If only Akeno were here! A lightning bolt through the heart would definitely “stop” Keitus.
It was obvious the Makalos tried—did their best—but they simply weren’t strong enough. And it didn’t seem to matter which direction Jacob came from—Keitus’s wiggling and thrashing kept him just out of reach.
Jacob’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t do it.”
Azuriah growled. He yanked out his pole and stabbed it backward—it struck Coren’s opponent through the heart, and the man dropped. Then he thrust it forward and held it to Keitus’s neck.
“Hold still, old man, or I’ll slice you.”
His threat came too late. Just at that moment, Keitus fell from the tree. He’d ripped so much of the bark away, there wasn’t enough left to hold him.
He got to his feet, dusting himself off. “If it’s a fight you want, Shiengol, it’s a fight you’ll get.”
“Very well.” Azuriah glared. “But we do it in the clearing, with no one assisting. You call your men down and I’ll keep the Makalos from helping. If I win, the boy administers the antidote. If I lose, I allow you to kill me.”
Jacob swallowed. Kill him? Wasn’t that a bit much? He remembered what Azuriah said about Shiengols—they pretty much controlled the time and manner of their deaths. It really was a bit much.
A glint appeared in Keitus’s eyes. “Agreed.”
He grabbed a fallen man by the shoulder—the guy must’ve just woken up. “Let no one interfere, and you shall be the first to join my immortal ranks.”
The man nodded and Keitus released him, then strode into the clearing.
Dad was just leaving the manor, holding Mom and Amberly. Jacob ran to them and threw his arms around Mom.
“What’s going on?” Dad asked.
“Keitus and Azuriah are about to fight. And, uh, to the death.”
Keitus looked up and smiled at Dad. He’d obviously heard Jacob’s statement. “And when I win, I’ll have fun with your family. Perhaps if your son dies, that Key will work for anyone. It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”
Dad clenched his fists. “Your reign is over.” He pulled Mom closer.
Azuriah attacked first. He leaped through the air, black and red robes swirling, hair flying around him. He knocked Keitus to the ground and held the tip of his pole to the Lorkon’s throat.
“Don’t think that will kill me, Shiengol,” Keitus said.
With one swat, he flicked Azuriah’s pole aside and jumped to his feet, long sword in both hands.
For the first several seconds, Jacob could barely follow their actions. Robes billowed and flared, eyes glared brightly, sunlight flashed off metal and polished wood. They were so fast, it was hard to make sense of what was going on.
Then, when he finally started understanding what they were doing, his mouth dropped. Their fighting involved far more than just weapons.
Both had trained for years—Keitus was over a hundred years old, and Jacob had never learned how old Azuriah was. They used ancient—but very sophisticated—techniques. Azuriah drew on the energy of the sun and frequently blinded his opponent. But Keitus was so natural with the sword, it didn’t seem to matter that he couldn’t see.
Azuriah’s shield flicked in and out of view—the Shiengol was able to bring it to life half a second before needing it. Jacob really had to practice that.
He’d always known Lorkon feared and hated Shiengols, and now he saw why. If Azuriah had been fighting any of the other Lorkon, he would have won already. But because this was Keitus, the Shiengol was barely maintaining his own position.
Around and around the clearing they went.
Keitus jumped into the branches of a tree—at least twenty feet into the air. He swung out and way over, flipping in the process, nearly taking off Azuriah’s head with his sword.
After that, Azuriah kept him from getting close to the trees. The Lorkon had the upper hand where strength, speed, and build were concerned. But Azuriah had magic and the ability to see and predict emotions and desires.
Neither would ever win—Jacob was sure of it.
After at least ten minutes of fighting, he and his family settled on the steps of the manor. He couldn’t keep his eyes off his uncle and grandfather.
Sweat poured down Azuriah’s face. Blood dripped down Keitus’s. Azuriah’s hair became part of the fight as he flipped it repeatedly into Keitus’s eyes, then used the distraction to get in a few blows.
Suddenly, everything stopped. They hesitated. Circled each other.
Keitus attacked, knocking Azuriah’s pole from his hands.
