The Key of Kilenya (29 page)

“I’m not sure,” Aloren said. “The town
center? If there is one.”

A few moments later, the road opened into a
large area with a building in the middle. Jacob paused to
scrutinize the building. The windows weren’t boarded up, and the
light that came from inside was warm and welcoming. He still
hesitated, though, wanting to be sure it was safe. He took a
breath, then began to inch forward, step by step. Aloren and Akeno
stayed close to his side, and he kept his eyes open, watching for
any sign of potential danger.

They were almost to the porch when the front
door opened, and a man stepped out carrying a rug. He was large,
wearing a white shirt and a blue apron, and had a mustache that
covered at least half his face. He shook the rug out, then noticed
them and jumped, dropping the rug and putting his hand on his
chest. “Oh, you startled me!” he said, laughing.

Jacob noted the twinkle in his eyes.

“Can I help you?” the man asked.

“You might,” Aloren said.

The man gave her a friendly smile. “I might?”
He laughed. “Well, let’s hear what you have to say, and we’ll see
if I can.”

“I’m looking for my brother.”

“And who is your brother?”

“His name is Devlin.”

“You believe you might find him in Maivoryl
City?” The man stroked one side of his mustache. “Hmmm. You do know
that no one has come or gone from this city in many years,
right?”

“Yes, I know,” Aloren said. “But he hasn’t
been seen for many years, and I’ve searched everywhere for
him—except this city.”

“Have you considered that he might be
dead?”

Aloren faltered, but then a determined
expression came into her eyes. “Yes, I have. But I don’t think he
is.”

The man smiled again and picked up the rug.
“How can you be sure?”

“I can’t explain it. I just know. I want to
search the city, but I’m not sure where to start, or how.”

A young woman came to the door and stood
behind the man, her arms folded. Putting his arm around her
shoulders, he brought her forward. “My name is Eachan,” he said.
“This is my eldest, Duana.”

Duana’s features relaxed, and she smiled at
Aloren, who returned the smile.

Hope was starting to come into her eyes. “My
name is Aloren, and these are my friends, Jacob and Akeno.”

Eachan studied them, a curious expression on
his face. They locked eyes for a brief moment, and Jacob could
sense an under-the-surface emotion coming from Eachan. But he
wasn’t able to discern what it was, just that it was somewhat akin
to heartache.

“Very pleased to meet you both.” Eachan
opened the door. “Please come in. We don’t get many visitors
here.”

“Thank you,” Aloren said.

He held the door for them. “In fact, you’re
the first visitors to come in a very long time.”

“Can we have a minute alone to talk, please?”
Jacob asked, motioning for Aloren and Akeno to come closer.

“Of course.” Eachan went into the hall,
shutting the door behind him.

Jacob pulled Aloren and Akeno several feet
away from the porch. “I don’t want to go in there until I know how
you feel about this.”

Akeno and Aloren looked at each other. Akeno
was the first to speak. “I trust him.”

“Same with me,” Aloren said. “I think he’s a
good man, doing the best he can with what he has around him.”

“I don’t trust this city,” Jacob said, “nor
the situation.” He frowned, thinking. “But he might have
information on how to look for your brother.”

Aloren nodded. “He’d have to know everyone
who lives here, even if only by sight. And he’d at least know if
there was someone here Devlin’s age.”

“We could use his help.”

“You mean
I. I
could use his
help.”

“No, you don’t have to do it alone. We’ll
come with you.”

“Why?” She shrugged. “Your business is much
more urgent than mine. You need to focus on getting that Key, and
as soon as possible. Besides, you’ve taken me as far as you
promised you would.”

Jacob shook his head. “That doesn’t matter.
Agreements and promises can change.”

“Not in this case, they can’t.”

“Aloren, honestly.” Jacob scowled. “It’s a
stupid idea for you to be left alone right now.”

“You get the Key. Don’t worry—I’ll be
fine.”

“After we find Devlin.”

“No. You have to go now. You need to get to
the castle before the Lorkon find out you’re here—otherwise,
everything we’ve gone through will have been for nothing. They’d
never let you near the Key—you have to know that. What happens
then? We all die? You fail to help the Makalos?”

Jacob looked into her eyes, trying to sense
if she really believed what she was saying. “Then come with us to
find the Key, and we can look for Devlin afterward.”

