Rise of Keitus (Kilenya Series, 4)

by Andrea Pearson

Fubble tied Morton’s arms behind his back with one hand acting as a rope, his other turning into a piece of cloth which he used to cover the man’s mouth.

  Morton screamed out in rage and bit the gag—Fubble’s hand. Fubble’s eyes teared up, but he didn’t let go.

  “You are not touching Jacob no more!”

  Gallus pulled rope from his shoulder bag and tied Morton’s arms and legs. Fubble pulled away, and Jacob watched with fascination as fingers and palms appeared where the Wurby’s ropes had been.

  Without the gag, Morton started screaming. “They’ll be here to get him soon, and I hope they kill you all!”

  Gallus shook his head. “Morton, we were good friends. I’m sorry you’ve made this choice.” He shoved a piece of cloth into Morton’s mouth and tied it in place.

  Dad checked Jacob over, looking at the cut on his neck. “It’s bleeding, but not much. We need to continue.” He got to his feet, helping Jacob up. “Matt, Jacob, go search the rest of the house.”

  Matt led the way, but stopped when he entered the next room where the baby was still crying. Jacob had to look away—the outer half of the room was demolished, and there were dead Wurbies everywhere. Sorrow and revulsion hit him—the poor, innocent creatures.

  He and Matt returned to the main room and reported their findings.

  Fubble’s eyes filled with tears. “My Wurbies!” he wailed. “Lirone be bad! Very, very bad!”

  Gallus shook his head. “Lirone is only doing what the Lorkon have commanded him to do. He wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for them.”

  Fubble nodded, wiping his eyes with a hand turned into a tissue. “Bad, bad Lorkon.” He sniffed, then straightened. “We keep going.”

  “What should we do with Morton’s kids?” Jacob asked.

  “Let’s take them to Bezza,” Gallus said. “She can care for them for now. I’ll return and check on them later and will decide then what to do with this pig.” He poked Morton with his foot, and the man glared up at him.

  After moving the crying kids, Jacob and the others raced down another road. The next house was completely demolished. Jacob looked away from the destruction, not wanting to see any more death. He wished his group had time to stop and search for anyone still alive, but Lirone’s bombs continued to fall everywhere, and they couldn’t risk losing more innocent lives.

  Cold raindrops fell from the sky, pinging against Jacob’s skin like little whips. He pulled his hood over his head and continued running.

  At the next house, all the humans had been killed in an explosion and only a group of Wurbies were alive—women and children, huddled in the corner. Fubble approached and put his arms around them, telling them it would be okay, then Jacob Keyed them to Taga.

  Several more buildings were in ruins, and the house Gallus led them to next was full of humans and Wurbies. They’d congregated together when Lirone started attacking. Every one of the humans begged to be allowed to go to Taga with the Wurbies, and Dad approved.

  They continued running place to place, finding similar results.

  Jacob realized something. Lirone hadn’t attacked him and his group directly. Why not? They still had their hearing, and not once had a bomb landed really close. Maybe Lirone had been instructed not to harm them, instead doing as much damage to the city as possible.

  At one point, Jacob saw Lirone’s makeshift face. The sky monster looked at Jacob’s group, but deliberately threw a fire bomb somewhere else. That confirmed Jacob’s belief that the Lorkon didn’t want them dead. What had changed? Every other time Lirone had shown up, he’d tried to kill everyone.

  Finally, the task was over, the last of the Wurbies rounded up. Jacob created a link to Taga Village, holding the door open for Dad and Matt.

  Dad put his hand on Gallus’s shoulder. “You and your wife should stay here too.”

  Gallus shook his head. “I’m not ready to close my shop just yet—too many people to help and protect. For the next couple of days, though, my wife and I will hide in the tunnels.”

  “Okay. We’ll be holding a meeting tomorrow in Brojan’s home. I’ll send Jacob to get you.”

  Gallus rested his arm against the door frame and watched Ebony and Kenji rush around, busily caring for the wounded, a sad expression on his face. “I wish there was more I could do.” He sighed and stepped away from the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Jacob closed the door of the tree and rested against the rough bark outside, very glad that the whole ordeal was over. His heart still ached, though, for those who had died.

