The Key of Kilenya (32 page)

“What?” Akeno whispered.

“This way.” Jacob hurried down the corridor,
Akeno and the Minyas following.

Suddenly, a Lorkon leaped from the shadows of
the hall, knocking Akeno down as he lunged for Jacob. Jacob jumped
out of the way just in time, and the Lorkon fell to the ground
where Jacob had been standing.

Looking around for a weapon, Jacob spotted a
large metal candle holder on a table farther down the corridor. He
ran and grabbed it, turning in time to see the Lorkon lurch forward
again. He swung the candle holder and hit the Lorkon in the side
with it, knocking the creature to the ground.

“Hurry, Akeno! Over here!”

As Akeno ran past the Lorkon, it reached out
and grabbed him by the ankle, bringing him down with a crash. Akeno
screamed, struggling to get out of the Lorkon’s grasp.

“Use your Rezend!” Jacob yelled. Akeno
complied, and Jacob didn’t have enough time to plug his ears before
the crack echoed through the corridor. The Lorkon went limp,
allowing Akeno to jerk his leg free.

His ears ringing, Jacob helped Akeno to his
feet and sprinted down the corridor to the spot where the opening
in the wall had been. “Here! We have to go here!” he yelled.

“It’s just a wall, Jacob! We gotta go back to
the hall!”

“No, there are stairs behind it. I think it
leads to the tunnel Dmitri talked about in his journal.” Jacob
started pushing the wall. It didn’t budge. “Help me open it!”

Akeno made a frustrated sound, but jumped to
Jacob’s side to help. After a moment of exertion, the wall
shuddered beneath Jacob’s hands. Pushing a little harder, he felt
it start to give. He heard a few clicks, and then the wall fell
back and slid to the side.

“Go down!” Jacob said, motioning to the
Minyas, who flitted into the dark hole, Akeno following close
behind.

Jacob looked to see if the Lorkon was still
unconscious, then went down a couple of stairs, turning back to
shut the door. It closed much easier than it had opened. He passed
his hands over the edges of the door where it met the wall,
searching for any warmth, sealing what he could. Satisfied that the
door would now keep anyone from coming through for a while, Jacob
turned in the pitch black. “Akeno, can you light up the
stairs?”

“Yeah . . . I can,” the Makalo said after a
moment. The familiar blue light filled the stone stairway,
revealing Akeno down several steps from Jacob, rubbing his leg and
grimacing.

“What’s wrong?” Jacob asked.

Akeno moaned. “My leg . . .”

“Where the Lorkon grabbed you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need to rest?”

“No,” Akeno said, then straightened. “We
gotta go before they catch up.”

“Let me know if the pain gets worse,
okay?”

Akeno didn’t respond.

Jacob pulled his knapsack off his back.
“Minyas, in my bag,” he said. September and Early flew inside, then
Jacob and Akeno started down the stairs.

After at least three flights, the stairs
ended, and a long passageway opened in front of them. Several
sections of the ground and walls were wet, but the tunnel appeared
to be in good condition.

“Is this the Fat Lady’s tunnel?” Jacob asked.
“What if it leads us somewhere else?”

Akeno didn’t answer. He appeared to be in
pain, but was keeping up.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? We can
take a break.”

“No,” Akeno said, his voice shaking. “Keep
going, keep going.”

Jacob glanced over his shoulder every now and
then while running. Akeno moved slower every minute, his limp
becoming more definite with each step. Jacob bit his lip, trying to
figure out how to help his friend.

He stopped running when Akeno stumbled.
“Okay, this isn’t going to work.” He frowned, then took Akeno’s bag
and slung it over his shoulder. “I have a better idea.” He picked
Akeno up and started jogging again.

Akeno gave a weak laugh. “Sack of potatoes,”
he said.

Jacob laughed as well. “But this time you’re
not being thrown over my shoulder,” he said. “Your job is to keep
the tunnel well lit so I don’t fall and drop you.”

A few minutes later, Akeno began to shiver
and mumble. He opened his eyes, staring straight above him, and
gasped.

Jacob looked up, ready to see something
falling from the ceiling, but nothing was there. He watched Akeno’s
expressions for a second, then turned his full attention back to
the tunnel and getting in as much distance as possible while Akeno
was still conscious.

