Eyes of the Sun (16 page)

Onaly’s face changed to a deep red, and she curtsied to both of them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Just then, Hayla’s aunt entered Onaly’s room and saw them through the open window. “Onna? What are you doing? Get back in here!”

“Time to go,” Onaly said.

Jacob shook his head. “We need to see if anyone—”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Onaly said, not meeting Jacob’s eye, “but you won’t find many interested people here.”

“We have to try, at least.”

“Looks like we’re about to get the opportunity,” Hayla said, pointing.

A couple was walking down the street, holding hands. Expressions of fear and hatred were on both their faces.

“What are you doing here?” the man asked Hayla. “You left! You are forbidden to enter the city!” He turned and shouted, “Intruders! Alarm!”

A piercing siren erupted through the air and Jacob reached down, clamping his hands over his sister’s ears.

The man glared at Onaly. “What have you done, bringing outsiders here?”

Hayla stepped forward, talking over the alarm. “It’s not her fault—I came of my own accord.”

The man shifted his glare to Hayla. The woman let go of his hand and dashed to the nearest door, knocked on it, then continued on to other doors.

“Then it is you who shall endure the punishment,” the man said.

Jacob straightened his shoulders. “Please, just let us explain ourselves.”

“There will be time for that later.” The man turned to the growing crowd. “What shall we do with these intruders?”

Jacob growled, nearly losing his temper. “Idiots,” he mumbled under his breath, then raised his voice to a shout. “We only want to
rescue
you from the Lorkon. To give you the opportunity to fight against them.”

The man scoffed. “What have we to fear from the Lorkon? They’ve protected us and given us food. They’ve permitted us to continue living in our beautiful city.”

Jacob was tempted to tell the man that Macaria was more beautiful, but held back his retort. “They’ve outlawed doors. Don’t you deserve privacy? Don’t you deserve a king who won’t threaten to kill your people every time you make a mistake?”

“King?
King
?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “You’re here on a mission from Dmitri himself, then?”

Jacob held himself tall. “I am Prince Danilo, Dmitri’s son and heir to the throne. And yes, I am here because he asked me to come.”

There were several gasps in the crowd, and many people backed away.

Jacob shook his head. That must have been the wrong thing to say. “Please. We only want to help, not hurt. The Lorkon aren’t what you think they are. They’re dirty and evil and have been trying to kill the people of Gevkan.”

The man spat on the ground. “What would you know of these things?”

“Because Keitus is my grandfather! And he’s the king of Troosinal. He doesn’t care about Gevkan—he only cares about power and money!”

More people gasped, shaking their heads.

“He lies.”

“It isn’t true!” one woman shrieked.

“Throw them in the lake!” another called.

“No, burn them!”

Jacob held Amberly closer, arms encircling her. Apparently, they didn’t care even
if
children were sent to rescue them.

Hayla turned to him. “Let’s get out of here before something awful happens.”

He nodded. The crowd had grown to over a hundred people. He looked around, trying to figure out which door was closest and had the least amount of villagers near it. Spotting the most likely door, Jacob prepared himself to run. As soon as he took a step in that direction, though, the man hollered, “Stop them!”

Several men dashed away, presumably to get weapons, but others grabbed rocks and held them high over their heads. Judging by the color red that dominated all the other colors, Jacob knew they were serious. He froze, thinking of his little sister. What could he do to protect her?

Something struck him from behind and he nearly fell, arching his back. He spun. A rock was on the ground, but he couldn’t tell who’d thrown it.

“Very brave! Throwing a rock at my
back
—at a
child’s
back!” He didn’t care about his pride anymore—he couldn’t believe an adult would actually do that. “
What
? Are you going to throw rocks at my little sister, too? She’s only six. You evil, vicious people.”

Jacob knew he needed to shut up, but he couldn’t. “I can’t believe how ridiculous you are! Trying to kill anyone who thinks differently from you. You
deserve
the Lorkon. You
deserve
to be ruled by them.”

He picked up the rock and threw it at the door he wanted to use. A couple of women shrieked and darted to the side, leaving a clear path. But he was too far away—they would figure out his plan too easily.

