Eyes of the Sun (11 page)

“How does it work?”

“Oh,” Jacob said. “Onyev didn’t tell me. Maybe it’s like the Key of Kilenya, and if you put it close to the thing you want to open, it’ll . . . open the thing.”

“Well said, Jake, well said.” Matt turned to his brother. “Give it to me.” He held out his hand expectantly.

Jacob hesitated, fingering the Key in his pocket. This would be his first time trying to use it, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to give that up.

“Come on. You get to have all the fun. My turn.”

Jacob sighed in irritation and handed it over. Matt faced his locker. He lifted the Key, holding it by the long metal stem, glass part on top, and inched it closer to his locker.

Suddenly something thick and sparkly in the glass started swirling, then faded. Numbers flashed quickly into view.

“Wait, it’s going too fast!” Matt said.

“Then pull it back and try again.”

Matt did so, and this time, both of them watched closely as the numbers pulsed by.

Matt frowned. “Those aren’t the numbers for my locker. It’s broken.”

Jacob shook his head, grabbed the Key, put it close to the locker, and watched for the numbers. He held them in his mind and turned the dial to each one. The locker popped open when he pulled on the lever.

“It’s not your locker anymore,” he said. “They’ve changed the combos already.”

“Freakin’ cool!” Matt took the Key again. “Let’s try another one.”

The same thing happened with the locker next to Matt’s, and he insisted on opening every locker in that hall. Jacob was really glad the hall was a short one.

“Too bad school’s out,” Matt said. “Seriously. I’d crack into Kevin’s locker and put a squashed frog in it.”

Jacob laughed. “You’re evil.”

Matt didn’t respond, and by the colors swirling around him, Jacob could tell he was concentrating. “Okay, so it does simple stuff really easily. Let’s find something more complex.”

“Like what?”

“A bank!”

Jacob folded his arms. “Heck, no. I’m not about to get arrested for attempted robbery.”

“Well, what else is there?”

“Dad’s safe at home—it’s a lot more complex than these things.”

“Why didn’t we try that first?”

Jacob shrugged. “Didn’t occur to me.”

“Let’s go!”

Jacob Keyed them back home, and the brothers dashed to the family room where the tall, slender safe was kept. This time, there were too many numbers, and the brothers were forced to write them down before trying to crack the box. It took a couple of tries to get the arrow pointed exactly at the numbers—the thing was very sensitive—but finally they pulled the door open.

“This is so cool!” Matt said, bright green swirling in the air around him.

“I wonder what would happen with a biological entry.” Jacob stared at the combination, trying to envision what the Key would do if the safe required a thumbprint instead.

Matt shrugged. “Who knows? But I’ll bet the glass part would do something awesome.”

“Wish we knew of a place where we could test it.”

Dad walked into the family room just then. “Glad to see you’re figuring things out. Close the safe.” After the door was shut, Dad held out his hand, and Matt gave him the Key. Dad pocketed it, then sat in his favorite recliner, grabbing a couple of remotes. “Jacob, have you heard from Early lately?”

“Yeah—she says the people of Macaria are getting rid of their doors voluntarily. There are still a ton up, but the people don’t want problems with the Lorkon, so they should be all gone by tonight.”

He nodded. “Good. It’s best they comply for now to avoid raising suspicion. A lot of people are talking about wanting to move to Taga Village. I think it’s a fantastic idea.”

Dad turned on the TV to an NBA pre-game show. Basketball season was nearly over, and the playoffs had begun. Jacob knew Dad would be pretty distracted for the next couple of hours.

The brothers left the room. Dad didn’t seem to notice.

The next day, Jacob, Matt, and Sweet Pea helped Akeno start digging a garden. The Wurbies tried to help too, but Akeno wouldn’t let them. Fubble and his wife left, obviously disappointed.

“Hey, Fubble!” Jacob called to the Wurby. He hated seeing the Wurby so sad.

The Wurby turned around. “Fubble
the Wurby
!” he said with a smile.

Jacob laughed. “You wanted to show me something, right? When I’m done here, I’ll come see what it was.”

Fubble grinned. “Okay!”

Jacob sighed in relief. He felt bad that Akeno had turned down the Wurbies, but he didn’t blame his friend. Wurby hands were too unpredictable.

The sun beat down on them and Jacob started sweating. Early flitted around them, obviously trying to get Matt’s attention, but the boys ignored her.

After two hours of digging rows, Matt growled in annoyance when Akeno asked him to straighten the row he was creating for a third time. Jacob held back his laughter. If Matt hadn’t been irritated, Jacob would have been, and he didn’t want to feel that way toward Akeno.

“Is this how Onyev said to do it, or is it how
you
want it done?” Matt asked, leaning against his shovel.

Akeno flushed, his mouth opening and closing several times before he finally sputtered out, “I’m sure it’s important to have an orderly garden.”

Matt laughed. “But not
that
important. And not
this
perfect! You’re so OCD! You’ve just been hiding it really well lately.”

“I am
not
OCD.” Akeno glared at Matt, the colors in the air around him showing irritation. Jacob wasn’t surprised—everyone had been getting a little testy, even the usually even-tempered Makalos.

“He doesn’t know what OCD means,” Sweet Pea said, sitting in the dirt.

“Do too!” Akeno grabbed Sweet Pea’s arm and tried to pull him up. “Don’t ruin the row. And it’s you who doesn’t know what OCD means.”

Sweet Pea snorted. “Doesn’t matter—I know how to get women.”

Akeno frowned, finally giving up on pulling the other Makalo to his feet. “You know how to get wom
an
. Not wom
en
.”

