The Golden Symbol (20 page)

The Ember God laughed. “Yeah, that went well.” He stepped forward a couple feet. “Okay, I’m bringing her out. If she gets injured, we don’t get the blood. She’ll spill it on the ground.”

Sanso turned and beckoned, and the Fire Pulser stepped out from behind a rock. She had the same eyes as Lasia—one red and one black. Ugly veins popped out all over her face, but she also had a gentleness around her that Lasia definitely didn’t possess. Jacob wondered what made the difference.

His question was answered as she started talking and Sanso translated.

“First, she wants you to understand a portion of their history. The Fire Pulsers used to be a huge, majestic nation when the Lorkon came into power on Eklaron. But the Lorkon stole their queen and attacked periodically, possibly to keep the Fire Pulsers under control.” He looked at the ground. “They performed unspeakable tests. The Lorkon couldn’t control the Fire Pulsers as well as they could humans, and they wanted slaves who would be able to withstand heat and fire. So they created Ember Gods.”

He glowered and stopped talking. The Fire Pulser also paused and put her hand on his arm. Jacob raised his eyebrows. The expression on her face indicated tenderness, and the emotions in the air around her showed she cared for Sanso.

“Whoa, Sanso,” Jacob said.

The Ember God looked back. “What?”

“She likes you!”

“Of course she does. She’s my niece.”

Jacob’s jaw dropped. “Wow. Really?”

Sanso nodded. “And they’ve invited me to live with them.” He opened and closed his mouth several times, the colors for strong emotions swirling in the air around him—sorrow, embarrassment, gratitude, regret, shame, pride, and a tinge of excitement.

Sanso took a deep breath. “That’s why I was gone so long. It wasn’t what I’d expected.”

Gallus still had his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Well, you’re free to do whatever you want, within reason, when we’ve finished here.”

Sanso nodded again. “I think I
will
return, after Jacob and his father complete their end of the bargain.” He looked at Jacob. “You haven’t forgotten, right?”

“No, of course not.”

“What did your father agree to?” Gallus asked.

“Sanso wants to kill one of the Lorkon after we cure them.”

Gallus turned back to the Ember God. “And you’ll be sure to destroy him? Not allow him to become a Lorkon again?”

Sanso scoffed, offended. “Of course.”

“Do you have the blood?” Gallus asked.

“No, I don’t—she does. And I forgot. I was supposed to finish telling you why they were so eager to give it to Jacob.” He turned to the Fire Pulser, said something in her language, then faced the others again. “A couple months ago, the Lorkon returned and slaughtered all of Lasia’s relatives.”

Gallus’s hand dropped from his sword. “You’re serious?”

Sanso nodded, his face sober. “They wanted to make sure King Dmitri never found royal blood. As soon as the Fire Pulsers realized what was going on, they hid the youngest member of the royal family, a two-year-old girl, from the Lorkon. She was the one who donated.”

Jacob cringed, thinking about getting blood from a little kid. He was glad he didn’t have to witness it—and he was now glad his vision had stopped him from Seeing. The poor girl. Her entire family murdered, and then to have someone prick her with a needle when she had probably never even seen one before. A two-year-old wouldn’t understand the reasons why it needed to happen.

Thinking about being unable to see to the Fire Pulsers’ city reminded Jacob that he’d wanted to ask Sanso about that.

“Why couldn’t I Time-See there?”

Sanso shrugged. “Not sure, but it doesn’t surprise me you couldn’t. They had all sorts of charms and protections all over the place. They’re completely paranoid, and with good reason. The Lorkon have terrorized them for years.” He looked back at the female Fire Pulser, then turned to Jacob. “They want the Lorkon dead. All of them.”

Jacob didn’t blame them, and he could tell Gallus felt the same way.

“Tell her we’ll do our best,” Jacob said.

Sanso translated and the Fire Pulser nodded. She pulled a little black jar from her satchel and handed it to Jacob, inclining her head. Jacob took it and thanked her, with Sanso translating.

