The Golden Symbol (11 page)

“Renforth is pushing the world to its limits,” Azuriah said. “The planet is too small to support such large creatures as Shiengols. Every few years, he and his people have to go to Eklaron for an entire year to allow the planet to heal.”

“What do you mean, it’s too small?”

“How many trees did you notice as we came in?”

“Well, we were mostly inside a courtyard . . .”

Azuriah leaned on his elbow. “There aren’t any plants larger than five feet here. The biggest animals could be compared to a house cat on Eklaron or Earth. The resources simply aren’t there to support a population as big as Renforth’s for much time.”

“I’d imagine their years are shorter here because the world is smaller.”

“Not necessarily.” Azuriah turned to face the wall. “Now go to sleep. I’m finished talking.”

Jacob had many more questions. He almost asked them anyway, but decided that sharing a cell with an angry Shiengol would make things difficult. He sighed. He couldn’t wait to get home again.

But Jacob’s life was too complicated now. He was a prince of a country on a different world, not just a high school student. Once Dad was back in charge again, what would happen to their family? Would Matt and Jacob be allowed to finish high school? Would they even live on Earth? Would they all go live in the castle in Maivoryl City? And what about the Makalos? Once the Lorkon were gone, they wouldn’t be forced to hide in Taga Village anymore.

Jacob had seen Gratitude City, however, and he was pretty sure the Makalos wouldn’t choose to live there. It just didn’t feel right.

After what felt like hours and hours, night fell, and Azuriah’s deep breathing filled the cell. Jacob couldn’t relax, though. At first his mind was working too much, but then a dull ache started in his chest. It felt like his heart was struggling to beat, and it made Jacob feel sluggish. He worried that if he fell asleep, he wouldn’t wake up.

What could he do about it, though? Yell from his cot until Renforth allowed them to talk to him, and risk angering Azuriah and foiling their plans completely? No, they couldn’t afford to mess things up. Renforth’s blood was far too important.

With a start, Jacob jerked awake. He’d dozed off. He couldn’t do that. To keep himself from getting too sleepy, he alternated holding his right, then left, arm above him. This worked for a while until his arms grew too tired. Which, of course, made him crave sleep even more.

He dozed off and on for several hours, struggling to stay awake. The pain grew stronger until sleep no longer tempted him.

Then Jacob wished he’d let himself sleep while he had the chance. His hands and fingers were tingling. He couldn’t feel his chest. His lungs burned with each breath he drew in and then expelled. A massive migraine started at the base of his skull, flashing lights in front of his eyes.

Jacob dug his hands into his eyes, trying to relieve the pressure. He thumped his chest when it felt like his heart might have stopped beating. But he couldn’t tell anymore—he was too numb, physically. Emotionally, too.

The sun had barely risen when Jacob knew he couldn’t go much longer.

“Azuriah,” he gasped. “Help.”

Azuriah moaned, but didn’t answer.

“Azuriah.”

Again, the Shiengol groaned, but still didn’t awaken.

Jacob didn’t have the energy to talk again, so he resorted to tapping on the metal leg of his cot with his fingernails. Hopefully, that would be more irritating to the Shiengol.

He tapped and tapped.

It felt like years before Azuriah finally heard the sound.

“Would you stop that confounded clacking?”

Jacob gasped, trying to breathe. He couldn’t do anything more than whisper. “Can’t . . . go . . . on . . .”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Jacob heard the Shiengol get to his feet and cross the room. He started calling, speaking the Shiengol language. His voice echoed down the hallway, and Jacob allowed himself to relax as much as possible. Azuriah would take care of him. They’d be fine. Jacob would get off the planet in time to find Akeno.

At least he hoped so.

Jacob must have passed out, because the next thing he noticed were two voices—Azuriah’s and another.

He only understood one sentence: “Renforth will see you in an hour.”

“An hour?” Azuriah shouted. “That’s not good enough!”

Jacob groaned. He tried to open his eyes, but the world was spinning. He couldn’t see, couldn’t focus on anything. He passed out again.

When he came to, Azuriah was trying to pull him from the cot. “Help me,” Azuriah said.

At first, Jacob thought the Shiengol was talking to him, but then someone grabbed Jacob’s other arm and he realized what that meant—they were about to see Renforth.

