The Makalos led Jacob back down the trail and stopped at the edge of the meadow, near the first canyon wall Jacob had seen. He looked up at the split in the rock and watched as someone lowered the rope ladder.
“You first,” Kenji said.
Jacob raised his eyebrow, studying the ladder, then shrugged and began climbing. He stopped just as his head made it over the ledge of the fissure. His eyes widened. The split in the rock was a massive natural cavity, hollowed out of the side of the canyon wall. It was filled with little stone buildings cut into the rock—many brightly colored.
A large group of Makalos stood in front of him, waiting. Their average height looked to be around four feet, and their heads and bodies were proportioned like a regular adult human. Most had blue eyes, though there were some whose eyes were green, but none with Ebony’s dark hue. They watched him closely. Several nervously whispered to each other, while others smiled at him confidently. Everyone looked excited.
A few of the men approached Jacob, who let them help him over the ledge. Framed by small stone buildings, the area looked like a sort of gathering place and market area for the people.
As Jacob came closer, he was surprised by what appeared to be a wide age gap in the group. Most looked older, with graying hair and wrinkles, while the rest looked as though they were Akeno’s age or younger. There weren’t any in between.
The group of Makalos parted, allowing Kenji, Ebony, and Jacob to pass through the crowd. Kenji smiled at many, while several of the women approached Ebony and whispered to her. She smiled, nodding in reply.
Jacob did a double take when he noticed that all of them had something in common—their left ring fingers glowed blue. How had he missed that earlier, when Ebony and Kenji were working on his legs? He’d probably been too confused and in too much pain.
After passing through the crowd, they walked along a well-worn path—skipping around holes in the ground, skirting houses, and running parallel to the ledge and back wall of the cavity.
Jacob stayed behind Kenji and Ebony, letting his eyes wander as he took in the surrounding scenery. Above them were dark spots where the Makalos’ fires had left smoke marks, and Jacob realized how similar this village was to Mesa Verde, the deserted Indian village in Colorado. There were only a few differences—painted buildings, rather than stone-colored, and people still lived here.
Jacob was amazed at the craftsmanship of the buildings. Drapes hung at windows made of what looked like real glass. He spotted a few Makalos watching him, but they quickly looked away. Children ran all over the place, climbing ladders and jumping across the closely-built roofs.
They walked for about five minutes before reaching a small red-and-blue sandstone house. Kenji strode to the door and opened it, waving the others to enter ahead of him.
The front room was dark at first, the only light coming from under one of the doors at the back. Kenji touched his left ring finger to the wall, and a strip of silver lit up in the rock. The light raced upward, where it was soon one of many streaks that crisscrossed the ceiling, illuminating the entire room.
“Wow,” Jacob said. “That was awesome.”
Kenji grinned broadly, and Ebony smiled. “Yes, it’s how we light our buildings here.”
The room was clean—stone floors with a few grass-type rugs here and there—but it smelled musty and old, like the home of the elderly lady who lived next door to Jacob’s family. He wrinkled his nose.
The door in the back opened, and another Makalo entered the room. Jacob figured it must be Brojan. He looked much older than the others, with a very wrinkly face and long, gray, curly hair. He was a little overweight, but stood tall—though still shorter than Jacob. He approached, hand extended.
“Jacob, my name is Patriarch Brojan, and on behalf of the Makalos, I welcome you to both Eklaron and Taga Village.”
Jacob shook the older man’s hand, then followed as Brojan motioned the group to join him in the other room. The patriarch sat at the head of a large, rectangular table surrounded by chairs. Everyone took a seat.
He leaned forward. “I’m going to get right to the point. Two weeks ago, an object was stolen from our village. It’s a magical key that was made hundreds of years ago, along with one other, which has also been lost. This key was created to save a princess from an evil king.”
“What does it do? Open a treasure box or something?” Jacob asked.
