The Magi
Another Secret

Elijah didn’t get much sleep that night as he obsessed over the life he never knew he had. He played back countless memories of his parents in his head, thinking about them differently now knowing they were Magi. He also couldn’t help fantasizing how different his life would have been had his parents been alive to tell him everything. After he finally got to sleep, he had strange dreams about his parents, Detective Scott, and Kyria’s diaries. It was a relief to wake up to reality the next morning.

When Elijah arrived back at the barracks, he was greeted like a celebrity. Everyone wanted to ask Elijah about his adventures in Malpetra.

“What was it like?”

“Did you really break into their prison?”

“Did you fight the Maliphists by yourself?”

“Were you scared?”

“Is it true there’s a secret passage way into the city?”

He was cornered, it seemed, every free minute he had. The questions he could handle, but the constant staring grinded on his nerves. Even during his physical training, which was still not successful for him, he felt the eyes of dozens of his classmates watching him perform each exercise. He told everyone who asked he couldn’t have escaped Malpetra without the help of his friends, but everyone heard what they wanted to hear.

He wasn’t the only one being pummeled with questions. Becca and Paul dealt with their fair share of curious classmates asking them all sorts of things too. Hannah, of course, was asked multiple times what it was like being captured by Maliphists and how she survived. In typical fashion, she answered every question politely and sincerely, with a sweet smile on her face. Elijah noticed how her eyes danced and widened as she talked. If she was annoyed, she never showed it.

Right after Elijah and his friends had finished their trainings for the day, Mr. Button summoned them all to his quarters and told them a member of the Magi council wanted to talk with them. All six of their hearts sank, knowing a giant lecture was coming. Since they arrived back at Savenridge, they had all gotten a pretty good talking to by their parents or guardians, and it only seemed logical the elders wanted to scold them too. When Olivia walked into the room, however, Elijah felt a little better. She would probably scold them, but Elijah had heard her lecture already when the battle between her and the Maliphists concluded, and it wasn’t so bad. She walked right into the center of the room and asked the six students to sit down.

“Well, there’s a lot to say to you,” she said very calmly. “First of all, I want to talk with you about your decision to leave Savenridge to help your friends. I hope you understand how dangerous it was for you to leave.” Isaac and Adam hung their heads. Becca and Elijah looked at each other remorsefully. Paul continued looking directly at Olivia, unmoved. “But most of all,” she continued, “I want to make sure what I’m about to say doesn’t come across as encouragement for future disobedience. Is that clear?”

All six teenagers nodded.

“Very well,” she continued. “I want to thank all of you personally. What you did was very admirable. While you acted foolishly, you behaved exactly the way we try to teach young men and women like yourselves to behave. We teach how to protect the good in the world, and that often requires action. Sometimes our people confuse fear and inaction with being safe. I am guilty of that myself. There are reasons I didn’t act this time, which I won’t get into now, but I wanted to tell you even though you were very unwise to leave the safety of the city, I believe you have all set an example for our people to follow. You acted selflessly. You sacrificed your safety to protect your friends. And, you stood up to evil. So, I came here to applaud you for your bravery. You deserve some praise for what you did…and probably a good kick in the pants too.” They all chuckled nervously.

Just then, Adam raised his hand. “Mrs. Rose, is your husband going to be okay?”

“Yes,” she said nodding. “He’s going to be in the infirmary for a while now.” She smiled and looked grateful. “But it has been wonderful having him back.”

“Why didn’t you go after him before?” Paul asked curiously. Elijah glared over at him. Paul was just being himself and had an honest question—a question they all had—but Elijah felt it wasn’t the right time to ask it. Olivia, however, took it well.

“I suppose that would seem a little strange to you all,” she stated. “Like I said before, there are reasons I couldn’t go after him. As much as I love him, I have a responsibility here. Many years ago, Phinneas and I agreed if something happened to one of us, we would never put Savenridge in danger in order to save the other. We made a promise.”

“So, you knew there was a possibility he could be taken?” Isaac chimed in.

“Yes,” Olivia answered, “and that’s all I’m going to say about it. I’m sorry to be abrupt. I know you’re curious, but some things need to be left alone for now. When the time comes, you will know more.” Listening to Olivia talk about the possibility of danger made Elijah think about his conversation with Uncle Stan the other day. If he heard right, Phinneas’s capture was ten years ago, right around the same time Uncle Stan said his parents left to live with the common people. Elijah wondered if the two were connected somehow. He decided to ask her later. Hannah’s hand shot up.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Olivia asked.

