Rise of Keitus (23 page)

They dashed forward and Jacob crouched, prepared to fight. The soldiers were too fast and too well trained, however. Before he had the chance to take in a breath, he’d been hit upside the head, flipped around, and his hands tied together. Aloren screamed and kicked, Matt pummeled the soldier who’d grabbed him. But it didn’t do anything—these men were strong and experienced.

That didn’t keep Jacob from trying. He struggled against the rope around his wrists, dragged his feet when the soldier pulled him down the stairs, and squirmed as much as he could.

The evening sky greeted him as he was yanked out of the building. The street was in chaos—families of those being hauled off screamed and pleaded at the feet of the soldiers. Jacob closed his eyes and turned away when he saw the soldiers start raising the blades of their swords against the people who protested.

“Sir, three teenagers here,” the lead soldier said to the captain. “Shall we throw them in the cart?”

The captain barely glanced at the soldier as he cleaned his blade. “We’ve got enough—leave them for next time.”

“But sir, they’re teenagers.”

The captain pointed his sword at the cart. “The king’s requirements have already been filled. Let’s go.”

The soldier released his hold, and Jacob scrambled to get his knees under himself before his face hit the dirt. Matt and Aloren were also released. Moments later, the king’s men surrounded the cart and rode away.

Matt crawled to Jacob. “Turn around. I’ll untie you.”

It took a couple of minutes, but the rope fell off and Jacob quickly undid Matt and Aloren’s knots. They got to their feet, surveying the damage around them.

Bodies were strewn along the street. Some started moving, but others remained motionless. The wailing and sobbing continued as villagers tried to wake the ones who were probably dead.

“Let’s get out of here,” Matt said.

Jacob nodded and they left, heading the same way as the soldiers but maintaining a safe distance.

That had been way too close. He couldn’t help but feel grateful, however, that what he’d sensed earlier was a true premonition. Of course, if he’d obeyed it right away, they would have avoided the scene altogether. But at least he’d done
something
right in taking Aloren and Matt into the building. He was positive that if they’d remained on the street, they would’ve been volunteered first.

That would have definitely gotten him inside the castle, but not in the way he’d planned.

By the time they arrived at the woman’s house, the last shades of purple and red had streaked across the sky, ushering in the night.

Matt strode to the back room. The woman was there, in the same position as before. He crouched in front of her, holding out the cloak. “Is this Liston’s? He hadn’t gone very far.”

She looked up at him, then at the offered fabric and took it, unfolding it. Her face crumpled, and she buried it in the cloak and sobbed.

Aloren joined Matt. “I’m really sorry.”

Matt stood and Jacob met eyes with him. How would they help her? Should they? What could they control, and would it ruin something to try?

Jacob felt callous even thinking it, but their mission wasn’t to relieve the suffering of the poor. It was to get into the castle to work under Keitus. The long-term objective of preventing the suffering of millions was the most important thing.

“We need to head back now,” Jacob said.

The others agreed.

Aloren patted the woman’s shoulder. “We’ll send someone to help if we can.”

The woman grabbed Aloren’s hand and kissed it. “Thank you,” she whispered.

The three left and walked in silence back to Horse. Jacob sneaked sidelong glances at Aloren. She held her hand slightly away from her body, like it was contaminated, and he didn’t blame her. But the expression on her face wasn’t one of disgust. It was pensive, and if it weren’t for the colors of her emotions, he wouldn’t know what she was thinking at all. She was close to tears—the deep and light blues around her, signifying depression and sorrow, showed that much.

They arrived at the royal guy’s house and sat on the front steps to wait. Jacob and the others didn’t say anything until Dmitri and Kelson showed up a few minutes later.

Dmitri strode up to Jacob, pulled him to his feet, and shook his hand. “Welcome to the group.”

Jacob frowned. “But we didn’t even tell you what we learned.”

Dmitri laughed, and Jacob started at the sound. Weird. His dad’s laugh in a much-younger version of his dad’s body.

“We followed you, of course. All the way. Listened to everything you said.” The smile left his face and he met eyes with each of the teenagers in turn. “I’m sorry you had to witness my father’s brutality. But at least you understand the danger these people are in.” He ran his hands through his hair. “And I hate to be offensive, but you’re very naïve and incredibly inexperienced. Not only that, but you need to learn to be more quiet.”

He looked at Matt and Aloren. “Thojac might be younger, but you
must
listen to him. He knows what he’s talking about. Don’t mention names of people in the group—code or real—outside of meetings. Don’t even
talk
about meetings unless you absolutely must.”

Aloren and Matt looked at their feet, the colors for embarrassment flowing around them.

Kelson jumped forward, shaking their hands. “But welcome, anyway! We’re excited to have three new people in the group. Things have been pretty quiet lately—too many leaving. Death, arrest, betrayals, all of that.”

Dmitri handed Jacob a sheet of paper. “The next meeting will be held here the day after tomorrow in the evening.” He stepped away, putting his arms behind his back. “You still want to get into the castle?”

Jacob nodded. “Yes.”

“I’ll figure something out. It shouldn’t be difficult, since you’re definitely not the first to infiltrate. What area did you wish to be in?”

“I want to work directly under the king, if possible.”

Dmitri raised an eyebrow. “That’ll be hard to arrange, but I’ll see what I can do. Even being prince has limitations when dealing with my father. But I’ll let you know what I figure out when you come to the next meeting.” He looked at the other two. “Now then. Kelson and I are willing to train you.” He pointed at Matt. “Ondel, is it? We’ll start with you. First thing in the morning, I’ll show you around Troosinal. If you’re going to work with us, you’ll need to be more educated.” He smiled at Matt’s shocked expression. “Don’t worry—I do this all the time with the new members. Just to help them figure things out.”

