The Key of Kilenya (5 page)

Kenji sighed. “We understand you’re making
sacrifices. We know this won’t be easy for you.”

“Yeah, it . . . it won’t be.” Jacob pushed
his chair away from the table. “I need to . . . I need to think
things over.”

“We'll be here when you return.”

Jacob left Brojan’s house and made his way to
the left, skipping the path altogether. He went around houses until
he reached the ledge, then leaned up against a stone wall and
looked out over the meadow and the big tree.

A gentle breeze lifted the hair off his
forehead, and a faint spice smell lingered in the air, mingled with
the mountain freshness. The sun was about to set, and Jacob closed
his eyes, enjoying the warmth on his eyelids.

He was so confused—there were too many new
things to think about, too many new ideas. What if he really did
have magic abilities? Impossible. He wasn't Harry Potter.

He ran his hand through his hair, then
smiled, momentarily distracted. Matt was always getting on his case
about playing with his hair.
“Chicks don’t dig guys with hair
that stands up on end. They prefer perfectly messy hair—gelled, you
know—like mine.”
It seemed like forever since Jacob had last
seen his brother, and he wondered how they were doing back
home.

There was no way he could get the
Key—regardless of what the Makalos thought or said. They would
quickly discover how badly they had misplaced their trust, how he
didn't have any magical abilities. The only power he had was his
basketball skills. And he didn't want to miss the opportunities
which had been presented to him through years and years of
practice.

He left the ledge, heading back toward the
rope ladder and the way back home. The Makalos would have to find
another way to get the Key.

Back to Top

O
ur journey has finally begun, after a week of
preparation. It was with much trepidation that I bade farewell to
King Roylance and Queen Ara Liese. Neither of them are in good
health, and with the stress of their daughter’s kidnapping, is it
any wonder?

I’ve been trying to get in contact with
the Makalo Patriarch. It
would be wise to have his opinion
concerning this dilemma. I hope he’ll be merciful
.

J
acob had made it nearly to the tree when
Akeno caught up with him, holding his top hat down tight to keep it
from falling off.

“You didn't come back. They were worried—sent
me to check on you.”

“Yeah, I'm heading home. Let them know I'm
not going, and tell them I said 'good luck.'”

Akeno stopped walking, then Jacob heard him
hurry to catch up. He met Jacob's pace, glancing sidelong at him.
Jacob ignored him. He wasn't about to let the Makalo convince him
to stay.

“Well . . . I'll come with you.”

Jacob looked at him in surprise, but
continued forward. If that's what Akeno wanted, then that was okay.
The Makalo would have to explain to Jacob’s family why he was
there—some random alien in their town. That would definitely make
the news.

They entered the forest, walking in silence
for a while. It wasn't nearly as awkward as Jacob would've expected
it to be—Akeno didn't act disappointed or disapproving.

After some time, Jacob sighed in frustration.
“I don't understand why
I'm
the one they chose to go. I
mean, Matt's older, stronger, and he always knows how to get out of
tough situations. So, why me?” He paused, but Akeno didn't say
anything. “I mean, this isn't even my planet. And it's not my
problem. I'm not the one who lost the Key, and I'm not the one who
thinks it should be protected. And I
don't
have magical
abilities!”

Jacob paused to think. “Besides, I've got my
own things to deal with. I was supposed to try out today for
Varsity. And I know I would've made it. I'm actually really good at
basketball. If it weren't for those . . . those stupid wolves . .
.” He took a deep breath. “Oh, forget it. It doesn't even
matter.”

Another silence. Jacob guessed they were
about halfway through the forest. Akeno stopped, and Jacob paused
to see why.

“Hold on a second,” Akeno said. He plucked a
couple of leaves and sat on the ground. Rummaging through a bag
strapped across his chest, he pulled out a tape dispenser and
started taping the leaves to his shoes.

Jacob’s eyebrows went up as high as they
could. “Tape?”

