Kilenya Series Books One, Two, and Three by Andrea Pearson

room, was small and dingy.
    Sitting down, the old man picked up a teapot and motioned toward some cups on the table. “Stop here with bottles? I wouldn’t have gone to the store for a pixie if I were you.”
    “Uh, no thanks,” Jacob said, wondering how long ago the man had lost his senses. No wonder the Makalos weren’t able to find out what was going on with him—he probably wouldn’t even let the Minyas near him.
    “Oh, I forgot! Ladies! It means that they themselves once walked. Or maybe it was magic. Or perhaps it was that they couldn’t leave home if they wanted it.”
    “Sure,” Jacob said. He looked around the room, noticing that the walls were covered with knickknacks, pots, and a few old photographs. Photographs? Jacob wished he were sitting closer so he could inspect them. Trying to remain focused on the here and now, he turned his attention back to their host, but caught himself staring at the man’s extremely large nose. He quickly looked away, realizing too late he should have been more discreet.
    Aldo nodded. “The same place I’d be without my dazzling smile.”
    Jacob noticed that Aldo was staring at him as well, but with an almost knowing expression. He avoided the old man’s gaze and instead glanced at Akeno, who had a big grin on his face. Jacob kicked Akeno’s leg under the table, frowning at him and shaking his head.
    Akeno’s smile disappeared. He cleared his throat and looked at Aldo. “We were wondering what you can tell us about the Key of Kilenya.”
    “The sunset is really cool. But if the dispenser’s broken—now, that’s irreplaceable.”
    Jacob sighed inwardly. They were wasting their time.
    Suddenly, the old man stood, knocking his chair over in the process, and left the room through a door in the back wall. Jacob heard him moving things around. Both boys jumped at the sound of a loud crash, followed by a yell and a stream of angry words.
    Jacob snickered. “I understood that,” he whispered.
    When Aldo returned, he was carrying a bucket of nuts. He grabbed one of them, showed it to Jacob, and laughed, saying, “Squirrels don’t come here. I’ll show you why.” Then he threw the nut at Jacob.
    Jacob jumped out of his chair. “Hey! That hurt!”
    “You too?” Aldo turned to Akeno, but Akeno was too fast for him and jumped out of the way.
    Jacob couldn’t help but laugh at the devastated look on the old man’s face when he realized he hadn’t hit his target.
    Aldo’s expression turned to one of anger. He put the bucket down, grabbed a handful of nuts, and chucked them at top speed, hitting both boys. Then he laughed gleefully and jumped up and down, clapping his hands.
    “Come on, let’s get out of here,” Jacob said. “He’s crazy!”
    They ran outside, doing their best to dodge the nuts that were being flung at them. It only took a couple of seconds to reach the main trail, where they were joined by the Minyas. Looking over his shoulder, Jacob saw that the old man continued throwing nuts, even though the boys had already gone a fair distance.
    “That was kind of funny, actually,” Jacob said. “Did you understand anything he said?”
    “No, nothing. Did you?”
    “The words, yes. The context, not at all. I would’ve dropped to the ground laughing if he hadn’t been trying to kill us.”
    “I really don’t think we can expect any help from him.”
    Jacob chuckled as they slowed to a walk and exited the small grove of trees. “No, obviously not. We should tell Kenji and Brojan that he’s gone crazy, though.” He turned to Early and asked her to take a message to the village. She left quickly, returning a moment later.
    “They were very surprised. Aldo played an important role in the war, was a great friend, and they’re upset to hear what has become of him. They’d hoped he’d be able to explain more to you about this world and what to expect.”
    Jacob watched Early for a minute. He could only imagine the pain Kenji, Brojan, and Ebony were