The Key of Kilenya (11 page)

“What other things can you do with your
Rezend?” Jacob asked.

Akeno's face turned thoughtful, and he took a
moment to answer. “I can use it as a light. My left ring
finger—where the Rezend is centered—will glow brightly when I want
it to. Rezend can control electricity, and particles to an extent.”
He rummaged through his bag, then popped a grape into his mouth,
laying in the grass. “And water, too. Plumbing, lighting, etc.”

Akeno sat up, about to say something more,
then he stopped short.

The two huge black wolves sat on the edge of
the forest, watching them.

“Not this again,” Jacob said.

“It's definitely annoying.”

“Let's just ignore them. I'm positive they're
making sure we're not returning to Taga Village.”

Jacob looked at the trail in the opposite
direction. Not far away was a grove of trees, with a small cabin in
the middle. Taller trees grew beyond that. The mountains to the
south were big, though not as big as the mountains visible farther
south. There were acres and acres of small, gently rolling hills
between the forest they had just left and the southern
mountains.

When he turned back, he saw the wolves had
left. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Early returned just then. “Kenji and Brojan
don't have much to say. They didn't see the lady in the forest when
they tried to leave Taga. But they said to go see Aldo. Ask him
what he knows about the forest and the Key.” She pointed at the
cabin. “That's where he lives.”

The group gathered their things and followed
the trail to the grove, soon reaching a path that led to Aldo's
place. Smoke came from the chimney.

“Someone's home,” Jacob said, motioning to
the smoke.

Akeno nodded, stopping near one of the trees.
“I wonder how these will treat me. I’m not feeling any negative
emotions, so maybe I should check what’s going on around us?”

“Yeah, do. I’ll be right here to pull you
away in case it tries to hit you.”

“Okay, here we go.”

Akeno reached his left hand to the tree,
carefully touching the bark. When nothing happened, he visibly
relaxed. “No danger here—the wolves must’ve stayed in the forest.”
He plucked a bunch of leaves and sat on the ground, taping the
leaves to his shoes.

When Akeno was finished, Jacob led the way to
the cabin. He knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened.
An old man with a large nose, a sparse, scraggly beard, and frizzy
gray hair poked his head out.

“Squirrels said the clock was today?”

Jacob cleared his throat. “We’re looking for
Aldo. Is that you?”

The man straightened and put his hand on his
chest. “Aldo is me? Of course it is! The smile was pretty today.
Why didn’t you take it?”

“Take what?” Jacob exchanged a glance with
Akeno. “I don’t get it.”

“Sometimes, when purple raspberries come,
they win plates. And you’re happy to be yesterday!” The old man’s
lips lifted in a huge grin, revealing crooked, dirty teeth.
“Children, children, children. Why even try? Squirrels are so much
more effective.”

Akeno and Jacob looked at each other again,
and Jacob raised his eyebrow. This was weird.

Aldo beckoned them into his house, ushering
them to a couple of chairs next to a table. The front room, which
doubled as a dining room, was small and dingy.

Sitting down, the old man picked up a teapot
and motioned toward some cups on the table. “Stop here with
bottles? I wouldn’t have gone to the store for a pixie if I were
you.”

“Uh, no thanks,” Jacob said, wondering how
long ago the man had lost his senses. No wonder the Makalos weren't
able to find out what was going on with him. He probably wouldn't
even let the Minyas near him.

“Oh, I forgot! Ladies! It means that they
themselves once walked. Or maybe it was magic. Or perhaps it was
that they couldn’t leave home if they wanted it.”

“Sure,” Jacob said. He looked around the
room, noticing that the walls were covered with knickknacks, pots,
and a couple of old photographs. Photographs? Jacob wished he was
closer to inspect them. Trying to remain focused on the here and
now, he turned his attention back to their host, but caught himself
staring at the man’s extremely large nose. He quickly looked away,
realizing too late he should have been more discreet.

Aldo nodded. “The same place I’d be without
my dazzling smile.”

Jacob noticed that Aldo was staring at him as
well, but with an almost knowing expression. He avoided the old
man’s gaze and instead glanced at Akeno, who had a big grin on his
face. Jacob kicked Akeno’s leg under the table, frowning at him and
shaking his head.

Akeno’s smile disappeared. He cleared his
throat and looked at Aldo. “We were wondering what you can tell us
about the Key of Kilenya.”

“The sunset is really cool. But, if the
dispenser’s broken—now, that’s irreplaceable.”

Jacob sighed inwardly. They were wasting
their time.

Suddenly the old man stood up, knocking his
chair over in the process, and left the room through a door in the
back wall. Jacob heard him moving things around. Both boys jumped
when a loud crash was followed by a yell and a stream of words.

Jacob snickered. “I understood that,” he
whispered.

When Aldo returned, he was carrying a bucket
of nuts. He grabbed one of them, showed it to Jacob, and laughed,
saying, “Squirrels don’t come here. I’ll show you why.” Then he
threw the nut at Jacob.

Jacob jumped out of his chair. “Hey! That
hurt!”

“You, too?” Aldo turned to Akeno, but Akeno
was too fast for him and jumped out of the way.

Jacob couldn’t help but laugh at the
devastated look on the old man’s face when he realized he hadn’t
hit his target.

Aldo’s expression turned to one of anger. He
put the bucket down, grabbed a handful of nuts, and chucked them at
top speed, hitting both boys. Then he laughed gleefully and jumped
up and down, clapping his hands.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jacob said.
“He’s crazy!”