  Not long after, Brojan came down the stairs of the tree. “The attacks on Macaria have ended.” He closed his eyes. “Many, many were killed tonight.”

  No one responded. Dad turned to Jacob, his eyebrows knitted, the colors of deep sorrow flowing through the air around him. “Let’s go home.”

  The next day, Jacob made the usual rounds to get everyone to Taga Village for the meeting.

  Dad started immediately, bringing up the Wurbies and asking about Brojan’s plans for their care.

  “We don’t need to worry about them,” Kenji said before Brojan could respond. “They brought food and have already started building homes.” He half smiled. “They’re amusing creatures. It seems they’ll use anything to construct their houses, even garbage.”

  Jacob chuckled. Kenji was right. The Wurby houses he’d seen a few weeks before had been made with plastic, banana peels, tile . . . pretty much whatever they could get their hands on.

  “Very well,” Dad said. “Next, I’ve heard from Azuriah. He’ll be returning soon—any minute, actually—to start training Jacob.”

  Jacob groaned. Azuriah wasn’t going to be an easy teacher, he knew that much already. The Shiengol was so temperamental and moody, Jacob was always on edge around him.

  “And,” Dad continued, “Jacob, as decided, you’ll be studying with a tutor from your school soon instead of returning to classes.”

  Jacob had nearly forgotten about that. He bit his lip, worrying over who the tutor would be and whether he would get along with that person or not. He really hoped it wouldn’t be Shirley’s mom.

  “I still have to set up the time,” Mom said.

  Just then, a Minya Jacob didn’t recognize flitted into the room. “Azuriah is at August Fortress, waiting for Jacob to get him and deliver him to Taga Village.”

  Dad chuckled. “Speak of the devil.”

  Whoa, that was fast. Jacob’s hands immediately started sweating. He’d hoped for a few more days before having to face the Shiengol. How would Jacob react? Before, when he had thought about all this, he’d wanted to punch Azuriah for not warning him that the Lorkon were about to kidnap him.

  Jacob pushed away from the table and walked to the door, hoping no one else would sense his hesitancy.

  He created a link to August Fortress, slowly pushing the door open. Last time he’d been there, he’d gone through more than his fair share in his opinion. He wasn’t ready for any repeats. The Key took him to his old cell, revealing Azuriah standing in the middle of the room, staring at the slime on everything.

  Strong emotions—fear, stress, anxiety, and determination—flooded over Jacob the moment he saw the room where the Lorkon had kept him. It took all his willpower not to slam the door right away. He didn’t move an inch, refusing to enter. Azuriah got to his feet and strode through the link, ignoring Jacob’s distress, thank goodness. As soon as Jacob shut the door, closing the connection between Taga and the fortress, the emotions washed away. His breath rushed out of his lungs and he closed his eyes. He hadn’t been prepared to react that strongly.

  Jacob returned to his seat at Brojan’s table, shaking from the adrenaline that had flooded through his system.

  Azuriah didn’t sit down—not surprising. He paced the floor. No one said anything, and Jacob figured they were all doing the same thing: waiting to see what the Shiengol would say or do.

  Azuriah turned around. “This is how things will happen with Jacob�
�s training,” he said. “He’ll finish mastering Time-Seeing. Then we’ll learn Time-Traveling and all the rules that accompany it.” He looked at Jacob. “After you figure out Traveling, you will go back and study how Keitus became a Lorkon.”

  Even though this didn’t surprise him, Jacob’s heart still did a flop. He nodded, but then hesitated. What about Azuriah? “You can Time-Travel, can’t you? Why aren’t you doing it?”

  “I have other things to deal with and, outside of training you, won’t be focusing on this aspect of our Lorkon problem.”

  Jacob’s skin tingled when Azuriah said “our problem.” What a relief! Azuriah viewed the Lorkon as a common issue. That would make things easier in the long run. But still . . . “Aren’t the Lorkon the biggest problem we’ve got? Wouldn’t it be better if you helped me?”

  Azuriah stopped, hands behind his back, and stared at Jacob. “We can’t be effective in fighting them with all the damage they’ve done to the land. The wall by Maivoryl City must be torn down. Only a Shiengol will be able to do that, and only a Shiengol can figure out how it must be done.”

