Rise of Keitus (11 page)

Matt and Sweet Pea both started laughing, and Matt gasped out, “You did it all wrong, Akeno.”

“But you said it’s okay to hit other guys jokingly.”

Jacob couldn’t help but smile, though he felt bad for Akeno. The Makalo had been trying really hard to grasp American culture outside of what he’d read in books and seen in movies.

Matt wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I know, but you can’t just slap him. It’s really . . . It’s just wrong-looking, okay? You gotta punch instead.”

“Like this?” Akeno punched Sweet Pea’s shoulder, but it looked worse than the slap.

“No!” Matt gasped. “That’s how girls hit when they like a guy! And when I say ‘like,’ I mean, when they’re romantically interested!”

“Well, I don’t know what I’m doing!” Akeno said.

Ebony put her arm around her son’s shoulders. “And it’s totally fine. You don’t need to hit other guys anyway.”

“If he wants to fit in, he at least needs to learn what’s
not
okay to do,” Matt said. He smiled at Akeno. “Just don’t do it at all—that would be best.”

Akeno nodded. “And you already said that most of how I act and talk is fine.”

Sweet Pea pounded his chest. “What he said was that you needed to start talking like
me
.”

“Insolent and arrogant? That’s not my personality.”

Sweet Pea shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He smiled at Akeno, then led the way up a small hill toward a cave. The group fell silent when they went inside. It was dark, and after only a couple of feet, Akeno lit up his finger so they could see the way.

“Why does Eklaron have so many tunnels, caves, and underground passageways?” Matt asked.

Jacob carefully stepped across a small pit. Twisting an ankle wouldn’t be good. “I’ve wondered the same thing.” He waited for one of the Makalos to say something, but none of them did. Just then, they entered the huge caverns with ceilings full of holes. The sun was at the right height—directly overhead—giving them a good amount of light to see by.

“Awesome!” Matt said. He took off running across the vast space.

Jacob looked up. Many of the bubbles had broken along their sides, forming rough arches and large passageways that connected the caverns to each other.

“Come on!” Matt called.

Matt jumped across a stream and turned, splashing the others. A very cold water fight broke out. Ebony caught up while the boys were soaking each other with the nearly frigid water.

“Careful! I don’t want you to get sick. It’s freezing here!”

“Not when you’ve been running,” Sweet Pea said.

A moment later, the boys calmed down and the group continued. When they reached the tunnel at the other side, Jacob stopped them.

“Should we set up the door before or after we find a Molg?”

Akeno shifted from foot to foot. “I’d feel much more comfortable doing it before, just in case, and to keep it out of sight of the Molg.”

“Then we should do it here—the map isn’t far.”

While Akeno enlarged a door and Matt and Sweet Pea put it in place, Jacob Time-Saw into the tunnels ahead of them, moving past the map’s location. A Molg was wandering the tunnels fairly close to the group.

“Okay,” Jacob said, pulling back, “there’s just one Molg, and it’s a little guy. I’ll go get Brojan, we’ll talk to the beast, then let’s grab the map.”

The others waited while Jacob created a link to Brojan’s place, opening the door. The patriarch was sitting at his table, dressed in warm clothing and holding a walking stick. He stood when Jacob waved at him and walked through the link.

When everyone was ready, Akeno held his hand up, helping the others see, then led the way into the tunnels.

“Akeno,” Jacob whispered, “dim your light—I don’t want the Molg to go berserk before we find it.”

Jacob alternated between Time-Seeing and telling Akeno which turns to take. Not long after, they caught up to the Molg. Catching it was easy—Akeno maxed out his light and shone it in the creature’s eyes right when Ebony, Sweet Pea, and Matt jumped and pinned the beast to the ground. They tied it with ropes, then turned to Brojan and Jacob.

Holding his breath and trusting the others would keep the Molg from attacking, Jacob approached and put his finger on the beast’s forehead. He nearly recoiled from the feel of the clammy skin. Instant visions entered his mind—boredom, aimless wandering, lust after a female Molg, and frustration with rules from the Lorkon. Last was the irritation at being stopped by humans, followed by a fleeting thought about delicious-looking creatures.

“We need to hurry,” Jacob said. “He wants to eat us.”

Brojan nodded and approached cautiously. “Molg, my name is Brojan. I want to ask you a couple of questions about one of your own I used to know.”

The creature under Jacob’s hand didn’t do anything—just stared at Brojan—but Jacob saw the patriarch in the Molg’s mind.

