The Key of Kilenya Read online

  Jacob lifted his head and stared at the table. Was the wood getting warmer? He ran his hand across the surface, but it was cool to the touch. He frowned—had he imagined the wood’s change in temperature? He didn’t think so, but was too tired to focus on it any more.

  Wanting to get a little rest before morning, Jacob lowered himself to the floor near his chair and stretched out, breathing in the warm aroma that was almost pine, but not quite. As eventful as his evening had been, he couldn’t imagine sleeping well, especially in a strange place. But after a long time, he was able to relax, and fell asleep.

  A while later, something startled him awake. A touch on his forehead—light as a whisper. He kept his eyes shut, trying to decide if he’d imagined it. He waited for a moment in the pressing silence, then felt a hand on his face. Someone was in the tree with him.

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  Chapter 2. The Rog

  I went to the cabin of Aldo and Ezra’s mother to meet them, but found Ezra dead. Someone had broken into the cabin and torn it to shreds. Aldo was nowhere to be found, nor was his mother.

  I found a paper crumpled in Ezra’s hand, with several notes scribbled on it: “Lorkon behind attack?” “What motive?” “Pregnant” and “Fury of the Elements.” What is a Lorkon? And how will I know where to find my Arien?

  I plan to return to the cabin with a few men as soon as possible for a more thorough search.

  Jacob jumped up, swinging out with his hands, but too late. Nothing was there. The door to the tree opened, momentarily blinding him with late-afternoon sunlight, then shut just as quickly.

  “Hello?” Jacob called out. No answer. He shook himself, trying to get rid of the creepy feeling that surrounded him.

  A roar outside the tree made him jump.

  Oh, no, not the wolves again. He forced himself to calm down. Wolves didn’t roar, and this roar hadn’t sounded very close. Maybe he had time to get away! He couldn’t stand the idea of being trapped again. Jacob raced to the door and swung it open, but jerked to a stop as soon as the meadow came into view.

  The biggest bear he’d ever seen charged at top speed toward the tree—straight for him.

  He yelled and slammed the door shut, making sure it clicked, then backed as far away from it as he could. He bumped into a staircase and dashed up a couple of steps, waiting for the bear to hit the door. Only, it didn’t.

  Something heavy breathed outside—the bear, obviously. The knob shook—jiggled a bit. A thump against the tree, and Jacob froze, waiting to see if the bear would break through. Another loud roar, and the knob jiggled again. Jacob stared at it, wondering if the bear had the intelligence to try to open it. He hoped not. The light shining through the cracks on either side of the door shifted as the creature tried to find a way in.

  The knob turned, the latch released, and the door swung open. Jacob straightened in fright. The bear roared, opening its mouth farther than Jacob thought possible—the largest set of teeth he'd ever seen dripped with saliva. He fumbled backward, nearly falling when his foot hit the step behind him.

  The animal roared again, then took a leap toward Jacob, who spun around and dashed up the stairs.

  The bear swiped its paw across his back. He expected pain from claws, but felt nothing. Relief flushed through him, though it was short lived. There wasn't anywhere to hide in this tree. He kept running up—passing rooms as he did so. Beds, books, shelves—what was this place? Hot breath rushed over his neck, making the skin there crawl.

  The bear took another swipe at him, but again, the claws didn't catch. Jacob nearly stumbled as he reached the top of the steps, entering a room without an exit—just windows. He ran at them as fast as he could, almost falling forward from the momentum, intending to jump through, but his body merely slammed against the glass. He spun around right as the bear jumped at him, knocking him to the ground, roaring at him. Spittle flew onto Jacob’s face.

  Expecting the animal to bite off his head, he was surprised when large fingers gripped him around the shoulder and dragged him down the stairs. He jerked around, looking for the person the hand belonged to, but only the bear was there. It had a human hand? How was that possible? More surprised now than anything, Jacob twisted until he could see the other hand—it was human too! His surprise only lasted a second, though. Pain registered as his legs and rear end hit each step on the way down. He flailed around, screaming for help—doing everything to stop himself, but nothing worked. The fingers dug into his shoulder too tightly.

