Eyes of the Sun (27 page)

He couldn’t possibly enter the castle without a Molg seeing him. He’d have to talk to them. One of the Molgs was much bigger than the rest and commanded attention. Eachan approached him.

“I have a delivery for the kitchens from Maivoryl City.”

The Molg looked at him with disdain and only grunted in response. Eachan waited for some sort of permission to continue and when it didn’t come, he shrugged and walked past the beast. He stepped cautiously into the castle. No one stopped him. It occurred to him he wasn’t important enough for the Lorkon to pay attention to any longer.

Eachan smiled bitterly. He’d make them regret that decision.

He kept to the sides, avoiding contact with other people and creatures.

His first destination was the room where the Lorkon kept their fire beetles. They still weren’t aware of the fact that Eachan knew the beetles were there. He’d seen Keitus through the open door once as the Lorkon delivered a message. They
must
hold other secrets in the room.

Eachan reached the room, hugging the wall as he approached. It was unguarded. Why? And the door was unlocked. At first, he was suspicious. Was it a trap? Did they know he was coming? But again, he realized the Lorkon were arrogant. They didn’t expect him to turn against them. They felt their castle was perfectly safe from intruders.

Idiots.

Eachan slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him. The air was musty and smelled slightly acidic. It was lit by twin windows high in the stone wall. Eachan started searching, not wanting to spend too much time there.

He found several glass jars and opened one, revealing the black beetles. They were three inches long, one inch wide, with two sets of antennae. Duana had hated them. Eachan pocketed several to use to contact Aloren’s group later.

As he continued his search, he found a number of things of interest, including a paper listing all of the traps the Lorkon had created over the past several years. He scanned it quickly—he didn’t see anything about the hold on him and the other villagers, so he put it back. If he took it, he’d just draw suspicion to himself.

Starting to the right of the door and making his way around, Eachan shuffled through books and drawers. He looked under the rug and moved desks and chairs, focusing on searching from the ground up.

Finally, he started inspecting the walls, and felt like hitting himself for not starting there first.

On one wall hung a huge board with several hundred vials tacked to it with twine around their necks. Some were nearly empty, others completely full. A few had been shattered. It took Eachan a moment to notice, but each vial had a name above it. He recognized the vials. He’d seen one when he’d first agreed to work for the Lorkon, and they’d taken a drop of his blood and put it in the little container.

Eachan quickly located his. The thing was full of thick, brown liquid. He looked down—a small cupboard below contained liquids and powders, probably the ones needed to make the potions.

Was this the physical representation of his contract with the Lorkon? If he destroyed his vial, would he be free?

Eachan inspected the shattered vials, then drew his hand back when he recognized the names above. Myler was one of them. These were the people who’d left Maivoryl City. What had happened? Did the vial shatter when Jacob took the people away, or had the Lorkon known what Eachan was doing and destroyed the vials themselves?

Regardless, Eachan wanted—needed—his freedom. He pulled his vial down and put it on the floor, then stepped on it as hard as he could. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg joints, he ground the glass into the stone.

And then he felt his shoulders straighten, lighten. A feeling of optimism poured over him—such as he hadn’t felt in years. Had he just released himself? Feelings of happiness coursed through him. He closed his eyes and raised his face, feeling the tears fall down his cheeks. The last shred of accountability to the Lorkon left.

Eachan coughed several times, trying to regain control of his emotions. He couldn’t wipe the silly grin off his face, though, and he really didn’t want to. He was free! Oh, freedom, sweet freedom.

Without a look back, he left the room.

He didn’t forget, however, that he had other tasks to complete. As he neared Keitus’s throne room, he heard shouting.

Eachan slipped into the room. He could have entered, screaming his arrival, and not been seen—Keitus and the other three Lorkon were arguing loudly and the wolves circled, barking and growling. The commotion in the room gave Eachan a sudden headache and he slipped behind one of the many curtains to watch, cradling the side of his head.

Keitus threw a map down. “No, we will
not
attack in that direction! We will go straight through the broken barrier.”

One of the Lorkon snorted. “They’ll be expecting that.”

“Does it matter?” Keitus glared.

The Lorkon shrugged.