Azuriah dropped and rolled out of reach. He sprang to his feet and threw away his robes.
Jacob started. “Azuriah, no!”
He needed the power behind his symbols!
Azuriah ignored him. Then Jacob realized something. Everything the Shiengol wore had symbols etched on it. Underneath his robes were black pants and a red shirt, both of which accentuated his lean, angular body. The metal of the symbol flashed on the fabric.
Keitus laughed. “Hand-to-hand combat, then?”
Azuriah nodded once. “No weapons.”
Keitus agreed, dropping his own robes, showing black, form-fitting clothing. He was lean, like the Shiengol. But unlike the Shiengol, he was tall—incredibly tall. And muscular. His black hair was in a short ponytail, which only made his face seem even more severe. He pulled his gloves up, a menacing smile on his face.
They began their next stage of combat, which was a type of martial arts Jacob had never seen before. Of course, he wasn’t very familiar with any form of martial arts, but this was almost musical, it flowed so well.
Their hands and legs became a blur. Both of them did numerous back and forward flips. They danced around each other, dodging, punching, attacking.
“This is never going to end,” Jacob said.
Dad frowned, then bit his lip. “Yes, it will,” he whispered. “Azuriah is tiring. Keitus is not.”
“Does Keitus know?” Mom asked.
No one responded. Jacob really hoped he didn’t.
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a flurry of activity on the other side of the clearing. One of Keitus’s men was struggling with Coren. He punched Coren to the ground, then pulled out a small bow and arrow that had been strapped to his back.
Jacob pointed. “Look.”
The man notched the arrow and took aim at Azuriah.
Just before the man let the arrow fly, Jacob sprang to his feet again. “Stop!” he shouted.
His call was enough to startle the man. The arrow whizzed a foot above its target, striking the manor door instead.
Azuriah flipped backward, landing far enough away from Keitus to get the Lorkon’s attention. “You dare break the rules?” He panted heavily, obviously exhausted. How was he going to continue?
Keitus glared. “There are no rules.” A flash of light glanced off a knife he held behind his back.
Azuriah didn’t see the blade.
Jacob knew he had to intervene—Dad couldn’t. He was too injured. Jacob whipped his pole into position and raced down the stairs. He didn’t care how inexperienced he was compared to Keitus. He couldn’t let the Lorkon kill Azuriah!
Just as Keitus dashed across the distance between himself and the Shiengol, Jacob reached the clearing, molding the air into a shield.
Keitus swung at Azuriah. Azuriah blocked and the knife missed, but the blow was enough to knock the Shiengol to the ground. Keitus adjusted and raised the blade.
Jacob ran and dropped, sliding feet-first toward the battlers, dust billowing up around him.
The knife hit his shield, nearly breaking through, and Jacob instinctively swung his pole. It slammed into Keitus.
Keitus stumbled to the side, knife no longer in his hands. He growled and picked up his two-handed sword, then lunged for Jacob.
Jacob barely had time to react. He jumped aside, knocking Keitus’s sword away. His senses felt dulled and it took him a moment
to realize why. He was no longer using Britt or Azuriah’s powers. Just Pambri’s.
He hoped it would be enough.
Azuriah grabbed his pole and molded a shield. He didn’t look at Jacob, but Jacob could tell the Shiengol was grateful for the intervention.
Together, they attacked the Lorkon king. Jacob did everything he could to keep up with Azuriah—even exhausted, his uncle was still quick.
Azuriah began using his hair again. Jacob couldn’t do that, so he focused on capturing the sunlight. When Azuriah’s hair blinded Keitus from the front, Jacob flashed light at him when he turned away.
Keitus soon realized what was happening. He opened his eyes as infrequently as possible. He still fought and battled, seeming to be energized by his anger.
Jacob put everything he had into the fight. He remembered things his father, Azuriah, and even Sweet Pea had taught him and applied it all as well as he could. He dashed around, under, and past Keitus, striking where he could, blocking blows with his shield.
Keitus was stronger. He was taller. He was faster. But Jacob was nearly as fast. Gratitude poured over him for his basketball skills yet again as he dodged a slice of the sword. He rolled under the blade and jumped to his feet, then attacked from one side while Azuriah pounced from the other.
