Rise of Keitus by Andrea Pearson

there are several who are ready now.”
    “They sure are!” Sweet Pea said. “Ready and waiting for orders.”
    “Good.” Dad pushed back from the table. “That’s everything.”
     

     
    It didn’t take much time for Jacob and the others to get ready to leave.
    He Keyed them to Aldo’s cabin and then led them up the trail, following the steps he’d seen the Molg take. When they reached the switchbacks, Jacob took them to the left.
    “I’ve never been over here,” Akeno said.
    Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’ve been in, like, two places outside the village.”
    Akeno snorted. “I’ve been to more places than you.” He playfully slapped Sweet Pea on the arm, his hand flailing through the air. Sweet Pea snorted, and Akeno glanced at Matt, a questioning expression on his face.
    Matt and Sweet Pea both started laughing, and Matt gasped out, “You did it all wrong, Akeno.”
    “But you said it’s okay to hit other guys jokingly.”
    Jacob couldn’t help but smile, though he felt bad for Akeno. The Makalo had been trying really hard to grasp American culture outside of what he’d read in books and seen in movies.
    Matt wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I know, but you can’t just slap him. It’s really . . . It’s just wrong-looking, okay? You gotta punch instead.”
    “Like this?” Akeno punched Sweet Pea’s shoulder, but it looked worse than the slap.
    “No!” Matt gasped. “That’s how girls hit when they like a guy! And when I say ‘like,’ I mean, when they’re romantically interested!”
    “Well, I don’t know what I’m doing!” Akeno said.
    Ebony put her arm around her son’s shoulders. “And it’s totally fine. You don’t need to hit other guys anyway.”
    “If he wants to fit in, he at least needs to learn what’s not okay to do,” Matt said. He smiled at Akeno. “Just don’t do it at all—that would be best.”
    Akeno nodded. “And you already said that most of how I act and talk is fine.”
    Sweet Pea pounded his chest. “What he said was that you needed to start talking like me .”
    “Insolent and arrogant? That’s not my personality.”
    Sweet Pea shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He smiled at Akeno, then led the way up a small hill toward a cave. The group fell silent when they went inside. It was dark, and after only a couple of feet, Akeno lit up his finger so they could see the way.
    “Why does Eklaron have so many tunnels, caves, and underground passageways?” Matt asked.
    Jacob carefully stepped across a small pit. Twisting an ankle wouldn’t be good. “I’ve wondered the same thing.” He waited for one of the Makalos to say something, but none of them did. Just then, they entered the huge caverns with ceilings full of holes. The sun was at the right height—directly overhead—giving them a good amount of light to see by.
    “Awesome!” Matt said. He took off running across the vast space.
    Jacob looked up. Many of the bubbles had broken along their sides, forming rough arches and large passageways that connected the caverns to each other.
    “Come on!” Matt called.
    Matt jumped across a stream and turned, splashing the others. A very cold water fight broke out. Ebony caught up while the boys were soaking each other with the nearly frigid water.
    “Careful! I don’t want you to get sick. It’s freezing here!”
    “Not when you’ve been running,” Sweet Pea said.
    A moment later, the boys calmed down and the group continued. When they reached the tunnel at the other side, Jacob stopped them.
    “Should we set up the door before or after we find a Molg?”
    Akeno shifted from foot to foot. “I’d feel much more comfortable doing it before, just in case, and to keep it out of sight of the Molg.”
    “Then we should do it here—the map isn’t far.”
    While Akeno enlarged a door and Matt and Sweet Pea put it in place, Jacob Time-Saw into the tunnels ahead of them, moving past the map’s location. A Molg was wandering the tunnels fairly close to