The Key of Kilenya (12 page)

J
acob and Akeno walked in silence for a while
as Jacob pondered the events of the last two days. He finally gave
in to his curiosity. “Akeno, can I ask you a couple of
questions?���

“Sure.”

“What happens when you touch the trees? I
mean, I know it has something to do with Rezend or whatever, but
how does it tell you when there’s danger around?”

“When a Makalo comes in contact with
something that’s alive, we’re given a sense of what’s around us.
Basically, we see what they see, but not in a visual way.”

What would that be like? Jacob looked back at
the poplars behind them—trees that tall had to have a great view.
“Why do you read trees? Why not me, or one of the Minyas? We’re
living things.”

“Theoretically, you’re similar, but not
enough.” Akeno paused, a slight frown on his face. “There's a lot
of history behind it—I'll give you all of it someday; but for now,
all you really need to know is that hundreds of years ago, Makalos
were completely tied to trees. We lived in them and through
them—they fed our Rezend. A good Makalo leader took us from them,
but then our magic started to wane with each generation. Of course,
by doing that, the leader saved us. And we still maintain a
connection with trees.”

Akeno sighed. “The Makalo people were the
most powerful people in this world, and their magic was not outdone
by any, including the humans and Shiengols. There were millions
upon millions of us.” He gazed toward the mountain towering above
them. “Their greatest city was located not far from here. The Kaede
trees, from what we know, are still standing. I can only imagine
how amazing it was to see the city in its prime.”

He turned to Jacob. “You’ve probably noticed
that my finger is blue—the Rezend which flows through my body
creates a brilliant silver-blue glow, and a Makalo’s body shines
when at his or her fullest magical ability. The Rezend is like
their blood, and—”

“That’s really weird,” Jacob said.

Akeno frowned and took a minute to answer. “I
guess I can see why you would feel that way. I’ve known about it my
whole life, so it’s normal to me.”

“It wouldn’t be weird to you to walk up to
someone who was blue all over?”

“It’s not a berry blue.” He shrugged. “You
would barely notice the shade until you got close to the
individual. It was more like a silvery blue glow around them.”

Akeno paused. “Actually, we should probably
eat now.” He knelt at the side of the path and pulled things from
his pack—carrots, potatoes, seasoning, water—and made soup. Jacob
built the fire.

When the soup was finished, they ate in
silence for several minutes, Jacob lost in his own thoughts. What
would those original Makalos have been like?

“And your village is all that remains of the
Makalos. Wow.”

“Yes, mainly because of the war that occurred
several years ago, but also because the Makalos aren’t as powerful,
magically. In a few more generations, it’ll probably be gone.”

Jacob and Akeno gathered their things in
silence and continued on the path. The Minyas flitted around,
playing another silly game.

Jacob looked up at the mountains, now right
in front of them. The path appeared to be cut into the
mountainside, forming a series of switchbacks.

“Looks like we’re going up,” Akeno said.

“Good thing I don’t mind hiking.”

At first the trail wasn’t too difficult. The
mountainside sloped gently upward, and the path followed naturally.
However, after they’d hiked half an hour, the path rose sharply,
and the switchbacks started. They were deeply cut, causing a sheer
drop on one side of the path. In several sections, parts of the
path had crumbled away, leaving only a few inches left on which to
stand.

They paused to rest and admire the view.
Smoke rose from Aldo’s chimney below, and with the forests and
gently rolling hills, Jacob found himself wishing he had his camera
with him.

After resting about five minutes, they
continued upward. The trail became more difficult, and in several
places, they had to grab branches and bushes to pull themselves
along. Eventually, and much to Jacob’s relief, they reached the top
where the path crested over the foothills and turned left, veering
to the east.

They only followed the trail for a few more
minutes before deciding to stop and set up camp in a small canyon
harboring a thicket of scrub oak. The sun was setting, and a brisk,
cold wind had picked up. Akeno assembled the hut while Jacob
started a fire, and the Minyas raced through the branches of the
small trees. When the fire was blazing, Akeno cooked dinner. They
ate as they watched the sunset.

Jacob sighed, content now that his stomach
was full. “Those were amazing potatoes.” He leaned back, watching
the last rays of amber sunlight disappear. “I wish we’d had more
time to discuss the Lorkon. Do you know anything about them?”

“Not a whole lot. Just that they’re evil and
prefer being in the dark.” Akeno stood and started raking dirt over
the coals. “I’ve also heard they’re really ugly.”

“Yeah, they would be.”

Akeno frowned, turning to Jacob. “Why do you
say that?”

“Haven’t you ever noticed? The bad guys are
always ugly.”

Akeno laughed as they headed to the makeshift
tent where September and Early had already turned in for the
night.

Jacob was restless for a while, trying not to
dwell on what had happened at the manor. He needed a good night’s
rest, free from nightmares, and wasn’t sure he’d get one. After
tossing for several minutes, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning Jacob woke early, feeling
well rested. Akeno murmured something in his sleep on the other
side of the hut, and Jacob got up, trying not to wake him. He
wanted to move around a bit to stretch out his sore muscles.

