Kilenya Series Books 1, 2, and 3

by Andrea Pearson

  Chapter 14. Azuriah

  Jacob sighed in exasperation. “What if we don’t find a weak spot? I won’t be able to get us in.”

  Gallus wiped sweat off his forehead. “I don’t know. Maybe we could break through one of the walls. Use explosives.”

  Jacob nodded. They’d need to do something. He’d been searching all over the fortress, trying to find a way into it. And the thing was huge. Lots of bends and corners and a ton of rock and stone, covered with the symbol he’d seen on the flags outside—the trident with the sun on it.

  His throbbing, blistered, hands would be scarred for life at this rate.

  He paused, a thought occurring to him. He spun, nearly running into Matt and Sweet Pea, who were still trailing him long after the others had wandered away.

  “I need something to stand on so I can check the stone above, too.”

  The guys nodded, and Jacob followed them. So far, he’d only checked everything within his own reach. They found a couple of old wooden crates—still in fairly good condition—in an abandoned building and hauled them back to the fortress. Jacob got on top of one of them, feeling around as far as he could.

  It didn’t take very long for Jacob to find the point of his searching. “Aha!” he said, putting his hand on the warmth. “Got it!”

  Sweet Pea, Gallus, and Matt cheered, causing Aloren and Akeno to come running from the tent to join them. Aldo had gone off to explore the town.

  The group watched as Jacob warmed, molded, and peeled away the stone like putty. It was hard work. The rock was very thick—much more so than Jacob had thought it would be—and after three feet, he still hadn’t made it all the way. Also, he’d expected to go straight through, but he ended up forming a somewhat winding tunnel as he encountered stone that wouldn’t mold.

  After fifteen minutes, Aloren and Gallus left to find Aldo, wanting to see what he’d been doing. Jacob figured they were bored and didn’t want to say so.

  Forty-five minutes later, Jacob was pulling out some loose and still-warm rock when he noticed a pear-shaped burst of flame that lasted only a second or two. It was about ten feet away from him and five feet above ground.

  “Did you guys see that?”

  “See what?” Matt asked.

  “Something small on fire over there.” He pointed. “It was hovering in the air.”

  Sweet Pea and Akeno shook their heads and left to investigate while Jacob tried to remember if he’d ever seen it before—the color hadn’t been exactly right. It seemed more intense than was possible for a fire that small.

  Deciding it wasn’t worth stressing about, he returned to warming and digging through the stone.

  The others returned, and Aloren insisted Jacob take a break to wrap his nearly-mangled hands with Kaede-Sap saturated cloth. Grateful, he climbed off the crate.

  While resting, he ate roast beef that Akeno had put on the fire several hours earlier. It was delicious, and Jacob found, to his delight, that Akeno had also prepared potatoes just the way Jacob liked them. He thanked the Makalo over and over again, savoring the rich flavor of the gravy and spices. After a while, he decided his hands were fine, then resumed the work.

  Only a few minutes later, he felt the last layer of stone give way, and a draft of musty, gross-smelling air—like rotten cucumbers, dead wood, and melted plastic—rushed past at the same time a very bright light from inside nearly blinded him. Did the Shiengols have electricity in there? He squinted, trying not to look directly into the beam, and worked harder, enlarging the hole enough for someone Gallus’s size.

  Suddenly, strong arms yanked him through the tunnel into the fortress, and Jacob yelled in alarm. He heard Aloren and Matt freak out, then his attention was taken away by the very full room in front of him. The person who grabbed him stepped back while others moved behind him, forcing him to roll away from the tunnel.

  The light was much more blinding inside, and he raised his arm to shield his face.

  “Shut your eyes!” a man’s voice said.

  Jacob’s were already shut, but he noticed that the light disappeared. He peeked through his lashes, only to discover that the command had been for everyone else in the room. All the Shiengols stood motionless, eyes shut, hands behind their backs.

