Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (38 page)

“Good question,” Kenji said. “Remember the enchantments on the Fat Lady’s cabin? We put similar spells around the canyon, minus the entrance.” He sighed. “We never intended for the entrance to be completely impassible, and so it was the weakest point. We didn’t think about Yoons—they were extinct, according to our information—so the Lorkon were able to use them successfully to gain access to Taga when they stole the Key.”

Ebony handed out cups of water. When she got to Jacob, she took his hands and examined the blisters. “Nothing some sap won’t cure.” She left the room, returning moments later with a package, which she opened.

“Why weren’t those spells put over the entrance to the village?” Matt asked as everyone sat at Kenji’s table. “I mean, you had the Key.”

Kenji took a long drink from his cup, then lowered it. “Once the spells are put in place, they are nearly impossible to break, even for the one who created them. We needed to leave one vulnerable spot for us to enter and exit by, just in case we had problems with the Key.”

Jacob frowned. “What about Minyas needing to communicate with the other people in Eklaron? They won’t be able to get through the entrance anymore.”

“Minyas are able to exit the village at will. We’ve lifted the order that keeps them from coming and going. The spells have no influence on them anyway. When it comes to anyone else . . . We were hoping the Key would be of assistance, but . . .” Kenji looked at Jacob, a thoughtful expression on his face. “It doesn’t work.”

“Really? There weren’t any problems for me.” Jacob held out his hands for Ebony to patch up.

“Well, we think it may only work for you.” Kenji drank the last of his water, then pushed his chair back. “Only one way to find out.” He left the room through one of the three back doors.

Ebony finished wrapping Jacob’s hands, and he stood to stretch. He laughed when he spotted the print he’d left on the wall two weeks ago. Pointing it out to Matt, he said, “I did this before I knew I had the ability to mold things.”

“That’s pretty awesome. Your handprint will forever be on the wall. What a legacy, Jake.”

Jacob laughed, embarrassed, then turned to Akeno. “I can fix it now. Sorry it stayed for so long.”

Akeno shook his head. “No, don’t. We want to keep it. The first of your abilities, manifested here in our home. It’s kind of an honor.” He looked down at his feet, a blush creeping across his cheeks.

Jacob flushed too, especially when Matt laughed and punched him on the shoulder, making some juvenile comment about his mark being an honor.

Kenji finally returned, carrying the ornate box Jacob had taken from the Lorkon castle.

“Sorry it took so long. It seems Kaiya has been using the Key as a toy.” He half-smiled at Ebony. “We’ll need to talk to her about that.” Kenji stopped, his jaw dropping, and stared at the box. The container had begun to glow, and a faint strain of familiar music emanated from it.

Jacob smiled, glad to hear the melody again, and reluctant to admit it was nice to have the Key back in his presence. The Makalos had told him he had a connection to this Key, and he felt it now. The desire to hold it, to protect it, to keep it always with him washed over him, making him blink. Whoa. That was a bit over the top. It was just a bit of metal, for crying out loud.

Kenji nodded. “Just as I’d hoped. The Key comes to life around you.” He handed the box to Jacob. “You
are
the only who can use it.”

Jacob opened the box and wasn’t surprised by the burst of music and light—but Matt was. He yelled and jumped back, holding his hands in front of him defensively.

“Oh, geez,” Jacob said, laughing. “It’s just a harmless old key.”

Matt smiled sheepishly, dropping his arms. “You never know. There are a lot of things here that are really kinda crazy. And after what happened to you in that castle, I don’t want to be bewitched or something.”

Jacob snorted. “You won’t be.”

“All right, why don’t you try it out?” Kenji said.

Jacob approached the door, then got on his knees so he could watch the Key closely right as it went into the lock. He’d been wondering how it fit different locks—he was in too much of a hurry when he’d used it to get through the Fat Lady’s cabin door. Matt watched over Jacob’s shoulder as he inspected it closely. It had teeth on the end just like all the other skeleton keys he’d seen in movies. He frowned. They couldn’t possibly fit every door the same.

Jacob slowly moved the Key toward the hole. A smile crept across his face as the teeth and shaft vibrated slightly, then morphed into the shape of the lock.

“Wow,” Matt said. “That was freakin’ amazing! Do it again! Faster this time.”

Jacob pulled the Key away, watching it change back. Then he brought it to the hole. The vibration was barely noticeable, and everything happened so quickly, Jacob almost didn’t see the change until it was complete. “That’s really cool,” he said.

He got to his feet, put the Key in the front door’s lock, turned it left, and said, “The tree.” He opened the door, revealing the inside of the hollowed-out tree, showing that the Key had actually worked by creating a link between the two locations. Three Makalos looked up in surprise from some maps spread across the table.

“Just . . . testing the Key out . . . you know,” Jacob said, stepping back and shutting the door.

“Wonderful!” Kenji said, then a frown crossed his face. “Now we have to figure out why others can’t use it.”

Matt jumped forward and grabbed the Key from Jacob’s hands. “Here, let me.” He put the Key into the lock, turned it, and said, “Mountain Crest High School,” then opened the door. The high school wasn’t on the other side, though—just the canyon and Makalo dwellings.

“Why am I the only one who can use it? It doesn’t make sense.” Jacob sat in a chair. “Does this mean I’ll be running a lot of errands?”

Brojan nodded, joining the group at the table. “Starting with right now.”

Ebony held up her hand. “Starting tomorrow. I’m sure their mom wants them home soon.”