Eachan listened, staying motionless, as Keitus planned their next attack. They would amass an army at Fornchall and leave in a couple of weeks. Eachan patted his pocket where he felt the beetles squirming. He’d be able to inform Jacob and Aloren. They’d want advance notice, of course, and he’d do whatever he could to help them.

Then the Lorkon started fighting again. They yelled at each other so loudly, Eachan couldn’t understand what any of them said. Wanting to save his head, he sneaked out of the room and down the hall, preparing to leave the castle. He had the information he needed.

Eachan rounded the corner and ran into a Dust. He raised his hand, ready to strike—he couldn’t risk having the Lorkon know he’d been there—but something about the Dust’s behavior made him pause.

The creature was nervous, upset. It was mumbling and groaning. Then, when it saw Eachan, it became more distressed and started tugging on Eachan’s shirt, speaking so quickly that Eachan couldn’t follow.

He brushed the creature away and whispered, “What are you trying to tell me?”

The Dust wrung its hands. “Sanso—Ember God. Needs help.”

Eachan rolled his eyes. “Right. Why should I help him?” He pointed to the scars on his arms and neck. “He gave these to me.”

The Dust didn’t seem to hear or care. “Come. Please, come.”

Eachan sighed. After everything the Ember God had done to him . . . he didn’t know why he was about to agree. It had to be because of the Dust’s urgency—the fact that the small creature seemed to care. “Fine. Show me the way.”

The Dust raced down the hall, with Eachan struggling to keep up. His knees and hips fought him the entire way, sending sharp, pulsating pains with every step.

The creature finally stopped outside a door and pushed it open, leading Eachan into an library. Sanso lay on the floor, moaning. Deep red stained his clothes and the carpet around him.

“What happened?” Eachan asked.

“Lorkon . . .” Sanso whispered.

He said something else, but Eachan couldn’t understand it. Sanso’s eyes shut and he stopped moving.

“Is he dead?” Eachan asked.

“Not dead, not dead,” the Dust said. “Does all time. Almost to dead.” He looked at Eachan. “Please help?”

Eachan nodded. He couldn’t understand why a Dust would be so loyal to an Ember God, but he decided to go along with it. Besides, he couldn’t help but feel curious. Why would the Lorkon punish Sanso?

Chapter Seventeen: Eye Control

Azuriah himself came to get everyone ready to take care of Lirone. Jacob scrambled to a sitting position, bed covers all around him, when the Shiengol stepped into his room.

“What are you doing?” Jacob rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to focus.

“Get up,” Azuriah said.

Jacob looked at his clock—it was five thirty! “I’m coming. Just . . . let me shower first.”

“No time—everyone else has been ready for thirty minutes.”

“Why didn’t anyone wake me sooner?”

“They tried.”

Jacob frowned. He didn’t remember any of that. Weird that simply having Azuriah stand in his doorway would shake him from a deep sleep.

They followed the same plan as before, though this time, they had Wurbies come to make up for the lack of other protectors who’d also be watching for Lorkon and Ember Gods. Jacob really hoped they’d all be okay.

Akeno carried the container with Ara Liese in his knapsack. Jacob saw him frequently checking on it, worry etched on his face. The Makalo looked up and gave Jacob a small smile, which Jacob returned. He took a deep breath and patted the Key of Kilenya in his pocket, ready to use it as soon as needed.

Azuriah really pushed everyone, and they arrived at what remained of the forest near Sonda Lake that night just before midnight. It had been a very, very long day, and Jacob’s legs were killing him. A two-day journey in one day was not his idea of fun.

Azuriah woke everyone early the next morning. He wanted to make sure no one had wandered off. He went through the drills over and over again.

“As soon as I give the word, all Shiengols present will look at the sun. Protectors, keep your backs to the Shiengols, watching the surrounding areas.”

When Azuriah gave the same instructions for the fourth time, Jacob really had to fight not to roll his eyes. He knew the Shiengol was nervous that they might repeat their experience from last time, but Jacob wasn’t sure how that was possible. They had the female Shiengol Lorkon, after all, shrunken and in Akeno’s box. All Akeno had to do was open the box when Azuriah told him to, but still, nothing anyone said to Azuriah calmed him.

