The Golden Symbol (34 page)

“Isan?” Keitus rose to his full height. “Where is he?”

“In the forest.” The man hesitated. “Would you have us attack now?”

“Yes!” Keitus grabbed his sword. “It is time I taught my son how to be a man.”

The soldier hesitated again. “We’re drastically outnumbered.”

Keitus frowned. “How is that possible? My army has ten men for every one of theirs!”

An injured man sitting at the table looked up. “Not anymore. Those . . . earthly attacks . . . lightning, trees . . . the men were frightened. And then watching a—a Lorkon die. Then the Shiengols . . .”

He stopped talking as Keitus raised his hand as if to strike him. The man looked down. “My lord, we attack when you ask it.”

Keitus hesitated. Then a grin crossed his face. “I’ve a plan.” He pointed to a dark-haired man behind him. “Chul, bring the liquid and powder. I’ll share my idea as soon as this room is protected.” The Lorkon turned back to the table, hands on the wood, staring at the map of America.

Jacob nearly pulled back from his vision, realizing he was about to be forced out anyway. But he didn’t when he noticed Chul glancing at another man, who held a bag of what Jacob assumed was the powder.

Chul frowned, shaking his head when the other whispered. He didn’t understand.

The man turned the bag upside down and mouthed the word “empty.”

Chul bit his lips, an expression of panic crossing his face. He frantically motioned to the other to put dirt in the bag. The other man nodded, then dropped to his knees, out of sight behind the refrigerator. Chul handed him a flower pot and he dug through it, pulling out the dirt.

Chul turned and picked up a vase of liquid and kept his eyes on the Lorkon king’s back.

Keitus turned. “What is taking so long?”

“I . . . I . . .” Chul started. “We don’t have a bowl.”

Keitus grabbed the nearest chair and smashed it into the wall, destroying one of Aloren’s pink shelves. “
I
have the bowl!” He pulled it out of his pocket and thrust it on the table. “Give me the ingredients!”

Chul handed over the vase and the other man scrambled to his feet, handing Keitus the now-bulging bag.

Keitus splashed some liquid into the bowl, then added a handful of dirt. Jacob was surprised the Lorkon didn’t notice the difference—
Jacob
could see it. This stuff was dark. The other powder had been gray. But Keitus went ahead and mixed it all together, then whispered the incantation.

Jacob smiled, knowing the potion wouldn’t work this time.

Keitus pulled a huge brush out of his robes and painted the walls. Because of the size of the brush, it didn’t take long, and as soon as the liquid dried, he turned to his men. “Call off the fight. We regroup at the manor and attack in the morning.” He grinned. “And I’m now accepting Lorkon-transformation requests.”

Several of the men stepped forward eagerly.

“Excellent.”

A dark expression crossed Keitus’s face, and he slammed the table with his fist. “I
shall
have my victory.”

He took a deep breath and wiped off his hands. “We leave at once. I have all the necessary ingredients at the manor.”

Chapter Twenty-one: Eachan

Eachan spent most of the day wandering the streets of Maivoryl City. He gazed into empty stores, shops, and homes, thinking about the previous owners and inhabitants.

He patted his pocket, and the last few medicine pills from Aloren jostled against each other. He’d need more, and soon. His joints wouldn’t be happy about his day’s activities as it was. But no sense thinking thoughts like that at a time like this. He was a free man!

And yet, he stayed in the city that had held him captive for so many years.

The streets were empty, so empty. He looked up at the sky, remembering the time when the bright sun shone on one of the most beautiful places on Eklaron.

It was useless to think about that right now, though. And it was time to head back to the town hall and focus on dinner.

Eachan snapped his fingers, and Sanso’s Dust rushed from a pile of junk on a nearby porch. The creature bounced alongside Eachan, babbling in the weird way that Dusts did. Eachan tried to follow for a while, then suddenly noticed something. He grabbed the Dust’s face.

“Look at me,” he said.

The Dust glanced up, and Eachan gasped. The creature’s eyes were blue!
Blue
. Eachan shook his head, releasing the creature. Was it possible? Just that morning, Sanso had placed the Dust’s care into Eachan’s hands—had given the creature to him. And if the Dust’s eyes had changed blue in the hours since . . . that meant Eachan really, truly
had
experienced a change of heart.

