He reached his hand out, holding her between two fingers, then dropped her. She disappeared in midair, landing thirty or so feet down the long hallway, back to her usual size.
Akeno helped Early get back in her container, then put it away. Aloren joined them quickly, still scowling. When she again demanded to know what happened, Seden explained, with Jacob and Akeno filling in here and there.
“And where are we going now?” she asked. “Why are we in the Macaria castle?”
Seden’s face went blank, and Jacob wondered if it was because the man knew Aloren would ridicule their decision to take the tunnel to Maivoryl City.
The man had taken too much heat for Jacob’s decision. Before Seden could say anything, he interjected. “We’re taking the Macaria-Maivoryl Tunnel. And yes, we know it’s a horrible idea. And no, we don’t have any other choice.” He stared at her, holding her gaze. “Unless you think my dad getting tortured to death is a great idea.”
Aloren didn’t respond for a minute. “I see.” Her jaw clenched, but miraculously, she didn’t argue or complain. Instead, she motioned at Jacob. “After you.”
Seden was still in the lead, and with a sigh of relief, Jacob followed him, passing Aloren. He couldn’t wait for all of this to be over. Not only would it mean he was back with his family again, but then he’d also be away from this insane chick.
Chapter Nineteen
Seden led them down a side hallway, taking a couple of turns until they reached a heavy door. He pulled it open, revealing a descending staircase. Once everyone had gone down, Seden shut the door behind them, plunging them into darkness.
It was quiet for several moments except for the echo of their feet on the stone. The staircase ended after about thirty steps, and Jacob stumbled onto a solid surface—either stone or hard-packed dirt, he couldn’t tell which.
“I’d let Akeno turn on a light,” Seden whispered to them, “but there are far too many things living down here. Don’t want to alert them to our presence. Keep a hand on the wall to your left and follow my instructions. Let’s go.”
Jacob stepped forward into pitch-black darkness, trusting that Seden knew the way. He widened his eyes as much as he could, trying to see anything other than the faint blue glow around Akeno’s left ring finger. The ground beneath them was smoothed from years of travel, and his sneakers didn’t snag.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever.
“I’m stopping now,” Seden whispered.
Jacob paused, and the others did too. The sound of their footsteps echoed away into nothing.
“We’ll be taking a sharp turn to the right,” Seden whispered. “Akeno, go ahead and give us a tiny bit of light.”
Akeno’s finger began glowing even more, revealing a three-way fork in their tunnel. The one to the right descended a few steps, then turned sharply. The other two extended for a long while, their ends not visible in the meager light.
Seden led the way down the stairs, stepping carefully. “Be as quiet as you can,” he whispered, looking back at the others.
Jacob noticed Aloren’s face for the first time—she was pale, her lips in a tight line, a worried expression on her face. Had he made the right decision? Nothing had happened so far, thank goodness, and hopefully it would stay that way.
They continued down the new tunnel for several feet. Seden paused when the floor beneath them rumbled.
“Earthquake,” he whispered once all was quiet again. He glanced back at the others. “We’re about to enter a very large room. We’ll go through it as quickly as we can. The tunnel we need is on the other side, but we can’t walk straight across. There’s a lot of water in the middle—do not touch or go near it. Stay as close to the wall as you can, and follow me.”
The entrance to the room soon came into view. Akeno’s light wasn’t bright enough to show all of the space, but in the middle was a huge black puddle or lake or something— Jacob couldn’t see the other side to know exactly how big it was. He stared at it, unable to resist doing so. The surface was bumpy, like gently rolling hills. As he watched, taking care not to stumble, those hills gradually shifted and moved.
“What is it?” he whispered to Aloren, who was closest at that point.
“Living things. Ignore them, and they . . . they should ignore us.”
Her voice cracked on the “should,” and Jacob realized she didn’t believe it. His heart pounded in his ribs, making him glad he wasn’t injured anymore. He hoped those living things couldn’t sense his fear.
