The Key of Kilenya (27 page)

“
Kenji instructed us to gather the sap,
then boil it until it was thick. We had the entire company
gathering all afternoon. We covered our clothes and skin with the
sap, then slowly started our way through the mud. At first it was
quite difficult—the mud was deep, and we were hesitant to get
burned—but after a while, the mud shifted away from us, and we were
able to get through. The sap on our bodies purified the dirt,
hopefully enough that it won’t cause problems for anyone who passes
this way after us.”

Jacob looked up. “Does this sound familiar to
you, Akeno?”

“What do you mean? I haven’t been reading the
book.”

“The mud. Dmitri doesn’t say how much of it
there was, but I’d be willing to bet it was fairly deep and covered
quite a bit of ground. That must have been the mud shells we
crossed.”

“I’ll bet it is.”

“Keep reading,” Aloren said.

“
After the ordeal of the fourth element,
we were relieved to make our way down the mountain, and we’ve just
caught up with Aldo. He was heading back from the Land of the
Shiengols, where Arien is being kept. We now have set up a
temporary residence in a cabin near the forest. We have many plans
to make, and as we are at least a day’s journey away from our
destination, we must start soon.

“
Aldo has been using the Key as a way to
scout out the area. He reports that the land has completely
changed—the Shiengols are, in fact, being held captive. Imagine
that! Who would have thought it possible?

“
He also reports that the Lorkon are
living in the town center, away from the prisoners. Hopefully this
will aid us in our rescue of Arien.”

Jacob paused for a minute to skip over a
scribbled-out part, glad to see that the words continued
flowing.

“
Aldo used the Key this morning to check
on Arien before we attempted to rescue her, and to our surprise,
she is no longer being held with the other captives. She’s in the
town center where the Lorkon are staying, and it appears she has
given birth. Oh, I wish I could have been there to comfort and
assist her.

“
This new information changes our plan
drastically, and much thought has been put into a new one. I will
give word for Lahs and Brojan to attack the Lorkon army at the same
time that Kelson will lead an attack on the stronghold where the
Shiengols are being held. We could use their assistance in this
war. Accompanying Kelson will be everyone but me, Kenji, Aldo, and
September.

“
The attack will hopefully provide enough
of a diversion so my team can use the Key of Kilenya to enter the
town center. We will find Arien and the babe and take them to
safety.”

Dmitri’s handwriting changed—the words were
smaller, perhaps more thoughtfully written.

“
This entry is one of both joy and
pain.

“
The attack on the stronghold did provide
a needed diversion, but Kelson’s men failed to break through. He,
and all who were with him, have been killed. My best friend is
dead. I can scarcely believe it.

“
I am shocked to see how close the war is
raging. Lahs and Brojan have been communicating with me through
various Minyas. Thousands upon thousands of people are being
slaughtered by three Lorkon. Three! I had imagined an entire
regiment. But they are not to be underestimated. They are strong.
Nothing the army has done harms them, and every person they touch
is infected with disease and then painfully dies.

“
The joy of which I spoke was that Arien
and the baby have been recovered. Kelson’s attack on the stronghold
was successful to that end, and I will forever remember what he did
for me and my little family. Nothing can remove the joy I feel as I
hold my little one with my wife beside me.”

Jacob put the book away. He was glad Arien
and the baby had been safely recovered, but how sad that Kelson and
the rest had been killed! He glanced up at the foothill beside
them. Doing a double take, he pointed up. “Check that out.”

On top of the hill, a wall rose high above
them. It was gray and looked like granite. The surface wasn’t
smooth, but had vertical ripples flowing through it, giving the
appearance of gray curtains.

“That’s really odd,” Akeno said.

“Yes, it is. I wonder if it’s the first
element.” Jacob continued to peer up while walking and noticed that
even though the hill was getting smaller, the wall-like thing on
top stayed the same height. “This is different, though. Dmitri saw
a waterfall.”

“I’ll bet the Lorkon put it there,” Akeno
said.

Aloren shielded her eyes, looking up. “I’ve
never heard anyone mention it. But it probably was the Lorkon who
did it.”