“I want to know if we are safe here. Will the Maliphists come back?”

“Mr. Button and I have put in new security measures here at the barracks to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Olivia said confidently. “Unfortunately, one of our soldiers guarding the barracks happened to be a Maliphist. That’s how they were able to break in so easily last time.” Becca looked over at Elijah and smiled triumphantly. She had been right. “He had somehow gotten into our city in disguise and coordinated their break-ins, giving the other Maliphists opportunities to enter the city and the barracks when he was on guard. We caught him as soon as Hannah was taken, and immediately sent him to Valcore.” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNʘᴠᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“How do we know there aren’t more of them in the city?” asked Paul. “Maliphists, I mean.”

“I’m afraid it’s still a possibility and concern,” she answered. “That’s why we have put the new security measures in place. Plus, we have a team constantly evaluating our safety. They are looking into ways to make the city, and especially the barracks, safer each day, but you will still need to be extra careful.” Paul nodded his head, but the others were still nervous.

“Well, I’m sorry to say I must go,” said Olivia. “Elijah, I hope you forgive me. It’s been ten years since I’ve seen my husband, so I’m going to miss a few weeks of our training if that’s okay. I have lots of lost time to catch up on, and Phinneas needs care.”

“That’s okay,” said Elijah.

“Keep practicing, though,” she told him. “I’ll know if you don’t.”

Elijah smiled at her. “I will.” Olivia waved at the rest of them and she walked out. Elijah noticed an extra kick to her step and a youthful flash in her eyes. No matter how many lectures he got, he would never be sorry for what he did to help.

It was mid-April before Olivia sent word to Elijah that they were going to resume their elemental training. During the weeks prior, Uncle Stan had been released from the infirmary and was practically back to his normal self. The Roddicks graciously offered him their extra room for the time being, until he had a place to stay. Elijah found himself frequently visiting his uncle whenever he could, and this suited the Roddicks just fine as they got to see Elijah more often.

Elijah had also gotten quite good at his elemental training—especially controlling water. As Olivia requested, instead of training with her, he would go out with three soldiers every Saturday to work on his training alone. It was a relief not to have the lakes and rivers frozen as the warmer April weather had melted the ice away. Instead of snow, it would rain, and instead of freezing temperatures, the days were beginning to warm up, bringing with it the urgency for summer. On a few of the rainy days, Elijah practiced moving the water away from him as it came down, keeping him relatively dry. It was quite a shock to his friends when they came back one Saturday from their training completely soaked, and then noticed Elijah, who hardly had a drop on him.

“Did you go out today?” Isaac asked him.

“Sure I did,” Elijah said smugly. He still hadn’t told them he could manipulate the elements.

“Then how are you so dry? It’s pouring out there!”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s raining that hard.” Elijah walked away feeling rather pleased with himself. He knew eventually he would have to tell his friends what he could do, but for now, he was having fun being coy.

When Olivia finally met up with Elijah, she took him to the lake where they had their first training. The walk was much different this time. The snow had melted away, so the land was full of green plants springing out of the rich soil. Olivia first asked Elijah to show her what he could do. He walked over to the lake, raised his arm, engulfed his emotions with a peaceful memory, and gathered a baseball-sized ball of water. It formed up out of the lake, raised about ten feet, and then Elijah let it fall, but just before it hit the surface of the lake, he spread his hands quickly, and the ball of water shattered into hundreds of drops and they all fell back into the lake.

“That’s quite the control you’ve managed to learn,” Olivia said. “Keep trying different things like that. Experimenting with the elements will help you learn how to manipulate them easier. Just make sure you’re careful.” Elijah agreed and for the rest of the lesson he continued to show Olivia other things, using other elements, he had worked on during her absence.

When their session was complete, Olivia requested they both sit down on a large root at the base of a nearby tree. Like always, she snacked on the crackers she brought with her. They gazed out over the lake, now moving freely, with small ripples of waves rhythmically hitting the shore.

