Good Ogre (3 page)

“Do you miss the Magrus?” Max asked. Moki stretched as he contemplated his answer.

“I like it here,” Moki replied. “TV is great.” Max smiled—Moki pretty much thought everything was great.

“Sometimes I miss it,” Max admitted. “I had power in the Magrus. People respected me.”

“You are a great wizard.”

“But not like before—magic doesn't work the same here.” Max opened his nightstand and pulled out the
Codex of Infinite Knowability
. Moki frowned when Max's scratching hand left to become a page-turning one. “I'm the only person in the three realms who can use this,” Max continued, “and it pretty much just sits in my drawer collecting dust.” He flipped through the ancient book, the handwritten pages and elaborate drawings part of the encyclopedic knowledge the
Codex
had of just about everyone and everything. And as far as Max could tell, the
Codex
also had a mind of its own—its pages would change and the book would communicate what
it
wanted, regardless of what the reader was interested in. Because the
Codex
had been created by the greatest arch-sorcerer who had ever lived, it also contained the Fifteen Prime Spells—the most powerful magic in all of existence, and the foundation of all other magic in the universe. The fact that the arch-sorcerer had turned out to be Max's father was still too new a revelation for Max to completely appreciate. But maybe that was why he felt
the pull of the place—he was born there. The Magrus was his real home.

Max stood with the book in his hand. He reached out with his mind and found the strange sensation that was the
Codex
. In the human realm, magic was slippery and hard to hold on to. Still, he found the tide of power that flowed through the book and pulled it back. It engulfed him like a warm ocean current. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feeling, not aware of the books, papers, and other items that lifted into the air and began to float around the room. Moki slid along the bed as well, finally grabbing hold of the bedpost with his claws. The power swelled in Max, and he smiled at its warm and comforting embrace.
This is who I am,
he said to himself.

Outside Max's house the trees in the yard bent as if caught in an invisible wind. Then the old water hose began to move across the yard like a snake until it lifted into the air. The hose was joined by several newspapers and a number of long-lost toys hiding under bushes or in rain gutters. Several dogs started barking, and suddenly one of the neighbors' cars lurched forward.

All around Max's house items took flight, carried on the invisible current of magic. Then the neighbor's
car began to slowly lift from the ground, triggering the security alarm. Max's eyes shot open as he became aware of what he'd been doing. The magic slipped away and everything fell down, including a grateful Moki, who had been losing his grip on the bed. The car outside bounced as the front end fell to the driveway, blasting the horn on impact. Max looked out the window in time to see his neighbor run outside, nearly getting struck by a falling garden gnome. He drew the blinds and pressed himself against the wall, keeping out of sight, then waited a minute before chancing another look. His neighbor was standing by his car, gnome in hand, scratching his head.

Max put the
Codex
away and closed the nightstand drawer. It was far too dangerous to use magic in the Techrus—no matter how good it made him feel.

CHAPTER TWO

RUMBLE IN THE PIT

M
AX SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT
coming. Since when did Coach Mattson ask to see him during lunch? And why would he want to meet him in the wrestling pit (a small, smelly room in the basement where the wrestlers practiced) instead of his office? If Max had been thinking right, he would have realized something was wrong, but he'd been walking around in zombie mode after his magical episode the night before. When Sarah saw him, she asked if he was sick, so Max figured he probably looked as bad as he felt. But now things were about to get much, much worse.

He stood at the bottom of the long, narrow flight of stairs that led to the pit. There were people waiting for him, but none of them happened to be Coach Mattson. Instead, Ricky Reynolds and a few of his wrestling
buddies were eyeing him like a rabbit in a lion's den. Max heard the door at the top of the stairs slam shut, trapping him inside.

“Hey, look who's here!” Ricky announced, a gleam in his eye. “I told you he'd come.”

“Not too bright,” another wrestler said as he cracked his knuckles.

“Okay, very funny,” Max said, putting his hands up. “You got me.”

Ricky approached Max and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him into the room. “I don't think Max has ever been Captain Hooked. Have you, Max?” Max cast a worried look at the row of hooks on the brown brick wall. He'd never been Captain Hooked before, but he'd heard stories—the wrestlers would lift some poor kid up and catch his underwear on the wall hook. Then they'd just leave him there, hanging by his underwear and getting the world's worst wedgie. It was more than painful, and once you were Captain Hooked you couldn't do anything about it. And if Max knew Ricky and his friends, they'd leave him like that until somebody wandered down after school. The thought of it made Max's heart race as he tried to pull away.

“No!” he cried out. “Please don't!”

The half dozen or so other wrestlers surrounded Max, taking control of his arms and legs and easily dragging him toward the line of hooks.

