The Key of Kilenya (24 page)

Aloren and Akeno laughed.

“Wait,” Aloren said. “Get
what
key,
Jacob?”

Jacob mentally kicked himself. That was a
stupid slip-up. “Uh . . .” His mind raced as he thought of what he
could or should say. “See, there’s this key. It’s a magical key
that was creat—”

“You’re not talking about the Key of Kilenya,
are you?” Aloren asked.

“Actually, I am.” Jacob raised an eyebrow.
“You know about it?”

“Of course I do. Everyone does.” She
shrugged. “Most people just think it’s a myth. But Gallus has seen
it. He told me and my mom that the Lorkon were searching for it
when they took over Macaria a couple of years ago.”

“Well, that makes explaining much easier,”
Jacob said. He and Akeno told her how the Key had been stolen and
they’d been asked to bring it back.

Jacob sat up, feeling pain in every inch of
his body. He tried not to let on that he was hurt. Matt would’ve
been able to handle it. ’Course, Matt was on the football team and
was used to getting battered around. Jacob sighed. If Matt were
here . . . but Jacob wouldn’t let himself finish the thought.

“You really took a beating,” Aloren said.
“Akeno, can you light up the room again?”

Akeno did so, and Aloren shuddered when she
looked at Jacob. There were little holes all over in his clothes
from the Molg’s hair.

“Oh, wow,” she said. “Jacob, you’re stuck
everywhere.”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just bruised. I might
be slow on the trail for a while.” He turned to Akeno. “How are
your hands? I’ll bet you’re even worse off than I am.”

“Fine,” Akeno said. “By the time he was in my
hands, the spikes were too small to even break the skin. But it was
hard to hold onto him. He really struggled to get away.”

They were silent for a few minutes. For the
first time in a long while, Jacob wished he had his guitar with
him. He almost laughed when he thought of it sitting in the corner
of his room, dusty from lack of use. He’d bought it at the local
pawn shop several months before, hoping to impress a couple of
girls with his mad skills. He’d given up on the idea, though,
recognizing he’d never outshine Matt. Matt had always been the
talented one at basically everything—including winning over
girls.

Jacob shook his head, remembering what he’d
heard a girl at school say a couple months before—something about
how she’d just
die
if Matt ever stopped smiling. “His
dimples are so
cute
!” she’d said, giggling. Jacob had almost
snorted his drink when he’d heard that. It was disgusting the way
the girls at school talked about his brother.

Jacob knew he wasn’t ugly—even if he couldn’t
keep up with Matt. Girls always made embarrassing comments about
his “really nice dark hair” and his eyes, which were the
“prettiest, lightest blue” they’d ever seen. But he realized he
didn’t have the type of personality that drew most girls. He wasn’t
confident like Matt. He only took the lead when he was forced to,
which was only when Matt wasn’t around. The thought crossed his
mind that if Matt were here, Aloren and Matt would be best friends
by now, talking about everything. Aloren would be giggling as Matt
told some hilarious joke or story.

Jacob rolled his eyes, recognizing how
ridiculous he was being. He forced himself to come back to the
present. “How much longer until Lirone leaves?”

“I don’t know,” Aloren said. “I’d rather wait
and be absolutely sure he’s gone, though.”

“Yeah, me, too.” He lay down again, trying to
relax. He smiled and closed his eyes, imagining he was in his own
bed, pulling the blankets up under his chin. What he wouldn't give
for that to be true.

Back to Top

I
received word today from Lahs that his army is
stationed in the valley east of here. I was surprised at his speed
in gathering an army until I learned that King Roylance had already
prepared everything before he died. The army was stationed in the
land east of us and has located Brojan’s army
. They are
ready to begin the battle as soon as I send word.

“
J
acob?” Aloren asked.

He rolled to face her. She was lying on her
back, not making eye contact. “Yeah?”

“I, uh . . . I’m really glad you’re here,”
she said.

Jacob couldn’t help it, but a sheepish grin
crossed his face. “Uh, thanks. I’m . . . glad I’m here, too. Kind
of.”

“We wouldn’t have made it if you hadn’t been
able to see the Molg.”

Jacob’s smile grew, and he felt
uncomfortable—not in a bad way, but more of an embarrassed way. So
he changed the subject. “What if you never find your brother?”

Aloren sighed and rolled onto her side,
facing Jacob and Akeno, and curled up into a ball. “I don’t know. I
guess I’d have to find somewhere else to put my focus.”

“You could live in Taga with the Makalos,”
Akeno said. “I’m sure we’d have plenty of room for you, and
besides, you could probably even get to know the humans from
Jacob’s world if you did.”

“From Jacob’s world? I thought he was from
Eklaron.”

Jacob smiled. “Nope, I’m not.”

Aloren looked at him quizzically. “Where are
you from, then?”

“Mars. Ha ha, just kidding. You probably
don’t even know what that is. I come from . . . well, a different
land, I guess.”

It took a few minutes for Jacob and Akeno to
fully explain to Aloren the specifics of the link near Jacob’s home
and how he ended up in the Makalo village.

“Wow—a completely different world?” Aloren
looked lost in thought for a moment. “If I can’t find my brother, I
want to visit your land.”

Jacob hid a smile and agreed to show her
around town if she came.

Aloren rolled over, and Jacob assumed she
didn’t want to talk anymore and needed to rest. No dad around, and
a mom who’d constantly been sick, then died. How would it be? Both
of Jacob’s parents were very involved in his life—Jacob
sighed—sometimes too involved. But, at least he didn’t often get
lonely. Matt was almost always there when there was nothing to
do—like now.

