“What do you want with us?” Jacob asked through clenched teeth.
“Nothing from the Makalo.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Many things,” the king said, then reached his hand out again. This time he didn’t stop, and although Jacob shied away, the Lorkon’s finger made contact with his forehead.
Jacob felt as though he’d been punched in the face and chest simultaneously. The wind was knocked out of him, and he fell to the floor. Bright flashes of light burst through the room and he closed his eyes, trying to block them out. His blood was on fire, burning every inch of him as it coursed through his veins. He rolled onto his side, his body convulsing in pain as he gagged, trying to get enough air. His muscles cramped, and tremors ran through his body.
He heard hundreds of sounds all at once and was no longer able to focus on just one. They were so loud, they pulsated in his brain like a migraine. Opening his eyes, he gasped as the bright lights flashed again, alternating with blackness. Thousands of people moved through the room at once. His body was on sensory overload. Even the temperature seemed to be fluctuating.
He tried to stand and right himself, but barely managed to lift his head. The walls around him would not stop spinning. He struggled to stay conscious, almost failing several times. The thought kept entering his mind that he had to remain alert—had to get his dad and sister out. Couldn’t let the Lorkon win.
He heard a loud crack, and his head felt as though it was about to explode again.
Someone pulled him to his feet. He struggled against the person until he recognized Akeno’s voice commanding him to walk. He slumped against the Makalo—he couldn’t hold his own weight. Akeno nearly fell under the load, but struggled forward.
“Amberly . . . Dad . . .” Jacob could barely form the words.
He and Akeno staggered through a door, across another room, and into a hall. Jacob was so disoriented, he couldn’t even tell which way was up. Pain was the only thing he knew. He longed to fall to the floor—to give in to the black, to stop the spinning. He brushed against a doorjamb and nearly fainted from the agony the contact caused. He opened his eyes. Hundreds of people streamed through the huge corridor—Lorkon, humans, Makalos, Molgs, and other creatures. The lights still flashed, and he had to close his eyes again. He felt himself losing his grasp on consciousness as Akeno yelled unintelligible things at him.
They stumbled down a hall, a door opened, and he was pushed inside a room. He slumped to the floor, trying not to give into the convulsions.
Akeno disappeared as Jacob writhed on the cold stone floor. An eternity later, the Makalo was next to Jacob again, and Amberly’s concerned face floated into Jacob’s vision.
“Jacob . . . Fat Lady . . . vial?” Akeno’s words didn’t make any sense.
He was aware of his bag being ripped off his arm, and moments later, a bitter fluid was poured into his mouth. He gagged, trying to spit it out.
“Stop it! Swallow . . . please, Jacob!”
Jacob felt his nose being plugged, and then his mouth was jammed shut, forcing him to swallow. The liquid burned its way down his throat, and he fought the urge to throw up as it hit his stomach. He convulsed on the floor, aware of his sister and Akeno at his side.
Just then, the potion entered his bloodstream. The sensation started at his heart, inching outward from there. It soothed the pain away, first in his chest, then his lower body, then his arms and neck, and finally his head.
The liquid was cold—cooling his burning blood. His muscles relaxed, and the sounds disappeared. The lights stopped flashing.
Then his brain relaxed, and he surrendered to the peaceful calm of sleep.
Chapter Forty
Just as soon as the relief of rest came, however, Jacob was awakened.
“Jacob, you can’t sleep!”
He moaned, not wanting to move.
“Please, Jacob. Come on.”
Jacob moaned again and tried to clear his mind. He didn’t open his eyes for fear the bright lights would flash again and make him want to throw up. “My dad and sister . . .”
“I’m right here, Jacob,” Amberly said.
Tears sprang into Jacob’s eyes, leaking down the side of his face. “Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh, thank goodness. What about Dad?”
“I shrank him and put him in Early’s container. I didn’t even inspect him to make sure he was still alive,” Akeno said.
“He was alive,” Jacob said, relief pouring over him. Not only would Dad heal now, but he would be much easier to rescue while shrunken.
“He’s not doing well,” Amberly said. Her voice broke, and a little sob sneaked out.
