Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three (6 page)

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

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

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

Already the beasts were beginning to stir. Jacob lifted Jaegar’s small frame in his arms and ran with him toward Taga, following Akeno.

Butch climbed down from his tree as Jacob ran past, then trailed behind. He wasn’t as fast as Akeno or Jacob, and it wasn’t long before Jacob heard scuffling. He stopped, knowing the Makalo was in trouble, and turned around. The wolves had attacked.

“Knock them out!” Jacob shouted to Akeno.

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

“Then take him and run!” Jacob shouted as he shoved Jaegar into Akeno’s arms. He ran back to Butch and the wolves, trying to distract them by flailing his hands wildly. Seeing him, the gray wolves snarled and leaped, but were stopped by the black wolves.

With the black wolves in front, the pack backed away as Jacob neared. He held his hands out in front, ready to defend himself if the wolves decided to charge. Keeping a distance of about twenty feet, they snarled and showed their teeth—seemingly dissatisfied, but unwilling to move any closer. Jacob scooped up Butch, glad Makalos were smaller than humans. Butch was bloodied, but awake.

“Sorry, man . . . I tried to . . .”

“It’s okay.”

With Butch in his arms, Jacob backed up, then turned and ran as quickly as he could through the trees. It wasn’t long before he could hear the yelps of the wolves behind him, once again in hot pursuit. His breath heaving, he nearly dropped Butch a couple of times. This Makalo was much heavier than Jaegar.

As Jacob entered the meadow, he spotted Akeno halfway across, running toward the edge of the village opposite from Brojan’s place. He made a beeline in that direction. He was almost at the tree when he made the mistake of looking back. As he did, his stomach tightened in fear and he nearly tripped.

The wolves were gaining on him quickly, having already gotten to the edge of the meadow.

Akeno had reached the stone wall. No ladder there, handholds had been carved into the wall. He shifted Jaegar to one shoulder, attempting to climb, but failing when the boy’s body got in the way. Jacob put Butch down, took Jaegar from Akeno, and motioned for Akeno to climb the wall. Akeno scrambled halfway to the top. With one hand securely anchored in a handhold, he bent and took hold of Jaegar by the arm. He lifted the injured boy as high as he could, and a Makalo from above reached down and hoisted Jaegar to safety.

Jacob picked up Butch and shoved him up the wall to Akeno, who tried pulling him up as he’d done with Jaegar.

“You gotta help,” Akeno said to Butch, grunting. “You’re too heavy.”

With Akeno’s help, Butch hauled himself up, crying out in pain.

“Hurry!” Jacob said. The wolves were only yards away. The same Makalo from above grabbed hold of Butch and, with some effort, pulled him the rest of the way.

Akeno climbed up, then leaned and offered his hand to Jacob. Jacob took it and hoisted himself over the edge, with the wolves snapping at his heels.

Kenji stood with Jaegar in his arms. Jacob looked around for Butch and saw him with an elderly man who was supporting most of Butch’s weight. They hobbled to the right, disappearing between the buildings.

Kenji addressed two of the Makalos who were anxiously peering over the ledge. “Watch the wolves. Tell me when they leave.” He turned and headed swiftly down the path to his left, Jaegar limp in his arms. Jacob and Akeno had to jog to keep up with him.

“My son, my poor son—” Kenji said to no one in particular, the pain in his voice evident.

“I’m so sorry,” Jacob said.

“If he dies, I . . .” He cleared his throat. “Jacob, before you came, the wolves never dared enter Taga Village.”

Jacob bit the inside of his cheek, avoiding looking at Kenji. If only he’d listened to the Makalos, none of this would’ve happened.

They entered a stone house, painted bright blue, with streaks and spatters of white. Kenji gently placed Jaegar on a large table situated along the left wall of the room. Ebony burst into tears at the sight of her tattered young son.

“What happened?” she asked.

“The wolves attacked while . . .” Akeno started.

“While I was trying to go home,” Jacob finished. Guilt poured over him again.

Disappointment flashed across Ebony and Kenji’s faces before they turned their attention back to Jaegar.

“Oh, Jaegar, Jaegar . . .” Ebony said. “What if those wolves were poisonous? Will sap help?”

“We’ll need to work quickly,” Kenji said. “This is hard, but I need your help. Gather yourself. You know what to do.”

Ebony nodded, sniffling as she tried to hold back the tears, and ran from the room. She returned moments later with some familiar items—a small package, an armful of cloth, and a bowl.

Kenji mixed the sap while Ebony separated the cloth. Most of it had been cut into strips, but there was one piece that formed a sheet.

Jacob leaned forward, curious to watch everything they did, since last time he had been the injured one.

Kenji poured the contents of the jug and the small package into the bowl, creating a thick, brown liquid. Jacob recognized the smell immediately. Maple syrup. Why on earth would they use maple syrup?

Akeno and Ebony hurriedly cut off Jaegar’s shirt, revealing severe bites all over his chest and arms. Jacob shook his head, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets. He should have listened.

The Makalos saturated strips of cloth with the mixture and laid them on Jaegar’s wounds. Very soon, Jaegar was almost completely covered in cloth pieces. Ebony let out a worried breath as she and Akeno stepped back. Kenji covered Jaegar with the larger sheet, and the three of them looked on as they stood near Jacob.

“Was it too late? Will he die?” Jacob asked, but Ebony held up her hand.

“Give it time.”

Every few moments, she lifted the edge of one of the strips and looked under, a deep frown on her face. Kenji paced near the front door, hands behind his back.

At first, nothing appeared to be changing. But a few moments later, Jacob was relieved to see that the wounds were healing and disappearing.

After what felt like forever, Ebony let out a breath, this time of relief, and pulled off all the strips. Every single wound was gone, leaving only pink skin underneath. Jaegar’s breathing was now steady.

