Eyes of the Sun (29 page)

The beetle burst into flames and disappeared.

“He can’t be serious,” Aloren said.

Jacob didn’t respond. There was no way he’d have time to find the antidote before the Lorkon arrived. He turned to Matt. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

“In the study with Kenji and Azuriah.”

Jacob rushed across the living room, followed by the others. He was glad he and Akeno had gone to visit Onyev from his room—it made it easier to find everyone.

Without waiting to be acknowledged, Jacob blurted out, “Eachan just sent a message through a fire beetle. The Lorkon are coming with a huge army. They’ll be stopping at Fornchall soon and then heading here.”

It took a moment for what Jacob said to sink in. As soon as it had, everyone started talking at once.

Dad was loudest. “They’re coming? Now?”

Jacob nodded. “I think the war is about to start.”

Azuriah rubbed his face. “We’ll be drastically outnumbered.” He glanced at Dad. “Can you think of a way to buy us more time? Unless your humans are ready . . . we’re about to be slaughtered.”

Dad nodded, straightening. “I’ll speak with my people. If you feel like the Shiengols will be willing to fight again . . .” He stopped when Azuriah began shaking his head.

“They left this morning. I couldn’t keep them here any longer, since there wasn’t anything for them to do.”

“Wasn’t anything for them to do?” Dad said. “What about this impending war? They know we need help!”

Azuriah set his mouth in a thin line. “Don’t suppose that your appeal to their emotions will cause them to fight alongside you. Remember, the Lorkon are not
their
problem. They haven’t adopted this fight like I have.”

Dad rubbed his eyes, then apologized. “Would you catch up to them and see if any would be willing to come back? You know we can’t fight this war alone.”

Azuriah didn’t respond, but strode from the room. They probably should have kept Azuriah there—one full-blooded Shiengol was better than none. But then, if Azuriah caught up to the others in time, they’d have a lot more help.

Dad put his hand on Kenji’s shoulder. “Station someone at the telescope. We’re going to need to know everything the Lorkon are doing, especially when they’re nearing Taga Village.”

Kenji agreed to do so and left.

Dad turned to Jacob. “Go get the Fat Lady from her cabin. And grab Aldo and Mr. Coolidge. Then open a link between Aldo’s cabin and our house. Tell everyone to gather on the Mendon side. We’ll search out anyone who’s willing and able to fight.”

Jacob nodded and did as he was asked, making sure the link led to his back porch and not the inside of the house. Akeno directed everyone there, and Dad, Gallus, and Mr. Coolidge organized them according to rank and ability. It didn’t take long. Mr. Coolidge had already done most of the organizing, and with the training the people had previously received from Sweet Pea, they were nearly ready to fight.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck. “Nearly” wasn’t good enough. Not with the size of army headed their way.

Kevin and Tani volunteered to fight, but everyone was against it, especially Mom and Dad.

“But I do have an assignment for you,” Dad said.

Kevin and Tani both perked up, excitement flashing across their faces. “What’s that?” Kevin asked.

“Go let all the neighbors know that we’re holding early Fourth of July celebrations. Or tell them something that might make up for any possible noises they could hear. I can’t afford for anyone to call the cops. Then after you’ve done that, guard my house from the other direction. Act natural, but if someone comes, do your best to turn them away.”

Jacob was grateful that their neighbors, who weren’t the nosy types, were few and far between. The closest one was Ida Mae, and she was half a mile away and going deaf. She shouldn’t hear anything.

Tani and Kevin ran off, eyes bright, talking to each other, and for a moment, Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. How would it be to act like that? To feel carefree, even when great danger was on its way?

Kenji’s telescope spies reported via Minya every couple of minutes. The Lorkon arrived at Fornchall with an enormous army, and more and more joined every minute. Jacob couldn’t believe each of those humans had chosen the Lorkon over his father.

The Makalos began setting traps along the link from Taga Village to Earth. Dad had the majority of them set up on the Mendon side of the link, wanting to save as many as possible in case the Lorkon couldn’t get through. Humans and Makalos lay in wait, ready to ambush..

“But we have to expect that they will,” Aldo said.

“Yes. Have you come up with an idea to buy us more time?” Dad asked.

The elderly man shook his head and turned to the Fat Lady. They were poring over books and searching for something—anything—that would help.

