The Key of Kilenya (28 page)

Taking a few more steps, he relied on the
wall to guide him. Then it disappeared from under his hand. Feeling
around for a moment, he figured out the tunnel turned right. He
started to follow it, looking over his shoulder to check on Aloren
and Akeno. The blackness made it impossible to see them, though. He
cleared his throat. “Uh, how’re you guys doing?”

“My bag . . . take . . . my bag,” Aloren
said, gasping. “Can’t feel . . . it . . . don’t want . . . lose . .
.”

“Okay, okay.” Jacob reached out and found the
top of her head, then lowered his hand to the bag slung around her
neck. He secured it around his own neck and one arm. “Akeno? Do you
want me to take your bag as well?”

“No, m’fine,” Akeno said, also gasping now.
“Hurry.”

“Okay.” Jacob took another deep breath,
tracing the wall as he went. “Something tells me this isn’t going
to be a short tunnel.”

The tunnel turned several more times—Jacob
lost count of how many. He closed his eyes, realizing he didn’t
need them open, anyway. “Hey, wait,” he said. “Akeno, let’s see if
your finger will light up the tunnel.”

The walls were immediately swathed in the
eerie blue light. Jacob nearly yelled at what he saw, jumping
backward into Aloren. “Turn it off! Turn it off!!” he shrieked,
squeezing his eyes shut, willing the images that had filled the
view in front of him to leave. He couldn’t get his mind to clear,
though. Hundreds and hundreds of faces, bodies, embedded in the
walls of the tunnel. Fingers reaching forward, eyes unseeing,
staring off into nothing.

“What happened?” Aloren gasped.

“What’s going on?” Akeno said. “I can’t see
anything!”

“Please, Akeno, turn it off!” Jacob said.
Through his closed eyelids, he saw the blue light fade out. He
remained motionless, trying to calm his heart. Those couldn’t have
been real people. They couldn’t have. He realized his hand was
still on the wall, and he jerked it off, wiping it on his pants.
Wiping didn’t take away the feeling of filth that remained. He
wiped harder, groaning in frustration.

“Jacob?” Aloren said, her voice pleading.
“Please . . . tell us what you saw.”

Jacob took in a deep breath. “No, no, it was
nothing,” he said. “Nothing.” He couldn’t seem to take in enough
air—even it felt grimy now.

“Please, Jacob, just keep going,” Akeno said,
his voice sounding higher than usual.

Jacob drew in another deep breath, bracing
himself. “Okay.” He used his feet to guide him instead of his hand,
touching the wall as little as possible and cringing every time he
brushed against it. They didn’t make much progress this way, but
he’d never touch the wall again if he could help it.

Jacob became aware that Aloren was holding
his hand too tightly. “Aloren? I can’t feel my fingers.”

“Sorry.” Aloren loosened her grip, but it
wasn’t long before she held on just as tight again.

Jacob still hadn’t opened his eyes, and the
muscles in his face were getting tired of squeezing them shut. He
refused to open them, though, preferring darkness and muscle cramps
to the alternative.

Aloren pulled in a ragged breath of air. “How
. . . much farther?”

“Don’t know,” Jacob said, concentrating on
not letting his emotions flow into his words. “I hope not much.” He
wouldn’t be able to take any more of this if it didn’t end soon. He
couldn’t believe he’d actually been touching faces and hands . . .
people. He didn’t even want to know if they were dead, or trapped
in the wall alive—either way, it was disgusting.

After what felt like an eternity, a slight
gust of wind brushed his face. He peeked through his eyelids,
bracing himself for whatever had caused the air to move. Nothing
was visible except a small shaft of light that crossed the ground
several feet ahead of them. Relief coursed through him as he
realized what it meant. “I think we’re almost at the end of the
tunnel,” he whispered. “No one talk until I make sure we’re
safe.”

Aloren squeezed his hand, showing him she
understood. After two more turns, the tunnel was lit well enough
for Jacob to walk forward without using his feet to guide himself.
He tried not to look at the walls, but couldn’t help it. They were
made completely of stone again. He sighed in relief.

Right before what he thought was the last
turn, he stopped. There was something familiar about the light that
flowed into the tunnel. He inched forward, paused, pressed up
against the wall, then peered around the corner.

