Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (11 page)

He sprawled on his back again. Why
had
Akeno been the only one affected by the trees? Why hadn’t they bothered Jacob? “Maybe the magic of your world doesn’t apply to humans,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Akeno said. “But you might be immune to bad magic.”

“How ‘bout we not do anything to test
that
theory.” Jacob wanted to avoid anything that would cause Akeno to go back to how he had acted earlier. He propped himself up on his elbow. “Why weren’t the Minyas overcome by it?”

“The same reason the laws of physics don’t affect them,” Akeno said. “Their magic doesn’t allow it. Very rarely do they come across something that does bother them.”

“We couldn’t enter the forest,” September said, floating above them. “We tried to follow, but something stopped us—perhaps a magic.”

Jacob sat up, shading his eyes from the sun. “But what if we hadn’t come back?”

“Then we would have informed Brojan and Kenji,” September said.

Jacob faced Akeno. “We can ask your dad about the forest and the room in the house and everything. They’d probably know why it all happened.” He turned to find the Minyas. “Early, take a message to Akeno’s parents and Brojan, telling them about how we saw an insane woman and found a manor full of dead people. Then let us know what they say.”

Early disappeared and Jacob sat and pulled food out of his bag. He was starving, and practically stuffed his mouth full of jerky and cheese. Once they’d finished, he put the food away. “Tell me more about Rezend. How do you target the wolves’ hearing?”

“I use Rezend to make a loud noise.”

“Gee, I would never have guessed.” He snorted. “Seriously. How does it knock them out?”

“Well, I concentrate on them while I create a sort of shockwave that targets ears. The shockwave is really powerful, and it knocks them out. It’ll target almost any living thing, but if used too frequently, it isn’t as effective.”

Jacob took a drink of water out of the canteen, then stared at it. It looked like it came from Walmart. He smiled to himself. They sat in silence for a while, waiting for Early to return.

“What other things can you do with your Rezend?” Jacob asked.

Akeno’s face turned thoughtful, and he took a moment to answer. “I can use it as a light. My left ring finger—where the Rezend is centered—will glow brightly when I want. Rezend can control electricity, and particles to an extent.” He rummaged through his bag, popped a grape into his mouth, and lay in the grass. “And water too. Plumbing, lighting, etc.”

Akeno got to his knees, about to say something more, then stopped short.

The two black wolves sat on the forest edge, watching them.

“Not this again,” Jacob said.

“It’s definitely annoying.”

“Let’s just ignore them. I’m positive they’re making sure we’re not returning to Taga Village.”

Jacob looked at the trail in the opposite direction. Not far away was a grove of trees with a small cabin in the middle. Taller trees grew beyond that. The mountains to the south were big, though not as tall as the mountains even farther than them. There were acres and acres of gently rolling hills between the forest behind them and the mountains ahead.

When he turned back, he saw that the wolves had left. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, Early returned. “Kenji and Brojan didn’t say a lot. They gave me honey, though! They didn’t see the lady in the forest when they tried to leave Taga. Ebony wants to know what the woman said to you.” She looked at Jacob expectantly.

“I . . .” Jacob thought back. He could picture the woman—could see her mouthing the word, but nothing came to mind. Everything had happened so quickly, and she’d been so pretty. He felt a blush creeping across his face. “I . . . uh. I can’t remember.” He stared at his hands, feeling sheepish. “Tell them I said sorry.”

Early grinned and disappeared, then reappeared moments later. “They said to let them know if and when you remember,” she said. “It could be very important.”

Jacob agreed. “Is that everything?”

“No. They said to go see Aldo. Ask him what he knows about the forest and the Key.” She pointed at the cabin. “That’s where he lives.”

The group gathered their things and followed the trail to the grove, soon reaching the path that led to Aldo’s place.

“Someone’s home,” Jacob said, motioning to the smoke that rose from the chimney.

Akeno nodded, stopping near one of the trees. “I wonder how these will treat me—I’m not feeling any negative emotions. Maybe I should check what’s going on around us?”

