Eyes of the Sun (19 page)

Dad shook Azuriah’s hand. “I’m truly sorry—”

“I don’t want your apologies. I want solutions. Now.”

Dad nodded. “I’ve already come up with an answer. I’ll have Mr. Coolidge and Hayla keep the people in some of the outlying buildings in the city until the Shiengols leave. The Shiengols won’t see them at all the entire time they’re in August Township. I assume this will suffice.”

Jacob couldn’t help but smile at the irritation swirling in the air around Azuriah. He’d most likely expected Dad to take a long time to come up with a solution and probably even expected Dad not to be so . . . well, commanding. Dad knew Azuriah was a powerful being, but
Dad
, not Azuriah, was the king of Gevkan. And no one was going to tell Dad what to do.

Azuriah must’ve had the same thoughts. He turned his face away. “Get it done, then.”

Jacob ran out of Azuriah’s place, searching for Mr. Coolidge and Hayla before anyone asked him to do so. While searching, Onaly found him. Yet again, she threaded her arm through his and held on when he tried to get her to let go.

“Why are there so many Wurbies here?” she asked.

“They were getting attacked by the Lorkon. They live here now.”

“I figured that, but why? What good will it do to have them around?”

Jacob barely glanced at her. “I used to feel the same, but have found that they’re actually very good at things. They’ve completely taken care of themselves—we don’t need to provide food for them or materials for their buildings.”

“Yeah, I can see that.” Onaly scrunched up her nose, staring at the part of the village where the Wurbies lived. “What are you doing right now?”

“Finding Mr. Coolidge and your mother.” Jacob opened the door to the school and walked inside.

“Oh, they’re not in their offices,” Onaly said. “They went to the tree to go through books.”

For once, Jacob was glad Onaly was around—she just saved him from searching. They didn’t say anything while walking to the tree, and Jacob found his annoyance with her leaving. She was clingy and a little smothery, but at least she didn’t talk non-stop like some girls he knew.

“Well, I’ll see you later,” Jacob said.

Onaly smiled, then gave him a quick hug and danced away. Her walk was so different, almost a skip—dancing was the only way he could describe it. He watched her leave, wondering how he was ever going to give her the message that he wasn’t really interested. And if he did, would it totally and completely ruin her and make her cry all the time? He shook his head, turning to the tree, but found he had two audiences: Hayla watched from the doorway with a smile, and Aloren from the trail to Mendon with a scowl.

Jacob resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His life was perfectly fine back on Earth, where all he had to deal with were girls who liked him because he played basketball really well. Mothers never got in the way. And Aloren . . . moody Aloren. He sighed and entered the tree.

Jacob told Mr. Coolidge and Hayla what was going on with Azuriah, and the three walked back to the fortress. From their colors, Jacob could tell they were antsy. He smirked to himself—it was probably because of Azuriah.

Dad greeted Hayla and Mr. Coolidge, made sure they knew what to do, and then had Jacob open a link to August Fortress. They all stepped through into the huge stone building.

The moment they were through the doorway, a feeling of déjà vu overcame Jacob. He was momentarily blinded by the sheer number of Shiengol eyes that turned their way.

“Close your eyes,” Azuriah said.

The room immediately darkened.

“Where is Renforth?” Azuriah asked.

“He hasn’t arrived yet, my lord,” a blue-robed Shiengol responded.

“Let me know the moment he does. Who else isn’t yet present?”

“Just Renforth and his company,” the same voice said. “They’ll be here shortly. Within a day or two.”

“Good.” Azuriah took a deep breath. “We’ll take care of the human problem, then leave you to situate yourselves until it’s time to go.”

The blue-robed Shiengol nodded, and Azuriah turned to Dad. “Get those people out of here. I’m going home.” He stepped through the link back to his place, and an awkward silence fell over the group. Many of the Shiengols opened their eyes, causing the room to lighten enough for Jacob to see the humans huddled in a corner. Myler was in front of them, maintaining a protective stance, his lips curled in disgust and fear.