  At first glance, using the filtered light through the high windows, they looked like humans—especially from his peripheral vision. But when he looked at them directly, it was obvious, in a not-so-obvious way, that they weren’t. They were skinny—almost too skinny. Or maybe they were too tall? They were taller than him, at least, and proportioned differently from a human—fewer curves, more straight from the shoulders to the feet. Jacob slitted his eyes, still trying to figure out why they looked so slender compared to humans. Maybe it was their long robes, in bright shades of red, blue, purple, and green.

  He started when he realized all of them had markings on their faces that looked like the trident with the sun on it. These markings purposely drew attention to their eyes, and he could tell the Shiengols were proud of this feature. He found himself impatient for them to look at him so he could examine their faces more fully. Similar trident and sun markings were on their robes.

  “Uh . . .” Jacob started. He clamped his mouth shut, though, when several of the Shiengols shifted positions a few times.

  They moved gracefully. Like Ebony, when she was fighting, only more fluid. It was like a dance—one movement leading naturally to the next.

  Remembering how temperamental they were, he honed in on their emotions. What he saw surprised him—they were irritated. Very irritated. At what, though? Was it because of him? How could it be?

  Anger, frustration, the pains and stress of the past few days—all of it—boiled inside Jacob. He jumped to his feet, suddenly not caring anymore what these creatures thought of him. He’d just risked his life again and again for them! “Why are you all so annoyed? Is it with me? And if so, why? That doesn’t make any sense!”

  Their emotions flickered quickly to red—anger—and the Shiengols opened their eyes, gazing at him. He gasped in shock at the sudden light of their diamond-like eyes. It felt like he was staring into a billion LED flashlights. He raised his arm and looked down, surprised to see that his whole body was glowing.

  One of the Shiengols stepped forward. Jacob assumed it was a man, though he couldn’t tell. His hair was long, dark brown, with part of it braided on one side.

  “Who are you?” the person demanded in a deep voice—definitely male.

  “My—my name is Jacob.”

  The Shiengol grabbed Jacob’s arm, flinging him against a wall, the others parting to make room. “You are lying.” He scrutinized Jacob.

  Lying? How could he be lying? And ouch! “Let go of me! I’m telling the truth! My name is—”

  “I know what they call you,” he motioned to the hole, still blocked by several Shiengols, “but who are you really?”

  Realization hit Jacob. “Oh . . .” He squared his shoulders and raised his chin. “I am Danilo Leontii. Prince of Gevkan, son of Dmitri and Arien, king and queen of Gevkan.” He frowned. “But you knew that.”

  “Prince Danilo?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” The Shiengol released his hold on Jacob and folded his arms. “I am Azuriah, leader of the Shiengol people.” He peered into Jacob’s face, but didn’t say anything more.

  Jacob blinked a couple of times, expecting the brightness of Azuriah’s eyes to burn his own eyes, surprised when it didn’t. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. How had he adjusted so quickly? Moments ago, he couldn’t even look in the faces of the Shiengols, but now, doing so didn’t bother him at all. He stared back at Azuriah, holding the Shiengol’s gaze without flinching.

  Azuriah’s emotions were stronger and brighter than the others. He felt determined. Jacob knew this Shiengol meant business.

  Apparently satisfied, Azuriah pulled back. “How have you broken into the stronghold?”

  “The fortress? Are you aski
ng how we got through the traps, or how I got through the stone itself?”

  “Yes.”

  “Uh . . .” Jacob looked back at the hole, hoping that at any instant Gallus or Matt would push the Shiengols aside. He couldn’t figure out why Azuriah was asking questions to which he already knew the answers. Maybe the Shiengol was just messing around.

  Azuriah noticed where his attention had gone. “You’ll see your friends again. But not now.” He snapped his fingers and said something in a different language. Jacob rolled back on his heels. He’d only heard English since coming to Eklaron, except when the Molg and tarri had spoken. Hearing the Shiengols speak in their native tongue was cool. It sounded like German mixed with Japanese and Latin—or, how Jacob assumed Latin sounded. Kind of Spanishy and Italiany.

