Jacob had nearly made it to the tree when Akeno caught up with him, hand on his top hat to keep it from falling as he ran.
“You didn’t come back. They were worried—sent me to check on you.”
“Yeah, I’m heading home. Let them know I’m not going, and tell them I said good luck.”
Akeno stopped walking, then hurried to catch up. He met Jacob’s pace, glancing sidelong at him. Jacob ignored him. He wasn’t about to let the Makalo convince him to stay.
“Well . . . I’ll come with you.”
Jacob looked at him in surprise, but continued on. If that’s what Akeno wanted, that was okay. The Makalo would have to explain to Jacob’s family why he was there—some random alien in their town. That would definitely make the news.
They entered the forest, walking in silence for a while. It wasn’t nearly as awkward as Jacob had expected it to be—Akeno didn’t act disappointed or disapproving.
After some time, Jacob groaned in frustration. “I don’t understand why I’m the one they chose to go. I mean, Matt’s older, stronger, and he always knows what to do. So, why me?” He hesitated, but Akeno didn’t say anything. “I mean, this isn’t even my planet. And it’s not my problem. I’m not the one who lost the Key, and I’m not the one who thinks it should be protected. And I don’t have magical abilities!”
Jacob paused to think. “Besides, I’ve got my own things to deal with. I was supposed to try out for varsity today. And I know I would’ve made it. I’m actually really good at basketball. If it weren’t for those . . . those stupid wolves . . .” He let out a long breath. “Oh, forget it. It doesn’t even matter.”
Another silence. Jacob guessed they were about halfway through the forest. Akeno stopped, and Jacob slowed to see why.
“Hold on a second,” Akeno said. He plucked a couple leaves and sat on the ground. Rummaging through a bag strapped across his chest, he pulled out a tape dispenser and started taping the leaves to his shoes.
Jacob’s eyebrows went up as high as they could. “Tape?”
“It keeps the leaves on my shoes, and the leaves keep the dust off me. I use my Rezend—which is our form of magic—and as long as the leaves are fresh, they do what I ask them to do.”
“But . . . where did you get tape?”
Akeno glanced up. “From the humans. They gave me a lot of it last time they were here, along with a ton of books—I love reading books from your world.”
“Humans? What humans?” For some reason, Jacob had assumed he was the first human to step foot on this world. The fact that there had been others caught him off guard. Were they like him? Did they have special abilities? And why did Akeno care if some dust got on him?
“Oh, they didn’t tell you? Humans used to live in the tree. That’s why it’s human-sized.”
“What? Where’d they go?”
“They moved. They used to visit, but it’s been a long time—several years, in fact. We still keep in contact with them through the Minyas.”
“Oh, yeah, Minyas. You guys sent them to tell Matt where I was, right?”
Akeno taped the last leaf to his shoe, put the tape dispenser back in his bag, and got to his feet. “Yeah. It took them a while to convince Matt that they were real, living things. And even longer for him to believe you were safe.”
Jacob turned, but Akeno grabbed his arm.
“What?” Jacob said in irritation, facing Akeno again.
“The wolves.” Akeno gestured with his other hand. “I should’ve made sure they weren’t here before we entered the forest.”
Jacob looked ahead and froze. The two black wolves were sitting on their haunches about twenty feet away, just staring at them. There was a rustling sound on either side of them, and at least ten more wolves—the smaller, gray kind—appeared, stepping forward to form a semi-circle around the boys.
“What’s going on?” Jacob whispered.
“I don’t know.” Akeno’s low voice had taken on a high pitch.
Jacob didn’t blame him. He was so scared he could barely breathe. “What do we do?”
Akeno shook his head. His whole body was shaking.
Jacob stared back at the wolves, unflinching, waiting to see what they would do. Nothing happened. Why weren’t they attacking?
“Should I knock them out?” Akeno asked.
“No—don’t. They’re not doing anything.”
“Maybe we could go around?”
Jacob shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to step any closer. “You think we should?”
“No . . . but what else is there?”
Jacob’s emotions were conflicted. Fear—that was the strongest. The night before had been horrendous. He hadn’t been that afraid in a long time—if ever. But he also wanted to go home—desperately needed to go home. He wanted to play basketball, yes, but more than that, he just wanted the comfort of his house and family. He wanted the last twenty-four hours to be erased—rewound, if possible. He wanted to be normal. He wanted to forget all about this other world.
Jacob took a deep breath. Go around. That’s what they should do. He took a step to the right. Nothing happened.