Hayla rushed through the group of Shiengols to her former students. “Oh, my poor dears. Let’s get you out of here.”

It didn’t take long for Hayla and Mr. Coolidge to convince the people to leave the fortress and to occupy a handful of small buildings near the edge of the Argots. The people were so frightened, Jacob wondered if they’d ever recover. Shiengols made
him
nervous, and he was pretty much one of them.

After making sure things were settled, Jacob Keyed everyone to their proper places, and then returned home. He followed Matt up the stairs and plopped on his bed, glad to finally get a break. He’d just barely closed his eyes, however, when he heard Matt call out in shock.

Jacob jumped up and dashed down the hall to Matt’s room. His jaw dropped when he saw what had made Matt yell.

Aloren sat on Matt’s bed, holding his pillow, sobbing. Mascara streaked down her cheeks. She looked awful! The girl saw Jacob and sobbed even more, falling to her side on Matt’s bed.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh . . . let’s get Mom.” The brothers backed out of the room and ran downstairs, where they found Mom in her study. They told her what had happened and she went upstairs alone, making the boys wait in the living room.

“Why was she in
my
room?” Matt asked. “I bet she and Kevin are having problems . . . but why
my
room? Is it because I’m her brother?” He slumped into the couch. “Oh, boy. I’m her
older
brother. It’s like in the movies—girls think the main reason to have older brothers is so they have someone to cry to!”

Jacob almost laughed at the expression on Matt’s face. Obviously, he wasn’t ready to have that sort of relationship with Aloren. He was still in the mode of, “my little sister is only six and isn’t dating boys yet.” Even though Amberly wasn’t technically his sister, Matt still felt that way toward her.

“And even though Aloren
is
my sister, I don’t know. I just don’t like it when girls cry. It’s weird. And awkward.”

Jacob completely agreed.

They waited in silence. Eventually, Mom came down the stairs, with Aloren following. The two went into the kitchen, and Jacob and Matt stayed where they were on the couch. Jacob tried not to listen, but couldn’t help overhear their conversation as Mom made hot chocolate for Aloren.

“I mean, he wasn’t even mad at me,” Aloren said. “He just nodded and said he would always love me.
Always
.” She snorted. “We’re just teenagers—how could he possibly always love me?”

Mom made some sort of comforting noise, and Aloren continued.

“What bothers me the most is I didn’t really have a good reason to do it. Things just didn’t feel right anymore, and I can’t figure out why. Every time I was around him during the past couple of weeks, I felt sick. And the more time I spent with him, the worse it got.”

Jacob heard shuffling—sounded like Aloren and Mom sat at the table.

“I don’t like boys. I’m done with them all.”

Mom chuckled. “It’s okay to feel that way for a while, but remember, someday you’ll meet a nice young man who will treat you like gold and cherish you forever.”

Jacob’s hopes started to rise—he really liked Aloren. And though he didn’t know about forever, he could totally cherish her now. And hold her hand. And maybe even . . . His cheeks flushed when he thought about possibly kissing her. Weird. He had to get that idea out of his mind.

But all of his eagerness to prove himself as a “nice young man” left when Aloren answered.

“That might be true, but for now, I’m just going to avoid them all.”

Mom laughed again and the two of them fell silent for a while. Jacob swallowed a few times, trying to control the disappointment that rushed over him. Why would it matter to
him
if she decided to stay away from boys? According to house rules that he’d agreed to, he wasn’t even old enough to date. So why was he upset and disappointed and even sad?

Then Jacob made his
own
decision. He wasn’t going to think about Aloren anymore. At all! He rolled up his sleeves, got up from the couch, and went upstairs to his room. He had things to get done. Azuriah had said as soon as that other Shiengol—Renforth—came, they’d be leaving for Sonda Lake, where they’d get rid of Lirone. Along with all the preparations Jacob needed to make, he still had to study, and the fact that Aloren was probably going to ignore him only made him want to bury himself in his work even more.

