The Key of Kilenya (13 page)

Jacob laughed. “Of course not. I’m new to
this place. You’re supposed to be the resident genius.”

“Right.” Akeno wiped some dust off his pant
leg. “I’ve lived in Taga Village my whole life, and we rarely go
anywhere else.”

“Where could you have gone, anyway? I thought
your village was blocked off until the Lorkon broke through the
barrier.”

“It was blocked off,” Akeno said, smiling.
“But . . . we go into your world to spy on your people from time to
time.”

“You guys spy on us?” Jacob said, and then
laughed. “Why didn’t you, you know, make contact with us?”

“You make it sound like we’re an alien
race.”

“Isn’t that the definition of ‘alien’?
Something strange and foreign and completely different from you and
what you’ve ever seen or met?”

Akeno smiled. “Touché.”

Jacob looked ahead. “Let’s get started. We’ll
just have to cross it.”

They continued forward, crunching through the
smaller bubbles and kicking or pushing through the sides of the
bigger bubbles. The going wasn’t very difficult, and they made good
progress for a while. Jacob looked back a couple of times, but
didn't see the wolves.

After a while, the sides of the bubbles
became more and more difficult to break through, and they took
turns leading. Jacob’s arms and legs soon tired from the exertion,
and eventually he and Akeno reached a bubble neither could break.
It was about four feet tall and five or six feet wide.

Jacob put his palms on the side, pushing as
hard as he could. “You know, they might be able to support our
weight now.” He tested a couple sections first, then hoisted
himself on top. He got to his feet and surveyed the area. There
were still hundreds more bubbles to cross, but they were different.
They were flat on top and almost square in shape.

Jacob shifted his weight to the other foot.
Nothing happened.

“I think if we walk on the edges of the
bubbles where they’re flush against each other, we’ll be able to
cross, no problem. They’ll probably be strongest on the edges.”

“I’ll walk in front of you,” Akeno said. “I’m
lighter.”

Jacob pulled Akeno up, then moved aside,
waiting until Akeno had a lead of a few feet before he followed.
They crossed several bubbles without difficulty and very relaxed,
chatting about the land around them.

After they’d walked for twenty minutes, Jacob
sighed in exasperation.

“This is going to take forever to cross.” He
stopped. “Where are the Minyas? I thought they’d be back by
now.”

“Yes, they should have been.” Akeno shaded
his eyes, looking for the creatures. “We’ll probably need to talk
to them about not leaving us.”

The sun neared the middle of the sky, warming
the breeze almost uncomfortably, and Jacob was glad his skin wasn’t
the kind that burned easily. It looked like the day would be
another hot one.

Suddenly Akeno stopped. Jacob moved to join
him, but Akeno held up a hand. “There’s a hole—don’t move. I’m
going to test it out.” He inched closer to the hole, peered down,
and then stiffened. “Uh . . . Jacob?” He looked back. “The bubble
we’re standing on is at least thirty feet deep.”

Jacob straightened, his heart clenching. “It
is?” He felt like he was standing on a glass floor.

Early flit past Jacob’s face and hovered
above the hole, looking down.

“Early! Where have you been?” Akeno asked.
“And where’s September?”

“Right there,” she said. “We slept in Jacob’s
bag. It was his idea.” She pointed at September, who was just
getting out of Jacob’s knapsack.

“You should have told us where you were
going,” Jacob said, folding his arms. “What if something had
happened?”

“We would have awakened and helped you,”
Early said.

September flitted around. “We could hear
you.”

“Yes, but we had no idea where you were,”
Jacob said. “From now on, if you have to leave, please tell us
where you’re going and when you’ll get back.”

“Okay, we will,” Early said.

Jacob looked at the hole. “Let’s go around
this bubble. I’d rather stay as far away from holes as
possible.”

They made their way to the next bubble, and
Jacob was relieved when he saw there weren’t any holes in it. He
looked out over the shells in front of them, dismayed at the
distance that remained. “It looks like we’re barely halfway.”

“Yes, and it will probably take an hour or
more to cross.”

Jacob sighed and motioned for Akeno to start
walking again. They didn’t go very quickly, as Akeno was now being
much more selective about the shells on which they walked.

Jacob was making his way over a very large
bubble when a cracking sound came from under him. He stopped and
watched in dismay as a line shot across the surface, starting at
his foot.

Akeno whirled. He was five feet ahead of
Jacob, already on the next bubble. “Jacob, don’t move.”

“I’m not,” Jacob said, his voice wavering. He
opened his mouth, but couldn’t inhale. Just the thought of falling
made his head spin.

“What do we do?” Akeno said.

“I don’t know,” he forced out.

A few seconds passed. It felt like an
eternity.

Finally the wind rushed into his lungs,
clearing his mind, allowing him to think. “Back up a little. I’m
going to see if I can jump.”

Akeno frowned. “Jump? Are you sure?”

“If you come over here, we’ll both fall
through. And we don’t have anything for you to toss me—no branches,
no rope.”

“What about kneeling down and crawling or
something?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, that much of a
shift in weight would be bad.”

“Okay . . . just . . . be careful,
Jacob.”Akeno backed up.

