Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (20 page)

“You’re saying the woman in the forest was a Lorkon?”

Akeno paused and looked at Jacob. “I believe so.”

“Yeah, it makes sense. She was all of that.” Jacob picked up a fist-sized rock and started tossing it in the air, leaning against the boulder. “Is that everything?”

“Yeah.” Akeno turned back to the fire. “How’s the journal going?”

“The only thing I’ve read so far is how wicked Dmitri’s dad was, and how Dmitri used to be evil, but is good now.”

Akeno finished with the fire and turned to the scrub oak and bushes near him. He touched one of the trees, and the leaves and branches folded into two separate huts. Jacob continued tossing the rock, watching the leaves and branches circling in on themselves.

“You know, I just barely learned that my dad was injured in the war,” Akeno said. “A Lorkon attacked him by pouring or dripping acid on him. It had to have been pretty horrendous.”

Jacob cringed. “That’s awful.”

“I know. My dad thought so too, because he didn’t tell us until after the Lorkon stole the Key.”

Something grew hot in Jacob’s palm, and he scrambled to his feet, looking at his hand. “Whoa!”

“What’s wrong?” Akeno also jumped up.

Jacob held out the rock, staring at it in wonder. “It got warm! Like at your parents’ place.”

An expression of excitement spread across Akeno’s face. “Really? Can you mold it? Isn’t that what happened last time?”

Jacob shook his head. “It’s not doing that.” He held the stone between his thumb and forefinger and stared at the stone, but nothing happened—the temperature didn’t change. Maybe it needed a little help.

Jacob began rolling it between his palms. After only a couple of passes, it started increasing in heat dramatically. Again, he nearly dropped the rock in surprise—it was so weird! Instead, he brought it up close and inspected it.

“It’s changing shape!” He held it to Akeno. “Check it out.”

The Makalo didn’t take it. “You’ve had it the whole time—I wouldn’t notice a difference anyway.” His eyes lit up. “Do something cool with it, if it lets you.”

Jacob grinned and rolled the rock into a perfectly shaped ball. Then he flattened it until it was nearly translucent and floppy. Finally, he tried to shape it into a box, but the stone started cooling and he couldn’t make it get there all the way.

“This is so awesome,” he said to Akeno.

“I agree! Practice it—see if you can figure out why and how it does that.”

“Good idea.”

Akeno sat on the ground near the fire to watch, and Jacob picked up more rocks, joining his friend. Some of the stones molded, some didn’t, and there didn’t seem to be rhyme or reason to it.

Akeno grabbed a stick and stoked the fire. “Oh, I meant to ask you if you wanted to try cooking those potatoes.”

Jacob’s thoughts flew to their extra company. “Tonight? Can’t we do it some other time?” Like, after Aloren was no longer with them . . .

“They’re really not that hard to make.”

Jacob suppressed a growl. “Fine. Teach me.”

They began preparing dinner. Aloren returned, and there was surprise in her eyes when she saw them. She offered to help, but they had nearly finished, so she sat to wait.

“Here, have some potatoes.” Jacob held a plate out to Aloren, surprised to see his hand tremble. Why was he nervous for her to try the food? A smile was behind her eyes when she took it, and, embarrassed, he pulled away, grabbed his own plate, and sat where she couldn’t see his face. He couldn’t help but feel a little irritated again—mainly with himself, though he wasn’t sure why. Deciding just to ignore it, he turned back to Akeno.

“I wish we could listen to some music,” he said, taking a bite of potatoes. Too bad he hadn’t worn his iPod while he’d been shooting hoops—otherwise, he’d have it with him now. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d gone so long without music.

“See if you can get the Minyas to sing for you,” Akeno said, organizing the food on his plate into neat piles. “It’s actually very entertaining.”

“Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I think I’m Minyaed out for the rest of my life.”

Aloren stretched out her long legs. “Yours haven’t seemed so bad to me.”