“And possibly lose my chance of being
reunited with him?” She shook her head. “Jacob, this is as far as
I’ve ever gone. If I don’t take this opportunity right now, it’ll
never come again. You know I can’t get through that wall without
you.”

Jacob closed his eyes. “I can’t do this,
Aloren.”

“No, Jacob, listen to her,” Akeno said. “Her
points are valid. She knows what she needs to do.”

Aloren put her hand on Jacob’s arm. “And you
can’t make my decisions for me. I trust Eachan and his daughter.
I’ll be fine here.”

As much as he hated to admit it, Jacob felt
Aloren was right. They hadn’t come this far only to fail, and he
didn’t want to let Kenji and Ebony down. He sighed. Even in the odd
light, Aloren was still really cute, and he’d grown to enjoy being
around her. This felt like desertion, plain and simple. He put his
hand on her shoulder.

“Are you sure about this?” he said. “One
hundred percent
positive
this is what you really want to
do?”

Aloren nodded. “Yes, I am. Besides, I only
want to take a couple of hours to search the city. I’ll have Eachan
and Duana’s help, so that should be enough. We can meet near the
tunnel, and you can lead me back to the other side.”

“All right. Let’s make it two and a half
hours, to be safe. By that time, the sun’ll be setting, and Akeno
and I will have to leave anyway. If we don’t find the Key today,
we’ll probably camp out near the Fat Lady’s cabin and try again
tomorrow. You’ll either be with your brother or not, and can choose
to come with us or head back to Macaria.”

“Thank you, Jacob.”

Jacob gave her shoulder a light squeeze and
started toward the town hall.

“Jacob, wait,” Aloren said, then threw her
arms around him. “I really mean it. Thank you so much for believing
me and for helping me come here. You, Akeno, and Gallus are the
only ones who don’t think I’m crazy.”

She pulled back, and Jacob saw tears in her
eyes. He cleared his throat. “Uh . . . you’re welcome.”

She wiped her tears away, gave Akeno a hug,
then said, “I’m ready.”

Jacob knocked on the door of the town hall,
unsure if he should just walk in.

The door swung open, and Eachan appeared,
carrying what looked like a bowl of mashed potatoes. “Would you
like some food?” he asked.

“No, thanks,” Jacob said. “But can you help
Aloren?”

Eachan turned to face her. “What can I do for
you?”

“Help me find my brother,” she said.

He nodded. “Of course we’ll help—as long as
you realize that the odds of his being here aren’t good, which I
think you do.”

Aloren turned and gave Jacob another quick
hug, then Akeno. “Thanks,” she said. “Get going, you two, and I’ll
see you soon, okay?”

Jacob shook Eachan’s hand. “Thank you for
your help, Eachan. It’s appreciated.”

Aloren stayed on the porch to watch Akeno and
Jacob as they left. Jacob met her eyes as he stepped off the porch,
already missing her company. He turned and hurried down the street,
careful not to look at the buildings on either side.

They were a couple of blocks away from the
town hall when they heard a girl scream. Jacob whipped around. The
porch swarmed with townspeople who were grabbing at Aloren, trying
to drag her away.

“Run, Aloren!” Jacob yelled. He almost raced
back, but hesitated when Eachan jumped through the door and
wrestled with several people, kicking and shoving them off the
porch. Duana and Aloren were fighting as well.

Eachan punched one of the leaders full in the
face, then grabbed Aloren and Duana, pulling them inside to safety
and slamming the door shut. He then put metal bars over the
glass.

“Jacob! Look out!” Akeno yelled.

Jacob lurched out of the way just as a
disfigured man with long, ratted hair slashed a large knife at him.
He slashed again, and Jacob dodged, swinging around with his fist
and hitting the guy on the side of the head.

The man fell over near Akeno, who jumped away
from the man’s grasp.

Jacob felt something touch his back, and he
jumped around to see a woman with greasy hands and hair trying to
grab his shirt. He shoved her away, knocking her into a deformed
man behind her. He glanced around. Hundreds of people with mangled
bodies poured out of the buildings on both sides of the street,
many carrying knives and sticks.

He fought the hands off him, finding that the
people were weak. But their numbers . . . there were too many to
fight. He and Akeno shoved their way through the group of people
and sprinted as fast as they could toward the fork in the road.

