The Key of Kilenya (25 page)

“Why?”

“There are many different varieties of fish
in the lake, besides Eetu, and most will eat you if given the
chance. The Eetu fish start coming closer to the surface to feed in
the evening, and you already know what will happen if we encounter
one of them.” Aloren looked at the lake. “We tried it once. A
member of the group was attacked and severely injured before we
realized what was happening. Three men tried to help her while the
rest of us swam to shore as fast as we could. None of them made it.
When we got out of the water, the people of the city were waiting
for us.”

“What happened?”

“After interrogating us and keeping us in
prison for more than a month, they made us promise never to try
going to Maivoryl City again. Now they’ll just kill anyone who
attempts it.”

“So, we can’t go through the water on the
south, and we can’t go through the forest on the north,” Jacob
said. “And we can’t very well go under the city. What else can we
do? Walk through it and pretend we’re not doing what they’ll know
we’re doing?”

Akeno shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t
work.”

“Obviously,” Jacob said, then laughed. “You
know, we could always grab a bunch of bushes and hide under
them—like they do in movies.”

Aloren frowned. “Movies?”

“Never mind.”

“There’s a much simpler way,” Akeno said.
“One that’s guaranteed to work. I could shrink both of you and have
the Minyas transport you to the other side of the city.”

“What about you?” Jacob said. “How would you
get across?”

Akeno pointed up at the forest. “Use the
trees, of course.”

Aloren gave Akeno an incredulous look. “I
just said it isn’t possible to go that way.”

Akeno gave a mischievous smile. “But when was
the last time a
Makalo
attempted it? I’ll have the trees
hide me, and, if necessary, lift and carry me across their
branches. No one will see me, and it won’t take any time at
all.”

Jacob watched Aloren as she thought it
through. She bit her lip. “Okay, we’ll try it,” she said. “But
let’s get it done as soon as possible. I want to travel by sunlight
as long as we can.”

“Okay, then,” Akeno said. “Ladies first.”

“What do I need to do?”

“See that big rock? Just go stand by it.”

While Aloren walked over to the rock, Jacob
called the Minyas down and asked them to carry the two of them
across the city and put them in a safe place out of sight of any
people.

Aloren reached the rock, stopped, and turned
around. Akeno reached his hand out, squinting one eye. Aloren
disappeared, and then stood on Akeno’s palm.

Akeno lifted his hand up until it was level
with his face. “Are you okay?”

“Wow!” Aloren said. “I’m so tiny!”

“Did that hurt?” Jacob asked.

“No! Not at all.”

“Good.” Jacob turned to the Minyas.
“Ready?”

“Of course,” Early said, picking up
Aloren.

“Fly her over the city,” Jacob said. “You
don’t need to use your magic—just make sure to stay high.”

Early flitted off, and Jacob was surprised at
how quickly she left his view, even without magic.

Then it was Jacob’s turn. He ran down the
trail to the rock, turned to face Akeno, and gave him a thumbs-up.
One second, he was being pinched around his waist, and the next, he
stood in Akeno’s hand. September picked him up, and then they were
flying through the air. Jacob kept his eyes closed most of the way
to keep from getting dizzy. Only a few seconds later, they passed
the city and landed on a huge rock next to Early and Aloren.

Jacob checked his bag, making sure it was in
one piece, then looked at Aloren. “How was your first trip via
Minya?”

She half smiled. “It wasn’t very
comfortable—I’ll have to get used to it.”

Jacob turned to Early and told her to make
sure Akeno didn’t need help, and to send word if anything went
wrong. She left, September floated to look at something on the
other side of the trail, and Jacob and Aloren sat on the rock to
wait.

They were alone for the first time. Jacob
cleared his throat, feeling self-conscious, and wracked his brain,
trying to think of something smart or funny to say. He fished
around, finally grabbing the first thing that came to mind. “You
have a dimple in your cheek,” he said. “It’s deep . . . and . . .
shows when you smile. And sometimes when you talk, too.” He paused,
then blurted out the rest. “Did you know dimples are tissue
defects?”

