The Key of Kilenya (31 page)

He heard hundreds of sounds all at once and
was no longer able to focus on just one. They were so loud, they
pulsated in his brain like a migraine. Opening his eyes, he gasped
as the bright lights flashed again, alternating with blackness.
Thousands of people moved through the room at once. His body was on
sensory overload. Even the temperature seemed to be
fluctuating.

He tried to stand and right himself, but
barely managed to lift his head. The walls around him would not
stop spinning. He struggled to stay conscious, almost failing
several times. The thought kept entering his mind that he had to
remain alert—he couldn’t let the Lorkon win.

He heard a loud crack, and his head felt as
though it was about to explode again.

Someone pulled him to his feet. He struggled
against the person until he recognized Akeno’s voice commanding him
to walk. He slumped against the Makalo—he couldn’t hold his own
weight. Akeno nearly fell under the load but struggled forward.

They staggered through a door, across another
room, and into a hall. Jacob was so disoriented he couldn’t even
tell which way was up. Pain was the only thing he knew. He longed
to fall to the floor—to give in to the black, to stop the spinning.
He brushed against a doorjamb and nearly fainted from the agony the
contact caused. He opened his eyes. Hundreds of people streamed
through the huge corridor—Lorkon, humans, Makalos, and other
creatures. The lights still flashed, and he had to close his eyes
again. He felt himself losing his grasp on consciousness as Akeno
yelled unintelligible things at him.

They stumbled down a hall, a door opened, and
he was pushed inside a room. He slumped to the ground, trying not
to give into the convulsions.

“Jacob . . . where . . . vial? . . . vial!”
Akeno’s words didn’t make any sense.

He was aware of his bag being ripped off his
arm, and moments later a bitter fluid was poured into his mouth. He
gagged, trying to spit it out.

“Stop it! Swallow . . . please, Jacob!” Akeno
said.

Jacob felt his nose being plugged, and then
his mouth was jammed shut, forcing him to swallow. He felt the
liquid burning its way down his throat and fought the urge to throw
up as the potion hit his stomach. Writhing on the floor for what
felt like an eternity, he was aware of Akeno at his side.

Suddenly, the potion entered his bloodstream.
The sensation started at his heart, inching outward from there. It
calmed and soothed the pain away, first in his chest, then his
lower body, then his arms and neck, and finally his head.

The liquid was cold—cooling his burning
blood. His muscles relaxed, and the sounds disappeared. The lights
stopped flashing.

Then his brain relaxed, and he surrendered to
the peaceful calm of sleep.

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J
ust
as soon as the relief of rest came, however, Jacob was
awakened.

“Jacob, you can’t sleep!”

He moaned, not wanting to move.

“Please, Jacob. Come on.”

Jacob moaned again and tried to clear his
mind. He didn’t open his eyes for fear the bright lights would
flash again and make him want to throw up. “The Key . . . did you
get it?”

“Yes, it’s here.”

Jacob took a deep breath. “And the box?”

“Here as well.”

“Put . . . put them in my bag. I just need .
. . a minute.”

“We’ve really got to go, Jacob—now. The
Lorkon, wolves, and Dusts are stunned, but won’t be for much
longer.”

Reality entered Jacob’s mind, and his eyes
snapped open. He jerked to a sitting position, immediately
regretting it. “Whoa,” he said, holding his head in his hands. It
took a second for everything to stop spinning.

While waiting for the dizziness to pass,
Jacob mentally examined himself. His body was sore all over, and
his eyes ached a great deal. The ringing in his ears was gone,
though. He glanced around the small, dark space. “Where are
we?”

“I had September find us a place to hide.
We’re only a couple of rooms away from where we found the Key.”
Akeno got to his feet. “There are Dusts everywhere. As soon as you
fell to the floor, several of them came in. I think they all knew
we’d entered the castle and were hiding from us.”

“I saw hundreds of people going back and
forth,” Jacob said. “Were they chasing us?”

Akeno looked confused. “People? What
people?”

“Makalos, Lorkon, humans—tons of them. Even
Shiengols and Dusts. Or Wurbies. I couldn’t tell which ones they
were. And others . . . different creatures.”

“I only saw Dusts and the four Lorkon. No one
else.”