“I ended today’s session a little early today so I could have a minute to talk with you,” Olivia said. “I want to make sure everything’s okay. You seem to be doing remarkably well for someone who has been through such an intense experience.”

“I think I’m fine,” Elijah answered.

“I had a chance to talk with Master Roddick a little while ago, and he mentioned you ran into Samuel,” she said. The statement was a question in disguise. Elijah knew she was asking how he was handling Samuel’s decision.

“He helped me escape,” Elijah said. “But he’s staying. He thinks the Maliphists are not bad.”

“What do you think?”

“I think they’re manipulative and Samuel was easily manipulated. I think he saw them show off their power, and since we don’t do that in Savenridge, he assumed they were more powerful.” Elijah thought for a moment. “Are they more powerful?”

“No, and yes. The Maliphists are not more powerful than the Magi in ability. The Magi can use their power just as skillfully as any Maliphist. But what makes the Maliphists more powerful is their willingness to abuse the power.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” he said.

“Well, we do everything we can to avoid using our power aggressively. Some might call that weakness. Some might call that foolishness. I call it wisdom.” Olivia’s tone became very thoughtful. “It doesn’t take any skill to destroy something. Young children can destroy things without knowing what they’re doing. However, it takes a great amount of control and wisdom to have the power to destroy, but choose not to use it unless necessary.”

“Like you did to save me from the Maliphists?”

Olivia nodded. “Sometimes, it is necessary, and that’s why we train to use the elements. But the choice we have made as Magi, to hold back until necessary, puts us at a disadvantage against those who use their power to destroy first. So in that way, the Maliphists are more powerful.”

“So how do we win?” Elijah asked, feeling a sense of defeat already.

“I’m not sure we ever will,” Olivia said sullenly. “I’m afraid there may always be those who look to destroy first. But it’s our responsibility as Magi to work against those who think that way. There is a hope one day we will live in a world where everyone looks for the good first, while keeping their power in check. There’s so much to learn about the world, and I’m afraid some will never know because they’re not looking.”

After a silent moment, Olivia stood up and motioned for Elijah to follow.

“Well, I think it’s time to head back,” she said. “We’re going to have to continue your work on some of the other elements since you seem to have a knack for controlling water.”

“I wouldn’t mind learning some of the things you were able to do to those Maliphists. I assume earth is your element?”

Olivia chuckled. “Yes. It has always come natural to me ever since I had children,” she explained.

Suddenly, Elijah remembered something. “Did you help us?”

“What do you mean?” Olivia asked curiously.

“Right after we rescued Hannah, there were three Maliphists that caught up to us. They were going to kill us. Then from out of nowhere, the earth just opened up and swallowed them. Only them—not us, and we were right there. I thought it might have been you.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Elijah, but I was here.” Then, Olivia turned her head with curiosity. “Tell me what happened just before the earthquake.”

“I was thrown off the horse and lying on the ground. Then, the Maliphists prepared to attack me, but my friends jumped in front. The Maliphists told them to get out of the way or they would kill them, but they still stayed. Then, the earth just swallowed them up.” Olivia had a sudden look of awe, and a funny smile crossed her face as she gazed out into the forests.

“From that which we still do not understand, there is much to learn,” she said dreamily, slowly shaking her head.

“What?”

“I was not there, Elijah,” Olivia said. “Nor was anyone else, right?” He shook his head. “So what are the options? What would make the earth do that?” When Elijah still didn’t respond, Olivia continued. “Do you believe the earth swallowed up only the Maliphists by coincidence?”

“Well, I guess not,” Elijah said.

“So what then?” Olivia said, urging him on. “What makes the earth move? Think back to our lessons.”

“Care. Protection. Nurturing.” Elijah still wasn’t understanding what Olivia was trying to point out.

“Think, Elijah. Think about what you just said. During that time, what was happening that was caring and protecting?”

Instantly, Elijah knew what she meant.

“My friends,” he answered. “When they stepped out in front of me.”

“Your friends created the earthquake, Elijah. They stopped the Maliphists. Not knowingly, of course, but out of their sacrifice and unity, they created a force so powerful no Maliphist stood a chance. You asked me a while ago how we can win, do you remember?” Elijah nodded. “If there is a way, it will have to be through unity. When we are united, we are more powerful. That is how your friends defeated the Maliphists, and that is how we can win.” Elijah thought of his friends. They may not have been able to move a single element by themselves, but together, they defeated the evil Maliphists.