“All right,” Kenji said. “Now he needs to rest.” He picked Jaegar up and carried him out of the room.

Chapter 5. Speed of Light

Today we encountered the first element. It was lucky we were not killed. Or drowned, I should say. The Lorkon had placed a magical waterfall to completely bar passage from the castle and neighboring city to anything beyond. The water was totally invisible and difficult to feel. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that it was mostly invisible. When riding up to it, it appeared as a great wall of air, shimmering in the hot sun.

One of our men entered first, and he and his horse started to drown before our eyes. It took several seconds for us to realize what was happening. They were standing as if in plain air, and yet could not breathe. We acted as quickly as we could and pulled them out, barely in time.

It took us at least an hour to discover the true size of the waterfall. It rose miles upon miles into the air—Arien’s Minya was unable to reach the top—and it was at least four hundred feet thick, most likely more. We couldn’t measure. We knew the Lorkon must have created a means of escape, as they’d returned to attack Aldo and Ezra, so we searched for a way through. By trailing my hand in the water as I walked alongside it, I found a tunnel of air that led us and our animals to safety.

Once we reached the other side, we were surprised to find that Arien’s Minya was unable to go back through the tunnel, even though she now knew where the entrance was. Her magic will no longer allow her to find it. What is this the Lorkon have done, and how will we communicate with the king and queen?

Jacob, Akeno, and Ebony were left standing in the front room, waiting for Kenji to return.

Jacob fidgeted with his hands, afraid to look at the other two. “Jaegar’s friend got hurt too.”

“Oh, dear,” Ebony said, sounding worried. “Is he being taken care of?”

Akeno nodded. “They took him to his home—I’m sure Mara is doing everything she can.”

“Good. He is lucky to have her for a mother.” She paused and took a shaky breath. “Jaegar has lost a lot of blood. It will take several hours for him to completely recover. If there was any poison in those wolf bites and scratches, hopefully it has all been removed.” She grabbed a rag and wiped the table down several times, scrubbing at food stains that wouldn’t go away.

“Are wolves here usually poisonous?” Jacob asked. He’d never heard of poisonous wolves. Though, this world wasn’t the same as Earth, and anything could be possible.

Ebony paused. “No, not usually. And I really hope these weren’t. There wasn’t any pus, no redness around the wounds.” She scrubbed for a moment longer, then spoke to Akeno. “I can’t stand this. Jaegar will be fine with your father here. Let’s take some sap to Mara.”

Akeno nodded, scurried out of the room, then returned, holding a Kaede Sap package.

“We’ll be back in five minutes,” Ebony said before shutting the door behind her and Akeno.

Jacob took a deep breath and studied the room. Everything in the small house was beautiful, including the windows. The glass had a silver sheen that made it sparkle. The stone walls were painted scintillating shades of yellow, red, orange, and blue, with silver streaks. The doors were large and wooden. The stone floor was painted red, with a bright blue mat on it, and the wood furniture, which was lower than what Jacob was used to, was simple, yet elegant. The ceiling was plenty high, even for him, and Jacob looked at it in awe, studying the intricate design created by the streaks of metal. The room glowed from the silver in the stone, and Jacob found himself wishing his room back home could be given light from the same source. It was really cool.

He walked to the closest wall to trace one of the streaks of silver with his finger. He felt warmth in places and stopped tracing, putting his whole hand over one of the spots. The heat increased considerably where his palm touched it and he recoiled, looking at his skin. This was the second time he’d felt warmth like this. Was there a reaction between his skin and the materials in this world?

It hadn’t hurt, so he ran his hand along the wall again. After a moment, he noticed that the longer he held his hand in one spot, the warmer that place became. Holding still for several seconds, he closed his eyes, enjoying the heat.

A door behind him opened, and Jacob jumped when someone chuckled.

“It looks like you’ve decided to leave your mark here,” Kenji said with a slight smile, stepping through the door to the back of the house.

Jacob looked down and felt himself blush when he saw there was now a deep handprint in the wall. He lowered his arm. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I . . . I didn’t mean to—I was just feeling the warmth.”

Kenji frowned, crossing the room to Jacob. “What warmth?”

“Right here.”

The Makalo felt the spot where Jacob’s hand had been. “I can’t feel anything. Has this happened before?”

“In the tree last night, but I don’t think I left a mark.” Jacob frowned, trying to think of something he could do to remove the print.

“And before then?” A smile played at the corners of Kenji’s mouth.

“No, that was the first time.” Jacob shook his head. “I’m really sorry.”

There was a twinkle in Kenji’s eyes. “That’s fine—it’s a nice addition to the décor of the room.” Interest flitted across his eyes. “See if you can figure out why you felt heat. That is definitely fascinating.”

The front door opened, and Ebony and Akeno entered the room.

“Mara’s boy is going to be fine,” Ebony said, shutting the door.

Kenji put his arms around his wife. “So will Jaegar, but we need to talk.” He led her to the table, and Jacob and Akeno followed.

Kenji addressed Jacob after sitting. “What happened out there?”

Jacob couldn’t meet his eyes. “I . . . I left. I wanted to go home. Akeno came with me. The wolves stopped us and attacked.”

Kenji nodded. He didn’t question Jacob’s decision to go home, which made Jacob feel even more uncomfortable. The need to defend himself rose—even though it was apparent he didn’t need to—but he didn’t dare say anything. He’d almost been responsible for the loss of two lives.

Kenji finally broke the silence. “Jacob, due to what we’ve seen, I do not believe the Lorkon will let the wolves leave the villagers alone until . . .” He sighed, then looked at Jacob, a worried but tender expression on his face. “Until you leave to get the Key. If they won’t even let you go home, there really isn’t another choice. It’s too dangerous for all of us—you included—to have you here.”