The Key of Kilenya (26 page)

The Fat Lady guffawed, slapping her knee.
“What were you expecting? Fruit juice?”

Akeno also swallowed his, with much the same
reaction as Aloren.

“Why do I have to wait to take mine?” Jacob
asked.

“Because theirs were designed to
prevent
reactions, and yours was designed to
control
reactions. If you drink it too soon, we’d have problems. And if we
were to prevent your reactions, we’d all be in trouble, wouldn’t
we?” She smiled her odd grin.

Jacob just stared at her, not sure what to
think or say.

“Oh, come on—tell me you’ve noticed that some
things affect your companions that don’t affect you.”

Jacob thought about the way Akeno acted when
they were in the infected forest. “I’ve noticed.”

“Well, get this. They aren’t going to be
affected by those things any more, now that they drank the potion.”
She put her legs on the table again.

“What about me?”

“What
about
you?”

“What does the potion do to me?”

“Well, you’re a special case. If you take
that potion now, you’ll be really messed up, and the potion would
be diluted by your blood, taking away its effectiveness. Then, when
the thing happens that is supposed to cause your reaction, it’ll
most likely kill you. Either that, or turn you evil. So, thanks,
but no thanks. I’d rather you take the potion when you need it. Oh,
and the time to take it is when you feel you have no control over
your body. Have them help you,” she said, pointing at the other
two.

“What—when I feel like I have no control?”
Jacob asked. Was she purposely being vague, or would he really be
in danger if he knew more?

“But of course!” she said. “You know, when
your body goes haywire, and you don’t know what’s going on anymore?
I have no idea when it will happen. Figure it out yourself.”

Her demeanor changed again, and she stood,
looking intently at Jacob. “When you get the Key, come straight
back here. No detours, no stopping for breaks, and no trying to
figure out how to use the Key until I tell you.”

She turned to Akeno and Aloren. “Don’t let
the Lorkon touch you. The potion might prevent bad reactions, but
it will be worthless against their blood.” Walking to the door, she
opened it and motioned for them to exit. “I believe you have
something to get done, and fast. The longer you take, the worse off
you’ll be.”

Jacob, Akeno, and Aloren hurried through the
open door. Jacob turned to ask another question, but the Fat Lady
shut the door in his face.

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J
acob
followed the others down the trail. He looked over his shoulder at
the Fat Lady’s cabin a couple of times, but gave up, realizing she
wasn’t going to open the door. He released the Minyas, ignoring
their shouts of joy and exuberant flips in the air. He’d wanted to
ask the Fat Lady about the Key and the Lorkon. Why’d she have to
push them out of her house so fast?

After walking deep in thought for a few
minutes, Jacob noticed that Aloren and Akeno were laughing and
talking to each other, bouncing with each step they took. He rolled
his eyes, trying to ignore them as he puzzled through what the Fat
Lady had said. The potion. How on earth could she create it, not
knowing what it would fix, or what reactions it would cause, and
then expect him to take it? And why would he need it to save his
life?

Akeno bumped into Jacob, and Jacob frowned at
him. “I’ll bet she gave you guys some sort of hyper potion,” he
said. “Will you be able to notice anything bad going on around you?
Of course not. You’ll be too busy laughing and bouncing all over
the place.”

Aloren pulled food out of Akeno’s bag,
handing out carrots and apples. “So we’re in a good mood! It’s not
about her.” Stuffing a chunk of bread into her mouth, she ran to
catch up with Akeno, who had just sprinted off for no apparent
reason.

Jacob didn’t quicken his pace to keep up with
them. He needed peace and quiet, and with them far ahead, he just
might get it. He fingered the corked vial in his pocket, wondering
when he would need to drink it.

September appeared in front of him. “Is it
okay if we play in your hair again?”

“Yeah, sure, fine.” Jacob’s thoughts were too
far away to care. What was it the Fat Lady had said? Something
about not seeing things he shouldn’t see. But what sort of things?
And wouldn’t it be better if he knew what was going on? For a
minute, Jacob contemplated taking the potion right then. He didn’t
want to wait until he was almost dead. Maybe it would act as a
precaution to the danger they’d experience.

“Honestly, Jacob, have some fun for once!”
Aloren yelled from about thirty yards away. “You’re so grim!”