Jacob pulled the journal out and opened it,
tilting it toward Akeno’s light. The other two wanted to sleep, and
he wanted information.

It has been two years since I last wrote in
this journal. My father has become completely tyrannical. The
tortures he places upon his subjects are too much for them to bear,
and though my group of followers and I try to ease their suffering,
the people can no longer shoulder their burdens. They are to the
point of giving in to despair, of being beyond help—most are
beginning to even reject our assistance.

I am writing now because I’ve just received
an upsetting note from Princess Arien. She has heard horrible
things about what my father has been doing here in the
castle—things of which I was not aware. Given the state of the
people, I feel the time has come for me to go. I will leave behind
a few members of my group, but have instructed them to depart in a
week or two as well.

Jacob paused, fingering the pages of the
journal. He’d just finished reading the added pages and was now
about to start the journal itself.

Would my father kidnap his own
daughter-in-law? The castle has been attacked and ransacked. We are
trying to count how many are dead and missing . . .

Jacob read until he was tired. The journal
had skipped a lot of detail, because Dmitri and Arien were now
married—Arien was pregnant and had been kidnapped, and Dmitri was
trying to find her. And there was a woman named The Fat Lady—just
like in Harry Potter. Jacob laughed when he read that part. He
thought women hated it when people referred to their weight.

The light falling across the book changed,
and Jacob glanced toward the entrance of the cave. “Akeno, turn off
your light for a minute,” he said.

Akeno did so hurriedly. “What? Another
Molg?”

“No, don’t worry,” Jacob said. “I think
Lirone’s gone, though.” He got up and took a couple of steps
forward. Sure enough, the light outside was brighter and had a warm
appearance.

“Looks like the clouds are gone,” Akeno said,
jumping up.

“Finally!” Jacob said, getting to his feet
and following Akeno.

“Wait!” Aloren called out.

They both stopped and looked back at her.

“We need to be cautious. Sometimes he hovers
above the southern mountains and watches from there.”

“Aargh,” Akeno said. “I don't want to be
cautious.”

They waited for Aloren to take the lead, then
walked down the tunnel, being careful to stay as close to the sides
as possible. Aloren paused every couple of feet, peering into the
sky.

The first step outside the cave was a little
unnerving. There were still a few clouds above the mountains to the
south. However, after they had watched for a couple of long
moments, nothing happened, and Jacob relaxed. Aloren smiled in
relief.

They decided to call the Minyas right away.
They needed to find plants that produced wind-blown seeds in order
to do that, and searched the area for something to use, finding
some down by the lake. Akeno put them close to his mouth and
whispered.

“What are you saying?” Jacob asked.

“The names of the Minyas I want.” Akeno blew
on the seeds, scattering them into the wind. “Hopefully September
and Early aren’t far away,” he said. He sat on the ground and
started taping leaves to his shoes.

Jacob looked at the position of the sun.
“Will they still be able to find us if we keep going without them?”
he asked. “I think we need to leave while it’s still light. I’d
like to put as much ground behind us as possible.”

“We can go.” Akeno put the tape dispenser
away and stood up. “They’ll catch up.”

After checking their bags to make sure they
hadn’t left anything in the cave, they made their way back to the
trail. Jacob ached in a few spots where he’d hit the wall, but the
pains were easily ignored. Being outside was so refreshing, he
found it hard to focus on anything negative.

“We’re here!” a little voice announced. “You
sure were gone a long time!”

Jacob turned and saw September and Early
flitting in the air. He smiled. “Where did you go when the storm
came?” he asked.

“We went to Taga Village,” September said,
landing on Akeno’s shoulder and hanging on to his shirt. “And guess
what? The humans came back!”

Akeno stumbled, almost falling. “Really?”

“Yes, they’re there,” Early said, landing
next to September.

“Which humans?” Jacob asked.

“The ones who built the tree and lived there
for a while.” Akeno looked anxious to be home. “It’s been five
years since they last came. I hope we get back in time to see
them.”

“Hopefully you will,” Aloren said. She then
pointed ahead. “Ridgewood is around that bend. I should warn
you—it’s a really weird place with some of the strangest people
you’ll ever come across.”

Jacob frowned. “Strange? In what way?”

“They’re superstitious about Maivoryl City.
In the past, they’ve done everything in their power to stop people
from passing through their city and going on. That’s one of the
reasons why I’ve never made it.”

“How do they stop people?”

Aloren tucked a strand of hair behind her
ear. “By trying to kill them. Last time they actually succeeded in
killing a member of my group. They believe we’re better off dead
than continuing on to Maivoryl City and never returning.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. How did the members
of this city possibly justify murder? “That’s pretty extreme.”

“Not to them,” Aloren said, shaking her head.
“They have a law that forbids anyone to go to the city, and the
punishment for breaking it is death.”

“That’s ridiculous. How do their laws apply
to people who don’t live in their city? Or who have no say in how
the law is carried out? Or who don’t even know about it?”

“I really don’t think they thought about
American democracy when setting up their rules,” Akeno said.

Jacob laughed. “Yeah, that’s pretty obvious.
All right. Let’s figure out how to get past them.” They reached the
bend in the trail, and he stared at the city, spread across a large
area of land between the lake and the forest. A small river flowed
down from the mountain. “Do we go through the city tonight or
tomorrow?”

“Whatever we choose, we need to figure it out
fast, before they see us,” Aloren said. “I suggest we go tonight,
before the sun sets. I’d feel better just getting past it. Assuming
we make it, of course.”

Jacob looked at the landscape surrounding the
city. “Maybe we could go around? Through the trees on the
hill?”

“No, they keep lookouts up there at all
times, and going through the water is also a really bad idea.”