Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (97 page)

A Lorkon was with him in the cell.

“Keitus?”

“No. He sent me to check on you. You were Time-Seeing, were you not?”

“Yes.”

“What have you to report?”

“Not much. I . . . I still need more time. I mean, I’ve been trying, but—”

Jacob jerked into the corner when the Lorkon jumped forward, looming over him. Any feelings of smugness Jacob had felt earlier at the ineptitude of the Lorkon fled when he saw the expression on this one’s face. Keitus might have been much, much more powerful than the other three, but that didn’t mean this guy couldn’t inflict a whole lot of damage. “I swear! I’m doing my best! And I have made progress—I saw the entire room the hooded man was in this time! And he went through a hallway. I’m going back to see where he—”

“I don’t care about the trivialities. You
will
find what Keitus desires.”

The Lorkon rapped on the door, it swung open, and he stepped out.

Jacob clutched his chest as soon as he was alone again. Another fright like that—first, nearly going unconscious, then the Lorkon freaking him out—and he’d probably not make it. His heart hurt so badly. What would happen if his body gave out on him while Time-Seeing? Would he be stuck halfway between two places? He hoped not.

In the dim moonlight, he saw a tray of food on the floor and picked it up, then scarfed everything. Why were they feeding him so well? The food was still warm.

His hunger appeased, he lay on the cot, gazing out the window. Early was there—she waved at him and he lifted a hand in response, glad to have her company.

The next morning, he woke before the sun had risen, deciding to start Time-Seeing as soon as possible.

He Saw back into the past and searched through the fortress until he found where Keitus had gone when he left the other Lorkon. He had a couple of Molgs with him, and they were walking down the hall toward Jacob’s cell.

Keitus pointed at one of the Molgs. “Go get a door. Our guest will need something to keep him in place.”

Jacob wondered where they’d find a door. Hadn’t Keitus removed all of them long ago? Maybe they’d brought some with, and Jacob hadn’t noticed. The creature ran off, and Keitus and the other Molg entered the cell. Jacob nearly panicked before realizing that in the time line he was seeing, he wouldn’t be in the cell yet. He was still outside with his friends.

Keitus stood to the side, allowing the second Molg to bring in a couple of large buckets full of—Jacob looked closer—sludge. Was that what he thought it was? He looked around the cell to verify. Yup. The stone was completely clean.

“Spread it on every inch of rock.”

The first Molg returned, hung the door, then the two of them got to work, pulling out gobs of the grease at a time, rubbing it all over the floor, ceiling, and walls. Keitus watched from the doorway for a couple of minutes, an evil smile on his face, then turned to go. “We’ll bring the boy soon.”

A few moments later, the Molgs finished smearing the stuff everywhere and took the buckets away. Jacob heard grunting in the hallway, then everything went foggy and he couldn’t see any longer. He allowed himself to return to the present time, many questions running through his mind.

Why did Keitus put the slime everywhere? Was it to intimidate Jacob? To gross him out? Make him feel dirty and miserable? Or did it have a bigger purpose?

Jacob inspected the wall closest to him. He swiped a finger across it, then looked at the slime up close. “Why did Keitus put you all over my cell?” he whispered.

What if . . . Jacob stared at the door in wonder. Would the stuff counter his ability? Make it useless? But how? And how would Keitus know to concoct something like that?

Jacob used his sleeve to wipe off as much of the gunk on a spot as he could. Then he put his hand on the stone, trying to warm it. Nothing happened. He shook his head, knitting his eyebrows. The stuff would leave a residue—he wouldn’t be able to clean that off without water and lots and lots of rags. And what if everything it touched was permanently immune? It had been all over his hands—had Keitus removed Jacob’s ability to mold things?

He suddenly felt claustrophobic and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He’d find a way out—he had to. If not, he’d be stuck there forever. He kept breathing deeply and glanced out the window, past Early. The sky was clouded over—it’d been snowing.

He had to concentrate. It wouldn’t do him any good to panic and stress over things he couldn’t control. After several moments of focusing on calming down, Jacob decided he needed to go through his options.