Hopefully, it would be a fast visit.

Chapter Seven: A Cart Ride

Eachan grinned, feeling the wind blowing through his hair. It had been so long since he’d ridden on a horse-drawn cart! Never mind that he couldn’t really see where they were headed, as Sanso’s torch wasn’t bright enough to light the entire tunnel.

Eachan had asked why Sanso didn’t just use his own hands to light the way. The Ember God raised an eyebrow. “You want me to guide the horses
and
do that? You realize that anything I touch will be burned, correct?”

That made sense, and since Eachan didn’t have the strength to drive the cart himself, he dropped the matter.

Sanso had stolen six horses. The Lorkon wouldn’t notice right away, not with all their war preparations. They rarely used horses as it was, preferring to walk or ride those ridiculous Sindons.

Eachan held to the side of the cart, hoping the frame would hold his weight. He and Sanso had constructed it mostly in the dark of the tunnel, where the Lorkon wouldn’t see. They’d spent so much time down there, Eachan was surprised his eyes hadn’t changed color like those disgusting Molgs’. Many of them had white eyes from living underground and not seeing the sun enough.

After five minutes, Sanso led the horses up the slope at the other end of the tunnel. The sun hit the cart and Eachan had to cover his eyes. Sanso put out the torch, laying it carefully alongside him so they could use it again.

Now that they were out in the open, Sanso really let the horses run. Eachan got to his knees, wanting to enjoy his first cart ride in over twenty years. How he’d missed this!

“What are we to do about Ridgewood City?” Sanso asked as the first houses came into view.

“Just go through as fast as you can. We’ll take them by surprise.”

Sanso nodded and flicked the whip in the air above the horses.

They began going so fast, Eachan nearly vomited. He sat against the cart, closing his eyes and breathing deeply to combat the nausea.

Someone yelled at Sanso to stop. Eachan turned, wanting—no, needing—to see what happened.

Sanso flipped his whip at the man as they passed and the man jumped back, shouting at the intruders.

People poked their heads out of their doors in curiosity, but none of them were able to do anything to stop the cart. The horses were simply too fast.

Once Ridgewood faded in the distance, Sanso slowed the animals until they were walking. Then he stopped them completely and jumped down, stretching his legs and arms.

“We shouldn’t stay here,” Eachan said. “If Lirone comes, we’ll be killed for sure.”

Sanso snorted. “Lirone won’t be a problem.”

Eachan frowned, cocking his head. “And why not?”

“He’s no longer guarding the way. King Dmitri and his creatures—I forget what they’re called—rid the land of the sky god.”

Eachan only stared at Sanso, his mouth hanging open. He realized he probably looked stupid but didn’t care.

Sanso laughed. “Why do you look at me like that?”

“It’s impossible to get rid of Lirone. How did they do it?”

“I wasn’t here when it actually happened—I was attempting to die in your town hall when they did it. But when they first tried, those creatures stared at the sun, then directed their glowing gazes at the sky god.”

Eachan had never heard of such a thing, and it took him a moment to realize Sanso must be referring to the Shiengols. He didn’t say anything more about it, and soon, Sanso decided the horses had rested enough. Then they were on their way again.

Eachan watched the buildings of Macaria grow larger and larger as he and the Ember God got closer to the city. He clutched the empty pill bottle in his hand—he’d put the rest of the pills on the counter in his town hall. This bottle was the only spill-proof container he had.

That was a necessary part of the plan.

Aloren would need to be thanked again for bringing the medication to Eachan. Their container was turning out to be really quite handy. Also, if it weren’t for the medication, Eachan wouldn’t have even been able to accompany Sanso on this quest.

Eachan directed Sanso to the castle. They tethered the horses and left the cart. No one would disturb it, since apparently, the city was empty.

It took a moment for Eachan to remember which doors led to the tunnels, but as soon as he’d found one, he had Sanso light the torch. They descended the stairs.

They had to walk the tunnel for several minutes before arriving at the first puddle.

“Where is the bottle? I’ll gather the water.”

Eachan shook his head. “We have to test it first.”

“How?”

Eachan smiled, pulling a burlap sack with rats in it from his robes. “Take one out and put the water on it. If an Eetu fish arrives and destroys it, we’ll know the water is inhabited.”