The final weeks of training went by quickly for Elijah. April turned into May; May turned into June, and before he knew it, the final week of training was upon him. Paul explained to him at the end of the term, Mr. Button and the trainers got together to evaluate each student.

“The evaluation determines whether you have to repeat your preliminary year or if you get to move on into your novice year,” said Paul.

“What happens if I have to repeat my preliminary year?” Elijah asked.

“Exactly as it sounds, genius,” Paul kidded. “You have to repeat it. You’ll do the same things next year you did this year. I wouldn’t worry, though, you should be fine.” Elijah wasn’t so sure. He continued to struggle with his physical training all year, and he didn’t know what Zempke would have to say about him. He did, however, find one thing he would be thankful for if he was held back: He could finally stop getting up hours early to do his catch-up exercises. Since Samuel had left, he had to do those exercises alone, which he hated.

Sure enough, right after Elijah’s final Thursday discussion class, Mr. Button found him.

“Do you have a minute, Elijah?” Mr. Button asked as they climbed up the stairs to the main floor.

“Sure.”

“I’ve set a day you will have your evaluation with all of your instructors. We’re going to meet Saturday morning, just before you have your final elemental training for the year. How does that sound?” Mr. Button asked.

“Do I have a choice?”

Mr. Button laughed. “No, not really.”

“I guess that sounds okay,” said Elijah nervously. “Do I need anything?”

“Nope,” Mr. Button replied. “Not a thing. Just come down to my quarters and we’ll have a short discussion. I’ll see you then, eh?” He headed off back down the stairs toward his quarters. Elijah stood on the next to last stair for a moment before he went back to his room, feeling like he needed to throw up.

The evaluation ended up going very well. Zempke, as Elijah expected, said he was a little behind in his physical training, but he was doing quite alright for being introduced to the demand of training just a short while ago. Elijah’s discussion group teacher, Mrs. White, said he was doing okay, but he needed to be more assertive. He wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but he was satisfied with her marks. Mr. Ismai raved about Elijah the entire time he gave his evaluation. He said Elijah had natural mental discipline, and he had never seen some of the things Elijah could do at such a young age. Olivia also had good things to say about Elijah. She didn’t laud him the way Mr. Ismai did, but Elijah was pleased with her comments too.

After a quick discussion, all the instructors decided to graduate him to a First Level Novice. As soon as they said that, Elijah’s heart skipped a beat, and a huge wave of relief flooded him. He was about to run up to tell his friends, but he remembered he had one last lesson with Olivia before the summer break. As soon as the meeting was over, they left the barracks, but didn’t go far.

For weeks, they had been working on the other elements, trying to leave water alone, because he had a good handle on it already. Elijah still practiced as much as he could with water to keep up his skill, but he was beginning to make good progress with fire and earth. He still wasn’t able to get the wind to do anything.

During his last session, they worked with fire mostly. He had been able to produce a small flame to light a camp fire, but this time they worked on harnessing the energy to create a bolt of lightning, like he saw the Maliphists do. After a couple hours of no luck, and seeing Elijah become a little frustrated, Olivia decided to go to a lake and continue working with water—something Elijah could have some success doing.

“Don’t be discouraged, Elijah,” she said. “You’ve done very well this year. By this time next year, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come. In fact, you should think about how far you’ve come this year alone.”

“I think I have you to thank for much of it,” said Elijah. “Speaking of, I wanted to thank you for helping me—not just in training. I would have been killed if you hadn’t saved me from the Maliphists.”

“Oh, not to worry,” Olivia said. “I also had help. By the way, how is your uncle?”

“He’s doing well,” Elijah said. “He’s been staying with the Roddicks and feeling great. I think he’s pretty much back to normal.”

“Are you going to go and live with him during the summer break?” Olivia asked. Elijah realized he hadn’t thought about where he would live after the break. What was Uncle Stan going to do when he was better? And was he going to live with his uncle?

“I don’t know,” Elijah said honestly. At that moment, Elijah thought of Phinneas. He remembered wanting to ask Olivia about his capture. “Mrs. Rose,” Elijah said, very seriously. “May I talk to you about something?” She sensed his serious tone immediately.