Jacob scratched his head. “Are . . . are you
sure?”

“Of course.”

“Then why did I see them?”

Akeno gave him a worried look. “I don’t
know,” he said.

Jacob sighed in frustration, switching gears
in his head. “Okay, let’s just focus on finding a way out. I don’t
think going through the door would be the best choice right now.”
He stood up. “September, you keep a lookout. Let us know if anyone
comes toward the door.”

September flew to the keyhole and positioned
himself inside it while Jacob felt the walls, searching for warmth.
He found several shelves on one side with rags, buckets, brooms,
and mops, but no warmth. He sighed in exasperation.

“This ability I have is great and all, but it
sure isn’t the fastest,” he said.

After checking the walls, he got to his hands
and knees, feeling his way around the floor. “Here!” he said,
finding a warm spot in a corner of the room. He held his hands over
the stone, heating it up. Soon there was a hole about two feet
across. The rest of the stone wouldn’t give way. “Hope that’s big
enough,” he whispered, then peered over the edge. “I can’t see
anything. Akeno, can you?”

Akeno crawled to the hole, looking down. “Can
I use my Rezend? It’s too dark.”

Jacob went to the door, shoving rags
underneath it. “Don’t use too much light. Oh, and we should have
Early check, instead of us.”

A blue glow emanated from Akeno’s finger, not
bright enough to make Jacob squint, but giving enough light for him
to see Early as she flew down. She came back a moment later,
reporting that the room below was empty.

Jacob ducked his head into the hole to survey
the room. “Okay, there’s a bed kinda underneath us. If we swing a
little, we’ll be able to land on it.” He turned to Akeno.
“Ready?”

“Yes, ready. September, you come, too.”

Jacob lowered himself until his arms were
straight, then swung his body and let go. He barely made it to the
bed, surprised at how far beneath him it turned out to be, but it
cushioned his fall. Reaching up, he caught the bags Akeno dropped
to him, slinging them over his shoulders.

Akeno then dropped down. Being smaller and
more nimble than Jacob, he landed on the bed without difficulty.
Jacob handed Akeno his bag, then looked around for Early. He sent
her through the keyhole to inspect the area outside of the
room.

She returned. “It’s busy in the hall.”

Jacob nodded. “Let’s wait a few minutes. Who
was out there? Lorkon?”

“Yes, and Dusts,” Early said.

Jacob sat on the bed. “Were they standing
around guarding the doors, or were they going somewhere?”

“They appeared to be in a hurry, going
somewhere.”

“Which way were they going?”

“Down the corridor to the left.”

“All right,” Jacob said. “Let’s wait for a
few minutes and go to the right. Hopefully we won’t run into
anyone.” He turned to Akeno. “Where’s the Key?”

“I put it in your bag.”

Jacob stood and paced for a while, then
motioned to Early. “Okay, check again. Actually, just keep watch
and let us know when the Lorkon go away.”

Early took a position halfway out of the
keyhole. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, she pulled
back into the room. “It’s clear.”

“It probably won’t stay that way for long,”
Jacob said. “Let’s go.”

He motioned for the Minyas to keep a lookout,
one of them staying several feet ahead of them, the other several
feet behind. He then started to rush down the hallway, but stopped,
realizing he had no idea how to get out of the castle, or even
where they were. Concentrating, he tried to orient himself to which
way was east—the side where the castle entrance was located—and
started running again.

Early’s warning made him stop, and he
whirled. A Dust charged down the corridor at them, its hands formed
into hooves.

“Let’s go!” Jacob yelled, and he and Akeno
raced the other direction.

The Dust had no trouble keeping up, though,
and quickly overtook them, grabbing Jacob and pulling him to the
ground—Jacob was surprised at how quickly the beast’s hands had
changed.

So was the Dust, however, and it yelled at
itself. “Stop! No! Where hooves?”

Jacob scrambled to his feet, but the Dust was
too fast for him—it quickly recovered from its shock and pushed him
down again with a strength that was astonishing.

Another warning from Early, and more Dusts
poured into the hall. One would be difficult enough, but all these
at once? Jacob scuffled with the first, knocked it aside, and got
to his feet.

The creatures only paused briefly before they
had him surrounded, ignoring Akeno and the Minyas who had rushed to
Jacob’s assistance.