He paused a few times to catch his breath.
The weight of Akeno’s body was starting to make his already-tired
arms ache, and his head began pounding again. How was he ever going
to make it to the end of the tunnel? He did his best to push the
pain away, but was only successful when he heard Akeno start
moaning. He paused to raise his friend’s pant leg. There were no
breaks in the skin, but the spot was yellow, with angry pink
edges.

Akeno’s muscles clenched up, and his pupils
dilated, making his eyes look almost black with only a sliver of
blue. He looked as though he was about to slip into
unconsciousness.

“No, no, Akeno, stay with me!” Jacob yelled,
running as fast as his legs would take him—the end
had
to be
near! The blue light only reached forty feet into the distance, and
it was getting dimmer—Akeno probably wouldn’t be able to keep it
lit much longer.

Finally, Jacob saw what looked like the end.
Praying it wasn’t blocked, he sighed in relief at the sight of
stairs leading up. Akeno’s breathing was shallow. His left hand was
limp, barely elevated above his chest, and his light had dimmed to
the point where Jacob could only see four or five feet ahead of
him.

“Hang on, Akeno, we’re almost there,” Jacob
said, trying not to panic. His legs were burning from the exertion,
and he was forced to slow to a walk. He took the stairs as quickly
as he could. It was difficult to carry Akeno
and
the bags,
and the stairs seemed endless. He reached the top just as the blue
light went out. Akeno must have fallen unconscious.

“Oh, no, Akeno, I’m hurrying as fast as I
can!” Jacob put the Makalo down and started pushing frantically
against the ceiling and the walls, trying to find the exit.

A stream of sunlight hit him in the face,
nearly blinding him as he pushed against one section of the wall.
He released the stone, letting it fall shut, enveloping them in
darkness again. He pulled his bag off his shoulders and opened it.
“September?” he whispered.

“Yes, Jacob?”

“When I push the stone open, I need you to
sneak out and tell me what’s out there.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Arggh. Early, will you?”

“Of course!”

Jacob pushed the door just far enough to let
Early out. He held it open with his shoulders, waiting for the
Minya to return. It took longer than usual for her to come back,
but after what felt like forever, she zoomed in past him.

“The tunnel opens in the middle of a forest
very close to the mountains,” she said. “I wasn’t able to see much.
I did find some honey, though.”

Jacob growled in frustration. Was that what
had taken her so long? “Were there any Lorkon?”

“Lorkon? Oh, yes, there were.” Early spun
around a couple of times, doing some sort of dance.

“How many of them?”

She held up three little fingers.

“And? Where were they?”

She pointed. “Farther south.”

“What were they doing?”

She tapped the side of her head. “They looked
like they were searching for something.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Of course they were
searching for something.” He knew sarcasm would be lost on Early.
“Were there Dusts or anything else?”

“I couldn’t see anything, no.”

“Which side of the wall are we on?”

“I didn’t check.”

Jacob grimaced—stupid Minya—and decided he’d
have to see for himself. He pushed the door open slowly, letting
his eyes adjust, then poked his head out. Roots grew over the side
of the hill above the exit, and in front of him were several trees.
It looked as though the tunnel opened in the side of a small
canyon, facing the mountain, since there was a slope going up on
the other side of the trees. To the right was the forest, thicker
here than anywhere else he’d seen so far. Judging by the light, he
figured the tunnel had led them under the wall and to the other
side, though it was hard to tell. Something about this bothered
him, and he wracked his brain, trying to figure out what.

Then it occurred to him. Aloren. He backed up
and let the wall fall shut. She had no way to leave Maivoryl City
without him.

Jacob mentally kicked himself. He’d promised
he’d help her get out of the city—that she would only have to be
there for a couple of hours. Who knew what had happened to her
after he and Akeno had run away? Who knew if Eachan had been
successful in protecting her? Who knew if she was even still alive?
He felt sick to his stomach when he thought he might never see her
again, but he recognized there was no way he’d be able to save both
her and Akeno. He forced himself to put her smile and sparkly brown
eyes out of his mind, knowing there was nothing he could do but
pray she’d be okay. He had to focus on getting Akeno to someone who
could help, and as soon as possible.