Seden lead them to the next corner of the room, following the wall to the right, giving more shape to the room. For the first time, Jacob was able to see the other side of the water. It was a puddle.
The next section was longer than the first, and it took more time for them to reach the third corner where the tunnel started.
Just as Seden stepped inside, the ground trembled. Jacob and the others supported themselves against the tunnel wall, Jacob’s hands nearly slipping from too much sweat.
The trembling only lasted five seconds, and they were able to continue onward. Jacob breathed a sigh of relief when the room and that puddle disappeared from view.
They’d only been in the second tunnel for maybe a minute when another earthquake struck. This one was much more violent, and rocks fell from above, striking Jacob and his party.
“Hold your bags above your heads!” Seden yelled over the din, coming to stand next to Jacob.
The quake finally stopped, but instead of moving forward, Seden froze in place. “Can you hear that?” he whispered.
Jacob tilted his head, trying to hear what Seden did.
Akeno’s finger started glowing much more brightly, giving them a better view, but still, nothing appeared out of the ordinary, other than several rocks that now littered the ground.
And then, a faint rushing sound reached Jacob, like water in a river. Water? Water!
“The tunnel caved in!” Jacob shouted at the same time as Seden yelled, “The tunnel has been breached! Back the way we came!”
Seden turned, shoving Jacob into Aloren, pushing them to run.
They burst out of the tunnel and into the room, barely missing falling into the puddle. The rushing water got louder behind them, and spurred onward by his fear, Jacob sprang to the wall, keeping a hand on it, running as fast as he could, staying up with a surprisingly fast Akeno, who was in the lead now.
They reached—and passed—one corner. The rushing water got louder. It began spraying into the room from the tunnel mouth.
Right before they reached the entrance to the first tunnel, another earthquake struck. This one was very powerful, and Jacob was knocked to the ground, hitting his head against the hard stone wall.
Akeno grabbed him, helping him up. “Come on!”
Jacob shook himself, trying to force his brain to function and his feet to move. He’d barely reached the tunnel entrance when Aloren shrieked.
“Seden!” she screamed.
Jacob spun. The man had fallen into the water. He was splashing, sputtering, trying to get out as fast as he could. Jacob rushed to help him, but Aloren grabbed him from behind by both arms, yanking him back.
“What are you thinking?” she screamed. “Are you insane?”
“Go, Jacob!” Seden yelled. “Run!”
The gently rolling hills erupted in a frenzy of commotion. Loud roars echoed, waves splashed everywhere. Hundreds of things moved in the water, roiling and spinning around Seden, who shrieked and screamed.
Chapter Twenty
“We have to help him!” Jacob yelled.
“We can’t,” Aloren said, dragging him backward. “Help me, Akeno!”
The Makalo grabbed Jacob’s other arm, yanking him into the tunnel entrance, pulling him to where he couldn’t see the puddle and Seden anymore.
He stumbled, trying to stay on his feet, as they yanked him down the long corridor.
Jacob blinked away tears as he heard the man screaming. He fought against Aloren and Ake
no, trying to get them off him, trying to go back to Seden.
“Stop fighting me, Jacob!” Aloren screamed. She grabbed him, forcing him to face her. Her eyes were wild, her hair a complete mess. “Do you want to die? If you touch that water, you will die. None of us can save Seden now. He’s touched the water! He’s covered in it. Think about your father, your little sister. They’ll be tortured to death if you don’t make it to them! You can’t save Seden—you can only save your family now!”
Jacob shook his head, his breath coming rapidly.
The roaring behind them stopped, the shouting dying, echoing through the tunnel. Tears welled up in Jacob’s eyes as he realized what it meant. Seden was dead. He looked away from Aloren, blinking. An eerie silence fell over everyone. Aloren put a finger to her lips, then indicated for Akeno to shut off his light.