He could wait for the Fat Lady. That is, if she was coming at all, of course. Maybe she’d gotten hold of Gallus’s family and they’d send someone. Was there a town closer to the fortress than Macaria? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know much about Eklaron, aside from where he’d been already.

He could accept Keitus’s offer. He snorted, thinking about that. Yeah, right.

Maybe his family would find another link that would lead them here. His experience with the Eetu fish showed him there were far more links between the two worlds than they’d all originally thought. Perhaps one of them would work. If that were the case, they might be close!

Jacob jumped to his knees, staring out the window. Early flitted up next to him, a hopeful expression on her face. He scanned the forest toward the link to Taga Village and saw nothing, then looked the other way as far as he could—no sign.

He sighed, lowering his head, and pressed his face on the glass.

Wait. “The glass!” he whispered. It didn’t have slime all over it! As if in response to this idea, the sun broke through the clouds, lighting his cell.

He was about to touch the surface to warm it when he realized his hands had grease on them. He couldn’t afford to infect the glass, too. The fact that the Molgs hadn’t touched it, or the frame around it, made him nearly giggle in hysteria—just like Shirley at school. But seriously, how would Keitus react if Jacob were able to escape that way? He’d be furious!

Just then, he heard voices down the hall. Someone was coming! Jacob had always been an awful liar. They’d sense the hope in him—they’d know he was planning something.

He quickly dropped to the floor and closed his eyes, pretending to be Time-Seeing. No—just lying there wouldn’t do it. He had to make it believable.

Just as the door opened, he started convulsing.

Would they buy it?

Two Lorkon voices. One laughed. “Stupid human.”

Jacob heard the rush of a cloak before the Lorkon’s foot connected with his side. His already very bruised side.

A groan of pain slipped out before he could stop it and an involuntary shudder passed through him. One of the Lorkon laughed.

“This boy is idiotic. Why does Keitus want him so badly?”

“Flesh and blood—you know how it is with him.”

Jacob heard a smirk in the first Lorkon’s voice. “Yeah, well, that didn’t help us, did it?”

What were they talking about? Flesh and blood? Then Jacob remembered—Keitus had mentioned blood. His own blood had gone into Jacob, trying to change him into a Lorkon. Was that all they meant?

He realized he’d stopped shaking and hadn’t heard anything from the Lorkon for several seconds. He groaned again and rolled to the other side, hoping—hoping!—the Lorkon would think he was still Time-Seeing.

Silence.

Finally, one of the Lorkon spoke. “We could kill him now.”

No response. Jacob held his breath, convulsing occasionally, waiting to hear what the other said.

A grunt. “We could, but . . .” The Lorkon took a deep breath, then let out a watery-sounding cough. “Keitus would never forgive it.”

The first Lorkon snorted. “He never forgives anything.” Someone nudged Jacob with a foot. “We’d be free from hearing about
Danilo
.”

Another pause. “We’ll think on it. Leave the food. Let’s go.”

Something scraped across the floor, then the door shut and Jacob heard footsteps receding down the hall.

He waited for a moment, making sure he was alone, then peeked through his lashes. No one was with him. He got to his knees, a huge sigh of relief expelling itself from his lungs. “Oh, wow, oh, wow,” he whispered over and over again. That was way too close!

Jacob pulled the tray of food to himself, not forgetting his decision from earlier to get out through the window. He ate quickly, then looked at the water, wishing he had soap. The water alone would have to do.

But first, he jumped up and looked out the window to the ground below. No one was there. He watched for a moment, waiting to see if anyone would come. When no one did, he got down and poured a trickle of the water on his hands, wiping them off on the underside of his cot—the only place clean enough in the cell.

Thinking better of using all the water, he put the half-empty cup under his cot, behind one of the legs where it wouldn’t be immediately visible from the doorway. Just in case.

Then, with clean hands, he jumped up and put his palms against the glass, willing it to heat up.

Nothing happened.

He moaned in despair. The Molgs hadn’t put slime on it—he’d been so sure!

He nearly smacked himself in the forehead when he remembered that if something was well built, it
wouldn’t
warm up. He felt around the edges of the window and nearly jumped off the bed with excitement when he felt warmth—warmth! He kept going. The frame itself had a few potentially good spots, but the caulking—was that what they called it?—heated up really quickly. He could pull it out, then remove the window!