Kelson motioned to Aloren. “And I’ve got a friend who can help you learn to be a Troosinal woman. I’m sorry to say it, since it’s not a bad thing, but you’re too independent.”

Aloren flushed and looked down. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

Dmitri pulled out a pair of gloves and put them on. “The three of you haven’t lived in Troosinal as long as you claim. I still don’t know why you’re here, but I don’t worry about your reasons. You’re against my father and will help us.” He met eyes with each of them. “But don’t even think about turning against my group of followers.” After being satisfied by what he saw, he sighed and turned to Kelson. “Let’s go home.”

“Great idea!” Kelson waved to the three friends, then he and Dmitri strode around the corner of the house. Moments later, they rode past on horses.

Jacob released a long breath of air. “Wow. That was insane.”

“Yeah,” Matt said. “Dmitri’s intense!”

“But Dad was cool.” Aloren grinned. “He wasn’t bad-looking, either, though I still think Dmitri’s more attractive.”

Jacob laughed. “That’s weird, Rora.”

She shrugged. “Sorry.”

He shook out his legs—they were cramped from all the walking and standing they’d done. “I have an idea. Let’s go home.”

Aloren nodded. “It’s about time. Show the way.”

“No, I mean, to the present. I want to shower.”

“Oh! Even better! I can’t wait to get these contacts out.”

Chapter Fifteen: A Way In

It was dark in the living room, and Jacob couldn’t tell if anyone was home. “Hello?”

“Jacob?” Mom responded from somewhere upstairs—probably her room. The light in the staircase turned on and she rushed down, also flipping the switch in the living room.

“You’re back!” She rushed to give them hugs. “Oh, I’m so glad. It’s been a rough day.”

Jacob could see that—her eyes were red-rimmed and filling with tears. Wanting to distract her, he asked, “Any word from Dad?”

“They’re fine. Early will probably have more details for you, but last I heard, they were approaching the city and about to set up camp.”

“Oh, good.” Jacob took off his hat and dropped it on the floor. “I hate wearing that thing.”

“So? Tell me everything!”

“We met Kelson and Dmitri!” Aloren said. “And Your Majesty, Dmitri was very, very good-looking.”

Mom smiled and a flush crossed her cheeks. “He sure was. Still is, of course, but what a dashing prince he made!”

Jacob held back his eye roll. “Okay, you guys can talk all about it. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Oh! Good idea. Aloren, dear, you can use my shower. Matt, you’ll have to wait until Jacob is done.”

“Whatever.” He plopped on the couch, but Mom pulled him back up.

“Please, honey, not in those clothes.” She sniffed. “They’re filthy already.”

Jacob headed up the stairs, not hearing Matt’s response. The only thing he wanted was that shower. He grabbed clean clothes from his bedroom and hopped in the water. It was hot and felt really good. Thank goodness for plumbing and cleanliness.

He didn’t shower as long as he would have liked, wanting to save hot water for Matt and Aloren, but got out and dressed, then went to his bedroom. He’d only been there for a couple of minutes before Early zipped inside with messages.

“Things are going well. Those inside the tunnel have found an entrance to Troosinal. They almost got eaten by Molgs a few times, but that didn’t happen ‘cause they’re really lucky.”

“Wow! Sounds exciting.” Jacob grinned at his Minya, wondering who had asked her to deliver the message. It definitely had her personality in it. “Anything from my father?”

“He had a message for you earlier which I gave to your mom, but that has probably changed. They’re in prison now!”

She said it so excitedly, it took a moment for the message to sink in.

“Wait . . . what?”

“They’re being held in a prison until the commander of the Lorkon army comes and talks to them.”

Jacob jumped off his bed. “Are you serious? Are they okay? What do I do?”

Early shrugged. “Your father is worried—I can tell. I heard him say he didn’t realize there were this many humans working for the Lorkon.”

“Can you talk to him right now? Ask him if there’s anything I need to do to help.”

Early nodded and disappeared with a flash. She was gone for several minutes and Jacob paced the carpet, fingering the Key in his pocket. Should he go to his dad?

She returned. “It’s very hard to sneak into the prison to talk to Dmitri. He says not to worry—so long as I check on them all the time, they’ll send a message when they want help out.”

Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse.” He sat back on his bed. “What an awful situation for them!”

“Yup. Want me to do anything else?”

“What about the Wurbies who are destroying the Molg tunnels?”

A sad expression crossed Early’s face. “They’re okay now, but they had an accident and a fight with the Molgs. Seven Wurbies died. It was sad.”

Jacob set his mouth. He’d known things would be bad, but hearing all of this was still hard. “Do they need anything?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, thanks.”

Early disappeared and Jacob went downstairs to sit on the couch until Aloren and Matt had finished their showers. Mom brought them another set of Troosinal clothes, they changed, and she took their old things to the laundry room. When she returned, Jacob updated them all with what was going on with the other groups. As expected, Mom freaked out when she heard that Dad was being imprisoned. It took several minutes to calm her down—Jacob didn’t want to leave her upset.

Then he, Aloren, and Matt returned to Troosinal.

“How is Dmitri going to find us?” Aloren asked.

“Not sure.” Jacob thought over that for a moment. “Maybe they use Minyas?”

“We’ll find out in the morning.” Matt yawned and stretched. “I’m going to bed.” He disappeared behind his sheet-and-blanket wall.

Not wanting to be alone with Aloren, Jacob said goodnight to her and went to his own section. He fell asleep quickly—he’d already spent a few nights in the shelter and didn’t need to adjust, but he was sure the others would struggle. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too bad.