She gave him one of those looks that only a
girl can give.

“Um, not that you’re defective, or anything.
I mean . . .” He scrambled for words, and then gave up. A skeptical
expression crossed Aloren’s face, and he flushed. Why would he say
something like that? He kicked himself mentally, wishing he’d just
kept his trap shut. So much for sounding smart.

Jacob stayed quiet, breathing a sigh of
relief when Akeno, Early, and September came back.

Akeno returned them to their normal size, and
the group followed the trail for a while longer before deciding to
set up camp deep in the forest. The brush was thick, and in no time
Akeno had separated it into two separate quarters, the entrances
barely visible. They ate a small dinner and then turned in for the
night.

Jacob woke up the next morning both excited
and troubled by the dream he’d had. The lady in the forest nearly
captured him, snakes swarmed all over him—but what she’d said to
him had come back. “Danilo.” He had no idea what it meant, but at
least he could tell Ebony he’d remembered.

“Kenji said you’d be traveling near the
cottage of the Fat Lady,” September said as they headed back to the
trail. “You need to stop and talk to her. She’ll help you prepare
to meet the Lorkon.”

“I know her,” Jacob said. “She’s in the
journal. Where does she live?”

“Just up ahead.” September floated away
again.

A few minutes later, September pointed out a
small path that led to the right through the tall grass. There was
a cabin sitting in a meadow about four hundred yards away from the
main trail. A clothesline hung to the right, and they could see a
paddock behind the cabin to the left.

“I’m guessing this is it,” Jacob said, then
called the Minyas down. “September, Early, please get in my bag. I
want you close, but out of sight, just in case. Same as
always.”

The Minyas flew into the knapsack, and Jacob
closed it as they neared the cabin.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to call her
‘fat’?” Aloren said. “I mean, who likes to be called fat?”

Jacob ran his fingers through his hair.
“That’s what Dmitri called her in his journal. I say we just not
use her name unless it’s necessary.”

They arrived at the cabin, and Jacob
knocked.

No answer. He knocked again.

“Go away,” a woman’s gruff voice shouted.

“Can we talk to you?” Jacob yelled through
the door. He heard someone moving around, but no one answered the
door. “We were told to stop here!”

“I’m sure you were. Go away!”

“No,” Jacob said. “Brojan and Kenji sent us,
and we’re not leaving until you open this door.”

“And why should I believe you?”

Jacob turned to Aloren and Akeno. “She’s not
going to open it.”

“Let me try,” Akeno said. “Kenji is my
father,” he yelled through the crack.

“Right. As if
that’s
the truth.”

“No!” Jacob yelled. “He’s serious! Kenji said
we needed to stop by the Fat Lady’s cabin, and she would help us
know what we need to do to face the Lork—”

Suddenly the door swung wide open.

“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first
place?”

The group of travelers took a step back,
looking up. The woman standing before them was indeed large—at
least five hundred pounds, maybe more, and two or three inches over
six feet tall—and nothing like the Fat Lady in Harry Potter. She
smiled at them, showing an odd assortment of teeth. The top, which
were mostly missing, were blackened and crooked, while the bottom
teeth were straight, smooth, and pearly white. She wore massive
earrings, and the holes in her lobes were stretched out. Her hair
was light brown, piled in a knotty-looking mess on top of her head.
Her lids were puffy, making her eyes look tiny.

She reached out with a large hand and pulled
the three inside, slamming the door shut and pushing them in front
of her into the main room of the cabin. “So, tell me,” she said.
“What news do you bring from Tagaville?”

They exchanged quick glances.

The Fat Lady let out a booming laugh. “Cat
got your tongue, eh?” Plopping into a large, furry-looking chair,
she propped her feet up on a table in the middle of the room. “Sit,
sit,” she said, motioning to a couch that was surrounded by piles
of paper and junk.

