Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3

by Andrea Pearson

  Chapter 18. Choices

  When Jacob and his group arrived at the Fat Lady’s cabin, they held a quick council regarding what to do.

  Gallus, Sweet Pea, and Matt all wanted to Key into the city, but Ebony still didn’t like the idea.

  “What if we hiked over the mountains behind the cabin?” she asked.

  The Fat Lady shook her head. “Can’t. The wall prohibits any entrance from this side of the hills.”

  “That’s stupid,” Matt said.

  “We could use your tunnel and head back to the castle,” Jacob said. “Though, I wouldn’t know how to get out once we’ve gotten in.”

  “Plus, there’d be Lorkon.” Matt said.

  “Using the Key of Kilenya is the only thing that will work,” Gallus said to Ebony.

  The Fat Lady rubbed potion on her bottom teeth. She did that a lot, and Jacob figured it was what made them sparkly and nice. “No other option.”

  Ebony sighed. “I . . . I guess so,” she said. “We’ll need to hurry. It’s already much later than we’d planned.”

  Jacob agreed. But at least they were all on the same page.

  The Fat Lady said she’d inform Brojan and Kenji of everything that had happened, and she and Ebony hugged again, this time laughing about another goodbye.

  Jacob put the Key in the lock. “Maivoryl City, vacant house.” He stepped through, crouching. The floor had a layer of dust nearly an inch thick. It hadn’t been disturbed in some time—perhaps years.

  After they made sure the house really was vacant, they tried to figure out where they were. Jacob didn’t recognize the street and wasn’t sure he’d be able to find his way to the town hall.

  Gallus stared out the window. “It’s been years since I was here, but I believe I remember the way.” He opened the door. “Follow me,” he whispered.

  They filed out onto the street, everyone wary. Jacob was extra alert, especially after the last time he’d been here, but there wasn’t anything around. The place was like a ghost town. They walked several blocks and didn’t see anyone.

  After five minutes, Gallus breathed a sigh of relief. “No one’s here. I wonder where they’ve all gone.”

  “Does it matter?” Sweet Pea asked. “Just so long as they’re not bothering us.”

  Ebony scowled at him. “Of course it does. Did I neglect that part of your studies? Never trust a false promise.”

  “A what?”

  She shook her head and strode forward to walk next to Gallus. Sweet Pea caught up with her, and Jacob and Matt glanced at each other. Jacob didn’t want to walk in the back, and it looked like Matt felt the same. They caught up to the others.

  Jacob felt a sense of security being so close to Gallus, Sweet Pea, and Ebony, though he knew it would most likely be short-lived. If only these people had been with him and Matt the last time they’d come to Maivoryl City. Perhaps they would’ve escaped with Aloren, and not just a burned back and a broken leg.

  After passing several more streets, Gallus paused. “I really don’t know where we are,” he said. “This part of town has changed.”

  “It all has,” said a voice from a building to the right. An Ember God stood in the doorway. The colors swirling around him alternated between light blue, light pink, and light purple—calm, bored, and distracted. “You didn’t expect it to stay the same, did you? Cities change when the people inhabiting them change.” He stepped off the porch and peered at them. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes,” Ebony said. “You can take us to the human girl.”

  “That can be arranged,” the man said. He pulled two swords from his back, where they’d been strapped. “As long as you are dead first.” He pointed a blade at Jacob. “Except the boy, of course.”

  Ebony, Gallus, and Sweet Pea formed a barrier in front of Matt and Jacob.

  “Oh, come now. Don’t play games with me. I might even allow the other boy to live.”

  Gallus pulled out his sword. It wasn’t nearly as long as Jacob would have liked, but then Gallus flicked his wrist, and the single blade separated into three, attached to the same handle. Definitely cool, but Jacob wasn’t sure how much good it would do against the Ember God.

  He just laughed. “Two can play that game.” Flames burst from his hands and trailed down his swords, dropping into the dust of the street. He swung his swords around his head a few times. The blades became blazes of red and orange, fire flying off and all around.