He swallowed a sob. Was it possible? Could he be forgiven for what he’d done to his friends and neighbors? For turning on them and reporting their activities to the Lorkon? For . . . for getting them killed?

So many years of selfishness. His actions had inadvertently caused the death of his beloved Duana. Would he be able to move ahead with his life? Was his future bright again? He gasped as a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a while crossed his heart, making it swell.

Hope.

Just the word made his step lighter, and he couldn’t help grinning as he followed the Dust toward the town hall.

His mind was full of possibilities. Of ways to prove his newfound loyalty. Ways to serve his king, when he returned.

The king would need help cleaning up the city, preparing for the coronation. Yes, the city would return to its former glory.

He’d do his best to make sure it happened. King Dmitri would win. He had to—Eachan’s future depended on it. And he was determined to work for the king, even if he ended up being the lowliest shoeshine in the castle.

Eachan rubbed his hands together, wondering if King Dmitri knew that if—no,
when
—Keitus died, Dmitri would rule over not only Gevkan, but Troosinal too.

Probably not, and it meant that Eachan had a lot of work to do.

Time for a visit to the neighboring city.

Chapter Twenty-two: Keitus and the Manor

Jacob watched as Keitus and his men stormed from the tree, heading for the manor. And worse—apparently, the Lorkon had already been there. How did Jacob miss that? And were Mom and Amberly still alive?

Knowing they didn’t have time, Jacob quickly directed his visions to the manor. But a cursory glance showed the place to be empty. Either Keitus had killed them, or they’d somehow escaped.

Jacob pulled from his vision and, trying to control the shaking of his hands and the panic in his heart, spun, looking for Dad.

He was helping Myler to his feet.

“Keitus is heading for the manor!” Jacob shouted, dashing to Dad’s side. “And he was there this morning—he left some Lorkon potion there—and I couldn’t see Mom and Amberly anywhere!”

Dad stumbled in shock. “Arien.” He turned to Jacob. “Key me there now.”

But Myler grabbed Dad’s arm. “You can’t go—not without soldiers to help. Not without a plan.”

Jacob hated to say it. “He’s right, Dad.”

Dad gritted his teeth, then nodded. “Let’s gather as many able-bodied people as possible. It will only take Keitus fifteen minutes to reach the manor.”

“And I need another syringe,” Jacob said.

“Go—get one.”

Jacob turned to run home to the nearest door, but Dad stopped him. “Open a link to the manor so I can send people there immediately.” He glared. “We rid the land of Keitus
now
.”

Jacob dashed off through the forest, jumping over bodies and logs and racing around trees.

Right when he got within hearing distance, he started shouting. “Help! We need men! Gather on the back porch—wait for King Dmitri’s order. Spread the word—he’ll be here soon.”

Ebony and Kenji were the only ones Jacob saw who heard, but they scurried to follow orders. He opened a link to the manor, then ran around to the front of the house and Keyed himself to the Fat Lady’s cabin.

“I need more antidote!” he shouted.

The Fat Lady jumped, nearly falling off the couch where she’d been sleeping. “What’s going on?”

“All the Lorkon are dead but Keitus. And he’s heading to the manor, where Amberly and Mom are!” Jacob couldn’t bring himself to mention that they might not even be alive anymore. He shoved that thought aside, grabbed the last two syringes from the coffee table, and pocketed them.

“Well, I’m coming!” Aldo said. “I can’t be trapped here anymore.”

The Fat Lady scowled. “Trapped? That’s hardly what I’d call it—”

Jacob didn’t wait to hear what else they had to say. He ran back to the door and Keyed himself to Azuriah’s fortress.

“Hello? Azuriah? Pambri?”

“Back here, Jacob,” Pambri said.

Jacob dashed down the hall, following her voice to Azuriah’s library. He skidded to a stop in the doorway, though, when he saw the room. It was full of Shiengols. And all of them looked like they were about to die.

“What’s . . . what’s wrong?”

Azuriah, Pambri, and Britt looked horrendous. Their skin was pale—gray, even. Their lips were blue. And their eyes—they were so dim, Jacob could actually
see
the translucent color.

Azuriah didn’t look when Jacob stepped into the room. “You’re using our powers.” He motioned to his children, who were sprawled across the floor. “And they’re wounded from fighting.”