  Azuriah said something else and the Shiengols broke into a cheer and rushed around the room, gathering things. Swords, poles, clothing. At first, Jacob had a hard time distinguishing the females from the males since they all had long, dark hair, but once he got past their emotional state of extreme excitement, he could see that the females were exceptionally exquisite. They had medium-toned skin, like someone from an eastern European country. Beautiful. They reminded him of a person he’d seen or met before, possibly an actress from a movie, though he couldn’t remember which.

  The Shiengols escaped the fortress through the hole, and soon only Jacob, Azuriah, and a female Shiengol remained.

  She put her hand on Azuriah’s arm and he smiled—smiled!—at her. She said something in that strange language, then followed the rest.

  Azuriah turned back to Jacob. “We have much to do.”

  “We . . . we do?”

  Azuriah motioned to the hole. “They just left to seek the Shiengols in other parts of Eklaron. Danilo, you have mere months until you must defeat the Lorkon.”

  Jacob was stuck on the idea that there were more Shiengols out there, and it took a moment for his mind to switch to the other thing Azuriah had said. “I thought I was only supposed to help do that.”

  Azuriah gaped. “You’re the only one who can do it. Why do you insist on asking so many ridiculous questions?”

  Jacob’s mouth popped open. This Shiengol wasn’t nice. He tried to control the disappointment that rushed through him, but he couldn’t. He’d heard so much about Shiengols and had looked forward to meeting them for a very long time. And they were jerks! He thought of many retorts, but held them back, realizing this being in front of him was powerful. Very powerful.

  “Explain to me the talents you’ve uncovered so far. In your own words and your own understanding.”

  Jacob pushed his negative thoughts away, figuring he’d get answers to his questions eventually. “I can sense weakness in things—that’s how I got into the fortress.”

  “Do you know how this works?”

  Jacob shook his head. “I just hold my hand over the spot that feels warmest and encourage it to get warmer. Then it becomes moldable.”

  “You are exhibiting a partial response to the Rezend that was put in your body.”

  “How do you know—you were stuck here when that happened.”

  Azuriah raised his eyebrow and stared at Jacob. “Do you have to ask?”

  Jacob shrugged.

  “I see the Rezend in your body. Do you not see it?”

  Jacob shook his head.

  “You will someday. If you learn to control your abilities.” Azuriah walked to an alcove, beckoning Jacob to follow, and they sat on a window seat. Awkward—sitting so casually next to the very touchy, somewhat grouchy leader of the Shiengols. “The Rezend would have given you control over living things. However, due to the Lorkon blood in you, and the fact that you aren’t a Makalo, it had an opposite effect. You are able to sense weakness in things that are dead.”

  Whoa. That was insane. “Really? Cool.” Sensing weakness in dead things. He couldn’t wait to tell Matt.

  “What other abilities have you learned to control?”

  “Well, I can see emotions—I can see yours, and it’s . . .” He paused at the expression on Azuriah’s face, and decided against saying which emotion it was. This guy was super intense! And scary. Jacob hoped he’d adjust to the mood swings. “I, uh, know the creature or person has to be intelligent—meaning, able to think on their own or something. I can’t see the emotions of rats. But I could see the emotions of the dinosaur and the Minyas and the Eetu fish.”

  “Dinosaur?”

  “The thing we just had to fight—the one outside the walls.”

  “Cerpire.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

  “The evil and good inside you are constantly working against each other to achieve separate purposes.” Azuriah motioned to the wall Jacob had come through. “You could see the Cerpire and the Molg because of the evil inside you.”

  “Evil inside me?” Jacob choked on the words. “I can see evil things, but that doesn’t make me evil.”

  Azuriah rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say you were evil—I said evil was inside you. They’re completely different.”

  Jacob hesitated, thinking that over, then nodded. Then something Azuriah said earlier sank in. “Wait. How’d you know about the Molg?”

  Azuriah glared at Jacob.

  “Never mind.” Jacob bit his lip, deciding then and there never to ask Azuriah another question. This guy was ridiculous.