“You’ve got his attention.”

“His name was Dreget—”

Suddenly the Molg roared and jerked around, reaching for Brojan. Jacob lost contact with its skin. The beast nearly broke free, even with the ropes and people holding it down.

As soon as the others regained their control over the monster, Jacob put his hand back on its forehead. He gasped as he saw strong visions and felt intense emotions, then looked at the Molg’s face. The hatred there was intense, the colors swirling around it confusing—Jacob wasn’t adept at reading the emotions of Molgs, but he knew they weren’t positive.

“What is it?” Ebony asked, not loosening her hold on the beast’s left arm.

“It’s obvious he’s super angry.” Sweet Pea said. “Tell us what you saw.”

Jacob quickly relayed the visions as they came to him. “Dreget is dead. He turned against the Molgs to help Brojan. It caused a huge war within their civilization that didn’t end until the Lorkon killed him. Many Molgs died—oh, gross. Molg eat their dead.”

He swallowed, willing that particular vision to leave his mind. “When the Lorkon came, they took control, establishing some order within the civilization. The Lorkon taught the Molgs to depend on them, to kill any of their kind who ever turned again.”

Jacob looked up. “This Molg is young—only around ten years old. But they pass their stories down, and his hatred for Dreget is not to be underestimated. Nor is his loyalty to the Lorkon—he . . . he wants to kill you, Brojan. He wants the recognition that will come from destroying the one who caused the Molg war.”

Brojan shook his head. His face showed impassiveness, but he took a slight step backward. Only a small amount of nervous yellow flashed around his face. “He won’t be able to get to me.” The patriarch looked at Ebony. “Do you have the map?”

“Not yet—we brought you as soon as Jacob saw a Molg nearby.”

“Let’s get it.”

“What do we do with this thing?” Matt asked.

Sweet Pea grunted. “Kill it, obviously.”

Ebony frowned at the Makalo. “That wouldn’t be right. He’s not attacking.”

“But he would, if given the opportunity.”

“Let’s just leave him here,” Matt said. “Make the knots tighter so he can’t get away.”

Jacob nodded. “And I’ll mold the rope into the cave wall, just as a precaution.” He warmed the stone right behind the Molg, then waited as Matt fed a thick, knotted chunk of the rope into the hole he’d created. Then he sealed it all up and cooled the stone, making it stronger than before.

“Done.”

Akeno and Jacob led the way, Akeno using his finger to light the tunnel and Jacob using his abilities to find the correct place. They made it to the map without a problem. Ebony pulled it off the wall. Jacob, remembering the books the Molg had in his pile of junk, got on his knees next to the pile and started shoving as many as possible into the backpack he’d brought. Who knew if one of them would be useful.

He got up and was about to lead the way when Ebony put her hand on his arm, stopping him. “Let me use the map to get us out—we need to familiarize ourselves with it as much as possible.”

He nodded and stepped back so Akeno could light the old leather while Ebony studied it. When she was ready, she took them forward, around a few turns and past several forks. But after ten minutes, Jacob realized she was lost—it hadn’t taken that long to get inside.

“Want me to Time-See?”

“No, I can figure this out. Just give me a moment.”

Jacob leaned against the cave wall with Matt and was about to start a conversation when a slight noise behind them made him jump.

“What was that?” Matt asked, turning.

“Not a Molg, I don’t think.” But Jacob wasn’t sure. He, Sweet Pea, and Matt faced the tunnel, pulling out their knives. They didn’t say anything for several moments, and Jacob wished Ebony would hurry and figure out where they were going. Then they heard the sound again.

“Do you think the Molg escaped?” Jacob asked.

“From my knots?” Sweet Pea snorted. “Not likely.”

“And I’m an Eagle Scout,” Matt said. “Tying knots is second nature.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Okay, whatever. Should we go check, just in case?”

Sweet Pea lit his finger and took a couple of steps forward, his light nearly dying while he moved. He stopped, and the light went brighter again. “Only if Akeno is the one lighting the way—he’s better at it than I am.”

“I say we get out of here.” Matt said.

The others agreed and they turned back to where Ebony stood, but she wasn’t there anymore. And neither were Akeno and Brojan.

Jacob frowned. “Where did they go?”

Matt folded his arms. “Rude! They left without us!”

“Ebony?” Sweet Pea called out, holding up his finger. The light dimmed considerably. He looked at Jacob. “You should Time-See and figure out where they went.”