Then they waited. Jacob hated that part, but Azuriah wasn’t willing to risk using the sun before it was directly overhead, thereby not having enough power to push Lirone away.

Jacob, Akeno, Dad, and Gallus played card games while waiting, and Jacob taught them his version of Uno. They made it through seven rounds before everyone was sick of the game. By then, though, Azuriah was spreading word that they were ready to start.

Same as before, the Shiengol walked to the water’s edge, waved his hands around, shot some water into the sky, and formed it into a cloud. Lirone started building in the south, and Azuriah stepped back into the group.

The colors for nervousness and stress come from the others were so vivid, Jacob had a hard time seeing Azuriah. He couldn’t help but wonder how the Shiengols were doing, since they saw the emotions too, and were thick in the middle of them. Jacob’s position was farther out this time, right on the edge of the Shiengols.

Azuriah held up his hand, then dropped it, and Akeno pulled the lid off the top of the container that held Ara Liese.

Then the weirdest thing ever happened.

Jacob lost control of his eyes.

They whipped upward and stared at the sun. He was aware of everyone around him and found that he could look away, but it was with great difficulty. He didn’t fight it, letting things flow onward the way they should.

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed by deafening thunder. But Jacob’s eyes stayed on the sun.

Bombs began pelting the earth around them, but this time, no one screamed. Jacob felt the hairs on his arms rise—power flowed through and from him, joining the strength of the others.

The skies continued darkening, the clouds getting thicker and thicker. Soon, only a small circle of sky was visible around the sun. Jacob felt sweat trickle down his back. Azuriah was going to give the word soon, right? Then they’d look at Lirone, right?

But still, nothing happened. They continued gazing at the sun, and rain began pouring from the clouds. It stung, and Jacob almost shielded himself with his arms. But he kept on. If the Shiengols could do it, so could he.

Rain turned into hail the size of marbles, then of golf balls. None of them hit him, but he cringed every time he heard them thwack into the ground or strike people nearby.

Why was it taking so long? Had something gone wrong? Did Akeno drop Ara Liese’s container? A hit by one of those hailstones would kill someone!

Then something even more frightening happened. The hail stopped, the bombs stopped, and even the rain and lightning paused. But Lirone grew. He grew so huge and came so close that Jacob knew if he reached up, he’d touch the sky monster.

The circle around the sun became a tunnel.

A roaring filled him, pulsed around him. He couldn’t tell where it originated. Unbidden, his hands touched his chest and he felt rumbling. Was he making the sound? Then he realized he and the other Shiengols were shouting, gathering energy, storing it in the form of pressure behind their eyes. His voice had found its place with the voices of the Shiengols and they yelled louder, adding to the mounting pressure.

Suddenly, Jacob’s eyes flashed away from the sun. A huge beam of light was before him, coming from him. He sensed it when his light joined the Shiengols’. Together, they turned their gaze to Lirone.

The sky monster snarled and threw more bombs. They were larger than Jacob had ever seen Lirone use before. They shook the ground so hard that Jacob had a difficult time staying on his feet. Some appeared to be heading straight for him, but they bounced off a shield he wasn’t aware had been created.

Seeing that his bombs were ineffective, Lirone began tossing lightning bolts. These successfully pierced the shields and struck the ground. One bolt hit so close to Jacob, he felt his clothing and the hairs on his arm singe.

Still, he didn’t stop looking at the sky monster. He wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen, but it wasn’t happening yet.

He became aware of the sound of clashing swords. The Lorkon had sent someone to attack! Jacob prayed with all his might that his friends wouldn’t be killed—that they’d be successful in pushing the enemy back.

Lirone swung out with one huge arm that passed across and through the group. Jacob felt like he’d been stung by a million wasps. Each spot hurt so badly that he nearly lost not only his concentration, but consciousness too.

Azuriah roared again, and the other Shiengols joined in. Jacob wasn’t even aware they’d stopped shouting .Once again, he yelled with them. He realized what must have been going on—they weren’t generating enough power to get rid of the sky dweller. Jacob couldn’t just expect his eyes to do the work. As before, he put everything he had—all his energy—into his gaze.