“He’s getting tired,” Jacob said, panting. “I can tell from his—”
“Emotions, yes,” Azuriah said. “I see them as well.”
Keitus growled. He jumped at Azuriah, but feinted and swung his blade around, nearly slicing Jacob’s shoulder.
“Oh, and he’s angry too.”
“Shut your trap!” Keitus bellowed.
Jacob laughed. “Don’t like me commenting on your feelings?” He ducked an attack, then bounced to Keitus’s other side. “You’re getting sloppy. Am I annoying you? Should I stop?”
Keitus raised his sword and ran at Jacob, roaring.
Jacob barely got out of the way in time. He decided to focus on the fight again rather than continuing to anger the Lorkon.
Good thing, too. Keitus’s next blow hit the shield so hard, Jacob lost control and the shield disappeared. He rolled out of the way, but not fast enough. The tip of the sword sliced his left arm.
At first, he didn’t feel it—he heard Mom screaming—and then the pain rushed over him. He gasped, his fingers tingling.
He tried, but couldn’t lift his hand well enough to maintain a shield. His focus was off too much.
Gritting his teeth, he again used the sun to blind Keitus, then got in as many attacks as possible with his pole.
Azuriah continued attacking on the opposite side, and Keitus barely kept up with both of them.
Back and forth the three went, around the clearing, dodging blows. Keitus got too close to the trees again, and once more, used one to catapult himself to the middle of the clearing.
Instead of rushing for Jacob and Azuriah, though, he raced the other direction, straight to Mom and Dad. Mom and Amberly screamed—Jacob should have Keyed them home! Why hadn’t he thought of that?
Focus, Jacob. Get me his knife.
Azuriah didn’t look at Jacob, but the voice was his. A Shiengol hadn’t pushed thoughts into Jacob’s mind since he fought the dinosaur-like Cerpire outside of August Fortress. It was a weird sensation.
Jacob obeyed instantly. With one motion, he scooped up Keitus’s knife and passed it to Azuriah.
Dad handed Amberly to Mom and she ran out of the way, down the porch.
Keitus reached the steps.
Dad looked around—he had no way to defend himself.
Keitus bounded to the top of the steps.
Azuriah threw Keitus’s knife. It flashed in the air.
The Lorkon raised his sword. The handle of the knife struck him hard on the back of the head and he fell.
Keitus slid down the steps, sprawling across the dirt of the clearing, dazed.
Run—help me stop him.
Jacob raced across the clearing, throwing his pole aside. It wasn’t time for fighting anymore.
Azuriah flicked his hand toward the forest. A root sprang from the dirt beneath Keitus and wrapped itself around the Lorkon’s ankle.
Keitus kicked. The root broke. He jumped up. Another root erupted from the ground, wrapping around his leg. Who was controlling the plants?
The root dragged Keitus to the dirt again.
Jacob pulled the syringe from his pocket.
Azuriah got there first. He pounced on the Lorkon, elbow smashed against the creature’s neck. “Now, Jacob!”
Jacob uncapped the syringe. He paused for a moment.
Keitus stared at him. The colors in the air around the Lorkon showed his intense hatred. As if that wasn’t enough, the emotion was mirrored in his eyes.
“You are nothing to me, Danilo. Nothing.”
The Lorkon struggled against Azuriah’s grip. He nearly threw the Shiengol off, but another root sprang from the ground and whipped around his wrist, holding his hand in place. It gave Jacob a clear shot at Keitus’s side. No longer hesitating, Jacob jumped forward and skidded to a stop on his knees. He stabbed the Lorkon before anything more could happen.
The Lorkon immediately screamed and began thrashing, trying to escape, spitting, practically foaming at the mouth. The convulsions started and Jacob watched as the immortal being turned into a withered old man.
Keitus continued trying to get away.
A snap sounded through the air, and by the agony on Keitus’s face, Jacob realized a bone had broken. The old man stopped struggling. He panted, eyes closed.
“Kill me,” he whispered.
Azuriah released him. “That is not my decision.” He motioned to Dad. “The choice is yours, King Dmitri.”
