Jacob Keyed home to change his clothes and drop Matt off so Matt could hang out with Sammy.
Back in the tree, Sweet Pea had Jacob face him, then he showed him a few defensive moves. They practiced those moves for almost an hour—over and over again until Jacob was sure he’d have permanent bruises on his arms and wrists. He couldn’t seem to get one of them right, and they practiced that one the longest.
Finally, when Jacob was sure his body couldn’t take anymore, Sweet Pea called it quits.
“Where’d you learn all this?” Jacob asked, panting, hands on knees.
Sweet Pea chuckled. “Ebony, actually.”
Jacob straightened, shocked. “What? Are you serious?”
“Stretch out—I don’t want you whining because you’re sore.” Sweet Pea bent to touch his toes. Jacob was surprised the Makalo could actually reach them. “She’s an amazing fighter—that was her specialty. And sneaking around.”
“Wow. I never would’ve guessed it.”
“She didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable, so she had me do the teaching.”
Jacob shook his head. “And here I thought Makalos were helpless, physically.”
“We are—well, the older generation is, at least. Except Ebony. She joined the original group at the age of ten, so she’s much younger than everyone, including Kenji.”
“But if Ebony could’ve trained me herself, why didn’t she go get the Key?”
“Well, duh. She has people here who need her. Like a baby. Plus, you’re the hero now—you’re the one ‘destiny,’ or whatever you want to call it, chose.”
They finished stretching, and Jacob Keyed home.