Back to Top

“
N
ot
again,” Jacob groaned.

The light was muted, the trees black and
white . . . and shriveled.

“What is it?” Aloren whispered.

“The trees look the same here as they did in
the infected forest.” Jacob surveyed the scene before leading them
out of the tunnel. The air was heavy and dark, the sunlight barely
visible, making it appear to be almost nighttime. “Are you still
holding on to Akeno?”

“Yes, he’s here.”

“Grab on tight, just in case.”

After making sure no one waited for them in
the trees, Jacob guided Akeno and Aloren out of the tunnel. The
trees were so thick that getting through them would be next to
impossible. There wasn’t a path, and the forest came right up next
to the wall. Rock outcroppings were everywhere.

“Can you guys see yet?”

Aloren took several deep breaths. “Yes,” she
said. “Why is it so dark?”

“I’m not sure. It wasn’t this dark in the
infected forest.” Jacob turned to look at his friends. “Akeno, can
you see?”

The Makalo didn’t answer for several seconds.
“Yeah, I can,” he said, finally.

“What’s the matter?” Jacob did his best to
sound casual—hopefully Akeno was just being cautious.

“I’m waiting to see how I’ll handle this,
emotionally.”

“And?” Jacob mentally crossed his fingers. If
Akeno flipped out here, it’d be nearly impossible to keep the group
safe. The trees looked worse than in the last forest—they were
shorter, more gnarled, and because they grew so closely together,
they almost appeared to be one huge, squat tree. With boulders
everywhere, it would be dangerous enough without the Makalo running
off.

Akeno shrugged. “I can feel negative
emotions, but they’re nowhere near as strong as before. I think
I’ll be fine. Maybe the potion helped.”

“This place gives me the heebie jeebies, so
if you guys can see well enough, let’s keep moving,” Jacob said.
“There isn’t a trail here, but I’ll bet if we follow the wall,
we’ll come across some kind of path eventually.”

“We’ll follow you,” Aloren said.

Jacob looked down at her hand, still
clutching his. “But I might need to use both my hands,” he said,
almost hoping that wouldn’t be the case.

“Oh, sorry.” Aloren pulled away.

Jacob smiled, then noticed how worried both
she and Akeno looked. He put his left hand on Aloren’s shoulder and
his right on Akeno’s. “We’ll be fine. Things will work out.” He
looked Aloren in the eyes. “No need to stress, okay?”

She nodded and gave him a weak smile.

Jacob opened his knapsack to talk to
September and Early, noticing he still had Aloren’s bag around his
neck. He decided not to give it back to her yet, though. The going
would be hard enough.

“Are you guys okay to stay in there for a
while?”

“Yes, we’re fine,” Early said. “Lots to
do.”

“Good. It would be really, really bad if we
got separated right now. You wouldn’t be able to get out of this
place again.”

The ground was rough and just as bad as he’d
expected it to be. At least the trees weren’t as violent here as
the ones in the infected forest. Perhaps this was due to the fact
that the group was trying to go around the trees, not between.
Jacob was quick to note, however, that anytime he brushed up
against a tree, he received a swift reminder to stay away. But it
was pretty difficult not to touch them, and after just a few
minutes of climbing over rocks and clinging to the wall, he felt
thrashed.

After half an hour of climbing, jumping down,
crawling through, stepping over, and hiking up, they got to a place
where the ground evened out, and he saw the dirt road up ahead.
“There’s the trail!”

“Oh, good,” Aloren said.

“I really wish I could use my Rezend right
now to see what’s out there,” Akeno said.

Jacob nodded. “You could try it if you want
to, but I doubt the trees will let you touch them.”

“I’ll leave Rezend as a last resort for
now.”

The group followed the trail west and away
from the wall. It led deeper into the forest, which was now the
only thing that appeared to separate them from the castle. Jacob
felt a small, tightening sensation in his chest. He did his best
not to imagine the possibilities the day might hold for them,
opting instead to concentrate on each step he took.

The group neared a large tree with oddly
shaped branches growing wild at the bottom, then coming to a point
at the top. It stood out from the other trees—being several feet
taller, and having lighter-colored bark. There was a spot where the
branches parted, leaving what looked somewhat like an open-ended
box.