Jacob got to work, pulling the caulking out, wadding it up, and sticking it to the underside of his cot. He felt like he was six again, with all the stuff he was putting there.

Every time he heard one of his guards moving outside, he dropped to a sitting position, careful not to touch anything. He didn’t even have to ask himself what would happen if he got caught removing the sealant. And while he wasn’t sure this plan would work, he was positive the Lorkon would either move him or slather the window with sludge.

He had barely a second to fall to a lying position on the cot and pretend to be staring out the window when he heard voices right outside his cell. The door swung open and he turned.

It was Keitus.

Chapter 17. Only Opportunity

“D
anilo, I’m disappointed.”

Jacob sat up, not sure how to read Keitus’s emotions. He had multiple colors swirling around him, blending into each other.

“What—what do you mean?”

“You aren’t being honest. You haven’t tried hard enough. I need to remind you what will happen if you don’t find that Key.”

Jacob’s mouth popped open. “But . . . but I
have
tried! It’s almost killed me—I fall unconscious all the time and my heart is going to pop with everything I’m putting it through. And I’ve been working hard! I can see all the way back to where the hooded man leaves the castle. Just give me more time. I’ll be able to follow him, I promise!” Most of what he said was true—he really did worry that his body was going to break down. And he really did think he’d be able to follow the man if he tried again.

Keitus looked Jacob in the eye. “Boy, you are a terrible liar. The hooded man
used
the key to go somewhere. Why would he just walk out of the castle when he’s got a powerful instrument in his hands?”

Jacob stared at his hands, annoyed with himself and the fact that he hadn’t thought of that.

“And it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Jacob looked up. “It doesn’t? Why?”

Keitus strode across the room and looked out the window. Jacob held his breath, praying with every ounce of his body that the Lorkon wouldn’t notice what he’d been doing.

“We’ve decided to kill you.”

“What? No!” That wasn’t possible. Not after everything Keitus had said!

Keitus turned to face Jacob. “The other Lorkon presented me with a very good argument. They seem to think you’ll never join or help me, and if that’s the case, I can’t have you somehow escaping and making it back to your family.

“I spent years setting things up so you’d be born. You are, shall I say, my pet project. To see you dead would bring me much disappointment.” He glared at Jacob. “But if you helped my enemies, it could be my downfall. And I
won’t allow that
.”

He suddenly grabbed Jacob by the face, pulling him several feet up. Jacob’s eyes smarted from the pain in his jaw. “Your death will not be easy for you, nor fast. I will make you cry for mercy, but there will be none to give. And when I’m through with you, I’ll move to everyone you love, starting with your little sister.”

He dropped Jacob. “Unless, of course, you decide to bind yourself to me.” He turned away. “Remember this, boy. Remember it with every part of you. I created you. You belong to me. And if I can’t have your powers,
no one
can.”

Jacob remained where he’d fallen, motionless. He believed Keitus. The Lorkon really would kill him. And, after Jacob’s death, it would only be a matter of time before Keitus found a way to Mendon. A part of his heart shriveled when he thought of what would happen to his baby sister if Keitus ever made it that far. And to Matt. And his parents. And Aloren. Jacob couldn’t allow that to happen. He wouldn’t. He’d do anything . . . the thought that crossed his mind made him gasp in shock. Was he really considering accepting Keitus’s offer?

If it meant saving his family, maybe? Possibly?

He sat up, dropping his eyes to his hands. “I . . .” He hesitated, looking up at the Lorkon, creasing his forehead. “Keitus, I—”

Keitus’s cheeks lifted, showing his dirty teeth in what Jacob could only assume was a smile. He must’ve sensed Jacob’s indecision. “I’ll return in thirty minutes. Have your decision ready for me. If it’s yes, I have many things to teach you. If it’s no, you know what to expect.”

The door shut behind the Lorkon king, and Jacob slumped on the cot. What was he doing? Was he really considering this? Joining the person who’d made his life incredibly difficult and painful the past several months? How was it possible?