Matt straightened, nearly dropping his shovel, staring at Sweet Pea. “What? You’ve got a girlfriend and didn’t tell anyone?”

Sweet Pea blushed. It was the first time Jacob had ever seen it happen. The Makalo puffed out his chest, pretending not to be embarrassed. “Well, it wasn’t hard once she saw my amazing biceps.”

Akeno scoffed, turning back to his garden. “After you pointed them out.” He squinted an eye, measuring the rows with his thumb.

“At least I’ve got some. And you have to admit, they’re freakin’ amazing.”

Akeno raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have to admit anything. Unless you want a guy Makalo to drool too.”

“Male, female—they can’t help themselves.”

Akeno punched Sweet Pea in a very non-feminine way and Matt cheered, laughing and clapping. He and Sweet Pea had spent a great deal of time a couple of months ago trying to teach Akeno how to hit another guy without looking weird. Jacob let a smile show at Matt’s obvious pride in having taught someone to do something. Then he rolled his eyes.

“Okay, let’s get back to work. I want to be done with this before the Lorkon rule the universe.”

He was grateful they’d taken a break, though, because it made Akeno relax, and things went much more smoothly.

As soon as they’d finished, Jacob and Matt went to find Fubble. Jacob wasn’t surprised that the thing Fubble wanted him to see had to do with children, but he did enjoy Fubble’s excitement. He and several other Wurbies had built something that was supposed to look exactly like the building where Kevin and Aloren taught English.

“For school of Wurbs!” Fubble said.

Matt tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed. “That doesn’t look a th—”

Jacob elbowed his brother. “It’s fantastic! You guys are really good at putting together interesting buildings.”

Matt looked at Jacob, then at the thing in front of them. It had been built using branches tied together, grocery bags from Walmart, small logs propped against each other, and moldy hay from last year’s harvest.

“Oh, yeah,” Matt said. “It’s . . . it’s good stuff.”

Fubble invited Jacob and Matt to go in, but they both declined. Neither wanted to enter a place where something moldy might fall on them. They said goodbye to Fubble and separated—Matt going home to get chores done and Jacob heading over to Azuriah’s.

It only took a couple of minutes for Jacob to reach the Shiengol’s fortress. Azuriah opened the door, banana in hand.

“Thank you for being so . . .
prompt
,” Azuriah said.

Jacob frowned, looking at his watch. He was only a minute and a half late. “I had things to do.”

“Come with me.”

Jacob followed Azuriah to his library. Azuriah sat at the desk, indicating a chair across from him. “We’re done practicing your abilities.”

Jacob’s mouth popped open. “Done? What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’ve discovered all your powers, and you’re well on your way to developing them. You don’t need my assistance from now on.”

Jacob wasn’t sure if he should feel excitement or disappointment. He was excited that the physical tests on him would be over, but disappointed because he didn’t feel like he’d fully figured everything out yet. “You’re sure? Does that mean I don’t have to come here every day from now on?”

Azuriah scoffed. “Right. Don’t think you’ll get off that easily. You still have to finish learning about Eklaron. There are several languages I haven’t introduced you to yet, and quite a few years of history you haven’t memorized.”

Jacob wrinkled his nose. “Memorizing. So my least favorite things.”

“Least favorite?” The expression on Azuriah’s face dared Jacob to give more details, while threatening him to do so.

“You have to admit, it’s more interesting figuring out what to do with my abilities.”

Azuriah’s face softened—that probably wasn’t the answer he’d been expecting. “Yes, well, the other things are just as important.”

“Okay,” Jacob said. He really didn’t mind studying—history was one of his favorite subjects. But he did wish he could take things at his own speed. Azuriah pushed him too much.

The Shiengol plopped a book down in front of him. “Here. Memorize these paragraphs.” He indicated several locations marked in blue.

Jacob sighed and leaned over the book, and Azuriah left.

Akeno’s plants started growing very quickly, surprising nearly everyone. Only the Fat Lady seemed not to think anything about it. Vivid reds, greens, and blues sprang up along each nearly perfect row, and the spot became a favorite visiting place for many living in Taga Village. Akeno guarded it fiercely, only taking time away to sleep, eat, and visit Onyev to receive further instruction.

Dad and Gallus started a difficult and dangerous campaign: going through all of Macaria, recruiting. There was only a small handful of very well-concealed doors left, and every time Jacob Keyed his dad and Gallus back to Macaria, there were fewer and fewer options for where to take them.

But the campaign seemed to be successful. Dad convinced many to move to Taga Village to train for the upcoming war. Some families refused, or didn’t want to help—Morton, Gallus’s old friend, included—and Gallus was forced to leave them behind. Jacob could tell how much it bothered him, having to say goodbye to people he could no longer call friends.

On their final trip to Macaria, Jacob Keyed himself to Aloren’s old tower, wanting to have one last look at the bleached-white city. He leaned against the stone and poked his head out the window, enjoying the sun on his face and the late-spring breeze that riffled through his hair.

Jacob sighed, looking at the city. The sun glittered on the white stone, making it a nearly golden color. For a moment he promised himself they’d be back soon, but shook his head. He was being naïve. The Lorkon wouldn’t be easy to beat, nor would they hand over control easily. It could take years to get Dad back in charge.

The sadness that crept into Jacob’s heart and mind refused to leave, and finally, he Keyed himself to the trapdoor in Gallus’s shop. Macaria was his favorite city in Gevkan—far above Maivoryl City and August Fortress—and it was hard to desert.