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

feeling right now. They’d have no closure, and since they hadn’t left Taga in several years, they would have no way of finding out what had happened to Aldo. Jacob couldn’t remember his grandparents—they died before he was born—but he knew it had been difficult for his parents. Maybe Aldo had been like a grandparent to the Makalos—Early did say he was practically a member of the family.
    Jacob frowned—if Aldo couldn’t help them figure things out, who could? They hadn’t run into anyone besides Aldo and the woman in the forest. And from the looks of this desolate valley, it would be a while before they would. What if they never found help? Would they be killed before even reaching the Lorkon castle? It seemed likely—neither he nor Akeno had experience in this part of the world, and they wouldn’t know who to trust.
    Akeno seemed to be waiting for Jacob to make a decision.
    “All right,” Jacob said. “I guess we should just keep following this path.” He dragged his hands down his face, then attempted a smile. “Hopefully we’ll find someone who can tell us what to do.” For some reason, he felt the need to put on a positive front for Akeno.
    The trail led them south through a pretty little valley next to the tall trees Jacob had seen earlier. It was early afternoon—the sun was hot, and the scent of the wildflowers all around was refreshing. Jacob settled into a comfortable walking pace.
     

     
    About forty-five minutes later, Jacob was no longer enjoying the scenery. The sun was bearing down, and the air felt humid. The wind rustled the leaves on the upper branches of the trees, but it wasn’t reaching them on the ground.
    Jacob tried not to focus on the sweat trickling down his back, but was unsuccessful. He felt grimy—especially after the forest and the manor.
    The Minyas were playing a game of tag, flitting around Akeno and Jacob’s heads, when all of a sudden they paused, floating still in the air. Early let out a squeal, and the two of them took off through the trees to the left of the trail. Jacob raised an eyebrow and looked at Akeno, who shrugged and followed the Minyas.
    In the middle of the forest was a little lake with water so clear the bottom was visible. Jacob jumped forward, hoping to cool off, but Akeno stopped him. He pointed farther up the lake. A bear was partway in the water, staring into the depths. Jacob realized it was a Rog when he saw the human hands.
    The Minyas flitted past, both giggling, zooming toward the Rog. There was a flash of light and the Rog soared over the water, landing with a splash. It surfaced, sputtering.
    “Oh, no,” Akeno said. “Uh . . . Jacob, we might want to run. Fast.”
    “Why?”
    Akeno pointed. A huge Rog—much larger than the one who’d attacked Jacob in Taga—exited the forest only fifteen feet away. It shuffled to the water’s edge and took a drink.
    Just then, the Minyas flitted up to it and with another flash, thrust it into the water. Except this time, they didn’t push it far enough. It bounded out of the lake, spotted Jacob and Akeno, and roared, standing on its hind legs.
    Jacob spun around and ran as fast as he could. The Minyas zoomed alongside him, giggling so hard they were almost bent in half. A sudden urge to whack them out of the air nearly overwhelmed Jacob, but he concentrated on getting away from the Rog instead.
    He and Akeno were nearly separated several times. That Makalo was fast! After a moment, though, Akeno grabbed Jacob and pulled him. They stumbled through underbrush, barely staying ahead.
    Soon, they were able to put some distance between themselves and the Rog. Before long, Jacob couldn’t see or hear it. He and Akeno ran up the slope, exited the trees, and raced down the trail, putting more space between them and the lake.
    Akeno reached out, stopping Jacob. He bent, hands on knees, and panted before saying, “We probably don’t have to run anymore, but we’d better keep going before the Rog