The Golden Symbol (4 page)

Ten
long
minutes later, she came downstairs, her hair pulled back in braids. The style accented her eyes and better revealed her one dimple, and Jacob had a hard time not staring. He felt a blush cross his cheeks and he looked away.

From the corner of his eye, he could tell that Aloren was pleased. Pleased about what? Going to Gallus’s shop? Or—his heart skipped a beat—the fact that he blushed when he saw her?

He hoped she didn’t notice that. Please don’t have seen it.

Jacob cleared his throat. His hands started sweating when the thought crossed his mind that Aloren wasn’t dating Kevin anymore. He could . . . put the moves on her. He rolled his eyes to himself—that was something
Matt
would say. How stupid. Good thing he hadn’t opened his mouth—he wasn’t sure what dumb things would pop out.

Jacob opened the link back to Gallus’s store. Onaly had joined Gallus, and Jacob was surprised when Aloren walked straight to her. The girls hugged each other and Onaly complimented Aloren on her hair. They laughed when they noticed Jacob staring at them, his mouth open.

“What?” Onaly said. “We got over our differences.”

“Apparently,” Gallus said.

It didn’t surprise Jacob that the black man knew about Onaly and Aloren—Dad had to assign Tani to work with Onaly to keep them separated, and their issues had been discussed at a meeting a few weeks earlier. The two girls fought way too much. In fact, they hated each other the last time Jacob was around them.

Girls were
so
unpredictable.

Jacob turned his attention to Gallus as he explained the assignment to Aloren.

“I’ll come too,” Onaly said. “My mother—my first one, not Hayla—and I went to Tadrys all the time. It’s been a few years, but I had good relations with many people there. I’m sure it’s not changed that much.”

Gallus looked to Jacob and Aloren.

Jacob shrugged.

“Why not?” Aloren said.

“Now that that’s decided,” Gallus said, rubbing his hands together excitedly, “the fun part begins.”

He stepped to the back of his shop, motioning for the teenagers to follow. “Jacob, your father asked me to help Coren the blacksmith prepare armor for you. Coren and I decided that it would be best if we fashioned it after your father’s old things, since they seemed to work really well for you.”

He stopped outside a door at the back of the store. “Azuriah caught wind of what we were doing and demanded we make a few alterations. I think they
ruin
the armor, but you might be okay with them.”

He pulled the door open, had the girls wait outside, then closed the door behind him and Jacob. The room was poorly lit, but Jacob could still see piles and piles of metal and leather armor.

Gallus went to the far end of the room and returned, holding black, hardened leather. He handed the set to Jacob, the armor shifting as he did so, and Jacob caught sight of some bright red fabric. Lots of it. He raised his eyebrow, glancing at Gallus.

Gallus raised his eyes heavenward. “Azuriah’s ‘improvement’.” He stepped out of the room and shut the door.

Jacob took his time putting the armor on. Without a lot of light and no mirror, he wasn’t sure if he’d done it right. By the time he finished and exited the room, the girls were sitting on the floor, backs against the wall, and Gallus was stocking shelves.

“Wow . . .” Onaly said, her eyes big. “You look fantastic. Totally hot, as Tani would say.”

Aloren nodded, and Jacob blushed for the second time that day.

“Okay, that’s great,” he said, “but I don’t even know if I put it on right.”

Onaly jumped to her feet, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to a full-length mirror by a bunch of clothes. “Check it out.”

Jacob didn’t look at first, worried he’d only get more embarrassed when he saw himself. But he couldn’t avoid it forever, and they had a lot to get done. They’d already wasted twenty minutes.

He faced the mirror. And his mouth dropped.

Gallus was right. Azuriah had made some serious modifications.

But Gallus was also wrong. The changes didn’t
ruin
the armor, but made it better. More awesome. Like a Shiengol.

Jacob had seen Azuriah fighting before. With every move, his robes spun out, flashing brightly. And Jacob’s would do the same. Azuriah had put long strips of bright red fabric in between the pieces of hardened leather. When Jacob stood still, only the black leather was visible. The moment he took a step, however, a swatch of bright red flashed. Not only that, but he felt a tingle of power cross him when the fabric moved. He spun and the tingling grew stronger. He paused, imagining he had his Shiengol pole and was holding it in a defensive position. He swirled the imaginary pole, pretending to attack an enemy.