“Yeah, do. I’ll be right here to pull you away in case it tries to hit you.”

“Okay, here we go.”

Akeno reached his left hand to the tree, carefully touching the bark. When nothing happened, he visibly relaxed. “No danger here—the wolves must’ve stayed in the forest.” He plucked a bunch of leaves, then sat on the ground and taped them to his shoes.

When Akeno was finished, Jacob led the way to the cabin. He knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened. An old man with a large nose, a sparse, scraggly beard, and frizzy gray hair poked his head out.

“Squirrels said the clock was today?”

Jacob cleared his throat. “We’re looking for Aldo. Is that you?”

The man straightened and put his hand on his chest. “Aldo is me? Of course it is! The smile was pretty today. Why didn’t you take it?”

“Take what?” Jacob exchanged a glance with Akeno. “I don’t get it.”

“Sometimes, when purple raspberries come, they win plates. And you’re happy to be yesterday!” The old man’s lips lifted in a huge grin, revealing crooked, dirty teeth. “Children, children, children. Why even try? Squirrels are so much more effective.”

Akeno and Jacob looked at each other again, and Jacob raised his eyebrow. This was weird.

Aldo beckoned them into the cabin, ushering them to a couple of chairs next to a table. The front room, which doubled as a dining room, was small and dingy.

Sitting down, the old man picked up a teapot and motioned toward some cups on the table. “Stop here with bottles? I wouldn’t have gone to the store for a pixie if I were you.”

“Uh, no thanks,” Jacob said, wondering how long ago the man had lost his senses. No wonder the Makalos weren’t able to find out what was going on with him—he probably wouldn’t even let the Minyas near him.

“Oh, I forgot! Ladies! It means that they themselves once walked. Or maybe it was magic. Or perhaps it was that they couldn’t leave home if they wanted it.”

“Sure,” Jacob said. He looked around the room, noticing that the walls were covered with knickknacks, pots, and a few old photographs. Photographs? Jacob wished he were sitting closer so he could inspect them. Trying to remain focused on the here and now, he turned his attention back to their host, but caught himself staring at the man’s extremely large nose. He quickly looked away, realizing too late he should have been more discreet.

Aldo nodded. “The same place I’d be without my dazzling smile.”

Jacob noticed that Aldo was staring at him as well, but with an almost knowing expression. He avoided the old man’s gaze and instead glanced at Akeno, who had a big grin on his face. Jacob kicked Akeno’s leg under the table, frowning at him and shaking his head.

Akeno’s smile disappeared. He cleared his throat and looked at Aldo. “We were wondering what you can tell us about the Key of Kilenya.”

“The sunset is really cool. But if the dispenser’s broken—now, that’s irreplaceable.”

Jacob sighed inwardly. They were wasting their time.

Suddenly, the old man stood, knocking his chair over in the process, and left the room through a door in the back wall. Jacob heard him moving things around. Both boys jumped at the sound of a loud crash, followed by a yell and a stream of angry words.

Jacob snickered. “I understood that,” he whispered.

When Aldo returned, he was carrying a bucket of nuts. He grabbed one of them, showed it to Jacob, and laughed, saying, “Squirrels don’t come here. I’ll show you why.” Then he threw the nut at Jacob.

Jacob jumped out of his chair. “Hey! That hurt!”

“You too?” Aldo turned to Akeno, but Akeno was too fast for him and jumped out of the way.

Jacob couldn’t help but laugh at the devastated look on the old man’s face when he realized he hadn’t hit his target.

Aldo’s expression turned to one of anger. He put the bucket down, grabbed a handful of nuts, and chucked them at top speed, hitting both boys. Then he laughed gleefully and jumped up and down, clapping his hands.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jacob said. “He’s crazy!”

They ran outside, doing their best to dodge the nuts that were being flung at them. It only took a couple of seconds to reach the main trail, where they were joined by the Minyas. Looking over his shoulder, Jacob saw that the old man continued throwing nuts, even though the boys had already gone a fair distance.

