The Key of Kilenya (33 page)

Lirone.

Jacob stayed as close to the trees as
possible, noticing with panic when they began to thin, taking away
his cover.

“Oh no,” he muttered, looking up constantly,
checking if the Lorkon above could see him yet. A few yards later,
the forest ended. Dang it—what now? Jacob struggled to stay in
control and not give in to the fear.

Jacob paused before stepping from behind the
last tree, trying to figure out what to do and where to go. He
wished Akeno or Aloren were able to help him decide.

The sky darkened with clouds, and the Lorkon
near the lake was now closing in, as was the one on the mountain.
Only the Lorkon to the south had maintained a large enough distance
not to worry Jacob.

He glanced around the tree, hoping to figure
out where they were. What he saw caused relief to spread over him.
There was the paddock, the clothesline, and—Jacob moved to the
left—the cabin!

“Oh good, oh good, oh good,” Jacob breathed.
Only one problem remained: the cabin was a good two hundred yards
from where he stood, and between here and there was nothing but
meadow, with no cover—except for a few small apple and pear
trees.

He looked at Akeno—the Makalo appeared nearly
lifeless. Only a slight movement of his chest showed he was still
breathing. And he looked so sick! A pasty-yellow color accentuated
the rings around his eyes, and his hair was matted to his head.

Early’s next report was that the Lorkon to
the south had turned around to head back their way. Jacob stopped
her before she left. “Go get September. I need both of you here
with me now.”

She flew off, and a split second later, both
she and September returned.

“The Fat Lady’s cabin is right over there,”
Jacob said, pointing. “I’m going to make a run for it. But first,
September, I need you to fly ahead and let her know we’re on our
way. Early, help send him off, please.”

Light flashed, and September was gone. He
returned only moments later. “She said you need to have the Key
out, ready to use, and she’ll tell you what to do.”

Jacob shifted Akeno to one arm and pulled his
bag off his shoulder, grabbing the beautiful box that contained the
Key. He opened it, jumping when its sweet melody poured out. He
removed the Key, then peeked around the tree to see if the music
had caught the attention of the Lorkon. It hadn’t.

The clouds rolled, warning of Lirone’s
appearance. A dark spot moved by the shore, and without having to
ask Early, Jacob knew it was a Lorkon.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said, putting the box
and his bag away. He took a deep breath. “September, you keep a
lookout on the left, Early to the right. Fly back and forth between
me and those Lorkon as fast as you can, keeping me aware of their
every move. I need to know exactly where they are the entire time.
Be careful they don’t see you.”

Taking another deep breath, Jacob stepped
around the tree, holding Akeno securely. Then, putting all his
energy into his already tired legs, he took off as fast as he could
toward the Fat Lady’s cabin.

Only a few seconds passed before Lirone
spotted him, making his presence known by taking away all sound. A
sudden explosion to the right nearly knocked Jacob over, and he
stumbled along, trying to stay on his feet. An explosion behind him
was followed by one in front. Jacob lurched to the side, avoiding
the huge hole that was created, nearly dropping Akeno in the
process. The remaining distance grew shorter. Early flitted to his
side, yelling in his ear. Jacob was surprised she could still
speak, then realized she was too small for Lirone to see.

“The Lorkon by the lake just spotted you.
He’s on his way.”

September appeared on Jacob’s other side,
yelling that the Lorkon from the mountain was also in pursuit.

The ground all around Jacob was pelted by
several smaller explosions, many of which missed him by a few
feet.

“Hurry, Jacob!” Early yelled. “Hurry!”

Jacob watched as a large blast of fire
bounced off of the Fat Lady’s cabin and fell into the brush out of
sight. Her house wasn’t harmed in any way. Another huge blast went
off in front of him, and he veered to avoid the hole. The
explosions were much bigger now, and coming more rapidly, but
something was odd. If Lirone wanted to, he could easily hit Jacob,
so why didn’t he? There were no trees providing cover this time,
just the wide-open meadow through which Jacob ran. What was going
on?

“You must run faster!” Early yelled. She
paused. “I have an idea. Can I use it?”

Jacob nodded, nearly dropping Akeno when an
explosion went off right behind him.