  A second Ember God stepped from the shadows, lighting up his twin blades, his feet flaming. Jacob felt a cold sweat pass over his body.

  Ebony pulled out two daggers, and Sweet Pea his mace. Gallus pushed Jacob and Matt against a wall.

  “Stay here.” He then faced the first Ember God.

  And the fighting began.

  Jacob’s jaw dropped as he watched. Gallus actually knew how to fight. There was no doubt about it. His three-bladed sword flashed in the dim sunlight, becoming an instrument of death against anyone less formidable than the Ember God. The leather-clad man was quick, darting around Gallus’s sword, jabbing and swiping expertly. Gallus whipped around, blocking the attacks and making his own. They parried like this—neither gaining advantage over the other—while everyone watched. Then they started fighting so fast that Jacob got dizzy and had to look away.

  Apparently Ebony, Sweet Pea, and the other Ember God felt the same. They turned to face each other. The man grinned.

  “Let’s see what you little ones can do,” he said.

  Sweet Pea growled and jumped for the Ember God, who met him, his swords clanging against the mace.

  Ebony joined Sweet Pea, and they fought together as if they were one—blocking attacks, striking, their daggers and mace whipping in and out. Jacob had thought Gallus was quick, but he was nothing compared to Ebony. She followed a complex pattern of footwork—almost like dancing—taking her close to the Ember God, then out of reach, than close again. Sweet Pea followed a similar pattern, but he wasn’t nearly as graceful.

  The first blast of flame actually directed at someone showed why leaves had been such an important part of everyone’s armor. The fire engulfed Ebony and Sweet Pea.

  Jacob jumped forward, but Matt stopped him.

  “Hold on a minute.”

  A sudden whoosh came from where the Makalos stood, and Jacob’s mouth popped open when the fire dissipated—blowing straight away from them. The leaves glowed bright blue, and light shone on his friends’ faces, hands, and everywhere the leaves didn’t actually cover. They were unburned.

  “Wow,” Matt whispered.

  The fighting continued, more fiercely than before, if possible. Jacob’s amazement grew as he watched Gallus’s ability with his sword. It seemed to know exactly what he wanted and needed, right when he needed it. Three blades became one as he knocked a particularly deadly blow away, then became three again as Gallus spun, the blades barely missing the Ember God’s face.

  Jacob’s heart nearly stopped when Ebony’s opponent broke through her defense, his sword aimed straight for her stomach. The sword just bounced away from her, though, rebounded by the leaves protecting her.

  It became evident this fight wasn’t going to end any time soon.

  Ebony and Sweet Pea seemed to be powered by their Rezend, and didn’t tire. The Ember Gods drew upon their fire for energy. Jacob couldn’t figure out where Gallus’s came from. He simply did not stop fighting. Any time one of the Ember Gods came close to the boys, they were stopped in their path by one of Jacob’s friends.

  Finally Ebony broke away from the main group of fighters and ran to Jacob and Matt. “Go—find Aloren now. We’ll hold these two off for as long as we can.”

  Jacob didn’t need any more convincing than that. He and Matt dashed around the corner of the wall they’d been leaning against.

  The sounds of battle grew fainter as the brothers scurried through the city, crossing small canals and ducking under bridges. Jacob didn’t have a clue as to where they wer
e going, only that they seemed to be headed farther into town—where the hall was.

  Jacob ran in front with Matt close behind, but he stopped abruptly, his arm pushing Matt back. Hundreds of turkeys strutted the area before them.

  “Bald Henries,” Jacob said. “Everywhere.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Not go this way.”

  Jacob backed up, then ran the opposite direction when he was sure the turkeys weren’t following. He and his brother turned a few corners, winding in between buildings. He was shocked there were no people. Where were the villagers?

  They ran down an alley, but Jacob again had them back up when they came across more turkeys. Just how many of these things were there?