Jacob almost joined them. Then Aloren walked by, the colors swirling through the air around her showing determination. She wanted to fight, but as soon as she asked permission, Dad rubbed the back of his neck, obviously not wanting to send a girl into battle. But she had so much more experience than most of the others.

He frowned. “I need you as backup. Wait with Sweet Pea and the other injured people in my house. If things progress to that point, please, come help.”

Aloren curtsied, then slipped away.

Jacob wrung his hands, watching the flurry of activity around him as Makalos and humans set booby traps and hid themselves in the trees.

Matt walked by and Jacob grabbed his arm. “What are
you
doing?”

“I have no idea. I can’t fight—there’s no way. I’m not trained for this sort of thing.”

“I know. Me neither. Let’s go help find a way to slow down the Lorkon.”

Matt nodded, and the two rushed across the grass to the patio table where Aldo and the Fat Lady worked.

“Tell us what we can do to help,” Matt said, sitting.

Neither adult responded for a while. Jacob and Matt looked at each other, and Jacob could see his exasperation mirrored not only in Matt’s eyes, but in his emotion colors as well. Finally, Aldo glanced up. “We’re looking for a cure or some sort of poison that’ll stop the Lorkon.”

Jacob raised his eyebrow. He decided not to mention what Onyev had told him—at that point, it would only do harm, not good. The Fat Lady and Aldo would spend all their energy trying to find the book Onyev had talked about instead of searching for something to buy them more time. “You won’t find it before the Lorkon come—none of us will. We need something else.”

Aldo rubbed his eyes. “I agree, but I don’t know what to do.”

“You’re looking at it all wrong,” Matt said. “Forget potions and poisons and that stuff. What abilities do we have around us?”

The Fat Lady nodded. “I like that train of thought.”

Aldo started ticking on his fingers. “We’ve got a Makalo with the full amount of Rezend in him.”

Matt leaned forward. “Yeah, so he can control plants and stuff.”

Aldo continued. “We’ve got a boy who has Lorkon blood in him.”

Matt glanced at Jacob. “Yup. What else?”

“A king with quick intelligence.”

“Doesn’t help as much right now,” Matt said. Jacob could tell he was trying to joke, but the adults didn’t notice.

“A grouchy Shiengol who has already left . . . but can do neat things . . .?” Aldo asked. “Boys, I don’t know. My brain feels like it’s draining out my ears.”

“I’m not sure what else to do,” Matt said, “apart from using what we’ve got.” He sank in his seat. “Maybe we could build something and trap them. Or maybe Akeno could shrink them.”

Aldo shook his head. “Takes too much time for him to shrink one person, let alone four Lorkon and hundreds of enemies. We need something faster than that.”

“A trip line to knock them down and
then
Akeno can shrink them?”

Again, Aldo shook his head. “Too many possible problems. What if the line isn’t strong enough? What if someone drops it?”

The Fat Lady smiled. “I’ve got it. But we’re going to need a lot of muscle power, and fast.” The other three looked at her expectantly, and she continued. “We dig a hole. And I don’t mean a small one. It needs to be huge—wide and very deep. And we’ll need wood. Lots of it. And a framer who can work really quickly.
And
Jacob’s Key.”

Aldo grinned. “I see where you’re going with this.” He jumped to his feet and ran off, grabbing Dad’s arm and pulling him to the table.

Jacob and Matt looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

As soon as Dad joined them, Aldo and the Fat Lady explained together.

“We dig a really big hole.” Aldo’s eyes glinted with excitement. “We frame it for a door that will lay flat on the ground—over that hole.”

“Yeah,” the Fat Lady said. “Then Akeno and Jacob will build that door. Akeno can have grass grow over it, and we’ll let the Lorkon through the link and act as if we want to talk or negotiate with them.”

Aldo nodded excitedly. “Dmitri, when you give the sign, Jacob will drop down and Key the Lorkon somewhere far away.” He rubbed his hands together. “It won’t kill them, but it’ll buy us more time to find that cure.”

Dad nodded. “The plan isn’t perfect, but I think it’ll work.”

The Fat Lady frowned. “What do you mean, it’s not perfect?”