  The bear pulled him out of the tree and toward the forest on the opposite side of the meadow. Canyon walls surrounded them, groups of people poured down the walls, and Jacob hollered for help.

  He screamed when his pant legs tore and gravel began digging into the skin of his ankles and shins. The creature charged into the forest.

  A small group of people charged after Jacob and the bear, a blonde woman at the front. A short, black-haired boy wearing a top hat—a top hat?—raced to a tree and put his left hand on it. The bear continued dragging Jacob through the forest. Suddenly, a sharp crack—like a rifle shot, but much louder—sounded through the air and the bear collapsed, releasing its hold. Jacob tumbled to the ground, calling out in pain.

  The woman caught up and issued orders to the others. A group of men—all of whom were very, very short—threw a net over the bear, dragged it to a large tree not far away, then tied it down.

  “Jacob, how badly are you hurt?”

  “I don’t—”

  “He’s bleeding, Ebony—his legs.”

  “Yes, I see,” the woman replied.

  Jacob looked down and nearly fainted. Sure enough—his pants were tattered, and blood fell from several gashes. The skin on his calves and shins stung, and he could only imagine how much dirt and rocks were embedded in it.

  Ebony motioned to the boy with the top hat. “Akeno, call Early and September.”

  Akeno ran to a dandelion head that had gone to seed, lifted it to his mouth, whispered into it, then blew the seeds away. Jacob frowned—what an odd thing for someone to do. A sharp pain in his leg made him look down—Ebony had ripped the right pant leg off, exposing more deep cuts. She pointed to another person. “Find Jacob a pair of pants and shoes. He can’t get the Key dressed like this.”

  Key? What in the heck was she talking about? And who were these people, anyway?

  She finally glanced at Jacob. “You’ll be fine. As soon as we call Kenji, he’ll bring the Kaede Sap.”

  Kenji? Sap? Jacob wanted to ask what was going on, but Ebony ripped the other pant leg off. The pain from the cloth rubbing against his flesh was too much. He dug his hands into the grass on the side of the trail, trying not to call out.

  A bright flash of light distracted Jacob, and he jerked away in shock. A miniature person—no, two miniature people—hovered in the air. Without wings. He'd surely gone crazy. How on Earth was that possible? He pointed at them, his mouth open.

  Ebony addressed the little people. “September, go tell Kenji to come here as soon as he can, and to bring a Kaede Sap package and a Rog cage.” One of the persons—dressed in green pants—saluted her, a large grin on its human-like face. Ebony turned to the other creature, this one wearing a white dress. “Go tell Brojan that Jacob is awake and that a Rog attacked him.” The girl flitted a couple inches away before Ebony stopped her. “Oh, and Early, when you're done with that, find Jaegar and tell him to get home at once—he’s in big trouble.”

  The two creatures flitted to each other’s sides, palms together. Their hands started to glow and white rays swirled around them, spinning faster and faster. A burst of light engulfed them and then diminished. Little glitters of silver floated to the ground.

  Had Jacob gone crazy last night when he hit his head? Somehow he'd entered one of Amberly's pretending games! Remembering his accident, he touched his forehead, confused to find a bandage there. When had he fixed up his cut?

  “You can remove that now, Jacob,” Ebony said. “Your forehe
ad is fine.”

  He winced when she pulled something out of his shin. “Huh?”

  “I fixed it last night while you were sleeping.”

  He took off the bandage, gingerly touching the skin underneath. There was no evidence anything had happened. “You fixed it?”

  “Yes. Now relax. As soon as Kenji comes—oh, there he is now—he and I will have to clean your wounds, and that won’t feel very good.”

  Jacob sat up. A large—but short—man with curly, thinning brown hair rushed up the path toward the group, a package in his hands. He wore light-colored denim jeans.

  “How is he?” Kenji asked, breathless.

  “Hurting, but he’ll be fine. Let’s get started.”

  Ebony ripped open the package and pulled out a jug, bowl, small pouch, and several strips of white cloth. She handed everything but the cloth to Kenji, and started separating the strips onto the grass nearby. Her eyes were very dark—darker than most eyes Jacob had seen before.

