The Golden Symbol (12 page)

Sanso raised an eyebrow and stared at Eachan. “I’ll do my best,
sir
.”

Eachan rolled his eyes. “Let’s hurry.”

Sanso wiggled into what must have been a comfortable position, then put the bottle next to the puddle. He scooped out first one spoonful, then another, pouring them carefully in the container. “I feel like that fish is watching, waiting.”

Eachan grinned. “It probably is.”

Sanso froze. “You’re serious?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel great.”

Eachan motioned for him to continue. A couple seconds later, the container was half full. Eachan carefully replaced the lid, then tucked the bottle inside a pocket in his robes. They returned to the cart, Eachan supporting the pocket with his hand. He realized that if the bottle tipped upside down and any water got on him, he’d get eaten quickly. Within minutes.

At least it wouldn’t be a terribly painful death. Eetu fish didn’t play with their food.

Chapter Eight: Volunteer

The pain from being dragged from the cell back to Renforth’s throne room was enough to make Jacob want to throw up. And maybe he did—he couldn’t tell. But it did make him alert again, all though he could barely control what he looked at and where he turned his head.

“Master Renforth,” Doulers said, “Lord Azuriah and . . .” Doulers looked at Jacob with an eyebrow raised.

“Jacob,” Azuriah said.

“He doesn’t use his Eklaron name?” Doulers whispered.

“He wasn’t raised with it—they hid him as a child, only calling him Jacob.”

“Very well.” Doulers looked back to Renforth. “Lord Azuriah and . . .
Jacob
. . . approach your throne with the request that you speak with them.”

Jacob tried to focus on Renforth, but the only thing he could see was the vast amount of food on the table in front of him. Jacob’s stomach turned.

“Very well.” Renforth got to his feet and paced. “What do you want this time, Azuriah?”

Azuriah explained the situation with the Lorkon, occasionally shifting Jacob’s weight. Jacob was glad the Shiengol didn’t make him try to stand on his own.

Just as Azuriah finished his explanation and request, Renforth, who had sat again, pointed. “What is wrong with the boy?”

“His magic wanes. He must return home immediately.”

Renforth didn’t seem to care, and just then, Jacob lost consciousness again. He drifted in and out of awareness, vaguely recognizing that Azuriah and Renforth were negotiating. Please, oh, please hurry!

He heard at least two of the things that Renforth discussed: Jacob as a slave, or permanent ownership over Gevkan. Azuriah immediately said no to both things.

What they eventually settled on, Jacob didn’t hear. In fact, he wasn’t even aware he and Azuriah had left the palace. He woke up next to a wall of mud where Gallus was sitting, surrounded by books and food.

Gallus jumped to his feet. “What happened?” He put his hand under Jacob’s chin and looked him in the eye. “Who struck him?”

“Never mind. We must get him back to Eklaron immediately, else he will die. Help me pull him through the link.”

Gallus nodded.

Jacob felt the mud cover his body. The random thought that the
last
mud had barely dried flicked across his mind. But the pain in his chest was too great for him to really care.

Azuriah and Gallus laid Jacob down at the side of the pit back on Eklaron. Azuriah wiped the gunk out of Jacob’s eyes. “Go. Now. You’ll experience a bit of relief as soon as you get to Onyev’s time, but it will be short-lived. Don’t waste time returning.”

Jacob blinked twice to show he understood, then took the necessary steps to go back. He’d been thinking about doing it so much that actually getting there wasn’t difficult.

He ended up on his feet just outside the patriarch’s door. He gasped when something in his chest released and a large portion of the pain momentarily dissipated. He pushed his way into Onyev’s throne room—so different from Renforth’s.

Akeno was there, pacing, waiting. He turned at the sound of the door and rushed to Jacob. “I was so worried!” He stared. “You’re filthy.”

But the pain was returning, and Jacob could only shake his head. He grabbed Akeno’s hand and, without saying anything to Onyev, who sat on a bench, watching, returned to the present. He fell to the ground, gasping, not sure if Akeno fell with him. He could only concentrate on his pain. It felt like his heart stopped beating. But Azuriah was there, hitting Jacob on the chest, shaking him.