“Is this a Kaith tree?” Jacob asked. “Dmitri
mentioned one where he found a note from Aldo.”

“Yes, it is,” Akeno said. “Long ago, the
people of this kingdom would leave things here for passing
travelers. They’d leave spells on the tree so only those who were
meant to take the things would be able to get them. If I remember
correctly, there used to be several similar trees throughout our
land for this purpose. This is supposed to be the only one left—the
rest died or were destroyed.”

Shortly after passing the Kaith tree, they
came to a fork in the road. There was a sign with the words
“Maivoryl City” etched into it, pointing to the right. Jacob
assumed the left branch led to the castle. His heartbeat sped up,
and he had to consciously change his thought process to keep from
freaking out. He looked at Aloren. “Isn’t this where your brother
should be?”

Aloren peered down the road. “Yes, that’s the
theory,” she said. She made no move, though.

Jacob hesitated, trying to decide what to do.
“Maybe Akeno and I should go with you into the city . . . at least
to help you get started.”

Aloren visibly relaxed. “Oh, would you?”

“Yeah, why not. We’ll stay with you until
we’re sure it’s safe. If things don’t look right, you can come with
us to the castle.”

“I really appreciate this. After the Molg and
the tunnel . . . I don’t . . . I can’t . . .”

Jacob awkwardly patted her shoulder, hoping
she wouldn’t start crying. He turned to the right, watching her
from the corner of his eye. She looked more freaked out than
emotional, though, and he relaxed. Nervousness and fright he could
handle—but crying girls? Not a chance.

The trees grew thickly on either side, and it
seemed as though they were reaching toward Jacob. He looked at
them, but could see no movement. The thick, greenish air, the
trees, the eerie quiet—he almost couldn’t take it. It made him feel
as though he was about to suffocate. He realized Aloren was walking
very close to him and bit his lip, recognizing how much she
depended on him for protection. What had happened to the stubborn,
independent girl he’d met two days ago?

After a few turns in the trail, buildings
came into view, and Jacob kept his eyes on them as the group
continued. With the light of the sun barely visible, the city felt
dark and ominous. Most of the buildings were boarded up, but had
muted light coming from inside. It wasn’t natural light, but a
sickly mustard-green color. The feeling that came from the city
wasn’t welcoming, and the air was now so heavy, Jacob felt a
constant need to clear his throat.

As they passed the first house, Jacob saw a
face press up against one of the windows. It disappeared, but then
came back, accompanied by another. A moment later, the door opened
a crack, and an old, withered hand appeared, reaching toward Jacob
and his friends.

He almost stopped walking when he saw the
tired-looking woman at the door. She had gray hair that was pulled
into a loose bun, and she looked as though she were kneeling.
“Please, please come help us,” she wheezed, her light-colored eyes
begging.

Aloren looked at Jacob, a troubled expression
on her face.

“I really don’t feel good about this place,”
Jacob whispered. “I don’t think we should go near anyone.”

As soon as he’d said this, the woman’s
expression turned to one of such hatred that Aloren gasped and
stepped into Jacob, nearly knocking him over. She grabbed his arm,
holding onto it tightly.

The woman’s eyes turned black and empty,
glaring at them. “Yes, that’s right, children,” she said. “Keep
walking away if it makes you feel better. You rats.” She moved
forward into the muted light. “But I wouldn’t go that way if I were
you.”

Suddenly her eyes changed from black to
bright, fire red. She reached out, palm down, and flames shot from
her fingertips, surrounded by black smoke. Her hair started
growing, turning dark and pouring down her back.

Whoa—Jacob took a step back. Where had that
come from?

The fire didn’t reach very far, though, and
her hair stopped growing as quickly as it had started. The woman
jerked forward in a coughing fit, curling up into a ball, her hair
shrinking back to the bun and going white again. She shut her eyes
and turned her face away from them.

“Please help us.” The whisper carried through
the still air, the voice pitiful.

Jacob shook his head to get the sound of her
voice out of his ears. He pulled Akeno and Aloren close to him,
walking down the center of the winding road. He did his best to
ignore the disfigured faces that watched them from almost every
window. “Uh, Aloren, where do you want us to take you?” he said,
trying to distract himself.