After breakfast the next morning, the group returned to Taga Village, somewhat somber. Matt, Amberly, and Jacob’s parents were just arriving, entering the meadow when Jacob and his group stepped through the door of the tree.
“How did it go?” Jacob’s dad asked.
Ebony’s lips tightened. “Not good,” she said. “The Lorkon traps are just as strong. We think there are five, possibly more. We came across two: poisoned reca flowers exploiting our loss of taste, and tarri you can’t smell. Dmitri, we need people who are experienced with the area.”
He sighed. “That would be Aldo.”
“What about Mom?” Jacob asked. “She was there too.”
Mom shook her head. “They kept me blindfolded and tied the entire time.”
Kenji joined the group, carrying a bunch of knapsacks. “Is everyone ready? I just sent Early to the Fat Lady, letting her know we’ll be coming soon.” He observed the group. “Doesn’t look like things went very well. Is everyone okay?”
Ebony put her arms around her husband, looking like she needed a hug. “No, we’re fine. It’s just going to be very difficult to get to the fortress.”
Early appeared next to Kenji. “The Fat Lady needs assistance at once. Aldo is going crazy.”
“‘Crazier,’ she means,” Matt whispered.
Kenji slung his bags over his shoulder. “We’re on our way.”
Jacob keyed the group to the Fat Lady’s place. As soon as he opened the door, he could tell things were out of control. He could hear Aldo and the Fat Lady down the hall, screaming at each other.
Dad dashed forward, his sons on his heels. They entered the living area, and Jacob nearly bust up laughing. The Fat Lady had Aldo in a headlock, and the old man was trying to run away—his legs were moving while his upper body stayed put. Dad grabbed Aldo by the wrists, pulling him away from the Fat Lady.
The Fat Lady rubbed her arms. “He just freaked out.”
As soon as Aldo saw the group, he relaxed. He grabbed Jacob’s cheeks, his eyes glowing.
Jacob chuckled, trying to get the man’s hands off him. “Hi to you too, Aldo.”
The old man let go, then pushed past Matt to fling his arms around Dad. “Damitini!”
Jacob and Matt met eyes. Damitini? Must be trying to say Dmitri.
Aldo rushed to Jacob’s mom, nearly knocking her over in his excitement to hug her. “Arla!”
Jacob was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
“He remembers me!” she said. “He has to.”
Aldo sighed happily. “Time taking time!”
The old man hugged Ebony as well, then sat on the couch, crossing his legs and arms, smiling up at the group. He patted the seat next to him and then pointed at Jacob’s parents. They joined him, Mom still wiping away tears. Aldo then pointed at Jacob, motioning to his other side. Jacob sat reluctantly. He didn’t have the relationship with the man that his parents had.
“I can’t believe it,” the Fat Lady said. “He was all over the place just a moment ago, nearly trying to kill me to get out.”
“When did you administer the remedy?” Dad asked.
“About half an hour ago.” She picked up an empty vial. “He was calm for at least twenty minutes afterwards. Hadn’t really said anything. I tried to get him to open up—telling him what we were doing and how a group went to scout out August Fortress. That’s when he started freaking out.”
Aldo growled when she said August Fortress. “No good. No good.”
Dad appraised his friend. “It seems he was trying to warn the group not to go there.”
Aldo jumped to his feet. “Yes! No good!”
Matt frowned. “Does he mean, it’s no good to try to rescue the Shiengols, or the fortress itself is no good?”
Aldo made some motions with his hands and arms, but they didn’t make sense. He slumped to the couch, exhausted.
“He needs to sleep,” the Fat Lady said. “We don’t want to kill him while trying to get him better.”
She helped Aldo to his feet. He resisted at first, then calmed when Mom promised they’d still be there when he woke up.
When the Fat Lady returned, Dad indicated it was time to pull people out of the scented air.
He divided everyone into teams of two. Jacob ended up with Akeno, and Aloren and Matt were paired with each other. Jacob sighed in resignation. He was glad to spend time with Akeno, but he . . . Aloren . . . He stopped that train of thought. No sense pining for someone who wasn’t interested in him.
They walked to the scented air and got to work. It was long and hard, and the group pulled out person after person. Jacob and Akeno went through their section quickly, pulling out the younger, lighter people first. Then they teamed up with Aloren and Matt to get the heavier individuals in the two sections combined.
Jacob knew Jaegar was standing guard, watching the forest and the sky, but he decided this area would always make him jumpy—he still thought about Lirone almost the whole time. The sunlight only partially comforted him, especially since the sun was about to set.
The sun set, and it gradually got darker and darker. Still, they continued. Hazel and Early flitted around, delivering messages.
After a while, Akeno volunteered to stand and hold his finger up, lighting the area considerably. Jacob hadn’t realized it, but the previous times he’d seen Akeno use his finger as a light, the Makalo hadn’t put all of his energy into it. The light he cast now was so bright, it hurt Jacob’s eyes.
Jacob and Matt paused to take a break, Matt wiping sweat off his face. He motioned to Akeno. “He’s freakin’ awesome.”
Jacob nodded. Akeno and Aloren were talking—they were just far enough away to where Jacob couldn’t understand what they were saying. “Yeah. He’s got some really neat abilities.”
“But why?”
Jacob looked at his brother, squinting to see his expression. It didn’t show anything, but the colors around him—which Jacob could see, even though the sun had long since set—showed curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“Hasn’t it ever occurred to you to ask why he can do so much more than the other Makalos?”
Jacob shook his head. “No—not really. I just assumed he . . . he had more magic in him than the rest of them.”
Matt nodded, as if Jacob had just hit on something very important. “Exactly. And how did he get that extra magic?”
Jacob didn’t answer. He pushed his hair from his forehead, trying to let the breeze cool his sweat away. He considered taking off his coat, but decided not to—he didn’t want to get too cold. Matt made a good point—why did Akeno have more magic than the rest? It didn’t make sense—not when his parents could hardly do anything, and the Makalo magic was inherited.
He decided to ask Akeno about it later. But no matter how Akeno got his magic, Jacob was glad he had it.
The adults worked close to Akeno to take advantage of the extra light. Jacob couldn’t help but notice the Fat Lady. She picked up adult men, slung them over her shoulder, and carried them through the door, then on to Taga Village. Obviously, she had no difficulty doing so, regardless of their size. Jacob and Matt watched her, their mouths open, until Aloren laughed.
“She’s going to think you’re romantically interested in her if you keep acting like that.”
“Okay, Aloren,” Matt said, turning to her. “We’ve got to work on your vocab. Especially if you plan to hang out with us on earth.”
She nodded. “I’ll accept any help you can give.” She motioned to a nearby man. “Help me get him out, and we can work on how I say things.”
Matt and Jacob jumped to the guy, each grabbing one of his arms.
“Good,” Matt said. “‘Cause you’ve got to speak American.” He pointed at Akeno. “Listen to how he talks. And Sweet Pea, too. They both sound like they’re from my country.” He sighed in exaggeration, readjusting the man’s arm over his shoulder. “But first things first. ‘Romantically interested’ just doesn’t work. You gotta say ‘likes.’”
“Oh, I say that all the time.”
“Yes, I know, but you have to get the context right. Instead of saying ‘The Fat Lady might think you’re romantically interested in her,’ you say, ‘The Fat Lady might think you like her.’”
Aloren paused, still holding the man’s elbow. “I don’t understand the difference.”
Matt chuckled. “You will. Just pay close attention, okay? And we’ll let you know when you could say something better.”