The Key of Kilenya by Andrea Pearson Page B

Gravity, resistance,
laws of physics—things like that.” Akeno motioned toward Jacob.
“September, Early, this is Jacob. He’s here to help us get the Key
back.”
    “Hi, Jacob,” Early said. She spoke to
September. “My, isn’t he a big Makalo.”
    September laughed, pounding his knee. “He’s
not a Makalo,” he said. “He’s a human!”
    “Oh, another one?” Early looked at Jacob,
tapping the side of her face with a finger. “Why’s he here?”
    “Don’t care. Come on!” September grabbed
Early’s hand, and they flitted off.
    Akeno called to the Minyas to stop, then
asked Early to deliver a message to his parents, telling them the
group was heading off. Jacob was a little surprised when she acted
thrilled to do it. After a bright flash of light, she was gone.
    “How fast do they go?” Jacob asked.
    “They travel at the speed of light when they
combine their powers.”
    “Are you sure?” Jacob asked. Akeno had to be
exaggerating. “That’s really fast. I don’t think it’s even
possible.”
    “In normal cases, obviously it wouldn’t be
possible. But remember that the laws of physics don’t apply to
them. Their magic makes them invincible to anything that might
cause a resistance. There are drawbacks to using their magic,
though. A Minya must have been to, or have seen, the place where he
or she is headed. The magic draws on their memories and propels
them forward, taking them to their destination. If they’ve never
been there, it can be very dangerous, since the magic will then
take the shortest route, which is sometimes through solid objects.”
Akeno paused. “Oh, and don’t say please to them—they don’t like
it.”
    “What? Why not?”
    “Hundreds of years ago, they were slaves. You
don't say please to slaves. Now it's just a weird thing about them.
Honestly, no one really knows how the mind of a Minya functions.”
Akeno frowned, searching the air. “Early should be back now.”
    They continued waiting in silence. After a
moment, Jacob spotted Early zooming toward them.
    “What took you so long?” September said as
soon as Early was close enough.
    “Kenji gave me some honey. And they say hi
and are happy that nothing bad has happened, yet.”
    Akeno laughed out loud. “‘Yet?’ Are they
expecting us to have that much trouble?”
    Jacob picked up his bag. “Let's get
going.”
    “Yes, good idea. We can eat while walking.”
Akeno pulled bread and jerky from his knapsack, handing some of it
to Jacob.
    Jacob fell into step behind Akeno, munching
on a piece of bread, appreciating the beauty of the morning and
tranquility of the thin forest. The sunlight was bright, but not
too warm, and the sky was almost cloudless. The leaves and grass
glowed light green in the sunny morning light, and there were
flowers everywhere.
    After they had been walking for several
minutes, the trail turned sharply upward and was fairly difficult
for at least a hundred feet. Large weeds and underbrush grew over
their path, and they had to push their way through.
    “Not . . . much . . . farther,” Akeno said,
panting.
    As predicted, the path stopped. There was a
gaping hole in the canyon wall in front of them, with broken boards
on either side. The boards appeared to have been ripped from the
sides of the hole, and several were strewn across the ground. The
canyon wall was sheer rock, and the hole looked man-made.
    Jacob picked up one of the smaller pieces of
board. It was attractive, somehow, in its coloring. It was very
light brown, with silver streaks flowing through the grain. It was
thick and sturdy. “I'm guessing this is where the Lorkon came
in.”
    “Yes, this is the entrance.” Akeno said. He
motioned to the wood in Jacob's hand. “That comes from the Kaede
tree—the same tree which produces the healing sap.”
    “Oh, yeah. It smells like maple syrup. Why's
that?”
    “It’s a type of maple tree—but don't eat the
sap. It tastes disgusting.” He laughed—probably at a memory.