Several seconds passed, and Jacob still
didn’t do anything. He ran through his options again. Running was
out of the question. Turning around to backtrack would be a bad
idea, too. Obviously he couldn’t just stand there forever. What if
he tried inching forward a little at a time? He looked at the shell
beneath him, doubtful it would hold his weight while he moved. He
took a deep breath. How much strength did the bubble have? Would it
be enough for one jump?

Finally he crouched a little, careful not to
shift his weight too much. After waiting to see if the shell was
still holding, he took a leap, aiming for the bubble nearest him.
He didn’t lose his balance when he landed. Squeezing his eyes shut,
he sucked in a lungful of air, holding it for several seconds.

Nothing happened.

He released his breath and straightened,
relief pouring over him in huge waves as he took a careful step
toward Akeno.

A loud crack raked the air. He gasped, his
eyes widening, as he clutched at the air, trying to find something,
anything
, to hold on to as the shell beneath his feet gave
way. He tipped backward as he fell, and the shell broke as his body
hit it. He was aware of Akeno’s scream, the bright sun in his eyes,
and the scent of mud.

Cold, damp air rushed past him, making a roar
in his ears as he gained speed in his descent. Then with a thud, he
landed on solid ground, and the wind whooshed out of his lungs.
Everything threatened to go black. He forced his eyes open, and a
dull ache built in his chest.

“Jacob! Jacob!” someone screamed. He tried to
pull in the air he needed to answer. It wouldn’t come, and panic
washed over him. How far had he fallen? Everything was dark except
for a small shaft of light that came in through the hole above
him.

His chest felt on fire as he continued trying
to breathe. Finally, with a gasp, he drew in a ragged breath. Sharp
pain shot across his back and chest, nearly knocking the wind out
of him again. He closed his eyes for a moment, struggling to stay
conscious, trying to clear his mind. He became aware of every pain
spreading across his body, manifesting in varying degrees. He’d
landed on his right side, his arm and leg pinned beneath him.

An eerie blue glow appeared in the hole, and
it took a few seconds for Jacob to recognize Akeno’s voice.

“Jacob! Are you all right?”

Struggling to remain conscious, he could only
moan in response. He looked up, feeling tears smarting in his
eyes.

“Jacob, stay awake! Please stay awake!”

Through the pain, he was aware of water under
him, seeping up through his clothes. The coldness made him
gasp—made him nauseated. A random thought crossed his mind that it
was a good thing he hadn’t eaten breakfast.

“Don’t move, Jacob! And keep your eyes open!
Open your eyes!”

He wasn’t even aware he’d shut them. He
forced them open, the blue light again registering in his mind. He
felt tingles all over his skin, and he could barely feel his
hands.

He was aware of Akeno’s voice, but couldn’t
tell what he was saying.

A new level of pain washed over him when he
was suddenly lifted from the ground.

The sunlight rushed nearer, and once again
Jacob was out in the open, the heat of the sun bearing down on him.
He shut his eyes against the glare, willing the cool air and
darkness to return. Akeno’s voice was loud and it surrounded him,
hurting his ears, making him moan.

“Oh, Jacob, I really hope this works. You
should feel better soon.”

Jacob’s last recognition was of a soft, warm
surface. Something closed over him, putting him in darkness, and he
relaxed, letting go.

Back to Top

W
e’ve caught up with a portion of those who were
kidnapped by the Lorkon and apparently were left behind. All of
them were women, most of whom worked in the castle with Arien.
Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, Arien was not among them.
However, Kelson was much overjoyed to find his wife, Midian, among
the survivors. She is injured and has been mostly unconscious since
we found
her. She recognizes no one. I’m afraid she won’t
live much longer.

We are nearing a city where Kenji has
several close friends. We will beg for help where our new group
members are concerned. We are unable to continue carrying them with
us. Kelson is still very much needed in our company, and though I
offered to allow him to stay with his wife, I was glad when he
chose to continue and trust her to one of Kenji’s friends for the
time being. We will return for her and the others when this journey
is over.

A
sweet fragrance entered Jacob’s nose as he
inhaled. He was on his back in a bed. He felt someone sitting next
to him, holding his hand, comforting him.

“Mom?”

There wasn’t an answer. He opened his eyes.
She was looking at someone on the other side of him. Turning his
head, he saw that it was Brojan, the patriarch. They were
conversing in hushed voices. He tried to open his mouth to say
something, but the scene in front of him faded and blurred, and
everything went black again.

Jacob opened his eyes. He couldn’t see
anything. It took several seconds for him to realize he really was
awake. Afraid to move, he concentrated as air rushed in and out of
his lungs. No pain! He took a deep breath and a sweet, maple
fragrance entered his nose.

After a moment, he decided he needed to test
for broken bones. He started with his toes, flexing them, then
moved to his fingers and hands, stretching and flexing them as
well. He lifted his arms and legs one at a time and bent them,
tightening the muscles. Still no pain. He stretched his arms over
his head and pushed against the cushions that surrounded him.

Jacob touched his face and traced the
outlines of his eyes, then checked his ears. Nothing was out of the
ordinary. He stretched his hands, bumping them into the same soft
fabric that covered the surface where he lay. Wiggling around, he
found four corners and realized he was in a box of sorts.