Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (46 page)

The next day after school, Jacob sat on his bed, massaging his feet. They were still sore from yesterday’s adventures.

His eyes drifted to the stuff that had come out of Aloren’s bag when he and Matt opened it. He hadn’t touched anything since then—the comb, box, strings, key, or parchment. Acting on impulse, Jacob picked up the parchment, wanting to know what was written on it. He sat on his bed again.

To you who is in possession of my bag,

Please return it to Gallus, the shop owner in Macaria. If it isn’t with me, you can safely assume someone’s life, under my care, may be at risk.

Jacob’s eyebrows raised and he jumped up. “Matt?” he called. No answer. He left his room and went into Matt’s. “Read this.”

Matt took the parchment and scanned it. “Did this come out of Aloren’s bag?”

Jacob nodded. “Yeah. Why didn’t she tell me anything about it?”

Matt shrugged. “Don’t know. Get her stuff—we’d better go see Gallus.”

Jacob agreed. He ran to his room, put Aloren’s things back in the bag, then Keyed himself and Matt to the shop in Macaria.

Gallus was helping someone at the counter when the brothers entered. They waited, browsing the aisles.

When Gallus finished, Jacob handed him the note.

“Oh, no. Hazel.” He raced to the door, then spun around. “Is there a key in that bag?”

“Yes,” Jacob said, pulling it out. He handed it to Gallus.

The black man took the key and jumped to the door.

“Wait!” Jacob called. “Where are you going? Maybe I can use the Key of Kilenya to get us there.”

Gallus looked mildly annoyed, then agreed. “To Aloren’s tower.”

Jacob put the Key in Gallus’s lock and said, “Aloren’s tower.” He opened the door, not sure what he’d see behind it.

What greeted them was definitely not what he was expecting. The room was large and circular, with many windows. It was bright and cheerful. Fabrics with playful patterns adorned the walls, drapes were at the windows, and Aloren’s bed was nicely made. Not a thing appeared to be out of order.

Gallus strode to a desk and started going through the drawers. Obviously not finding what he searched for, he ran to look beneath the bed, pulled a loose stone up from under it, and dug around in the items there.

“Can we help?” Matt asked.

Gallus only grunted in reply. He stepped around a hole in the floor where stones had fallen through, and, mumbling to himself, went to a wardrobe against another wall. He flung it open, revealing scores and scores of dresses and other feminine clothes. Jacob wondered where Aloren got them, then wondered why she didn’t wear them. He shook his head at himself—her leather clothes would offer much more protection against weather and danger than those dresses.

Finally, after digging through a few more things in Aloren’s room, Gallus turned to Jacob. Impatience and frustration filled his voice. “I’m looking for a silver box—a Minya box.”

Realization dawned on Jacob. He dug through Aloren’s bag and pulled out the silver container. “This?”

“Give it to me,” Gallus said, hand extended. He snatched the box from Jacob and opened it, then sighed in relief. Jacob and Matt crowded around him when they saw what was in it.

A female Minya backed into the corner of the box. Her hair was black and slightly curly. Her skin was pale—paler than Early’s. And she looked frightened.

“Aloren?” she asked.

Gallus shook his head. “I’m sorry, Hazel. She’s not here.”

“Why?”

“Ask him.” Gallus handed the container to Jacob.

Hazel looked up at him expectantly.

“Uh . . .” How on earth was he supposed to explain things to her? “Well, Aloren, Akeno, and I went to get the Key of Kilenya, and Aloren asked me to carry her bag for her in a really dangerous place, and I forgot to give it back.” He cleared his throat. “And she’s stuck in Maivoryl City now.”

“I want to be with her.” She folded her arms and scowled.

Jacob hesitated again. “You can’t—Maivoryl City won’t let you enter, and I can’t go back until the Makalos give me permission.” He saw the disappointment on her face and rushed on. “But I promise that as soon as I do go, I’ll take you with me, okay?”

A smile crept across her features. “Yes, I’d like that.”

Gallus took the container from Jacob, but Hazel called up to him, waving her arms.

“I want to stay with him. Until he gets Aloren.”

Gallus frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Jacob shook his head when he saw the expression on Gallus’s face. “No, Hazel, you should be with Gallus. He’ll take good care of you and make sure Aloren gets you back.”

“No. I’ll go with you.”

The black man handed the box back to Jacob. “Minyas choose their company. I can’t force her to stay with me.” He glared at Jacob. “You take extremely good care of her. Make sure you give her everything she needs. Don’t fail me again.”

Jacob nodded, overcome by an intense desire to prove himself. “I promise.”

Jacob and Matt took Gallus back to the store, then went home. The Makalos needed time to work with the people who’d already been pulled from the potion, and opted to take the night off. Jacob’s muscles needed to recuperate from working with Sweet Pea, so he was especially grateful.

He wanted to read the journal, but there was a voice mail on the kitchen phone from Tani—he returned her call, eager to talk to her about his day, before realizing she didn’t know anything about his other life.