  He resumed pacing. “The Lorkon plan to awaken Lasia, the Fire Pulser. I will focus on keeping her in place. And the Molgs must be brought to submission or at least pacified. We can’t have them wandering the land and joining Keitus’s army at will.”

  He snatched an apple off the table and took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. No one said anything. It was obvious the Shiengol wasn’t finished talking.

  “This isn’t all. Not every Shiengol feels it necessary that we assist in getting rid of the Lorkon. I’ll be holding many negotiations with them. Without their help, most of these tasks will be impossible.” Azuriah finished the apple, core included. He turned and put his hands on the table, leaning over Matt to stare at Jacob. “So you, Jacob, will be obligated to research the Lorkon. And there are things about them you need to learn on your own.”

  Jacob blew out his breath, trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. “That’s a big responsibility. How am I going to get it done?”

  “You’ll be going back in time. Follow their footsteps. Figure them out.”

  “And Jacob, we’ll help wherever possible,” Dad said. “You won’t be alone.” He glanced at Azuriah. “Anything else?”

  “No. I must find a place to stay here. I’ll go now and search.”

  “I’ll help you later, if you’d like,” Brojan said, but the Shiengol waved him off.

  “I don’t want help.”

  Jacob smiled at the clipped response, but several at the table looked shocked. They still hadn’t adjusted to Azuriah’s personality.

  The Shiengol left Brojan’s home, taking the uptight atmosphere with him. Jacob chuckled when he saw that the others at the table relaxed as Azuriah left.

  “That guy is way too intense,” Matt said. “He’s got to lighten up or all of us will die of heart attacks.”

  “He mentioned the Molgs,” Aldo said. “I used to have a map of their tunnel system.” He turned to the Fat Lady. “Did you happen to come across it while cleaning out my cabin?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Once everything has settled down here, we should locate it.”

  Dad got to his feet. “Jacob, that’s your task. After you’re on a working schedule with Azuriah and your tutor, Time-See and find that map.”

  He ended the meeting, telling everyone to continue with what they were working on, and then had Jacob return them all to their homes.

  On Saturday morning, Jacob woke to a knock on his door. He rolled over, kicking off his blankets. “Who is it?”

  “Me,” Mom said. “I’m coming in.”

  She opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the crumpled bedding on the floor. “Your tutor will be here in five minutes. I thought I told you last night that you needed to be up by seven thirty.”

  “Five minutes? And no, you didn’t say anything.”

  She frowned, probably trying to remember. “I think I forgot. Sorry, honey.” She looked at the empty silver box on Jacob’s desk where Early, his Minya, slept most nights. “Where’s Early? And has Uncle Azuriah contacted you? He wanted to find a time to work with you too.”

  “No, he hasn’t, and Early’s out looking for honey. She left a couple of days ago.” Jacob paused, looking at his mom suspiciously. “Wait. Uncle Azuriah?”

  Mom flushed and rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes flicking from the floor to Jacob. “I really looked up to him as a child.”

  The doorbell rang, and Mom turned to leave. “That must be your tutor. Go comb your hair or something, and I’ll let him in.”

  Jacob jumped out of bed and scampered around, trying to find jeans and a T-shirt. His mind wasn’t on the task, though. Uncle? Why would Mom say that? They must’ve been really close because she never called other people by titles they didn’t hold. And he definitely wasn’t her uncle.

  Jacob dashed downstairs, pausing at the entrance to the living room. Aldo was in there, talking to a man sitting with his back to the stairs. Seeing Jacob, Aldo quickly excused himself and went into the kitchen. Had the old man walked the whole way to Mendon?

  Mom pushed Jacob the rest of the way into the room, but he jerked to a stop when the man on the couch got up and turned around.

  Jacob’s mouth popped open. “Mr. Coolidge?”

  Chapter Two: Tunnel Map

  Jacob’s former math teacher smiled, the colors around him showing satisfaction, possibly because of Jacob’s surprised reaction.

  “Yes. Shocked? Disappointed? Sorry.” He turned to Mom. “Where do you want us?”

