Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (18 page)

“Just keep an eye open for the wolves. Akeno and I will only take a few minutes.”

“No, really. What do you need? I can help.”

Jacob shifted impatiently. “Something from the store owner. That’s it.”

“From Gallus? Why?”

Jacob closed his eyes, his jaw clenched, trying not to lose his temper. Why was she being so nosy? He took a deep breath, controlling his voice. “Aloren.” He paused, then continued, putting emphasis on each word. “Why do you have to know?”

Aloren stomped her foot. “Okay, fine, never mind then. I’ll wait outside.”

She gave a small wave to Seden—Gallus—before storming through the door.

Gallus smiled at her, shaking his head, and approached Jacob. “Welcome back. I assume you’ve heard already who I am?”

“Yeah, we have,” Jacob said.

“So, how can I help you?”

“Actually, can we speak with you in private for a moment?”

“Sure, sure,” Gallus said. “Let me see . . . I’ll need someone to take over for me.” He walked to the door and opened it. “Aloren, would you mind watching the store for a few minutes?”

Jacob’s mouth popped open. He shut it before Aloren could notice. She had an “I told you so” expression written all over her face. He looked away, ignoring her.

“Thank you, Aloren. Holg here was interested in finding a new set of cups for his wife. Would you help him pick out one Nerra would like?”

“Of course.”

Gallus led Akeno and Jacob up a narrow set of stairs and into a room full of boxes and merchandise. “I’m sorry about the mess,” he said. “I’m afraid we’ll have to stand.”

“That’s fine,” Jacob said.

“How can I help you?” he repeated.

“Well . . . I’m not sure where to start.” Jacob looked at Akeno, but his friend wouldn’t meet his eyes—probably being shy again. He sighed. “I’ll just start at the beginning. My name is Jacob Clark, and this is Akeno. His parents are Kenji and Ebony. They said you’d—”

“Kenji? Ebony? Are you serious? Oh, what extraordinary news this is!” Gallus swooped forward and picked up Akeno in a huge bear hug, tears running, a big smile on his face. Akeno let out several small, fearful squeaks, his eyes wider than Jacob had ever seen them before. Jacob had to cough several times to control the urge to laugh at the Makalo’s expression.

Gallus chuckled, wiping his tears away, and put Akeno down. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said. “Kenji was just as shy around strangers until he warmed up to me. Ebony never was a cautious one, though, was she?” He smiled at Akeno, waiting for a reaction.

Akeno gave a small shake of his head, terror still in his eyes. Jacob didn’t hold back the laugh this time, and Gallus joined him. It felt good to laugh.

“And how did you come to be involved with the Makalos?” Gallus put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.

“I’m still not sure about that,” Jacob said. “However, Kenji and Ebony said we could trust you, and to talk to you about what we’re doing here. They also said you had a journal that I should take and read.”

Gallus tapped his cheek, looking at Jacob thoughtfully. “Yes, I do. Give me a minute to retrieve it.”

He scooted past Jacob and hedged his way through stacks of boxes to a shelf in one corner of the room. Reaching up, he felt around the top shelf. “Ahah!”

Gallus lowered his arm, a book now in his fist. He looked at Jacob. “The only reason I’m giving this to you is because you have Akeno here with you as proof that Kenji and Ebony really did send you. Be very careful with it—it’s incredibly important to our people.”

Jacob gingerly took it. It felt worn and fragile in his hands. The leather binding was rubbing away, and the pages were old and tattered. Flipping through, he was surprised that the first page was the only one with writing. The rest were blank.

“Only the first page has something on it,” he said.

Gallus smiled. “It’s intended to be read one page at a time. The rest of the information will be available after you have read what comes before it. The ultimate book—it prevents skipping ahead. You’ll notice that the first couple of pages were torn from another journal and added to the beginning of this, as a sort of introduction.”

Jacob inspected the pages, seeing where the first few were attached. If Gallus hadn’t said anything, he might not have noticed the difference. He turned to the introduction. The writing was loose and haphazard and somewhat similar to his dad’s writing, so it wasn’t difficult to read.