Hayla and Onaly jumped back to back, ready to defend each other. Jacob shoved Amberly between them. “Protect her.” Then he scanned the skies, looking for Early, who’d accompanied them.

She obviously knew he was searching because she appeared at his shoulder right away. “What should I do?”

“Keep them away from Amberly—protect the girls.” He turned to the crowd and held out his hands, beckoning. “Come on. Throw more rocks! I dare you.” His glare probably would have shriveled anyone who really knew him. But these people did not, and only a couple of rocks were tossed his way. He could tell the people who threw them were hesitating, however, because there wasn’t a lot of energy behind the throws.

Jacob gathered the rocks. “Is that it? Come on, you stupid people!” He couldn’t help insulting them. Out of all the people he’d met in Gevkan, including those from Maivoryl City, these were the most unintelligent. Mainly because they still had their wits about them, but were determined to be dumb with their decisions.

A few men threw their rocks. Hard. One hit Jacob’s shin and he gasped at the sharp pain. Another hit him in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and the third landed harmlessly by his side. No more rocks came—the people were watching him closely. He grabbed the three new rocks and held them with the first two. Realizing he had their full attention, he concentrated as much as he could on the rocks, warming them with his palms.

Knowing he wouldn’t be proud of what he was about to do—he hated show-offs—Jacob held the rocks high above his head. “See your rocks?” Making sure his hands were always visible, he molded the stones into a blunt club, which he swung several times. “Would you like to throw more? Give me a greater weapon?”

The stunned silence that answered him, with everyone frozen, showed he’d gotten what he wanted. “You don’t want to mess with me,” he yelled. “Not only am I your future king, but I’m part Shiengol
and
carry the blood of a Lorkon inside me.” He motioned to his bat. “This isn’t all I can do. I fought the Ember Gods in Maivoryl City. I’ve escaped from the tallest tower in August Fortress, held against my will by my own grandfather, Keitus, the Lorkon king. I’ve outrun an Eetu Fish—”

Several mouths dropped in disbelief when he said this, and others shook their heads.

“I fought a Cerpire without being able to hear or touch the creature, barely able to see it. And I killed it. Alone.”

He half smiled, lowering his bat. “And I can see your emotions. Your anger is turning to fear and disbelief.” He pointed at a man who kept glancing at the lady clinging to his arm. “You want to kill me, but aren’t sure how she would feel about it.” He pointed to a woman. “You’re feeling sympathetic toward me, but are determined to stay with your people.”

He rounded on the man who’d started the scene. “And you. You are afraid. You’ve never seen anyone like me before.”

Jacob lowered his bat. “With or without your permission, my sister and I are leaving, and we’re taking Hayla and Onaly with us.”

He strode toward the door, put the Key inside it, and opened a link to Aldo’s cabin—the first place that popped into his mind that wouldn’t reveal too much to the villagers. Then he turned and motioned for his sister and the other two to come. “If any of you are interested in joining my father in the Makalo village, I’ll return in an hour to this very spot.” He glared at the people. “And using my Time-Seeing ability and my ability to see emotions, I’ll
know
if any of you plan to betray me. I’ll know if anyone plans to ambush me when I return. And I’ll know how to destroy those who try to harm me or the people I care about.”

With that, Jacob stepped through the door after the others and slammed it shut behind them. He leaned against the cool wood, eyes closed, and took a deep breath. When he looked at Hayla and Onaly, they were staring at him.

No one said anything for several moments. Jacob avoided their gaze and sank down in front of the door. He held out his arms, and Amberly ran into them for a hug.

“Sorry about all of that, sis.” He rubbed her head.

Hayla seemed to recover from her shock. “If I’d known they’d react that way,” she said, “I would never have suggested she come.”

Amberly grinned up at Jacob. “I’m okay. It was fun. You said lots of things and it scared them!”

He chuckled, glad she hadn’t quite grasped the seriousness of the situation. “I’m surprised they didn’t just toss us into the lake as soon as they saw us.”

Onaly shot a glance at Jacob before looking at her mom. “They haven’t acted that rashly for a while—lately they like to make sure they’ve got the majority of the people to back them up.”