Dad stared. “Well, if the door has to swing into the hole, how are you going to keep it from falling when the Lorkon get on top of it? And when you fix that problem, how is Jacob going to be able to Key them without first having to move whatever is holding the door up? And especially without making it obvious that’s what he’s doing?”

Aldo slumped in his chair. “In our defense, we’ve only had minutes to come up with all of this.”

Dad chuckled. “Don’t worry—I’ve already got a solution. Come here.” Jacob and the others followed Dad around the side of the house and to his shed, which was more like a small barn. He had needed an extra big one to fit all his things: riding lawn mower, chicken feed and hay, and fungicide for the orchard. Dad opened the door—the very,
very
large door—and the Fat Lady and Aldo started grinning.

Aldo stepped forward and ran his hand down the side of it. “It’s thick—really thick.”

“But is it strong enough to hold four Lorkon?” the Fat Lady asked.

“Could be, if we braced it.”

Dad smiled. “And notice how it locks?”

Aldo swung the door the rest of the way open and inspected the locking mechanism. It had two huge metal bars that glided in from the front of the shed on either side. “Perfect! The bars will hold the weight of the Lorkon. Then, since they’re part of the lock, when Jacob turns the Key, they’ll move out of the way!”

“So long as we transport the entire system and set it up right,” Dad said. He turned and walked briskly back to where everyone was scurrying around, handing swords and crossbows to each other, strapping armor on themselves. “Change of plans!” he shouted. “I need as many able-bodied men as possible right now.”

With a flurry of action, men dropped from the trees and came from around the bushes. Soon, there were at least twenty men in front of Dad. He told them they would be digging a hole and arranged for them to borrow shovels from neighbors and to get some from his shed.

Aldo and the Fat Lady had Kenji take them right where the link ended, where the door would need to be placed. Jacob and Matt explained the plan to Akeno, then rushed to the shed to begin figuring out how to disassemble the door and its locking mechanism without losing track of or breaking anything. They were joined by Gallus and Mr. Coolidge, then several moments later, Dad.

After twenty minutes, they’d removed the door and frame and heaved them onto their shoulders and into the forest, down the trail, and to the spot where men had started digging the hole.

“I’m not sure they’ll be able to finish on time,” Kenji said. He looked up at Dad. “The Lorkon army has just left Fornchall.”

Dad nodded. “We’ll do the best we can.” He turned to Jacob and Akeno. “Start doing everything possible to strengthen the door. Grow extra wood on it, mold it all together—whatever it takes.”

Jacob sent Matt to help find extra wood while he got to work. He looked up at Kenji. “Is the army using Sindons?” He hoped not—the creatures would get the Lorkon army here way too quickly, using those long arms.

Kenji blanched. “I didn’t think of that. I’ll have the Makalos in the tree check.”

The Minya returned with the answer. “Yes, they have Sindons. And the army is on its way.”

News spread quickly and the diggers and other workers put more effort into what they were doing. Jacob wasn’t sure how it was possible—the men in the hole had sweat dripping off their faces like someone had dumped a bucket of water over their heads. The hole was gaining depth slowly—it was then five feet deep and ten feet wide. In order for the door to fall freely, it would need to be at least fifteen feet deep, if not twenty.

Jacob’s hands began blistering as he molded planks of wood to the already thick door. Akeno pulled roots from the dirt around him—even small ones worked—and held them against the door. He closed his eyes, and his mouth moved as he whispered to them. The roots grew exponentially, sending out more shoots that gripped the door and each other, leaving the edges clear. The door nearly doubled in thickness with Jacob and Akeno working together.

When Akeno finished what he was doing, Jacob moved to the newest sections of roots and heated them up, having them seal themselves even more to the door. While Jacob did that, Akeno released them from their origination points.

The Lorkon army reached the entrance to Taga Village right when everyone finished. The men lifted the frame and door into place and made sure the locking system worked. They tested it out on Akeno—Jacob opened a link to his home and the Makalo fell through, landing sideways in the living room. He ran back, exclaiming how disorienting it was to fall into a nearly-upside-down room.

The final step in the process was for Akeno to grow grass on top of the door. He’d just barely finished when the Lorkon arrived at the forest on the other side of the meadow. They were heading toward Mendon. Jacob got goose bumps and a cold sweat broke out over him. His breathing became even more labored, and he shook his sore, blistered hands. Would they be successful? Could the Lorkon be sent away?