Jacob Keyed Dad home, then returned and went upstairs in Azuriah’s fortress to study more languages with the Shiengol.
The next morning, Jacob and Dad eagerly rushed to the fortress, wanting to find out what happened during the night with the medicine.
The moment they stepped into the basement, they were accosted by the villager who’d been medicated.
“Hi!” he said, bouncing over to Jacob and Dad. “My name is Trunt!” He shook Dad’s hand several times, a huge smile on his face. The green emotion surrounding him was so strong, Jacob almost couldn’t see the man through it.
He turned to Jacob. “You’re such a good young man.” He grabbed Jacob’s shoulders with both hands, fingers pressing into his skin, peering into his eyes. “I want you to marry my daughter when she comes back.” He looked to Aldo and the Fat Lady, still maintaining his strong grip on Jacob. “She will, won’t she?”
The Fat Lady nodded. “Yes, honey, she will.” She motioned to Dad and Jacob to follow her and Aldo into another room. It took some work, but Jacob was finally able to pry the man’s hands off him.
Once in the room, the Fat Lady turned to Dad.
Dad stroked his chin. “Well, he’s different.”
“Yes. Very.”
Aldo paced the small room. “How do we know if this is his real personality, or if we overdid the medication?”
“We could ask the other villagers,” Dad said. “Though, they’re still . . . off, so might not answer correctly.”
The Fat Lady nodded. “It’s worth a try.” She led them out of the room and over to Myler’s cell. “Yo, Myler. Come here.”
Myler got off his cot, red eyes darting around his cell. He put his scarred and bloody hands against the window frame. “What?”
“Tell me about Trunt,” she said.
“No.” He glared at her for several seconds, then apparently decided he needed to perform for his audience. He flopped down, hitting his chest repeatedly with his fists, bouncing on the cement floor.
The Fat Lady rolled her eyes and turned around, nearly bumping into Jacob. “That didn’t work.”
“I can go ask Eachan,” Jacob said.
“Yes, why don’t you.” Dad stepped back, allowing Jacob access to the door.
Jacob Keyed himself to the town hall. He stepped into the front room and was about to call for Eachan when he heard shrieking coming from another room. He recognized the voice as Eachan’s and backed against the wall, looking for a hiding place.
Jacob spotted the staircase leading up and inched that way, hoping not to step on a creaky board in the process. The screams originated from a room next to the stairs.
“That will be all for today,” Sanso said, his voice drifting out of the room.
The hair on Jacob’s neck rose—he was ten feet away from the stairs. Deciding being heard was better than being seen, he dashed across the floor and jumped up the stairs, Keying himself back to the fortress at the first door he reached.
“Whoa,” he panted. “That was close.” He leaned against the door, holding his chest. “We’ve got to find a better way to contact Eachan than just walking into that place.”
An alarmed expression crossed Dad’s face. “What happened?”
“Apparently, Eachan was receiving one of his ‘punishment’ sessions with Sanso. He was screaming, and they finished right when I got there. I barely made it to a door before Sanso saw me.”
Dad lowered his face into his hands, rubbing his eyes. “I can’t wait until this is all over, especially for that poor man,” he said, his voice muffled.
“Me neither.” Jacob’s breathing finally calmed. “You know what?” He shook his head at himself, frustrated he hadn’t thought of it earlier. “Why don’t I just Time-See to Eachan from now on before Keying there like an idiot?”
Aldo nodded. “Good idea.”
Jacob did so, watching as Sanso finished searching the upper rooms and then left the town hall. Jacob made sure the Ember God really was gone before he Keyed himself back.
Eachan jumped when Jacob stepped through the door. “So, it was you,” he said.
Jacob blew out a breath. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think to make sure you were alone first.”
“How can I help?”
Jacob had a hard time ignoring the new wounds on Eachan’s forearms. His stomach churned as he thought about the pain Eachan had to endure every day. How did the man survive? “We want information on Trunt. What was he like before he went mad?”
“Overly happy and very annoying.” Eachan rolled his eyes. “It might have been better to have him stay crazy, but you and your group probably won’t mind having an exuberant person in your midst.”