Warmth rushed from his chest through his whole body and he coughed, drawing in the much-needed air. And then, the pressure and pain left. His entire body, muscle by muscle, relaxed. Unable to stay awake or even move, Jacob closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he finally woke up. He couldn’t see the sun, but that didn’t mean anything. They were still at the bottom of the pit where the light didn’t reach. He felt the others waiting for him, and not wanting to hold them up any longer, Jacob rolled to a sitting position.

“Jacob!” Akeno said, dropping to Jacob’s side. “You’re awake. Oh, thank goodness! I don’t think I could stand another minute down here.” He hesitated. “And of course I’m happy you seem to be doing better.”

Jacob chuckled, rubbing his grimy hair. “Had to tack that on so I wouldn’t feel bad, huh?”

“Sorry.” Akeno lowered his face, his smile barely visible. “But it’s awful here, and Azuriah said it would be too dangerous to try to get you out while you were unconscious.”

Jacob nodded. “Yeah, those steps are bad.” He got to his feet, shaking his head, trying to clear it. “How long was I out?”

“Only a couple of hours. Do you feel better?”

“Yeah, but I need more sleep.”

“You’ll get it when we’re home,” Azuriah said, approaching. “It’s time to go.”

Jacob nodded again. “I’m ready.”

They started up the stairs. Jacob was worried about Akeno—being much shorter than the others, it was more difficult for him to climb the steps. But he seemed to be fine.

Trying to stay focused, Jacob asked how the negotiations had gone.

“You were there,” Azuriah said.

“I don’t remember anything.”

Azuriah sighed in exasperation. “Well, Renforth made all sorts of stupid requests. I agreed to one of them. Someone from Jacob’s circle of friends will be traded for Renforth’s blood. That person is to act as Renforth’s slave until the Lorkon are cured. At which point, and after we’ve cured and killed the Lorkon, we’re to bring something back to Renforth as proof that they’re dead—robes, weapons, a Dust that followed them, or whatever else we can get our hands on. Only then will we be able to take Jacob’s friend home.”

Jacob nodded to himself. This wasn’t terrible, so long as the person who had to act as Renforth’s slave wasn’t mistreated. He frowned. Knowing Renforth, he wouldn’t be terribly kind to that individual.

They soon reached the top of the hole, where Jacob realized he hadn’t felt any of the negative emotions he’d experienced on the way down. Why was that? Possibly because he’d already been so miserable? Or because he was leaving Renforth’s planet?

Even though Azuriah pointed out that it would anger the dead Shiengols, he let Jacob Key them directly to Mendon when they got to the first door.

Jacob didn’t even wait to see what the others did before climbing the stairs to the bathroom to shower. He threw away every speck of clothing that had mud on it. Who knew what that black stuff was? He was pretty sure Mom wouldn’t appreciate having it in her washer. Or house, for that matter.

When he overheard that Dad would be holding a meeting in four hours to choose someone to go back to Renforth’s, Jacob set his alarm clock for three and a half. It wasn’t near what he needed, but it would have to suffice.

***

Jacob was tempted to bring his pillow and blanket to the meeting in the backyard, but didn’t, and he thought that was an excellent show of character for a prince. He had a really hard time concentrating until things got started, though. His eyes wouldn’t focus and his mind felt really muddled.

While he’d slept, Mom, Dad, and Matt had set up the chairs. Jacob took a seat on the second row and waited for someone to come sit next to him. Matt did on one side and Aloren sat on the other, but down two seats. Akeno ended up taking the spot between them. Jacob was glad to sit next to his friend, but he wished he could see Aloren better. He wanted to know how she’d react to what Dad and Azuriah would have to say.

Once everyone had gotten settled, Dad turned the meeting over to Azuriah. The Shiengol stood and faced the group.

“One of you has to act as a slave for Renforth. We’ll be taking that person to him later today in exchange for Renforth’s blood. Decide who’s going.”

Azuriah sat down again, and Dad rubbed his head. Jacob didn’t need to see Dad’s emotions to know he was frustrated with Azuriah’s chosen method of delivery.

Naturally, there were a lot of questions. Jacob watched the emotion colors with interest as they swirled around him and through the group. Confusion, fear, panic, frustration, anger, excitement. Jacob cocked his head. Excitement? Who would be excited right now? Then he realized the color was coming from Matt and decided to discount it. He should have guessed. Matt was always excited.