Jacob felt her take his hand. He assumed she grabbed Akeno’s as well. She tugged, and he followed as she led him down the tunnel, her steps urgent and quiet. His heart raced and his pulse beat loudly in his ears as he did his best to match her pace. Seden, Seden, Seden . . . the word echoed with each step he took. His mind was numb, his heart frozen. He couldn’t believe, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel.
Jacob trailed his free hand against the tunnel wall. Aloren paused, and so did he.
“Stairs,” she breathed, releasing his hand.
Jacob started up, grateful the steps were evenly cut. Once Aloren reached the top, she pushed the door open. Murky light filtered down below, and she motioned for Jacob to follow her. Akeno had his hand on her arm, where Jacob assumed Aloren had placed it so she could have a free hand while still leading him.
Aloren peered down the stairs, then quietly pushed the door shut. She leaned against it, her eyes wild, breathing heavily, waiting for who knew what.
After several moments, she released all her air in a huge sigh of relief.
“Did any of the water get on either of you?” Aloren asked.
Jacob inspected what he could see while Aloren circled him, also looking for wet spots. Neither he nor Akeno were wet, and they verified that Aloren was clear too.
Aloren put a hand to her heart. “Oh, thank goodness.” She looked at Jacob, her eyes filling with tears. “Seden was a good man. I’m sorry we couldn’t help him.”
Jacob clenched his fists. “Why didn’t you let me go to him?” he shouted. “I could have gotten him out of there!”
Aloren shook her head slowly. “We would have been devoured if you’d tried—it would have been impossible.” She bit her lip, watching him with a concerned expression. “Jacob . . . I can explain everything later, but now that we don’t have the tunnel option, we have a ton of ground to cover in a very short time. There isn’t a fast way to Maivoryl City anymore. Every inch of that room will have been covered in water now, and that, along with the earthquakes . . . There’s no way we can take that route anymore.”
Jacob swallowed several times, trying to get past the lump in his throat. “I understand,” he said finally. He blinked, looking up, trying to clear his eyes of the tears that were filling them again. “Let’s go.”
Aloren put a hand on his arm. “There’s something else. Don’t think that just because the other way is longer that it’s safer. This entire valley is dangerous. The Lorkon have done everything in their power to make sure of that.”
Jacob led the way, refusing to look back at either of his companions. His heart ached and his head hurt as he struggled not to break down crying.
He would miss the Lorkon deadline. His dad would get tortured to death. Amberly would be alone and would possibly witness their father’s death. And just as bad, Seden was dead. Gone. Destroyed by whatever had been in that tunnel.
It all was too much for Jacob. He had to get away, had to leave—couldn’t be around anyone anymore.
Not warning the others, Jacob started running as fast as he could. He dashed down the hall, sprinted across the huge front entry, and burst from the castle ruins. He ignored his screaming muscles—muscles that had been way overused the past day and a half. He tried to ignore the pain in his heart, but was unable to.
Tears leaked from his eyes, streaming into his hair. He wiped at them angrily, not slowing down even for the blurred vision.
Jacob heard as Aloren and Akeno came after him, but to his relief, they kept their distance and didn’t ask him to slow down or stop.
The white buildings of Macaria were a blur. People stared, some tried to ask what was wrong, but he ignored them all.
He couldn’t believe he was the cause of Seden’s death. His stupid—no, his desire to save his father from torture wasn’t stupid. Not believing Aloren had been stupid. His parents lying to him about who he was and where he came from was stupid. Trying to save someone he loved and as a result being the cause of another person’s death wasn’t stupid.
The justification didn’t do anything for the guilt he felt. If only he’d listened to Seden. To Gallus. Even to Aloren, though she hadn’t said anything. All of them had known going through those tunnels was a bad idea. Adding even more guilt to everything, Jacob realized that he’d ignored the advice of the man hired to guide him.
A new wave of tears started as this thought hit Jacob. He was stupid. He was arrogant and reckless and ignorant.
Eventually, when he reached the original trail and turned to follow it west, Jacob tired of running. No amount of self-deprecation could undo what had happened. He could either live with his choices—be a man—or he could wallow in self-pity.