Jacob nodded and did so. “They’ve gone a few tunnels to the right and are almost to the exit. I think they just figured out we’re not following them—they look panicked. Let’s catch up.”

The boys jogged forward. Sweet Pea’s finger wasn’t nearly bright enough, and Jacob bumped against the tunnel walls more than once. He would probably have bruises.

As they were running, he thought he heard something rushing in the tunnels behind them. “Guys?”

“I can hear it too,” Matt said. “Go faster! Sweet Pea, hurry!”

Just as they caught up with the others, a Molg roared, barreling past Jacob and knocking him down. Jacob’s head hit the ground with a loud thwack, and bright lights flashed in front of his eyes. He barely heard screaming above the ringing in his ears.

Dazed, he got to his feet and took halting steps forward, swaying. He couldn’t move in a straight line. His powers gave him the ability to see the Molg struggling, but he couldn’t see what it struggled against—both Akeno’s and Sweet Pea’s lights had gone out.

Ebony shrieked—in anger or in pain, Jacob couldn’t tell—and Sweet Pea yelled.

Remembering he’d brought a flashlight, Jacob dug through his backpack, pulled it out, and switched it on.

There was the flash of a blade near the Molg, and the creature fell to the ground. Sweet Pea, Ebony, and Akeno stood over it.

Jacob finally reached them, hand on the tunnel wall to steady himself, with Matt close behind. The Molg—looking very dead—held a short, bloody sword. Sweet Pea and Ebony’s blades were also red, and Sweet Pea’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing.

Then Ebony fell to the ground near a crumpled form. “Brojan? Brojan!”

The patriarch stirred, but didn’t respond.

Chapter Seven: Services

Ebony put her hand over her mouth, then got to her feet. “He’s unconscious. We have to get him out of here immediately.” She looked at Jacob and Matt. “Carry him.”

The brothers lifted Brojan on the count of three—he was very solid.

Ebony rushed forward, leading them out of the tunnel and into the caverns to Akeno’s door. Jacob shifted Brojan’s weight to Sweet Pea and Akeno so he could Key them back to Kenji’s house. Once there, the others placed the elderly Makalo on the table. It wasn’t until then that Jacob noticed there was blood all over the patriarch’s stomach.

Kenji entered the room through one of the back doors. “What happened?” He rushed to Brojan’s side. “Oh, no! Brojan?”

Brojan opened his eyes, stared at Kenji, then sighed. His eyes closed and his body slumped, becoming perfectly still.

Ebony put her ear to his chest and kept it there for several seconds. Jacob almost asked if she could hear anything when he noticed tears streaming down her face, seeping into the patriarch’s robe.

She finally lifted her head. “He’s . . . he’s gone.” She turned to Kenji and sobbed into his shoulder. Kenji blinked tears from his eyes and put his arms around his wife.

Jacob’s hands started shaking. No one he’d ever known had died before, and he’d never been around a dead person. His emotions and thoughts tangled as he tried to figure out what he should be feeling. Sadness? Grief?

But it wasn’t possible—Brojan wasn't really dead. That would be . . . Jacob shook his head. He couldn’t internalize this. He backed away from the table.

He should cry, right? But tears wouldn’t come. Would it be disrespectful if they didn’t? His thoughts drifted to Ebony and Kenji, standing there, holding each other. How did this make them feel? How would they cope without their leader? Jacob had always been close to them, and his heart ached, watching their grief.

He felt worse for their sorrow than he did about Brojan’s passing. Was he really that cold? And would his thoughts really matter? Would anyone ask him, and if they did, what would he say?

Turning away, Jacob met Matt’s gaze. “We should get Mom and Dad.”

Matt nodded, looking grateful to have something to do. Jacob glanced at Sweet Pea and Akeno, about to ask if they needed anything, but neither even noticed him—their eyes were glazed over, both looking really shocked.

Jacob Keyed himself and Matt home, and they told their parents what had happened. As he’d expected, Mom and Dad insisted Jacob take them to Taga Village, and then they had him get the Fat Lady, Aldo, and Gallus.

Jacob left the village as soon as he’d rounded up the rest. He didn’t want to be there—it felt like he was intruding on what had been a fairly close-knit circle. Instead, he wandered the gardens, trying not to relive what had happened in the tunnel over and over again. Was there anything he could have done differently? Probably not—Jacob doubted anything would have stopped the Molg from reaching Brojan once it got free. He was just grateful the entire attack hadn’t been visible.