Jacob still couldn’t open his eyes. “It’s okay, Amberly. Shhh. We’ll get him taken care of.” He took a breath. “Did you get the key, Akeno, and its box?”
“Yes, they’re both here.”
“Put them in my bag, please. I need to give the potion a minute to finish working.”
“Okay. But then we’ve got to figure out how to get out of here. I stunned the Lorkon again, but it won’t last as long as the first time, and they’ll be waking up soon.”
“I understand.”
Jacob slowly opened his eyes, then sat up, immediately regretting it. “Whoa,” he said, holding his head in his hands. It took a second for everything to stop spinning. He was aware of Amberly’s hand on his leg, comforting him, and the urge to cry nearly overwhelmed him. His amazing sister. He’d never again think of her as a pest.
While waiting for the dizziness to pass, Jacob mentally examined himself. His body was sore all over, and his eyes ached a great deal. The ringing in his ears was gone, though. He glanced around the small, dark space.
“I had Early find us this closet,” Akeno said. “We’re only a couple of rooms away from where we found the key.” He got to his feet. “There are Dusts and Molgs everywhere. As soon as you fell to the floor, several of them came in. I think they all knew we had entered the castle and were hiding from us.”
“I saw hundreds of people going back and forth,” Jacob said. “Were they chasing us?”
Akeno looked confused. “People? What people?”
“Makalos, Lorkon, humans—tons of them. Even some of those statues—Shiengols and Dusts. Or Wurbies. I couldn’t tell which ones they were. And others . . . different creatures.”
“I only saw Dusts, a couple of Molgs, and the four Lorkon. No one else.”
Jacob scratched his head. “Are . . . are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“There are a lot of the Molgs in the castle,” Amberly said. “And Dusts too. But none of them were up here when Akeno helped us out of the room.”
“Then why did I see them?”
Akeno gave him a worried look. “I don’t know.”
Jacob groaned in frustration, switching gears in his head. “Okay, let’s just focus on finding a way out. I don’t think going through the door would be the best choice right now.” He stood. “Early, you keep a lookout. Let us know if anyone comes toward the door.”
Early flew to the keyhole and positioned herself inside it while Jacob felt the walls, searching for warmth. He found several shelves on one side with rags, buckets, brooms, and mops, but no warmth.
“This ability I have is great and all, but it sure isn’t the fastest,” he said.
After checking the walls, he got to his hands and knees, feeling his way around the floor. “Here!” he said, finding a warm spot in a corner of the room. He held his hands over the stone, heating it up. Soon there was a hole about two feet across. The rest of the stone wouldn’t give way. “Hope that’s big enough,” he whispered, then peered over the edge. “I can’t see anything. Early, can you check?”
Akeno crawled to the hole, looking down, and the two of them watched as Early flew down. She came back a moment later, reporting that the room below was empty.
Jacob ducked his head into the hole to survey the room. “Okay, there’s a bed mostly underneat
h us. If we swing a little, we’ll be able to land on it.” He turned to Akeno. “Ready?”
“Yes, ready. Early, you come too.”
Jacob lowered himself until his arms were straight, then swung his body and let go. He barely made it to the bed, surprised at how far beneath him it turned out to be. Reaching up, he caught the bags Akeno dropped to him, slinging them over his shoulders.
Akeno lowered Amberly, and Jacob caught her, setting her on the floor next to him. Akeno then dropped down. Being smaller and more nimble than Jacob, he landed on the bed without difficulty. Jacob handed Akeno his bag, then looked around for Early. He sent her through the keyhole to inspect the place outside the room.
She returned. “It’s busy in the hall.”
Jacob nodded. “Let’s wait a few minutes,” he whispered. “Who was out there? Lorkon?”
“Yes, and Dusts.”
Jacob sat on the bed. “Were they standing around guarding the doors, or were they going somewhere?”
“They were in a hurry, going somewhere.”
“Which way?”
“Down the corridor to the left.”
“All right,” Jacob said. “Let’s wait for a few minutes and go to the right. Hopefully we won’t run into anyone.” He turned to Akeno. “Where’s the key?”