“It keeps the leaves on my shoes, and the
leaves keep the dust off me. I use my Rezend—which is our form of
magic—and as long as the leaves are fresh, they do what I ask them
to do.”

“But . . . where did you get tape?”

Akeno shrugged. “From the humans. They gave
me a lot of it last time they were here.”

“Humans? What humans?” For some reason, Jacob
had assumed he was the first human to step foot on this world. The
fact that there had been others caught him off guard. Were they
like him? Did
they
have special abilities?

“Oh, they didn't tell you? Humans used to
live in the tree. It's why it's human-sized.”

“What? Where'd they go?”

“They moved. They used to visit, but it's
been a long time—several years, in fact. We still keep in contact
with them through the Minyas.”

“Oh, yeah, Minyas. You guys sent them to tell
Matt where I was, right?”

Akeno taped the last leaf to his shoe, put
the tape dispenser back in his bag, and got to his feet. “Yeah. It
took them a while to convince Matt they were real, living things.
And then a while longer that you were safe.”

Jacob turned, but Akeno grabbed his arm.

“What?” Jacob said in irritation, facing
Akeno again.

“The wolves.” Akeno gestured with his other
hand. “I should've made sure they weren't here before we entered
the forest.”

Jacob looked ahead and froze. The two huge,
black wolves sat on their haunches about twenty feet in front of
them. A movement to either side of the animals startled Jacob, and
at least ten more wolves—the smaller, gray kind—stepped forward,
forming a semi-circle around the boys.

“What's going on?” Jacob asked.

“I don't know.” Akeno's low voice had taken
on a high pitch.

Jacob didn't blame him. He was so scared he
could barely breathe. “What do we do?”

Akeno shook his head—his whole body shook,
actually.

Jacob stared at the wolves, not flinching,
waiting to see what they would do. Nothing happened for several
moments. Why weren't they attacking?

“Should I knock them out?” Akeno asked.

“No—don't. They're not doing anything.”

“Maybe we could go around?”

Jacob shook his head. The last thing he
wanted was to step any closer. “You think we should?”

“No . . . but what else is there?”

Conflicting emotions raced through Jacob.
Fear—that was the strongest. Last night was horrendous. He hadn't
been that afraid in a long time—if ever. But he also wanted to go
home—desperately needed to go home. He wanted to play basketball,
yes, but more than that, he just wanted the comfort of his house
and family. He wanted the last twenty-four hours to be
erased—rewound, if possible. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to
forget all about this other world.

Jacob took a deep breath. Go around. That's
what they should do. He took a step to the right. Nothing
happened.

He willed his heart to calm down. What were
the animals doing? It seemed unnatural for them to sit so quietly.
Then he remembered Kenji saying that the Lorkon had sent the wolves
to get Jacob. Was it possible that's what they were trying to do?
And they wouldn't let him pass? That didn't work for him—he had to
get home, and no “otherworldly” creature was going to stop him.

He gingerly stepped to the right again,
trying to make a wide arc around the farthest wolf on that side.
Akeno stayed close, only moving when Jacob did. One of the animals
growled, but still, they didn't do anything.

“Maybe they'll let us pass.” Jacob doubted
it, but hoped saying so would make the Makalo feel better.

A step again. This time, one of the black
wolves growled and jumped to its feet. Jacob nearly fell back in
fear, clutching his chest, and Akeno jumped. It took a moment for
Jacob to realize what was going on. The wolf pointed its snout
toward Taga, successfully conveying the message:
go back
.
Jacob's heart beat so quickly he felt he would have a heart
attack.

“What are they doing?” Akeno asked.

“Stopping me from going home.”

Akeno took a deep breath. “They can't stop
you. They can't force you to do anything.”

“What
do
they want you to do?”

The voice came from behind, and Jacob
whirled, half expecting a phantom or Lorkon or something to be
standing there. It was only two Makalos—a shorter one, and one with
a lot of facial hair.