“That was kind of funny, actually,” Jacob said. “Did you understand anything he said?”

“No, nothing. Did you?”

“The words, yes. The context, not at all. I would’ve dropped to the ground laughing if he hadn’t been trying to kill us.”

“I really don’t think we can expect any help from him.”

Jacob chuckled as they slowed to a walk and exited the small grove of trees. “No, obviously not. We should tell Kenji and Brojan that he’s gone crazy, though.” He turned to Early and asked her to take a message to the village. She left quickly, returning a moment later.

“They were very surprised. Aldo played an important role in the war, was a great friend, and they’re upset to hear what has become of him. They’d hoped he’d be able to explain more to you about this world and what to expect.”

Jacob watched Early for a minute. He could only imagine the pain Kenji, Brojan, and Ebony were feeling right now. They’d have no closure, and since they hadn’t left Taga in several years, they would have no way of finding out what had happened to Aldo. Jacob couldn’t remember his grandparents—they died before he was born—but he knew it had been difficult for his parents. Maybe Aldo had been like a grandparent to the Makalos—Early did say he was practically a member of the family.

Jacob frowned—if Aldo couldn’t help them figure things out, who could? They hadn’t run into anyone besides Aldo and the woman in the forest. And from the looks of this desolate valley, it would be a while before they would. What if they never found help? Would they be killed before even reaching the Lorkon castle? It seemed likely—neither he nor Akeno had experience in this part of the world, and they wouldn’t know who to trust.

Akeno seemed to be waiting for Jacob to make a decision.

“All right,” Jacob said. “I guess we should just keep following this path.” He dragged his hands down his face, then attempted a smile. “Hopefully we’ll find someone who can tell us what to do.” For some reason, he felt the need to put on a positive front for Akeno.

The trail led them south through a pretty little valley next to the tall trees Jacob had seen earlier. It was early afternoon—the sun was hot, and the scent of the wildflowers all around was refreshing. Jacob settled into a comfortable walking pace.

About forty-five minutes later, Jacob was no longer enjoying the scenery. The sun was bearing down, and the air felt humid. The wind rustled the leaves on the upper branches of the trees, but it wasn’t reaching them on the ground.

Jacob tried not to focus on the sweat trickling down his back, but was unsuccessful. He felt grimy—especially after the forest and the manor.

The Minyas were playing a game of tag, flitting around Akeno and Jacob’s heads, when all of a sudden they paused, floating still in the air. Early let out a squeal, and the two of them took off through the trees to the left of the trail. Jacob raised an eyebrow and looked at Akeno, who shrugged and followed the Minyas.

In the middle of the forest was a little lake with water so clear the bottom was visible. Jacob jumped forward, hoping to cool off, but Akeno stopped him. He pointed farther up the lake. A bear was partway in the water, staring into the depths. Jacob realized it was a Rog when he saw the human hands.

The Minyas flitted past, both giggling, zooming toward the Rog. There was a flash of light and the Rog soared over the water, landing with a splash. It surfaced, sputtering.

“Oh, no,” Akeno said. “Uh . . . Jacob, we might want to run. Fast.”

“Why?”

Akeno pointed. A huge Rog—much larger than the one who’d attacked Jacob in Taga—exited the forest only fifteen feet away. It shuffled to the water’s edge and took a drink.

Just then, the Minyas flitted up to it and with another flash, thrust it into the water. Except this time, they didn’t push it far enough. It bounded out of the lake, spotted Jacob and Akeno, and roared, standing on its hind legs.

Jacob spun around and ran as fast as he could. The Minyas zoomed alongside him, giggling so hard they were almost bent in half. A sudden urge to whack them out of the air nearly overwhelmed Jacob, but he concentrated on getting away from the Rog instead.

He and Akeno were nearly separated several times. That Makalo was fast! After a moment, though, Akeno grabbed Jacob and pulled him. They stumbled through underbrush, barely staying ahead.