Jacob glanced over his shoulder one last time
before they turned a bend. The people didn’t pursue them beyond the
last house. It looked as though some invisible boundary kept them
from leaving the city.

He stopped when they reached the main road,
bending over and putting his hands on his knees. “They’re not . . .
following us,” he panted. “Why?”

“Not sure,” Akeno said, also gasping for
breath.

Jacob straightened and motioned toward
Maivoryl City. “Did you see how they swarmed all over Aloren? We
have to go back for her—I knew we shouldn’t have left her
there!”

“There’s nothing we can do. We aren’t
prepared to fight. We’ll end up stuck there, too.” Akeno reached up
and grabbed Jacob’s shoulders, forcing him to look away from the
city. “Listen to me. We can’t do both. If we try to get her, we’ll
fail at getting the Key.” He paused, biting his lip, then
resolution crossed his face. “Only a couple of hours. We’ll meet
her at the tunnel. And . . . and help her then.”

Jacob closed his eyes, focusing on the air
rushing in and out of his lungs, calming himself down. “Okay.” He
turned to look down the path that led to the castle and hesitated,
trying to get the courage to continue. He released a breath and put
his hand on Akeno’s shoulder. “All right, let’s go.”

The road led them deep into the forest, and
for a time the castle was out of view. Jacob glanced at Akeno. “She
. . . she’ll be okay,” he whispered.

“Eachan’ll make sure of it,” Akeno said.

After following the winding trail for several
minutes, the forest ended, and the castle loomed up before them,
large and magnificent. An intense pang of fear clenched Jacob’s
heart, and he was almost overcome by a sudden urge to run away as
fast as he could. He took a deep breath, trying in vain to calm his
heart. He realized he could be about to lose everything that was
important to him—his family, his friends, his freedom, his
life.

The surface of the dirt road blended into
cobblestones and led under the castle’s huge archway and into the
spacious courtyard. There were no guards visible, and the place had
an eerie quietness about it that unsettled Jacob. The air seemed to
press down upon him, and the silence was almost deafening.

“There’s no sense putting off the
inevitable,” he said, then started forward. He crept up to the left
side of the archway, Akeno following. Leaning back against the
wall, he glanced around, again making sure no one was watching
them.

“How do we get in?”

“I’m not sure,” Jacob whispered, then laughed
a short, almost hysterical laugh. “Maybe we should just knock on
the door. They’d probably welcome us in with wide-open arms.” Akeno
frowned at him, and Jacob stopped smiling. “Okay, just kidding.
Let’s go around to the side of the castle and see if there’s
another way in.”

“Okay.”

They crept along the stone wall, staying
close to it. Coming to the corner, Jacob peered around it and saw
nothing but a long wall with no windows or doors. For a second he
considered turning around and going back to the front, but then
something occurred to him, and he looked at Akeno.

“I’ve got an idea. Come on.”

Putting his hand on the wall, he felt around,
searching for warmth. After a few seconds, he started to sprint
along, keeping his hand on the wall the entire way. Akeno jogged
behind him, keeping up.

Jacob paused, having felt warmth in the
surface. It wasn’t substantial enough, though, so he continued
running. “Wow,” he panted. “The Lorkon really know how to build
strong walls.” A thought popped into his head, and he stopped.
“Hey, maybe I have the ability to sense weakness in things!”

“Excuse me?”

“That has to be it. I think I’ve known since
we were in the cave. I’m looking for a weakness in the wall right
now so I can make an opening for us.”

Akeno frowned. “When you feel the heat, you
mean?”

“Yeah,” Jacob said. “And then when I reshaped
the rock from the cave wall, I somehow knew how to make it
stronger. That’s pretty cool. Imagine what I could do with it! I
could build an indestructible car!”

“Okay, great,” Akeno said. “Let’s concentrate
on getting the Key for now. You can play later.”

Jacob laughed, focusing again on temperature.
After running the entire length of the wall, he turned with it as
it formed the back of the castle. Ten or fifteen feet later he
found what he was looking for—a spot warm enough to do what he
needed to do. Holding his hands over the stone, he felt it heat up
beneath his palms and fingertips and become soft. He made a hole in
the stone, about waist high, then bent over to peek through it. He
didn’t see anyone on the other side, so he continued working with
the stone until the hole was big enough to climb through. Akeno
followed him, then Jacob turned around to reheat the stone and
close up the hole behind them.