The Key of Kilenya (17 page)

“I take it you guys know Gallus?”

Ebony wiped tears from her eyes. “Yes, of
course we do. Oh, Kenji, I hadn’t imagined he’d still be
alive!”

“Neither had I! What a wonderful surprise!”
They sat back down, and Kenji leaned forward. “Jacob, please tell
us everything Gallus said.”

“Well, we got to the store, and he called me
‘Your Highness,’ then made me eat some candy. He said the Lorkon
took over their city’s government for a while. They were looking
for something, but gave up a year ago and moved on.”

“I’m sure they were searching for the Key.”
Ebony nodded. “Oh, it’s such a relief to hear that Gallus
survived!”

“Jacob, when you return, find Gallus again,”
Kenji said. “Let him know who you are and that we sent you. He is
one of the most trustworthy people you’ll find. If he makes any
suggestions of things you should or should not do, listen to
him.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “That’s what you
said about the old guy, and he ended up throwing nuts at us. How do
you know Gallus isn’t crazy, too?”

“You talked to him yourself,” Kenji said.
“Did he seem lucid?”

“Yeah . . . he did.”

“Well, there you have it.”

“Please let him know we’re overjoyed he is
still alive and well,” Ebony said. “He is in good health, isn’t
he?”

Jacob shrugged. “He looked like it.”

“Such wonderful news!” Ebony said. She and
Kenji smiled at each other, acting as though they were the only
people in the room; then she sighed and turned to Jacob. “You
should get back to Akeno now.”

Jacob put the book into his backpack. “So,
read the book, talk to Gallus, figure out my ability, get the
Key.”

“Right,” Kenji said.

“At least with the book, you’ll be better
prepared for what lies ahead of you,” Ebony said. “And Gallus
should have more information about the current condition of the
land there.”

“All right. Who’s shrinking me?”

Brojan raised his hand.

Jacob slung his bag over his shoulders. ”I’m
ready.”

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I
t is with deep regret and pain that I write the
events of the past half hour. Arien’s Minya was sent to deliver our
latest report to the king and queen, and returned with horrible
news. The castle has yet again been attacked, and King Roylance was
killed. The queen was injured—she probably won’t live much
longer
—and sent tidings that the crown has passed to me.
Though I am still prince until the crowning takes place, I am fully
in charge of this kingdom.

I’m beside myself with grief. King Roylance
has been a father to me these past few years since my escape from
my father, Ramantus. Queen Ara Liese played an immense role,
alongside my own mother and Arien, in helping me to change who I
was becoming, to prevent me from following in Ramantus’s footsteps.
What am I to do without their guidance? Oh, how I wish I were with
Arien.

Right before we received word that the king
had been killed, Aldo contacted me. He informed me that the Key of
Kilenya is now in his possession. I’m not sure how he got it, or
from where. I’d nearly forgotten the myths and legends surrounding
those artifacts of olden times.

He instructed me not to attempt to contact
him for a while longer. He’s in a very dangerous situation and will
not be able to communicate. He says he’s seen the princess from a
distance. She still hasn’t given birth to our child and appears to
be healthy. Oh, what a relief!

E
bony filled Jacob’s knapsack with fresh food
before he left. The trip back with Early was just as quick as the
trip to Taga, and soon they entered the same hall from which they’d
exited. It echoed with shouts and loud crashes.

“Early! Early! Move him fast!
Hurry!
”

Early jerked Jacob upward just as a hand with
long fingers swept through the air at him.

He yelled and clung to her arms, then watched
in relief as whatever it was that had tried to grab him appeared
smaller as he was raised higher. Early set him down on the shelf by
the statues. Jacob scrambled toward the edge to see what was going
on, but Early yanked him back, stopping him.

“September, what’s happening?” she asked.

“Don’t know. I was looking for honey and
heard loud noises. A bunch of wolves and a Dust were attacking
Akeno. You got here right after I did.”

“A dust?” Jacob said. “Dirt?”

“No,” Early said. “You saw the statue
earlier. They’re creatures in this world.”

“Let go—I want to see.”

Jacob pushed Early’s arms away and jumped
forward, dropping to his stomach and army-crawling to the edge of
the shelf. Peering over, he saw Akeno brandishing a sword that was
much too large for him, trying to protect himself. The wolves were
snapping, growling, and barking at him. He was using the sword to
fend them off, only taking a few swipes at the Dust every now and
then. Jacob frowned. Why didn’t Akeno just use his Rezend?

The Dust was an odd-looking humanoid creature
with large hands, small ears, and a big mouth. Brown pants were its
only article of clothing. It was fast, but it didn’t seem to have
rhyme or reason to its advances. It held two long knives that it
was attempting to use as weapons against Akeno.

Jacob watched the way the Dust moved and
realized that the only thing that made it any sort of a threat was
its speed, and the fact that it was almost as big as Akeno. The
Dust had no skill with the knives and, moreover, kept acting
surprised to see them in its hands. Every time it swiped at Akeno,
it looked down, saw the knives, yelled out, and jumped back a step
or two before looking at Akeno again and resuming the attack.

September crawled up alongside Jacob to watch
as well.

“Does it have a short-term memory problem?”
Jacob whispered. “It keeps getting surprised that it has weapons in
its hands.”

Suddenly the Dust pivoted in place, yelling,
and looked up at Jacob. “Said get human!”

Jacob was astonished to see the knives
disappear to be replaced with hooves that the creature used to
quickly cover the distance between Akeno and Jacob. The wolves also
abandoned their attack and ran to the base of the wall. As soon as
the Dust reached the wall and lifted its hooves, long-fingered
hands appeared where the hooves had been, grasping the wall and
climbing.

Jacob jumped to his feet and started to back
up, but saw the creature slide off the wall, staring at its
hands.

