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.
The power of the Shiengols around him also magnified. It pulsated, the lights separating momentarily to concentrate on different sections of sky. The clouds they looked at started changing colors—getting lighter. The cloud began dissipating.
Then the light from all the eyes joined and a huge beam burst forward, hitting Lirone so hard that he nearly became translucent.
The sky dweller’s face disappeared. He no longer had the power to form hands. The clouds boiled, shifting between various gruesome colors of red, yellow, and green.
But Lirone growled and pushed back, growing again. The sun was covered and the light nearly diminished completely.
Then the Shiengols stepped forward, closer to the lake. And Lirone got smaller.
Jacob realized that Lirone wasn’t shrinking, but was being pushed back. Farther and farther he went, fighting and screaming the whole way, over the lake, over the mountains. Jacob became aware of an increasing pressure behind his eyes, which were starting to water. But still, he kept his gaze fixed on the diminishing form of the sky monster.
Lirone disappeared completely. Still, the Shiengols gazed onward. Five minutes passed.
And then, without warning, Jacob regained control of his eyes and slumped to the ground. He must’ve blacked out. When he looked up again, Dad and Akeno were standing over him.
“Are you all right?” Dad asked, eyebrows knitted with worry.
Jacob nodde
d, getting to his elbows. “I think so.” He looked to where the fighting sounds had come from. “Are you okay?”
Dad smiled. “It wasn’t a very big army—the Lorkon might just be running out of fighters. Mostly Dusts, and some Molgs and humans. The Dusts were pesky. If it wasn’t for the Wurbies, it would’ve taken a lot more time to get rid of them.”
Jacob glanced at Akeno. “How’s Ara Liese?”
The Makalo patted his knapsack. “She wasn’t happy to be put back in here again, but she didn’t have a choice. As soon as she regained control of her eyes, I locked her away. Didn’t want to repeat the Shiengol versus Lorkon fight.”
Jacob sat up and then, with the help of his dad, got to his feet. He was surprised to see that several Shiengols had fallen unconscious as well. That made him feel better—he wasn’t the only weak one. Renforth and Azuriah seemed unaffected, though, and Jacob scowled. Nothing fazed his uncle. Nothing.
“Now what?” Jacob asked.
“We go home,” Dad said.
“That’s the best news ever.”
Jacob Keyed the Shiengols to August Fortress—for now, their job in Gevkan was done. Azuriah had promised he’d let them know the next time their help was needed. Then Jacob opened a link to the tree in Taga Village, grateful he was about to get some much-needed sleep.
Akeno ran into Jacob’s room, shocking Jacob out of the nap he’d finally been able to take. “I’ve got an idea. I think it’ll work, but I need to talk to Onyev.”
Jacob shook his head, trying to clear it. With everything that had been going on lately, his room had almost become public grounds. “An idea about what?”
“How to stop the bugs permanently.”
Jacob smiled. “That’s excellent.” He’d do anything to help Akeno figure out something like that. “When do you want to go?”
“Now, if possible.”
“Okay.” Jacob rolled off his bed and stuffed his feet in his shoes. Then he took the Makalo back to Onyev’s time.
Akeno practically ran the entire way to Onyev’s tree. Jacob laughed at him, but didn’t try hard to catch up. Akeno got there well before he did.
“Took you long enough!” Akeno said when Jacob reached the doors to Onyev’s garden.
“Why are you waiting? Go in.” Jacob opened the doors and gently pushed the Makalo ahead of him.
Onyev turned in surprise, a grin on his face. “Good to see you! I’ve been hoping you’d come. But first, what can I help you with?”
Akeno looked at his hands. “I’ve got an idea, and I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
“What is it?” Onyev said, motioning for them to sit.
“I’m wondering what would happen—if it’s possible—to grow a Kaede tree that was immune to the bugs.”
Onyev tilted his head. “How would you do this?”
“Have the trees grow with the potion inside of them, as part of their sap. I’d have to start from the beginning—take a seed and inject it with the stuff. But if the tree is continually renewing itself, then, in theory, the potion would continually renew itself as well. And that would end up being a cure. It wouldn’t fix the already-infected trees, but at least we’d be able to grow trees that aren’t sick or dying.”
Onyev didn’t respond at first. He knitted his eyebrows, thinking. “Akeno, your plan might work.” A smile stretched across the Makalo’s face. “In fact, I’m sure it will.” He clapped Akeno on the back. “Well done!”
Jacob could tell Onyev was eager to approve and get on with the conversation, and it made him curious.
The patriarch turned to Jacob. “I’m glad you’ve come. I have important information for you.”
Jacob scooted forward. “You do? What about?” He held his excitement back, hoping he already knew what Onyev was going to say.
He wasn’t disappointed.
“I’ve found the antidote.”
Chapter Eighteen: Leaving
Eachan stepped out of the room in the town hall where Sanso was staying. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him—that was where Sanso had held his “punishment sessions” with Eachan. And now Eachan was helping Sanso heal. He scowled to himself, wondering at the injustice of it all. Why hadn’t he just let the Ember God die? But even as he wondered about it, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to—he was getting soft. And that probably wasn’t a bad thing.