The next day, Azuriah sent another Minya to Jacob, letting him know it was time to leave. Jacob jumped out of bed—it was only six thirty in the morning! He threw on his clothes, grabbed Dad, and Keyed them to Taga Village, where Azuriah already had everyone else waiting. Sweet Pea, Ebony, Akeno, and Gallus were there, along with Aloren, who didn’t look at him.

Azuriah paced in front of everyone. “We’ll have Jacob Key us to August Fortress, where the Shiengols are ready. Then we’ll march straight to Sonda Lake.”

Sweet Pea cleared his throat. “Uh . . . wouldn’t it be faster to have him Key us to the Fat Lady’s cabin and walk from there?”

Azuriah waved his hand impatiently. “We’d have to march through Ridgewood to get to Sonda Lake, and I am unwilling to deal with foolish villagers. Now, then. Those of you who are not Shiengols will protect those of us who are.”

Sweet Pea wasn’t done asking questions. “Why would a Shiengol need protecting?”

Azuriah glared at him before answering. “Because we’ll be focusing on ridding this land of that monster and won’t be able to concentrate on what’s going on around us. Only a few Shiengols have the ability to fight
and
see things at the same time.”

He nodded to Jacob, and Jacob created a link to August Fortress. He wanted to ask how they’d get everyone across the Argots, but after Sweet Pea’s question, he didn’t want to start another discussion with the grumpy Shiengol.

Jacob was the last through the door, and even though he was part Shiengol, he still felt his heart constrict at the sight of the other Shiengols. There were so many! Hundreds and hundreds. So much power—not to mention testy moods—in such a small place. Where had they all hidden before coming to the fortress? The entire room in front of him, where he’d fought the Molg, was full. He craned his neck, and sure enough, the hall was brimming with more Shiengols.

Azuriah began organizing them. He put himself and his wife and children—Azuriah had kids?—with Dad, Jacob, and the other humans. The rest were organized in groups of twenty. While Azuriah was occupied, Dad, Akeno, and Jacob wandered through the fortress, watching the flurry of activity. They commented on the intricate designs on the faces, robes, and clothing of the Shiengols, the way they did their hair, and the fact that a lot of the time, it was difficult to tell the difference between the men and the women. Most had a sort of genderless quality about them, neither feminine nor masculine.

Azuriah was one of the more masculine Shiengols, and it seemed natural to Jacob that he’d marry a more feminine woman. Pambri was her name, and she had a soft, unobtrusive air about her that Jacob found appealing. He glanced across the room toward Aloren. She looked sullen and angry. Yeah—she wasn’t anything like Pambri.

While they continued exploring, Hayla, who’d stayed in August Township with the humans, approached Dad. By the colors swirling in the air around her, Jacob could tell she was worried.

“Did any of you see Myler in Taga Village last night or this morning?” she asked.

Dad shook his head. “No. Is he missing?”

“I’m afraid so. The last I saw him was right after you left yesterday, so I thought perhaps he’d followed you through the link.” She glanced at Jacob.

“No one followed me,” Jacob said, suddenly feeling defensive. “I’m very careful to make sure of that.”

Hayla nodded once. “Then I’m afraid he ventured out into the Argots.”

Dad scowled. “He wouldn’t have survived that.”

“I know,” she said. “Maybe it’s just as well.”

Jacob turned and walked away. The way she talked about Myler’s possible death was so cold and heartless. The man might have been aggressive and angry all the time, but he was still a human being. And he
wasn’t
evil.

Just then, Azuriah called that it was time to head out. Jacob’s frustration melted away, replaced by excitement. He was about to go on his most epic quest yet! Surrounded by so many Shiengols, the amount of protection they all had was extraordinary. Nothing would stop them or get in the way.

Sweet Pea, Akeno, and Ebony were the only Makalos who’d been invited to go—Akeno would be shrinking and enlarging doors as needed, and the other two were trained in fighting. Dad, Gallus, and Aloren were the only humans. Azuriah had figured they’d be enough, and Jacob assumed he was right.