Eyes of the Sun (28 page)

The power of the Shiengols around him also magnified. It pulsated, the lights separating momentarily to concentrate on different sections of sky. The clouds they looked at started changing colors—getting lighter. The cloud began dissipating.

Then the light from all the eyes joined and a huge beam burst forward, hitting Lirone so hard that he nearly became translucent.

The sky dweller’s face disappeared. He no longer had the power to form hands. The clouds boiled, shifting between various gruesome colors of red, yellow, and green.

But Lirone growled and pushed back, growing again. The sun was covered and the light nearly diminished completely.

Then the Shiengols stepped forward, closer to the lake. And Lirone got smaller.

Jacob realized that Lirone
wasn’t
shrinking, but was being pushed back. Farther and farther he went, fighting and screaming the whole way, over the lake, over the mountains. Jacob became aware of an increasing pressure behind his eyes, which were starting to water. But still, he kept his gaze fixed on the diminishing form of the sky monster.

Lirone disappeared completely. Still, the Shiengols gazed onward. Five minutes passed.

And then, without warning, Jacob regained control of his eyes and slumped to the ground. He must’ve blacked out. When he looked up again, Dad and Akeno were standing over him.

“Are you all right?” Dad asked, eyebrows knitted with worry.

Jacob nodded, getting to his elbows. “I think so.” He looked to where the fighting sounds had come from. “Are
you
okay?”

Dad smiled. “It wasn’t a very big army—the Lorkon might just be running out of fighters. Mostly Dusts, and some Molgs and humans. The Dusts were pesky. If it wasn’t for the Wurbies, it would’ve taken a lot more time to get rid of them.”

Jacob glanced at Akeno. “How’s Ara Liese?”

The Makalo patted his knapsack. “She wasn’t happy to be put back in here again, but she didn’t have a choice. As soon as she regained control of her eyes, I locked her away. Didn’t want to repeat the Shiengol versus Lorkon fight.”

Jacob sat up and then, with the help of his dad, got to his feet. He was surprised to see that several Shiengols had fallen unconscious as well. That made him feel better—he wasn’t the only weak one. Renforth and Azuriah seemed unaffected, though, and Jacob scowled. Nothing fazed his uncle. Nothing.

“Now what?” Jacob asked.

“We go home,” Dad said.

“That’s the best news ever.”

Jacob Keyed the Shiengols to August Fortress—for now, their job in Gevkan was done. Azuriah had promised he’d let them know the next time their help was needed. Then Jacob opened a link to the tree in Taga Village, grateful he was about to get some much-needed sleep.

Akeno ran into Jacob’s room, shocking Jacob out of the nap he’d finally been able to take. “I’ve got an idea. I think it’ll work, but I need to talk to Onyev.”

Jacob shook his head, trying to clear it. With everything that had been going on lately, his room had almost become public grounds. “An idea about what?”

“How to stop the bugs permanently.”

Jacob smiled. “That’s excellent.” He’d do anything to help Akeno figure out something like that. “When do you want to go?”

“Now, if possible.”

“Okay.” Jacob rolled off his bed and stuffed his feet in his shoes. Then he took the Makalo back to Onyev’s time.

Akeno practically ran the entire way to Onyev’s tree. Jacob laughed at him, but didn’t try hard to catch up. Akeno got there well before he did.

“Took you long enough!” Akeno said when Jacob reached the doors to Onyev’s garden.

“Why are you waiting? Go in.” Jacob opened the doors and gently pushed the Makalo ahead of him.

Onyev turned in surprise, a grin on his face. “Good to see you! I’ve been hoping you’d come. But first, what can I help you with?”

Akeno looked at his hands. “I’ve got an idea, and I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

“What is it?” Onyev said, motioning for them to sit.

“I’m wondering what would happen—if it’s possible—to grow a Kaede tree that was immune to the bugs.”

Onyev tilted his head. “How would you do this?”

“Have the trees grow with the potion inside of them, as part of their sap. I’d have to start from the beginning—take a seed and inject it with the stuff. But if the tree is continually renewing itself, then, in theory, the potion would continually renew itself as well. And that would end up being a cure. It wouldn’t fix the already-infected trees, but at least we’d be able to grow trees that aren’t sick or dying.”

Onyev didn’t respond at first. He knitted his eyebrows, thinking. “Akeno, your plan might work.” A smile stretched across the Makalo’s face. “In fact, I’m sure it will.” He clapped Akeno on the back. “Well done!”

Jacob could tell Onyev was eager to approve and get on with the conversation, and it made him curious.

The patriarch turned to Jacob. “I’m glad you’ve come. I have important information for you.”

Jacob scooted forward. “You do? What about?” He held his excitement back, hoping he already knew what Onyev was going to say.

He wasn’t disappointed.

“I’ve found the antidote.”

Chapter Eighteen: Leaving

Eachan stepped out of the room in the town hall where Sanso was staying. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him—that was where Sanso had held his “punishment sessions” with Eachan. And now Eachan was helping Sanso heal. He scowled to himself, wondering at the injustice of it all. Why hadn’t he just let the Ember God die? But even as he wondered about it, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to—he was getting soft. And that probably wasn’t a bad thing.

The Ember God was slowly recovering. Eachan snorted. Slowly.
Right
. He’d never seen a creature heal as quickly as Sanso. And yet, the Ember God continued to complain about the rate at which he was getting better.

As Sanso began speaking in intelligible sentences, Eachan had gradually learned what happened. Sanso had failed at one of the most important missions the Lorkon had assigned to him—that of preventing Dmitri’s people from getting to Ara Liese. The Lorkon had set their wolves on him and the other Ember Gods. The rest hadn’t lived, but he somehow survived. Perhaps it was because the wolves got to the others first, then tired quickly.

