Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (81 page)

Oh, crap.

Gallus pulled Jacob to his feet and flung him up toward Akeno and Aloren. Matt scrambled to help, and he and Jacob managed to get over a ledge to stand near the Makalos and Aloren.

Sweet Pea, Aloren, and Akeno pulled out their weapons, joining Gallus in the fight against the Eetu fish.

Jacob and Matt watched, their mouths open. The Eetu moved so quickly, Jacob could barely focus on it. It lunged through openings, trying to get to him, completely ignoring the people who were battering it. Its scales must’ve been made from something nearly indestructible.

Jacob caught a brief glimpse of the eyes again. They were cold and green, staring into his with an amazing intelligence. It knew what it wanted. Almost mesmerized, Jacob didn’t hear Gallus until Matt shook him.

“Jacob!”

He blinked, looking at Gallus.

“Run!” the black man hollered. “Matt, Akeno, go with him!”

“But—” Jacob started.

“We’re not in danger. Jacob, it only wants you! Go! I’ll alert the Makalos you’re on your way.”

Jacob’s mind cleared, and just as if he were back on the court at school, he jumped into action.

“Come on!” he called to Matt and Akeno.

They dashed forward, guided only by the light of Akeno’s finger. Matt and Jacob had both lost their flashlights—Jacob’s was probably somewhere at the bottom of Sonda Lake.

They raced down the tunnel—scrambling past boulders and cracks in the rock like someone competing in the Olympics. Jacob winced when his wet clothes started chaffing. He forced the discomfort out of his mind, concentrating only on avoiding the water. No sense in having more than one Eetu try to kill him.

They hadn’t been far from the end, and Jacob nearly collided with a metal ladder when he got there. He skidded to a halt and started climbing.

Inhuman shrieking and the sound of clanging swords from behind sent Jacob’s hands and feet into frantic motion, and he climbed even more quickly. Akeno and Matt followed him.

His hands had been bruised and scraped from the rocks before, but now the pain in his hands tripled as he clung to coarse metal. The space around the ladder hadn’t been chopped away very well, and several times Jacob scraped against the walls. He’d probably have scars.

A distant screaming reached his ears, and he recognized Gallus’s voice. “Hurry, boys! It’s heading your way!”

Oh, no! Jacob's legs cramped up and he lost his footing, swinging into Akeno. The Makalo nearly fell off the ladder, but Jacob saw Matt grab him and pull him up.

Must climb faster. Jacob counted rungs, but stopped somewhere around 448. They had to have gone up fourteen or fifteen stories by then.

He felt it when the Eetu fish reached the ladder. A clang vibrated painfully in his hands and he almost slipped again. The fish shrieked beneath them, and the ladder vibrated even more when the thing started climbing. Jacob pushed himself harder, wishing Hazel could come give him extra strength. He didn’t have the energy or ability to call her, though.

Finally, long after his hands had begun bleeding, Jacob reached the top. He pushed on the ceiling above him, sliding a slab of stone out of the way. Why couldn’t it have been a door? He would have used the Key to get them out of there faster.

He jumped through, then pulled out Akeno and Matt. He and Matt dragged the stone back into place, realizing it wouldn’t do much good, but needing something to focus on while Akeno enlarged a door.

“Ready,” Akeno said.

The door was barely three feet tall, but that was plenty for Jacob. He dashed forward, pulled the Key from his pocket with some difficulty, and thrust it into the lock that appeared. Turning it to the left, he said, “Akeno’s house.”

Jacob pushed Akeno and Matt through ahead of him, then stepped across the threshold, turning in time to see the stone barrier fly away from the hole and the Eetu fish jump out. Jacob slammed the door shut right when the Eetu lunged for him, landing just two feet away. It screamed—an awful mix of a human scream and the sound an animal makes when it is in a great deal of pain.

The shriek was cut off when Jacob closed the portal, but he propped himself against the door just in case the link was still live. Nothing happened.