As they followed the path, the foothill
disappeared, and the trail ran flush with the wall. Jacob stared at
it, trying to see the top. The glare of the sun was too bright, and
he wasn’t able to measure the height. He looked forward, surprised
to see the path turn and disappear beneath the wall.

“Is that really the end of the trail?” Akeno
asked.

“Uh, I guess it is,” Aloren said. “Now
what?”

“No, it’s not the end,” Jacob said. “The wall
was put on top. I’m sure it continues on the other side.” He
scratched his head, noticing that the Minyas were no longer flying
around them. “Maybe Early and September can see over it. Who
knows—our Minyas might be better than Arien’s. Where are they?”

“I think they said they were going to sleep
in your bag,” Aloren said. “They went in while you were
reading.”

Jacob found the Minyas and told them what he
needed them to do. They returned seconds later.

“It was way too high,” Early said. “We didn’t
want to keep going.”

“It goes several miles up at least,”
September added. “Would you like us to try again?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, it’s okay. Arien’s
Minya couldn’t do it, either. What I’m wondering now is why we
didn’t see it earlier. You’d think something this big and solid
would’ve been visible.”

Aloren turned and looked toward the lake.
“I’ve got an idea,” she said. “Let’s have the Minyas go halfway
across the lake and see what the wall looks like from there.”

The Minyas flew off, returning moments
later.

“The wall became transparent the farther away
we got,” September said.

“Weird,” Jacob said. He paused, thinking
through the situation. “All right, Dmitri found a way through it.
Let’s separate and see if we can, too.”

Aloren and Akeno followed the wall to the
south, and Jacob followed it to the north, climbing up the foothill
where it met with the wall. He ran his hand along every edge and
crevice he could reach, seeking a hole or something similar. After
several minutes of searching, he came to a section that was
impossible to climb without ropes and harnesses. Turning around, he
was surprised to see how far he had gone. Aloren and Akeno were
little dots at the far end.

Jacob half-jogged his way back down, meeting
up with them where the path disappeared. “Did you find
anything?”

“No, nothing,” Aloren said. “You?”

“Nothing.”

Aloren looked up at the wall. “What do we
do?”

“I know there’s a way through,” Jacob said.
“There has to be. The wolves and Lorkon have been coming and going
through it.”

“Speaking of the wolves,” Akeno said. “We
haven’t seen them since we left Macaria. Why?”

“Well, if they were sent only to make sure we
came to Maivoryl City, there wouldn’t be any need for them to make
their presence known. We haven’t taken any major detours since
leaving,” Jacob said.

Akeno slid his bag off his shoulder. “Can we
eat something while discussing this? I’m really hungry.”

“Yeah,” Jacob said. “It’ll give us a few
minutes to think about how to get through the
used-to-be-waterfall.”

They sat down next to a small mound of dirt
near the shore of Sonda Lake, stretching their legs out, and
pulling food from their bags. The Minyas flitted in the air,
playing games.

“So, explain what this thing is,” Aloren
said.

“You know how Dmitri went through four
elements that were placed as a way to stop him? Well, this was the
first, except it was a huge, invisible waterfall when he came
across it.”

“I wonder what happened to make it
visible.”

“Do you think we can see it because of the
potions the Fat Lady gave us?” Akeno asked.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think so,” Jacob
said. “She said the potions would make you avoid reactions. Seeing
something invisible is not a reaction.”

No one said anything for a moment. Jacob bit
his lip again, thinking. The wolves and Lorkon couldn’t climb over
the wall, and couldn’t have been going around—it was too wide. The
only way was to go through it—through the tunnel Dmitri had found.
But where was it?

“I’d bet anything we’re retracing Dmitri’s
steps right now,” Jacob said. “He and his group went through the
waterfall first, then the smelly air, then the mud.” He paused.
“But they had the Fire Pulser in between. We didn’t pass any
fire-pulsing people after we crossed the mud.”

“And no land that looked burned,” Akeno
said.