“You ready?” Ricky mocked. “You can cry all you want down here 'cause nobody's gonna hear you.”

“Please, just let me go,” Max pleaded. Despite his panic he had to resist the urge to use magic. It was too powerful and too unpredictable, and somebody could really get hurt. All he could do was struggle against the stronger kids and try to delay the pain and humiliation as long as possible. He was quickly losing the battle, however, when a new voice filled the room.

“Put him down.”

All eyes turned to see a boy standing at the bottom of the stairs. Max didn't recognize him, and he definitely wasn't the sort you'd soon forget. He was big—the biggest kid Max had ever seen—with massive arms and a broad chest and shoulders. But he didn't look like the guys who spent all their free time in the gym getting pumped up. The kid just looked strong, like he'd spent every waking hour on some farm throwing bales of hay around—or possibly cows. It was enough for everyone
to stop what they were doing and take in the sight of the stranger filling the doorway.

“Who are you?” Ricky demanded. Ricky wasn't the kind of person to be intimidated by anyone.

“I'm the one who told you to put him down,” the kid replied.

“This is none of your business,” Ricky answered.

In response the big kid walked toward the group, stopping in front of Ricky so he was chest to chest and staring down at him. “It is. So put him down before I have to make you.”

The other wrestlers obeyed, their survival instincts kicking in at the sight of the hulking boy. As soon as Max's feet hit the floor, he spun away and ran to the far wall.

“What's your name?” Ricky pressed. “You don't go to school here.”

“I'm Wayne. Today's my first day.”

“Okay, Wayne, maybe you don't know how things work around here,” Ricky replied, standing his ground. “You're new, so I'll tell you. I'm the captain of the wrestling team, and what I say goes. In the pit, and anywhere else I happen to be. And right now I say we're going to Captain Hook this dweeb. Understand?”

Wayne turned to Max, ignoring Ricky. “Are you Max Spencer?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Max managed to get out, his heart still racing. “Do I know you?”

“No. But your friend Dirk told me where I could find you,” Wayne answered. Max should have figured if anyone was going to find the biggest kid in the world and send him to the rescue, it would be Dirk. He owed his best friend big time. Wayne returned his attention to Ricky and said, “We're leaving now.”

“I don't think so,” Ricky grunted, raising his hands and pushing the bigger kid in the chest. But Wayne hardly moved, and Ricky stumbled backward, his eyes wide in surprise. Then Wayne grabbed Ricky with as much effort as lifting a bag of potato chips (that was the first thing that came to Max's mind) and tossed him halfway across the room. Ricky landed on the mat with a heavy thud and managed an awkward roll as he tried to get back on his feet. The other wrestlers took a collective step backward, wanting nothing to do with it.

Wayne turned and pointed a massive hand at Ricky. “Stay down,” he commanded. It was probably the hardest thing in the world for Ricky to do, and mixed in with the
confusion that played across the Kraken's face there was a new emotion—fear. Ricky turned his head, remaining on his hands and knees.

“Come on,” Max said to Wayne. Wayne turned and followed Max across the mat and out of the pit. They emerged into the gym and Max extended his hand. He wasn't sure how you thanked somebody for saving his life, but he figured a handshake was probably a good start.

“Thanks. You totally saved me down there,” Max said. The big kid looked puzzled, but slowly reached out and clasped hands. Max could feel the power behind the big kid's grip.

“Max!” Sarah called out. She was with Dirk, and the two of them hurried over to where he and Wayne were standing. “Dirk told me about the note,” she said, sounding relieved.

“Yeah,” Dirk said. “You're lucky I found it. How did you not know that was a trap?”

“I guess it was pretty obvious,” Max admitted. “I just haven't been myself lately.”

Sarah turned to Wayne. “Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm Sarah.”

If there was anyone in the world that Max looked
up to, it was Sarah. Not only was she way too smart and too pretty to be hanging around with a pair like him and Dirk, but she was tougher than both of them put together. And where Max was pudgy with glasses and a thick mop of black hair, and Dirk lean (okay, more like scrawny) with a short military-style haircut, Sarah was tall with auburn hair and dark, expressive eyes. Max had seen her both as the quiet smart girl sitting in the front of math class and the fearless warrior who used her judo to bring grown men to the ground. In short, Max was in awe of her, and counted himself lucky to be her friend.

“That's Wayne,” Dirk said, confirming the fact that he'd had something to do with the big kid's appearance in the wrestling pit.

“Good to meet you,” Wayne replied.

“I guess you got to Max in time,” Dirk said, looking his friend over. “No damage done?”

“Just my pride.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Dirk added. “Good thing I saw Wayne. I figured, here's the biggest kid I've ever seen—I'm going to be his friend. And then my new friend will rescue my old friend. That's what having high charisma does for you.”