“That’s because you haven’t had to deal with them for the last week,” Jacob said, leaning up against a large rock.

Akeno disagreed. “You’ve only dealt with them for a couple of days. I’ve had to deal with them for the last week—four days of which you were unconscious.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been around them your whole life, and so you’re used to them.” Jacob looked around. “Where are they, anyway?”

“They went up into the trees,” Aloren said. “They smelled honey.”

“Jacob, you have to remember that Minyas aren’t like humans or Makalos,” Akeno said. “They have a completely different set of social rules. And they don’t have a very developed intellect. They understand language fairly well, but that’s about it. They used to be kept as pets by the more wealthy Makalos and humans.”

“Really? A pet Minya?” Jacob laughed out loud at this. Minyas were too human-like to be pets.

“Is it so hard to imagine? I mean, they need some social training, but after that, many of them are fairly loyal and like to belong to the same person for long periods of time.”

Jacob finished the food on his plate and got seconds. He wanted to ask Aloren about her parents, but didn’t want to pry. How would she respond to personal questions? There was only one way to find out. “How did your parents get separated?”

“I don’t really know. My mom had some memory problems that she got from an injury. I’ve always had the feeling it was a very traumatic experience for her.”

“What were your parents like?”

“My father wasn’t anyone really important, socially. I think he was one of many who worked in the stables at the castle. And I think my mother was a lady-in-waiting for a rich family in Maivoryl City. She spoke frequently about the woman for whom she worked, but was never clear about the details.”

“What about your brother?” Jacob asked. “What do you know about him?”

“Only a few things my mother told me. He was a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with dimples. He was a tease, even though he was only two or three.”

Jacob collected the other dishes and plates. Sitting still with Aloren nearby was unsettling, and he had to do something with his hands. “Why do you believe he’s in Maivoryl City?”

“Because it’s the only place I haven’t looked for him yet. No one has left or entered the city for so many years—it would make sense if he were there.”

“If no one has been able to leave it, how do you know for sure that people are still there?”

“They were there when my mother left.”

Jacob scraped off the dishes. “But how do you know any of them are still alive?”

Akeno shot a warning glance at Jacob, probably wanting him to back off with the questions. The Makalo took over cleaning the dishes.

“I guess I don’t know,” she said. “I just feel the need to go search the city. Please, Jacob, try to understand. If you were in my place, and your only sibling was lost, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to find him or her?”

Jacob felt chastised—he’d been pushing too much, and Akeno was obviously aware of it. He stared at his hands, unsure what to say. “Yeah, I guess.” He picked at some dirt stuck to his palm, then sighed. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be a jerk.”

“I know I probably seem crazy.”

“No, just lonely. I’d hate to be in your shoes.”

She didn’t respond for a minute, and Jacob wondered if he’d said something wrong.

“I just wish my mother hadn’t gotten sick,” Aloren finally said. “She remembered a lot when I was little and told me stories about my father and brother, but she forgot most everything. I only vaguely remember the stories now. It’s so frustrating.”

Jacob felt a sudden need to comfort her, though he wasn’t sure why or how. He hoped she wouldn’t start to cry and he wished his mom were there. “That really bites,” he said. “I mean, it stinks. I mean . . .” He stopped and snorted at himself, giving up. Curse girls. Curse the need he felt to protect Aloren from her own negative emotions.

She smiled at him, her dimple showing. “It’s fine, Jacob. I’ve had a lot of time to deal with things.”

Jacob was suddenly aware of how dirty his hair and clothes were. Feeling embarrassed, he looked away. His dad used to say something about society needing good women to keep men civilized—now he understood what that meant.

He stared up at the stars again, noticing the clouds were covering most of them.

It began raining about thirty minutes after dinner was over. Akeno set off to make the tents stronger in preparation for the oncoming storm, and Aloren and Jacob put out the fire. Jacob did his part, then went into his and Akeno’s hut after everything was put away, wanting to avoid another awkward conversation.

