Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (10 page)

A loud pop made him jump, and the pressure, the mist, the pain, and the wind were suddenly gone. There was only the simple door frame.

Relief coursed through his body and he paused, breathing deeply. Why did it work this time and not the first? Deciding to think on it later, he took one last look into the room, then sprinted down the hallway and the stairs. He crossed the front entryway and exited the house, expecting something to jump out at him any moment, and feeling relieved when nothing did.

Once outside, Jacob looked around for any sign of the snakes, but something odd caught his attention. The trees appeared to be pulsing toward the same point in the forest some distance away. And that spot appeared to be moving.

A sick feeling came over him as he realized that whatever was moving through the forest was coming his way, and that the trees wanted to be close to it—trees that had been trying to kill him earlier. His imagination spun wildly out of control, and he tried to push thoughts of thousands of snakes or huge spiders like the one in Lord of the Rings coming at him.

Jacob ran to the edge of the pit and saw Akeno randomly digging around in the pile of junk. The furniture had been burned a while ago—how long, he couldn’t tell.

He quickly headed down the three-foot slope into the pit toward Akeno. Not even waiting to see what mood he was in, Jacob took Akeno’s hands, pinned them tightly together, and swung the small Makalo over his shoulder.

Then he practically flew out of the pit. Ignoring Akeno’s yelling, Jacob sprinted through the forest, praying he wouldn’t run into either of the snakes. It was difficult to keep Akeno on his shoulder—he was kicking and flailing his arms with all his might and almost got away several times.

The trees weren’t thrashing. Jacob figured they were distracted by whatever lay just ahead of them, and felt uncomfortable with the idea that he was running almost straight toward their focus point. But there wasn’t anything else he could do. He only knew one way to get back to the path, and that was to go the way he had come.

Jacob kept Akeno’s wrists pinned together with one hand. He used the other to push branches out of the way. Jumping across a flattened tree, he almost lost his grip on Akeno.

Veering right, Jacob tried to widen the space between the oncoming danger and themselves. He started to feel hopeful that they could get away after all.

As he tore through the forest, a snake flew out of the air in front of him, and he almost lost Akeno again. A memory of flying snakes he’d once seen on a science show flashed across his mind, and he had an “ahah!” moment. The snakes around him were a lot like the ones he’d seen on TV. They must be related somehow!

Something caught Jacob’s attention and he stole a sidelong glance. Completely unprepared for what he saw, Jacob lost his balance and tumbled headlong into the brush. The dark, piercing eyes of a beautiful woman had locked with his. She was at least a hundred feet away, but the trees were leaning over, almost touching the ground as they bowed to her, and he could see her clearly.

She was clad in flowing white robes that billowed in the breeze. Her long, dark hair mingled with the robes, drifting around her. She smiled mockingly at him, and it appeared as if she found his situation humorous. Her walk was graceful, and though she moved toward the house, when their eyes met, she stopped to face him.

“Danilo,” she said in a whisper. Her voice was haunting, carrying across the distance with ease.

Akeno whimpered, and Jacob, distracted by the woman’s beauty, realized he was probably squishing his little prisoner. Tearing his eyes away from her gaze, Jacob saw fear written all over the poor Makalo’s face. He looked at the woman again and saw that she was still watching him, though now she reached toward him, beckoning him to come.

Feeling an odd yearning to do so, Jacob got to his feet, hefting Akeno and brushing himself off with the hand that wasn’t holding the Makalo. What was a beautiful woman like that doing alone in the forest? There were dangerous things here, and . . . and she obviously needed him. He could take care of her. He’d even clean and fix up the manor. Akeno didn’t need his help. The Makalos were probably just being pessimistic about the Lorkon and their old war. He took a step in her direction, but Akeno struggled on his shoulder, seemingly aware of what Jacob was doing.

Jacob scowled. Akeno was always getting in the way, trying to make Jacob do things he didn’t want to do. Jacob glanced at the lady, and she again beckoned.

He smiled at her. The picture she created was one of serenity and elegance. He wanted to look into her eyes and say something intelligent to make her like him. He took a determined step forward, but jumped when Akeno bit him and tried to escape.

“Stupid Makalo!” Jacob said, scrambling to cover Akeno’s mouth and hold him in place.

The pain made him hesitate, however, and he frowned, struggling with himself internally. Something made him long to be near the woman. But then again . . . a gross feeling started in the pit of his stomach and spread to his heart. He blinked, his mind clearing, somewhat confused by the feeling. Something so beautiful and perfect couldn’t be bad, could it? But there was that feeling again.
Take a step back
, it warned him. He grunted, frustrated with the persistence of the ridiculous thought that was ruining his peaceful moment.

Finally recognizing that he couldn’t ignore the warning, he closed his eyes, willing his intuition to tell him why he shouldn’t go to her.

Logic entered his mind. The trees wanted to be near her, and they had been trying to kill him eariler. They’d been incredibly vicious and angry toward the intruders. He scowled and opened his eyes. She was still there, patiently waiting. He glanced down at his arms, the skin still scratched and scraped from being attacked by limbs.

Jacob sighed and looked at the woman, feeling wistful. Then he saw the hundreds of snakes swirling around her ankles. That wasn’t good. Snakes had taken him to a room full of dead people.

No, he couldn’t go to her.

With that thought, a feeling of warmth spread through his chest, as if to confirm his reasoning, and the disturbing feeling started to leave.

He took a step back, stumbled, and almost fell. A look of anger crossed the woman’s face. Again she beckoned, imploring him to come.

Shaking his head, unable to speak, he took another step back.

This time, an unmistakable expression of anger marred her exotic features. With a quick movement, she spread her arms, raised her face to the sky, and emitted a shrill, piercing scream.

