The Sphere (The Magi Series #2) (54 page)

“Yes,” Adam replied.

“Don’t be afraid to include them,” Elijah said.  “We’re
going to need to raise money and figure out how we can build an army ready for
battle when we need it.  That means we all need to pitch in as much as we can
this summer.”

“Um…hello?” Paul said.  “You sound like you’re wrapping up
jobs and you have a very edgy boy here ready to rip your head off if you don’t
give him something to do.”

Elijah faced Paul.  “I’m giving you the most dangerous job.”

“Awesome!” Paul said.

“You’re going to be in charge of finding the traitors. 
Before we include someone into our little club…or whatever you call this…I want
to know everything about them.  That will be your job.”

“I’m going to need a secretary,” Paul said.

“Good one,” Becca replied.

“No, I’m serious,” said Paul.  “Don’t get me wrong, my job’s
the coolest one out of all of yours, but that sounds like a ton of paperwork
that I don’t want to be responsible for.  You think I can keep a list of people
we don’t trust in my head?  We’re going to need to write it down!”

“You’ll have to do for now,” Elijah responded.  “This is
just us now, remember?  Get me some information on others and then we can talk
about help.”

“I’m on it,” said Paul.

“When do we need to have this done by?” Becca asked.

“The end of summer,” Elijah said.

“I should probably sign up for the Savenridge library summer
programs then, huh?” Becca joked.

Elijah looked at his five friends who looked somewhere
between overwhelmed and excited.  “I hope I didn’t ruin any kind of freedom you
planned this summer.”

“You did,” said Paul.  “But we understand.”

“That’s all I have for now,” Elijah said.  “Anyone up for a
game of cards?”

Elijah didn’t discuss the plans they set that evening for
the remainder of the term.  There were far more urgent things on their minds
during the last few weeks at the barracks like the end of term exams and final
evaluations to get through.

Master Constantine had set up an exam that covered four
major areas of study for the year:  geography, geometry, genetics, and
grammar.  Apparently, he liked to theme his exams, and the letter “G” was this
year’s winner.  Elijah thought he did well on geography and grammar, but he
spent a lot of time stuck on a proof in geometry and he was quite sure he had
fallen asleep during the classes Constantine went over genetics, so he guessed
the best he could.  After the tests were graded, Adam got the highest grade in
the class with a 93% followed closely by Gabriel Weston with a 91 and then
Becca who got a 90.  Of his friends, Hannah got an 84 and Paul got an 80. 
Elijah scored a 73, which he was thrilled with, considering his struggle with
two of the four areas.  Poor Isaac barely passed with a 62.

Master Ismai was quite popular when he told the class that
he was not going to give them an end of term exam.  Instead he was going to
average their scores based on what they had already accomplished, and they performed
some of the more fun exercises for the entirety of the class.

Elijah’s biggest improvement from last year was his physical
training, which he looked forward to testing in this year.  When Zempke put up
times or scores from the week, Elijah was usually in the top few in his level. 
Paul was always the top performer regardless of the week.  He even beat out
students in the higher levels most weeks.

Elijah was called to do his end of term exam in physical
training on a Friday morning.  He made it to the exam ten minutes early, but
there was still a line six students deep waiting to do their final drill.  The
drill was a combination of some of the obstacle course favorites—favorite to
Zempke, that is.  They first started in the foam pit where students sunk to the
bottom of a pit of foam and then had to work their way to the top and out the
other side using only their legs.  Then, they had to balance across the
fifty-foot balance beam while having thick rubber balls hurled at them.  They
had to jump into a large pool and swim over and under obstacles, and finally,
they were to climb up a large rope, grab a flag, and climb back down.  If they
failed at any part of the course, they had to start over.  If they clocked in a
time over fifteen minutes, they would be subject to re-evaluation.

Elijah studied the course, preparing his body for the work
it was about to do.  He stretched and ran a couple of laps to warm up, but just
as the person in front of him was called to perform, the pimple-faced boy who
worked at the front office got his attention.

“Elijah Hawk?” he asked.

“Yes?” Elijah responded.

“I just got a message that said to tell you something about
a baby being born by a something Roddick,” he read from a piece of paper.

Elijah almost choked on his breath.

“Thank you,” he said to the boy.

