The Sphere (The Magi Series #2) (37 page)

Finally, all five of them pooled all their gold coins
together and hid it deep inside the communal pack.  They each looked at each
other as if to say they were ready.  Then, just before they moved the statue
blocking the secret passageway, Mr. Button stopped them.

“I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with you leaving again,”
Mr. Button said, “but I’m not going to stop you either.  I just need to know
when you are returning.”

Everyone looked at Elijah and then Becca.  Becca looked as
indecisive as Elijah felt.

“I’m not sure,” Elijah said.

“Is it longer than a few days?” Mr. Button asked.

“Most definitely,” Becca added.

Mr. Button breathed a deep sigh.  “Then we will need to be
able to explain your absence to your families.  The holidays are coming up, you
know.”

“Don’t some kids stay here during the recess to work on
projects with their mentors?” Hannah asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Button replied, “but most of those students are
Third Year Novices or training for Philosopher.”

“All the more reason for them to be excited about us
staying,” Paul suggested.  “We’re training beyond our years.”

Mr. Button rubbed his bald head.  “I think I can adequately
explain that,” he said.  “But whatever you’re doing, stay alive!  I’m pretty
sure I won’t be able to explain a life-long project at the barracks to your
parents.”

Paul raised his right hand.  “I solemnly swear to stay
alive.”

Mr. Button shook his head.

Becca gently pulled open the bookcase and they all climbed
the stairs to the secret exit.  After the long walk through the passageway, they
stayed just inside the mouth of the cave to wait for Paul.  A gusty wind had
picked up during the day, making it much colder than it was the last time they
were outside the Savenridge boundaries.  It seemed weird to Elijah that they hadn’t
even been back a full day yet.  Everything had gone by in a blur, making time
seem foggy and distant, like a faded memory.

As promised, Paul showed up with five horses at five minutes
to midnight.

“How the heck did you manage to get five horses by
yourself?” Isaac asked him.  “I figured we were going to go with three like
last time.”

“You’re surprised?” Paul remarked arrogantly.  “Act
impressed all you want, but all this means is that only one of us has to double
up.”

“I can ride double,” Hannah offered.  “I won’t take up too
much space.”

“Your call,” Paul said.  “Hop on with Elijah.  You don’t mind
do you, Elijah?” he said, giving him a smirk which Elijah returned.

Elijah suddenly became very nervous.  He had only learned
how to ride a horse during the summer and hadn’t had much practice at it
since.  Plus, he had never ridden with someone else on the saddle when he had
the reins.  What if he messed up or couldn’t control the horse with both of
them on?

“How did it go?” Isaac asked Paul.

“Not too bad,” Paul replied.  “I actually didn’t have much
trouble getting the horses out.  I just did what we did last year and went
through that underground door.  I thought it would have been guarded more
heavily, but there wasn’t anyone around.”

“Really?” asked Elijah, surprised to hear about an unguarded
exit while the streets were being watched so closely.  An unguarded way out
also meant an unguarded way in, which was worrisome to say the least.

“Yeah,” Paul answered.  “In fact, the most trouble I had was
on the way there.  I didn’t hide or nothin’ on the way up, thinking I could
pass for a young adult, but I got stopped by some guy near the fork in the
river asking if he could help me.  I just said that I was on my way home after
work and kept going.  I thought for sure he was going to stop me, but he
didn’t.  Dodged one there.”

“I’ll say,” said Isaac as he began to check and secure the
saddles for each of the horses.

When all the gear was packed and Becca set a course for the
Port of Corinthias, everyone mounted their horse.  Once Elijah was saddled up,
he grasped Hannah’s hand and hoisted her up behind him.  She immediately
wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his back for
support.  Elijah was glad her head was against his back instead of his chest
because his heart rate nearly doubled.  He immediately tried to force the
thrill of Hannah so close to him out of his mind so he could focus on not
falling off his horse.

It was not even a year ago that Elijah and his friends
followed Becca out of the city along this very route to save Hannah from the
Maliphists.  Yet, this time, the ride seemed more relaxed.  Elijah knew it was
smart to take their time and really figure out a plan of attack before heading
across the world to face something completely unknown, but he couldn’t help but
feel like they needed a lot more urgency.  Olivia could be in serious trouble. 
And yet, they began their trip west to Corinthias at a casual gallop.