“Yes—every treasure box ever made, and more,” Ebony said. “It’s a powerful instrument. When placed into any lock and turned to the right, it opens the door—or box—regardless of the spells or locking bolts used. When turned to the left, one can go through any door, anywhere, regardless of one’s current location.”
Kenji nodded. “Because the Key is magic, an evil race called the Lorkon sought after it. They started a war about fifteen years ago that almost destroyed the entire Makalo civilization. That was not an easy feat—Makalos used to rule over the lands and people in our world. Millions died. We are all that remain.” He paused and stared off into the distance. “It was horrendous. So much bloodshed and destruction.”
The room was silent for a moment. Jacob couldn’t imagine a war like that. He’d seen things in movies before, or heard stories in his history classes, but still, it was difficult to process. And it was obvious these Makalos had lost many loved ones—the pain was written across their faces. Fifteen years wasn’t enough time to lessen their suffering.
Kenji met eyes with his wife. “Many of our loved ones were murdered. Slaughtered.”
“We hid here, in Taga, to protect the Key of Kilenya from the Lorkon,” Brojan said, leaning back in his chair. “But they were able to break through our safeguards and steal it. Our alarms didn’t even sound.”
Akeno entered the room, top hat in one hand and a book in the other. “We deposited the Rog on the far side of the corn fields.” He handed the book to Brojan. “What did I miss?”
“Not much—have a seat,” Brojan said.
Akeno sat next to Jacob and smiled at him.
“The fact that the Key opens any door anywhere isn’t the only reason it can be dangerous, though,” Kenji said. “It creates links between worlds.”
Jacob frowned. “Are you telling me whoever has the Key could use it to get to Earth?”
“Yes.”
“But why is that bad?”
“Because the Key is in the possession of the Lorkon,” Kenji said. “And they seek power. Your world is far more advanced than ours, and they want knowledge and technology. They won’t ask for it—they’ll take it, and make sure your people don’t get in the way.”
Jacob smiled. He knew too many people obsessed with their game stations to let that happen. “How?”
“Violence. Murder. Destruction of everything.”
“Is that possible? We have a pretty good military in my country.”
Kenji leaned forward. “There aren’t many Lorkon, and yet, in a matter of weeks, they were able to annihilate nearly the entire Makalo civilization. Millions died in the first week. So, yes, they could do it.”
“If the Key is in their possession, shouldn’t they have already come and gone from Earth?”
Kenji shook his head. “We put protective measures on it a few years ago, and they must be holding up, but we don’t know how much time we have before the Lorkon figure out how to get through the spells.”
“What does all this have to do with me?”
“We need you to get the Key for us.”
Jacob paused. “Wait, what? You can’t . . . there’s no way. I . . . I can’t do that.”
A sympathetic expression crossed Ebony’s face, and she and Kenji exchanged a glance.
“We’re unable to get it, Jacob,” Kenji said, rubbing his shoulder. “How many youth have you noticed here? The war killed them all off. We who remain aren’t in any position to go on a trip like this. We’re old—slow. We need someone fast and powerful.”
Jacob shook his head. “Powerful?
You must be confusing me with someone else—Matt or someone. Matt’s captain of the football team and he’s only sixteen. He can date any girl he wants. He’s strong. And he figures things out faster than anyone I know.”
Ebony leaned forward. “Jacob, you are not yet aware of your abilities. Magic resides within you, waiting to be unlocked. We want to help you find it—we want to know what skills you have.”
Was what Ebony said possible? Did Jacob have Magic? He frowned, trying to remember if anything special had ever happened to him. Nothing came to mind. “But . . .” Jacob paused, then squinted his eyes when something occurred to him. “Why do I feel like I’m being used?”
“You are.” Brojan shrugged, then spoke over the resulting noise of disagreement. “But only with the best of intentions. Jacob, you’re a celebrity here. We’ve known of you since your birth, and have watched you closely.”
“You have? That’s really creepy. Why? And how?”
“We have ways,” Brojan said. “Besides, you’re the only one who can get the Key, since we haven’t been able to leave this part of Eklaron for years—we can’t get more than several feet past the entrance.”