  “You’ll be using my study.” She led the way across the living room and opened her office door, then stepped back, allowing the other two to enter. “Have fun.”

  Jacob fidgeted with his shirt, rolling the loose fabric into a ball. Mr. Coolidge made himself comfortable behind the desk, sitting where Mom usually sat, and motioned to the chair across from him. Jacob fell into it.

  “I’ll be meeting with you twice a week, Saturday mornings at eight for two hours and Tuesdays after school for one hour.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the wooden top, fingers clasped. “I have to admit, I was very curious about you being pulled out of school.” His dark eyes were probing.

  “Yeah.” Jacob wasn’t sure how much Mr. Coolidge knew, but he wasn’t about to spill the beans before talking to his parents.

  Apparently recognizing he wouldn’t get much out of the student, Mr. Coolidge opened a briefcase and pulled out papers. “You still have your books from school?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “Good. We’ll be using them. My purpose isn’t to teach you, but to guide you in teaching yourself. We’ll focus directly on the things you struggle with, and I’ll assign other material for you to work on throughout the week.”

  Jacob nodded again when Mr. Coolidge looked up at him.

  “Today, we’ll figure out where you are in all your subjects.”

  They first went over history, then science, English, and finally math. When the two hours ended, Jacob slumped in the chair and Mr. Coolidge leaned back, removing his reading glasses.

  Jacob’s brain felt like it had been pummeled by a boxer, but he was relieved—he wasn’t behind at all, and Mr. Coolidge would be searching for more advanced things for him to study. To Jacob’s satisfaction, the colors swirling around Mr. Coolidge showed the session had been challenging for him as well.

  After promising Mr. Coolidge he’d complete all his assignments, Jacob showed him out the door. Matt came into the living room, holding his cell. “Just got a text from Kevin. He wants to come over and play basketball with us and Aloren. You cool with that? Aloren is on her way from the tree.”

  Jacob shrugged. He didn’t care. Okay, he did—it still really bothered him that Aloren and Kevin were dating, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “Sure, why not.”

  It took fifteen minutes for them to arrive. They split into teams—Jacob and
Matt against Aloren and Kevin. Halfway through the game, Aldo bounced through the front door and dashed off the porch.

  “I want to learn. Dmitri talks about this game all the time.”

  Jacob laughed. Even though Aldo had way too much energy for an old man, it still was difficult to picture the scrawny guy playing basketball. But Jacob and Kevin took turns anyway teaching Aldo the basics, including dribbling and shooting. Aldo picked it up quickly, shocking everyone.

  Jacob and Kevin decided to start the game over, putting Aldo and Aloren on Jacob’s team, and Matt with Kevin. Jacob’s team won two games and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face when Kevin got annoyed and insisted that he and Aloren go do something else. Jacob turned to Aldo. “Too bad you aren’t younger. You’d have a shot at the NBA!”

  Aldo chuckled. “NBA. Another thing I’ve heard your father speak about.”

  Jacob nodded. “That’s not surprising.”

  The three of them went inside to get water. It was chilly outdoors, but playing basketball always made Jacob thirsty.

  Right as he finished his drink, Early appeared next to him. “Azuriah wants to meet with you now.”

  The memory of Mom calling Azuriah “Uncle” rushed back to Jacob, and he decided to ask Azuriah about it, regardless of how the Shiengol might verbally abuse him for his impertinence. Which, inevitably, he would.

  Azuriah had picked a spot of land on the other side of the Makalo farms and quickly constructed a small fortress with the help of, well, everyone, including Jacob’s family. Jacob chuckled. The Shiengol had been pretty demanding, actually.

  He had made it very clear that Jacob was never to Key directly to his fortress. Instead, Jacob would be Keying to the village and walking the mile across the Makalo fields and gardens.

  Azuriah waited outside his heavy stone-and-wood door. His long, dark hair blew in the breeze, and Jacob was reminded of a girl he’d known in middle school who constantly chewed on the ends of her hair, grossing him out. It was the same color as the Shiengol’s, and nearly as long. Jacob chuckled. He kept his thoughts to himself, positive Azuriah would not be amused.