The Key of Kilenya (21 page)

Aloren shrugged. “They went up into the
trees. Said they smelled honey.”

“Jacob, you have to remember that Minyas
aren’t like humans or Makalos,” Akeno said. “They have a completely
different set of social rules. And they don’t have a very developed
intellect. They understand language fairly well, but that’s about
it. They used to be kept as pets by the more wealthy Makalos and
humans.”

“Really? A pet Minya?” Jacob laughed out loud
at this. Minyas were too human-like to be pets.

“Is it so hard to imagine? I mean, they need
some social training, but after that, many of them are fairly loyal
and like to belong to the same person for long periods of
time.”

Jacob finished the food on his plate and got
seconds. He wanted to ask Aloren about her parents, but didn’t want
to pry. How would she respond to personal questions? There was only
one way to find out. “How did your parents get separated?”

“I don’t really know. My mom had some memory
problems that she got from an injury. I’ve always had the feeling
it was a very traumatic experience for her.”

“What were your parents like?”

“My father wasn’t anyone really important,
socially. I think he was one of many who worked in the stables at
the castle. And I think my mother was a lady-in-waiting for a rich
family in Maivoryl City. She spoke frequently about the woman for
whom she worked.”

“What about your brother?” Jacob asked. “What
do you know about him?”

“Only a few things my mother told me. He was
a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with dimples. He was a tease, even
though he was only two or three.”

Jacob collected the other dishes and plates.
Sitting still with Aloren nearby was unsettling, and he had to do
something with his hands. “Why do you believe he’s in Maivoryl
City?”

“Because it’s the only place I haven’t looked
for him yet. No one has left or entered the city for so many
years—it would make sense if he were there.”

“If no one has been able to leave it, how do
you know for sure that people are still there?”

“They were there when my mother left.”

Jacob scraped the extra food from the plates
into the fire. “But how do you know any of them are still
alive?”

Akeno shot a warning glance at Jacob and took
over cleaning the dishes.

“I guess I don’t know,” she said. “I just
feel I need to go search the city. Please, Jacob, try to
understand. If you were in my place, and your only sibling was
lost, wouldn’t you do everything in your power to find him or
her?”

Jacob felt chastised—he’d been pushing too
much, and Akeno was obviously aware of it. He stared at his hands,
unsure what to say. “Yeah, I guess.” He picked at some dirt stuck
to his palm, then sighed. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be a jerk.”

“I know I probably seem crazy.”

“No, just lonely. I’d hate to be in your
shoes.”

She didn’t respond for a minute, and Jacob
wondered if he’d said something wrong.

“I just wish my mother hadn’t gotten sick,”
Aloren finally said. “She remembered a lot when I was little and
told me stories about my father and brother, but she forgot most
everything. I only vaguely remember the stories now. It’s so
frustrating.”

Jacob felt a sudden need to comfort her,
though he wasn’t sure why or how. He hoped she wouldn’t start to
cry and he wished his mom were there. “That really bites,” he said.
“I mean, it stinks. I mean . . .” He stopped and growled at
himself, giving up. Curse women. Curse the need he felt to protect
Aloren from her own negative emotions.

She smiled at him, her dimple showing. “It’s
fine, Jacob. I’ve had a lot of personal time to deal with
things.”

Jacob was suddenly aware of how dirty his
hair and clothes were. Feeling embarrassed, he looked away. His dad
used to say something about society needing good women to keep men
civilized . . . Suddenly he understood what that meant.

He stared up at the stars again, noticing the
clouds were covering most of them.

It began raining about thirty minutes after
dinner was over. Akeno set off to make the tents stronger in
preparation for the oncoming storm, and Aloren and Jacob put out
the fire. Jacob did his part, then went into the boys’ hut after
everything was put away, wanting to avoid another awkward
conversation.

It took him a while to fall asleep. The rain
started lightly at first, but got stronger and stronger, and the
water seeped up through the branches and leaves where he lay. He
tossed and turned for a while before finding a somewhat comfortable
position, then fell into a restless sleep.

Waking up, Jacob could tell it was not going
to be a good day. He was exhausted and sore from trying to stay
away from the wettest parts of the ground throughout the night. He
rolled over and saw that Akeno had already left the hut. Stretching
out on his back, he lay for a few more minutes, reluctant to stand
and discover how many kinks he had in his muscles. Finally, he
stood up. “Come on, Jacob,” he said. “Be cheerful.” It didn’t make
him feel any better.

He poked his head out of the makeshift tent.
The sunlight was muted because of the thick clouds overhead. A
flash of light signaled a thunderstorm.

A smile crept across his face. He’d always
loved thunderstorms. If he was going to be wet all day, at least it
would be for a good reason. He pulled himself the rest of the way
out of the brambles.

Spotting leftovers from breakfast near the
fire pit, Jacob grabbed some food and munched, listening to the
rumble of distant thunder.

Akeno and Aloren were down the hill, hiding
under the trees at the edge of the forest. Jacob made his way to
them, curious why they were staring up at the clouds.

“Uh, good morning?”

Aloren gave a brief smile, but didn’t look at
him. Akeno didn’t acknowledge his presence at all.

“Why are the clouds so interesting?”