Sarah rolled her eyes in response. “So what's your story, Wayne? Where did you move here from?”

“Oh, well I just moved from that small room to here,” he answered. There was a pause, and then Max and his friends starting laughing.

“Yep, you're going to fit in just right,” Dirk added. “Hey, you should come to lunch with us.”

“I am hungry,” Wayne admitted.

“Then lunch is on me,” Max said. “My way of saying thanks.”

Max and his friends watched as Wayne not only ate a lunch tray full of food but finished Sarah's leftovers as well. “So, you never said where you were from,” Sarah remarked, watching as Wayne dunked the fries in ketchup and wolfed them down.

“You gotta respect a man who can eat like that,” Dirk said. “Unlike Max—he's dainty.”

“Very funny,” Max shot back. “How many times have I saved your skinny hide now?”

“A few,” Dirk said with a nod, settling into his chair. Wayne swallowed before answering Sarah.

“Where I'm from? Well, it's a little complicated, and
I wanted to make sure you were the right people before I said anything. But you are, aren't you? You're the three who brought down the Wizard's Tower.”

Max shared a surprised look with his friends—how could he possibly know
that
?

“It's okay,” Wayne continued, mopping up the last of the ketchup. “I know it's something that isn't talked about here. I mean, everyone in the Magrus knows about the Techrus. But for some reason people here don't know about us.”

“Or the Shadrus,” Dirk added. They had all spent time in the magical Magrus, but the Shadow realm was largely a mystery.

“Dirk,” Sarah cautioned, “I'm not sure we should be talking about this.”

Wayne continued, “They say you left before all the uproar that followed the defeat of Rezormoor Dreadbringer.”

“We did,” Dirk confirmed. “Although I thought we should hang around and bask in our hero-ness for a while. Pose for statues and such.”

“What happened?” Max asked. “After.”

“The wizards were suddenly without a leader, and the
Tower was in ruins,” Wayne continued. “Word spread quickly about the boy who could read the book and his companions. The rulers of the Seven Kingdoms were more than a little nervous, of course. They met in a great council where the dwarf king and the king of Mor Luin shared their stories about meeting you.”

Max glanced around the lunchroom, but nobody seemed particularly interested in what they were talking about. If anything, it probably sounded like they were discussing an online game or something. “How did you find us?” he asked.

“You have many friends in the Magrus,” Wayne continued. “Unicorns, dragons, and an elf who drives a magical coach.”

“Sumyl,” Dirk said with a smile. “She's cool.”

Wayne nodded. “I was sent by those who seek your return. All the realm knows what you've done for us.” He put his food down and turned to Max. “You're the keeper of the
Codex of Infinite Knowability
. We believe that you and the
Codex
belong in the Magrus. The Tower would come together if you were to return and rebuild it. And the kings of the Seven Kingdoms desire to have you as an ally.”

“So you've come to take us back?” Dirk asked.

“Only if you want to,” Wayne replied. “I'm here to watch over Max and invite him and his friends to return.” Wayne turned to Dirk. “When you asked me to help, I knew it was more than a coincidence.”

“Dude!” Dirk exclaimed to Max. “You have your own
tank
now. That's awesome! He's like your bodyguard and stuff.”

“But you're only a kid,” Sarah said to Wayne. “No offense, but why send you?”

“We know very little about you,” Wayne replied. “The council thought it made sense to send one boy to talk to another. We're basically the same age.”

Dirk laughed. “Maybe, but look at your arms. I wish I had guns like those.”

Wayne looked at his arms. “Guns?”

“He didn't mean that literally,” Sarah clarified.

Wayne nodded as if he understood. “I've always been big.”

“So, to be clear, you're telling us to leave our homes and travel all the way back to the Magrus?” Sarah asked.

“I carry something that can open a doorway between the two realms,” Wayne replied. “It's called the Shadric
Portal, and it was crafted by the Wizard's Tower long ago. In fact, it was created by Maximilian Sporazo. There is no need for a long journey—if you choose to return, Max will be able to open the portal and simply walk through.”

“Awesome,” Dirk said, to nobody's surprise.

“Dwight the dwarf is here as well, is that right?” Wayne added.

Max nodded. “Yeah.”

“Ask him about the Shadric Portal and what's required to carry it,” Wayne said. “I think it will mean more coming from him.” He pushed himself up from the table. “Now I'm supposed to meet a man about something called
football
.”

“Yeah, I bet the coach is anxious to talk to you,” Max replied. “Thanks, Wayne. I guess you've given us a lot to think about.”

“Anytime,” Wayne replied with a nod. He turned and walked out of the lunchroom, getting more than a few looks from the other students.

“Okay,” Max said after a moment. “Didn't see that one coming.”