He wasn’t sure how to feel.  Elijah had almost forgotten
that Mrs. Roddick was even pregnant with everything that was going on lately. 
It had been so long since Elijah had been around a newborn that he was a little
scared at what to expect.  He was happy for the Roddicks, but nervous about
what this could mean.  Were the Roddicks going to treat him differently now
that there was a new baby in the home?  Was there even room for him anymore? 
Elijah felt like an idiot for not thinking about this earlier, but now that
there was actually a real live baby, he couldn’t help it.

“Last call for Mr. Hawk!” said the rather annoyed teacher’s
assistant.

Elijah snapped out of his trance.  “Sorry!  I didn’t hear
you.  I’m here.”

“We called you four times!” the Third Level Novice with the
stopwatch said.  Elijah ignored him.  “On my mark.  Three.  Two. One.  Go!”

Elijah ran the course in six minutes and seventeen seconds. 
He was the third best time in his year, two behind Paul Hetfield and a boy
named Jeremy Ting, and he only fell one time, halfway through the balance beam
when struck by a rubber ball.

When he was finished, he got permission to leave the
barracks to visit the Roddicks.  Elijah wondered if the soldiers were getting
sick of escorting him on odd days to the city center.  He figured he probably
wasn’t the only one who left on days other than Sunday, but it was still an
awkward trip with the soldier keeping completely silent and no other kids to
talk to.

Master Roddick opened the door to the house looking
exhausted, but he beamed at Elijah.  “We just got back from the infirmary last
night,” Roddick said in a whisper.  “You want to see him?”

“It’s a boy?” Elijah asked.

“Yes it is,” Roddick said with a grin only a proud father
can make when talking about his baby.  He walked Elijah inside, being careful
not to step on Tirzah and Lizzy who were both lying face first on the floor
asleep.

Mrs. Roddick was holding the baby by the fire.  Her dark hair
was tangled and her eyes were puffy and drooped at the sides.  She stared at
the sleeping baby without raising her eyes.  Roddick carefully drew back the
blanket that covered the baby’s face and showed off his son to Elijah.  Roddick
petted the baby’s head, brushing back a thick head of brown hair, the same way
an athlete would gently polish a newly earned trophy.  Elijah looked at the
fresh skin and the delicate features of the new Roddick boy.  He was so
helpless and fragile, but tucked away in the nook of his mother’s shoulder,
there wasn’t a more content being on the planet.

“Would you like to hold him?” Master Roddick asked.

“Oh.  Um.  I don’t know,” Elijah stammered.  “I’m afraid
I’ll drop him.  He’s so small.”

“You’ll be fine,” Mrs. Roddick said, already handing Elijah
the baby.

Elijah collapsed into the couch.  In case he dropped the
baby, he wanted a soft landing spot.

“Just put your hand under his head first, and then he’ll
just sink in,” Roddick said.

Elijah settled with the new baby and was surprisingly
content.  He looked up at the Roddicks with his eyes wide as if he had just
done something extraordinary and unexpected.  “I don’t think I’ve ever held a baby
this small before,” Elijah said.  “Does he have a name?”

The Roddicks looked at each other and then back at Elijah.

“We thought about many names,” Master Roddick said.  “And we
could only agree on one.  We named our son William Hawk Roddick.”

Elijah didn’t know why the lump in his throat formed, but
suddenly he couldn’t talk.  “You mean…you mean…you named him after my—”

“Yes we did,” Master Roddick said.  “We wanted him to have a
name that means something special to us.  We’ve never met your father, but we
know you.  And we love you.  I don’t know how you think of us, Elijah, but both
Miranda and I think of you as a son.  Since your father sacrificed his life to
save yours, we thought we’d honor him by naming our son after him.  Almost like
a new life to resurrect a life sacrificed.”

Elijah didn’t try to hide his tears.  He held baby William a
little tighter and thought of his dad.  He had been gone almost two years and
yet Elijah continued to find his fingerprints.  His dad saved his life.  He
guided him to the Magi.  He gave him clues to help him with the hunt for the
sphere.  Had it not been for Elijah’s father, the Magi would have no hope of carrying
on.  Olivia was wrong.  Elijah was not to thank for his leadership in finding
the cube of wind.  William Hawk was the real hero.  And only Elijah would know
that.

