Rise of Keitus (19 page)

On her last day, he brought a picture of his family with him, hoping he’d be allowed to show it to her.

She smiled when he entered the cell, carrying another bowl of soup. She was too weak to sit, though, and trying to spoon-feed her was awkward, especially when she wasn’t really interested in the food.

“Thank you, Jacob, but maybe in a moment I’ll have some.”

Jacob’s heart ached. Soon, she wouldn’t be eating anything. He pulled the picture out of his pocket, fully expecting to be stopped at any moment. But nothing happened, and he handed the photograph to her and waited, hesitantly.

Edyta brought the picture to her face and studied it. She looked at him questioningly, but when he opened his mouth to explain, his heart started hurting. He clamped his lips shut and the pain dissipated. Seeing the picture wasn’t an issue, but for some reason, he couldn’t tell her about it.

Edyta shrugged and started handing it back, but then gasped and brought it close again. She stared at it for several moments and tears welled up in her eyes, pouring down her cheeks. She glanced at him and smiled shakily.

Jacob knew she understood. She now had proof that her hard work with Arien and Dmitri had paid off. It was easy to see how happy the couple in the picture was with their children.

“Your Majesty?” Jacob took the picture back when she handed it to him, pocketing it. “I need to gain access to the castle as a spy servant.”

She smiled, closing her eyes. “You’ve been getting in fine.”

“Yes, but I need to work under the king directly.”

“It’ll be dangerous, child.”

Jacob nodded. “I know. It’s necessary. To prevent . . . to learn . . .” He sighed, wishing he could say more.

But he didn’t need to—apparently, she understood enough.

“Seek out Dmitri, but wait until he’s ready for you. In a few years, I think. Express to him your desires. He’ll help you get in—I know he will.” She reached for Jacob, hand shaking, and he took it. “Be careful, though. What you’ve seen will only get worse.”

Jacob squeezed in response and was surprised at the strength of her grip. She pulled him in closer, putting her other palm on his cheek. “I love you. Thank you for the gift of peace you brought.”

Jacob patted her shoulder and said goodbye, not wanting to be there when she passed away. For several moments, his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. Her death would mean absolutely nothing to the king, but it would mean everything to Dmitri, and now to Jacob.

Determination to learn everything he could about Keitus overwhelmed him. He would do it for her—he would right the wrongs for his grandmother who hadn’t deserved to die the way she did.

He was ready to take on Keitus.

Chapter Twelve: Horse and Cow

Jacob’s preparations took on a renewed vigor. No longer did the depression, dirtiness, and vulgarity of the city bother him. Nothing would stop him from getting into that castle and succeeding at this most important of tasks.

Dad noticed his changed attitude.

“Okay, Jacob. What’s going on?” he asked over dinner one night with the family. “I’m almost worried you’re too determined.”

Jacob shrugged, noticing that everyone at the table—Mom, Amberly, Matt, and Aldo—was paying attention. “I went back and visited Queen Edyta while she was in the dungeon.”

He told them about each of his visits, including showing her the picture. “She gave me a lot of pointers about the castle. Told me to talk to Dmitri for help. She said to wait a couple of years after her death.”

Dad frowned. “I don’t remember that. ‘Course, over several years, I helped hundreds of spies infiltrate the castle for various reasons. Your needs must not have seemed out of the ordinary.”

Mom took another serving of corn, then glanced at Jacob. “Which picture did you show her?”

“The one that used to be over the fireplace before you got a bigger one.”

Mom’s face paled. “I always hated that photograph. And now I wish I’d done my hair better—more like a queen. What she must have thought when she saw it!”

Everyone laughed and Mom finally cracked a smile.

“I’m positive she didn’t notice,” Jacob said. “She was preoccupied with other things.”

Mom grinned at Jacob, the colors in the air around her showing her love. “I’m sure she really appreciated it.”

After dinner, Dad and Jacob worked together again. Dad quizzed him once more on areas of the city, protocol, and mannerisms.

“Oh!” Dad said. “I completely forgot. You and the others can’t go back to Troosinal using your real names. They’ll stand out way too much.” He leaned back on the couch, tapping his cheek, thinking. “Something similar to the names you’ve already got would be best.” A smile crossed his face. “You’ll be called Thojac.”

Jacob laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No . . .”

Jacob’s jaw dropped. Dad was serious. “Thojac, Dad? Really?”

“Yes. It’s very similar to Jacob and was a popular name. And Aloren will be Rora. Don’t you think that suits her?”

“I don’t know.” Jacob didn’t care about Aloren’s name. He was too preoccupied with his own. “But Thojac?”

“There’s nothing similar to Matt. Except girl names, and those won’t do. How about Ondel?”

Jacob scowled. “Great. Just great.
Matt
gets a cool-sounding name. Cooler than
Thojac
, at least. Totally not fair. Why’d he get so lucky?”

Dad sobered, leveling his gaze on his son. “Not everything in life is about luck or fairness.”

“Yeah. Don’t I know it.”

“All right. From now on, those are the names everyone will call you. You’ll be ready to leave for Troosinal in a couple of days, and we want you to be accustomed to these new names. I’ll let the adults know the changes, if you’ll tell Aloren and Matt.”

Jacob went upstairs and found his brother. He was playing a video game and invited Jacob to join him. Jacob declined and told Matt about the conversation with Dad.

“Wow. Sorry, dude. Ondel sounds like an old man’s name, though.” He put the remote down and turned to Jacob. “Are you ready?”