  Azuriah watched Jacob for a moment, his emotions changing, and Jacob did his best to ignore them. Obviously, the man didn’t believe his feelings were Jacob’s business.

  Azuriah closed his eyes, making darkness fall upon them. “Do you understand what I’ve explained so far?”

  “Yes.” Jacob had known for a while now that the Lorkon tried to change him into a tool—it would make sense they’d also tried to turn him evil.

  Azuriah got up and paced. “And do you know why you can see emotions?”

  Jacob shook his head. “Not a clue. Because the Lorkon gave me the ability?”

  “No, they did not. For now, just know that some of your abilities—the good, the more pure, more intelligent ones—were inherited, not administered via Rezend or Lorkon.”

  Shocked, Jacob stood. “Inherited? From who?” And why hadn’t he been told? He crossed his arms. This secret-keeping was really getting on his nerves.

  Azuriah grunted in annoyance. “Never mind that.”

  Jacob almost clenched his fists. Instead, he ran his fingers through his hair. At least he was getting information—he figured it was better not to press his luck. He glanced over, realizing no one was guarding the hole. Why hadn’t his friends come in? “My brother . . .”

  Azuriah seemed to know what Jacob was thinking. “Is fine. We’ll join them shortly.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “What else?”

  “You mean, about my gifts?”

  The Shiengol didn’t answer.

  “Well, sometimes I can sense the abilities of other people. Though that seems to come and go.”

  Azuriah nodded. “It isn’t necessary at all times, and will fade until it needs to be used again. Of course, it would be ridiculous to expect to tap into it whenever you feel like it.”

  Jacob couldn’t see why such an expectation would be so ridiculous—all his other talents were available whenever he wanted them. He brushed that aside. “Okay. I can also Time-See.”

  “Time-See?” Azuriah sat down. “You mean, you can ‘gussam?’”

  “Huh?”

  Azuriah waved his hand dismissively, an impatient expression on his face. “Time-See is fine. Describe it to me.”

  Jacob stood to pace, hoping Azuriah wouldn’t get mad about him doing that too. The Shiengol didn’t say anything, so Jacob continued. He took a breath. “It’s my newest thing. I used to think I was hallucinating, but then I discovered I could control it. I have to concentrate really hard, but I’m able to see different places.”

  Azuriah cocked his head, an expression of pleasure on his
face. “How far have you developed this ability?”

  “I’ve tried to see one place for longer than a couple of seconds, but I haven’t been successful. It’s pretty painful to do it.”

  Azuriah suddenly jumped to his feet. “We shall practice now.”

  “Wait, what? You’re going to practice with me?”

  “Yes. Come.”

  Jacob followed and stopped in the middle of the room when Azuriah turned to face him.

  “Show me.”

  “All right.” Jacob paused. “How?”

  Azuriah tapped his fingertips together. “Just Time-See, and I’ll watch what you do.”

  Jacob closed his eyes, trying to think of a place he hadn’t gone yet. He decided to Time-See his high school.

  He stared ahead, unfocused his eyes, and concentrated on a mental picture of the school. The room around him suddenly changed, and he was in the orange gym. Kevin was there with Coach, shooting balls.

  The pain in Jacob’s chest pulled him back to the somewhat dark interior of the fortress.

  Azuriah was still watching him. “Well, that was interesting. Have you no control whatsoever over your body?”

  Jacob shook his head, holding back his response because he was sure it would make the Shiengol upset. How was he supposed to focus on controlling his body while he was trying to see a different place?

  “You went somewhere in the present. Have you tried seeing in the past?”

  “Only a little. Time-Seeing hurts.”

  “Well, of course it does.” Azuriah’s tone sounded like he was talking to a child. “Do it again. Time-See to when your mother was kidnapped by the Lorkon.”

  Jacob nodded. He concentrated on the event, not sure how to tell his body to take him back that far. Things around him flashed over and over again, then stopped, and he saw a younger Princess Arien with a large belly. A feeling of nostalgia flooded over him—he missed his mom! The pain in his chest stung, but he wanted to see what happened next, especially when someone—a Lorkon—stepped up behind her. He was hit by an overwhelming desire to cry out and warn her, but he couldn’t stand the sharp burning any longer, and lost focus. He was whipped back to the present.