“Don't
do
that!” Jacob hissed. “You
scared the heck out of me!”

The hairier Makalo grimaced. “Sorry. We heard
your voices and came to investigate.”

“And Jaegar, aren’t you supposed to be home
with Mother?” Akeno asked.

The shorter Makalo looked away. “Yeah, well,
I . . .” He cleared his throat. “What're the wolves doing?”

Jacob looked at the animals. “Trying to keep
me from going home, I'm guessing. They want me to go back to the
village.”

As if in response, the other black wolf
jumped to its feet and stepped to the side of the first.

“You don't want to go?” said the hairy
Makalo—Butch, Jacob decided to call him. “Then don't do it. How are
they going to stop you?”

“Oh, I don't know. Kill me, maybe?”

A concerned expression crossed Jaegar’s face.
“They can't kill you. You’re too important to everyone here. We
wouldn’t let them.”

“Okay, well, it's probably better if I go on
alone.” Jacob nodded to Akeno. “Thanks for trying to come with me.
Maybe I'll see you around.”

He took a full step away from the Makalos.
The wolves growled and shifted closer. It felt like they were
pushing him back. Well, he wasn't about to let that happen. He
jogged several feet, but the black wolves leaped in front of him,
growling, blocking his path. He spun in time to see the gray wolves
rush at the Makalos. Several chased Butch up a tree while others
jumped at Jaegar, who lifted his hands to protect himself. Jacob
ran forward to stop them, but Jaegar went down, several of the gray
wolves on top of him, barking and slashing with their teeth and
paws.

“No!” Akeno screamed. A loud crack sounded
through the air, and all the wolves fell to the ground.

“Help me get them off!” Akeno shouted. “We’ve
only got a few seconds. The effect doesn't last as long on magical
creatures.”

Jacob caught up with him—two wolves had
collapsed on top of Jaegar, who was unconscious. Together, Jacob
and Akeno rolled the wolves off of the Makalo.

The shapes around them began stirring. Jacob
lifted Jaegar’s small frame and rushed toward Taga, following
Akeno.

Butch climbed down from the tree as Jacob
passed it, then trailed behind them. He wasn't as fast a runner as
Akeno and Jacob, though. When Jacob heard scuffling, he stopped,
knowing the Makalo was in trouble. He spun around in time to see
the wolves attacking Butch.

“Knock them out!” Jacob shouted to Akeno.

“I can't—it's been too soon. It loses
effectiveness.”

“Then take him and run!” Jacob handed Jaegar
to Akeno. He ran back to Butch, waving his hands at the wolves. The
gray ones snarled and leaped, but the black ones interceded before
the smaller wolves reached him.

The creatures backed away as Jacob neared
Butch. He held his hands out in an attempt to stop them if they
jumped. They growled, stopping twenty feet away, baring their
teeth. He picked up Butch, who was bloodied, but awake.

“Sorry, man . . . I tried to . . .”

“It's okay.”

Jacob ran as quickly as he could through the
trees. The yelps behind him let him know the wolves had taken
pursuit again. He nearly dropped Butch a couple of times. This
Makalo was much heavier than Jaegar.

He entered the meadow, saw Akeno running for
the opposite side of the village from where Brojan lived, and made
a beeline in that direction. He was almost to the tree when he made
the mistake of looking back. He nearly fell as he did, his stomach
tightening in fear.

The wolves were in fast pursuit, already
having reached the meadow. It looked like they forgot who they were
chasing and only wanted to take him down.

Akeno reached the stone wall—no ladder here,
but handholds in the stone. He was having difficulty trying to
climb with Jaegar, unconscious, in his arms. Jacob put Butch down,
took Jaegar, and motioned for Akeno to climb the wall. Akeno
scrambled halfway to the top. His hand in one of the holes, he bent
and got hold of Jaegar by the arm, hoisting the injured boy over
his head. Someone reached down to grab Jaegar.