Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (99 page)

Keitus entered the room, swearing to himself. Jacob held his breath.

Afraid to close his eyes, he stared at the curtain-covered wall in front of him. The throne shifted when Keitus sat in it, and Jacob was bumped away from the chair a fraction of an inch. He scrambled backward and shut his eyes when he heard the grunting sounds of a Molg echo in the room. Keitus and the creature started a heated discussion.

Jacob saw Early up in the corner of the room and motioned for her to come closer. She did—moving so quickly the other two hopefully wouldn’t see her. “Go to the forest on the other side of the fortress from the makeshift door,” he whispered to her, trusting Keitus’s argument would cover his breathy words. “Do something, anything to make the Molgs think I’m there. Hurry!”

She disappeared and Jacob was alone with Keitus and the Molg. How would he get out? Early had told him that Keitus had only arranged for one exit—the main entrance of the fortress. A lot of attention would be focused there. He bit his lip, concentrating. Would he be able to sneak out that way?

Then he remembered something else—he’d molded a hole in the wall where the Sheingols had been staying. Was it still there? It seemed unlikely—Keitus would have had it filled up as soon as possible.

Could Jacob take the chance? Run that way and see if it still existed? Then he shook his head at himself. He could Time-See. He focused at the wall across from him and held on to the legs of the chair, hoping he wouldn’t be gone long enough for his body to convulse or anything.

It didn’t take long to find the room, since he started outside. The crates had been moved. Dang it! The hole was covered up. But he zoomed in closer anyway. What he saw made him nearly laugh with happiness. It had been covered with a type of cardboard—enough to make it look like the hole had been patched up, but easy enough for Jacob to get through. He Time-Saw to the other side of the hole. The same thing there. Just so long as the tunnel hadn’t been filled with anything, this plan would work.

He returned to his present location and nearly jumped when Keitus screamed.

“He
is not
in the fortress!” Keitus shrieked. “Search the entire forest and the town!”

Footsteps retreating—the Molg left. It was silent for several moments. Was Keitus still there?

Jacob was about to peek around the corner of the throne when he felt it shift as Keitus changed positions.

The Lorkon muttered something Jacob couldn’t understand—maybe he was speaking in a different language—but he stopped when a loud clamor sounded from outside. “What now?” Keitus said.

A Molg’s guttural response came from across the room, and Jacob felt the throne move. Footsteps clapped quickly across the floor. Jacob chanced a look beyond the chair and saw Keitus’s robes disappearing through the doorway.

Not wanting to lose this chance, Jacob jumped to his feet and dashed across the floor, trying to be quiet. This would be his only opportunity.

He reached the doorway in time to see Keitus stride around a corner at the end of the hall. Unfortunately, that was the only way to get to the room with the hole in the wall. He tiptoed as quickly as he could, following the Lorkon.

Keitus stopped near the entrance to the Shiengols’ room to talk to another Lorkon, and Jacob hid behind a corner from them, pressing himself against the wall. He watched the shadows the Lorkon made on the floor.

“Lord, he’s in the forest with the volcanic rock. We can’t reach—”

“You’re sure it’s him?”

The shadows moved, indicating the Lorkon were walking toward the front entrance of the fortress.

“Yes—he’s . . .”

The voices became a murmur, then died out, and Jacob peeked past the corner. The Lorkon were gone.

Jacob dashed down the hall and through the doorway, gripping his sword tight.

And ran smack into a Molg.

It was the smallest Molg he’d ever seen, but it still freaked Jacob out. And if he hadn’t been so afraid, he would have laughed at the expression of shock that crossed the Molg’s face.

Instinctively, he swung his sword. The blade connected with the Molg’s right arm, cutting it, and surprising the creature even more.

Not waiting to see what the Molg would do, Jacob raced around it into the darkened interior of the Shiengols’ room. He sprinted across the floor to the hole, dodging a couple of tables and chairs along the way.

He fell to his knees, skidding the last few feet, then ripped at the cardboard with one hand, holding his sword tightly in the other. He was sure he’d need it.

The Molg roared behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder. It had pulled out its short sword and was charging.

He wouldn’t make it through the tunnel in time.