“Of course. What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever told you what happened to my parents.”

“Well, that’s a very personal, very painful subject I imagine.”

“Yes. But for some reason, I feel I need to tell you now because I have a question for you.”

“Are you sure?” Olivia asked.

Elijah nodded. He began telling her the events of that night last August when his parents were murdered, and when he escaped from the Maliphist with the yellow eyes. He continued his story through his arrival at Saint Phillip’s Academy and when he moved to Savenridge.

“That’s quite a story,” she said when Elijah had finished. “I am sorry you had to go through all of that. I did know most of it, though, when Glen brought you here.”

“I know,” Elijah continued, “But I got to thinking of telling you everything after you talked about Phinneas. He was taken about ten years ago, right?”

“I told you I was not going to talk to you any more about that, remember?”

“Yes,” said Elijah. “But here’s the thing. My uncle said my parents were once both Magi.”

“Really?” Olivia inquired. “Now that, I didn’t know.”

“Neither did I until recently,” said Elijah. “And the most interesting part is it was ten years ago—the same time you said Phinneas was captured—when they left the Magi.”

Suddenly, Olivia became rigid. She slowly stiffened up, and her eyes widened, looking like she was on another planet. Without any inflection in her voice, she said very seriously, “Elijah, who are your parents?”

“William and Julia Hawk,” he answered, wondering what his story was now meaning to Olivia. Still in a state of deep thought, Olivia continued questioning.

“Do you happen to know why your parents were killed?”

“My uncle said it was because—”

Suddenly, Elijah wasn’t sure if he should share the information his uncle gave him. After all, whatever was apparently in the book was important enough to murder for. Olivia looked impatient.

“Because of what?” she asked. After a minute of contemplating, Elijah decided to tell her. If he couldn’t trust her, there were very few he could trust.

“It was because of a book, I think. The Maliphists apparently wanted this book they had, but at the last minute, my dad gave it to my uncle because they knew they were in danger. Why?”

Elijah couldn’t help but stare at Olivia uncomfortably right after he talked. Her deep-blue eyes seemed to be lifeless. There wasn’t a motion in her body. Then, it looked as though a great catastrophe happened inside of her she wanted to keep in. She winced and bit her lip. Her eyes and face looked so pained at that moment he was sure she was going to explode. He continued looking at her as her silence continued, but in moments, she came back to life.

“No reason,” Olivia said dryly. “I think you and I need to have a talk about something now. Something you must promise not to tell to anyone until I say so. Not even your uncle. Do you understand?”

Elijah nodded.

She looked around, making sure the soldiers were not within listening range. “First, is that book safe?” she whispered intensely.

“I think so. But it’s not here. It’s back where my uncle used to live,” Elijah said, wondering what was going on.

“One day I will tell you more about this, I promise, but for now, I want to let you in on something you need to know now.” Elijah nodded again. “There is something the Maliphists want very badly. It’s been a legend for centuries, but I believe it to be true. More importantly, the Maliphists believe it to be true.”

“What is it?” Elijah asked.

“The legend of the sphere,” Olivia answered.

Elijah looked curiously at her.

“The legend,” she continued, “says that Maliphist, the man, created a sphere that contained inside it the power of all four elements at once. With the power of the sphere, he could destroy anything. The sphere was powerful, and anyone possessing it would be indestructible. When he died, says the legend, the sphere was taken to a place unknown to anyone. However, there were clues left behind to its whereabouts, and whoever was wise enough to solve the clues and find the sphere, would be invincible. If a city were to obtain the sphere, it would be unconquerable. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

“So you think Malpetra is trying to get the sphere?” Elijah asked.

“I know it,” said Olivia. “And that book belonging to your parents is one of those clues.”

“Is that why they came after me? To see if I had the book?”

“I believe so,” said Olivia. “It would make sense.”

“So what do we do?” asked Elijah.

“I need to work that out,” answered Olivia. “I will have to talk with Phinneas first. The two of us have spent most of our lives trying to find this sphere to keep it away from the Maliphists. If they find the sphere first, it will be disastrous.”

“Can I help?” Elijah asked.

Olivia smiled. “Much to my objections, I believe you will have to. But not yet. There are more important things for you to do for now.” Olivia’s tone changed from serious to cheerful in an instant, and her quiet whisper turned to casual conversation. “First of all, you will need to come and visit me this summer. Don’t think just because you’re on break means you get to stay away.” Elijah grinned and stood up.

