The Key of Kilenya (18 page)

Akeno moved the strap of his bag. “I’m sorry.
Here, you can sit on my shoulder.”

“Yeah, that’s not embarrassing or anything,”
Jacob said, giving in and allowing the Minyas to put him on Akeno’s
shoulder. “Hey, you!” he yelled at the girl. “I’m not a Minya! I’m
a human! And who are you, anyway?”

Either the girl didn’t hear him or she
pretended not to hear him.

“Sorry, Jacob, she thinks you’re a Minya,”
Akeno whispered. “Not many people outside the Makalos respect
Minyas . . . or even address them directly.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Jacob said. “Anyone who
actually looked at me would see that I’m human.”

Akeno sighed. “I know, but—”

“And I really don’t like being this little.
It’s stupid.” Jacob looked at the Minyas, who were now flitting
back and forth near the ceiling. “No offense to them, of
course.”

He growled and settled in for a long ride.
Yesterday he had been excited to be shrunk again, but this wasn’t
what he’d envisioned. And the tunnel seemed to go on forever.

Finally, after the umpteenth curve, they
reached what Jacob hoped was the end. Stairs were cut into the
stone, heading up.

The girl looked back at Akeno. “These stairs
will lead us to a building not far from Gallus’s store.”

Jacob started. “Gallus! We need to talk to
him!”

“Okay, we’ll do that before leaving the
city,” Akeno said.

After climbing for several minutes, they
reached the top of the stairs. The girl pushed a slab of wood away
and peered over the top. Then she and Akeno crawled out, Jacob
hanging onto Akeno’s shirt. The Minyas flitted through the hole
behind the group. They entered a small, grimy room full of broken
furniture, then went through a doorway into a slightly larger room
with a big glassless window which overlooked an empty street.

“I need to set Jacob right again,” Akeno
said. “Are we in danger of the wolves coming here?”

“No, we’ll be fine. It will take the wolves
quite some time to find us here, if at all.” The girl looked around
the room as she spoke. “And who’s Jacob, again?”

Jacob yelled out in fury, but Akeno’s “Never
mind” covered his voice. He looked up and saw that Akeno was
smiling, which made him even more irritated.

Akeno walked out the open doorway onto the
street, took Jacob off his shoulder, and, using his Rezend, put
Jacob down at least fifty feet away, returning him to his normal
size. Akeno then went back inside.

Jacob brushed himself off and took a deep
breath of air, getting ready to storm back into the building and
tell the girl a thing or two.

The distance between himself and the old,
run-down building quickly disappeared, and Jacob sighed in
exasperation when he heard the girl’s voice again, coming from
inside. He leaned against the wall, feeling his determination
waver. What would he say to her, anyhow? “Why couldn’t you tell I’m
human?” Even that sounded stupid. He stalled for as long as he
could until Akeno yelled out the open door. “Hey, Jacob, are you
here yet?”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Jacob scowled, mentally
preparing himself as he entered the building.

The Minyas flitted around the ceiling, Akeno
leaned against a wall, and the girl lounged in a broken chair. Her
long hair was dark brown, and she had sparkly brown eyes. There was
a dimple in one of her cheeks. She was cute, and his mind went
blank, irritation forgotten. Cute girls did that to him, and he
hated it.

“Jacob, this is Aloren. She wants to join us
on our trip, and I think it might be a good idea.”

“Uh . . .” He looked away from Aloren and
focused on Akeno. “What?”

Akeno just smiled, and Aloren jumped to her
feet, extending a hand. “Akeno said you were with us the whole time
we were running through the tunnels.”

Jacob dropped her hand, his frustrations
coming back. His response was curt—there was no reason to have her
on his side. “Yes. I was. Apparently you didn’t notice, though.” He
turned to Akeno, scowling. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to
have other people come with us?”

“I don’t see any harm in it,” Akeno said.
“She was amazing at helping us get out of the castle alive.
Besides, I’ve had a chance to talk to her. She’s looking for her
brother who’s been missing for a while.”

