Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (28 page)

Eachan studied them, a curious expression on his face. He locked eyes with Jacob 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 to the town hall or Maivoryl City.”

“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? 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. There’s a chance the Lorkon don’t know you’re here already, and you need to get to the castle before they find out. Otherwise, everything we’ve gone through will have been for nothing. They’ll never just let you take the Key and get out—you have to know that. What happens if you don’t get it? 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 and 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’ll only 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. We appreciate it.”

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 sprung 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 more time before they turned a bend. The people didn’t pursue 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, bent over and put 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, 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. “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.

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 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 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 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 sprinted 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, 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.

“Why did you do that?” Akeno whispered. “Wouldn’t we want to leave it open?”

“Uh . . . I didn’t think that far ahead. I just didn’t want the Lorkon to know which way we’d come in.”

They turned to survey what Jacob had thought would be the inner courtyard but might be a room in the castle, as it was walled off, and there was a roof overhead. Light streamed through a few windows near the ceiling, making it possible for Jacob to see a door on the opposite side. Crossing the room, Jacob put his hand on the doorknob, ready to open it. Thinking better of the idea, though, he reached to pull his bag down from off his back. One of the Minyas could make sure there wasn’t anything dangerous on the other side of the door before he walked through it.

“Oh, no . . .” he groaned.

Akeno jumped. “What?”

“I still have Aloren’s bag! I completely forgot to give it back to her!”

“You can give it back when we reach the tunnel. She probably won’t need it before then.”

Jacob nodded in agreement, then frowned, looking around the room. “What was I doing? Oh, yeah.” He opened his bag and whispered into it. “September, I need you. Keep to the shadows and see if you can go through the keyhole in this door. If you can, inspect the area on the other side, then come tell us if it’s safe to open the door.”

September flitted to the keyhole, and, after wriggling around, was able to get through. Moments later he returned to tell them there was a courtyard on the other side of the door, and no one was there. “There’s also a servants’ entrance to the castle. I checked the room where it leads, and there wasn’t anyone in it, either.”

Jacob opened the door and poked his head through. As September had said, the place was empty. Motioning for Akeno and September to follow, Jacob crossed the courtyard and sneaked through the door.

Shutting the door behind them, Jacob inspected the room they’d just entered. It was a large kitchen and looked as though it hadn’t been used for quite some time. He ran across the room to the door on the opposite side, and once again had September go through the keyhole. September returned to inform them that the hallway on the other side was empty as well.

Jacob quietly opened the door, glancing through the crack. There were many doors leading off the hallway, and he turned to Akeno. “Where do we go to find the Key?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t really think about what we would do once we got inside.”

Jacob folded his arms, looking around the room, trying to decide what to do. “We could always just start trying doors to see where they lead.” He shook his head. “No, that’s a dumb idea and would definitely draw attention to us. Better to get in and out as quickly as possible.”

Just as he said this, he was suddenly overcome with vertigo. He sank to the floor, feeling feverish, and blood pounded hard in his head.