Right as he started moving, he felt power enter his system and energy coursing through his body. His movements became stronger—more sure—his foot placement almost an afterthought.

No
wonder
Azuriah and the other Shiengols fought while wearing these robes!

But where did the power come from? Jacob lifted one of the strips of cloth. It was about two feet wide and made of very nice fabric. He wasn’t sure what kind. It felt like a mix between cotton and silk.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed a pattern etched along all the edges of the fabric. It was the same one the Shiengols used on their own cloth, and that they drew on their faces to bring attention to their eyes. The trident with the sun. Except it was different—there were more lines and curves here. Was it the fabric that gave Jacob power, or the symbols on it? Or was it both?

Wanting to verify a thought that had occurred to him, Jacob tried to mold the air to create a shield. Nothing happened, so he started moving, practicing the steps Azuriah had taught him when pole fighting. He felt the power tingling and
then
tried to create a shield. It worked! Jacob released the shield, a huge grin on his face.

“This is
so
awesome!” he said.

“Does that mean the changes Azuriah made were improvements?” Gallus asked. He was dressed in his own armor and looked ready to take on anything the Lorkon sent.

Jacob nodded. “Definitely. I’m able to draw power from the fabric, which means I won’t need the help of a Minya anymore. It’s so cool!”

“And hot,” Onaly said.

Aloren rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. Jacob figured that was a good thing.

“Great. Let’s go.” Gallus motioned for Jacob to lead the way.

He opened a link to Tadrys. Gallus went through first, then Onaly and Jacob, with Aloren bringing up the rear.

Gallus turned. “Aloren, keep your eyes open for any sign of the Lorkon—”

“They’re miles and miles away,” Jacob said. “I already checked.”

“—and
any
of their servants.” Gallus raised an eyebrow at Jacob. “You never know what they might have done, even with you watching.”

Good point.

Aloren and Onaly led the way. Onaly, because she knew where the hospital was, thereby preventing Jacob from needing to Time-See, and Aloren, because she really did have trained and experienced eyes.

Of course, Gallus taught her everything she knew . . . Jacob figured he wanted her to keep up her skills. Then Jacob noticed that Gallus was doing the same as Aloren, only watching from behind, making sure no one sneaked up on them.

After no threat presented itself, Jacob relaxed, allowing the others to watch so he could look at the city. It didn’t take long for him to realize he’d never want to live there. Tadrys was a lot like Troosinal. Dirty, clumsy, not organized in any way. Sewage in the streets.

“Be careful,” Gallus said. “This place isn’t under your father’s rule, Jacob. Their laws could be very different and we don’t need any trouble.”

Onaly glanced back at Gallus. “The Lorkon influence them too—not just Gevkan.
All
the kings of Eklaron support the Lorkon.”

She continued forward, waiting at corners for Aloren to check out the area. It quickly became apparent, though, that their actions were very dramatic for the situation.

The entire city had nearly been destroyed. It was a ghost town. Empty. But it didn’t have the old, vacant feel of August Township—this place had been heavily inhabited only weeks ago.

Onaly led them deeper into the city, where the destruction was even more apparent. Jacob stopped looking around when the things he saw started becoming too disturbing or depressing. Dried blood on fabric. Houses destroyed.

Finally, they reached the hospital. Onaly strode inside only to be pushed back by an older woman wearing a white cloth on her head. “No, no, no. No entrance!”

Onaly frowned, folding her arms. “My friend is in there, and I want him back. We’re going to take care of him now.”

The woman shook her head. When she spoke again, her accent was thick, and Jacob realized English wasn’t her first language. “There’s horrible disease—all over. Everyone gets. Everyone dies.”

“Everyone?” Gallus asked, his eyebrow raised. “Why aren’t you dead?”

“Some get, some live.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. So, everyone gets, everyone dies, but some get and some live. That wasn’t possible. “Our friend’s name is Myler. He came to this town by accident. We have doctors back in my land who can help him.”

The woman only kept shaking her head.

Onaly stepped back from the woman, and by the colors in the air around her, Jacob could tell she was calming herself. She unfolded her arms, appearing less demanding. “What’s your name?”