Jacob raked his hand through his hair in
annoyance. “What does that have to do with her coming? Honestly,
Akeno, I don’t like the idea.”

“No, listen. It is a good idea. I think we
can trust her, and she’s traveled the road we’ll be taking many
times.”

“I can help you with any obstacles or other
things you’ll come across,” Aloren said.

Jacob turned to her. “You expect we’ll have
trouble on the road?”

“The chances are very high,” she said,
nodding.

Jacob dropped his bag and folded his arms.
“How many times have you traveled the way we’re going?” He knew
this was a silly thing to ask—if she lived here, she must have gone
that way several times. He pushed his thoughts to the side,
though.

“Six trips coming and going, and each time,
we ran into trouble.”

“We who?”

“Me, and the people traveling with me.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Did you stop to
think that maybe the problems happened because you were there?”

Aloren thumped into her seat, glaring at him.
“Of course it wasn’t because I was there. Most people die taking
the trail to Maivoryl City. Maybe the trips were so successful
because of me.”

Jacob raised his hand to run it through his
hair again, but dropped it instead. “Can I talk to Akeno, please?
Alone?”

“Fine.” Aloren stood up, flipping her hair,
and left the room.

As soon as she was out of eyesight, Jacob
motioned for Akeno to stand near the front door with him.

“Akeno, I trust your judgment, I really do,
but I just don’t think this is a good idea.”

“It’ll be fine.” Akeno sat down and pulled
the tape dispenser out of his bag. “You need to talk to her. I
don’t think she’ll cause problems for us.”

“And how do you know that? She’d probably
slow us down, or make us need to be cautious about what we say,
or—you know what? I’d bet anything the Lorkon sent her.”

Akeno snorted and started re-taping one of
the leaves to his shoe. “After what happened at the castle, you’re
worried she might be working for the Lorkon?”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “And you said you’ve
read a lot of human books. It’s how it always goes. The good guy
trusts some seemingly innocent person who only wants to help, but
in the end, turns out to be working for the bad guy.”

Akeno was silent for a moment before
responding. “It’s just a feeling I have. Besides, we don’t need to
decide right now. Didn’t you say we’re supposed to see Gallus
again?”

“Yes, I did.” Jacob frowned, thinking. “Let
me just talk to her and get a better idea of who she is.”

Akeno put the tape dispenser back in his bag
and stood up. “All right.”

“That’s all I’m promising, though.”

“That’s fine.” Akeno shrugged. “It’s a
start.”

Jacob sighed. “Hey, Aloren!”

Her voice came from somewhere up above them.
“Coming!”

After a moment, Aloren breezed into the room,
giving him a look he couldn’t read. She half-smiled, her dimple
showing.

Jacob watched her facial expressions, mostly
her eyes, trying to sense if there was any dishonesty there. After
a brief moment, he gave up. She was a very guarded person. He’d
just have to talk to her.

Akeno leaned against the frame of the front
door, watching them.

“Where are you from?” Jacob asked, sitting on
one of the broken chairs.

“This city.” She kept her eyes on Jacob, but
played with a section of her hair.

“How long have you lived here?”

“Most of my life.”

Jacob stood and paced. So far so good—she was
answering his questions honestly. He couldn’t get the edgy feeling
to go away, though. A cute girl—this was Matt’s arena, not his.
Understanding the “mission” objectives had been easy. Get the Key.
Read the journal. Figure out his ability. “Invite stranger to come
along” wasn’t one of them, and he wasn’t about to do it unless he
knew more about her. “Do you have any relatives here?”

“No, none.”

“Where are they?” Jacob turned to face
her.

She shrugged and tucked a strand of hair
behind her ear. “I don’t have any, except my brother and my
father—if they’re still alive.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirteen, almost fourteen.”

“And why, exactly, do you want to come with
us?”

Aloren looked down and bit her lip, a
troubled expression crossing her face. Jacob glanced at Akeno, who
shrugged his shoulders.