My name is Dmitri. I am twenty-three years old, and I live in the kingdom of Troosinal.

“Wait,” Jacob said. “This book is about Dmitri?”

“Yes, it is,” Gallus replied, beaming. “It’s his personal journal, entrusted to me all these years.” He put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “As I said, take good care of it. Make sure you understand what you’re reading—be thorough.” He leaned back. “Now, then. I’m going to bet that your trip here isn’t just about the journal. Would I be correct to assume that the real reason you’re traveling has to do with the Key of Kilenya?”

Jacob started. “Yes, it does. How did you know?”

“I had my suspicions when you came to the store earlier. I knew that if a Makalo had come out of their hidden village, the Lorkon must have found the Key’s hiding place. The Lorkon spent several years searching the land for that Key, only stopping about a year ago. I’m surprised they were able to get into the Makalo village that quickly. They stole it, didn’t they? And that’s why you’re here?”

“Yes. We’ve been asked to find it and bring it back.”

“That won’t be an easy task. Did Kenji and Ebony prepare you well?”

Jacob glanced at Akeno apologetically. “Not really, actually. There’s not a lot they could tell me, mainly because they haven’t been in this area for several years.”

“Hmmm.” Gallus looked at Jacob for a moment. “I can help you, I think. First, the road to Ridgewood and Maivoryl City is very dangerous. If you have a couple of days, you could stay in my home with me and my family. That would give me enough time to tell you everything you might come across.”

“We . . . don’t have that much time,” Jacob said, thinking about the wolves. “We need to leave as soon as possible.”

“In that case, I recommend you take someone with you who knows the way. I’d love to do it, if you’ll have me. It’s been several years since I last left Macaria, and it would be nice to get out again. I’ll have to shut my shop down, but I’ll manage.”

Jacob shifted his weight. “Well, actually, Aloren has already asked to come with us.”

“Aloren?” He frowned. “That girl is so stubborn. I should have known she’d be trying to get to Maivoryl City again. Of course she would.” He started fidgeting with one of the boxes in the room for a moment before saying anything. He looked up at Jacob, a disappointed expression on his face. “No, she’ll be a better guide than I would.” He sighed. “Of course you should take her instead.”

“Is she trustworthy?”

“Aloren? Trustworthy? Of course she is. She’s worked for me since she was eight. She’s a hard worker—doing pretty much everything. Housecleaning, laundry, cooking, stable cleaning—basically whatever people need. She and her mother used to live right here, in this room. That was back before her mother . . .” His voice trailed off, and he didn’t continue.

“Died?” Jacob said.

“Yes,” Gallus said. “Jacob, listen to me. Aloren has had a difficult life—very difficult. Parents separated before she was born, a mother who was almost always sick, a constant loneliness and desire to find her father and brother. She’s got a lot of energy, she has, but she’s still hurting from her mother’s death. I’ve tried to talk her into settling down here, but every month or so she uproots herself, searching through a different part of the kingdom. And while her mother was sick, Aloren was incredibly restless. She had the desire to be out searching, but couldn’t leave her mother’s side for several months.” Gallus frowned. “That was hard for her. She felt trapped, and then felt guilty for feeling that way.

“She’s been everywhere in this part of the kingdom except past Ridgewood. It would be wise for you to take her with you—to have someone with you who knows the land. And . . . it’ll ease her mind if she’s searching for her brother.”

Jacob moaned to himself. “All right, we’ll take her.”

“You won’t regret it.”

Jacob heard Aloren’s laughter from down below and almost rolled his eyes.

Gallus smiled. “Just take care of her, okay?”

“We will.”

They walked through the city, Jacob keeping his eyes open for wolves. Aloren had been talking almost non-stop since they left the store. He tried to control his frustration, realizing she was probably just excited to be leaving Macaria. He paid little attention to what she was saying, only offering an “Uh-huh” or “Yeah” when he felt they were necessary. He just wanted to get out of the city.

