Jacob shut his bedroom door and kicked off his shoes, glad to finally be home. School had been rough. After the embarrassment in math, he’d looked forward to eating lunch with friends, but none of them had shown up. He hadn’t found out until the class period after lunch that all the “cool” people went to one of the gyms for basketball during that time. That’s where his friends had waited for him.
A knock sounded on his door, startling him. Matt walked in, holding an MP3 player. He shut the door, grabbed the chair at Jacob’s desk, and sat on it backwards. He leaned over and pushed the MP3 player into Jacob’s hand. “Here.”
“What do you want me to do with it?”
“You fixed the hole in the table—which was freakin’ awesome—and I need you to fix the screen.”
Jacob raised an eyebrow. “It’s cracked. I don’t think I can do anything about that—plastic’s way different.”
“Oh, come on—at least try.”
“All right.” Jacob sat up. “But if I make it worse, don’t blame me.”
“You’re the coolest little brother in the world!”
Jacob snorted, but Matt’s enthusiasm made him smile. He couldn’t help but show off. Having power was incredible. He’d fixed the table, the kitchen doorframe, and his mom’s favorite vase she’d broken months ago but didn’t have the heart to throw away. And to think Jacob hadn’t even known about this ability—making weak things stronger—until he’d gone to Taga Village on Eklaron.
He held his thumb over the screen and felt the hard material warm. He did his best to smooth the blemish, but the plastic clouded over instead. Jacob growled and blew on the device until it had cooled, then put his thumb over it again, re-heating it. The surface became clear—oh, good. But the relief was short lived, because as the plastic cooled, it became wavy and clouded.
He gave up, handing the MP3 player back. “I’ve never done plastic before. I’m not sure how it works. Sorry.”
“Oh, well, it was worth a try.”
“How ‘bout I practice on other things for a while?” Why would plastic be different from glass? Then Jacob realized Mom’s vase was white already, so no clouding was visible.
Matt shoved the device in his pocket and took a step toward the doorway, about to leave the room, when a knock sounded at Jacob’s window.
Excitement flashed across Matt’s face. He pointed. “Look! It’s one of the gnats!”
Jacob jumped from his bed and opened the window. A small, wingless creature—a Minya—about two inches tall zoomed into the room. Early looked happy, her white dress and dark green curls streaming as she flitted to Jacob.
“Early!” Jacob said. “It’s great to see you! How are you? How’s Akeno? Is he awake yet?”
“Yes! He’s awake! Come!”
“Awesome!” Jacob shoved his feet in his sneakers. He was so excited to see Akeno. The Makalo had been unconscious and near death last time Jacob had been with him.
“Now!” Early insisted, tugging on Jacob’s shirt.
“Okay, okay! But not through the window. And I’m bringing Matt.”
Early giggled and waved at Jacob’s brother, and Matt punched the air. “All right!”
“We’ll have to sneak out. I doubt Mom and Dad’ll want us to leave.”
The brothers tiptoed down the stairs, but ran into Jacob’s mom as she came around the corner, carrying a laundry basket.
“Where do you two think you’re going?”
“Uh . . .” Jacob’s face flushed. “Back to see the Makalos?”
“No, you are not, young man. You’ve got stuff to do tonight—like mowing the lawn.”
“But Akeno’s awake! I have to go see him!”
Matt nodded eagerly. “Yeah, Mom, and I’ll help Jacob do his chores.”
Mom rounded on Matt, putting down the laundry basket. “You’ve got your own chores to do.”
“We’ll do them together,” Jacob said. “Promise! It’ll go faster.”
She folded her arms, regarding them skeptically. “Fine. But you’d better hurry back.”
Not wanting to wait in case she changed her mind, Jacob and Matt left immediately and hopped the short fence that separated their yard from the forest. Early waited impatiently near the trees.
“Go tell Akeno we’re on our way!” Jacob told her.
Early agreed, and disappeared with a flash of light. She returned only moments later, following the boys, babbling excitedly to Matt about a game she’d played with another Minya earlier.
“And this path leads to some other world?” Matt asked Jacob. “How’d we not figure that out years ago?”
Jacob shrugged. He kept looking at the trees as he and Matt pounded their way down the path. He frowned in concentration. “It was dark when the wolves chased me through here, but we should be close to the entrance now.”
They ran around a corner and came to a part in the forest where the bushes and branches grew closely together. The trail was nearly overgrown. Jacob looked back—Matt was struggling with the underbrush.
“You keeping up?”
“I’m coming as fast as I can. These bushes are murder.”
The distance between Jacob and Matt grew until Jacob, not wanting to lose his brother, had to stop to wait. He wasn’t sure Matt would find the way without help.
But he didn’t catch up. Jacob waited for a moment longer, then backtracked and found his brother stuck in the brush. Working together, they were able to get him loose, but just as soon as he started forward, he got stuck in the growth again.
“What’s going on?” Matt asked. “It’s like the stuff doesn’t want me to get anywhere.”
“Oh, duh!” Jacob smacked his forehead. “The Makalos built this path and made it so the living stuff keeps people from going through the link.” He scanned the air, found Early, then sent her back to the Makalos with a message that Matt was coming too, and to let him through.
Early flitted off again. Moments later, the brush around the brothers pulled away, leaving the trail clear. Relieved, they kept walking.
The trees around them changed from young to old maples, and huge oaks and birch, marking the passage from Earth to Eklaron. The smell of rotting wood assailed Jacob, and he almost closed his eyes in contentment. He’d missed this aroma—it was so good to be back. He chuckled at himself. Only a few days had passed, but to him it had seemed like a lifetime.
“We just entered Eklaron,” he said.
Matt’s eyes grew wide. “Awesome,” he said, almost reverently.
Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3 Page 48