He slid to the floor, breathing so heavily he felt his lungs would burst. Ebony rushed over from where she and Kenji had been sitting at the table, Kenji following. They were both shaking.

Ebony pulled Jacob to his feet, throwing her arms around him. “We didn’t know which door you’d go through, so we’ve been waiting near all those we thought you’d try. Your mom is at your house, Jaegar is waiting by the tree, and the Fat Lady at her place. Gallus and the others will be fine in the tunnel, so long as they don’t touch water.” She quieted long enough to notice the shape the boys were in. “And look at your hands! Thank goodness you came here—let’s get you fixed up.”

“I’ll grab a Kaede Sap package,” Kenji said, leaving his wife’s side.

Ebony got to work instantly, assessing the damage. “Broken fingers. You all have at least one broken finger. How’d you manage that?”

“Ladder,” Matt said, still gasping for air. “My back—scratched up. Can you fix it?”

“Yes, of course. We’ll get you all in good health.”

Jacob inspected his arms while Ebony and Kenji mixed the sap. The index and ring fingers on his right hand were bent at weird angles. How’d he not notice the pain? ‘Course, he was completely numb from the elbow down. His fingers were purple and blue with blood oozing from multiple scratches and other places where the skin had worn through. They’d never been this bad before.

Ebony had them sit at the table then started on Akeno first, working quickly. “Lucky for all of you, we won’t have to set the bones. Kaede Sap puts everything back into its proper form without much assistance.”

Jacob relaxed against the chair when she worked on him.

“Hands first, then everything else later. Matt and Jacob, I’ll have you go into a private room. Inspect each other and let me know what needs to be healed.”

Jacob nodded. Ebony went on to Matt, and Jacob looked at the white cloth strapped to his hands, glad to have the bruises and scratches covered. They’d been so gross.

Kenji looked out the window. “If they find more water to replenish themselves, Eetu fish can track the scent of their water for twenty-four hours.” He turned back to the room. “I’ll have Early keep an eye on it. She can alert us if it gets close.”

Jacob didn’t want to hold on to the hope that the Eetu wouldn’t find water on its way to him.

Ebony showed Jacob and Matt to a room. Luckily, only their backs were really bad, but they had a couple of minor scratches and bruises on their knees and shins, too. She insisted on fixing everything.

After half an hour, all three boys were at the table, attempting to eat soup. Their bandaged hands made it interesting.

Hazel flitted into the room, heading straight to Jacob. “Gallus says to send Akeno. The Eetu fish returned to the tunnel and jumped into the water, so we will be safe to continue, but we need Akeno to help set up doors.”

Jacob nodded. It would only take a couple of seconds to Key Akeno back. And perhaps doing so would confuse the Eetu fish, buying Jacob more time. He and the other two packed up their things and Jacob created the link.

Gallus waited. He stepped to the side to let Matt and Akeno through, then spoke to Jacob. “Taga Village isn’t far enough away. The Eetu fish won’t take very long to get there. Their magic is related to that of the Minyas—it finds the shortest, fastest distance to their prey as possible, and they run much faster than humans do—”

With a flash, Early appeared next to Jacob. “It’s coming! Now! It’s coming!”

Jacob slammed the door shut right as warning bells sounded over Taga Village. He looked at Ebony in shock—it had only been thirty minutes! How on earth did the fish get there that fast?

Kenji burst through the front door, making Jacob jump.

“The Eetu is almost to the entrance! It’ll be able to break through your magic, Jacob! Go, quickly! To the Fat Lady’s!”

Jacob grabbed his coat and bag and Keyed himself to her cabin. He slammed the door behind him, the sound of the bells in Taga cutting off as he did.

“Who’s there?” the Fat Lady called. She rambled into view from down the hall. “Jacob. I figured it was you. You’re the only one who has access without my password.”

“Got a fish on my tail.”

She nodded. “Those things are fast. Where are you headed next?”

“I’m thinking somewhere in my country.”

