Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (26 page)

Kenji instructed us to gather the sap, then boil it until it was thick. We had the entire company gathering all afternoon. We covered our clothes and skin with the sap, then slowly started our way through the mud. At first it was quite difficult—the mud was deep, and we were hesitant to get burned—but after a while, the mud shifted away from us, and we were able to get through. The sap on our bodies purified the dirt, hopefully enough that it won’t cause problems for anyone who passes this way after us.

Jacob looked up. “Does this sound familiar to you, Akeno?”

“What do you mean? I haven’t been reading the book.”

“The mud. Dmitri doesn’t say how much of it there was, but I’d be willing to bet it was fairly deep and covered quite a bit of ground. That must have been the mud shells we crossed.”

“I’ll bet it was.”

“Keep reading,” Aloren said.

After the ordeal of the fourth element, we were relieved to make our way down the mountain, and we’ve just caught up with Aldo. He was heading back from the Land of the Shiengols, where Arien is being kept. We have now set up a temporary residence in a cabin near the forest. We have many plans to make, and as we are at least a day’s journey from our destination, we must start soon.

Aldo has been using the Key as a way to scout out the area. He reports that the land has completely changed—the Shiengols are, in fact, being held captive. Imagine that! Who would have thought it possible?

He also reports that the Lorkon are living in the town center, away from the prisoners. Hopefully this will aid us in our rescue of Arien.

Jacob paused for a minute to skip over a scribbled-out part, glad to see that the words continued flowing.

Aldo used the Key this morning to check on Arien before we attempted to rescue her, and to our surprise, she is no longer being held with the other captives. She’s in the town center where the Lorkon are staying, and it appears she has given birth. Oh, I wish I could have been there to comfort and assist her.

This new information changes our plan drastically, and much thought has been put into a new one. I will give word for Lahs and Brojan to attack the Lorkon army at the same time that Kelson will lead an attack on the stronghold where the Shiengols are being held. We could use their assistance in this war. Accompanying Kelson will be everyone but me, Kenji, Aldo, and September.

The attack will hopefully provide enough of a diversion so my team can use the Key of Kilenya to enter the town center. We will find Arien and the babe and take them to safety.

Dmitri’s handwriting changed—the words were smaller, perhaps more thoughtfully written.

This entry is one of both joy and pain.

The attack on the stronghold did provide a needed diversion, but Kelson’s men failed to break through. He and his entire group were killed. My best friend is dead. I can scarcely believe it.

I am shocked to see how close the war is raging. Lahs and Brojan have been communicating with me through various Minyas. Thousands upon thousands of people are being slaughtered by three Lorkon. Three! I had imagined an entire regiment. But they are not to be underestimated. They are strong. Nothing the army has done harms them, and every person they touch is infected with disease and then painfully dies.

The joy of which I spoke was that Arien and the baby have been recovered. Kelson’s attack on the stronghold was successful to that end, and I will forever remember what he did for me and my little family. Nothing can remove the joy I feel as I hold my little one with my wife beside me.

Jacob put the book away. He was glad Arien and the baby had been safely recovered, but how sad that Kelson and the rest had been killed! He glanced up at the foothill beside them. Doing a double take, he pointed up. “Check that out.”

On top of the hill, a wall rose high above them. It was gray and looked like granite. The surface wasn’t smooth, but had vertical ripples flowing through it, giving the appearance of gray curtains.

“That’s really odd,” Akeno said.

“Yes, it is. I wonder if it’s the first element.” Jacob continued to peer up while walking and noticed that even though the hill was getting smaller, the wall-like thing on top stayed the same height. “This is different, though. Dmitri saw a waterfall.”

“I’ll bet the Lorkon put it there,” Akeno said.

Aloren shielded her eyes. “I’ve never heard anyone mention it. But it probably was the Lorkon who did it.”

As they followed the path, the foothill disappeared, and the trail ran flush with the wall. Jacob stared at it, trying to see the top. The glare of the sun was too bright, and he wasn’t able to measure the height. He looked forward, surprised to see the path turn and disappear beneath the wall.

“Is that really the end of the trail?” Akeno asked.

“Uh, I guess it is,” Aloren said. “Now what?”