It took him a while to fall asleep. The rain started lightly at first, but got stronger and stronger, and the water seeped up through the branches and leaves where he lay. He tossed and turned for a while before finding a somewhat comfortable position, then fell into a restless sleep.

Waking up, Jacob could tell it was not going to be a good day. He was exhausted and sore from trying to stay away from the wettest parts of the ground throughout the night.

He rolled over and saw that Akeno had already left the hut. Stretching out on his back, he lay for a few more minutes, reluctant to stand and discover how many kinks he had in his muscles. Finally, he stood. “Come on, Jacob,” he said. “Be cheerful.” It didn’t make him feel any better.

He poked his head out of the makeshift tent. The sunlight was muted because of the thick clouds overhead. A flash of light signaled a thunderstorm.

A smile crept across his face. He’d always loved thunderstorms. If he was going to be wet all day, at least it would be for a good reason. He pulled himself the rest of the way out of the brambles.

Spotting leftovers from breakfast near the fire pit, Jacob grabbed some food and munched, listening to the rumble of distant thunder.

Akeno and Aloren were down the hill, hiding under the trees at the edge of the forest. Jacob made his way to them, curious why they were staring up at the clouds.

“Uh, good morning?”

Aloren gave a brief smile, but didn’t look at him. Akeno didn’t acknowledge his presence at all.

“Why are the clouds so interesting?”

“We’re looking for Lirone,” Aloren said.

“Um . . . right,” Jacob said. “Lirone. Of course.” He turned to watch the clouds. Nothing happened. “Who’s Lirone?”

“Did you see that?” Akeno asked, pointing at a spot over the lake.

“Yes, I did,” Aloren said.

“Is it really him?”

“It’s been like this before when he’s shown up, so I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Jacob grunted in exasperation, then hiked back to camp to eat more breakfast. Akeno and Aloren were still watching the skies when he finished, so he put away the few dishes. He tried to force the branches of the huts to go back to where they’d been before, but they wouldn’t budge. Walking down the hill, he stood next to Akeno again. “Hey, I can’t put back the bushes without your help.”

Still no answer. Jacob growled in exasperation. “Where are the Minyas?”

“We might not be going anywhere,” Akeno said.

“We have to leave,” Aloren said. “Those huts won’t protect us from Lirone. We need to make sure it really is him, and then get to the caves in the Dunsany Mountains as quickly as we can.”

“Dunsany Mountains?” Jacob asked.

“Yes. The caves will provide us with protection. They’re dangerous themselves—if you’re not careful and go too deep into them, you’ll never find your way out of the mountain—but they’re the only place where we might find safety from him.”

“How do your people survive?” Akeno asked.

“He very rarely goes anywhere but north and south. He’s been near my city a couple of times, and I’ve only heard of him going west once. The Lorkon got upset with him for doing that, and it hasn’t happened since.”

“What on
earth
are we talking about?” Jacob folded his arms.

“How could a Lorkon possibly stand against Lirone?” Akeno said.

“You’d be surprised, actually. The rumor is that the Lorkon brought him to guard their city.”

“All right,” Akeno said, turning. “I’ll go put the bushes back. At least we can be prepared for him if he does come.”

Aloren turned as well. “And I’m going to see if I can climb a little higher through the trees. Maybe I’ll be able to see better from up there.”

“Will someone
please
tell me what’s going on?”

They ignored him, both running up the hillside—Akeno to the campsite, and Aloren farther through the trees. Jacob stood where he was, glaring at their receding figures. Finally, he decided to find the Minyas instead. He turned and scanned the forest for them.

Weird pock marks dotted the mountain. It was almost as if a war had occurred there, and Jacob wondered if the holes were from the war with the Lorkon. Hadn’t that happened years ago, though? Shouldn’t the marks have leveled by now—from rain and the passage of time? Or maybe there was some weird animal that roamed the countryside, digging random holes everywhere.