The Golden Symbol (14 page)

“Where are your diamonds?” Dad asked.

“Back in my cabin. I’ll grab them myself, so long as Jacob opens the door for me.”

“Get some of your chloroform while you’re at it,” Dad said. “We’ll need to knock her out.” He turned to Jacob. “After you help the Fat Lady, go see if Ebony has syringes left over from Akeno’s surgery last year. I’d rather avoid borrowing from neighbors again.”

Jacob jumped to his feet. While the Fat Lady was getting her things and Jacob and Ebony were finding syringes, Dad would be organizing the group who’d help get the blood from Lasia.

When everyone was ready, Dad had Jacob take them straight to the castle to save time. Jacob Time-Saw there first, making sure things were safe. Of course, the majority of his vision was cut off by Keitus’s anti-Shiengol stuff, including a large portion of the forest behind the castle—Jacob figured that was where Lasia was being held—but the kitchen came into clear view.

Jacob directed his vision into the courtyard he and Akeno had entered so long ago when they’d gotten the Key of Kilenya. He smiled. The hole in the stone fence was still there—the Lorkon hadn’t patched it up. He pulled back from his vision, told Dad what he’d found, and Keyed the group to the kitchen.

It didn’t take long to get everyone into the courtyard and through the hole, though a few had a harder time getting through than others—Gallus and Coren, mainly. Gallus did a lot of grunting and glaring. He had to shift his position several times before he was successful in getting through, and Jacob was positive the guy would bruise a lot. When he finally popped all the way out, he stood, brushed himself off, and pointed at Jacob.

“Next time you make a hole anywhere, you’d better be sure it’s a lot bigger than that.”

Jacob agreed quickly, not wanting to embarrass Gallus further. It was apparent the man had been humiliated.

A Molg left the forest and charged at them, but Coren whipped out his sword and sliced the creature’s head off without exerting much energy. He was so freakin’ cool!

After stowing the dead Molg inside the courtyard, they proceeded forward, watching for more Molgs.

It quickly became apparent there weren’t any others.

Gallus turned to Dad. “The Lorkon only left one Molg to guard Lasia?”

They both looked concerned, and Jacob didn’t blame them. That wasn’t a good sign.

The group entered the forest that supposedly separated her from the castle. These trees had been infected by the Lorkon and were just as angry as the others Jacob had encountered in Eklaron. Because of this, everyone was whipped, smacked, and knocked down multiple times. Jacob didn’t have to see emotion colors to know his companions were frustrated and upset. He wasn’t sure how to help them, since he felt the same.

After a while, the ground they walked across turned to scorched earth. The undergrowth was gone and the trees weren’t quite so angry. Dad made everyone wait while he scouted ahead, motioning them forward every couple of seconds. He didn’t want to risk everyone getting burned alive when Lasia pulsed.

Nothing happened, though, and when they reached the meadow, it became obvious that nothing like that was ever going to happen again.

Lasia’s corpse was crumpled in the grass, her wrists and ankles still bound. It was apparent that she’d been dead for a while. Any blood still left had coagulated by then.

Gallus turned and cursed, throwing his sword. Dad didn’t react so strongly—he stared at the body—but Jacob knew he was just as upset.

“They must have known,” he said. “They knew back when they took her from us.”

Gallus scowled. “They’ve known since long before then. Keitus wouldn’t do something as big as becoming a dangerous, immortal being without knowing how it could be undone.”

Something must have occurred to Dad—his eyes took on a knowing look for a second before a bit of panic entered his emotion colors. “We’ll send a team to the Fire Pulser world right away.”

Jacob understood Dad’s meaning. The Lorkon had gone to that world before—nothing would have stopped them from doing it again. And if they had, they probably killed all of the royal Pulsers.

Gallus nodded and retrieved his sword.

Dad turned to Jacob. “We’re going to need Sanso’s help. So run your errand for him, then convince him to accompany you and the others to the Fire Pulser world. See if he’s willing to undo the wrong he’s done.”

Jacob frowned. He doubted Sanso would see things that way—he wasn’t the type to differentiate between evil and good. He just did what he wanted—what served the highest payer. But Jacob didn’t voice his doubts to Dad. Instead, he and the rest returned to the castle and Jacob Keyed them all back to Mendon. After he made sure everyone was where they needed to be, he went to find Matt.