Jacob jumped to his feet, whirled, and barely blocked the Molg’s attack. The blow vibrated through Jacob’s sword to his arms, and he nearly dropped it, grimacing at the sudden pain in his hands.

The Molg glared and attacked again. Jacob defended himself, but not before the Molg’s sword caught his left sleeve, slicing his arm. Jacob barely felt the pain, but was sure it would register later. He stabbed at the Molg, but the beast easily stepped to the side, avoiding Jacob’s blade.

The two continued to fight—Jacob attacking in anger and frustration, and the Molg easily getting out of the way.

After only a few parries, Jacob recognized that the beast was enjoying itself. It was toying with him, which meant it knew Jacob wouldn’t win—the creature had probably been using a sword its entire life.

What could he do? He needed to get through that hole, and fast. No telling how long the Lorkon would take.

Making a quick decision, Jacob backed away, then ran to the right, skirting the perimeter of the room. He glanced over his shoulder. The Molg glared at him, the colors for annoyance swirling in his air, then raced after Jacob. Good.

They zigzagged between pillars, Jacob every now and then turning to throw in a quick jab. He led the Molg away from the hole to the other side of the darkened room.

Jacob ducked under a table and turned to attack when the creature tried to do the same. He got in another blow, injuring the Molg again, and its colors flashed bright red.

Early returned just then, excitedly babbling about the Lorkon searching the forest for Jacob and how she’d dropped heavy branches.

“Kinda busy right now,” Jacob said.

“Oh! Can I help?”

“I need more time before the Lorkon come.”

With a flash, Early disappeared, and Jacob, figuring she’d left to make more distractions, ran to a huge table in the center of the room. Why did the Shiengols need a table that big? It was as high as Jacob’s shoulders. Sure, the Shiengols were tall, but not
that
tall.

Jacob swung on top of it, then whirled, attacking the Molg’s hands when it grabbed the table to hoist itself up. After a couple of seconds, Jacob’s hands trembled with relief when he found it was easy to maintain his position there. He gripped his sword tighter.

Jacob wracked his brain, trying to come up with a plan. The Molg looked like it had figured out it wouldn’t be able to get on top too. It stepped back, surveying the room with its big, intelligent eyes. Suddenly, it dashed under the table.

Jacob gasped in shock when the table shifted under his feet. He crouched, steadying himself. The Molg attempted to tip the table over, but Jacob counterbalanced from on top, barely staying upright.

Then an idea popped into his brain. It would work—it had to! He only needed Early’s help to get things going.

He nearly fell off when the Molg pitched the table hard to his right, but he was able to jump to the left, pushing the surface back down.

Early returned just then, and Jacob told her what to do. She nodded in agreement.

Jacob was finally distracted enough for the Molg to knock the table over, and he spilled to the ground. He jumped to his feet and ran toward the hole, stopping several yards away, then turned in time to block an attack.

The Molg raised its sword again, but Early blasted the creature and it banged off the wall opposite Jacob, landing roughly. Jacob dropped his sword, falling to his knees.

He searched the floor for warmth as quickly as he could. The Molg returned, and Early zapped it again. Jacob continued searching.

Finally, he found a spot where the stone emitted warmth.

Early pushed the Molg away a third time, and Jacob warmed the floor. Rather than pulling the stone up, however, he worked as deeply as he could, creating a section that was at least two feet square. He smoothed the top over, grabbed his sword, and jumped to his feet right as the Molg neared.

Jacob carefully parried with the creature, leading it toward the warmed section.

Right as the stone started to harden, the Molg stepped into it. Jacob distracted the creature by swinging his sword a few times, pretending to be attacking. He backed up. The Molg tried to follow, but couldn’t. Its foot stayed in place!

“Early! It worked!”

Early giggled, then disappeared with a flash, reappearing seconds later. “It’s clear outside! Go!”

Jacob re-sheathed his sword and wormed his way through the hole. He fell to the ground outside with a thump, his breath getting knocked out of him. Early poked and prodded, trying to get him up, but it wasn’t until he dragged in a huge breath that he was able to stand again.

He spotted the makeshift door and ran. He’d nearly reached it when a Molg stepped out from behind. No! He should’ve checked to make sure no one was there!