His heart was racing, and he willed it to calm down. What were the animals doing? It seemed unnatural for them to sit so quietly. Then he remembered Kenji saying that the Lorkon had sent the wolves to get Jacob. Was it possible that’s what they were trying to do? And they wouldn’t let him pass? That didn’t work for him—he had to get home, and no “otherworldly” creature was going to stop him.
He cautiously took another step, trying to make a wide arc around the wolf formation. Akeno stayed close, only moving when Jacob did. A low grumble came from one of the wolves, but still, none of them moved.
“Maybe they’ll let us pass.” Jacob doubted it, but hoped that saying so would make the Makalo feel better.
He took another step. This time, one of the black wolves growled and jumped to its feet. Jacob nearly fell as his knees went weak in fear, and Akeno jumped. It took a moment for Jacob to realize what was going on. The wolf stood, pointing its muzzle toward Taga. The message was clear: go back. Jacob’s heart pounded so hard he felt he would have a heart attack.
“What are they doing?” Akeno asked.
“Stopping me from going home.”
Akeno took a deep breath. “They can’t stop you. They can’t force you to do anything.”
“So . . . what do they want you to do?” came a voice from behind. Jacob whirled, half expecting a ghost or Lorkon or something to be standing there. It was only two Makalos—a shorter one, and one with lots of facial hair.
“Don’t do that!” Jacob hissed. “You scared the heck out of me!”
The hairier Makalo grimaced. “Sorry. We . . . uh . . . heard your voices and came to investigate.”
“Jaegar, aren’t you supposed to be home with Mother?” Akeno asked.
The shorter Makalo looked away. “Yeah, well, I . . .” He cleared his throat. “What’re the wolves doing?”
Jacob looked at the animals. “Trying to keep me from going home, I’m guessing. They want me to turn back.”
As if in response, the other black wolf jumped to its feet and stepped forward to join the first.
“You don’t want to go back to Taga?” asked the hairy Makalo—or Butch, as Jacob decided to call him. “Then don’t. How are they going to stop you?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Kill me, maybe?”
A concerned expression crossed Jaegar’s face. “They can’t kill you. You’re too important to everyone here. We wouldn’t let them.”
“Okay, well, it’s probably better if I go on alone.” Jacob nodded to Akeno. “Thanks for trying to come with me. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
He took one full step away from the Makalos and toward the wolves. The wolves responded by growling and shuffling closer together as if to form a wall. It felt like they were pushing him back. Well, he wasn’t about to let that happen. He took a few strides forward, almost
a jog, but came to an abrupt stop as the two black wolves leaped in front of him, blocking his path. Then the gray wolves rushed at the Makalos. Jacob whirled in time to see some of the wolves chase Butch up a tree. Others charged at Jaegar, who spun around, trying to shield himself with his hands. Jacob sprinted toward them, but it was too late—Jaegar was already pinned to the ground, with two wolves on top of him, barking and slashing with their teeth and paws.
“No!” Akeno screamed. A loud crack filled the air, and all the wolves fell to the ground.
“Help me get them off!” he shouted. “We’ve only got a few seconds. The effect doesn’t last as long on them.”
Jacob caught up with him—two wolves had collapsed on top of Jaegar, who was unconscious. Together, Jacob and Akeno rolled the wolves off.
Already the beasts were beginning to stir. Jacob lifted Jaegar’s small frame in his arms and ran with him toward Taga, following Akeno.
Butch climbed down from his tree as Jacob ran past, then trailed behind. He wasn’t as fast as Akeno or Jacob, and it wasn’t long before Jacob heard scuffling. He stopped, knowing the Makalo was in trouble, and turned around. The wolves had attacked.
“Knock them out!” Jacob shouted to Akeno.
“I can’t—it’s been too soon. It loses effectiveness.”
“Then take him and run!” Jacob shouted as he shoved Jaegar into Akeno’s arms. He ran back to Butch and the wolves, trying to distract them by flailing his hands wildly. Seeing him, the gray wolves snarled and leaped, but were stopped by the black wolves.
With the black wolves in front, the pack backed away as Jacob neared. He held his hands out in front, ready to defend himself if the wolves decided to charge. Keeping a distance of about twenty feet, they snarled and showed their teeth—seemingly dissatisfied, but unwilling to move any closer. Jacob scooped up Butch, glad Makalos were smaller than humans. Butch was bloodied, but awake.
“Sorry, man . . . I tried to . . .”
“It’s okay.”
With Butch in his arms, Jacob backed up, then turned and ran as quickly as he could through the trees. It wasn’t long before he could hear the yelps of the wolves behind him, once again in hot pursuit. His breath heaving, he nearly dropped Butch a couple of times. This Makalo was much heavier than Jaegar.