Then she indicated she was ready to go. From her emotion colors, Jacob could tell she was relieved, almost like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Sanso made Jacob promise they wouldn’t leave without him and escorted the Fire Pulser away. The Ember God returned much more quickly this time, and all of the fire-world humans gathered to say good-bye. They were surprised that the Fire Pulsers had let Sanso go free, and when Sanso tried to explain to them that maybe they needed to stop attacking the Fire Pulsers, they all shook their heads, waving their hands emphatically. Some growled to show they were serious.

Jacob felt bad for them. They were not fighting the correct enemy, and they obviously didn’t realize it. But even if they did know that the Lorkon had started all of this, they would’ve been powerless to do anything.

Which made Jacob feel even more strongly that he and his friends
had
to be successful. Too many people, too many creatures and races relied on the outcome of the impending war.

Chapter Fourteen: The Golden Symbol

Since there were no doors underground and Jacob’s group couldn’t go to the surface of the world, they were forced to return the way they’d come.

They bid the people farewell and Jacob put the precious little jar of blood inside Early’s container, where it fit snugly. He put on his backpack, making sure he knew exactly what was touching it at all times. He couldn’t afford to lose it now.

As they trekked through the cavern riddled with manmade holes, Jacob couldn’t help but grin. They had the final ingredient in the Lorkon antidote! They’d be able to do it. He refused to believe otherwise.

Five days left—five—and they’d just barely accomplished their goal. His smile subsided when he wondered if it would take more than five days for the antidote to be ready. He hoped not.

***

When they returned to Mendon, it was apparent that Akeno had been very busy. He’d helped the other Makalos construct traps—trip lines, holes in the ground covered by plants, and all sorts of things Jacob was glad he didn’t have to go up against.

He and the others received word from Dad that they hadn’t actually needed to attack Fornchall. All of the guards and army members had left to protect the Maivoryl City Kaith tree link, and after a brief struggle with those who were more loyal to the Lorkon, Dad was able to convince thousands of people to return with him to Taga Village and Mendon.

They arrived shortly after Jacob and his group returned. Mr. Coolidge and Hayla had their hands full organizing and outfitting the people, along with finding somewhere for them all to sleep.

Azuriah had also returned for a while. Everyone was disappointed to learn that he hadn’t been able to convince the other Shiengols to fight. Only Pambri and Britt, members of Azuriah’s own family, were willing to help. Britt was one of his children—the rest had gone to stay with the other Shiengols. And it was very obvious that Azuriah was furious about all of it.

After Azuriah finished reporting and it looked like the meeting was coming to a close, Jacob couldn’t help but ask Azuriah a question. “Why aren’t Shiengols welcome on the Fire Pulser world?”

Azuriah looked past Jacob, pretending not to hear.

Jacob rolled his eyes. “I know you heard me. I want to know what happened.”

Azuriah finally stared at Jacob. “You don’t need to know, and I’m not going to tell.” He then turned the time back over to Dad and returned to his seat.

Dad looked tired—he had dark circles under his eyes, and Jacob wondered how much sleep he’d been getting. “You may have noticed that Aldo and the Fat Lady aren’t here,” he said. “They believe they’ll have the antidote ready in a few days. They’re being extremely cautious, as you can imagine. We can’t afford to have to get all of the ingredients again if something goes wrong.”

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing everything that needed to happen in the next five days before the Lorkon came. Akeno would finish working with the forest, creating traps and showing the other Makalos how to use them. Dad would train and organize the new reinforcements, with the help of everyone who knew how to fight and organize. Jacob would run errands. Mom and several other people, including Bezza, Trunt, and his fiancée, would be cooking and preparing foods for the others.

Pretty much everyone had an assignment, and even with all the work that would be getting done, Jacob didn’t know how it was possible for them to be ready for the Lorkon.

“But we don’t even know if they’re going to attack as soon as they return,” Matt said to Dad and Jacob privately later. “I mean, they’ve been walking a lot. They’re gonna be exhausted.”

Dad nodded. “Yes, but we can’t assume anything. We need to be prepared, just in case.” He put his hand on Matt’s shoulder. “I’ve got to return to base camp. You boys do what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Dad left, and Jacob and Matt watched him head from the backyard into the forest.

“He doesn’t even know what our assignments are, does he?” Matt knitted his eyebrows. “He’s going to implode soon.”

