certainly.  What can I do for you?”

 “I need to talk to you about the sphere,” Elijah said.  He
half expected Phinneas to question him or talk nonsense, but in that instant,
it appeared as though the clear-headed man inside broke free, and Phinneas was
Phinneas again.

“Sure, sure.  What would you like to know?”

Elijah sighed.  “I think Olivia might be in trouble.”

To his surprise, Phinneas nodded.  “I think you may be
right.”

“Oh.  Well, yes.  Anyway, I think I might need to go after
her,” Elijah said.  “After the cubes.”

Phinneas shook his head.  He looked away.  “It really should
be me going after her, you know.”

“But…well, it’s just…I know you want to, but…”

“Yeah, yeah.  I know.  I’m old and slow and not doing so
well.”  Phinneas didn’t sound upset or grumpy.  If anything, Elijah thought he
sounded sad.  Disappointed.  Phinneas stood up and began to polish an old clock
on his mantle.