Sanso took the bag. He opened it and grinned. He grabbed one of the rats by the tail and held it up.

“Here, use this,” Eachan said, handing the Ember God a spoon.

Sanso scooped some water from the puddle and was about to pour some on the rat when Eachan stopped him.

“Stand back. If any of the water splashes on you, you will also be in danger.”

Sanso nodded. He held the rat out, then carefully poured water on the creature before setting it down.

Then he and Eachan backed up and waited.

Nothing happened. The rat disappeared down the tunnel.

“Let’s continue to the next patch.”

Pretty soon, the two men found another puddle, this one much larger than the first.

“This looks promising,” Sanso said.

“Yes, it does.”

They repeated the process—Sanso pulling a rat out of the bag, then carefully pouring water on it.

He set the rat down.

No sooner had the rat received its freedom than an Eetu fish, one of the largest Eachan had ever seen, erupted from the water and swallowed the rat whole.

Sanso jumped backward.

The Eetu turned and stared at him. It took a step forward, and Sanso’s hands and feet started to glow.

Eachan put a hand on the Ember God’s shoulder. “Let it be,” he whispered. “They feed at night, not during the day. And your fire won’t protect you from the creature.”

“But it just ate the rat!”

“Because the water touched it. If you don’t touch the water, it won’t eat you.”

Sanso was trembling. He’d never seen one of the fish before, so Eachan understood his fear.

“Relax, Sanso, relax.”

Sanso shook his head. Fire trickled up his arm, and Eachan had to pull back to keep from being burned.

“It’s going to attack. It’s going to attack.”

“No, it’s not. We’ll be fine.”

The Eetu took a step closer.

“How can you know?” Sanso asked, his voice cracking. Flames were bursting from his feet now.

“Because I know Eetu fish. Stop your fire—it won’t harm the fish.”

Sanso didn’t extinguish his flames, but he did lower his hands. “Why not?”

The Eetu came closer and sniffed Sanso. Eachan was surprised the Ember God didn’t lash out.

If he could just get Sanso to calm down, the fish would forget them. “Eetu fish are magical. Almost nothing can harm them. Sanso, if you don’t relax, you’ll put us in
actual
danger. The fish is just curious right now. We’re not a threat. But as soon as it notices you’re challenging it, he’ll attack.”

Sanso trembled, clenching and unclenching his hands. Finally, he loosened his stance, stopped staring at the fish, and looked at the ground.

“That’s it,” Eachan said.

The fish stepped past Sanso and crawled around Eachan, sniffing him as well. This really was the biggest Eetu fish he’d ever seen. It was well over twelve feet in length, and when standing on all four fins, it was almost five feet tall. Incredible.

Eachan kept his eyes lowered, but he couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. Surely
this
fish could kill a Lorkon!

Without warning, the Eetu snarled and lunged past the men, jumping back into the water.

A huge gush of wind exited Sanso’s lungs and he fell to the cave floor, head in his hands. “I thought we were dead,” he murmured. “I thought we were dead.”

Eachan leaned against the tunnel wall. “It was close there. But you were fantastic.” He felt like he was talking to a little boy.

Sanso also leaned against the wall, though he stayed in sitting position. “Tell me more about these creatures.”

“They’re natives of this lake. They live in the bottom where no one has ever gone. At nighttime, they rise to the surface to feed. If we’d come down in the evening, we surely would’ve been killed.”

Sanso nodded and rubbed his face. He didn’t say anything, though, so Eachan continued.

“They destroy whatever their water touches, but it has to be within twenty-four hours, else they lose the scent.”

“So we’re putting the water on one of the Lorkon?”

“That’s the plan. You saw how huge that thing was. In a fight against one of them, a Lorkon wouldn’t have a hope.”

Sanso nodded. “I want out of this tunnel. What do we do now?”

“Here,” Eachan said, handing Sanso the spoon. He dug out the bottle. “We’ll fill the bottle halfway. We don’t want to have to get more water if we spill any.”

Sanso jerked around, looking at Eachan. “If we spill any? I thought your container would prevent that.”

Eachan held up his hands. “It will, but we must be very careful, even with the bottle.” He opened it and set it down. “If you spill on the ground, we should be okay. Just don’t spill it on the outside of the container itself.”