Hayla sat on the ground near Jacob and Amberly. “Were you serious about Time-Seeing to make sure no one tries to turn us in when we go back?”

Jacob nodded. “Yeah—I’ll look in a bit.”

“Good. Because I recognized some of the faces in that crowd, and I’m positive many of those people would be willing to leave the city.”

Jacob snorted. “I only saw people wanting to kill us.”

Hayla half smiled. “Yes, I’m sure that’s what you saw. Still, there will be a few.”

“I’m going to take Amberly home, and then I’ll Time-See.” Jacob got to his knees in front of the door and opened a link to his house in Mendon. “Tell Mom and Dad I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Okay!” Amberly danced into the family room.

“Darling girl,” Onaly said. “Such pretty eyes.”

Jacob shrugged, closing the door. “She’s a good sister.”

Hayla and Onaly cuddled and started updating each other on their lives. Jacob tuned them out and Time-Saw to Ridgewood City. Hayla was right—several people waited outside the door for Jacob. Their emotions showed they were contrite and nervous. That would have to be enough. He returned to Aldo’s old cabin.

“How long will it take for word to spread?” he asked.

“A little more than an hour, if it hasn’t already,” Hayla said. “Unless things have changed?”

Onaly shook her head. “No, they all probably know by now.”

Jacob leaned against the door again and looked at Hayla. “Tell me about Troosinal. What happened after I left?”

“After?” Hayla chuckled. “I’m sorry to say it, Jacob, but I didn’t even notice that you’d gone. There was too much happening in my life at the time.”

Jacob tried as hard as he could to act nonchalant, to show that what she said didn’t bother him. He’d assumed she’d felt the same way about him. But of course . . . his magic didn’t allow him to do anything that would cause problems for the future. She
wouldn’t
have fallen for him—otherwise, he would’ve been stopped from flirting with her. She probably treated every guy who entered that stupid laundry the same: batting her eyelashes, acting coy. No wonder the other footmen were so rude to Jacob. They most likely thought she was only interested in them.

Hayla was still talking, and Jacob tuned back in.

“It was really hard—people were fighting on the streets, killing anyone who crossed their territory. Eating other pe—I can’t even say it, it was so awful.”

Jacob nodded. “I’m sorry.”

Hayla sighed, undid her scarf, and then tied it up again, tighter. “What did you mean back there that Keitus is your grandfather?”

Jacob explained how Ramantus was Dmitri’s father, and how he’d taken a blood potion to become Keitus, the Lorkon king.

“That actually makes sense. We all thought Ramantus had been killed by Keitus . . . but looking back, their actions were far too similar.”

“Yup. And he’s my grandpa. Pretty awful, huh?”

Hayla chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t necessarily be proud of it if it were me.”

Neither spoke for several moments.

“Jacob,” Hayla said. “I . . . I need to apologize. For how I treated you back in the Troosinal castle.”

“What are you talking about? You were nice to me.”

She nodded. “That’s the problem. I was engaged to another man—who was higher in the ranks than you—and I had a couple of other suitors. I wasn’t a very good girl. I flirted with anyone and sought the attention of everyone.”

“Sarot did say you were the good one.”

“Compared to the others, I was. Believe me, I was.” She put her arm around Onaly. “Jacob, I’ve wanted to apologize since I found out who you were.” She fell silent, then chuckled. “I still can’t tell you how much it surprised me that you look exactly the same.” She grabbed her bag. “Oh, well, the past is the past. Are either of you hungry?”

Onaly and Jacob both said yes and Hayla pulled out food, handing it to the others. Jacob smiled to himself. It was as if he was spending time with his mom, rather than a girl he used to have a crush on. He was glad they’d ended up going to Ridgewood—a lot of weird feelings had been taken care of, and he knew things wouldn’t be awkward any longer.

After the hour was over, Jacob Time-Saw to Ridgewood to make sure things were clear, then Keyed there. They rounded up the seven people who wanted to go to Taga Village. Making sure no one was watching, Jacob opened a link to the village, stepping through after everyone else had gone ahead.