Jacob didn’t answer, but he agreed. If Dad didn’t do something to relieve his stress, there’d be a lot of mess to clean up. He needed to keep things together, to organize and lead. Gallus would probably step up and take over, but would everyone follow him?

Matt left to help Coren and Kevin in the smithy. While waiting for someone to ask him to run an errand, Jacob Keyed to the Fat Lady’s cabin, wanting to see what was going on there.

“Hello? Aldo? Fat Lady?”

The Fat Lady jumped into view, her massive frame shaking. “No, no, Jacob. Don’t come in.” Her hair was plastered to the side of her face and her eyes were bloodshot. Not only that, but her hands were visibly shaking.

“How’s it going?”

“Great!” Aldo called from the other room. “But we need more time—no more interruptions.”

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Are you guys eating at all? Sleeping?”

“Here and there,” the old man said.

“Do you need more food?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m going to get some for you. I’ll be back.”

The Fat Lady only stared at him, obviously trying to compute what he’d just said. He shook his head, chuckling softly. Dad wasn’t the only one falling apart.

Jacob’s hands started sweating and his breath shortened as he thought about all the key people who were on the verge of collapse. Would they go insane if they didn’t succeed? In the case of Aldo and the Fat Lady, probably.

Jacob squared his shoulders and Keyed himself to Taga Village. He was ready and willing to do anything to hold his group of friends together.

He walked to the garden area where Mom was heading up the cooking at a huge fire pit, ordering at least twenty people around. They rushed to and fro, gathering up vegetables, chopping meat, stirring pots.

Mom glanced at Jacob and smiled, then turned to move a large bowl of carrots.

“Aldo and the Fat Lady need some food,” Jacob said.

She paused. “Oh, dear. I completely forgot to have you get them some this morning.” She wiped her hands on her apron, then patted her hair, looking around. “Why don’t you take these?” She reached over and grabbed two platters full of meat, cheese, and bread from one of the massive tables that surrounded her.

Jacob grabbed them and was about to leave when he decided to bring up his concerns with Mom.

“I’m worried about Dad, Aldo, and the Fat Lady,” he said.

Mom’s expression turned to panic. “What’s the matter? Are they okay?” She started untying her apron. “Take me to them—I’ll see what’s going on.”

Jacob shook his head. “No—and that’s the thing. Everyone’s so frazzled and stressed. If we don’t relax, we’ll have panic attacks
before
the Lorkon even come with their army.”

Mom paused and smiled. “I see what you mean. And I also see that I’m adding to the problem.” She took in a deep breath, obviously forcing herself to calm down. “I’ll talk to your dad later. Maybe I can point him in the right direction.” She put her arm around his shoulders. “We’ll be okay—I promise. I have faith in all of us.” She patted his cheek. “Now go. Take them the food.”

Jacob was halfway to the tree when Pambri, Azuriah’s wife, stopped him. “My husband would be furious if he knew I approached you about this, but I feel it’s very important. He told me you asked about the history between the Fire Pulser world and the Shiengols.”

“Yeah, I did.”

She nodded. “It’s actually something you should know and I tried to convince Azuriah to teach you, but he refused. Stubborn Shiengol.” She smiled to cover her annoyance, but Jacob caught it anyway. “As soon as you return from whatever you’re doing, come find me at the fortress. I’ll tell you the story.”

Jacob agreed, and they parted. Even though he was curious, he really hoped it wouldn’t end up wasting his time. But if Pambri felt it was so important for him to know this history, maybe it
was
important. And the fact that Azuriah was so very much against him knowing made it all the more appealing.

It didn’t take more than twenty minutes for Jacob to walk back to the tree, put the food on the floor in the Fat Lady’s cabin—she insisted he not step a foot inside—then return to the garden area. He approached the fortress cautiously, not sure if he should knock or sneak around back and go through the kitchen so Azuriah wouldn’t see him and get angry.

He didn’t need to do either—Pambri opened the door as he got closer. He could hear shouting inside and she quickly shut the door behind her, a grin on her face.

“We don’t hide things from each other. He still isn’t okay with me teaching you, but he doesn’t have a choice.”

Jacob used to wonder how Pambri could stand being married to a guy who was so angry and bossy all the time. He could see now that she held her own, and his respect for her tripled.