Time for a trip to Walmart.

***

Matt was with Aloren in the family room, showing her his favorite movies.

Jacob only waited a second for them to pause their conversation “I need a ride to Walmart. Gotta get something for Sanso.”

Matt raised his eyebrows. “What does Sanso want?”

“He doesn’t know what it is, but he needs a squirt gun. He and Eachan want to spray water over a long distance.”

“All right, I’ll get my keys.”

“Can I come too?” Aloren asked.

“Why not?” Matt said. He dashed out of the room and Jacob and Aloren followed, then waited by the front door for Matt. Jacob looked at anything and everything other than Aloren, and it seemed like she only stared at her hands. Matt bounded down the stairs and unlocked his rusty truck. The three of them piled into the seats.

Aloren sat in the middle, and at first, Jacob had to turn and look out the window to hide his smile. It had been a while since they’d been this close, and now, knowing that she liked him too, it was a lot more fun.

He still couldn’t believe it. Aloren
liked
him! He wondered how long she had, and wished he could’ve found out earlier. Now that he knew, though, he noticed that her usual behavior made it obvious. She kept looking at him, smiling when he did, laughing at his jokes that weren’t nearly as funny as Matt’s. Her behavior now was much, much more pleasant than it had been a month and a half earlier when she pouted and got mad at him for stupid things.

They pulled into the parking lot, then ran inside the store. Matt pulled out a wad of his own cash, and together, they picked out an assortment of squirt guns for Eachan and Sanso to try. They made their purchase, then drove back to Mendon.

Jacob was a little sad when the trip ended. It was nice to spend time with Aloren. And Matt noticed—he waggled his eyebrows at Jacob while they were getting out of the truck, hopefully where Aloren couldn’t see.

Jacob’s thoughts sobered when he remembered the task Dad had given him. Convince Sanso to go to the Fire Pulser world. How was he going to do that, especially now that he was bringing his only leverage point?

He Keyed to Maivoryl City, carrying the squirt guns still in the Walmart bags.

“I’m back,” he called out. The front room was empty.

Eachan and Sanso rushed in from the kitchen, their expressions eager. Jacob upended the bags on the table, then stepped back, letting Eachan and Sanso approach.

“What are they?” Eachan asked. He held up a pack of six and stared at them, then looked at Jacob.

“Allow me to demonstrate.” Jacob opened the package and selected the bright green one. “I need some water,” he said.

Eachan strode out of the room, leaving the other two alone.

Jacob and Sanso stood awkwardly on opposite sides of the table. “Eachan seems much healthier,” Jacob said.

“Yes. Those pills Aloren brought have made him nearly whole again.”

Jacob almost commented on the fact that most of Eachan’s wounds had been inflicted by Sanso, but Eachan returned just then, carrying a jug of water.

Jacob frowned, looking at it. “Okay, I’m used to using a kitchen tap, but we’ll figure it out.” He unplugged the stopper and held the gun under the water until all the air bubbles had escaped. Then he replugged it and turned to the men. “Who wants to get wet?”

Eachan was fastest. He pointed at Sanso and Jacob turned the gun on the Ember God, spraying him in the chest.

But Sanso didn’t get angry. His mouth popped open and he looked down at his wet shirt, then up at Jacob, spluttering. Then he turned to Eachan. Both men grinned. “It’s perfect!” Sanso said.

“Yes,” Eachan said. “Thank you, Jacob, thank you.” He frowned at all the squirt guns on the table. “But why did you bring so many?”

Jacob shrugged. “They tend to break easily and leak. If you’re not careful, you’ll lose all the water before you even get to spray anyone.”

Eachan rubbed his face. “That would be a problem.”

“I suggest you test them all and find the ones that would work the best.” Jacob raised his eyebrow. “Why do you want them, anyway?”

Eachan hesitated. He and Sanso met eyes, and something passed between them that Jacob didn’t understand.

“To spread a poison,” Eachan said.

A poison? Like a Lorkon potion or something? “What sort of poison?”

“It doesn’t matter right now. Perhaps we’ll tell you later.”

Jacob nodded, then took a breath. He hesitated before facing Sanso. “Before I leave . . . I need to ask you a favor. We . . . uh . . . we need your help.”