“Oh? How come?”
“As you’ll see, when the Lorkon came, they tore through the barrier. But they did something to the forest on the other side of the entrance—weird things happened to us the instant we stepped through the tunnel. Our minds were rendered useless, basically. Self-doubt and fearful memories from the past started surfacing. We think it’s because of our age, as it didn’t happen to the younger Makalos.”
Kenji leaned forward. “Our people believe in you—they feel hope when they see you. Didn’t you notice how excited they were?”
Brojan didn’t wait for Jacob’s response. “And don’t think we haven’t tried other ways to get the Key—we have. We tried to contact old alliances, but to no avail. Aldo, for example. He stayed back in Gevkan to guard the entrance to Taga. But none of the Minyas we sent could make contact with him, so he’s either sick, dead, or has been kidnapped. And we don’t want to send more Minyas because the last time we did, one of them perished. Anything could be out there.”
“And . . . if I agree? How am I not going to die?” Knowing Jacob’s luck, he would. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe they were asking him to do something so dangerous. “This sounds like a plan for failure.”
“Don’t underestimate your abilities,” Ebony said. “You are more powerful than you know.”
Jacob slumped in his chair. Their confidence in him was overwhelming. What would they do if he couldn’t get the Key? “How long would it take?”
“Not long—maybe four or five days,” Kenji said.
“I still can’t imagine that you guys wouldn’t be able to do it on your own. I’ve seen what you can do. Akeno knocks out Rogs, Kenji makes things bigger, and Ebony heals with sap.”
“But if we can’t even get past the forest?” Kenji asked. “There isn’t another way to travel—not without the Key.”
Jacob rubbed his eyes. What a nightmare this was becoming. “What about my family? How would I explain all this to them?”
“We had a couple of Minyas give Matt instructions to let your parents know where you are as soon as they call in to check on you. And he’s pretty capable with your sister, isn’t he?”
“Yes . . .”
“And school doesn’t start for another two weeks—this is the best time for you to go, isn’t it?”
“I guess. But this could mean the end of my NBA career—you know that, right?”
Kenji sighed. “We understand you’re making sacrifices. We know this won’t be easy for you.”
“Yeah, it . . . it won’t be.” Jacob pushed his chair away from the table. “I need to . . . I need to think things over.”
“We’ll be here when you return.”
Jacob left Brojan’s house and turned left, skipping the path altogether. He went around the houses until he reached the ledge, then leaned against a stone wall and looked down at the meadow and the big tree with the door.
A gentle breeze swept his hair off his forehead, and a faint smell of spice lingered in the air, mingled with the mountain freshness. The sun was about to set and Jacob closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth on his face.
He was so confused—there were too many new things to think about, too many new ideas. What if he really did have magical abilities? Impossible. He wasn’t Harry Potter.
He ran his hand through his hair, then smiled, momentarily distracted. Matt was always getting on his case about playing with his hair. “Chicks don’t dig guys with hair that stands up on end. They prefer perfectly messy hair—gelled, you know—like mine.” It seemed like forever since Jacob had last seen his brother, and he wondered how Matt and Amberly were doing back home.
There was no way he could get the Key—regardless of what the Makalos thought or said. They would quickly discover how badly they’d misplaced their trust, how he didn’t have any magical abilities. The only power he had was in basketball. He’d been playing for as long as he could remember—since he’d learned to walk. And he didn’t want to miss the opportunities that had come his way because of years of dedication and practice.
He left the ledge, heading toward the rope ladder and the path back home. The Makalos would have to find another way to get the Key.
Chapter 4. Maple Syrup
Our journey has finally begun, after a week of preparation. It was with much trepidation that I bade farewell to King Roylance and Queen Ara Liese. Neither of them is in good health, and with the stress of their daughter’s kidnapping, is it any wonder?
I’ve been trying to get in contact with the Makalo Patriarch. It would be wise to have his opinion on the situation. I hope he will help us.