The Golden Symbol (7 page)

Gallus glanced at Jacob. “Can we believe her?”

“No,” Jacob said, helping Myler rest on the floor. “She’s still very upset. I’ll let you know when she starts calming down.”

Gallus nodded and Onaly began talking, trying to help Lish relax. She explained who everyone was, that Jacob was royalty. He was part Shiengol, which was how he knew what her emotions were. Jacob was glad she left out the fact that he was also part Lorkon, but he was embarrassed when she mentioned that he had other, non-Shiengol magical abilities. That he could do pretty much anything. That wasn’t true.

Then Aloren stepped forward and explained who she and who Gallus were. By this time, the colors surrounding Lish were starting to turn blue, but Jacob knew people could whip back to previous emotions without warning, so he said nothing to Gallus, letting the girls continue talking to the nurse.

Onaly explained who Myler was—that he’d been engaged when the Lorkon took control, that his older brother had become one of the Lorkon and then tortured Myler’s fiancée to death.

The colors for sorrow filled the air around both Lish and Myler. Jacob noticed tears in Lish’s eyes, but he was mostly paying attention to Myler.

The man’s body shuddered, and a sob broke out. “I didn’t know,” he gasped. “I didn’t know anyone had found out.”

“Trunt told us,” Jacob said.

Myler put his face in his hands. “I can’t do it alone. I can’t defeat him. Too weak.”

Jacob shook his head. “You don’t have to—we’ll help. I promise.”

“Thank . . . thank you.” Another sob escaped through Myler’s fingers and his shoulders shook for several moments. Then suddenly, he slumped against Jacob’s leg, unconscious. Probably exhausted.

“He’s totally out,” Jacob said. “We’ve got to get him to a doctor.”

Then Jacob took over the talking. He told Lish about himself and his family. About his dog and chickens. His favorite classes in school. Learning and playing basketball. He told her the story of how he found out who he was.

He bit his lip, then said, “Honestly, Lish. We’re the good guys. We want to help. We want to
protect
Myler.” He studied her face, then looked at Gallus. “She’s calmed down enough. You can let her go.”

Gallus did so immediately and stepped away from her, where she could see him. “Lish, the place where Jacob comes from has some pretty impressive doctors.” He pointed to Aloren. “Only a few months ago, this girl was injured so badly, she would’ve died. But their medicines and skills brought her back to life.”

Aloren nodded. She put her hands gently on Lish’s shoulders, forcing the woman to look her in the eye. “We could have left here by force, but we didn’t want to—we need to be able to help the people who’ve been injured by the Lorkon. But we must have your assistance. We don’t want to steal people during the night—we can take them to our hospitals during the day and then bring them back, healed.” She looked Lish in the eye. “But we need your permission. Please, won’t you give it?”

No one said anything, and Lish looked at the floor for several moments. Finally, she met eyes with Aloren. “Yes, yes, I give.” Suddenly, she grabbed Aloren’s arm. “But you promise you come back. You help. You promise.”

Aloren nodded. “I promise.”

Lish looked at the others, and in turn, they also made similar declarations.

“We can’t come back for at least two months, though,” Jacob said.

Lish looked panicked. “Many die in two months! Many!”

“We’ve got an army headed our way,” Gallus said. “We can’t come sooner—too much is at stake in our land. And if we take the sick back now, they’ll get caught in the fight and
will
die for sure.”

Lish nodded. “Okay. Two months.”

Mom and Dad were awake, waiting, when Jacob Keyed everyone to the house in Mendon. They gently laid Myler on the couch.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Mom said, jumping up from the other couch. She threw her arms around her son. “We were so worried.”

“Don’t worry—we’re fine,” Jacob said. “Besides, there wasn’t anyone in Tadrys who could have hurt us.”

“I know . . . But earlier, when we thought you’d disappeared and would never return . . .”

Mom didn’t continue, and she didn’t need to. Jacob knew that the episode with the antidote had been very stressful for her. He regretted making his mom’s life any harder than it already was.

As soon as she was sure of her son’s safety and after she and Dad had been updated, Mom sent Gallus, Aloren, and Onaly home. Jacob offered to Key them, but they insisted that Myler’s needs were greater than their own.