He climbed his way through the hole Akeno had
left for him in the mess of brambles and leaves. The mountains were
to his back, dark and tall. He glanced up at them. They were
beautiful in their ruggedness. No trees, no bushes—nothing but huge
granite outcroppings. Though he was able to admire them, he was
grateful the path didn’t go any higher. Instead, it led across a
plateau shaped by the foothills they’d climbed yesterday.

Walking away from the campsite and back to
the path, Jacob looked down at the switchbacks, maintaining a safe
distance from the edge. The view was dizzying, and he had to steady
himself momentarily.

He looked down again and saw the wolves
making their way up the switchbacks. He rolled his eyes. What
ridiculous creatures.

There was a sound behind him, and Jacob
turned. Akeno was just getting out of the shelter.

“Jacob, what are you doing?” Akeno asked,
picking a bunch of leaves from the branches on the hut.

“Just looking. The wolves are coming up the
mountain.”

Akeno finished picking the leaves, then
joined Jacob at the ledge. He glanced over. “Are they just now
catching up to us?”

Jacob nodded. “How long did it take us to get
up those switchbacks? A couple of hours?”

“Or a little more.”

Jacob frowned. “Let’s get out of here right
now.”

Akeno turned. “I’ll go put the branches back
where they were last night.”

“Why does it matter if they’re put back?”

“Because they die quickly when under so much
pressure. While I’m around them, I can use my Rezend to prevent
them from being damaged, but once we leave, they won’t have that
protection.”

He went to the hut and Jacob followed,
grabbing his backpack before Akeno dismantled his creation. The
Minyas flew out, brushing themselves off and looking irritated.

“Good morning,” Jacob said, but they ignored
him and flew away. He turned to Akeno. “Why don’t they talk to us
very much? I’ve barely had a handful of conversations with
them.”

“They’re like most Minyas,” Akeno said,
pulling his tape dispenser from his bag. “They prefer games to
conversing, and they’re very light-minded. They don’t find anyone
but other Minyas to be interesting.” He sat down and taped the
leaves to his shoes. “If they didn’t have such good memories for
relaying messages, no one would keep them around.”

Jacob took a drink of water from his canteen,
then put it back in his knapsack. “I’ve noticed they never get
tired of going back and forth between people.”

Akeno picked up his bag, and they headed to
the trail. “And they won’t. They never mess up the messages and
never get lost. They’re better than cell phones.”

Jacob smiled. “Ha. Good one.”

He looked over his shoulder toward the
switchbacks. No sign of the wolves. He took a breath, telling
himself to relax. The wolves didn’t want to attack. At least he
hoped not.

The trail curved a couple of times around
huge rocks, but it was level. There weren’t many trees here, and
the mountain rose on the right with the drop-off on the left.

Strange-looking wild flowers grew in patches
on both sides of the trail, and Jacob picked one to examine while
walking. It was a type he’d never seen before, with bright blue
petals and soft thistles on the stems and leaves. He noticed
something odd and stared at it. “That’s weird. Are the petals
moving?”

“Yes, they are,” Akeno said. “That’s how they
attract bees. They’re my mom’s favorite flower. The petals are
edible, with a spicy-sweet flavor. It does take a bit to get over
the feel of them wiggling in your mouth, though.”

Jacob grimaced. “That’s really gross.”

“It’s disconcerting, yes,” Akeno said,
adjusting the strap on his knapsack. “Of course, if you’re out on
the road and don’t have anything else to eat, you’ll take what you
can get, right?”

“I guess so,” Jacob said. “But I really doubt
I’ll ever be starving enough to eat something that wiggles in my
mouth.”

Akeno laughed. “You’ve already eaten them,
anyway. The potatoes last night were seasoned with them.”

“They were? Sick!”

He paused, staring at the area ahead of them.
The flowers and trees abruptly came to a stop, and the ground was
shiny and bubbly looking. It was a brown-gray color, with no
inclines of any sort. As he got closer, it looked as though someone
had poured a layer of smooth cake mix over everything. He took a
step onto it—the path was barely visible—and his foot crunched
through an inch or so of dried mud. It felt like stepping on dead
leaves. He bent to scrutinize it.

“What’s all over the ground?” Akeno said,
peering past Jacob.

“I think it’s mud. Have you seen anything
like this before?”

Akeno shook his head. “No, never.”

Walking carefully, Jacob soon got accustomed
to the crunching sounds under his feet. The farther they walked,
the bigger the bubbles got, and the path was becoming impossible to
distinguish. Then he stepped through a bubble that was at least a
foot tall, causing him to stumble forward. Akeno reached out and
steadied him, and together they surveyed the area. The path
disappeared over the next several feet, and the bubbles were
getting much, much broader.

Jacob ran his hand through his hair. “This
could be a problem.”

“Maybe we should try to go around it.”

“Good idea.”

They retraced their steps and separated,
leaving the path. Jacob went right, trying to skirt the mud on the
side closest to the mountain and Akeno walked in the opposite
direction, toward the edge of the cliff.

“The mud goes all the way up,” Jacob called
to Akeno. The mountainside was a sheer granite wall, and Jacob had
only been rock climbing a few times. He wasn’t about to try his
luck here.

“It spills over the cliff on this side,”
Akeno said from where he stood. “We won’t be able to go this way.”
They walked toward each other. Akeno shielded his eyes from the
glare of the early morning sun. “Do you know anything about
crossing huge areas of land covered in big, dried mud bubbles?”