  He finally saw the town hall and discovered where the villagers had gone. They were attacking the walls and doors of the building with axes and clubs. Bald Henries and Dusts wandered the courtyard between the brothers and the hall.

  Jacob and Matt backed up into a small stairwell to plan.

  “What were those ugly things?”

  Jacob frowned. “The turkeys? You saw them?”

  “No. The short creatures with gross hands.”

  “Those are Dusts.”

  “Oh. Okay, let’s figure out what to do.”

  Jacob rubbed his face, thinking. He looked around the corner to the town hall. The villagers hadn’t made any progress on getting in, but they hadn’t given up, either, and the Bald Henries followed the Dusts around the courtyard. Jacob backed up to sit next to Matt.

  “What if I attacked the Dusts and you went after the Bald Henries?” Matt asked.

  Jacob shook his head. “No. The turkeys would destroy everything before I could get to them all.”

  Matt frowned in concentration and Jacob waited—his older brother had always been good at these sorts of things.

  “Why not just Key in?”

  Jacob hesitated, considering Matt’s question. “No—Ebony was right. We need to make sure we don’t head into a trap.”

  Matt nodded. “Well, we could always make a mad dash for it—run past the Dusts and Bald Henries, push through the villagers, and use the Key to get in the town hall.”

  Jacob thought about this plan. “It might work . . .” He hesitated. “I don’t know, Matt. I just don’t feel good about it. If something happened—one of us tripping, or a Dust figuring it out, or the villagers turning on us, we’d be completely stuck.”

  He turned to watch the creatures and an idea occurred to him. “You know what?” He faced Matt, feeling a smile cross his face. “The Bald Henries are following the Dusts around. We could draw them away from the town hall.”

  “Like, trick them away?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. It might be our best bet.”

  “It’s worth a try,” Jacob said. “What about the villagers, though?”

  Matt shrugged. “They might just follow as we’re leading everyone else away.” He stood. “We’ll have to make sure to do it perfectly the first time. I doubt we’ll get more than one shot. I’ll run—take those little beasts on the adventure of their life—and you get to the town hall.”

  “You don’t want me to lead them away? I can see the Bald Henries—you can’t.”

  “No—if the turkeys are following the Dusts around, they should chase after me, too. And the girl knows you—she doesn’t know me. I’d freak her out.”

  “What if the turkeys attack you?”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’m fast enough—they won’t be able to keep up with me.”

  Jacob took a deep breath, thinking it over, then agreed. There were probably a ton of flaws in this plan, but he didn’t want to take the time to come up with a different one. And how were Ebony, Sweet Pea, and Gallus doing? They hadn’t seen or heard them since leaving the fight.

  Jacob stood too. “On the count of three?”

  “Yes.” Matt said. “One. Two—”

  Right as they were about to jump forward, shadows appeared on the ground in front of them, and they scrambled to hide in time.

  Jacob gasped when two Lorkon passed by, coming from the direction of the town hall. He clamped his hand over his mouth, and Matt glared at him. The Lorkon paused, but when they didn’t see anything, they probably brushed it off as a villager and continued on.

  That was way too close. Who knew how long the Lorkon had been inside the hall?

  “What were they?”

  “Lorkon,” Jacob whispered.

  Matt exhaled—his eyes as round as oranges. “Wow. They’re huge.”

  Jacob shook his head in astonishment. “Good thing we didn’t use the Key. Without Akeno, we wouldn’t have gotten away.” His heartbeat refused to slow. Everything had come so close to falling apart. How had the Lorkon missed them? “And there might be more of them in the town hall.”

  A loud bang startled the brothers, and Jacob peeked around the corner. One of the villagers had somehow gotten his hands on a huge ax—much bigger than the other axes—and was pounding on the door to the town hall.

  The brothers waited a few more minutes, making sure more Lorkon didn’t come out.

  Then Matt dashed off, waving his arms and jumping around like a lunatic. The Dusts and Bald Henries went berserk and he took off down the street, the creatures on his heels.

  Jacob turned to face the town hall. Now, to deal with the villagers.