Early disappeared, and seconds later Jacob
felt warmth spread through his body, originating from a spot on his
back. He felt as though his calves had been given an immense supply
of energy. He put on a burst of speed, feeling he was about to lift
off the ground. There were less than a hundred yards to go when
Lirone’s bombardment suddenly stopped.

The Fat Lady stood on the step of her cabin,
waving her arms and yelling. He could only pick out one
word—
diamonds
. He looked at the Key still clenched in one of
his fists, then back up at her, confused.

“Diamonds!” she screamed.

“She said to slide the two diamonds!”
September said.

Jacob shook his head, not understanding.

“The diamonds move!” September yelled.

Jacob slung Akeno over his left shoulder,
using both hands to hold the Key up to his face as he ran. He
located the two different diamonds and fiddled around with his
thumbs. The diamonds slid until they were aligned with each
other.

Jacob looked up at the Fat Lady, ready for
her next instructions, running free without the shock waves ramming
his body.

The Fat Lady yelled again. “Put the Key in my
door and turn it to the left! Go to Taga Village!”

Jacob still had about forty yards to go. The
ground in front of him was level and hard, and he risked a quick
glance over his shoulder. He wished almost immediately he hadn’t
done so.

The nearest Lorkon was only a foot outside of
grabbing distance. Nearly stumbling in fright, Jacob yelled,
noticing he could hear his voice again. He willed his body to move
even faster.

“September . . . do something . . . Lorkon.”
he gasped, readjusting Akeno so he was easier to carry. The muscles
in Jacob’s arms and shoulders were burning.

“Okay.” September disappeared.

“Arrgh!”

Jacob looked back just in time to see the
Lorkon face-plant into the dirt. He saw a second Lorkon only ten or
so feet behind the first, with the third nearly having caught up as
well. Akeno started to convulse in Jacob’s arms, causing Jacob
nearly to drop him.

“Are you ready?” the Fat Lady yelled.

“Yes!” Jacob gasped. His lungs were burning
so badly, he was afraid he’d pass out from lack of air. They were
down to fifteen yards.

“Do you know what to do?”

“To the left, Taga Village.”

“Shut the door behind you or they’ll follow
you.” The Fat Lady went into her cottage and shut the door.

The third Lorkon caught up to him.
“September, Early! Stop the Lorkon!” Jacob shouted just as he took
the last few leaps toward the door.

Reaching out, he put the Key in the hole.

“Taga Village!” he yelled, turning the Key to
the left. He swung the door open. Running through, he spun around
and tried to shut the door in the face of the Lorkon, but the door
bounced open again. Jacob took an instinctive step back. The Lorkon
had stopped the door from shutting with his foot. An evil,
disgusting smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Now you are ours,” the Lorkon said.

Jacob saw something small go flitting through
the air, and the Lorkon flew across the open space, blasted away
from the cabin.

Before the other Lorkon got the chance to
rush through the door, Jacob slammed it shut, making sure it
clicked this time.

Back to Top

J
acob
took in a deep breath, a familiar musty-wood smell entering his
nose, then turned around. He was in the big tree in Taga Village,
and none of the Lorkon had followed him. Letting out the air, he
stood still, allowing his mind to relax from the stress it had just
experienced. He shifted Akeno’s position, put the Key in its box,
then made himself go outside.

The sun had almost set, casting long shadows
all over the canyon. He was grateful it was almost night. His eyes
ached from a headache that had built up behind them, and he looked
forward to having as little light around him as possible.

Forcing his legs to continue to hold him up,
he limped toward the side of the village. “Help! Is anyone
there?”

“Jacob?” a voice called to him from the
ledge. It was Ebony. “Oh, Jacob, you’re back, you’re back!” She
began crying, calling out for Brojan and Kenji. Kenji rushed to her
side, then saw Jacob. “Help him,” Brojan said to a few Makalo men
who had gathered.

Jacob raised Akeno as high as his arms would
let him, and one of the men climbed down and lifted him the rest of
the way.

Climbing as carefully as he could, Jacob
pulled himself over the top. One of the men supported him as he
rushed with Kenji, Ebony, and Brojan to Akeno’s house.

