The Key of Kilenya (19 page)

“Kenji? Ebony? Are you serious? Oh, what
extraordinary news this is!” He swooped forward and picked up Akeno
in a huge bear hug, tears running, a big smile on his face. Akeno
let out several small, fearful squeaks, his eyes wider than Jacob
had ever seen them before. Jacob had to cough several times to
control the urge to laugh at the Makalo’s expression.

Gallus chuckled and put Akeno down, wiping
his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said. “Kenji was just as
shy around strangers until he warmed up to me. Ebony never was a
cautious one, though, was she?” He smiled at Akeno, waiting for a
reaction.

Akeno gave a small shake of his head, terror
still in his eyes. Jacob didn’t hold back the laugh this time, and
Gallus joined him. It felt good.

“And how did you come to be involved with the
Makalos?” Gallus put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“I’m still not sure about that,” Jacob said.
“However, Kenji and Ebony said we could trust you, and to talk to
you about what we’re doing here.”

“Would I be correct to assume that all this
has to do with the Key of Kilenya?”

Jacob startled. “Yes, it does. How did you
know?”

“I had my suspicions when you came to the
store earlier. I knew that if a Makalo had come out of their hidden
village, the Lorkon must have found the Key’s hiding place. The
Lorkon spent several years searching the land for that Key, only
stopping about a year ago. I’m surprised they were able to get into
the Makalo village that quickly. They stole it, didn’t they? And
that’s why you’re here?”

“Yes. We’ve been asked to find it and bring
it back.”

“That won’t be an easy task. Did Kenji and
Ebony prepare you well?”

Jacob glanced at Akeno apologetically. “Not
really, actually. There’s not a lot they could tell me, mainly
because they haven’t been in this area for several years.”

“Hmmm.” Gallus looked at Jacob for a moment.
“I can help you a little, I think. First, the road to Ridgewood and
Maivoryl City is very dangerous. If you have a couple of days, you
could stay in my home with me and my family. That would give me
enough time to tell you everything you might come across.”

“We . . . don’t have that much time,” Jacob
said, thinking about the wolves. “We need to leave as soon as
possible.”

“In that case, I recommend you take someone
with you who knows the way. I’d love to do it, if you’ll have me.
It’s been several years since I last left Macaria, and it would be
nice to get out again. I’ll have to shut my shop down, but I’ll
manage.”

Jacob shifted his weight. “Well, actually,
Aloren has already requested that she come with us.”

“Aloren?” He frowned. “That girl is so
stubborn. I should have known she’d be trying to get to Maivoryl
City again. Of course she would.” He sighed, then started fidgeting
with one of the boxes in the room for a moment before saying
anything. He looked up at Jacob, a disappointed expression on his
face. “No, she’ll be a better guide than I would.” He sighed again.
“Of course you should take her instead.”

“Is she trustworthy?”

“Aloren? Trustworthy? Of course she is. She’s
worked for me since she was eight. She's a hard worker—doing
basically everything. Housecleaning, laundry, cooking, stable
cleaning—basically whatever people need. She and her mother used to
live right here, in this room. That was back before her mother . .
.” His voice trailed off, and he didn’t continue.

“Died?” Jacob said.

“Yes,” Gallus said. “Jacob, listen to me.
Aloren has had a difficult life—very difficult. Parents separated
before she was born, a mother who was almost always sick, a
constant loneliness and desire to find her father and brother.
She’s got a lot of energy, she has, but she’s still hurting from
her mother’s death. I’ve tried to talk her into settling down here,
but every month or so she uproots herself, searching through a
different part of the kingdom. And while her mother was sick,
Aloren was incredibly restless. She had the desire to be out
searching, but couldn’t leave her mother’s side for several
months.” Gallus frowned. “That was hard for her. She felt trapped,
and then felt guilty for feeling that way.

“She’s been everywhere in this part of the
kingdom except past Ridgewood. It would be wise for you to take her
with you—to have someone with you who knows the area. And . . .
it’ll ease her mind if she’s searching for her brother.”

Jacob sighed. “All right, we’ll take
her.”

“And you won’t regret it.”

Jacob heard Aloren’s laughter from down below
and almost rolled his eyes.

Gallus smiled, then sighed. “Just take care
of her, okay?”

“We will.”

They walked through the city, Jacob keeping
his eyes open for wolves. Aloren had been talking almost non-stop
since they left the store. He tried to control his frustration,
realizing she was probably just excited to be leaving Macaria. He
paid little attention to what she was saying, only offering a few
“Uh-huh’s” and “Yeah’s” when he felt they were necessary. He just
wanted to get out of the city and to the safety of the hills.

“You know, you really don’t need to worry
about the people in this town,” Aloren said, putting her hand on
Jacob’s arm.

Jacob startled, pulling away. He hadn’t
realized she’d noticed him glancing up and down the alleys. “I’m
not worried about the people—I’m worried about the wolves.”

“They’re not here anymore. I already told
you.”

“But you couldn’t tell me why. I’ll feel much
better when Akeno can confirm it for us.”

“Anyway,” Aloren said, “As I was saying, this
town used to be a glorious city.”

“Really?” Jacob quickly looked down another
alley, his eyes having caught a movement.