Once the sun began to peek over the horizon, Becca began to
look for a place to camp.  They found a small opening in the middle of the
trees just on the other side of a wide open clearing.  The opening had a small
pond for them to fill up their water pouches and let their horses drink.  They
were all too exhausted to even talk about the next day’s journey.

Just before sunset the following day, they set off again toward
the Port of Corinthias.  Elijah tried to capture the beauty of the land in his
mind as they rode during the last few moments of light, but the shadows quickly
dissolved away the landscape as the sun set, and Elijah was left to only
imagine.  With only the light of the moon to guide them, he soon gave up trying
to visualize his surroundings and found himself focusing on the arms wrapped
around him.  He was tempted to let himself think about what it would be like to
wrap his hands around her in return, but each time he did, he remembered his
conversation with Master Roddick just before he left for Saint Phillip’s
Academy.  He told him to focus on being her friend.  He did a fine job of
following that direction this year, Elijah thought to himself.  Snapping at her
and ignoring her for the better part of a couple months probably wouldn’t fall
under the category of being her friend.  He was lucky she even wanted to speak
to him.

Becca stopped frequently to check the compass and maps.  She
occasionally had to ignite a small flame with her hands so she could read the
map in the dark.  Most of the time, they trusted Becca’s lead, but there were a
few times when they had to redirect their route after going in the wrong
direction.  Elijah thought for sure Paul would have a fit, but he stayed surprisingly
calm through the entire trip.

Even with the occasional rerouting, they arrived at the
coast in only three days, just as Becca had predicted.  They led their horses
down a hill through the trees and broke through the tree line onto a deserted
beach filled with driftwood and large stones.  The waves were very subtle,
mimicking the small waves of a lake or a bay.  The marine layer was still very
low, so they couldn’t see the horizon, and the early morning sun looked like it
was trapped inside the trees behind them.  Everything seemed to have a gray
tint to it.

Despite the early morning and the December month, the
weather felt much warmer than in Savenridge.

Seeing nothing but beach, Elijah took off his hood and
looked around.  “Is this it?” he asked.

Becca looked over the map.  “Well, obviously it’s not, but
we should be close.  Let’s head south a bit.  We can’t be too far.”

They rode around two more banks that both looked quite
similar to the beach with the driftwood, until they finally came to a small cove
with a tiny building just up on the hill by the tree line.  It was the perfect
spot for a secluded business.

The small building stood on the southern part of the cove
and had stairs from the beach leading to the door.  At the base of the hillside,
up closer to the trees, was a paddock of horses, holding close to two dozen
inside.  Some were saddled, but most were not.  Elijah wondered if the horses
were left by Magi who came here to depart, just as he and his friends were, or
if they were prepared for Magi who arrived here and needed transportation.

Out into the ocean, about two hundred yards, were four large
sailing ships that looked like nothing more than tourist attractions.  They
were galleons, each with three or four masts and at least half a dozen sails. 
Elijah immediately panicked.  It would take weeks, maybe a month to travel by
sailing!  He wasn’t sure what he expected when Becca first told him they were
going to use the transport system, but this was definitely not it.

“Is this the only way to get to where we’re going?” Elijah
asked, still looking out at the old-looking ships.

“You’re asking this now?” Paul asked.

“Well, yeah!  I mean, are you seeing this?”  He pointed to
the ships.  “It’ll take forever to get to Orphea in those!”

“They’re faster than you think,” Hannah said.  Her voice
from behind startled Elijah.  He practically forgot she was still hanging onto
him.  He wondered if she was as uncomfortable as he imagined having to ride for
three days clinging onto someone else.

“I hope so,” Elijah said.  “Because going stowaway on a
commoner boat isn’t sounding so bad now.”

“I traveled to Europe once with my family a couple years
ago,” she said.  “It wasn’t on these ships, but they were very similar.  It
didn’t take long.”

Elijah looked again.  He wasn’t sure how there was any way
these ships wouldn’t take weeks to cross the world.