He took several deep breaths as he slowed down and eventually slumped in the tall grass on the side of the trail, unable to run or move any longer. His heart still ached, and now he had a stitch in his side.
Akeno and Aloren caught up with him. Neither of them addressed him, though, as they began clearing a place to start a fire and preparing something to eat. Jacob caught a whiff of the food Akeno cooked—it smelled fantastic, and Jacob’s stomach growled. He was tempted to punish himself by refusing to eat, but pushed that thought aside. Not giving himself fuel would only cause pain to those waiting for him. Besides, that sort of punishment wouldn’t teach him anything. Not really.
They ate their meal in silence. Akeno sent a message to the Makalos about Seden. Early reported that Kenji and Ebony were saddened by his death, but grateful the entire group hadn’t been destroyed. They didn’t mention the fact that Jacob would miss his deadline. Jacob was grateful for that. When Akeno finished, Aloren borrowed Early to deliver a message to Gallus.
Once they had eaten their meal, they headed out again, this time with Aloren acting as the guide. After at least a half hour of no one saying anything, Jacob finally spoke. He needed more information. Needed to know what exactly had happened to Seden.
“Aloren?” he said, hating that his voice cracked from disuse. Stupid, traitorous voice. “What was that? What killed Seden?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Aloren sighed. “Eetu fish live in that water. They live in almost all water that is dark and far from the surface of the lake. They killed him.”
He could have felt better that her voice cracked on the word “killed,” but he didn’t. Seden shouldn’t have died. They should have prevented his death.
“Tell me more about them,” he said quietly. “Everything you know.”
Aloren agreed to do so, and her voice became formal, almost like a nature-show narrator. “The castle is built over Sonda Lake, one of the most dangerous parts of Gevkan. The water is really deep, but no one knows for sure how far down it goes because of the Eetu fish. They live only where the water is darkest—they can’t stand the sun, and so they only come to the surface after it’s set. That’s why we had to be quiet until we got out of the tunnels and shut the door—they might have followed us.
“As you obviously know, Eetu fish are really dangerous. Their fins can act like feet, giving them the ability to move quickly whether they’re on land or in water. They get to be huge—sometimes up to ten feet
long. They have three rows of razor-sharp teeth and can make a full-grown man disappear in a matter of seconds.”
Jacob raised his eyebrows. These fish sounded like piranhas on steroids.
Aloren looked at Jacob. “This isn’t the only reason why they’re so dangerous, though, and it’s why I panicked and . . .” Her voice cracked again, and she started blinking quickly. “And it’s why I didn’t let you go back to help him.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, and Jacob let her take all the time she needed to compose herself. “If a drop of water from their territory hits you, they will hunt you down until they’ve eaten or destroyed you. They’re able to sense where that water went, whether it has evaporated or not. They know when someone has come in contact with it—even just one drop.
“Your only defense when you get wet is to hope you’re able to outrun them. They only last above water for an hour or so, but most people make the mistake of thinking they’ll die or retreat after that. This isn’t true. An Eetu fish can replenish itself with any water source big enough to cover its gills. Once it’s replenished, it continues the hunt. On average, it takes the Eetu fish around twenty-four hours to lose the scent of that bit of water.”
“What about the water the Eetu uses to replenish itself while on the chase?” Jacob asked. “Does it become the fishes’ territory?”
“No. Eetus have to live in the water for at least a full day to claim it as their own. Also, Sonda Lake is the only place where it’s deep or dark enough for them. They don’t survive very long in shallow water.”
Jacob looked out to the left at the lake as they followed the path that ran parallel to it. “So touching the water right now would be a bad idea.”
“Not necessarily. The only water the Eetus claim as their own is what’s immediately around them.” Aloren pushed her hair out of her face, then started combing through it with her fingers when she obviously sensed it was a mess. “There’s a crack somewhere in that room, letting them inside, and hundreds of Eetus live there.”
Forsaken Prince (Kilenya Chronicles Book 1) Page 8