Kenji laid Akeno on the table, and he and
Ebony went to work, acting as a team to cleanse Akeno’s leg. Ebony
soaked strips of cloth, then handed them to Kenji, who wiped the
ooze from Akeno’s leg. Pretty soon the leg was as clean as they
could get it. Kenji poured the rest of the liquid into the main
part of the wound, which had expanded to cover Akeno’s entire lower
leg.

Kenji glanced at Ebony with a worried
expression on his face. “If the fever doesn’t break—”

“Wait!” Ebony gasped. “I think we might
have—” She ran out of the room, still talking, her voice muffled by
the wall. “Potion . . . you . . . last time . . .” She came back,
carrying a very familiar vial. “I saved this.”

Kenji relaxed. “Oh, thank goodness . . .
here, let me.” Using an extra cloth, he wiped up the liquid he’d
poured in Akeno’s sore, then put a couple of drops from the vial
into the wound. He then forced Akeno’s jaw open and poured the rest
of the liquid in his mouth.

Ebony wrapped the sore with strips of cloth,
then hurried out of the room, returning with her arms full of
sheets. Kenji took a couple and handed them to Jacob. “Wrap him as
tightly as you can from head to foot.”

Jacob started at Akeno’s head, leaving a
space around his nose to breath. Ebony started at his midsection,
and Kenji at his feet. Brojan held the sheets in place until they
were secured.

“The sheets hold in his body heat—heat the
potion needs in order to be activated.” Kenji turned to Ebony. “How
long did it take for me to heal?”

“Two minutes, maybe more. His situation is
fairly similar to yours.” She put her arm around her husband.
“He’ll be fine.” She smiled at Jacob. “Last time, I was the one
stressing over whether Kenji would live, but I didn’t need to
stress. The Fat Lady really knows her stuff.”

After a few moments, Kenji pulled the sheet
off Akeno’s head. His face was pink again, the dark circles gone.
“It’s working!”

Ebony gave Kenji another hug. “Wonderful.”
She glanced at Jacob. “Oh, Jacob, I’ll love you forever for what
you’ve done for my son.” Her eyes welled up with tears, and Jacob
stared at his feet. He was grateful Akeno would be all right, but
felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment at the praise.

“You look exhausted.” She sniffed, and her
nose wrinkled. “And you definitely need to bathe.”

A weary smile crossed Jacob’s face. “Sorry.”
He pulled out the box with the Key of Kilenya inside and handed it
to Ebony. “Here, take the Key.”

Ebony held the container in her hands, her
expression one of gratitude. “We knew you’d be able to do it.”

“There was no doubt,” Kenji said. He took the
box and opened it. The familiar tune filled the room, and peaceful
colors danced across the walls.

“Wow,” Kenji said. The Makalos all looked at
Jacob.

“What?” Jacob asked.

“You know it’s only doing this because you’re
near it, right?” Kenji asked.

Jacob shrugged. “That’s what the Lorkon king
said.”

Kenji raised an eyebrow. He didn’t speak for
a moment. “He would know.”

Ebony took the box from Kenji and handed it
to Brojan. “Oh, poor Jacob, you’re exhausted. You can sleep in the
tree. It's very safe, and we haven’t had any problems with the
wolves since you and Akeno left. We’ve fastened a temporary
covering over the entrance that should last for a couple of days.
It’ll keep out any unwanted visitors, including the Lorkon and
their dogs. Or, if you’d rather not take chances, I can make up a
bed here on the floor. We’ll talk tomorrow morning before you head
back home.”

Jacob considered the options—safety verses
comfort. “I think I’ll give the tree a shot.”

“I’ll take him now.” Brojan stood.

“Now? But—”

“There will be plenty of time for
conversation tomorrow,” Brojan said.

Kenji looked up from checking on Akeno. “We
really need to talk about everything that happened, but you’re in
no shape at this time. Don’t worry—we’ll have a good conversation
as soon as you’re awake.”

“Will the Fat Lady be okay?”

“She’ll be completely fine. The spells on her
cabin are strong and won’t let anyone in who shouldn’t be
there.”

Ebony hugged Jacob, thanking him over and
over again for returning her son. Kenji also gave Jacob a big hug,
telling him goodnight.

Brojan led the way out of the house. He
looked at Jacob for a minute, then nodded. “It is you, Jacob. Yes,
you are exactly what we need.”