“I put it in your bag.”
Jacob stood and paced for a while, then motioned to Early. “Okay, check again. Actually, just keep watch and let us know when the Lorkon and Dusts go away.”
Early took a position halfway out the keyhole. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, she pulled back into the room. “It’s clear.”
“It probably won’t stay that way for long,” Jacob said. “Let’s go.”
He took a step down the hallway, but stopped, realizing he had no idea how to get out of the castle, or even where they were. Concentrating, he tried to oriented himself to which way was east—where the castle entrance was located—and started running again.
Early’s warning made him stop, and he whirled. A little creature charged down the corridor at them, its hands formed into hooves.
“A Dust!” Amberly shrieked.
“Let’s go!” Jacob yelled, and they raced the other direction.
The Dust had no trouble keeping up, though, and overtook them, grabbing Jacob and pulling him to the ground. Jacob was surprised at how quickly the beast’s hands had changed from hooves to fingers.
So was the Dust, however, and it yelled at itself. “Stop! No! Where hooves?”
Jacob scrambled to his feet, but the Dust was too fast for him—it quickly recovered from its shock and pushed him down again.
Another warning from Early, and more Dusts poured into the hall. Judging by the intelligence of the first, one wouldn’t be too difficult, but all these at once? Jacob scuffled with the first, knocked it aside, and got to his feet.
The creatures only paused briefly before they had him surrounded, ignoring Akeno and Early, who had rushed to Jacob’s assistance while Amberly fretted from the side. Luckily, the little beasts completely ignored her.
For several seconds, the group struggled—Jacob wasn’t able to see Akeno through the punches and kicks he was both receiving and blocking.
“What do I do?” Akeno asked. “Knock them out?”
Jacob shoved the nearest Dust into a couple of others, forcing them to the ground. “No loud noises.” The crack would alert the Lorkon to their location—he was sure they’d recognize Akeno’s ability and come running. He whipped around, grabbing a Dust by the throat and throwing it against the wall. The hallway filled with even more Dusts, and Jacob found himself overwhelmed.
Chapter Forty-One
One of the beast’s hands formed into a long rope, another’s hands became knives, and Jacob was knocked to the ground again, his head cracking against the stone. Amberly screamed, and Jacob struggled hard, throwing several Dusts away.
A Dust’s hands formed a blindfold, and it extended its arms around Jacob’s neck from behind. Although he struggled, Jacob couldn’t prevent the other creatures from tying the cloth over his eyes. He felt a sharp knifepoint at his neck, and he became motionless while the Dusts tied his hands and feet.
“We hurt sister,” a Dust threatened. “No move.”
He heard a muffled yell of pain—Akeno’s—and realized they were all trapped. Jacob racked his brain. He wouldn’t give in—especially not now that they had his family and the key!
Then he remembered what Aloren had said about Dusts taking forever to work their way through a new problem. He had to do something they wouldn’t expect—something to surprise them. A new obstacle—but what?
He felt his body being lifted from the ground, and he’d been rushed several feet before an idea came to him. He moved his hand a fraction, the rope slipping to the edge of his palm, and begged it to heat up. It did.
The Dust whose hands had tied him yelped, and Jacob’s arms were free again. He put his hands over the blindfold, warming it up as well. He blinked at the light when the cloth was whipped off his face. The Dust who’d tied his feet quickly backed away, and Jacob jumped out of the arms of the others.
“It burnded me!” the Dust who’d used the blindfold shrieked. “It hotted its hands and burnded me!”
The creatures swarmed around the Dust to see the evidence for themselves—Jacob momentarily forgotten, even though there were close to twenty Dusts in the corridor. He raced to Akeno’s side and freed him from the little beasts there as well, which didn’t seem to bother them. They all ran to the other group.
Jacob picked up Amberly, setting her on the other side of Akeno. He then placed one hand against the wall to warm the stone and pulled off his bag with the other, tossing it to Akeno. He knew the distraction of the Dusts’ hands being burned wouldn’t last long.
