A timid voice interrupted Jacob’s reverie. “Jacob?”
He sat up and focused on Akeno, who sat not too far away. “Yeah?”
“Would you accept an apology? The way I behaved was completely childish and . . .”
Jacob smiled, holding his hand toward Akeno. “It’s okay, really it is.”
Jacob watched Akeno closely to see if he was going to cry or start throwing punches. Satisfied by what he saw in the Makalo’s eyes, he relaxed.
His mind drifted back to the forest. “Do you think that lady had an influence on what the trees were doing to us?”
Akeno shredded the leaves on his shoes. “I imagine so,” he said, then scratched his head. “Good thing I have another hat at home, ‘cause I think I lost mine somewhere in the forest.” He looked at Jacob. “Am I really so weak I couldn’t even handle a few negative emotions?”
Jacob shook his head. “No, I don’t think you are. It affected the Makalo adults, too.”
Akeno picked some grass near him, and Jacob pulled the petals off a flower. He could tell Akeno wanted to say something, so he waited. He hated awkward silences.
Akeno kept picking at the grass. Finally, he looked up. “Why didn’t the forest bother you?”
Jacob thought back to what he had felt while in the forest. He recognized he had remained rational the entire time . . . well, except when the woman was trying to lure him. But even Matt would have given in under those circumstances.
He sprawled on his back again. Why had Akeno been the only one affected by the trees? Why hadn’t they bothered Jacob? “Maybe the magic of your world doesn’t apply to humans,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Akeno said. “But you might be immune to bad magic.”
“How ‘bout we not do anything to test that theory.” Jacob wanted to avoid anything that would cause Akeno to go back to how he had acted earlier. He propped himself up on his elbow. “Why weren’t the Minyas overcome by it?”
“The same reason the laws of physics don’t affect them,” Akeno said. “Their magic doesn’t allow it. Very rarely do they come across something that does bother them.”
“We couldn’t enter the forest,” September said, floating above them. “We tried to follow, but something stopped us—perhaps a magic.”
Jacob sat up, shading his eyes from the sun. “But what if we hadn’t come back?”
“Then we would have informed Brojan and Kenji,” September said.
Jacob faced Akeno. “We can ask your dad about the forest and the room in the house and everything. They’d probably know why it all happened.” He turned to find the Minyas. “Early, take a message to Akeno’s parents and Brojan, telling them about how we saw an insane woman and found a manor full of dead people. Then let us know what they say.”
Early disappeared and Jacob sat and pulled food out of his bag. He was starving, and practically stuffed his mouth full of jerky and cheese. Once they’d finished, he put the food away. “Tell me more about Rezend. How do you target the wolves’ hearing?”
“I use Rezend to make a loud noise.”
“Gee, I would never have guessed.” He snorted. “Seriously. How does it knock them out?”
“Well, I concentrate on them while I create a sort of shockwave that targets ears. The shockwave is really powerful, and it knocks them out. It’ll target almost any living thing, but if used too frequently, it isn’t as effective.”
Jacob took a drink of water out of the canteen, then stared at it. It looked like it came from Walmart. He smiled to himself. They sat in silence for a while, waiting for Early to return.
“What other things can you do with your Rezend?” Jacob asked.
Akeno’s face turned thoughtful, and he took a moment to answer. “I can use it as a light. My left ring finger—where the Rezend is centered—will glow brightly when I want. Rezend can control electricity, and particles to an extent.” He rummaged through his bag, then popped a grape into his mouth and lay in the grass. “And water, too. Plumbing, lighting, etc.”
Akeno got to his knees, about to say something more, then stopped short.
The two black wolves sat on the forest edge, watching them.
“Not this again,” Jacob said.
“It’s definitely annoying.”
“Let’s just ignore them. I’m positive they’re making sure we’re not returning to Taga Village.”
Jacob looked at the trail in the opposite direction. Not far away was a grove of trees with a small cabin in the middle. Taller trees grew beyond that. The mountains to the south were big, though not as tall as the mountains even farther than them. There were acres and acres of gently rolling hills between the forest behind them and the mountains ahead.
When he turned back, he saw that the wolves had left. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Early returned. “Kenji and Brojan didn’t say a lot. They gave me honey, though! They didn’t see the lady in the forest when they tried to leave Taga. But they said to go see Aldo. Ask him what he knows about the forest and the Key.” She pointed at the cabin. “That’s where he lives.”
The group gathered their things and followed the trail to the grove, soon reaching the path that led to Aldo’s place.
“Someone’s home,” Jacob said, motioning to the smoke that rose from the chimney.
Akeno nodded, stopping near one of the trees. “I wonder how these will treat me—I’m not feeling any negative emotions. Maybe I should check what’s going on around us?”
“Yeah, do. I’ll be right here to pull you away in case it tries to hit you.”
“Okay, here we go.”
Akeno reached his left hand to the tree, carefully touching the bark. When nothing happened, he visibly relaxed. “No danger here—the wolves must’ve stayed in the forest.” He plucked a bunch of leaves, then sat on the ground and taped them to his shoes.
When Akeno was finished, Jacob led the way to the cabin. He knocked on the door, and after a moment, it opened. An old man with a large nose, a sparse, scraggly beard, and frizzy gray hair poked his head out.
“Squirrels said the clock was today?”
Jacob cleared his throat. “We’re looking for Aldo. Is that you?”
