Ember Gods

Chapter 2

The two brothers burst into a clearing where a huge, magnificent tree stretched skyward—leafless, with twisted branches. Canyon walls rose on either side of the clearing, and stone Makalo dwellings were built in crevices in those walls.

Jacob watched Matt, appreciating his reaction to their surroundings. Matt kept pointing out different things, his eyes lighting up at all the new stuff to see—things Jacob hadn't noticed either time he was in Taga Village. Like, the huge tree had windows and a lookout on top. And the Makalos had no eyelashes—how had Jacob not noticed that? And the fact that there were only older and young Makalos but no one in between. Jacob couldn't help but wonder if the huge Lorkon war had something to do with that.

But the coolest thing of all was how the Makalos lighted their rooms. When they first got to the village, Ebony, Akeno's mom, found them and took them to her house—a small red-and-blue sandstone dwelling. She strode to the door and opened it, waving the others to enter ahead of her.

The front room was dark, the only light coming from under one of the doors at the back. Ebony touched her left ring finger to the wall, and a strip of gold-silver lit up in the rock. The light raced upward, where it was soon one of many streaks that crisscrossed the ceiling, illuminating the entire room.

"Wow," Matt said.

"That was awesome," Jacob said.

Ebony grinned broadly. "Thanks. We like it."

The room was clean—stone floors with a few grass-type rugs here and there—but it smelled musty and old, like the home of the elderly lady who lived next door to Jacob's family. He wrinkled his nose. Ebony invited Matt and Jacob to have soup, and they gladly accepted, taking a seat at the large table in the middle of the room.

A door in the back opened, and Akeno entered the room and limped to the table. He grinned when he saw Jacob.

"You're awake," Jacob said, sitting next to the Makalo.

"And you got us out of the castle."

Jacob nodded. "Only because you kept your finger lit. I'm so glad you're okay."

He ate his soup slowly, his excitement giving way to contentment. Akeno was better, and Matt was with him. If Dad were awake and Aloren there, the scene would be perfect.

"Did they tell you?" he asked Akeno. "Aloren's still in Maivoryl City."

Akeno nearly dropped his spoon. "She is? No, they did not tell me!" Akeno stared at his mom. "What's she doing there?"

"Who's Aloren again?" Matt asked, leaning forward. "Is she hot?"

Jacob rolled his eyes and turned back to Akeno. "I didn't have a way to bring her without leaving you and my sister somewhere. There just wasn't time. You would have died."

"Is she still with Eachan?"

Jacob shook his head. "Don't know. I hope so."

Akeno shut his eyes and didn't say anything for a moment. "What's being done to get her out?"

Ebony sat at the table. "We need to talk about that later. In the meantime, go ahead and show them your sore."

Akeno lifted his pant leg. "It's much better. Only hurts a little now."

Jacob frowned when he saw Akeno's leg. The wound was still clearly there, pinker than the skin around it, with yellow toward the center. "It's not completely healed?" He looked at Ebony. "Didn't you use a very powerful potion?"