“My mother has been dead for a couple of
months. She and my father were separated from each other years ago
by the war, and my older brother went with my father. I don’t
remember him or my father.”

“I, uh . . . I’m sorry,” Jacob said, taken
aback by her sudden forthrightness.

“It’s fine.” She took a deep breath.
“Naturally, she’d always wanted to be reunited with them. It just
never happened. She was always in poor health and unable to travel.
For the past few years, I’ve tried to find them by searching this
and other valleys. The only place I haven’t ever been to is
Maivoryl City. The groups I’ve gone with always run into problems
before getting there, and each time, we’ve had to abandon our
quest.”

“I thought you said you’d been able to take
the road six times successfully,” Jacob said.

“Six times to Ridgewood, but never to
Maivoryl City. No one ever makes it to Maivoryl City.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t really know. They never come back.”
She looked at Jacob for a long moment, her eyes pleading. “Please,
Jacob. This is really important to me. I know it might cause
problems for you to have me with you, but I really can and will
help.”

“Well, give me time to think about it.” Jacob
figured he’d first speak with Gallus before making any
decisions.

Aloren stood and walked to Jacob’s side,
giving his arm a quick squeeze. “Thank you.”

Jacob’s face flushed, and he turned away,
picking up his bag.

“My parents knew Gallus?” Akeno whispered,
his eyes flicking toward Aloren. Jacob didn’t blame him—he didn’t
want the girl overhearing them, either.

“Yes. They knew and trusted him, and said we
need to talk to him before leaving the city.”

Jacob and Akeno walked several feet behind
Aloren, who was peeking around every corner, keeping an eye open
for the wolves as she led the way to Gallus’s store.

“That’s neat to think about, actually,” Akeno
said. “It’s almost like going back in the past, meeting people my
parents knew.” He smiled. “I only hope he doesn’t throw nuts at
us.”

Jacob laughed. “I doubt he will. He seems
normal enough.”

They soon arrived at the store. Gallus was
helping a large man who had a small child in his arms.

Aloren stopped walking. Looking at Jacob, she
said, “I know my way around here pretty well. I can help you find
what you need.”

“Just keep an eye open for the wolves. Akeno
and I will only take a few minutes.”

“No, really. What do you need? I can
help.”

Jacob shifted impatiently. “Something from
the store owner. That’s it.”

“From Gallus? Why?”

He closed his eyes, his jaw clenched, trying
not to lose his temper. Why was she being so nosy? He took a deep
breath, controlling his voice. “Aloren.” He paused, then continued,
putting emphasis on each word. “Why do you need to know?”

Aloren rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine, never
mind then. I’ll wait outside.” She gave a small wave to Gallus.

Gallus smiled at her, shaking his head, and
approached Jacob. “Jacob! Welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Jacob said.

“How can I help you?”

“Actually, can we speak with you in private
for a moment?”

“Sure, sure,” Gallus said. “Let me see . . .
I’ll need someone to take over for me.” He walked to the door and
opened it. “Aloren, would you mind watching the store for a few
minutes?”

Jacob’s mouth popped open, and he shut it
before Aloren could notice. She had an “I told you so” expression
written all over her face. He looked away, ignoring her.

“Thank you, Aloren. Holg here was interested
in finding a new set of cups for his wife. Would you help him pick
out one Nerra would like?”

“Of course.”

Gallus led Akeno and Jacob up a narrow set of
stairs and into a room full of boxes and merchandise. “I’m sorry
about the mess,” he said. “I’m afraid we’ll have to stand.”

“That’s fine,” Jacob said.

“How can I help you?”

“Well . . . I’m not sure where to start.”
Jacob looked at Akeno, but his friend wouldn’t meet his
eyes—probably being shy again. He sighed. “I’ll just start at the
beginning. My name is Jacob Clark, and this is Akeno. His parents
are Kenji and Ebony. They said you’d—”