Out of her mouth poured a thick, black cloud of air, made up of thousands of flying bugs and beetles which congregated around her. Dropping her head, she directed her scream toward Jacob, and the cloud came shooting across the distance between them.

No longer hesitant, Jacob took off in the opposite direction, running as fast as his legs would go.

“Faster!” Akeno yelled, still slung over Jacob’s shoulder. After what felt like an eternity of fighting branches, a bright patch of light came upon them, and Jacob fell to his knees onto the trail.

Jumping to his feet, he readjusted his hold on Akeno and grabbed both their bags from where they had dropped them earlier. He saw the Minyas and pointed at them. “You, come now!”

They immediately flitted into the air, following him as ran down the trail.

The trees were now bending toward something almost directly behind them. Jacob didn’t want to know if the lady was there.

After running for only a few hundred feet, he came to a crossroads. All three paths led into the forest, but one led to the south and looked less worn. Without stopping, Jacob made a split-second decision and chose that one.

Akeno yelled in fright at something behind them, and Jacob, who thought he was already running as fast as he could, put on even more speed, nearly losing his balance in the process.

The Minyas flitted alongside him. Both looked terrified and urged him to go faster. The smell of dead animals was overwhelming, and Jacob’s head spun from the stench.

Jacob looked up from the trail, and before long, he could see the end of the forest fast approaching. Relief coursed through him. Only that much farther to go. He could make it—he
had
to make it.

With one final push, he sailed through the last bit of forest at what felt like breakneck speed. A few strides from the forest edge, the buzzing sound dissipated, and he chanced a look backward. The cloud of black had stopped exactly where the forest ended. There was no sign of the woman.

Jacob ran a good minute or so before he couldn’t go any more. He released his hold on Akeno, who tumbled out of sight, and Jacob collapsed on his back in the tall grass alongside the trail.

After catching his breath, Jacob realized the scent of decay was fading. And he could see color again! He breathed deeply the warm fragrance of sun-baked grass and wildflowers. Rolling to his side, he reached over and grabbed a handful of the nearest flowers, pulling them out at the roots. He shoved them up against his nose, hoping the sweet aroma would remove the smell of rot that seemed to be forever imprinted on his brain.

A few minutes later, when his breathing had returned to normal, when his heart had slowed, and when he could no longer taste or smell death, he set the flowers aside and sprawled out on his back again, stretching out his sore muscles. Locking his hands behind his head, he gazed at the deep blue sky, unable to remember a time when he was more grateful to see it.

Chapter 7. A Bucket Full of Nuts

Today we experienced the second element: wind. As with the water, it was nothing like what we’d been expecting, and the form in which it came was a complete surprise to us. There was no warning at all, not even a wave of heat as before.

We were following the trail, conversing, when we noticed a pleasant scent. Kelson claimed it was his mother’s bread and soup. Kenji believed it was maple trees, pine needles, and mountains. To me, it was Arien’s perfume. The other Makalos and humans also listed their favorite things. Regardless of what we smelled, the effect was the same—we were made to feel completely happy and at peace.

We continued our trek, satisfied and content, and weren’t surprised to find the trail free from problems as we traveled.

However, an hour or two later, I felt someone pull me from my horse and drag me along the ground. I couldn’t focus on whoever it was, nor could I clear my thoughts long enough to remember what I was doing. The smell was so pervasive that my thoughts were completely centered on Arien. I’d even forgotten that she’d been kidnapped.

I felt water being poured over my head, and suddenly my thoughts were sharp again. When I looked around, I saw that I was near a small cabin, with its owner standing over me. Instead of fear, I felt joy as I realized who this woman was—a long-time friend of Ara Liese and Arien’s.

The Fat Lady—as she insists on being called—drew my attention to the trail and my fellow travelers. I was disturbed to see every member of the group standing still, a complacent smile upon their faces. But what shocked me most was that during the last two hours, we hadn’t moved an inch, and the horses had wandered away from us to graze. How had they done so, when we had been riding them?

Once my companions had been rescued and the horses rounded up, the Fat Lady explained everything.

The Lorkon created a type of everlasting potion and placed it in thick concentrations throughout the area. Whenever a person inhales the fumes of this potion, his mind is confounded, and he—or she—is rendered completely helpless. What was most frightening to us was this—the individual has no idea he is not continuing with his life because in his mind, he is. It is an invisible prison.

A timid voice interrupted Jacob’s reverie. “Jacob?”

He sat up and focused on Akeno, who sat not too far away. “Yeah?”

“Would you accept an apology? The way I behaved was completely childish and . . .”

Jacob smiled, holding his hand toward Akeno. “It’s okay, really it is.”

Jacob watched Akeno closely to see if he was going to cry or start throwing punches. Satisfied by what he saw in the Makalo’s eyes, he relaxed.

His mind drifted back to the forest. “Do you think that lady had an influence on what the trees were doing to us?”

Akeno shredded the leaves on his shoes. “I imagine so,” he said, then scratched his head. “Good thing I have another hat at home, ‘cause I think I lost mine somewhere in the forest.” He looked at Jacob. “Am I really so weak I couldn’t even handle a few negative emotions?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, I don’t think you are. It affected the Makalo adults too.”

Akeno picked some grass near him, and Jacob pulled the petals off a flower. He could tell Akeno wanted to say something, so he waited. He hated awkward silences.

Akeno kept picking at the grass. Finally, he looked up. “Why didn’t the forest bother you?”

Jacob thought back to what he had felt while in the forest. He recognized he had remained rational the entire time . . . well, except when the woman was trying to lure him. But even Matt would have given in under those circumstances.