The man straightened and put his hand on his chest. “Aldo is me? Of course it is! The smile was pretty today. Why didn’t you take it?”
“Take what?” Jacob exchanged a glance with Akeno. “I don’t get it.”
“Sometimes, when purple raspberries come, they win plates. And you’re happy to be yesterday!” The old man’s lips lifted in a huge grin, revealing crooked, dirty teeth. “Children, children, children. Why even try? Squirrels are so much more effective.”
Akeno and Jacob looked at each other again, and Jacob raised his eyebrow. This was weird.
Aldo beckoned them into the cabin, ushering them to a couple of chairs next to a table. The front room, which doubled as a dining room, was small and dingy.
Sitting down, the old man picked up a teapot and motioned toward some cups on the table. “Stop here with bottles? I wouldn’t have gone to the store for a pixie if I were you.”
“Uh, no thanks,” Jacob said, wondering how long ago the man had lost his senses. No wonder the Makalos weren’t able to find out what was going on with him—he probably wouldn’t even let the Minyas near him.
“Oh, I forgot! Ladies! It means that they themselves once walked. Or maybe it was magic. Or perhaps it was that they couldn’t leave home if they wanted it.”
“Sure,” Jacob said. He looked around the room, noticing that the walls were covered with knickknacks, pots, and a few old photographs. Photographs? Jacob wished he were sitting closer so he could inspect them. Trying to remain focused on the here and now, he turned his attention back to their host, but caught himself staring at the man’s extremely large nose. He quickly looked away, realizing too late he should have been more discreet.
Aldo nodded. “The same place I’d be without my dazz
ling smile.”
Jacob noticed that Aldo was staring at him as well, but with an almost knowing expression. He avoided the old man’s gaze and instead glanced at Akeno, who had a big grin on his face. Jacob kicked Akeno’s leg under the table, frowning at him and shaking his head.
Akeno’s smile disappeared. He cleared his throat and looked at Aldo. “We were wondering what you can tell us about the Key of Kilenya.”
“The sunset is really cool. But if the dispenser’s broken—now, that’s irreplaceable.”
Jacob sighed inwardly. They were wasting their time.
Suddenly, the old man stood, knocking his chair over in the process, and left the room through a door in the back wall. Jacob heard him moving things around. Both boys jumped at the sound of a loud crash, followed by a yell and a stream of angry words.
Jacob snickered. “I understood that,” he whispered.
When Aldo returned, he was carrying a bucket of nuts. He grabbed one of them, showed it to Jacob, and laughed, saying, “Squirrels don’t come here. I’ll show you why.” Then he threw the nut at Jacob.
Jacob jumped out of his chair. “Hey! That hurt!”
“You too?” Aldo turned to Akeno, but Akeno was too fast for him and jumped out of the way.
Jacob couldn’t help but laugh at the devastated look on the old man’s face when he realized he hadn’t hit his target.
Aldo’s expression turned to one of anger. He put the bucket down, grabbed a handful of nuts, and chucked them at top speed, hitting both boys. Then he laughed gleefully and jumped up and down, clapping his hands.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jacob said. “He’s crazy!”
They ran outside, doing their best to dodge the nuts that were being flung at them. It only took a couple of seconds to reach the main trail, where they were joined by the Minyas. Looking over his shoulder, Jacob saw that the old man continued throwing nuts, even though the boys had already gone a fair distance.
“That was kind of funny, actually,” Jacob said. “Did you understand anything he said?”
“No, nothing. Did you?”
“The words, yes. The context, not at all. I would’ve dropped to the ground laughing if he hadn’t been trying to kill us.”
“I really don’t think we can expect any help from him.”
Jacob chuckled as they slowed to a walk and exited the small grove of trees. “No, obviously not. We should tell Kenji and Brojan that he’s gone crazy, though.” He turned to Early and asked her to take a message to the village. She left quickly, returning a moment later.
“They were very surprised. Aldo played an important role in the war, was a great friend, and they’re upset to hear what has become of him. They’d hoped he’d be able to explain more to you about this world and what to expect.”
Jacob watched Early for a minute. He could only imagine the pain Kenji, Brojan, and Ebony were feeling right now. They’d have no closure, and since they hadn’t left Taga in several years, they would have no way of finding out what had happened to Aldo. Jacob couldn’t remember his grandparents—they died before he was born—but he knew it had been difficult for his parents. Maybe Aldo had been like a grandparent to the Makalos—Early did say he was practically a member of the family.
Jacob frowned—if Aldo couldn’t help them figure things out, who could? They hadn’t run into anyone besides Aldo and the woman in the forest. And from the looks of this desolate valley, it would be a while before they would. What if they never found help? Would they be killed before even reaching the Lorkon castle? It seemed likely—neither he nor Akeno had experience in this part of the world, and they wouldn’t know who to trust.
Akeno seemed to be waiting for Jacob to make a decision.
“All right,” Jacob said. “I guess we should just keep following this path.” He dragged his hands down his face, then attempted a smile. “Hopefully we’ll find someone who can tell us what to do.” For some reason, he felt the need to put on a positive front for Akeno.
The trail led them south through a pretty little valley next to the tall trees Jacob had seen earlier. It was early afternoon—the sun was hot, and the scent of the wildflowers all around was refreshing. Jacob settled into a comfortable walking pace.
Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3 Page 13