She told him the usual group was meeting at the local church to play basketball in the gym, and they wanted to know if he was up for it.

His desire to prove his value as a basketball player flowed back into him. He could use this to keep up his skills—he’d have the opportunity to impress Coach sooner or later and didn’t want to get rusty. “Yes! Of course!”

“Great. We’ll pick you up at 7:45.”

Teegan, Tani’s older brother, honked out front. Jacob made sure Hazel would be comfortable in his room without him, then ran and hopped in the car. Five minutes later, they pulled up to the church and jogged inside, eager to get started. Teegan, now a college freshman and on the local university’s team, divided everyone up. Tani was the only girl, as usual.

They played a twenty-minute game, then Teegan re-divided, playing opposite of Jacob. He said he wanted to challenge Jacob more. This game was fast and intense, with Jacob struggling to keep up. He wasn’t used to going against someone with Teegan’s training, even though he and the older teenager had played like this many times before Teegan went to college.

Teegan’s team won both games, but the second game was close. Jacob tried not to feel discouraged. He’d done his best—he knew he had. But they still lost.

Afterward, several of the players went to an ice cream parlor in Logan. Teegan, Jacob, and Tani chose a booth away from the others. Jacob wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Teegan had something on his mind. They were silent for a moment. Tani texted someone on her phone, letting her ice cream melt, and Jacob enjoyed the cool sweetness of his chocolate pecan shake.

Finally Teegan leaned back in his seat, staring at Jacob. “Jake, you’ve improved a lot since the last time we played together.”

“So have you.”

“Yeah, well, playing with college seniors forces you to really step it up.”

“That, and his coach doesn’t let him slack off,” Tani said, putting her phone away.

“He still planning to have you sit on the bench most games?” Jacob asked Teegan.

Teegan waved a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, but it doesn’t bother me.”

Tani looked at her older brother disapprovingly—she obviously didn’t believe him.

“Well, it does,” Teegan said, “but I’m still really young on the team.” He leaned forward. “Tani told me what happened with Kevin.”

“It’s really stupid.”

“I’ve played with both of you—many times. Jake, you’re much better than him! You’re holding yourself back.”

“I’m not holding back—basketball is the only place I feel really at home. Coach just hasn’t given me a chance to prove myself.”

“Stop trying the way you’ve been doing it. Talking to him won’t do any good.”

Tani nodded. “He’s right. You’ve got to
show
Coach.”

“But how? Kevin’s not going to let me play during lunch.”

Teegan raised an eyebrow. “What does Kevin, and what he wants you to do, have to do with anything? Seriously, Jacob, don’t let him push you around like this.”

Jacob snorted. “Yeah, easier said than done.”

Teegan was quiet for a while. Then his face lit up. “You know, I could talk to Coach Smith from Logan High. He’d probably be willing to let you practice with his team for a couple of weeks, at least until you get in at the orange gym.”

Jacob grunted. “You make it sound like it’s some sort of high-end club.”

“That’s basically what it is at this point, with Kevin acting as gatekeeper. He’s always going to be a jerk about things.”

“And why would Coach Smith let me play with them? First off, that would ruin how they play together, and second, it’s not even technically legal.”

“The season hasn’t started yet—doesn’t for a couple more months. So, you wouldn’t
really
be playing with them. Just practicing. And a few practices won’t do any harm. It’ll give you good experience, and you’ll be using your skills while we figure out what to do with Kevin.”

Jacob rubbed his face. “Practicing with you guys is plenty good for me. I don’t need anything else.”

“Dude, don’t sell yourself short. I’m not as good as you think I am—I probably won’t go past college. You, on the other hand, could if you wanted. You’ve got to trust me on this one.”

Jacob thought about it for a moment, then shrugged, letting himself relax. “Okay, just so long as Smith knows he doesn’t have to let me if it disrupts his team.”

“No worries there,” Teegan said. “His wife works with my dad, and I did them a big favor last year helping their son with his Eagle project.”

“Okay, that’d be great. Thanks.” It would be better than great. Practicing with Logan High would give Jacob the experience he needed with older, more seasoned players. His friends were great, but Teegan was right—they weren’t varsity level.

A huge smile crossed Teegan’s face. “Dude, this is what we’re going to do. You practice with Logan for a month or so, then when you’re ready, you play in the orange gym. I’ll help out—get rid of Kev for the day or something.”

“How’re you going to do that?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out.”

The phone rang the next evening, interrupting Jacob’s studies. He picked it up off the counter, saw the Caller ID.
Webb
. Had Teegan already found a way to get Jacob in to Logan High?

Jacob answered. Nope. It was Tani, with completely different news.

“My mom and I are going for a walk right now, and we just saw Kevin and his friends drive up your street with a huge hay bale in the back of their truck.”

Jacob groaned, remembering the last time this happened. It had involved fire. “Great. Thanks.”

He hung up, jumped off the stool, and ran to Matt’s room, knocking on the door. Not waiting for his brother to open, he barged in. Matt was reading a book, a doctor show playing on his little TV at the same time.