The Magi (The Magi Series) by Kevin M. Turner Page A

some problems, but it was very dull.
    Science, on the other hand, was not at all what Elijah expected. It was the one class he was looking forward to the most. He and his father liked to tinker with machines and talk about how the world worked during long walks together, so he always had a heart for science. This teacher, however, was very different from Elijah’s father. His name was Master Corgan, and he was built like a tank—wide and burly with very little neck. Elijah walked in prepared to be extra friendly to him.
    “Hello, Master Corgan. My name is—”
    “Never—speak to me—unless you are spoken to,” Corgan interrupted in a very low, crackly voice. He talked very slowly and clearly, as though he thought Elijah would not understand unless he did. “I know very well who you are, and I will tell you what you need to do when I feel you are ready.” Elijah wasn’t sure if he should acknowledge Master Corgan or not. “Just let me tell you this,” continued Corgan stiffly. “Science is a gift. You either have it, or you don’t. You either understand it, or you don’t.” When Corgan continued speaking, he wasn’t even looking at Elijah. He spoke almost mystically. “The world is a funny place. If you have the gift, the world can be miraculous. There is power to be found in it and power to be taken from it.” He looked down at Elijah. “Some people do not have that gift. Don’t take it too hard. Some things are not meant to be.” Corgan walked away.
    Elijah was left standing absolutely dumbfounded. He hoped that the next term he would not have Master Corgan. The rest of class was spent reading out of an old science book. Corgan didn’t seem at all interested in teaching anyone. He walked around with his head held high and one hand perpetually in his coat pocket. He paced around the classroom as though he was waiting for an excuse to punish students.
    Elijah decided to find Roddick immediately after class. Following his science class, he needed to talk with someone who could make him feel better. He walked into Roddick’s classroom and saw that he was still teaching.
    “I’ll be done in about twenty minutes,” Roddick hollered to Elijah from the front of the room. Elijah gave him a wave of acknowledgement and walked out to kill some time. He wandered over to the front hallway and looked at the old photographs of previous students. They amused him. He looked at all the changes throughout the years and was intrigued by the different styles and trends of the previous students.
    After about five minutes, when Elijah had looked at twenty or thirty class pictures, he came face to face with two students in a picture that made him gasp in surprise. He blinked again to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He wasn’t. Elijah stared transfixed at a photograph of his father and his uncle Stan posing for the camera, wearing their own Saint Phillip’s Academy uniforms.
     
     
    ****

CHAPTER 5: MASTER RODDICK

     
     
    It took a long time for Elijah to tear himself away from the photograph of his father and uncle. Was it possible that they walked the same halls as Elijah did now? It certainly seemed like it. The more Elijah thought about it, the more it made sense. William and Stanley Hawk were also orphans, so they were probably raised somewhere like here. Was it by coincidence that Elijah ended up here, or by design? Could it have been the intention of Elijah’s parents to send him here if something happened to Uncle Stan?
    Elijah was so hungry for answers that he almost overlooked a glaring question. Why all the secrecy? If all that was true, why didn’t Detective Scott simply say it was the will of Elijah’s parents for him to go? Things still didn’t add up. Maybe there was something, or someone, here that could give him some answers. He immediately thought of Master Roddick. Could he have known his parents? He looked to be their age, maybe a little younger.
    He forced himself to slow down. It was