  “That was . . . disappointing. Danilo, you must try harder.”

  Jacob bit his tongue. Danilo might be his name, but it was really starting to annoy him. He’d much rather be called Jacob. And he was tired of being pushed around by this Shiengol. “Fine.”

  He concentrated more. The room around him vanished, replaced again by the one where his mother had been. It looked like her personal quarters. There was the Lorkon, reaching a gloved hand around Arien’s face—

  The pain in his chest was just too great. It felt like his heart was going to explode. With a rush, things popped back to normal and he fell to the ground.

  “Get up. Now.”

  Jacob scrambled to his feet.

  “That was pathetic. Is this how it has always been?”

  Jacob nodded. “Before, when I wasn’t in control, it lasted a lot longer and there wasn’t pain. Why does it hurt now?”

  “Because your body is feeble. It’s using a muscle you’ve not exercised.” Azuriah strolled around Jacob, hands behind his back. “You must focus on the pain. Concentrate on it. Force it to expand and envelop you.”

  “That’s crazy! Why would I do that? It’ll kill me!”

  Azuriah stopped in front of Jacob. “No, it won’t. It’ll make you stronger. Do it now.”

  Jacob’s shoulders slumped. Practicing with Azuriah was the last thing he wanted to do, but it seemed he had no choice. He doubted he’d be able to escape, and he didn’t want to argue or fight the Shiengol. There was no way he’d win. Azuriah’s presence was commanding, and he could really whip someone verbally. And even though he was skinny, he didn’t look weak.

  “Get on with it.”

  Jacob nodded. He took a deep breath and concentrated again on the place he wanted to see, but now he focused on the pain in his chest, willing it to grow.

  With a jerk he was in his mother’s quarters, but only momentarily before flipping back to the present. Jacob held up his hand, not wanting Azuriah to say anything, and tried once more. He concentrated on the burning and felt a corner of it sliding to his lungs. Jacob tried to hold it there, but something snapped him back. He scowled, annoyed at his inability to do something which, to Azuriah, was so simple.

  “This is ridiculous,” he said.

  Azuriah frowned. “You must master this!”

  Jacob realized he’d forgotten his earlier vow not to ask any more questions. He didn’t care anymore. “But right this second? Before we can even go home and eat?”

  “Yes!” Azuriah shouted.

  Jacob clapped his hands over his ears. Azuriah’s response had been so loud—almost like a gunshot—it made Jacob’s ears ring. How did he have so much volume?

  “All right. I’ll try again.”

  And he did, going from a different angle. Instead of focusing on the pain first, he Time-Saw to his mother’s quarters, held himself there, closed his eyes, and then honed in on the pain. Instead of forcing it to grow, however, he willed it. He poked and prodded at it gently, requesting it to grow. He felt it start to spread, just as easily as butter over warm bread. It reached across his torso, up his neck and over his head, then down his arms and legs.

  The agony was so bad he felt like he was on fire, as if he was being covered head to toe with hot oil.

  But then . . . it dissipated. With a gasp he opened his eyes, and things were different. His body tingled, but no longer hurt. The residual soreness in his chest went away.

  He watched as the Lorkon put a handkerchief around Arien’s face. She screamed, almost staring right at Jacob, then collapsed. He rushed forward and tried to beat the Lorkon off his mother, but was powerless. His swings hit empty air. The Lorkon hoisted Arien, carrying her from the room. Jacob followed, unable to believe he was still there. He hadn’t been whisked away yet!

  The Lorkon strode through several rooms and halls, then down a series of stairs. He entered a huge room with ornately carved doors on the opposite end.

  Where was everyone? The place was completely empty.