  Kenji opened the pouch and mixed the contents of it and the jug into the bowl. He and Ebony finished their tasks at the same time and turned to Jacob.

  “Lay down completely,” Ebony said. “This will hurt—especially since you’re awake.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Clean your wounds.” She pushed him down all the way.

  Jacob couldn’t see what she was doing, but felt it when she started. “Holy cow,” he said and gritted his teeth, trying to control the wave of pain that rolled over him.

  Akeno took off his top hat, moving to Jacob's side. “I’ll talk to him, if you’d like—distract him.”

  Ebony nodded. “Yes, son, that would be fine.”

  “Jacob, what do you want to know?”

  “I . . . ” He took a deep breath, trying to ignore what Kenji and Ebony were doing at his feet. “I’m not sure.” He felt dumb asking where he was, although he really wanted to know. He'd run here last night, after all, and he knew where his home was. Instead, he asked the next most important thing. “Who are you?”

  “We’re Makalos. We live here.”

  Since when? Jacob had lived here his whole life. “How come I’ve never seen you in school?”

  “Because I don’t go to your school. I’m from Eklaron.”

  Eklaron? There wasn’t a city with that name around here. Unless it was farther up north, and Jacob had never heard of it before. He sighed to himself in frustration. His mind was tired. He didn’t want to think about “Eklaron” anymore, and relaxed as the irritation in his legs faded.

  Just then, Ebony caused a sharp pain in his left leg, and he winced. Of course it would happen as soon as he’d finally become comfortable. He blinked away the sudden tears. Not wanting the others to see the moisture, he closed his eyes, feeling warmth spread across his face. Fourteen year olds don’t cry over these sorts of things.

  He tried to distract them from his embarrassment by asking another question. “What kind of a bear was that?”

  “It’s a Wahberog. We call them Rogs. Usually they’re not this dangerous, but Jaegar and his friends like to tease them.”

  Jacob scowled. Rog. Weird name, and another thing he’d never heard of before. He thought he’d watched all the nature shows ever made. Of course, there was no way he’d forget seeing a show about a bear with human hands. Speaking of which, how did it get hands? Jacob mulled this over in his mind for a moment, then sat up when an idea occurred to him. “Genetic mutation!” Akeno looked at him curiously. “The bear. It’s been genetically altered. Though I’m not sure how you guys pulled it off.” A wave of exhaustion rolled over him. “Whoa—I’m tired.”

  “That’s normal with the Sap,” Kenji said. “You can rest, if you’d like. We’re nearly finished.”

  Jacob shook his head, fighting off the sleepiness. He forced himself to watch as Ebony laid a final strip of white cloth across his left shin on a really deep gash. His legs, where the wounds had been, were covered in fabric. She rocked back on her heels, a smile spreading across her face.

  “There! You’ll be good as new in just a few moments.”

  Jacob stared at her, all exhaustion gone. “Good as new? What did you do? Give me a different set of legs?”

  “Just about,” Kenji said. “Wait a moment, then take a look.”

  What if they had given him new legs? Freaky idea. But being taller would be cool.

  When Jacob couldn’t wait any longer, he lifted the edge of one of the strips and quickly forgot about his height. “How’d you do that?” The skin was nearly smooth—almost no sign anything had happened. Just pink stripes where the gashes had been, which, as Jacob watched, faded.

  Kenji shrugged. “We put the Kaede Sap on you and allowed it to do what it does best—heal.”

  “Sap healed me?”

  Ebony nodded. “Yes. Your forehead, too.”

  “Amazing!” Jacob lifted all the strips—his legs were, as Ebony had said, like new. “No way. I can’t believe it. Why isn’t this stuff used at hospitals? It’s incredible.”

  Ebony nodded and glanced at Akeno. “Go check on the Rog.”

  Akeno left, and Jacob, with Kenji’s help, got to his feet, astonished at how much his legs didn’t hurt. He’d be okay for basketball tryouts today . . . then realization hit him.

  “I missed tryouts!” He stepped away from Ebony, who’d reached to brush dirt off his shirt. “Oh, man! What have I done?” He turned to Kenji. “The wolves! This is their fault!”