The Ember God was slowly recovering. Eachan snorted. Slowly. Right. He’d never seen a creature heal as quickly as Sanso. And yet, the Ember God continued to complain about the rate at which he was getting better.
As Sanso began speaking in intelligible sentences, Eachan had gradually learned what happened. Sanso had failed at one of the most important missions the Lorkon had assigned to him—that of preventing Dmitri’s people from getting to Ara Liese. The Lorkon had set their wolves on him and the other Ember Gods. The rest hadn’t lived, but he somehow survived. Perhaps it was because the wolves got to the others first, then tired quickly.
Sanso told Eachan over and over again that he was the only remaining Ember God, that unless the Lorkon decided to create more, he’d forever be the last of his kind. Apparently, the process of creating an Ember God from a human and Fire Pulser killed both “parents.” The fact that he was alone seemed to stress Sanso, and it occurred to Eachan that the man yearned for company of his own kind.
It had come as a shock to find that Sanso was barely in his twenties. Eachan had assumed Sanso to be much older than that. But understanding this about the Ember God only compounded Eachan’s distaste for him. The man—if he could be called that—hadn’t experienced enough of life. He was cruel and arrogant, bragging about the things he’d done while carrying out Lorkon orders.
Eachan entered the kitchen and mixed together the ingredients for the strong drink Sanso had required. He turned his face from the stench. Unfortunately, this was the only thing that helped the Ember God with his pain.
Sanso sat up in bed when Eachan reentered the room and drank from the cup, swallowing the contents in almost one gulp. He cringed, waiting for the burning in his throat to subside. Then he dropped the cup and lay back in his bed.
“It was never right, you know,” he said, “that a Lorkon should rule over Ember Gods. By birthright, an Ember God is higher than the Lorkon mutts.”
Eachan bit back a retort. Ember Gods could also be considered mutts—being a mix between a Fire Pulser and a human was hardly anything to brag about.
Just then, someone knocked on the front door.
Eachan grabbed the cup from the floor and made his way across the town hall. He glanced through the curtain before opening the door, not sure what to expect.
Several villagers crouched on the porch, huddled together. Eachan opened the door.
“They’re leaving,” one of the men said. “And they ain’t comin’ back.”
“Who are leaving?” Eachan asked.
“The Lorkon. They and most everyone at the castle. They’re goin’ to war.”
A woman stared up at Eachan. “Can’t you hear that?”
Eachan tilted his head, his eyes widening. Yes, he could hear. His hand strayed to his pocket. In his hurry to move Sanso to a safer place and then take care of the Ember God, he’d forgotten to alert Jacob and the rest.
Without waiting to hear if the villagers had anything else to say, Eachan slammed the door and rushed to his office where he’d dropped the beetles on his desk. He prayed they were still there. Could they escape? They probably had—the creatures could walk and fly, after all.
He pushed stacks of papers aside and slammed his fist on the desk. He’d lost them. He’d lost every single one. Eachan couldn’t believe his stupidity. And now, Aloren and her people would suffer. He slumped into the chair, putting his face in his hands.
He’d never have his freedom, and the Lorkon would succeed. They’d get through that link, steal the boy, and overcome every opposition. And Eachan hadn’t done anything to stop them. He couldn’t believe he’d forgot
ten.
But then, something tried to skitter across the floor. It was missing several legs. Eachan smiled and dropped to his knees, grabbing the thing.
He wasn’t too late.
Chapter Nineteen: Hole Digging
Jacob’s mouth dropped. “The antidote? Are you serious?”
“Of course I am,” Onyev said. “However, I can’t simply give it to you. Your magic has prevented me from writing it down specifically for you. Even when I tried to trick it, it didn’t work. Instead, I must hide it in places where you’ll be able to retrieve it in your own time.”
“Great! How do I find it?”
Onyev rubbed his face, and for the first time, Jacob noticed how tired the Makalo was. Understandably so, given the circumstances.
“I’ve written a book,” Onyev said, “and have made several copies of it, hoping one would survive.” He got to his feet. “It’s about potions and cures.” The Makalo raised his hand, stopping Jacob’s question. “No, the antidote could not be written in that book. But I enclosed, throughout the pages, the five locations where I’ve hidden it. You may need to search out each one, since I don’t know how many will survive the years. I trust your capabilities—you’ll be successful, as long as one of the hiding spots remains.”
Onyev got to his feet. “It’s time for you to leave. Go find that book. Find the antidote. And rid your land of the Lorkon.”
Jacob and Akeno returned to the present time, chattering about what they’d learned from Onyev. The antidote! They could get it! Jacob could hardly breathe, he was so excited. He and Akeno ran down the stairs and nearly bowled over Matt and Aloren in the living room. The siblings’ hands were full of objects—books, cloth, jewelry, utensils.
Jacob stared. “What have you guys been doing?”
“Searching through the village, trying to find anything useful for the Makalos,” Matt said. “Dude, they lost almost everything. The village is a complete wreck.”
Aloren shook her head. “At least the gardens are still okay, along with Azuriah’s fortress and all the buildings over that way. The humans and Wurbies have places to live.”
Eyes of the Sun (Kilenya Series, 5) Page 21