  The creature swung the doors wide open, revealing a group of Dusts, a Sindon, and two other Lorkon practically on the front porch of the castle. All three Lorkon conversed for a moment in hushed tones, then together raised Arien to the back of the Sindon, where she was placed inside a coach-type thing. It was then that Jacob noticed each Lorkon wore gloves and was careful not to touch her skin. What would have happened if their blood had gotten on her? She probably would have died.

  The three Lorkon took hold of the Sindon, and with a loud command from the one who had kidnapped Arien, the huge, four-legged beast got up and rambled away from the castle. Jacob followed on foot, but at the sound of a whip, the Sindon unrolled its long arms, reached forward through the trees, and suddenly zoomed away, leaving Jacob in the dust.

  He growled in frustration. He couldn’t possibly keep up! Then he realized something, and felt like slapping his forehead—he wasn’t really there. He didn’t have a body and shouldn’t need to walk or run to Time-See. Right when he figured this out, his sight zipped forward, making it seem like he was floating in the air alongside the Sindon.

  He glanced around, surprised at what Maivoryl City looked like before the Lorkon took up permanent residence in the castle. It was magnificent. Tall stone buildings, flagpoles, rich draperies in nearly every window, ornately carved bas reliefs on the walls. Definitely worthy of a king’s city.

  After only thirty seconds of charging, the beast stopped near the shores of Sonda Lake, and Jacob realized that the stone wall wasn’t there. He quickly looked back at the Lorkon and watched as one of them pulled a strange-looking creature with many arms and legs from a bag. He set it on the ground and said something in a different language.

  With a rush, the thing scurried off, up over the hill.

  �
�Jacob Clark!”

  The sound of his name freaked him out and he gasped for air, feeling like the oxygen had been ripped from his lungs. Everything around him flashed and he returned to the present and the musty fortress.

  Azuriah stood before him, the colors around him showing he was annoyed, but also pleased. “Very well done.”

  “Why’d you bring me back? That was interesting! I was about to—”

  “Yes, you were learning things, but they are things you don’t need to know right now. There will be opportunities in the future to figure it all out. If I’d let you stay longer, it would have killed you.”

  “What? How?”

  Azuriah motioned with his hands. “As I said before, you’re employing muscles you’ve never used before, which are being forced to facilitate the magic they were designed to use. Just like learning to fight with a sword, you must allow your body to heal between each practice.”

  Azuriah looked expectant, but Jacob didn’t say anything. This made sense, even though it was disappointing that he hadn’t been able to watch the wall get constructed.

  “Did it hurt this time?”

  “Only a little—at the beginning.” He checked to see how his body felt. A sudden exhaustion fell over him. “Whoa. I’m so tired!”

  Azuriah nodded. “That will eventually go away with practice.” He sighed. “You don’t respond to the name Danilo.” He looked at Jacob disapprovingly. “That needs to change. And you must have someone near you when you practice to keep track of how long you’ve Time-Seen. You went for five minutes, which is way too long. Have the individual clock you for two minutes, and then gradually add ten seconds every following instance. Have them call your name to bring you back.”

  “Why can’t I just keep track myself while I’m doing it?”

  Azuriah watched Jacob for a moment. “With practice, you’ll be able to do that.” A glint of happiness colored his emotions.

  Jacob felt his legs turn to jelly underneath him. The exhaustion seemed to keep piling on him. It was so overwhelming, he felt like he was about to faint or something. Azuriah put his hand out to steady him.

  “It will get better.”

  Jacob nodded.

  “With practice, you’ll learn to master this ability, and then you’ll be able to take your Time-Seeing to the next level: Gussar. I suspect you’ll refer to it as Time-Travel.”

  “Wait—did you just say time travel?”

  “Of course. I’ll teach you how. Don’t try to figure it out on your own—there are many, many rules you must follow that will keep you from killing yourself.” Azuriah strode away, sweeping his robes behind him. “We’ll go now.” He paused near the hole, motioning for Jacob to go first.

  Relief flooded through Jacob at the idea of going back to his house. The new information he’d received in the past half hour had turned his brain to mush, and he couldn’t wait to get home and into his warm, comfortable bed.