They ran through the door, doing their best
to dodge the nuts that were being flung at them. It only took a
couple of seconds to reach the main trail, where they were joined
by the Minyas. Looking back as they ran, Jacob saw that the old man
continued to throw nuts, even though the boys were far away.

“That was kind of funny, actually,” Jacob
said. “Did you understand anything he said?”

“No, nothing. Did you?”

“The words, yes. The context, not at all. I
would’ve dropped to the ground laughing if he hadn’t been trying to
kill us with nuts.”

“I really don’t think we can expect any help
from him.”

Jacob laughed as they slowed to a walk,
coming out of the small grove of trees. “No, obviously not. We
should tell Kenji and Brojan that he’s gone crazy, though.” He
turned to Early and asked her to take a message to the village. She
left quickly, returning a moment later.

“They were very surprised. Aldo played an
important role in the war, was a great friend, and they’re upset to
hear what has become of him. They’d hoped he’d be able to explain
more to you about this world and what to expect.”

Jacob watched Early for a minute. He could
only imagine the pain Kenji, Brojan, and Ebony were feeling right
now. They’d have no closure, and since they hadn’t left Taga in
several years, they’d have no way of figuring out what’d happened
to Aldo. Jacob didn’t remember his grandparents—they died before he
was born, but he knew it had been difficult for his parents. Maybe
Aldo had been like a grandparent to the Makalos—Early did say he’d
been like a member of the family.

Jacob frowned—if Aldo couldn’t help them
figure things out, who would? They hadn’t run into anyone besides
the woman in the forest and Aldo, and from the desolate look of
this valley, it would be a while before they did. What if they
never found help? Would they be killed before even reaching the
Lorkon castle? It seemed likely—neither he nor Akeno had experience
in this world, and they wouldn’t know whom to trust. Akeno seemed
to be waiting for Jacob to make a decision.

“All right,” Jacob said. “I guess we should
just keep following this path.” He dragged his hands across his
face, then attempted a smile. “Hopefully we’ll find someone who can
tell us what to do.” For some reason, he felt the need to put on a
positive front for Akeno.

The trail led them in a southern direction
through a pretty little valley next to the tall trees Jacob had
seen earlier. It was early afternoon, the sun was hot, and the
scent of the wild flowers all around them was refreshing. Jacob
sighed, settling into a comfortable walk. He was ready to put the
adventures of the day behind him.

Forty-five minutes later, Jacob was no longer
enjoying the scenery. The sun was bearing down, and the air felt
humid. The wind played with the leaves in the upper branches of the
trees, but it wasn’t reaching them on the ground.

Jacob tried not to focus on the sweat
trickling down his back, but was unsuccessful. He felt grimy,
especially after his experience in the forest and the manor.

The Minyas were playing a game of tag,
flitting around Akeno and Jacob’s heads, when all of a sudden they
paused, standing still in the air. Early let out a squeal, and the
two of them took off through the tall trees to the left of the
trail. Jacob raised an eyebrow and looked at Akeno, who shrugged
and followed the Minyas.

In the middle of the forest was a little lake
with water so clear, the bottom was visible. Jacob jumped forward,
about to cool off in the water, when Akeno put his hand out,
stopping him. He pointed farther up the lake. A bear was partly in
the water, staring into the depths. Jacob realized it was a Rog
when he saw the human hands.

The Minyas dashed in front of them, both
giggling, zooming for the Rog. A sudden bang, and the Rog soared
over the water, landing with a splash. It surfaced, sputtering.

“Oh, no,” Akeno said. “Uh . . . Jacob, we
might want to run. Fast.”

“Why?”

Then Jacob saw what Akeno saw—the Minyas had
already thrust another Rog in the water, and it was pulling itself
out, roaring with anger.

It was only fifteen feet away.

Jacob stumbled around, running as fast as he
could. The Minyas zoomed alongside him, giggling so hard they were
almost bent in half.

Akeno grabbed Jacob and pulled him to the
left, through the trees. They stumbled over underbrush, barely
staying ahead. After several minutes, they squeezed through enough
places where the Rog couldn't go, and soon put distance between
themselves and the creature. After a moment, Jacob couldn't see or
hear it. He and Akeno ran up the slope, exited the trees, and
turned left to follow the trail again.

“We don't have to run, but we'd better keep
going, and quickly,” Akeno said. “Before the Rog figures out where
we went. They're not very smart, but they are dangerous.”

Jacob agreed, and settled into a quick walk
beside Akeno.

Back to Top

T
he Fat Lady sent us on our way, but not before
showing us a tunnel that leads from the foothills behind her house
directly to a passageway in the castle, bypassing the waterfall.
Arien showed the tunnel to me once, and I used it a few times, but
hadn’t needed it for several years. What’s more, our Minya is able
to use it as a
way to travel to and from the castle.

She also gave me information concerning the
next element. It’s in the form of a person—a Fire Pulser named
Lasia. I’ve heard horrible stories about Fire Pulsers and have no
confidence in my ability to defeat one. However, the Fat Lady did
give me instructions that should help. It seems that Minyas have a
natural sensitivity to change of temperature. I am to keep one
constantly on the lookout, using it as a way to know what Lasia is
doing at all times. Then I am to creep around Lasia, placing
diamonds, which the Fat Lady has given me, in five spots around
her, forming a pentagon. Once the final diamond is in place, a
shield will be formed around her, thus allowing us to pass by
unharmed. I truly hope the Fat Lady is correct in this.