Jacob was the first to move. He knew Akeno
wouldn’t sit on the end of the couch closest to the woman, so he
did.

“Tell me who you are,” the Fat Lady said.
“Never seen anyone as big as me, have you?”

Aloren shook her head and glanced at Jacob,
who wasn’t sure what to say.

“Speak up, speak up!” the Fat Lady then
pointed her finger at Aloren. “You first. What’s your name,
where’re you from.” It came across more as a demand than a
question.

“M—my name is Aloren. I’m from Macaria.”

“Ah. It’s been quite some time since I
traveled that far. I usually only get ten feet in front of my cabin
before giving up and going back home.” She laughed again and
pointed at Akeno. “I’m assuming you’re the one who claims to be
Kenji’s son.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Akeno said, his voice shaking.
“I’m his eldest. My name is Akeno.”

“It has been several years since I last saw
your parents.” She picked up a vial from the table, put a drop of
the contents on her finger, then rubbed her bottom teeth. She
jerked her finger toward Jacob, who almost jumped up until he saw
she was merely pointing. He’d thought she was going to smear some
of the stuff on him, too. “And you? Who are you, and to whom do you
belong?”

“My name is Jacob Clark. My parents are Lee
and Janna Clark. I’m not from around here. I come from Earth, and
it’s, well, I guess it’s not—”

The Fat Lady squealed loudly, slamming her
hands on the armrests. “Oh, I’ve been expecting you!” She laughed,
wagging her finger at him. “Didn’t think you were gonna hear me say
something like that, did ya?” She got to her feet and strode to a
cabinet on the other side of the room, dodging the junk and stacks
of papers placed randomly on the floor.

“Oh, and call me Fat Lady,” she said. “It’s
the password to enter my house, and I won’t answer to anything
else.”

Walking back to the couch, she handed a vial
to each member of the group. “Akeno and Aloren, drink this now.
Jacob, wait to take yours. It won’t do to have you seeing things
you shouldn’t see right now.”

What was she talking about? And what would
the potion do to him? Jacob looked at the corked vial in his hand.
The glass was swirled brown and blue, and full of a dark, runny
liquid. Akeno and Aloren’s potion was different, more of a rose
color.

“I really didn’t expect you to bring others
with you, so it’s a good thing I thought to make those up, just in
case,” the Fat Lady said. “Can’t say I blame ya, though. You know
this trip will be extremely dangerous, I’m sure. All your lives are
at risk. But who cares these days? As long as the job gets done,
right?” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Do you know
anything about that city?”

Jacob met eyes with Akeno before looking at
the lady again. “Not really, no.” He knew hardly anything about
Eklaron. Or even the Lorkon, for that matter—besides what they
looked like.

“Eh, it’s probably better that way,” she
said, picking up a dirty towel that had been crumpled in the seat
of her chair. She shook it out, causing a cloud of dust to fly in
the air, then tossed it on the table and sat down with a thump.
“Knowing too much can cause a lot of problems, you know.”

Was she crazy? “I disagree,” Jacob said,
sitting up straighter. “I think it’s better to know as much as
possible before doing anything that might be dangerous, since—”

“Yes, you would, wouldn’t you?” the Fat Lady
said, peering down at Jacob. “It is, after all, second nature to
you.” Her voice changed to a more business-like tone. “Knowing as
little as possible in this case is in your best interest,
though.”

How would she know what was second nature to
him, and what was in his “best interest?” He’d never met her before
in his life. Jacob scowled and looked at Akeno, who still fingered
his vial.

The Fat Lady also glanced at the Makalo.
“Boy, you’d better drink that! You’ll wish you were dead if you
don’t!”

Akeno didn’t move to drink it, instead
looking at Aloren, who shrugged. “Bottoms up,” she said, emptying
the vial into her mouth and swallowing. “Wow, bitter!” she
gasped.