The Molg grabbed him around the neck, throwing him to the ground, pinning him. Lights danced across his eyes.

“Fjd arwes aried!” the Molg yelled.

Jacob brought his leg up, kneeing the creature between the legs. Nothing happened. The Molg maintained his grip, preventing Jacob from drawing another breath.

Early flitted through the air nearby, panicked and screaming at the Molg. Jacob wanted to tell her to blast the creature away, but couldn’t get the words out. He couldn’t hear anything but the pounding in his ears. Everything went bright white as he struggled for air.

Remembering his sword, he stopped trying to push the Molg away, instead focusing on getting the sword out. But then he forgot what he was doing. Blackness caved in on him.

Suddenly the Molg released him, and Jacob sucked in air, coughing. His throat seared with pain. He sat up, gasping, clutching his neck.

The Molg had fallen to the ground near him. Early rose, an expression of intensity on her face that Jacob had never seen before.

The Molg stirred right as four more Molgs came running around the corner only a hundred yards away.

“You shall not touch my Jacob!” Early screamed at the Molg. She zapped it again, and the creature flew through the air.

Jacob jumped for the ground behind the door, searching in the grass. Where was it? Where was it? “Early! Help me find the Key!”

She zipped past him and pointed. “Over there! I dragged it there—I hid it!”

The Key! He saw the glint in the trampled grass and loosened it, pulling it out. Jacob closed it in his fist right as the Molg returned and kicked him, knocking him to the ground. The beast jumped for him, but this time, Jacob rolled away, to the front of the door, before he got pinned down. He pulled out his sword and swung wildly at the beast, lessons forgot, the need for survival the only thing on his mind.

Early blasted the Molg away again, but it didn’t go as far as before. She looked exhausted, and the other Molgs were coming closer.

Jacob didn’t waste time. He shoved the Key into the lock and yelled, “Kenji’s house!”

Right as he turned the knob, the door flung open and Azuriah dashed through, a spear in one hand, a sword in the other, robes flashing in the sunlight. Jacob got knocked to the side.

Azuriah screamed something in the Shiengols’ language. Jacob’s mouth popped open. The Molg—at least a foot taller than Azuriah—parried the blow with his crudely fashioned sword. The other Molgs arrived.

Then came the most extreme, awesome sword fight Jacob had ever seen. Azuriah twirled around the Molgs, advancing, attacking. The beasts were very fast, keeping up. They blocked almost all of Azuriah’s attacks, but some of them got through.

One by one, the creatures fell to the ground. The Lorkon came around the corner, saw Jacob and Azuriah, and hurtled themselves across the distance. They were incredibly fast.

Azuriah threw his sword and spear into Kenji’s house—someone jumped out of the way just in time—and then he did something with his fingers. Suddenly, a whoosh sounded through the air, like incredibly low bass, rattling Jacob’s ribs. A wave rippled through the grass away from Azuriah, and the Molgs and Lorkon were smashed back. They fell to the ground, dazed.

Gallus grabbed Jacob’s arm, yanking him through the door.

The last thing Jacob saw of the Lorkon was bright red—their favorite emotion—before Azuriah jumped through, slamming the door behind him.

Chapter 18. Sacrifices

J
acob leaned back from the table and patted his stomach, completely satisfied for the first time in days. And not only because he’d just eaten a delicious meal, but also because he was back home, with all the people he loved most. He sighed. Everyone—the entire group—was waiting in the next room.

“Ready, son?” Dad asked from the kitchen doorway.

Jacob nodded.

“All right. Let’s get the meeting started.”

After Jacob escaped the fortress, Mom and Ebony insisted that Akeno shrink Jacob and put him in a Minya container. It took him a little over a day to heal. He’d only been awake for an hour, and everyone had been hanging around, impatiently waiting to hear what had happened.

Apparently, Early was unable to deliver messages once Jacob got the window worked out of its frame. He’d kept her too busy. Jacob felt bad—his family must’ve gone completely crazy with worry. He could only imagine how stressful it had been for them—unable to do anything, not knowing what was going on.

And speaking of Early—he hadn’t seen her since coming back. How was she? Where had she gone? Probably off to take a break from being ordered around. He smiled to himself. The poor Minya.