“Our food, Akeno—throw it at them when I give the go-ahead.” He molded several rocks from the now-hot stone, filling his pockets with them.
“Ready?” he asked as the Dusts turned, angry glares on their faces. “Now!”
Apples, carrots, jerky, and rocks flew through the air, pelting the Dusts. Several of the creatures formed shields to block the missiles, crying in frustration at the change in their hands, but others caught the food and acted surprised when their hands stuffed it into their mouths. Jacob couldn’t help but chuckle—what else were you supposed to do with food?
Early joined in the fun, zooming at the monsters, disappearing and reappearing in random places along the hall. It wasn’t long before the entire group of Dusts swarmed to get away, frightened by the change of events.
Jacob picked up Amberly again, and he and Akeno turned and ran in the opposite direction. Jacob had no idea how to get out of the stupid castle. If only his dad were well and healthy! Hadn’t this been the castle he’d lived in? Jacob thought hard, biting his lips and squinting in concentration, willing visions to enter his mind like earlier.
He wasn’t surprised when nothing happened. “Come on,” he whispered. “Help me!”
A bright, happy glow coming from a small corridor caught his attention and he paused, backtracking to check it out. Looking into the hallway, he saw warm sunlight pouring in, a stark contrast to the darkness of the rest of the castle. A well-dressed man walked down the corridor, his back to the group. He wore light-colored clothes and a weird hat. There was something very familiar about the man’s walk.
“Dad?” he called. How could it be Dad, when he was shrunken and in Akeno’s Minya container? The man turned to face the wall, and Jacob saw his profile. Oh! He figured it out. He was seeing a vision of a much-younger version of his dad. That was cool!
As Jacob watched, ignoring Akeno’s tugging to keep going, Dad pushed against the wall with both hands. It shifted away from him, sliding to the side and revealing a set of stairs leading down. Dad didn’t hesitate before descending out of view.
Glancing back at Akeno, Jacob was startled to see that the hall behind him was dark. Early flitted in the
air above them, and Akeno watched Jacob with an impatient expression on his face. Jacob looked back to the spot where Dad had disappeared. The wall was shut, the corridor was just as dark as the rest of the castle, and there was no longer even a window to let in light. It had completely disappeared.
“What?” Akeno whispered.
“Over here.” Jacob hurried down the corridor, Akeno and Early following.
A Lorkon leaped from the shadows of the hall, knocking Akeno down as he lunged for Jacob. Jacob jumped out of the way just in time, barely keeping Amberly in his arms, and the Lorkon fell to the ground where Jacob had been standing.
Jacob put down his sister and looked around for a weapon. He spotted a large metal candle holder on a table farther down the corridor, past the secret entrance. He ran and grabbed it, turning in time for the Lorkon to lurch at him again. Jacob swung the candle holder and hit the Lorkon in the face with it.
The Lorkon spun away, cupping his hand to his face, growling in pain.
“Hurry, Akeno!” Jacob took Amberly’s hand and ran with her toward the secret passageway. “This way!”
As Akeno ran past the Lorkon, it reached out and grabbed him by the ankle, bringing him down with a crash. Akeno screamed, struggling to get out of the Lorkon’s grasp.
“Use your Rezend!” Jacob yelled. Akeno complied, and Jacob didn’t have enough time to plug his ears before the crack echoed through the corridor. The Lorkon went limp, allowing Akeno to jerk his leg free.
Ears ringing, Jacob helped Akeno to his feet, took his sister’s hand, and sprinted down the corridor to the spot where the opening in the wall had been. “Here! We have to go here!” he yelled.
“It’s just a wall, Jacob! We gotta go back to the other hall!”
“No, there are stairs behind it. I think it leads to a tunnel.” Jacob pushed against the wall. It didn’t budge. “Help me open it!”
Akeno made a frustrated sound, but jumped to Jacob’s side to help. So did Amberly, terror all over her face. After a moment of exertion, the wall shuddered beneath their hands. Pushing a little harder, Jacob felt it start to give. He heard a few clicks, and then the wall fell back and slid to the side.
Forsaken Prince (Kilenya Chronicles Book 1) Page 16