  Kenji frowned, concerned. “Technically, it wasn’t their fault, though it might seem that way. I’m sorry.”

  Jacob stared at Kenji. He was sorry? He didn’t even know how important this was! Jacob paused. “Do you have a phone? Can I use it?”

  “We use Minyas,” Ebony said. “Much better than—”

  “Maybe Matt could go talk to Coach Birmingham. Maybe Coach’ll still let me shoot a few hoops for him. Maybe it’s not too late. Oh, I can’t believe I missed tryouts!” He slumped to the ground and put his head in his hands.

  “You’re understandably upset,” Kenji said. “Here, eat this. Food’ll make you feel better.”

  Jacob took the food and, without looking at it, shoved it in his mouth. The taste of jerky was familiar—one of his favorite snacks—but this time it made him feel like throwing up. He’d missed the most important day of his life—of his future NBA career. Months and months—even years—of practice wasted. He had to get home. He jumped to his feet, but was stopped by Kenji’s arm.

  “Hold on a minute, Jacob. We’ll discuss everything—including your tryouts—soon. Let’s take things one at a time.” He paused when Akeno approached.

  Jacob scowled at Kenji. “Fine. Five minutes. That’s all.”

  “Did you bring the cage, Father?” Akeno asked. “The Rog is about to wake up again.”

  Kenji pulled a little wooden box—like a jail—from his pocket, opening one side completely. Jacob smirked—how was that going to help? Was Kenji going to throw it at the bear?

  The Rog roared, awake again. It thrashed in the net, and the men struggled to keep everything in place. Kenji took several steps backward and stretched his arm all the way out—straight in front of him. He made a scooping motion with the cage, dropping it in the process. It disappeared the moment it left Kenji’s fingers. At the same instant, a huge cage appeared over the Rog and swept under its feet, knocking it inside.

  Jacob jumped backward. “Holy cow!”

  The men rushed to shut the beast in. The Rog roared, grabbing the bars with its human hands, trying to break its way out.

  Jacob looked between Kenji and the Rog. “What on Earth just happened?”

  “You’re not on Earth, Jacob,” Akeno said. “This is Eklaron. It’s a different world. Rules aren’t the same here.”

  “What do you mean, I’m not on Earth? You’re kidding, right?” Jacob faced the forest. He was tired of these games. “Okay, Matt, you can come out now!”

  Akeno grabbed Jacob’s ar
m, pulling him back around. “No. I’m serious.”

  Was he telling the truth? Jacob bit his lip. Could he be on a different planet? Was it possible? After everything Jacob had seen this morning, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he’d done something to his brain last night when he’d fallen.

  A bear with human hands. Miniature people who appeared and disappeared with flashes of light. Healing sap. And Kenji just enlarged something! Jacob pulled his hair and stared at Kenji. His mouth opened, then shut. “Uhhh . . .” was the only thing he could articulate.

  Kenji gave him a sympathetic smile.

  Jacob looked back at the Rog. He tried to swallow, but his throat was too dry. Finally he croaked out, “You guys are telling the truth, aren’t you?”

  Kenji nodded.

  “I’m not on Earth anymore, am I?”

  Kenji shook his head.

  “Oh, man,” Jacob said, then sat on the ground and put his face in his hands.

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  Chapter 3. The Key of Kilenya

  I was able to return to the cabin shortly after my previous entry. Upon a more thorough search, I found another note in the cabin, this one left by Aldo. It was addressed to me, with instructions to go to the nearest Kaith tree, which isn’t very far from the castle. I did so, and found a much more detailed note there, protected by spells designed to recognize me as the intended recipient. It seems the attack wasn’t led by my father after all, but was indeed led by a group of evil creatures known as the Lorkon.

  Aldo instructed me to choose several trusted companions of varying ability, and to embark on a journey to find my princess, who, he believes, is being held in the land of the Shiengols.

  I have chosen Kelson, my closest friend. He was one of my followers when I was living under my father’s rule in Troosinal. I’ve also chosen Kenji, the Makalo. I’ve never known the Makalos very well, but have formed a close bond with this one. These two are each bringing along a few good men. In all, there are eleven of us—six humans and five Makalos.