Dad took over again and answered the questions as best he could, having Azuriah fill in the blanks of what he didn’t fully understand. Once those present realized the individual wouldn’t have to stay in Renforth’s world permanently, most people calmed down.

“I’m sure Renforth will treat the individual with respect,” Dad said, rubbing his eyes.

Azuriah shook his head. “Don’t count on it.”

Dad didn’t look at the Shiengol. “They won’t really be a slave.”

Azuriah shook his head once more. “Wrong again.”

The colors for annoyance flowed in the air around Dad, but he didn’t show it on his face. Impressive. “At least they’ll be safe from harm and injury.”

“No, they won’t.”

Dad dropped his hands in exasperation. “You obviously know more, so why aren’t you doing the talking?” He dropped his voice to a whisper. Since Jacob was on the second row, he could hear, but only if he concentrated hard. “Stop trying to scare everyone. They’re panicked enough.”

Azuriah jumped to his feet, flipping his bright green robes back. “Have you seen your son’s face?”

Jacob raised his hand to where he’d been hit.

Azuriah didn’t whisper. Without looking, he pointed at Jacob. “
That
is how the person can expect to be treated.”

“A man or boy, yes. But Renforth wouldn’t treat a woman like that, would he?”

“Ye—” Azuriah hesitated a moment. “Okay, he’d be a little more fair to a woman.”

Dad folded his arms, a look of triumph on his face for having finally bested Azuriah.

Azuriah glared. “You don’t—”

“Then it should be a woman who goes,” Hayla called from the back. “And I’ll take the responsibility.”

Gallus and Mr. Coolidge immediately started shaking their heads. Jacob straightened as far as he could to see better and was surprised to see that Hayla and Mr. Coolidge were holding hands. Holding hands!

“We need her too much,” Coren the blacksmith yelled over the murmurs. “Someone who hasn’t been working so closely with the people should go.”

“Then it should be me,” Bezza, Gallus’s wife, said.

Coren rolled his eyes. “Someone who doesn’t have small children.”

Aloren met eyes with Jacob, and he could tell she was about to volunteer. He shook his head and mouthed “no” to her. She’d already sacrificed enough, had already been through too much.

Aloren ignored him and raised her hand. Dad was calling on her when Onaly strode up to the front of the group and turned to face everyone.

“I’ll go. I’ve been a slave before. I’m a hard worker. I can handle physical and verbal abuse—it wouldn’t be the first time for me. And unlike Mothe—Hayla—I haven’t been here for very long. People don’t know—or trust—me as they do her.” She turned to Dad. “Your Majesty, I actually
want
to do this.” She paused, looking at a spot on the tree behind him. “There isn’t anything holding me here.”

Jacob shifted in his seat, staring at his hands. He knew she was referring to him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a few people turn to look, but he kept his eyes down, willing the redness to leave his cheeks.

Dad pulled at his lip, studying Onaly. A hush fell over the crowd, and they all waited to hear what he would say.

“If it’s what you really want . . .”

She nodded. “It is.”

“Then you’ll go.”

“No!” Hayla jumped to her feet. “I’ve already
lived
my life. I’ve been in worse situations than her!”

Onaly shook her head. “It’s only for a couple of months, Mother. And staying behind would be more dangerous.”

Mr. Coolidge pulled Hayla back into her seat. He kissed her on the cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear, probably whispering soothing words to her.

Onaly cleared her throat, blinking. “And you’ve got so many loved ones here. The risk is much higher for you than it is for me.”

“She seems bitter about something,” Sweet Pea said from behind Jacob.

Jacob almost smiled. Lucky Sweet Pea . . . his injury had prevented him from getting involved in a lot of the recent drama.

Dad put his hand on Onaly’s shoulder and spoke to her quietly—probably expressing gratitude. He then dismissed everyone. It looked like Hayla was going to approach him and try to convince him to change his mind, but Mr. Coolidge persuaded her not to. She ended up storming away from him, wiping her face.

Azuriah, Jacob, and Onaly Keyed to the cursed Shiengol city and began the long trek back to the link. Jacob sighed, getting ready for the harassing dead Shiengols and the negative emotions.

But Onaly kept him distracted. She talked almost the entire way. It was as if she realized he would never fall for her, that she wouldn’t see him for a couple of months, and that there hadn’t ever been a chance for the two of them to get together.