Sarah and the Gathering Time

Chapter 4 - The Magus

By Saturday, Sarah's nerves were on edge. She'd planned on going to meet Daniel alone, but on second thought decided to ask Marta to join her.

"Sure, I'll come," said Marta. "Oh, but I told Angie I'd hang out with her this afternoon. Do you mind if she comes too? Don't worry she's cool. She won't say anything."

"Okay," replied Sarah. "Fine with me."

Angie brought her skateboard, weaving in and out of Marta and Sarah's bicycles, as they rode toward town.

"What are we doing here?" asked Angie, as Sarah and Marta locked their bicycles to the rack in front of the library.
"Sarah's meeting someone here," said Marta quickly. "A friend." Angie eyed them curiously, then sat down on the steps, her feet propped up on her skateboard so it wouldn't roll away.

"I don't see him," said Sarah, looking around.

"What time is it?"

"Just about a minute after two," said Marta, sitting down next to Angie. Sarah began to pace back and forth on the sidewalk in front of them, peering up and down Main Street. She was impatient to know if Daniel had found her uncle.

"You may as well sit down," said Marta.

"Looks like he's late." Sarah joined them on the steps.

"Maybe he's not coming," Sarah said gloomily. "Maybe he forgot."

"Well, it's twenty after now, let's say we give him another 10 minutes," suggested Marta. Two-thirty came and went.

"I can't wait any longer," said Sarah restlessly. "I'm gonna go look for him. Maybe something's happened. Besides, I've gotta find my uncle. He's the only one who can tell me what's going on."

"But you don't know where he is," said Marta. "Where will you look?" "Daniel took me to a coffee shop, a few blocks from here. I'll start there." 

 Angie looked at Marta expectantly. "Okay," said Marta. "We might as well come with you. Coming Ang?"

"Sure, I'll come," said Angie, picking up her skateboard. Sarah led them through the library‟s rear parking lot.

"This way, I think," she said, turning down a street to her right. Sarah struggled to remember what streets she and Daniel had taken to get to the cafe. Then she came to a corner where she hadn't a clue whether to turn left or right.

"I know of a café a few blocks from here," said Angie. "Maybe it's the one you're looking for."

"Okay," said Sarah hopeful. They followed Angie across the street. In a few minutes they were at the café. It was the same one as before. Sarah peered through the glass window. "He's not in there," she sighed. "So much for that idea, we might as well go home."

Then Sarah noticed a young man across the street, walking briskly in the opposite direction. "Hey, I think that might be Daniel," she said. "Let's follow him."

Daniel led them to a part of town Sarah hadn't seen before. The buildings here were mostly dilapidated, abandoned, like they hadn't been occupied in years. There was also a noisy factory with purplish smoke billowing from a large round smokestack. Finally, Daniel stopped in front of a derelict-looking warehouse at the end of a dead-end street, disappearing inside. Up close, the girls saw a smoky glass door, leading to a hallway and a second door.

"He must have gone in here," said Sarah, carefully opening the door. The hall was dark and dusty as there were no windows, save for the door. The second door was also glass. Sarah thought she could see Daniel on the other side of it. "This way," she whispered. This door opened squeakily into a large, empty room. Daniel was nowhere to be seen.