“Be careful—there are many, many links between the different worlds accessible only to Eetus. Don’t get comfortable in one spot for too long.”

Jacob sighed in exasperation. How was he supposed to do that when he was absolutely exhausted? “That’s not encouraging.”

Early flashed next to him. “It’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”

“You’ve got Early—good. Keep her with you.”

Jacob still held the Key in his bandaged hands. The numbness was wearing off and they were throbbing. He needed sleep, but wasn’t sure when or how he’d get it. The sap wouldn’t fully heal him until he had some. He put the Key into the Fat Lady’s lock, glad it was attached to his pants with a chain.

“Guess I’d better get going.”

“Guess so.”

He said goodbye, then Keyed himself to the first place that entered his mind—New York City.

Chapter 9. Wurby Village

T
he next several hours were long, exhausting, painful, cold, and tedious. Jacob Keyed to many different locations around the world, only able to stay in each spot for a couple of hours at a time. He took naps where he could, and the pain in his hands gradually lessened.

He was so glad he had the Key. Without it, there was no way he would have been able to stay away from the Eetu. It wasn’t any wonder that no one had survived an attack. The fish found links in the most random and illogical places—through stone and small holes where its body couldn’t possibly fit.

While in New York, he purchased several postcards depicting places around the globe and showed them to Early so she would know where to find him, in case they ever got separated.

The first time she gave him a report on the Eetu fish’s whereabouts, she’d also thrown in a question regarding how he was feeling. That surprised him. He looked at her, eyebrow raised, wondering if she had ulterior motives. But then he realized she did it because she actually cared. From then on, she asked him all the time how he was feeling—if he was tired or hungry.

“Thanks, Early,” Jacob said when she gave him the latest update.

She brushed his hand with her fingertips. “You’re welcome. Do you need anything?”

A pleasant feeling started at the center of his chest and spread across him, warming his entire body. He couldn’t believe how much she’d changed over the last several hours. She was loyal and attentive now—constantly proving her value. It was completely different from the last time he’d spent time with her, and he was so grateful for the change. He wouldn’t have been able to survive without her.

“I think I’m good. Thanks for asking.”

“No problem!” She patted him again, then flitted away, but stayed within sight—another new development. The only time he couldn’t see her was when she was checking on the fish.

At her insistence, Jacob stopped by his house to eat and catch up with Mom and Dad. He was thankful for that—it felt good to relax, even if for only a couple of minutes. They reported that everyone was doing well and there hadn’t been any more run-ins with Eetu fish. He breathed a sigh of relief, hugged them goodbye, then Keyed himself to his next location.

Thirty minutes before the twenty-four hours were up, Jacob decided to visit one of his favorite places on Earth—Arches National Park. He Keyed to a bathroom near one of the trails, holding the door open for Early. She zoomed past him, squealing in excitement, then did a few somersaults in the air. Jacob smiled at her enthusiasm. He couldn’t figure out why she was so excited to go through links created by the Key of Kilenya—she’d acted this way after every one they’d gone through together.

Jacob wandered aimlessly. He made sure to stay within running distance of the bathroom door, in case the Eetu was lucky enough to find a link in time. Pausing on a bridge, he looked into the water below him, then absentmindedly picked at some fuzzies on the sleeve of his jacket. It was great to have the bandages gone from his hands—he’d removed them a few hours earlier when he got tired of getting strange looks from people. Residual bruises and a little tenderness were all that remained of the broken bones.

He left the bridge and walked down the trail, following it as it led up a couple of short switchbacks and past a really large rock where tourists gathered to take pictures. He stepped to the side of them, not wanting to be part of their groups, and gazed at Delicate Arch, admiring the rugged beauty of the landscape.

Just then, someone screamed. Jacob whipped around to see why. The tourists were pointing into a gulch, yelling, panicking, some pulling out cameras.

Jacob climbed on top of the huge boulder and shaded his eyes. It only took him a split second to find where they were pointing. His stomach fell.