Jacob smiled. “Then the medicine is working. The guy grabbed me and told me he wanted me to marry his daughter.”
Eachan laughed. “That would be very awkward for you—she’s twice your age.”
Jacob joined Eachan in laughing, then thanked the man and returned to the others. “We’re good. Apparently . . .” He noticed Trunt watching them from his cot, which was still in the middle of the room. Jacob lowered his voice to a whisper. “Apparently Trunt was always like this.”
Aldo clapped. “Great!” He turned to the villagers. “Who wants to go next?”
Jacob was astonished to see that everyone but Myler volunteered—perhaps seeing Trunt return to his original state was enough to shake them out of the cloud they’d lived under for who knows how long.
Administering the medication didn’t take much time after that. Dad decided that they’d leave Myler as he was and focus on the rest of the people first. They came willingly and swallowed the medication. Trunt was there to encourage them and shake their hands when they had downed the stuff. He helped get the three people—two women and one man—back to their cots so they could rest until the medication had completed its work.
Dad asked Jacob to find Mr. Coolidge, and they handed Trunt over to him. “Find out what he’s willing to do,” Dad told Mr. Coolidge.
After the teacher left, Dad turned to Aldo and the Fat Lady. “We’re really lucky Mr. Coolidge has adopted our cause. In fact, he’s adopted it so much that he’s been studying the histories of this world, and I think he might know more than I do now.” Dad chuckled, then quickly sobered. “The other day, he told me he’s willing to do anything we ask of him. He’s been such a benefit to our situation.”
Jacob had wondered about this—Mr. Coolidge really did seem ready for any task. After he’d learned about Eklaron and got past his nervousness about the creatures, he’d taken everything else in stride. Dad had picked the perfect Earth teacher.
The Fat Lady nodded. “Things run much more smoothly with him around, that’s for sure.”
Dad ran his hand through his hair. “All right, let’s grab Myler.”
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck—this wasn’t going to be very fun.
He was right.
Myler fought them every moment of the way. He was so fast and nimble, they weren’t even able to get him out of his cell. No matter how many people were holding his arms and legs, one of his limbs always slipped away, injuring himself or one of the others.
Dad growled in frustration. “We’ll give it to him in here, then,” he said.
Myler let out a string of words that made even the Fat Lady blush. She glared at him. “That isn’t appropriate in front of a lady. Next time you do something like that, I’ll slap your mouth.”
Myler sneered at her, but didn’t repeat himself, and Jacob nearly chuckled. The idea of the Fat Lady’s slap was enough to scare anyone.
After another fight in the cell, Dad wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Can’t we just knock him out with something?”
Aldo shook his head. “Nope. He has to be conscious.”
Dad grumbled something unintelligible, then said, “Let’s strap him down.”
It took several minutes for Aldo and the Fat Lady to produce straps, and several more to get Myler tied to his
cot. Dad knelt on the man’s hips, Jacob sat on one leg, and Aldo on the other. The Fat Lady held his head down and poured the medicine in his mouth. With a quick movement, she pinched his nose shut and slammed his jaws together with the other hand.
Myler choked and gagged for what seemed like an eternity. The man nearly went unconscious for lack of air and the Fat Lady released his nose just as he swallowed the medicine.
“See? Not so bad, huh?”
Myler gasped and slumped against the cot, eyes closed. He lay motionless for quite some time, and Aldo and the Fat Lady undid the straps.
As soon as Myler was free, he jumped off his cot, catching everyone off guard. He dashed through the doorway and ran up the stairs of the dungeon before anyone could stop him.
Jacob recovered from his shock first and chased after the man, but he didn’t have to go far. Myler was frozen in the door of the fortress, staring out.
“Where am I?” He rounded on Jacob, trying to punch and kick. “Where am I? I’m gone! I’m not here anymore!” He flopped to the floor and bit his palm, teeth sinking into the wounds already there. Jacob looked away. He couldn’t believe anyone could possibly do that to themselves.