Dad took over. “Let’s get him to a hospital. It’s obvious he’s in a lot of pain.”

The three of them inspected Myler, who didn’t have the energy to resist. They’d need to have a plausible story for the shape he was in. Several ribs were obviously broken, and his chest was bruised. Jacob couldn’t imagine that breathing was easy. It was a miracle the man didn’t have a perforated lung.

Mom and Jacob both drew back when they looked at the back of Myler’s neck. Instead of the oozing sore they expected, the skin was clean. Unblemished. But Myler was definitely sick. What disease did he have? He was coughing up blood—that could be attributed to the broken ribs—but he also had a fever, had thrown up twice in the last half hour, had aches and pains, and tons of other ailments.

“It’s almost like he’s got the flu,” Jacob said.

Dad nodded. “Many diseases share symptoms. The body does its best to rid itself of foreign bacteria and viruses by raising the temperature, making the person throw up, all of that.”

“This is going to be very expensive, isn’t it? Who’s going to pay for the hospital bills?”

Dad waved him off. “It won’t be a problem. We’ve got plenty of American cash, and you know that Gevkan is a very wealthy country.”

Jacob
didn’t
know that, but it was a good thing to remember for when he turned sixteen and wanted his first car.

Mom decided they’d take Myler to the hospital in Denver. Jacob would Key her, and when he couldn’t, she would fly back and forth between the hospital and home, making sure Myler was treated well and that the doctors found out what was wrong with him. Depending on how serious it was, she and Dad might need to find a way to get medications back to the people in Tadrys—assuming they all had what Myler had.

After making sure Myler was checked in and as comfortable as possible at the hospital in Denver, Jacob took Mom back home. She’d fly to Denver in the morning, after getting a good night’s rest in her own bed.

It had been a long night, and Jacob didn’t get to sleep until almost four in the morning. He finally drifted off, making plans to go visit Onyev—the real Onyev—the next day.

Chapter Four: Explanations

Jacob took his time getting ready the next day. He woke up after noon and then spent a long time in the shower.

By the time he’d eaten, dressed, and Keyed to Akeno’s new hut in the forest, it was three in the afternoon.

Akeno was eager to see Onyev and report on how his Kaede trees were doing, and Jacob was especially excited to discuss his experience with getting the antidote from the tree.

Assuming his magic would allow him to have that sort of conversation, of course.

“It’s good to see you both,” Onyev said when they entered his palace and “throne” room. He’d already watered his plants for the day, and soon after they arrived, he led Jacob and Akeno into another garden area. This one was much smaller than the first and had no benches. Onyev surprised Jacob by sitting on the grass and motioning the others to join him.

“So, tell me the happenings of your time.”

Jacob bit his lip, hesitating. He hated the pain that always came when he tried to do something that his magic wouldn’t allow. “Well . . . we—we found the antidote.” There! He’d said it. And nothing stopped him. Good. He went on, slowly and cautiously, telling Onyev what happened, first at the location in Taga Village, then second, the location in Maivoryl City. Then he started telling about his experience in Gratitude City.

“Why couldn’t Akeno see the dead people? And why were the tests targeted to me specifically?”

Onyev leaned back, hands behind him, legs outstretched. “There are people who study Kaith trees and how to break through their magic. I needed to make sure the individual who approached was supposed to be there.”

That made sense. Jacob then told what happened with the next test—fighting a representation of Onyev. “And why did it have to be such a
gross
version of you? And cutting off your finger?”

“I’m sorry about that, but it was necessary.” Onyev pulled out some grass and fiddled with the blades before tossing them aside. “I didn’t think you’d find it easy to fight me the way I am now. And there had to be an element of fear involved—it frightens the dishonest away. Only a truly desperate person would continue.”

Jacob frowned, thinking about that. “But why you?”

Onyev didn’t respond at first. “I had hoped that seeing me would cause a person to leave immediately.”

Jacob nodded, but still felt skeptical. “What if the person came after your death and didn’t know who you were?”

“That’s why there were three stop points.” Onyev grinned, a teasing glint in his eyes.