“You should’ve seen it at night. I barely
remember it. There are paintings, though. If we get through this,
maybe someday I’ll show them to you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The dust from the road blew into Jacob’s
face, irritating him. Come to think of it, everything was a source
of irritation at this point, and he was still nervous about having
Aloren on the trip.

They walked past the last of the buildings,
and Jacob let out a breath of air, relieved to be out of the city.
He realized Aloren had stopped talking. Had she asked a question?
He wracked his brain, trying to remember the last thing she said,
but was unable to come up with anything. He risked a quick glance
in her direction, but she didn’t seem to be waiting for anyone to
say something. She had a smile on her face, though—her dimple
showing.

It was nice not to have to pretend to be
listening. He felt bad for that, but his brain could only handle so
much conversation before he went crazy.

On the other hand, there were so many things
he wanted to talk to Akeno about, and having Aloren with them made
that
difficult. Gallus might trust her, but Jacob just
didn’t want to open up and talk about things with her around—at
least, not until he knew more about her.

His thoughts turned to the experience they’d
had while running through the tunnel. Those things in the
water—what were they? Something that scared the Dust, and with
which Aloren had experience.

Something tickled Jacob’s head, and he
scratched it. He glanced at Aloren again—she was still smiling.
What could be so interesting and funny it was making her smile
still? Or, maybe her face never relaxed—maybe it was frozen in a
smile. He almost stopped walking as this thought occurred to him.
Maybe she had a muscular disorder that made her face look like
that. Jacob made a mental note to check to see what her face looked
like while she was sleeping. He almost laughed out loud when this
thought formed in his mind, realizing how awkward it would be if
she woke up with him in her sleeping area. He could only imagine
what he'd say. “Uh, I'm checking to see if you have a muscle
problem in your face that makes you smile all the time.” That would
make for an interesting conversation, if she woke up while he was
peering at her.

Scratching his head again, he looked around,
not at all surprised that the Minyas were nowhere to be seen.

His head itched again, and this time he felt
something crawling in his hair. He jumped, swatting his head
several times.

“Hey!” a tiny voice cried out. September flew
down from somewhere up above him, joined by Early. “Don’t hit
us!”

Jacob jerked to a stop, scowling. “Were you
in my hair?”

“We’re just playing a game.” September
said.

Early flitted in front of him. “Is that
okay?”

“No, it’s not okay!” Jacob pointed at Akeno.
“Why can’t you play in his?”

“It isn’t as thick as yours,” Early said.
“Besides, his hair lies flat on his head. Yours doesn’t.”

Jacob growled. “That is seriously the dumbest
thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s not dumb—it’s fun to play in your
hair,” September said.

“Fine. Play up there. I’m warning you right
now, though—don’t blame me if I forget you’re there and one of you
ends up squished.”

“We’ll be fine!” Early said, giving Jacob her
most winning smile. She and September disappeared from view, and
Jacob felt them land on his head. Rolling his eyes again, he
glanced sidelong at Aloren and caught her grinning at him.
Scowling, he started walking again and let out a breath of pent-up
frustration. This was going to be a long trip.

Back to Top

A
n unfamiliar Minya just approached me, bearing
greetings from Brojan, leader of the Makalo army. He and his troops
are in the valley just east of here, and are awaiting word from us
as to when the attack should begin. It can’t possibly happen for
several days, since we have not yet begun to gather forces. I am
appointing Lahs, a member of King Roylance’s guard, to round up an
army and to head to the land
east of here to meet up with
Brojan’s army. Lahs is eager to be of assistance. I’ve instructed
him to find any and all who are willing, from every race, to join
the cause for freedom.

We are nearing the next element: fire. The
land around us is burned, and I have a sick feeling in the pit of
my stomach that says danger is ahead. Hopefully the Fat Lady’s
instructions will prove useful, and Lasia will be held at bay.

J
acob, Akeno, and Aloren finally made it to
the original trail Akeno and Jacob had been following for so
long.

“Aloren?” Akeno asked.

“Hmmm?”

“Can you explain what happened in the
basement of the castle? Why couldn’t we touch the water?”

“Of course,” she said. “Sonda Lake is one of
the most dangerous parts of Redland. It’s really deep, but no one
knows for sure how far down it goes because of the Eetu fish. They
live only where the water is darkest—they can’t stand the sun, and
so only come to the surface after it’s gone down. Eetu fish are
really dangerous. Their fins can act like feet, giving them the
ability to move quickly regardless of whether they’re on land or in
water. They get to be huge—sometimes up to ten feet long. They have
razor-sharp teeth that triple line their mouths, and are able to
make a full-grown man disappear in a matter of seconds.”

Jacob raised his eyebrows. These fish sounded
like Piranhas on steroids.

Aloren looked at Akeno. “This isn’t the only
reason why they’re so dangerous, though. If a drop of the water
from their territory hits you, they will hunt you down until
they’ve eaten or destroyed you. They’re able to sense where that
water went, regardless of whether it has evaporated or not. They
know when someone has come in contact with it—even just one
drop.

“Your only defense when you get wet is to
hope you’re able to outrun them. They only last above water for an
hour or so, but most people make the mistake of thinking they’ll
die or retreat after that. This isn’t true. An Eetu fish can
replenish itself with any water source big enough to cover its
gills. Once it’s replenished, it continues the hunt. On average, it
takes the Eetu fish around twenty-four hours to lose the scent of
that bit of water.”