Keitus moaned, rolling to his side.
Dad strode down the steps toward his father, stern, powerful. Jacob got goose bumps. His dad really was a king!
“There’s a girl on a faraway planet who would like to come home. The agreement was that we had to bring something of yours in exchange for her release. I think we’ll deliver you instead.”
Keitus glared, and a shiver made his whole body quake. “I should have destroyed you when I had the chance.”
It looked like Dad wanted to say something spiteful in response, but he paused and shook his head. “I’m sorry you didn’t—I really hate to see you so disappointed.” He smiled, then turned his back on his father. He looked at Azuriah. “Send a message to Renforth—tell him we have a delivery for him and that we expect him to allow us to Key directly there.” Then he sent a glance to Jacob. “Get that Key ready.”
Jacob nodded.
Azuriah called for a Minya and sent it to Renforth while Jacob went to check on the Makalos, holding a section of his robes against the cut in his arm.
They’d slumped to the ground, completely exhausted. There probably wasn’t anyone who wasn’t exhausted.
“Sorry,” Kenji gasped. “We would’ve intervened . . . earlier . . . but fell unconscious.”
“It’s okay,” Jacob said. “You did really well.”
Just then, Aldo and the Fat Lady came trudging through the forest, the branches thrashing around them.
“You know,” the Fat Lady panted, her hand on a tree, ducking when it tried to whip her. “You could have opened the link for us too. It’s a long walk from Azuriah’s fortress.”
Jacob half grinned. “Sorry—didn’t think about it.”
“What did we miss?” Aldo said, trying to see into the clearing.
“Everything. Keitus is human again.”
Aldo looked disappointed for several seconds, but then a huge grin spread across his cheeks. “We did it? We did it!” He turned to the Fat Lady, grabbed her hands, and tried to spin her around.
She barely budged, though. Her body was too heavy for him to spin. Instead, he threw his arms around her and they laughed.
Azuriah called for Jacob to come. “Renforth insists that we bring him his new prisoner tomorrow at this time.
He’s in a good mood and has granted me permission to allow anyone who’d like to enter his world to do so through a link created by your Key.”
Jacob looked at his watch. The whole day had gone by—it was nearly six.
Dad nodded. “I’d hoped we could go earlier than that, but we do need to spread the word that it’s all over and get some work done.” He motioned to Keitus. “What do we do with him in the meantime?”
“Put him in my dungeon.”
Azuriah looked at Jacob.
Jacob didn’t need to be asked. He ran up the steps and opened a link to Azuriah’s fortress, then watched as Dad forced Keitus to his feet and led the old man up, then down into the dark stone building.
Keitus was secured in a cell, his broken arm splinted, and Aldo and the Fat Lady asked to guard him first. That was fine with everyone else—the two had spent a lot of time there and seemed to be the most comfortable with the place.
Jacob closed the link to the dungeon, then opened one from the manor to his home in Mendon. He shouted the news about Keitus, running through the house and out into the backyard.
Several of the injured people were there, being watched over by Sweet Pea. They cheered, tossing whatever they held into the air—hats, paper cups and plates, newspapers.
Then those who could walk crowded around Jacob, wanting to hear the details while Sweet Pea bandaged Jacob’s arm. Jacob and Dad, who’d followed him through the link, took turns telling the story. It was the best time Jacob ever had telling about an experience—the audience was enthralled, the emotion colors nearly completely green, and so bright that the people were almost impossible to see. It made Jacob’s heart swell—they’d done it! They’d won the war and defeated the Lorkon!
Dad spent ten minutes walking around the injured people, shaking their hands, thanking them for their help, and receiving congratulations.
Jacob wasn’t surprised to see that many who’d fought for Keitus were there, heads down, shame in the air around them. He smiled. At least Dad wouldn’t have an empty kingdom to rule.
Word spread quickly and everyone gathered in the backyard, where Dad decided they could spend the night. Jacob watched as friends and strangers alike straggled from the house and manor to the backyard and started pitching tents. He frowned. One person was missing. Aloren. Where was she?
The Golden Symbol (Kilenya Series Book 6) Page 28