Sanso raised an eyebrow. “
My
help? With what?”

“In order to get rid of the Lorkon, we need blood from
the
royal Fire Pulser. Because Lasia’s dead, we have to go to her world and find someone else. We need you to come with us.”

Sanso sat in a chair. He didn’t respond. The emotion colors around him showed he was doubtful, unwilling.

“Sanso, you’re the only person I know who can handle being around fire. You’re fireproof, for crying out loud. We need someone who can talk to the Fire Pulsers and get the blood. None of us would make it to the Pulsers themselves and get back alive. We really
do
need your help.”

The Ember God shook his head. “I can’t do this for you.” He jumped from his chair, knocking it over. “I can’t go back—I haven’t been there since I was born.”

Jacob looked at his hands. “You wouldn’t even know your way around, then?”

“Oh, I know how to find my way. I remember the world very well.”

“But if you haven’t been there since you were born . . .”

Sanso smiled. “I was born as a ten-year-old child, Jacob.”

Jacob’s mouth dropped. Cool! “Are you serious? How’s that possible?”

“I’m not going into details, especially with someone your age. Just know it was very painful.”

Eachan cleared his throat. “Sanso, you could go while I experiment with the squirt guns.”

Jacob still couldn’t believe how much the relationship between these guys had changed.
He
was having a hard time being around Sanso, and Sanso had only burned him the one time last year.

“What if I want to do the experiments with you?” Sanso asked. His voice took on the tone of an obstinate teenager, and Jacob almost laughed out loud at how silly it sounded coming from an adult. “Don’t I have a say in how things go?”

“Well, yes, of course,” Eachan said. “But if you really
can
help Jacob and his people get rid of the Lorkon, wouldn’t that be worth it?”

Sanso looked like he was about to say something, but his eyes flicked to Jacob, and he kept silent. After a moment, he looked at Jacob again. “I will accompany you. But you must promise me something first.”

“Anything—well, almost anything.”

Sanso half smiled. “Let me kill one of the Lorkon.”

Eachan got to his feet. “But—”

Sanso held up a hand. “In
my
way.”

“What way is that?” Jacob asked. He hesitated. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

He bit the inside of his cheek, pretending to think through the arrangements, though he didn’t really need to since he was sure Dad would be okay with them. But he wanted Sanso to think he had the upper hand—make the guy feel like he had really gotten a great deal. “Okay. I—I think it’ll be all right. I’ll run it past my dad and let you know if there are any problems.”

Sanso grinned. “I can’t wait.” He turned to Eachan. “Find the best one. I’ll help when I come back.”

Jacob pulled the Key out of his pocket, ready to go now that he’d gotten Sanso’s agreement. “The Lorkon won’t be back for another month, so we don’t have to leave until tomorrow. You’ll have plenty of time to work with Eachan between now and then.”

Eachan leaned forward, one hand on a chair. “They’re not here?”

“No.” Jacob knitted his eyebrows, hoping he hadn’t said too much. He remembered Dad had stopped him from saying anything before. But why? Eachan and Sanso seemed to be working on the good side now—both of them. “I Keyed them to Tadrys about a month ago. They’re walking back. I’ve been keeping an eye on them.”

Sanso and Eachan looked at each other.

“Well, we have more time than we thought,” Eachan said, then motioned to Sanso. “At least you’ll get to do something while we wait.”

Eachan thanked Jacob for bringing the squirt guns, Sanso did a half salute, and Jacob Keyed himself home. He couldn’t believe an Ember God would actually be helping them get rid of the Lorkon.

Chapter Eleven: Rock Climbing

Because this next ingredient would be the most dangerous to obtain, Dad wanted to make sure those who would be going were as prepared as possible. He’d been having Coren the blacksmith make armor that would help repel heat. Akeno probably assisted a bit with that—things were popping up all the time that had a touch of reinforced magic in them. When Jacob asked the Makalo, he simply smiled and said he was sure everyone was doing their best.

Akeno wanted to go back to Onyev’s one more time before Jacob left, so Jacob took him, promising to return first thing in the morning. He wasn’t about to risk getting stuck on another planet again, unable to return his friend to the present.

While he was in the past, he told Onyev how far along they were with the ingredients.

“And we leave tomorrow to get the blood from the royal Fire Pulser.”