“I will,” he said.

“Good. Now, what do you say we call it a day, huh? Would you like to come over to my house and have a cup of vanilla cider with me and Phinneas?”

“I’d love to,” Elijah said enthusiastically.

They never got to training with the water. They started toward the house, and Olivia requested Elijah tell her fond memories of his family. On the way, she explained to him that it helps to remember often those we have lost, because when memories are told, lives are never forgotten. Elijah gladly relived his happiest memories as they traveled toward the house. And it felt wonderful.

The last day of term was full of goodbyes. Girls were crying over leaving their friends. Lots of long, awkward hugs were given to one another as they were packing up, leaving the barracks for the break. Elijah thought this was all completely absurd because they all lived close enough to one another anyway most of them could walk to each other’s houses.

Paul and Isaac said goodbye to Elijah and made him promise to visit them during the summer. Elijah promised Isaac he would spend a day at the stables with him, which didn’t really sound like fun, but he went along with it to make Isaac happy. Paul talked Elijah into going hunting in the woods with his unused crossbow, and Adam wanted his adopted parents to meet Elijah. Even Hannah made sure the boys promised to visit her.

“Now if any of you have a birthday this summer, you should all come over. Elijah, I know you have one. And you too, Isaac. I’ll make a cake even,” Hannah said cheerfully. This sounded great to Elijah, whose birthday was only a couple of weeks away. He loved cake. Plus, it was an excuse to see Hannah.

As he packed up, Elijah thought about how much he was going to miss the barracks. He was going to miss seeing his friends every day. He thought of all the things waiting for him when he returned. He had trainings to master. He had new concepts to learn. And, he apparently had a sphere to help find. But all would have to wait until after the break. For now, it was time to rest and enjoy the company of family.

When the term ended, Uncle Stan came to pick Elijah up to walk him to the Roddick residence. Elijah’s friends all shook hands with his uncle, and everyone said goodbye on their way home for the break. As Elijah and his uncle were on their way back, Elijah decided to ask him about the summer living situation.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that,” said Uncle Stan as they walked. “I’ve thought about this for a long time, but I’m afraid I’m not sure what I can do here.”

“You mean in Savenridge?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty much useless here. I’m a marshal. That’s what I do. I live to beat up on Maliphists.” Elijah smiled at Uncle Stan’s attempted humor. “So I wanted to ask what you thought about me stickin’ around for part of the summer and then going back to bein’ a marshal again?”

“Where would you live?” Elijah asked. “You can’t go back to your old place, can you?”

“Oh, I’ll think of something. But before I figure out what I’m gonna do, I wanted to ask you first. The Roddicks said they would look after you, and during the training year, you’d be living at the barracks anyway.”

Elijah felt sad, but he kind of expected this conversation at some point. It made sense his uncle needed to leave. The only thing keeping Uncle Stan in Savenridge was him, and he didn’t want to keep him somewhere he didn’t belong. He would miss him, though.

“As long as you promise to be careful, and visit lots, I’m okay with that,” said Elijah. “But you should stick around at least until my birthday.”

“I wouldn’t dare miss it,” said Uncle Stan. He put his arm around Elijah and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Elijah walked side by side with his uncle through the great fields of Savenridge, his father’s pocket watch thumping his leg with each step. At that moment, there wasn’t a boy in the world as happy as Elijah. As he walked into Master Roddick’s house, he was greeted enthusiastically by Mrs. Roddick and two very impatient girls, who had been waiting by the window for him to appear.

“He’s here! He’s here!” they squealed. Elijah dropped his bags and embraced the people who had become his family. He loved them all more than he ever thought he would when he first came to Savenridge. Master Roddick grabbed Elijah’s bag, and they all entered the house continuing to exchange warm greetings—and an occasional squawk from the girls.

As Elijah reached back to close the door behind him, he was glad to be home with a family—his family. Although they would never replace his parents, they were there for Elijah in the midst of the most difficult time in his life. They cared for him when he needed caring. They listened to him when he needed someone to talk to. They found him and loved him like a family should—and because of that, Elijah Hawk considered himself very lucky indeed.

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