They left their horses at the paddock and walked into the
small building.  Inside, a man who looked like an old fisherman was standing on
a stool at the far end behind a counter.  He was pulling down some rope from a
tall shelf.  He looked like the perfect caricature of an old pirate captain. 
The only thing missing was the peg leg and parrot.  He had a long, gray beard,
a large pink nose, and wore a baseball cap with the letter D on it.  He had
rough hands and Elijah noticed he was missing his right thumb.

“Can I help you folks?” he called without turning around.

Paul made a signal to the others that he would do the
talking.

“Yessir,” Paul said.  “My…cousins…and I are on our way to
Spain and need a transport.”

“Spain, eh?” the man said.  “Got kin there or just on
vacation?”

“Um…both.”

The man turned around and looked at them.  Elijah lowered
his head.  He searched for something to look at, but nothing was around, so he
stared at a hole in the old, wooden floorboards.

The man eyed them suspiciously.  He cocked one of his bushy
eyebrows and walked right up to the counter, leaning on it with his elbows. 
“Whereabouts you from?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Savenridge,” Paul stated.

“Prove it,” the man said.

Paul signaled for the communal bag and pulled out the sack
of coins.  He showed one to the man.

“So you found some money,” the man said, not convinced.

Paul turned around and looked for help.  Becca raised her
hands and shot a flame from them, lighting the counter on fire.

The man dodged and looked at the burning counter, laughing. 
“Ha!  Why’s it always fire that ever’one uses to show off?  Alrighty.  Spain,
huh?  Well, you may be in luck!  Got me a family goin’ ter London this
afternoon.  Leavin’ at midday.  We can drop yer lot off in Almeria on our way. 
That’s in southern Spain.  Let’s see.  That’s six tickets to Almeria.  Four
nights.  Fourteen meals.  Six beds.  Comes to one hundred and forty five coins.”

Elijah was shocked.  Four days seemed like an unusually
quick time to go halfway around the world, even for modern ships.

Paul dug through the bag holding the coins and stacked them
neatly on the counter.  Then, he put the bag back in the pack.

“One hundred forty two…forty three…forty four…forty five. 
You’re all set.  My name’s Demitri by the way.  If y’ever forget, just call me
D.  Says so on m’hat!  I’ll be takin’ you lot, so no need to acquaint you with
one o’ the other capn’s.  Just stick ‘round here until noon.  Then we’ll head
out.  Speakin’ of, my crew should be here soon.  Help yerself to some cocoa or
tea.”  He pointed to a pot of hot water and packets of cocoa and teabags on the
counter and then left out the back door.

Paul looked worried.  “I just gave him almost everything we
have.  How are we going to get back?”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Elijah said.  “We’ll figure
something out.  Do we have any left?”

“Some,” said Paul.  “But not a hundred forty five.”

“Well, at least we got in,” Isaac said.  “When’s breakfast?”

“We’re out of food,” Becca said.  “We’ll have to wait until
we’re on the boat.”

Isaac looked like he was just told he was going to die. 
“You’re kidding right?”

“I’m pretty sure,” said Becca.  “But you’re willing to dig
through the pack if you’d like.”

“Give it here now,” Isaac insisted.

Paul tossed Isaac the communal bag and they all watched as
Isaac tore it apart looking for food.  He managed to find some old jerky and an
apple and devoured it immediately, sounding like a dog eating a thick piece of
raw meat.

At midday, Elijah and his friends and another party—a family
of four—met Demitri by the water and took a small boat out to the galleon,
which was named
The Inferno
.  Demitri walked them through safety
procedures and took them on a tour of the boat.  There wasn’t much to do on the
boat but sit in their cabins and eat in the small dining room.

The ship looked attractive on the outside with its finished
decks and pure white sails, but on the inside, it felt cramped and stuffy. 
Everyone had a bunk and slept in the same area—even the family going to
London—so there would be no time to gather and talk about a plan.  Elijah
thought being on the outside would be the best way to kill time, but Demitri
explained that they should avoid going outside as much as possible.  The minute
they set sail, he understood both why they needed to stay inside and why they
were going to be able to travel so quickly.