Jacob frowned. “Oh, yeah. We have chores.”

“We’ll have a meeting tomorrow evening around five o’clock your time,” Kenji said. “That should give you the opportunity to finish homework. And keep the Key with you—in case there’s another emergency and we need your help again.”

Jacob jogged to the orange gym during lunch the next day, but was disappointed to find it empty. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Tani, Josh, and Gus.

“No basketball today,” Josh said. As usual, he looked immaculate—hair in place, expensive-looking clothes. His parents were really wealthy and liked Josh to dress nicely. Luckily, none of this ever went to his head—he didn’t care that he was richer than his friends. “The front office is having a meeting with all the admins instead, and since the admins ref the games, no game today.”

Disappointment flowed through Jacob. “How stupid is that?”

Tani flipped her hair. “Yeah, totally.”

“So, come eat with us,” Gus said. He was skinny and shorter than Jacob by nearly a foot, but one of the funniest people Jacob had ever known.

Lunch went quickly. The group of friends chattered around Jacob—Gus taking on a dare to eat as much ketchup as possible, with Tani and Josh cheering him on—but Jacob could only think about two topics: the Key in his backpack, and having missed basketball again.

The group split up after lunch was over, and Jacob followed Tani to their science class. They plopped down in the back.

The teacher, Mrs. Wiley—a plump woman in her sixties or so—wasn’t ready to start class, so the room filled with chatter.

A girl with long, blonde hair sat in front of Jacob and turned to talk to him. Her eyes were lined with electric blue makeup, and she had on a ton of bright pink lipstick. Jacob tried not to shudder when he thought about what it would be like to kiss her—he’d probably get glued to her mouth. If it weren’t for all the makeup, she’d actually be sort of cute.

“Hi, Jacob,” she said breathily. “You remember me, right? Shirley?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

Whoa. Did she really just pull that move? Jacob’s jaw dropped. He didn’t know girls did that in real life—in movies, yes, but in actual high school? He clamped his mouth shut when she giggled at him.

“Did you have a good summer? I hope so. I’ll bet you played a lot of basketball. You’re
so
good at basketball.” Shirley paused, her face lighting up. “Oh, you should come play at my house! My dad just put in a court.” She twirled her hair with her fingers, looking down, then glanced sidelong at him and batted her eyelashes again. “Then, maybe, we could go out and do something . . . after.”

Jacob stared at her, trying to figure out what to say.

She took his silence the wrong way and winked at him. “I’ll call you later.”

He blinked twice and turned to Tani, who had an incredulous expression on her face.

Tani shook her head quickly, as if to clear her thoughts. “Wow,” she whispered.

Jacob pulled a notepad and pencil out of his backpack, preparing to take notes once class started. He couldn’t believe how forward Shirley had been. He
was
in high school now, though. Maybe girls were different here.

Tani leaned forward. “So, you still haven’t told me about your summer,” she said. “Did you . . .” she paused for dramatic effect, “meet someone?”

Jacob froze in his seat, the hand with the pencil in it hovering above his notepad.

Tani laughed. “Oh, you did, didn’t you!”

Jacob shrugged, feeling his cheeks redden. He wasn’t sure how much—if anything—he wanted to tell Tani about Aloren. It wasn’t as if Aloren were interested in him. Sure, she was cute, but she hadn’t acted like she was attracted to him.

Shirley spun in her seat so fast, she almost fell out. “You met someone?” she said, a pout fighting with the irritation on her face. “Well, I
hope
she
likes
you.” Jacob raised his eyebrows in surprise at the venom in her words. She whipped around to face the front, jerked her arms across her chest, and slumped in her seat.

Jacob looked at Tani and whispered, “What the . . .? Who is she, anyway?”

Tani leaned over and quietly said, “Shirley Christensen. She’s had a crush on you since the third grade.”

“Why didn’t I ever know?”

“’Cause she only tells girls. Plus, you don’t notice much of that sort of thing, and I’ve kept it from you—best friends do that. I know how much she annoyed you two years ago when you worked on that project together.”

Jacob frowned in concentration. He couldn’t remember having had a project with Shirley.

Tani must have noticed his confusion. “Science? She lied about her side of the project? Got you both in trouble?”

Jacob nodded slowly, the memory coming back. “Oh, yeah, I remember.”

Finally, the teacher called the class to order. A groan spread through the room when she announced there would be alphabetical seating, by last name.

She went down the list. Andrus. Benson. Brown. Christensen—

Shirley grabbed her bag and dashed to her seat, her hair flipping at least two students as she passed.

“She’s pathetic,” Tani whispered.

Mrs. Wiley continued. Clark. The seat behind Shirley. Jacob moaned and picked up his bag. He practically dragged himself to his new seat. He was hoping he’d be able to find a way
not
to sit near her.

“Oh, Jake!” Shirley said, apparently having forgiven him already. “You get to sit behind me!” She put a hand on his arm and lowered her eyes. “Maybe Mrs. Wiley will give us a project to do together.”

Jacob pulled his arm away and looked around desperately for Tani. She ended up being on the opposite side of the room where she couldn’t offer moral support. Tani shot a withering glance at Shirley, then half-smiled at Jacob as if to apologize for his situation.

Mrs. Wiley handed out a reading assignment, then started class.

Jacob threw his backpack on the couch and walked into the kitchen, slumping onto a bar stool. He didn’t have any homework, so he had time to kill before heading to Taga Village.

His mom looked up from the newspaper she was reading. “How was school?”