“We’re looking for Lirone,” Aloren said.

“Um . . . right,” Jacob said. “Lirone. Of
course.” He turned to watch the clouds. Nothing happened. “Who’s
Lirone?”

“Did you see that?” Akeno asked, pointing at
a spot over the lake.

“Yes, I did,” Aloren said.

“Is it really him?”

“It’s been like this before when he’s shown
up, so I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Jacob sighed in exasperation, then hiked back
to camp to eat more breakfast. Akeno and Aloren were still watching
the skies when he finished, so he put away the few dishes. He tried
to force the branches of the huts to go back to where they’d been
before, but they wouldn’t budge even an inch. Walking down the
hill, he stood next to Akeno again. “Hey, I can’t put back the
bushes without your help.”

Still no answer. Jacob growled in
exasperation. “Where are the Minyas?”

“We might not be going anywhere,” Akeno
said.

“We have to leave,” Aloren said. “Those huts
won’t protect us from Lirone. We need to make sure it really is
him, and then get to the caves in the Dunsany Mountains as quickly
as we can.”

“Dunsany Mountains?” Jacob asked.

“Yes. The caves will provide us with
protection. They’re dangerous themselves—if you’re not careful and
go too deep into them, you’ll never find your way out of the
mountain—but they’re the only place where we might find safety from
him.”

“How do your people survive?” Akeno
asked.

“He very rarely goes anywhere but north and
south. He’s been near my city a couple of times, and I’ve only
heard of him going west once. The Lorkon got upset with him for
doing that, and it hasn’t happened since.”

“What on
earth
are we talking about?”
Jacob folded his arms.

“How could a Lorkon possibly stand against
Lirone?” Akeno said. “What do they have against him?”

“You’d be surprised, actually. The rumor is
that the Lorkon brought him to guard their city.”

“All right,” Akeno said, turning. “I’ll go
put the bushes back. At least we can be prepared for him if he does
come.”

Aloren turned as well. “And I’m going to see
if I can climb a little higher through the trees. Maybe I’ll be
able to see better from up there.”

“Will someone
please
tell me what’s
going on?”

They ignored him, both running up the
hillside—Akeno to the campsite, and Aloren farther through the
trees. Jacob stood where he was, glaring at their receding figures.
Finally, he decided to find the Minyas instead. He turned and
scanned the forest for them.

Weird pock marks dotted the mountain. It was
almost as if a war had occurred here, and Jacob wondered if the
holes were from the war with the Lorkon. Hadn’t that occurred years
ago, though? Shouldn’t the marks have leveled by now—from rain and
the passage of time? Or maybe there was some weird animal that
roamed the countryside, digging random holes everywhere.

Aloren emerged from the trees high above him,
and he waved at her. She was staring up at the clouds, though, and
didn’t see his hand. He felt tension in the air, but didn’t know
where it was coming from, or why.

Jacob caught a slight movement from the
corner of his eye, and turned to face south. The waves on the lake
were much bigger than they’d been earlier, as if there was a huge
windstorm. No wind was blowing past him, though.

The clouds rolled grotesquely—forming weird,
twisted shapes—and were a brown, almost gray-green color. Jacob
yelled back up to camp, but no sound came out. Surprised, he
clamped his jaw shut and then opened it again, trying to talk. He
could feel his lips forming words, but he couldn’t hear
anything.

Someone jerked him around and started to drag
him toward the trees. He ripped his hand out of the person’s grasp
before realizing it was Akeno.

Akeno said something to him, but Jacob
shrugged, motioning to his ears. Akeno shook his head, apparently
exasperated, and grabbed Jacob’s arm. Pulling Jacob with one hand,
he motioned to the sky with the other.

Jacob looked up again and nearly jumped out
of his skin.

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W
hat a day! We were successful in defeating, albeit
temporarily, the Fire Pulser! I should note it didn’t happen
exactly as the Fat Lady had said. Once the five diamonds were in
place, instead of the shield we were expecting, a bright light shot
between them, connecting them and forming a solid sphere around
her. This circle, at least ten feet in diameter, glowed brighter
and brighter until it became painful to look upon. However, after
several minutes the light dimmed, and all that remained was a
diamond ball with Lasia contained inside. I can only imagine her
fury to see us there, watching her. As we did so, she pulsed fire
from every inch of her body, and the diamond around her became hot.
We were quite surprised when we saw the dirt around the diamond
begin to melt, and the sphere that encircled her start to sink.
Eventually all that was visible were the top few feet of the
diamond, which we promptly covered in dirt.

So much for the third element!

A
large section of clouds rolled into the
shape of a face. As it became clearer, its eyes opened, glancing
around for a moment, then focusing on Jacob and Akeno.

The cloud was also forming massive hands and
arms that appeared to be gathering something, but Jacob couldn’t
look away from its angry gaze.

“Jacob! Run!” Aloren screamed. He ripped his
eyes from the monster in the sky, surprised he was able to hear
her. He hesitated for a split second before the adrenaline kicked
in, then tore up the hill toward Aloren’s voice, Akeno running
beside him.

Suddenly his feet flew out from under him,
and he soared through the air, landing hard on his knees ten feet
from where he’d been standing.