Ember Gods

Chapter 11

"You can't imagine how difficult the last few days have been," Gallus said.

Everyone was squashed around Kenji's table. Matt, Jaegar, and Akeno had been mostly silent—the discussion didn't directly affect them.

"As soon as . . ." Gallus paused. "Well, we guess it was as soon as Jacob escaped through the Fat Lady's door, the Lorkon stationed guards in all the cities. We're under surveillance and curfews have been placed. They seem to know Jacob had found help in one of the cities, and I'm sure they know it was Macaria."

"Aloren's not being held in the castle, is she?" Jacob blurted, forgetting that Gallus had been ignoring him for the past twenty minutes. He'd tried to give the man space, but he couldn't help it this time—he needed more information.

Gallus didn't look directly at Jacob. "I'm not sure. I don't have any details." He then stared at his cup. "What I wanted to tell you," he motioned to Kenji, "was that I saw someone walking around the lake on the other side of the scented air. And there's no way they would be there, unless they're from Maivoryl."

"How'd you see them?" Jacob asked. "Macaria is really far away from Maivoryl City."

"With a lens—it's like a telescope in your world."

Ebony frowned. "And you're sure it wasn't a Lorkon you saw?"

"Positive. Absolutely positive. Nowhere near tall enough."

"They didn't come from Ashay Hills?" she asked.

Gallus shook his head. "The mountains are impassible, which is the reason the royal castle was built there in the first place. They could only have come from Maivoryl itself. We already know the everlasting potion the Lorkon placed between Maivoryl City and Ridgewood traps people, and the residents of Ridgewood won't let others pass. The Lorkon must have allowed a few people to leave."

Jacob got chills when he thought of the scented air. It became an invisible prison for people who hadn't taken one of the Fat Lady's potions.

"So, what do you propose we do with this information?" Kenji asked.

Gallus shrugged. "I was hoping we'd all be able to figure that out."

"We go get Aloren. Before anything else weird happens," Jacob said. "Never mind the Fat Lady's potion."

Kenji shook his head. "Not a chance. That potion is necessary. You also need more than two people. Imagine if you met up with a Bald Henry, but couldn't get through a door in time."

"We didn't see any Bald Henries there last time."

"But you also didn't see Bald Henries when you went to Aldo's cabin, either. They're invisible. And maybe they were in the city, but not around you."

"Regardless," Brojan said, cutting off Jacob's reply, "there are too many things that could go wrong. There are several species here, Jacob, that you haven't met. If the Lorkon brought Fire Pulsers to Maivoryl, there's no way you'd get out alive."

Jacob's fist hit the table. "She's going to die there! I can't wait for the potion to be made. It's killing me."

"I'm with him," Sweet Pea said. "We gotta get her out of there."

"But not without help from other people," Kenji said firmly.

The expression on Gallus's face made it look like he was experiencing an internal war—Jacob could only imagine what was going on in the black man's mind. He was probably on Jacob's side where rescuing Aloren was concerned, but, being an adult, he'd support Kenji.