“What are you talking about?”

She ran up to him. “Come on!” she said,
grabbing his arm and trying to pull him toward Akeno.

“I don’t want to . . .” Jacob grumbled,
dragging his feet.

“We’re going to have a race.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow in disbelief and
looked at his friends. “Are you serious?”

Aloren stared at him. “Do you have some
meeting to go to, some unfinished business to take care of while
we’re walking?”

“I’m supposed to be reading the book.”

“Well, you
weren’t
reading it. And you
did plenty of that yesterday—this will be the perfect break for
you. Besides, what are Akeno and I supposed to do while you’re
reading?”

“I don’t know. Contemplate the wonders of the
universe or something else that’s quiet.”

Aloren frowned. “Come on, Jacob. It won’t
hurt you.”

Jacob growled, shutting his eyes so he
wouldn’t have to look at her. They’d probably keep bugging him if
he didn’t join them. “All right, fine,” he said, pulling off his
knapsack and putting the vial in a small, front pocket, then
slinging the bag over his shoulders.

“Yeah!” Aloren said, her grin showing the
dimple on her cheek. “Everyone ready? Okay, go!”

As Jacob ran, he felt himself relax. Too much
stress made him grouchy, and he didn’t want to offend Akeno and
Aloren. He forced himself to let go of his irritations. A moment
later he even began to enjoy the competition.

Akeno got to the finish first, Jacob came in
second, and Aloren was third.

Jacob couldn’t help gloating to Aloren. “I
beat you.”

Aloren shrugged. “What if I let you?”

Jacob shook his head. “You didn’t.”

“But you couldn’t beat Akeno, so it doesn’t
even matter.”

“I would have, if he weren’t so fast. Have
you seen that boy run?”

“Yes, he’s a fast runner, and I’m glad he
won. But only ’cause he kept you from winning.”

“I don’t buy that!”

Aloren laughed, then closed her eyes, raising
her face to the sun. “Oh, it smells so good here, like the bread
Gallus’s wife makes!”

Jacob opened his mouth to reply, but Akeno
grabbed his arm, interrupting him. “Look at that,” he said,
pointing.

Jacob had to blink a couple of times. “What’s
he doing?”

A man stood not far away, staring at the
lake, a vacant smile on his face. He was clean-cut and neatly
dressed.

Jacob slowed down, unsure what to do. The
trail was about to curve to the right around a very large tree, and
Jacob stopped behind it to watch the man.

He didn’t move. He didn’t even blink—at least
from what Jacob saw.

“I . . . think I know what this is,” Jacob
said. “If I’m right, it’s the second element Dmitri mentioned in
the journal—wind. Aloren, you said it smells good, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jacob paused. ”I . . . can’t smell anything
out of the ordinary. Akeno, you?”

“It smells strongly of trees and wild
flowers.” He breathed deeply. “Aaaah . . .”

“But it’s not doing anything to you.”

Akeno frowned. ”No . . . should it?”

“In the journal, when Dmitri and his people
passed through here, they all went weird. Kind of groggy and unable
to do anything, though they thought they were doing something.”

“And it’s not affecting us,” Aloren said. “Do
you think that’s because of the potions?”

“Probably.”

“But what about you?”

Jacob slowly shook his head. “Not sure.
Though it doesn’t really surprise me.” Nothing seemed to affect him
the same way it did the others—Akeno, at least. Why? And while it
made him feel almost invincible, it also freaked him out—which he
did his best to keep hidden from the other two. Just like in the
cave when he’d been able to see the Molg—these things couldn’t be
normal.

Aloren took a few steps around the tree, then
screamed. A woman stood on the other side, a few feet away. One arm
was raised, as if beckoning, and she was staring straight at
Aloren. She had the same distant smile on her face as the man.

Jacob grabbed Aloren’s arm and pulled her
behind him, next to Akeno. Walking to the woman and stopping a
couple of feet away, he waved his hand in the air in front of her
face. Nothing happened.

“I don’t like this,” Aloren said, her voice
wavering. “My mom . . . was like this sometimes.”

“Let’s keep going,” Jacob said.

They walked past the tree, taking care not to
touch the woman. Jacob glanced back at the man one last time, but
Aloren’s gasp made him jerk around.