Jacob tilted his head. “There were only two. Though, I did like the light there at the end—it was almost too bright, but nice to see it finally.”

“That was the third and final test,” Onyev said. “If it had been anyone else, they would have been in excruciating pain, which would have gradually built until they died from it or left. The right person wouldn’t have felt anything.”

That made sense—being the “right person,” Jacob hadn’t even known he was being tested. “And still people try to break into Kaith trees? Even with these sorts of tests?”

“No,” Onyev said, shaking his head. “Everyone places different tests, and the strength of those tests depends on the magical strength of the person setting them. I’m the most powerful Makalo alive right now, so therefore, my tests will be much more difficult to break.”

“Then why not have the light be the first test? Make things easier for me?”

“I had to be sure. I’m not comfortable with the arrogance behind the belief that no one would ever break my magic.”

Wow. Jacob’s respect for Onyev went up several notches. The guy was incredibly smart, nice, powerful, and
humble
, even though he had plenty of reasons not to be. That was cool.

Onyev turned to Akeno. “You’re ready for the next step in your lessons. It’s time to teach you how to battle.”

Akeno’s mouth popped open. “Battle? Makalos can do that?”

Onyev smiled. “Not very well—physically, at least—but magically? We’re a fierce lot! I daresay you’ll be one of the most powerful tools Jacob’s army will have.”

“Great! Let’s begin!” A huge smile spread across Akeno’s face.

Onyev chuckled, and Jacob dismissed himself. Though he was very curious about the things Akeno would learn this time, he knew the two were used to being alone for their training sessions. He didn’t want to slow the learning process, especially if Onyev was right and Akeno ended up being a huge asset.

Chapter Five: A Special Task

Eachan
had
to take a break from Sanso. The Ember God was driving him nuts. So needy and whiny and arrogant . . .

He grabbed the bottle Aloren had given him and shook three pills into his hand. He had no idea where they came from or how they worked, but work they did. In fact, he was amazed at just how much they helped.

Of course, the fact that he wasn’t gaining new wounds really helped. He hoped someday not to have to take these medications Aloren had brought him.

The first time he tried the pills, he’d chewed them. That had been a horrendous, horrible experience. So bitter. He wished the girl had warned him that swallowing them whole was the best way.

Eachan sighed, putting the bottle back into the cupboard. He started washing the dirty dishes from the midday meal he and Sanso had just shared. Not having the villagers around really freed up a lot of his time, and he knew his frustration with Sanso stemmed more from his boredom than anything the Ember God said.

If only Eachan could do more to help Jacob and King Dmitri. What part of their plans to get rid of the Lorkon were they in? He didn’t know, and at this point, he couldn’t find out. He hadn’t heard from Jacob’s group since their last visit. Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard from the Lorkon, either. They were probably too busy trying to stop King Dmitri to bother with Eachan.

And that was just fine with him. He figured they’d kill him on sight instead of having Sanso inflict him with burns.

For that matter, they’d have to kill Sanso too. They’d tried it once already.

Eachan stared out the window in the kitchen, ignoring the sudsy water dripping from his hands to the floor. If he
could
make things easier for King Dmitri, how would he go about doing that? He couldn’t pick up a sword to fight, or rally the villagers, especially now that the villagers had all escaped into the forest. They were probably dead.

He smiled as a thought—no, an idea—crossed his mind. He wouldn’t be able to do it on his own. Sanso would have to help. Would the Ember God assist? Of course he would. He was just as bored as Eachan and wanted revenge as much as Eachan wanted freedom.

Eachan thought through every aspect of the plan he was formulating. He must talk it over with Sanso, and they’d need to find a way to approach the Lorkon without being suspected or caught.

Eachan smiled as he finished the dishes and hung the towel to dry. He walked eagerly back to the Ember God’s room. The plan wouldn’t work unless Sanso agreed to do most of the physical activity.

“I have a task for you.”

Sanso looked up from where he lay across his bed, reading a book. “What sort of task?”

“You want to rid yourself of the Lorkon? Permanently?”

An evil glint entered Sanso’s eyes. “Yes. What do you need me to do?”

Chapter Six: A Cursed City