Sanso told Eachan over and over again that he was the only remaining Ember God, that unless the Lorkon decided to create more, he’d forever be the last of his kind. Apparently, the process of creating an Ember God from a human and Fire Pulser killed both “parents.” The fact that he was alone seemed to stress Sanso, and it occurred to Eachan that the man yearned for company of his own kind.

It had come as a shock to find that Sanso was barely in his twenties. Eachan had assumed Sanso to be much older than that. But understanding this about the Ember God only compounded Eachan’s distaste for him. The man—if he could be called that—hadn’t experienced enough of life. He was cruel and arrogant, bragging about the things he’d done while carrying out Lorkon orders.

Eachan entered the kitchen and mixed together the ingredients for the strong drink Sanso had required. He turned his face from the stench. Unfortunately, this was the only thing that helped the Ember God with his pain.

Sanso sat up in bed when Eachan reentered the room and drank from the cup, swallowing the contents in almost one gulp. He cringed, waiting for the burning in his throat to subside. Then he dropped the cup and lay back in his bed.

“It was never right, you know,” he said, “that a Lorkon should rule over Ember Gods. By birthright, an Ember God is higher than the Lorkon mutts.”

Eachan bit back a retort. Ember Gods could also be considered mutts—being a mix between a Fire Pulser and a human was hardly anything to brag about.

Just then, someone knocked on the front door.

Eachan grabbed the cup from the floor and made his way across the town hall. He glanced through the curtain before opening the door, not sure what to expect.

Several villagers crouched on the porch, huddled together. Eachan opened the door.

“They’re leaving,” one of the men said. “And they ain’t comin’ back.”

“Who are leaving?” Eachan asked.

“The Lorkon. They and most everyone at the castle. They’re goin’ to war.”

A woman stared up at Eachan. “Can’t you hear that?”

Eachan tilted his head, his eyes widening. Yes, he could hear. His hand strayed to his pocket. In his hurry to move Sanso to a safer place and then take care of the Ember God, he’d forgotten to alert Jacob and the rest.

Without waiting to hear if the villagers had anything else to say, Eachan slammed the door and rushed to his office where he’d dropped the beetles on his desk. He prayed they were still there. Could they escape? They probably had—the creatures could walk and fly, after all.

He pushed stacks of papers aside and slammed his fist on the desk. He’d lost them. He’d lost every single one. Eachan couldn’t believe his stupidity. And now, Aloren and her people would suffer. He slumped into the chair, putting his face in his hands.

He’d never have his freedom, and the Lorkon would succeed. They’d get through that link, steal the boy, and overcome every opposition. And Eachan hadn’t done anything to stop them. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten.

But then, something tried to skitter across the floor. It was missing several legs. Eachan smiled and dropped to his knees, grabbing the thing.

He wasn’t too late.

Chapter Nineteen: Hole Digging

Jacob’s mouth dropped. “The antidote? Are you serious?”

“Of course I am,” Onyev said. “However, I can’t simply give it to you. Your magic has prevented me from writing it down specifically for you. Even when I tried to trick it, it didn’t work. Instead, I must hide it in places where you’ll be able to retrieve it in your own time.”

“Great! How do I find it?”

Onyev rubbed his face, and for the first time, Jacob noticed how tired the Makalo was. Understandably so, given the circumstances.

“I’ve written a book,” Onyev said, “and have made several copies of it, hoping one would survive.” He got to his feet. “It’s about potions and cures.” The Makalo raised his hand, stopping Jacob’s question. “No, the antidote could not be written in that book. But I enclosed, throughout the pages, the five locations where I’ve hidden it. You may need to search out each one, since I don’t know how many will survive the years. I trust your capabilities—you’ll be successful, as long as one of the hiding spots remains.”

Onyev got to his feet. “It’s time for you to leave. Go find that book. Find the antidote. And rid your land of the Lorkon.”

Jacob and Akeno returned to the present time, chattering about what they’d learned from Onyev. The antidote! They could get it! Jacob could hardly breathe, he was so excited. He and Akeno ran down the stairs and nearly bowled over Matt and Aloren in the living room. The siblings’ hands were full of objects—books, cloth, jewelry, utensils.

Jacob stared. “What have you guys been doing?”

“Searching through the village, trying to find anything useful for the Makalos,” Matt said. “Dude, they lost almost everything. The village is a complete wreck.”

Aloren shook her head. “At least the gardens are still okay, along with Azuriah’s fortress and all the buildings over that way. The humans and Wurbies have places to live.”

“That’s great,” Jacob said, not really paying attention—his mind was too full of what he’d just learned from Onyev. “Guess—”

But just then, something appeared next to Aloren. Jacob turned. He knew what it was—a fire beetle. The Lorkon used them to communicate. But why would the Lorkon send one to Aloren? They hadn’t ever tried to do that with Jacob or Dad.

With a cackle, the thing started talking.

Aloren screamed, swatting at the bug.

“Stop, Aloren!” Jacob yelled. He grabbed her arm. “They want to talk to us.”

“Jacob?” a man said through the beetle.

Jacob jumped. That was Eachan’s voice. “Uh . . . yeah?”

“Oh, good. It’s Eachan. Aloren, I’m sorry I startled you.” He didn’t give them a chance to respond. “I wanted to tell you a while ago, but I’ve got a lot going on here. Please tell King Dmitri that the Lorkon and a large army are on their way to you. From what I’ve gathered, they’re stopping by Fornchall to collect more people. I’m not sure when they’ll be heading your way, but it can’t be much longer. Sorry I didn’t tell you right when I found out.”