Jacob made sure both September and Early were
out of his knapsack and swung it over his shoulders, alongside
Aloren’s and Akeno’s bags. Then he picked up Akeno and pushed open
the heavy door.

He let his eyes adjust to the sunlight and
stepped outside, feeling very exposed, even with the thick forest
closing in on him. He lowered the door, then squeezed past a couple
of large trees into a small, enclosed area to the left that would
keep him hidden for a few minutes while he checked on Akeno.

The Makalo’s fuzzy skin was cold to the
touch. He had huge, dark rings circling his eyes that made them
look sunken, and he was breathing rapidly.

Lifting Akeno’s pant leg again, Jacob drew
back in horror at what he saw. The skin on his lower leg had broken
and was blistered, oozing blood and pus.

“Oh, gosh, that’s disgusting,” Jacob
whispered, pulling the fabric down to hide the sore.

He tried to pour a little water into Akeno’s
mouth, as he’d seen in the movies. But he couldn’t get Akeno to
part his lips, so drank the rest of it himself. Akeno was
unresponsive to everything.

Deciding it would be a good idea to find out
where they were before moving Akeno again, Jacob got up and
squeezed through the small opening between the trees. He moved past
the tunnel entrance, looking through the roots that hung over the
door. At first he didn’t see anything, but then he was able to pick
out a shape he hadn’t noticed before. While he watched, the shape
shifted, coming into better focus. It was a very tall figure,
wearing a large black cloak—a Lorkon. Jacob watched as it bent
over, digging through the brush. It was only thirty or so feet away
from where they were. Why was it doing the dirty work, and where
were the Dusts?

Jacob crouched down and pushed through the
underbrush to check the other side of the small canyon. He stayed
still, trying to catch any movement through the thick trees, but
didn’t see anything. He crept back to the little hiding place,
deciding Akeno wouldn’t last long enough for the Lorkon to
leave.

September and Early had taken positions on
Akeno’s chest and were having a heated discussion.

“Shhh!” Jacob hissed, crouching down next to
them. “I need both of you to do something that could be very
dangerous. You both care about Akeno, right?”

“Yes, of course,” September said.

“I know you have no tie to me to keep you
here right now, but Akeno needs you. Are you willing to help me get
him back to Taga, where they’ll take care of him?”

“We are!” Early said.

Jacob looked at the other Minya.
“September?”

“Okay, fine.”

“Good. First, Early, go find Kenji and ask if
there’s anything I can do for Akeno.”

With a flash, Early disappeared. Upon
returning, she reported that the only thing Jacob could do was get
Akeno to the village as quickly as possible.

“Okay,” Jacob said. “I’ll need one of you to
keep an eye on the Lorkon. There’s one about thirty feet from here.
Who wants to do that?”

“I’ll do it,” September said.

“Awesome. Early, would you act as a messenger
between me and September? I’ll need to know everything those Lorkon
are doing.”

The Minyas disappeared, and a second later
Early returned. “The Lorkon have split up. The one that was closest
to us is now moving toward Sonda Lake. Another Lorkon is moving
farther south, closer to the Dust mound. The last is heading up the
mountain.”

Jacob frowned. “Where is the lake compared to
where we are now?”

“That way,” Early said, pointing through the
forest straight ahead of them. “The trail is there, too.”

“Okay. We’ll go more to the left, then, away
from the Lorkon.”

Jacob grabbed the bags, swinging them over
his shoulders, then picked up Akeno. He stood and squeezed between
the trees, trying to make as little noise as possible. Looking
around and seeing no one, he made his way to the left, keeping his
eyes open for anything dangerous.

Every few minutes, Early would fly to him,
relaying a message from September. The Lorkon to the south kept
moving in that direction, rummaging through the underbrush,
probably looking for the tunnel entrance or maybe for them. The one
that had moved up the mountain was now searching somewhere above
them. Only the thick leaves and branches of the trees kept Jacob
out of sight. The Lorkon moving toward the lake had raised his
hands to the sky and yelled words into the wind. Jacob could think
of only one reason for doing that.