Jacob got to his feet to pace. He loved
puzzles like this in the books he read, but hated having to figure
it out himself. He walked back and forth several times between
Akeno and Aloren and the mound of earth they’d sat next to, trying
to keep everything clear in his mind. As he neared the small hill
for a fourth time, something caught his eye and he paused, then
circled around to the side of the hill that faced the lake.

“Hey, come check this out,” Jacob said. The
others joined him near a shallow hole in the earth. “This has to be
the tunnel.”

“No—it’s a cave,” Aloren said. “And if it
is
a tunnel, it’s fallen in on itself. Not recently, though.
That dirt’s been there for a year at least. It’s too dry and
settled to be fresh.”

Jacob frowned. “And the Lorkon and wolves
have been out of Maivoryl several times during the past year.”

“What is it, then?” Akeno asked. “It’s not
here naturally.”

“An animal hole?” Jacob said. “Do animals
this big live around here?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Aloren said, then
paused. “Oh, I’ll bet Dusts made it. They do things like this in
the castle too—digging through things, making tunnels. We’d better
move away just in case.”

The group circled back to their lunch spot
and sat down to finish their food—facing the wall so they could
continue to examine it.

After several moments, Jacob glanced up—did
he just see a section of the wall shift? It was a spot twenty feet
or so to the left of where the trail disappeared—the part Aloren
and Akeno had inspected. He stood and walked closer, squinting in
the bright light of the sun. He stopped in front of it—something
flickered again.

“Wait,” he said. “That’s weird. The wall has
a . . .” He reached out to touch it and jumped back when the stone
dissolved around his hand. “Wow! What was that?”

The tunnel was now right in front of him—it
was dark, and he couldn’t see very far into it.

He turned to his friends. “Holy cow! Come
see! I just found the tunnel!”

Akeno shrugged. “I can’t see anything.”

Aloren shook her head. “Neither can I.”

“Wait—what? You can’t see the tunnel? It’s
right here.” Jacob motioned to it.

“There’s nothing there but wall,” Aloren
said.

Jacob frowned. “You . . . really can’t see
it?”

Aloren smiled, rolling her eyes, and Akeno
gave him a look that said “Didn’t I just tell you that?”

Jacob sighed. “Okay, come here, then.” He
grabbed Akeno and pulled him over to stand right in front of the
entrance. “Put your hand out. You’ll feel the wall sorta dissolve
around it.”

Akeno put his hand out, but the wall didn’t
dissolve. “Now what?”

“Oh, my gosh,” Jacob said. “I know I’m not
going crazy. Aloren, you try it.”

“No, I believe
you
can see it. There’s
probably a reason why we can’t. I’d guess it’s because we’re not
supposed to go with you.”

“What are you talking about? I sure as heck
am not going alone!” Jacob said. “There’s no way I can go up
against the Lorkon without help!”

“Then lead us. That’s the only other
alternative.”

Jacob scowled at the wall. He couldn’t think
of anything else they could do. He hated the idea of leading them
blind, but he knew he’d never get out alive without their help.
“Okay, let’s go.” He searched the air for September and Early,
spotting them flitting around a small tree by the trail. “Oy!
Minyas! Get in my backpack. I can’t hold on to you two as
well.”

With the Minyas put away, Aloren took Akeno’s
hand with her left and Jacob’s with her right.

“Let’s go,” she said.

Jacob turned to face the wall, trying not to
think too much about Aloren’s touch. This was the first time he’d
held hands with a girl. He took a deep breath, then stepped
forward, pulling Aloren and Akeno in with him. They were plunged
into complete darkness.

“Oh, wow,” Aloren said, gasping. “We’re in
the wall now, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I feel it. It’s pushing all around me. It
feels like I’m standing in stone!” Aloren gasped again. “Don’t let
go of my hand!”

“I won’t. I promise.” Jacob took a deep
breath, then looked over his shoulder. “Akeno, how are you holding
up?”

“Fine,” he said.

Jacob could barely make out the walls on
either side of them and the ceiling above. Putting out his right
hand, he used the side wall to guide him. It was bumpy and had an
odd texture to it, making him stop again. He felt around, trying to
figure out why it was so weird, but nothing came to mind.