On the last day of the term, the only thing the students
needed to do was be evaluated by their trainers and teachers.  The line outside
Mr. Button’s quarters stretched out the arena and up the stairs to the main
floor.  Elijah stood in line for two and a half hours waiting for his turn to
be evaluated.  He wasn’t concerned.  Last year he was much further behind than
he was this year and he still passed easily.

When it was finally his turn, Elijah’s teachers shook his
hand and sat down.  Constantine talked first.  He said that Elijah was just an
average student who needed to put a little more effort into his studies. 
Elijah couldn’t argue that.  He spent most of Constantine’s class either asleep
or wishing he was asleep.  And when he was awake, he was either fighting with
his friends or avoiding Thomas.  The only thing he didn’t do was pay attention.

Like last year, Ismai had only positive things to say about
Elijah’s mental progress.

“He’s quick and confident,” Ismai said.  “I have no worries
about his future.  An easy pass for me.”

Zempke praised Elijah for being the most improved student he
had, which Elijah took pride in.

Lastly, both Olivia and Master Young showed up to evaluate
Elijah’s elemental training progress.  Both said he was doing well.  Master
Young basically repeated everything Olivia said.  Olivia revealed to Mr. Button
then that she would not be returning as Elijah’s mentor next year but she
wanted to pick firsthand who her replacement would be before Button closed the
books on the year.

Elijah stepped aside while the teachers and trainers
discussed Elijah’s fate.  Even though he was confident in being passed on to
the next level, Elijah felt the pounding of his heart as they took their time
talking about their decision.  Finally, Mr. Button called Elijah over.  He
looked proud.

“Congratulations, son,” Button said.  “You are now a Level
Two Novice.  It has been such an honor knowing you these two years.”

Elijah reached over and gave Mr. Button a hug, longer than a
casual gesture.  The other teachers looked curiously at Elijah who continued to
embrace Mr. Button.  When he let go, Mr. Button quickly took off his glasses
and cleaned them.

“Ahem.  Well.  Yes.  Well done, son.”  He took a handful of
papers and stacked them on his table and then looked warmly at Elijah.  “And
good luck.”

Elijah gave him a small wave and left Mr. Button’s quarters
for the last time.

On his way up the stairs, he met Paul and Adam who had been
packed and ready to go home all day.  Apparently, they got up early to get
their evaluation over with.  Elijah was one of the last of the day.

“So?” Paul asked.

“I have to repeat the year,” Elijah said solemnly.

“Shut up,” said Paul.

“Then why do you ask?” Elijah said.

“Did you hear about Isaac?”

“No, why?”

“He didn’t pass this year.”

“What?”

“He’s been granted an extension,” said Adam.  “He didn’t
pass his physical training, but considering his injuries, they said he can take
a summer course.  If he doesn’t pass that, he’ll have to take the year over
again, like Steadman.”

“Ouch!” Elijah said.

“I’ll say,” said Paul.  “But don’t say anything to him about
it.  He’s pretty beat up.  Get it?”

“It’s not funny,” Adam said.

“Wow.  Since when do you snap back?” Paul said, looking impressed.

As they were walking back up to their rooms to help Elijah
finish packing, they saw Thomas Benefield leaving with his belongings.  They
stopped to watch as he walked by.  Then, as if he sensed their presence, he
paused right in front of them.  He looked directly at them between the part in
his hair and gave them just the slightest nod.  It was barely noticeable, but
Elijah could just see a small movement in his lips.  It wasn’t a smile, but an
acknowledgment.  An approval.  It was his way of saying thanks.  Then, he
walked out the doors.

“Did any of you just see that?” Paul said.  “I believe we’ve
just been indoctrinated into his little world.”

“Who knew he would end up being the savior of our barracks,”
Elijah said.

“I beg your pardon,” Paul argued, “but I believe we had a
little something to do with that too.”

“Not without Thomas,” Elijah said.

“True,” Paul replied.  “Come on, let’s get you packed you
lazy bum.”

Elijah, Paul, and Adam met up with Hannah, Becca, and Isaac
outside on their way home for the summer.  Hannah was the first to be picked
up.  She gave everyone a hug goodbye.  After she gave Elijah a hug, she grabbed
his hand and squeezed it.