“You know, you really don’t need to worry about the people in this town,” Aloren said, putting her hand on Jacob’s arm.

Jacob startled, pulling away. He hadn’t realized she’d noticed him glancing up and down the alleys. “I’m not worried about the people—I’m worried about the wolves.”

“They’re not here anymore. I already told you.”

“But you couldn’t tell me why. I’ll feel much better when Akeno can confirm it for us.”

“Anyway,” Aloren said, “as I was saying, this used to be a glorious city.”

“Really?” Jacob quickly looked down another alley, his eyes having caught a movement.

“You should’ve seen it at night. I barely remember it—there are paintings, though. If we get through this, maybe someday I’ll show them to you.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The dust from the road blew into Jacob’s face, irritating him. Come to think of it, everything was a source of irritation at this point, and he was still nervous about having Aloren on the trip.

They walked past the last of the buildings and Jacob let out a breath, relieved to be out of the city. He realized Aloren had stopped talking. Had she asked a question? He wracked his brain, trying to remember the last thing she said, but was unable to come up with anything. He risked a quick glance in her direction, but she didn’t seem to be waiting for anyone to say something. She had a smile on her face, though—her dimple was showing.

It was nice not to have to pretend to be listening. He felt bad for that, but his brain could only handle so much conversation before he went crazy.

On the other hand, there were so many things he wanted to talk to Akeno about, and Aloren made that difficult. Gallus might trust her, but Jacob didn’t want to just open up and talk about things with her around—at least, not until he knew more about her.

His thoughts turned to the experience they’d had while running through the tunnel. Those things in the water—what were they? Something Aloren had experience with and that scared the Dust.

Something tickled Jacob’s head, and he scratched it. He glanced at Aloren again—she was still smiling. What could be that funny? Or maybe her face never relaxed—maybe it was frozen in a smile. He almost stopped walking as this thought occurred to him. Maybe she had a muscular disorder that made her face look like that. Jacob made a mental note to check to see what her face looked like while she was sleeping. He almost laughed out loud when this thought formed in his mind, realizing how awkward it would be if she woke up with him in her sleeping place. He could only imagine what he’d say. “Uh, I’m checking to see if you have a muscle problem in your face that makes you smile all the time.” That would make for an interesting conversation.

Scratching his head again, he looked around, not at all surprised that the Minyas were nowhere to be seen.

His head itched again, and this time he felt something crawling in his hair. He jumped, swatting his head several times.

“Hey!” a tiny voice cried out. September flew down from somewhere up above him, joined by Early. “Don’t hit us!”

Jacob jerked to a stop, scowling. “Were you in my hair?”

“We’re just playing a game,” September said.

Early flitted in front of him. “Is that okay?”

“No, it’s not okay!” Jacob pointed at Akeno. “Why can’t you play in his hair?”

“It isn’t as thick as yours,” Early said. “Besides, his lies flat on his head. Yours doesn’t.”

Jacob scoffed. “That is seriously the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s not dumb—it’s fun to play in your hair,” September said.

“Fine. Play. I’m warning you right now, though—don’t blame me if I forget you’re there and one of you ends up squished.”

“We’ll be fine!” Early said, giving Jacob her most winning smile. She and September disappeared from view, and Jacob felt them land on his head. He rolled his eyes again, glancing sidelong at Aloren. She grinned at him. Scowling, he started walking again and let out a breath of pent-up frustration. This was going to be a long trip.

Chapter 12. Storm’s a Comin’

An unfamiliar Minya just approached me, bearing greetings from Brojan, leader of the Makalo army. He and his troops are in the valley just east of here, and are awaiting word from us as to when the attack should begin. It can’t possibly happen for several days, since we have not yet begun to gather forces. I am appointing Lahs, a member of King Roylance’s guard, to round up an army to meet with Brojan’s. Lahs is eager to be of assistance. I’ve instructed him to find any and all who are willing, from every race, to join the cause for freedom.