For several seconds the group struggled—Jacob
wasn’t able to see Akeno through the punches and kicks he was both
receiving and blocking.

“What do I do?” Akeno asked. “Knock them
out?”

Jacob shoved the nearest Dust into a couple
others, forcing them to the ground. “No loud noises.” The crack
would alert the Lorkon to their presence—he was sure they’d
recognize Akeno’s ability and come running. He whipped around,
grabbing a Dust by the throat, and throwing it against the wall.
The hallway filled with even more Dusts, and Jacob found himself
overwhelmed.

One of the beast’s hands formed into a long
rope, another’s hands became knives, and Jacob was shoved to the
ground again, his head cracking against the stone. That would leave
a bruise.

A Dust’s hands formed into a blindfold, and
it extended its arms around Jacob’s neck from behind. Although he
struggled, Jacob couldn’t prevent the other creatures from tying
the cloth over his eyes. He felt a sharp knifepoint at his neck,
and he became motionless while the Dusts tied his hands and
feet.

He heard a muffled yell of pain—Akeno’s—and
realized they were both trapped. Jacob wracked his brain—he
wouldn’t give in—especially not now that they had the Key!

Then he remembered what Aloren had said about
Dusts. He had to do something they wouldn’t expect—something to
surprise them. A new obstacle—but what?

He felt his body being lifted from the
ground, and he’d been rushed several feet before an idea came to
him. He moved his hand a fraction, the rope slipping to the edge of
his palm, and begged it to heat up. It did, and he let out a small
exclamation of joy.

The Dust whose hands had tied him yelped, and
Jacob’s arms were suddenly free again. He put his hands over the
blindfold, warming it up as well. There was a pain, and he blinked
at the light when the cloth was whipped off his face. The Dust
who’d tied his feet quickly backed away, and Jacob jumped out of
the arms of the others.

“It burnded me! It hotted its hands and
burnded me!”

The creatures swarmed around the Dust to see
the evidence for themselves—Jacob momentarily forgotten, even
though there were close to twenty Dusts in the corridor. He raced
to Akeno’s side and freed him from the little beasts there as well,
who raced to the other group.

Jacob placed one hand against the wall, the
other pulling off his bag and tossing it to Akeno. He knew the
distraction wouldn’t last long.

“Our food, Akeno—throw it at them when I give
the go-ahead.” He molded several rocks from the now-hot stone,
filling his pockets with them.

“Ready?” he asked as the Dusts turned, angry
glares on their faces. “Now!”

Apples, carrots, jerky, and rocks flew
through the air, pelting the Dusts. Several of the creatures formed
shields to block the missiles, crying in frustration at the change
in their hands, but others caught the food and acted surprised when
their hands stuffed it into their mouths. Jacob chuckled—what else
were you supposed to do with food?

The Minyas finally joined in the fun, zooming
quickly at the monsters, disappearing and reappearing in random
places along the hall. It wasn’t long before the entire group of
Dusts swarmed to get away, frightened by the change of events.

Jacob and Akeno laughed in relief, but
realized they were still in danger. They turned and ran in the
opposite direction, Jacob re-orienting himself to the entrance and
which door would take them there. He thought hard, biting his lips
and squinting in concentration, willing visions to enter his mind
like earlier.

A bright, happy glow coming from a small
corridor caught his attention, and he paused, backtracking to check
it out. Looking into the hallway, he saw warm sunlight pouring into
it, a stark contrast to the darkness of the rest of the castle. A
well-dressed man walked down the corridor, his back to the group.
He wore light-colored clothes and a weird hat. There was something
familiar about the man’s walk, but Jacob couldn’t put his finger on
it. As he watched, the stranger pushed against the left wall with
both hands, and the wall shifted away from him, sliding to the side
and revealing a set of stairs leading down. The man didn’t hesitate
before descending out of view.

Glancing back at Akeno, Jacob was startled to
see that the hall behind him was dark. The Minyas flitted in the
air above them, and Akeno watched Jacob with an impatient
expression on his face. Jacob looked back to the spot where the man
had disappeared. The wall was shut, the corridor was just as dark
as the rest of the castle, and there was no longer even a window to
let in light. It had completely disappeared.