Jacob nodded. “I think so.” Dad had been working with them separately—their different schedules had made it difficult for them to be together. “What about Aloren, though?” It seemed like she’d spent a lot of time talking to Mom, who knew a little about Troosinal, but Aloren only had a couple of training sessions with Dad.

Matt shrugged. “I think she’ll be fine. Her role isn’t nearly as dangerous, from what Dad was saying.”

“Okay. I still worry, though.”

A serious expression crossed Matt’s face. “Me too. And honestly? I’m really freaked out about this. So much could happen while we’re back there. And the fact that everyone here will be doing dangerous things too? It’s going to make it hard to concentrate.”

Jacob took a deep breath, slowly releasing it. He had no response to Matt’s comment—he felt the same way.

A few days later, the first group was ready for Jacob to Key them to Aldo’s old cabin. He gathered them together, then stood back, letting Dad give last-minute instructions. This group was headed up by Ebony and Coren, who was absolutely huge and muscular—he’d been overweight when Jacob and the rest had pulled him out of the scented air, but over the past couple of months, most of the fat had melted off.

This group was to head directly to the Molg tunnels. Jacob worried how they’d do without him there to see and warn them of coming Molgs, but Ebony was confident they’d be okay. She’d memorized the tunnels and had her finger to light the way. Going with those two would be several humans and Wurbies. All had been equipped with weapons and armor. The humans had spent a lot of time creating things for the war. Coren was even a blacksmith and with Kenji’s permission, he’d set up a shop and had been forging weapons and armor almost non-stop.

After Dad finished, he gave Jacob the go-ahead, and Jacob Keyed them all to Aldo’s cabin.

A few hours later, Jacob gathered those who would accompany Akeno and Gallus on the quest to destroy the mud bubbles and Molg tunnels. Sweet Pea and Fubble the Wurby were going with them, along with more Wurbies and humans.

After Jacob had taken them to Aldo’s cabin, he brought together the members of the last group—the one Dad, as king, would be in charge of. Aldo had insisted on going, along with several humans. This group had no Makalos—Dad was worried about taking them to Fornchall where the presence of the Lorkon was sure to be stronger. They planned to travel across the valley from Aldo’s old cabin.

Jacob didn’t witness his parents’ goodbye to each other, but he was sure it was tearful. He still couldn’t believe everyone had been okay with Dad actually getting involved—usually Gallus was strongly opposed to any involvement on Dad’s part, especially if Jacob was also doing something dangerous. But Jacob supposed things would be changing, especially since Dad was serious about taking back his country. He couldn’t hide forever—eventually, the people would need a real leader.

Jacob Keyed his dad’s group to Aldo’s cabin. He didn’t close the link right away, but watched as they set off across the grassy valley. What if he never saw his father again?

He couldn’t think about that. Positive. Had to be positive. He took a deep breath, waved one last time when Dad looked back, then returned to Taga Village.

Jacob dug through his backpack again, making sure he had everything he thought he’d need. They couldn’t bring anything electronic with them—his heart had prevented him from doing so, and he figured it was one of those “just in case” things. A regular citizen of Troosinal would freak out if they saw a cell phone or alarm clock.

He sat on his bed, not ready to leave just yet. They’d be returning frequently for showers and fresh food, but most of his time from there on out, including sleeping, would be done in Troosinal. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d need to give his heart and body rest, they wouldn’t be coming back at all. Thank goodness for weak—ish—muscles!

Early flitted up to him, patting him on the cheek. “You’ll be all right, Jacob.”

He nodded. “I hope so. But everyone else? I . . .”

She landed on his knee and looked up at him, shaking her dark curls out of her eyes. “I’ll watch over them.”

He smiled. Dad had requested that Early spend most of her time going back and forth between the three groups in Eklaron while Jacob was in Troosinal. Whenever he returned, she’d give him an update and he’d update them. That way, if anything happened, he’d know about it, and if necessary, could Key the groups to safety.

Hopefully nothing would happen.

Jacob held out his hand and Early hopped on it. He brought her up to eye level. “Sorry we haven’t spent a lot of time together since you became my Minya. I hoped we could go on more adventures, but I can’t take you to the past with me.”

She grinned at him. “It’s okay—I’ve found lots of honey! And there are Minyas on Earth, too, but they’re not very friendly. Except for one! She was nice.”

Jacob chuckled. “Minyas on Earth, huh?”

“Yup! I brought them here.”

Jacob laughed again, then stood, watching her flit to look out the window. “I’ve got to go now,” he said. “Thanks for all you’ve done and will be doing.”

She zoomed back to the middle of the room and spun around. “It’s gonna be fun! Lots and lots and lots of messages to deliver.”

Jacob swung his backpack across his shoulder, said goodbye, then left his room. Matt, Sammy, Aloren, and Kevin were in the living room. Moments later, the doorbell rang, and Jacob opened the door to find Tani there, holding a gift. She flung her arms around him.

“Thanks for calling and telling me you’re gonna be gone for like, forever.” She thrust the small box into his hands. “Mom made me get you this.”

He opened the box and found a miniature basketball game there—the kind where you pull back a lever and try to get the ball in the hoop. He grinned. “Tell her thanks!” Maybe he’d be able to take it with him.

Jacob turned to everyone. “Ready?”

“No!” Sammy wailed. She flung her arms around Matt, kissing him all over his face. She’d just learned a little about what was going on in Eklaron and hadn’t adjusted well to Matt leaving.