Dad, Aldo, and the Fat Lady caught up and grabbed Myler’s arms. Jacob helped pull the man back downstairs—with Myler distracted by his distress, it was a much easier task. They locked him in his cell.
“I’m not sure he’s worth the effort,” Dad said, wiping his head with a handkerchief.
“He might be,” Aldo said. “We could use a strong personality around here.”
The Fat Lady snorted. “We’ve got plenty of those. Don’t need no more.”
“Well, perhaps he’ll calm down.”
The Fat Lady replaced the cups and bowls on the table and cleaned up some spilled powders and liquid. “The medicine might not have been strong enough for him.”
Aldo sank into a chair. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
Jacob Keyed the Fat Lady to her cabin and then he and Dad returned home, where Jacob grabbed his basketball and went outside to shoot hoops, grateful for a moment to himself. He was positive he never wanted to see Myler again.
During the next meeting, Early appeared next to Jacob. “People in Ridgewood are starting to get rid of their doors,” she whispered in his ear.
He relayed the message to the members of the group, and everyone looked at Dad.
“We need to recruit before we lose our chance,” Dad said. He turned to Hayla. “What are the people of Ridgewood like?”
For some reason, Aloren had chosen to sit next to Jacob, and when Dad turned to Hayla, she snorted, then mumbled under her breath, “I don’t know why Hayla is the informer. It’s not like she lived there her whole life.”
“What’s your deal?” Jacob whispered back, half paying attention to what Hayla was saying. Something about the Ridgewood laws.
“Look,” Aloren said. “I grew up in Macaria and went to Ridgewood all the time. Even after they stopped being friendly to people.”
“Yeah, well, she’s at least twice your age and obviously spent more time there than you did.”
Aloren folded her arms and glared straight ahead. She didn’t respond.
“Aside from their laws,” Hayla said, “the people themselves seem friendly until you try to talk to them or learn anything or ask them for help. Then they’re always ‘busy, busy, busy.’”
Aloren stared at Hayla. “You must have gotten on their wrong side, ‘cause people there helped me whenever I needed it.”
Jacob nearly corrected her, but held back—Aloren conveniently left out the part about the people trying to kill her.
Hayla flushed slightly. “There have always been a few here and there who will assist, but it’s very uncommon.”
“Not that uncommon.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably. No one had ever straight-out argued in one of these meetings, and Jacob was surprised it was Aloren. Why did she dislike Hayla so much? It was obvious she couldn’t tolerate the woman, but there wasn’t any reason for her to act that way.
Dad, who’d been standing, rested his hands on the back of his chair. He didn’t say anything for a moment—waiting for emotions to calm down, probably. “Aloren, let’s let Hayla continue. She did live there, after all.”
Aloren looked at her hands, her cheeks reddening. “Sorry,” she muttered.
Jacob relaxed. Aloren’s emotion colors showed she really did feel chastised. Arguing with an adult in front of many of your superiors? He’d never seen her so obstinate, and he was starting to worry about her. But maybe she really did hate Hayla. He shook his head. It was ridiculous, and there was no apparent reason. He’d have to ask her about it later.
Dad motioned for Hayla to continue.
“I’ll accompany whoever the group decides to send. I’d like to recommend Jacob, since he has the Key, but it shouldn’t be more than him and maybe one other person. It’ll be a lot harder to convince my aunt and sister to come with us, and anyone else, if they’re subjected to too many new people at once.”
“Who else would go?” Mom asked.
Everyone looked at Hayla. She appeared to be thinking over the question.
“Well, over the last couple of years, the people of Ridgewood have become very prejudiced against anyone from Macaria. Therefore, Gallus and Aloren won’t be able to go.” She glanced at Dad, then back at Mom. “And I’m sorry to say it, but His Majesty shouldn’t either. They’re more embittered against him than anyone else.”
Dad rubbed his face. “The usual reasons?”
“They’re upset about the king who hid and didn’t save them.”
Dad nodded curtly. “Yes, the usual. Not surprising.” He took a deep breath, then released it. “I couldn’t have prevented any of this, but they won’t believe that.”
