was thrilled that Aaron knew he was still alive. And when Alex reluctantly delivered Aaron back to Quill, he whispered excitedly, “Promise not to tell anyone—not anyone. Maybe next time you can stay with me for good!”
“I won’t tell,” Aaron said. “I promise. You have to come back again soon!”
And just as they waved a satisfied, heartfelt good-bye, and Alex turned away to enter the gate into Artimé again, he looked back over his shoulder one last time, and his heart stopped. In place of his dear brother, Aaron, appeared the sinister face of High Priest Justine.
“ALEX!”
Alex jumped awake and shouted, “No!”
“ALEX! Please don’t make me shout through your bedroom door. My voice is delicate after so many weeks of misuse.”
“Clive? Is that you?” For a moment Alex didn’t know where he was.
“Oh, boy,” Clive said, and rolled his eyes.
Alex scrambled off the bed and opened the door to thesitting area. “Why are you shouting at me? It’s seven o’clock in the morning, for crying out sideways.”
“Ms. Octavia is waiting to speak with you. Put on a shirt or something, good gracious. I’ll deliver her as soon as you say you’re ready.”
Alex groaned as all the memories of the previous day came flooding back. More trouble, he thought, for skipping yesterday’s lesson. He slid a T-shirt over his head, pulled on his shorts, and waited, breathless, in front of the blackboard. “Okay,” he said.
Ms. Octavia appeared. “Hello, Alex,” she said, peering down her snout at him.
Alex nodded. “Hi, Ms. Octavia,” he mumbled. Waiting.
“I missed you yesterday. Were you ill?”
“N-n-not exactly, ma’am.”
“I see.” She adjusted her glasses. “Well, you’ll be here today, won’t you?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
“Good. We’re starting your Magical Warrior Training, and I wouldn’t want you to miss that. I look forward to seeing you.” She nodded curtly. Her picture faded to the black screen, leaving Alex standing with his jaw slacked in amazement.
Clive resurfaced and gave a patronizing smile. “Well, it’s about time.”
Alex scowled. “Shove a sock in it, Clive.”
He showered, dressed, and headed off to classes, puzzling just a little over his dreams before pushing them back in the dark corner of his mind.
At the same time, just a few miles away, another boy who looked identical to Alex was doing the exact same things.
Aaron the Wanted
W hen the buzzer sounded, Aaron Stowe left his tiny gray dormitory room in Wanted University and entered the hallway as a dozen others did the same. They walked shoulder to shoulder to the cafeteria for breakfast and ate their gruel politely, in silence. Chatting at mealtimes was not permitted, so the students ate quickly and moved on to their assignments for the day.
While most students still went to their classrooms to continue their basic learning, Aaron had excelled and been promoted. He walked toward the exit, where a square, rust-coloredQuillitary Jeep pulled up. Just as Aaron reached the edge of the narrow road that encircled Quill, the vehicle belched out acrid black smoke that smelled like burning chicken grease. He got inside and nodded to the driver.
The vehicle roared and sputtered past government offices and the new Favored Farm, Aaron’s own creation, where special high-quality, high-grade vegetables, fruits, grains, and animals were now raised for consumption by the High Priest Justine, the governors, and the Quillitary. The barbed-wire ceiling cast gridlike shadows that lined up almost exactly with the rows of crops. “It’s looking fine,” Aaron noted with a hint of satisfaction.
Since Aaron was considered to be very promising, showing not only the highest intelligence for his class but a budding strength as well, he had been chosen to train directly under the guidance of Senior Governor Haluki, a slight, graying man who was the High Priest’s second in command, and Governor Strang, a proven young man of
“I won’t tell,” Aaron said. “I promise. You have to come back again soon!”
And just as they waved a satisfied, heartfelt good-bye, and Alex turned away to enter the gate into Artimé again, he looked back over his shoulder one last time, and his heart stopped. In place of his dear brother, Aaron, appeared the sinister face of High Priest Justine.
“ALEX!”
Alex jumped awake and shouted, “No!”
“ALEX! Please don’t make me shout through your bedroom door. My voice is delicate after so many weeks of misuse.”
“Clive? Is that you?” For a moment Alex didn’t know where he was.
“Oh, boy,” Clive said, and rolled his eyes.
Alex scrambled off the bed and opened the door to thesitting area. “Why are you shouting at me? It’s seven o’clock in the morning, for crying out sideways.”
“Ms. Octavia is waiting to speak with you. Put on a shirt or something, good gracious. I’ll deliver her as soon as you say you’re ready.”
Alex groaned as all the memories of the previous day came flooding back. More trouble, he thought, for skipping yesterday’s lesson. He slid a T-shirt over his head, pulled on his shorts, and waited, breathless, in front of the blackboard. “Okay,” he said.
Ms. Octavia appeared. “Hello, Alex,” she said, peering down her snout at him.
Alex nodded. “Hi, Ms. Octavia,” he mumbled. Waiting.
“I missed you yesterday. Were you ill?”
“N-n-not exactly, ma’am.”
“I see.” She adjusted her glasses. “Well, you’ll be here today, won’t you?”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
“Good. We’re starting your Magical Warrior Training, and I wouldn’t want you to miss that. I look forward to seeing you.” She nodded curtly. Her picture faded to the black screen, leaving Alex standing with his jaw slacked in amazement.
Clive resurfaced and gave a patronizing smile. “Well, it’s about time.”
Alex scowled. “Shove a sock in it, Clive.”
He showered, dressed, and headed off to classes, puzzling just a little over his dreams before pushing them back in the dark corner of his mind.
At the same time, just a few miles away, another boy who looked identical to Alex was doing the exact same things.
Aaron the Wanted
W hen the buzzer sounded, Aaron Stowe left his tiny gray dormitory room in Wanted University and entered the hallway as a dozen others did the same. They walked shoulder to shoulder to the cafeteria for breakfast and ate their gruel politely, in silence. Chatting at mealtimes was not permitted, so the students ate quickly and moved on to their assignments for the day.
While most students still went to their classrooms to continue their basic learning, Aaron had excelled and been promoted. He walked toward the exit, where a square, rust-coloredQuillitary Jeep pulled up. Just as Aaron reached the edge of the narrow road that encircled Quill, the vehicle belched out acrid black smoke that smelled like burning chicken grease. He got inside and nodded to the driver.
The vehicle roared and sputtered past government offices and the new Favored Farm, Aaron’s own creation, where special high-quality, high-grade vegetables, fruits, grains, and animals were now raised for consumption by the High Priest Justine, the governors, and the Quillitary. The barbed-wire ceiling cast gridlike shadows that lined up almost exactly with the rows of crops. “It’s looking fine,” Aaron noted with a hint of satisfaction.
Since Aaron was considered to be very promising, showing not only the highest intelligence for his class but a budding strength as well, he had been chosen to train directly under the guidance of Senior Governor Haluki, a slight, graying man who was the High Priest’s second in command, and Governor Strang, a proven young man of
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