As Jacob entered the meadow, he spotted Akeno halfway across, running toward the edge of the village opposite from Brojan’s place. He made a beeline in that direction. He was almost at the tree when he made the mistake of looking back. As he did, his stomach tightened in fear and he nearly tripped.
The wolves were gaining on him quickly, having already gotten to the edge of the meadow.
Akeno had reached the stone wall. No ladder there, handholds had been carved into the wall. He shifted Jaegar to one shoulder, attempting to climb, but failing when the boy’s body got in the way. Jacob put Butch down, took Jaegar from Akeno, and motioned for Akeno to climb the wall. Akeno scrambled halfway to the top. With one hand securely anchored in a handhold, he bent and took hold of Jaegar by the arm. He lifted the injured boy as high as he could, and a Makalo from above reached down and hoisted Jaegar to safety.
Jacob picked up Butch and shoved him up the wall to Akeno, who tried pulling him up as he’d done with Jaegar.
“You gotta help,” Akeno said to Butch, grunting. “You’re too heavy.”
With Akeno’s help, Butch hauled himself up, crying out in pain.
“Hurry!” Jacob said. The wolves were only yards away. The same Makalo from above grabbed hold of Butch and, with some effort, pulled him the rest of the way.
Akeno climbed up, then leaned and offered his hand to Jacob. Jacob took it and hoisted himself over the edge, with the wolves snapping at his heels.
Kenji stood with Jaegar in his arms. Jacob looked around for Butch and saw him with an elderly man who was supporting most of Butch’s weight. They hobbled to the right, disappearing between the buildings.
Kenji addressed two of the Makalos who were anxiously peering over the ledge. “Watch the wolves. Tell me when they leave.” He turned and headed swiftly down the path to his left, Jaegar limp in his arms. Jacob and Akeno had to jog to keep up with him.
“My son, my poor son—” Kenji said to no one in particular, the pain in his voice evident.
“I’m so sorry,” Jacob said.
“If he dies, I . . .” He cleared his throat. “Jacob, before you came, the wolves never dared enter Taga Village.”
Jacob bit the inside of his cheek, avoiding looking at Kenji. If only he’d listened to the Makalos, none of this would’ve happened.
They entered a stone house, painted bright blue, with streaks and spatters of white. Kenji gently placed Jaegar on a large table situated along the left wall of the room. Ebony burst into tears at the sight of her tattered young son.
“What happened?” she asked.
“The wolves attacked while . . . ” Akeno started.
“While I was trying to go home,” Jacob finished. Guilt poured over him again.
Disappointment flushed across Ebony and Kenji’s faces before they turned their attention back to Jaegar.
“Oh, Jaegar, Jaegar . . .” Ebony said. “What if those wolves were poisonous? Will sap help?”
“We’ll need to work quickly,” Kenji said. “This is hard, but I need your help. Gather yourself. You know what to do.”
Ebony nodded, sniffling as she tried to hold back the tears, and ran from the room. She returned moments later with some familiar items—a small package, an armful of cloth, and a bowl.
Kenji mixed the sap while Ebony separated the cloth. Most of it had been cut into strips, but there was one piece that formed a sheet.
Jacob leaned forward, curious to watch everything they did, since last time he had been the injured one.
Kenji poured the contents of the jug and the small package into the bowl, creating a thick, brown liquid. Jacob recognized the smell immediately. Maple syrup. Why on earth would they use maple syrup?
Akeno and Ebony hurriedly cut off Jaegar’s shirt, revealing severe bites all over his chest and arms. Jacob shook his head, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets. He should have listened.
The Makalos saturated strips of cloth with the mixture and laid them on Jaegar’s wounds. Very soon, Jaegar was almost completely covered in cloth pieces. Ebony let out a worried breath as she and Akeno stepped back. Kenji covered Jaegar with the larger sheet, and the three of them looked on as they stood near Jacob.
“Was it too late? Will he die?” Jacob asked, but Ebony held up her hand.
“Give it time.”
Every few moments, she lifted the edge of one of the strips and looked under, a deep frown on her face. Kenji paced near the front door, hands behind his back.
At first, nothing appeared to be changing. But a few moments later, Jacob was relieved to see that the wounds were healing and disappearing.
After what felt like forever, Ebony let out a breath, this time of relief, and pulled off all the strips. Every single wound was gone, leaving only pink skin underneath. Jaegar’s breathing was now steady.
“All right,” Kenji said. “Now he needs to rest.” He picked Jaegar up and carried him out of the room.