Hayla leaned back in her seat. “No, they won’t. And they don’t like having visitors to their city.”
No one said anything again. Then finally, Ebony raised her hand.
“I suggest that Jacob and his little sister accompany Hayla.” She looked at Mom for her reaction. “Amberly is too young to be considered a threat,” she said, and then glanced at Hayla. “And would I be correct in assuming they’d hesitate to hurt kids?”
Hayla nodded, becoming excited. “Yes, yes! The two children would calm spirits, rather than excite them. It’ll be much easier to encourage the villagers to join us.”
Jacob snorted to himself. He wasn’t a child.
Dad approved the idea and even Mom was okay with it, which surprised Jacob. It seemed she trusted Hayla.
The meeting ended, and everyone started getting up to leave.
Aloren grabbed Jacob’s arm, stopping him. “Wait.”
He shrugged her hand off. “I need to get Amberly. We have to go to Ridgewood now.”
She glared at him. “Hayla only wants to be alone with you. Don’t you see that? She’s chasing you.”
Jacob laughed. “Are you serious? Look, she’s at least twenty years older than me. Would you just calm down?”
“No, I will not!” She jumped from her chair and stalked out of the room. Jacob stared after her. He couldn’t keep up with her mood swings.
It only took a couple of minutes for him to get Amberly and for Hayla to be ready. They met at the tree in Taga Village, Jacob holding his sister’s hand. Hayla tied her scarf around her head, then nodded at Jacob.
“Where do I Key us?”
“Through a door to one of the streets and not into a building. You can do that, right?”
Jacob nodded. “Of course.”
He put the Key in the lock and opened a link to the street outside of Hayla’s old house. After following Amberly and Hayla through, he shut the link, then backed off, letting Hayla do her thing.
Hayla straightened her scarf, tucking some hair up into it, hands shaking. She took a few deep breaths, then knocked on the door.
After several moments, an elderly woman in a wheelchair answered.
Jacob recognized her immediately. Not by her face, but because she didn’t have legs, and one arm was missing. It was Hayla’s aunt.
The woman raised an eyebrow, pushing her wheelchair forward. “Yes? May I help you?”
Jacob jumped when the woman started speaking. When he’d seen her with Hayla back in Troosinal, he’d assumed she couldn’t speak. But here she was, talking. Weird.
Hayla hesitated. “Don’t you remember me?”
The elderly woman peered at Hayla. “No, I don’t. What do you want?”
Jacob was surprised when Hayla started sniffling. “It’s me, Hayla. Your niece.”
“My niece is dead. Get off my doorstep.” The woman rolled backward and slammed the door.
Hayla took a shuddering breath. “That . . . didn’t go how I expected.” She wiped her eyes and gave Jacob a shaky smile. “But I’m not surprised. I have been gone for over a year.”
“What about your sister?”
Hayla chuckled. “She’s actually my adopted daughter, but things get hard to explain when I tell people I have a child. Even if she isn’t my own.”
“Whose is she?”
“My best friend’s, who was too young to be a mother. She foolishly joined Dmitri’s little renegade group and got herself killed.” Hayla suddenly put a hand over her mouth. “I mean . . . your father’s group was full of valiant, courageous people and it really wasn’t a foolish thing . . .” Her face reddened. “Please don’t take my words for disrespect. I am only bitter about my friend dying.”
Jacob shrugged. He really didn’t want to get into that conversation. “You’re fine.”
Amberly tugged on Jacob’s hand and he looked down, surprised he’d forgotten she was there. She motioned him closer and Jacob dropped to his knee, holding his ear near her mouth so she could whisper in it.
“There’s a girl staring at us from that window.” She pointed.
Jacob glanced up in time to see a flash of light brown hair before the girl left the window. He didn’t get a good look at her and turned to Hayla for confirmation. “Was that her?”
Hayla nodded. “Yes. Let’s see if we can get her to talk to us away from my aunt.”
Eyes of the Sun (Kilenya Series, 5) Page 11