Pambri looked up. She was crouched next to one of the male Shiengols, a cloth in her hand, dabbing at a wound in his arm. She nearly toppled over—probably dizzy from glancing at Jacob.

“Well, I’m done with your powers now.” Jacob strode forward, grabbing a table-cloth-like thing rumpled on a shelf near Pambri.

He knelt next to Britt first—she was the most lethargic-looking—and started rubbing the symbol off her skin. “Could this possibly kill you?”

Azuriah waved him off. “Only maim.”

Jacob first thanked the Shiengols for what they’d done. None of them responded. Then he explained what was going on with Keitus. By the time he’d completed his explanation, he’d barely finished Azuriah and still had Pambri to go.

But Azuriah shoved him away. “What are you doing here? Your father needs your help!”

“He needs
yours
too.”

Jacob watched as the color flooded back into the Shiengol’s face. “Leave Pambri—you must continue borrowing her powers.”

Azuriah didn’t wait to hear what Pambri had to say about that, but strode to the door, the light in his eyes returning as he walked. “Key me to the manor now.”

Jacob did so, expecting that they’d arrive at the front door, but instead, the Key took them to one of the upstairs rooms. He immediately saw why when he reached the staircase—the front door was still open, and Dad was just walking through it. Dad looked up and saw Azuriah and Jacob.

Relief made his shoulders slump for a moment. But he straightened them right away, ever the regal leader. “Good, Azuriah. We could definitely use you. How are your children?”

“Injured. Pambri and Britt are caring for them.”

Dad turned to the others who’d followed him through the front door—Coren, Kenji, Ebony, Jaegar, and two Makalos Jacob didn’t recognize. He counted as he watched. Only one human who could fight. And the rest were Makalos.

“Keitus is on his—”

“I already know what’s happening,” Azuriah said, sweeping down the stairs.

“Then you know we should be able to catch him by surprise.” Dad rubbed his face. “But with so few warriors?”

“Where is your pure-blood Makalo?” Azuriah glared at Dad, arms folded.

“Unconscious. He’s completely worn out from his activities earlier.”

Azuriah turned to the other Makalos. “How many of you control plants?”

Kenji looked at the others around him. “All of us, to an extent.”

The Shiengol scowled. “‘To an extent’? What do you mean, ‘to an extent’?” He shook his head. “Never mind. Together, you will use your ability to stop and hold the Lorkon. Do everything you can to prevent him from entering this manor. The blacksmith and I will fight those who accompany Keitus.” His eyes went out of focus for a brief second, his face going slack. Jacob recognized it immediately—Azuriah was Time-Seeing—then he looked back at the group. “The Lorkon will be here in a few minutes. Come.”

The moment the others left, Dad sagged against the wall, holding his ribs. “Jacob, I can’t fight anymore.”

Jacob bit his lips. “It’s okay. You don’t need to.” He patted his pocket where he’d put the syringes. “Azuriah can take charge for now. You need to find Mom, and I’m going to wait until I can give Keitus the antidote.”

Dad nodded. “You’ve already searched the manor?”

“Just briefly—not enough to see anything in detail. Mom and Amberly could be in any of the rooms, hiding.”

Jacob turned, closed the door until it was open just a crack, and peeked out. The forest was quiet—nothing thrashed, no Makalos visible. He imagined—hoped—that Kenji was making it impossible for Keitus to suspect anything.

Jacob Time-Saw. Keitus was leading his men through the forest. Of course, the trees didn’t attack
them
. They’d just reached the clearing when suddenly, a branch whipped through the air and wrapped around Keitus, sucking him back against the trunk of a tree.

Keitus shrieked and his men hesitated, obviously not sure what to do.

Azuriah and Coren leaped into view, sword and pole out, taking the soldiers by surprise. Azuriah’s robes flapped behind him as he and Coren quickly knocked all of Keitus’s men down. Azuriah made it look easy, and Coren was nearly as fast.

As soon as the men were incapacitated, Azuriah looked up, making eye contact with Jacob.

Jacob jumped, pulling back, his vision returning to his surroundings. Azuriah had known he’d been watching! No one had ever looked at him while he was Time-Seeing before. Weird. He wiped his hands on his pants repeatedly, trying to get the creepy feeling to go away. It was like touching a huge spider.

Then he realized the Shiengol probably wanted to convey a message. He Time-Saw again. Azuriah’s arms were folded and he glared at Jacob.