“Fingers?” the Dust yelled. “Fingers? No
fingers! Knives better!” It turned and screamed at the wolves. “I
trying! It complicateder than looks!”

A loud crack sounded in the air, and the
wolves and Dust fell to the ground.

“September! Early! Bring him down now! We
have to go!”

Jacob was lifted in the air by both Minyas
and flown to Akeno.

“Hold on to him. We’ve got to get out of the
castle before they wake up!”

Akeno led the way toward the front of the
castle. He raced around a corner and almost ran into a girl who was
tearing down the hallway from the opposite direction.

“No, no!” she exclaimed. “You can’t come this
way! There are tons of wolves coming into the castle through the
front. We’ve got to go somewhere else.” She grabbed Akeno’s hand
and tried to pull him with her, but he stayed put.

“Stop it!” Akeno blurted. “Who are you, and
why should we go with you?”

The ferocious sound of angry wolves echoed
down the hallway in front of them. More angry noises came from
behind as the wolves and Dust woke up. Jacob’s heart nearly choked
him when he saw several wolves round the bend at the other end of
the long hall, trapping the group.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” he tried to scream, but
only squeaking.

“Okay, we’re going!” Akeno yelled.

The girl pulled Akeno down a side hallway,
taking a couple of turns until they reached a heavy door. She
heaved it open with both hands, revealing a descending staircase.
Grabbing Akeno’s arm, she pulled him down a couple of steps, then
turned and shut the door behind them. September and Early, carrying
Jacob, barely made it through before they were plunged into
darkness. Jacob was at once grateful that he didn’t have to worry
about tripping over his feet on the way down the stairs. He could
feel the Minyas speeding up as they followed the girl.

It was quiet for several moments except for
the echoes of feet on stone. After a while, they stopped going down
and moved forward into pitch-black darkness. Jacob squeezed his
eyes shut, hoping the girl knew where she was going.

The faint sounds of howling, barking, and
growling wolves came from above. Jacob heard the voice of the Dust,
though the words were unintelligible. They must have made it
through the door.

“Give me your hand now!” the girl said.

Heavy footfalls echoed through the tunnel as
Akeno and the girl started running. The wind streamed through
Jacob’s hair, and he knew the Minyas were keeping up, though he
detected no movement. He opened his eyes—still couldn’t see
anything. How did the girl not run into walls?

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. The sound
of the wolves was distant behind them, but growing louder.

The girl spoke. “We’re going to enter a very
large room now. There’s a puddle of water in the middle—do
not
touch it or go near it. Stay as close to the wall as you
can, and follow me.”

The sound of their feet hitting the hard
floor quickened, and the Minyas sped up again. Jacob glanced over
his shoulder at the faint light glowing from a torch down at the
other end of the tunnel. He barely made out the figures of the
wolves and Dust running toward them.

“Hurry, hurry!” he urged the Minyas on.

They soon reached a point where the wall
turned in and to the right, forming the first corner of the room.
This section was longer than the first, and it took more time for
them to reach the next corner. Just as Akeno and the girl arrived
at the second tunnel, the wolves and Dust entered the room. One of
the Dust’s hands formed a lit torch, casting weird shadows in the
oblong room and over the puddle, which was black as coal.

The wolves caught sight of them and rushed
into the water. “No! No! No water!” the Dust yelled, but the wolves
didn’t turn back.

The girl grabbed Akeno’s hand, pulling him
into the tunnel as the room erupted in a frenzy of commotion. Loud
roars echoed, and waves splashed everywhere. Hundreds of roiling
things moved in the water, joining with the thrashing wolves as
they tried to reach the other side of the room. The wolves howled
and yipped, the Dust screamed, and the Minyas took off into the
tunnel, following the girl and Akeno. They were soon enveloped in
darkness. The howling and roaring coming from behind grew so loud,
echoing in the tunnel, that Jacob had to cover his ears to block
out the sounds.

After a few moments, the roaring stopped, and
the shouting faded away.

The girl exhaled loudly. “I doubt the water
got on the Dust—I’ve seen him before, and he knows this castle
pretty well—but there’s no way he’ll be able to walk around the
side of the room now. It’s too wet, which means nothing is
following us anymore. Do you have a torch or something with you? I
didn’t bring a light source with me.”

“No, but I’m a Makalo.”

The tunnel filled with the eerie blue light
that emanated from Akeno’s finger.

“Oh, wow!” the girl said, slowing to a walk.
“I’ve heard of Makalos, but I had no idea there were any here! And
you’re still magical!”

Akeno laughed. “Yes, we’re still magical. Not
by much, though.”

“But why are you here?”

“Mostly because Jacob came.”

“Who’s Jacob?”

Jacob waved at the girl. “I am.”

“Who’s Jacob?” she asked again after a
pause.

He waved both hands in the air, and the girl
glanced at him. “I’m Jacob!”

“How did you get three Minyas?” she asked,
still walking. “My mother was only able to catch one.”

Jacob scowled at her and yelled, “I’m not a
Minya!”

No response. He cleared his throat. “Hello? I
said I’m not a Minya!” Again, no response, and Jacob felt like
kicking something. “Are you serious? How is it possible that you
can’t hear me? Akeno, tell her.” He blew out a breath of air in
frustration. “And can I go back to my normal size now? I’m tired of
not being able to walk.”

Akeno shot a look at the girl before
answering. “Not yet. The tunnel has too many curves in it. You’d
only be about as tall as me if I were to try right now.”

“This is really annoying,” Jacob said. “And
my sides are starting to hurt from the way the Minyas are carrying
me.”

The girl turned to walk backward, watching
Akeno. She smiled, as if amused by the attention he was giving his
three “Minyas.” Jacob scowled again.