The man didn’t want to take his eyes off the boy. But just before the woman stepped between them, he stood and took her offered hand. “Hello there. Yes, you are . . . one of the Oppal sisters, aren’t you? Jam Oppal, right?”
“You’re a genius for faces and names,” the woman said.
He nodded agreeably, turning back to Diamond.
“And what brings you to the wilderness?” the woman asked.
“Oh, this isn’t the wilderness,” he said. Then he winked at the boy, adding, “I have many close friends out here.”
“I’m one of them,” she said.
He tried to laugh and then squeezed her hand again. “It is good to see you, Jam. Tell your sisters that they’re all lovely, but you are the smartest.”
Giggling, the woman left.
“Archon,” said Diamond.
“Yes?”
“Is that also your name?”
“It’s a title, and an office.”
Diamond said nothing.
The Archon remained standing. “Your father wants to see you right away.”
“How is my father?”
“He is very well,” the man said.
“Did he kill a corona?”
The man blinked and said, “Yes. A giant corona, in fact.”
“Is he happy about it?”
“Of course he’s happy.” With his toes, the Archon gripped the flat face of the wood. “Let’s go see him now and make him happier than ever.”
“All right.”
The man turned to pick up the books and papers.
And Diamond ran away.
Long legs carried him to far side of the circle. Staying on the route he had been on before, Diamond ran next to the railing and then down the middle, weaving around people, racing past the young handholding couple. He saw a sign full of words and important arrows, but he couldn’t read well enough to understand what the signs told him. Then a voice behind him shouted, “Diamond,” and he ran faster than before.
The voice called to him a second time, then a third.
Diamond ran on his toes, startling people with his speed and his desperate face. Adults jumped out of his way and shouted after him, and then the following voice, suddenly close, said, “Slow down, Diamond.”
He tried to run faster but couldn’t.
“It’s me,” the voice called out. “Seldom.”
Diamond stopped instantly, and Seldom rode the bicycle into his friend’s leg, lost his balance and crashed. Passersby asked if the boys were all right, but when the only reaction was laughter, the adults insisted on telling the little thugs how irresponsible it was to do everything they had been doing today, and on public walkways too.
NINE
Bright blood had seeped through Diamond’s trousers, but now the blood darkened and seeped back into his skin, leaving the fabric clean but slightly damp. Seldom’s knee and the back of one hand were badly scraped. He wiped the hand against the leg of his school uniform, studying the resulting stain.
Both boys stood, and Diamond gave the bicycle’s front wheel a hard spin, watching the wooden spokes blurring.
Then Seldom threw the stiff leg over the seat, remembering to say, “We have to hurry.”
Diamond walked beside his friend, astonished to see him stand on the pedals, maintaining his fragile balance.
“Master Nissim’s waiting,” Seldom said.
Diamond started to jog. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Stay up.”
The boy considered. “I don’t know. I learned how, and I do it.”
Hanner was straight ahead. The largest, most cherished tree in the District, its oldest surviving limb was beneath the broad golden walkway. Wooden buildings and long platforms were clustered along the way—a confusing mishmash of homes and businesses and gardens grown for food and for color. Epiphytes dangled from special pots, and the air was perfumed, and people were walking everywhere, and some of them were talking, one man shaking his hand at empty air, telling nothing, “I’m sorry I brought you.”
Seldom pedaled and then coasted. When they were past the shouting man, he rolled his eyes, saying, “That one’s crazy.”
“What does that mean?”
“He can’t trust his own thoughts.”
Diamond looked back at the shouter. “What about those other men?” he asked.
“From the blimp?”
He nodded.
“I don’t know where they are,” the boy said, pedaling again.
Every nearby face was new to Diamond.
“When they realized you were gone, two of them left the ship,” Seldom said. “The other man, the scariest one . . . he walked down the gangway behind us. That wasn’t long ago. Master Nissim told us to run ahead and hunt for you. He’s going to find us later.”
“Where’s Elata?”
“Up ahead.” Squeezing a clamp, Seldom made the back wheel squeak and slow down. “She doesn’t know how to ride a two-wheeler. That’s why I’m the one who borrowed it.”
Diamond didn’t react.
“I borrowed this machine,” he repeated. “I don’t steal.”
“What does ‘steal’ mean?”
“Taking what isn’t yours,” Seldom said. “It’s always wrong, unless of course you don’t have any choice.”
Twin white pillars stood on flanking sides of the walkway. They were still in the distance, tall and narrow objects curling toward each other up high and ending in points. Grand red flags were stuck on top, flapping in unison as breezes blew.
“Diamond,” said Seldom, his voice quiet and nervous. Glancing at the boy trotting beside him, he asked, “What else can you do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Besides healing fast . . . what other magic do you know . . . ?”
“What’s magic?”
Seldom was breathing quickly, deeply. “Master Nissim says you have powers. Rare powers, and it’s not just that you heal when you get hurt. There’s going to be other things you can do. You’re special, he told us.”
“No,” Diamond said.
Seldom didn’t hear him, or he didn’t listen. “That’s why those men want you. The Master doesn’t know how they know, but they learned about you and they’re desperate to catch you. You’re that important.”
Diamond glanced over his shoulder again.
“What other enchantments can you do?”
“None.”
“You run fast,” Seldom pointed out. “I’ve never seen any kid run this fast or for as long.”
“I can’t climb,” Diamond pointed out. “Not ropes and barely ladders.”
“I guess not. But you’re stronger than you look.”
“Adults are stronger than me.”
The boy thought for a moment. “Maybe today. But what happens when you grow up? You’ll do all sorts of magic, maybe.”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe you’ll be a giant,” Seldom suggested. “Powerful and bulletproof, and everybody will be afraid of you.”
“I hope not.”
“Or.” Seldom hesitated, and then a brilliant smile filled his face. “Maybe you’ll grow wings.”
Diamond said nothing.
“Your parents must be remarkable people,” Seldom said. “If they have a son like you, I mean.”
“They are remarkable.”
“I want to meet them,” Seldom said.
Diamond smiled. “I see Elata.”
“You do? Where?”
“She’s on the right tower, watching for us.”
Seldom didn’t see her immediately. “You’ve got good eyes too.”
“But I won’t be a giant.” The words were important. He slowed to a trot, and with a louder voice said, “And I won’t grow wings either.”
“Are you sure?” his friend called back to him.
“Yes.”
“Too bad,” Seldom said. “Wings would be a lot of fun.”
Elata jumped down from the pillar and ran to meet them. She was thrilled to see both boys, but Diamond got the hug.