“No, it’s not the end,” Jacob said. “The wall was put on top of it. I’m sure it continues on the other side.” He scratched his head, noticing that the Minyas were no longer flying around them. “Maybe Early and September can see over it. Who knows—our Minyas might be better than Arien’s. Where are they?”

“I think they said they were going to sleep in your bag,” Aloren said. “They went in while you were reading.”

Jacob found the Minyas and told them what he needed them to do. They returned seconds later.

“It was way too high,” Early said. “We didn’t want to keep going.”

“It goes several miles up at least,” September added. “Would you like us to try again?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, it’s okay. Arien’s Minya couldn’t do it, either. What I’m wondering now is why we didn’t see it earlier. You’d think something this big and solid would’ve been visible.”

Aloren turned and looked toward the lake. “I’ve got an idea,” she said. “Let’s have the Minyas go halfway across the lake and see what the wall looks like from there.”

The Minyas flew off, returning moments later.

“The wall became transparent the farther away we got,” September said.

“Weird.” Jacob paused, thinking over the situation. “All right, Dmitri found a way through it. Let’s separate and see if we can too.”

Aloren and Akeno followed the wall to the south, and Jacob followed it to the north, climbing up the foothill where it met with the wall. He ran his hand along every edge and crevice he could reach, seeking a hole or something similar. After several minutes of searching, he came to a section where the hill changed into huge rock outcroppings that would be impossible to climb without ropes and harnesses. Turning around, he was surprised to see how far he had gone. Aloren and Akeno were little dots at the far end.

Jacob half-jogged his way back down, meeting up with them where the path disappeared. “Did you find anything?”

“No, nothing,” Aloren said. “You?”

“Nothing.”

Aloren looked up at the wall. “What do we do?”

“I know there’s a way past this,” Jacob said. “There has to be. The wolves and Lorkon have been coming and going through it.”

“Speaking of the wolves,” Akeno said. “We haven’t seen them since we left Macaria. Why?”

Jacob tilted his head. “Well, if they were only sent to make sure we came to Maivoryl City, there wouldn’t be any need for them to make their presence known. We haven’t taken any major detours since leaving.”

Akeno slid his bag off his shoulder. “Can we eat something while discussing this? I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah,” Jacob said. “It’ll give us a few minutes to think about how to get through the used-to-be-waterfall.”

They sat next to a small mound of dirt near the shore of Sonda Lake, stretching out their legs and pulling food from their bags. The Minyas flitted in the air, playing games.

“So, explain what this thing is,” Aloren said.

“Dmitri went through four elemental traps that were placed by the Lorkon to stop him. Well, this was the first, except it was a huge, invisible waterfall when he came across it.”

“I wonder what happened to make it visible.”

“Do you think we can see it because of the potions the Fat Lady gave us?” Akeno asked.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so,” Jacob said. “She said the potions would make you avoid reactions. Seeing something invisible is not a reaction.”

No one said anything for a moment. Jacob bit his lip, thinking. The wolves and Lorkon couldn’t climb over the wall, and couldn’t have been going around—it was too wide. The only way was to go through the tunnel Dmitri had found. But where was it?

“I’d bet anything we’re mirroring Dmitri’s steps right now,” Jacob said. “He and his group went through the waterfall first, then the smelly air, then the mud.” He paused. “But they had the Fire Pulser in between. We didn’t pass any fire-pulsing people after we crossed the mud.”

“And no land that looked burned,” Akeno said.

Jacob got to his feet to pace. He loved puzzles like this in the books he read, but hated having to figure it out himself. He walked back and forth several times between Akeno and Aloren and the mound of dirt, trying to keep everything clear in his mind. As he neared the small hill for a fourth time, something caught his eye and he paused, then circled around to the side that faced the lake.

“Hey, come check this out,” Jacob said. The others joined him near a shallow hole in the earth. “This has to be the tunnel.”

“It could be, but it looks like it’s only a pit,” Aloren said. “And if it
is
a tunnel, it’s fallen in on itself. Not recently, though. That dirt’s been there for a year at least. It’s too dry and settled to be fresh.”