“There are hundreds of them!” she said.

She was right. There were people everywhere.
Some lay on the grass, staring up into the sky. Some sat
cross-legged, elbows on knees, resting their chins in their hands.
Many were standing, as the lady and man had been. All wore the same
vacant smile. Their attire varied from very nice to grubby and
dirty.

“What are they doing?” Akeno asked.

Jacob frowned. “They’re living their lives in
their minds. An invisible prison, as Dmitri called it. I’d bet a
lot of people have disappeared to this place.”

Aloren grabbed Jacob’s arm—he could tell she
was freaking out. “Do you think my brother might be here?”

“I don’t know—we can check. We’ll probably
need to leave the trail to see them all, though.”

“And walk through them? I can’t do that!”

“I don’t want to do it, either. But it’ll be
impossible to search for your brother if we don’t.” Jacob glanced
at Aloren, then back at the people. “What does he look like?”

“I . . . I’m not sure. I’d guess like me,
except with blue eyes.” Aloren stared at the people. “Can we please
stick together? Just in case?”

“It’d be faster, and we’d get a lot more done
if we split up.”

Aloren looked at Jacob, her eyes pleading.
“Jacob, please. I can’t do that. I can go with you or Akeno, but I
can’t do it alone.”

Jacob paused and ran his fingers through his
hair. “All right, we’ll do that. I’ll go right, you and Akeno go
left.” He motioned to the Minyas. “Take Early with you. I’ll take
September.”

“How do we know this isn’t just a trap?”
Akeno said. “Maybe the Lorkon put these people here as a way to . .
. well, maybe attack us?”

“It’s not a trap for us, specifically, but
for anyone who happens to walk into it. In the journal, Dmitri
finds out the Lorkon put a potion here to stop people from going
anywhere. I thought it would’ve lost potency over the years.” He
frowned, looking at an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old on the right,
close to the trail. “I just gotta see something first.” He reached
out, hesitated, then prodded the guy in the shoulder.

He turned his face toward Jacob, still
smiling vacantly. “Hmmm?”

Aloren gasped, her hand fluttering to her
mouth. “Oh . . . let’s keep going, please.”

Jacob split off from Akeno and Aloren,
walking as fast as he could through the people. He glanced at each
face, trying to see someone who resembled Aloren even in the
slightest. After five or ten minutes, he met up with his friends on
the other side of the large group of people. September and Early
happily rejoined each other.

“No luck?” Jacob asked.

Aloren shook her head. “This place is really
creepy. He’s not here. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Let’s keep going, then,” Jacob said. “Maybe
we’ll have better luck in Maivoryl City.”

They continued forward, finally passing the
last person. The Minyas flew up ahead of them, doing
somersaults.

Aloren released a long breath. “That was
really weird.”

“No kidding,” Jacob said. “Made me feel gross
inside, walking through them.”

The trail soon turned left, heading toward
the large mountains at the south of the valley. On the hills to the
right of them, the forest thinned, and the path led the group close
to the base of a very large hill that obstructed their view of both
the castle and Maivoryl City.

“How much farther?” Akeno said. “I’d like to
be able to keep the castle in view.”

“I’d say at least an hour more, if not
longer,” Aloren said. “I’ve never been this far, though, so I’m not
exactly sure.”

They walked in silence. Jacob had to tell
himself to relax and enjoy the scenery. The Dunsany Mountains
behind them rose high above Rigdewood. Sonda Lake was to their
left, with Aloren’s city on the other side. The mountains to the
south were majestic and grand.

Jacob pulled the journal out of his bag and
found his place. “I’m going to read out loud so you guys know
what’s going on now.”

“
Today we passed through the fourth and
final element. It was boiling, shifting, poisoned earth, incredibly
deep. When touched, it burned the skin like acid, and
nothing—absolutely nothing—would relieve the pain it caused. But it
seems the Lorkon have underestimated the Makalos—as even I did—and
having Kenji with us proved beneficial. He informed me that the sap
of the Kaede tree both heals and purifies. I’d never heard this. Of
course, Ramantus never associated with Makalos and wouldn’t even
allow them in his kingdom, so I didn’t have the opportunity to
learn any of their ways.