“Lish.”

“Okay, Lish. We know what caused the disease, and we know how to help Myler. In fact, we can help anyone in the hospital. I promise.”

Lish’s expression turned skeptical. “You know cause? What is cause?”

Onaly flipped her hair. “The Lorkon, of course.”

Lish’s expression turned from skeptical to strong disbelief. “Lorkon not cause. People injured
after
Lorkon leave.”

“That’s because the Lorkon
gave
them the disease!” Onaly said, exasperated.

“No witness. Where your witness?”

“Oh, never mind.”

It was apparent that Onaly didn’t want to talk to Lish anymore, so Gallus stepped forward. “We want to help him. We can come back for the others once we’re ready for them—a few here, a few there.”

Lish backed into the hospital and shut the door.

Onaly kicked the door. “Stupid woman!”

Gallus pulled the girl back. “She’s only acting the way she’s learned. They don’t have a reason to suspect the Lorkon as we do.” He motioned for the others to follow him the way they’d come, and after they went around a few corners, he turned to them. “We’ll have to get Myler some other way.”

Relief poured over Jacob. He’d been worried that Gallus would make only a token effort to get the man, and then would give up if things got difficult.

“Right,” Jacob said. “We could sneak into the hospital at night—go through a back door or something.”

Onaly shook her head. “There isn’t a back door—the only door in the entire building is the front. And I’m not joking about that—every entryway inside is covered using blankets and sheets. There’s not much wood around here, and stone is too heavy.”

Jacob hadn’t yet noticed the conditions of the countryside, but Onaly was right—the land was flat. No trees anywhere.

“Yeah, okay, but we can still sneak in at night,” he said.

“Why do we need to sneak at all?” Aloren asked. “Why doesn’t one of us just pretend to be an injured person and stay here until nightfall? I mean, that way, we’d have an insider who could give info on the layout of the hospital and find Myler.”

Gallus tapped his cheek, thinking. “This is a good idea, save for one problem.”

“What’s that?”

“You’d have to be the one to stay, and I’m definitely not comfortable with that.”

Onaly knitted her eyebrows. “Why would Aloren stay? I’ve been here before—I’m fine here.”

“Because you talked to Lish too much. And so did Jacob and I. Aloren is the only one Lish might not recognize.” He shook his head. “No, I’m not comfortable with this idea.”

“Come on, Gallus,” Aloren said. “I’ve done things like this many times in my life. You’ve always trusted me before.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Gallus said. “I made a promise to your mother, Aloren, and to you, that I’d protect you for as long as I could and as much as I could.”

Aloren put her hand on his forearm. “And I thank you for that. But what’s going to happen to me here that would put me in so much danger? The Lorkon are gone already.”

“Their disease remains.”

Aloren looked Gallus in the eye for a moment, and an unspoken agreement passed between them. Jacob watched with fascination as Gallus’s colors changed to blue for peace.

Gallus sighed. “All right. But promise me you will be careful.” He turned to Jacob and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Yet again, I’m putting her in your care. You’re heading to Gratitude City later, correct?”

Jacob nodded.

“If you don’t return in one piece, Aloren will be stuck here. Jacob, can I trust you?”

What a stupid thing to ask. Of course he could. And it wasn’t like Jacob’s goal was to get killed while searching for the antidote. “Yes.”

“Good.” Gallus wrapped Aloren in a huge bear hug. “Then let’s get you sick-looking.”

Jacob frowned. “What if she gets sick for real?”

“We’ll have one of your doctors heal her.” Gallus turned back to Aloren. “But you stay as far away from those people as possible, do you hear?”

She nodded.

After searching for several moments, they found a dirty shirt on the ground with blood all over the arms. Aloren plugged her nose and pulled the shirt on over her clothes.

“I’ve got Hazel with me,” she said. “Once it’s night and I have an idea of what’s going on, I’ll send word.”

Judging by the colors around Aloren, Jacob could tell she was nervous, but determined.

“At the first sign of trouble,” Jacob said, “you send Hazel and I’ll come get you as quickly as I can. Who cares about the antidote—we can find it later.”

Aloren half-smiled. “Unfortunately, you’re wrong. Finding it is more important than me staying healthy and whole.”