Jacob frowned. “And the Lorkon and wolves have been out of Maivoryl several times during the past year.”

“What is it, then?” Akeno asked. “It’s not here naturally.”

“An animal hole?” Jacob said. “Do animals this big live around here?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Aloren said, then paused. “Oh, I’ll bet Dusts made it. They do things like this in the castle too—digging through things, making tunnels. We’d better move away just in case.”

The group circled back to their lunch spot and sat to finish their food—facing the wall so they could continue to examine it.

After several moments, Jacob glanced up—did he just see a section of the wall shift? It was a spot twenty feet or so to the left of where the trail disappeared—the part Aloren and Akeno had inspected. He stood and walked closer, squinting in the bright light of the sun. He stopped in front of it—something flickered again.

“Wait,” he said. “That’s weird. The wall has a . . .” He reached out to touch it and jumped back when the stone dissolved around his hand. “Wow! What was that?”

The tunnel was now right in front of him—it was dark, and he couldn’t see very far into it.

He turned to his friends. “Holy cow! Come see! I just found the tunnel!”

“I can’t see anything,” Akeno said.

Aloren shook her head. “Neither can I.”

“Wait—what? You can’t see the tunnel? It’s right here.” Jacob motioned to it.

“There’s nothing there but wall,” Aloren said.

Jacob frowned. “You . . . really can’t see it?”

Aloren smiled, rolling her eyes, and Akeno gave him a look that said “Didn’t I just tell you that?”

Jacob sighed. “Okay, come here then.” He grabbed Akeno and pulled him over to stand right in front of the entrance. “Put your hand out. You’ll feel the wall sorta dissolve around it.”

Akeno put his hand out, but the wall didn’t dissolve. “Now what?”

“Oh, my gosh,” Jacob said. “I know I’m not going crazy. Aloren, you try it.”

“No, I believe
you
can see it. There’s probably a reason why we can’t. I’d guess it’s because we’re not supposed to go with you.”

“What are you talking about? I sure as heck am not going alone!” Jacob said. “There’s no way I can go up against the Lorkon without help!”

“Then lead us. That’s the only other alternative.”

Jacob scowled at the wall. He couldn’t think of anything else they could do. He hated the idea of leading them blind, but he knew he’d never get out alive without their help. “Okay, let’s go.” He searched the air for September and Early, and spotted them flitting around a small tree by the trail. “Oy! Minyas! Get in my backpack. I can’t hold on to you two as well.”

With the Minyas put away, Aloren took Akeno’s hand with her left and Jacob’s with her right.

“Let’s go,” she said.

Jacob turned to face the wall, trying not to think too much about Aloren’s touch. This was the first time he’d held hands with a girl. He cleared his mind, then stepped forward, pulling Aloren and Akeno in with him. They were plunged into complete darkness.

“Oh, wow,” Aloren said, gasping. “We’re in the wall now, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I feel it. It’s pushing all around me. It feels like I’m standing in stone!” Aloren gasped again. “Don’t let go of my hand!”

“I won’t. I promise.” Jacob looked over his shoulder. “Akeno, how are you holding up?”

“Fine,” he said.

Jacob could barely make out the walls on either side of them and the ceiling above. Putting out his right hand, he used the side wall to guide him. It was bumpy and had an odd texture to it, making him stop again. He felt around, trying to figure out why it was so weird, but nothing came to mind.

Taking a few more steps, he relied on the wall to guide him. Then it disappeared from under his hand. Feeling around for a moment, he figured out the tunnel turned right. He started to follow it, looking over his shoulder to check on Aloren and Akeno. The blackness made it impossible to see them, though. He cleared his throat. “Uh, how’re you guys doing?”

“My bag . . . take . . . my bag,” Aloren said, gasping. “Can’t feel . . . it . . . don’t want . . . lose . . .”

“Okay, okay.” Jacob reached out and found the top of her head, then lowered his hand to the bag slung around her neck. He secured it around his own neck and one arm. “Akeno? Do you want me to take yours as well?”

“No, m’fine,” Akeno said, also gasping now. “Hurry.”

“Okay.” Jacob took another deep breath, tracing the wall as he went. “Something tells me this isn’t going to be a short tunnel.”