The air knocked from his lungs, Jacob couldn’t move at all. His frantic mind only focused on one thing—the faint white lines were brighter and somehow attached to the dirt.
Early freaked out, squealing and shouting. “Get up, Jacob! Get up!”
Jacob gasped for air, finally raking in a breath and able to move again. He pulled Akeno out from under him. A deep rumble below made him freeze. “Oh, no!” There was no way they could escape!
“Get up!” Early shrieked, the colors swirling around her showing hysteria.
Jacob felt a spot on his shoulder heat up—Early was giving him energy! His mind cleared and he remembered something very important. The Argots hadn’t done anything for several moments when Matt had started crossing them. Did they always take so long to react? And would it be enough for Jacob and Akeno to get to safety? It had to be! He held on to this hope as tightly as he could and grabbed Akeno, throwing the Makalo over his shoulder, then lurched to his feet.
“I’ll guide you!” Early squealed. “I can see them!”
Jacob dashed forward, realizing he would probably trip over rocks and bushes, but he wouldn’t allow himself to be devoured by monsters. It would be so much easier if he could see their emotions.
Early’s directions came fast. “Side-step to the left! Jump forward! Go back a foot! Side-step right! Run! Fast! Left! Back again!”
Jacob felt a pinch on his pant leg. He jerked free.
A moment later, sight returned. The light from the moon nearly blinded him and he shaded his eyes with his free hand. The edge of the Argots wasn’t far, but Early led him away from it.
“Early! The forest is right there!”
“Ignore it! Obey me!”
He took a deep breath and continued running, following her directions. She’d kept them alive this long and deserved his trust.
Akeno screamed, but Jacob didn’t risk looking back, preparing instead to follow his instincts and jump to safety in a spot between some pink shrubbery and yellow boulders.
“No, Jacob! It’s dangerous there! This way!”
Irritation flooded over him and he growled in frustration, but he continued following her anyway. After a moment, he saw the wisdom in Early’s choice. Several jaws opened in the crevice he’d been running toward, and it quickly became apparent that the Argots exploited the self-preservation instincts of their prey.
Then something else dawned on Jacob as he paid closer attention to Early’s directions. Yes, she took him much farther from the edge of the forest than was comfortable, but she wasn’t choosing the path arbitrarily. She was having him follow the brightest of the faint white lines. And as he watched, he quickly figured out they marked where each Argot started and ended, like boundary lines.
Panting in exhaustion, he said, “Brilliant!” He smiled in excitement. “I see! I see where you’re leading us!”
“Good!” Early cried. “Keep running.”
A new burst of energy slammed into Jacob and he dashed forward, following the biggest of the lines, no longer needing Early’s directions.
“I’m going to warn the Makalos!” she said after making sure Jacob was really going the right way. She disappeared with a flash.
“No! Early!” Akeno screamed. “We need her!”
“It’s fine! I can see where to run!” Jacob dodged some rocks, then jumped around a little tree.
“How?”
“The lines!”
“What lines?”
“Never mind.” Jacob focused on running and skirting obstacles.
The line led him along a haphazard path—taking him in a ridiculous course around bushes and brambles and rocks. The springy ground under his feet continued rumbling and shifting, and except for a couple of times when his pant legs got snagged, he remained clear of the sharp teeth.
Finally, they reached the edge of the forest, and he stumbled to the ground when his feet met solid earth once more. He released Akeno, gasping, trying to catch his breath.
“Jacob? Jacob!” Aloren’s voice called through the megaphone.
Jacob got to his feet and yelled back as loudly as he could, “We’re fine! We made it! We made it!”
He heard faint cheering and grinned. He’d done it!
Early reappeared, reminding Jacob that they still had a mission to accomplish. “They’re waiting!”
“Let’s go! And help us find the door.”
“Yes! Yes!”
The two boys took off at a run, following Early through the forest.
They reached the door and Jacob keyed them to Taga Village, where the Makalos waited anxiously on the other side.
The increase of sensation nearly knocked Jacob over. The smell of roast beef and potatoes assailed him, and his mouth instantly watered. The light burned his eyes and he covered his face. Ebony shoved Kaede sap packages into their bags, which, thankfully, hadn’t gotten lost when the boys fell.
“You’re ready,” Ebony said a moment later. “Did you set up a door near the arch?”
“No,” Jacob said. “Akeno can’t see, so he wouldn’t be able to enlarge anything.”
Ebony nodded, then turned to Akeno. “Do you still have your potted plant?”
He shook his head. “I think I lost it when we fell off the board.”
“I’ll get him another one,” Kenji said, stepping into the back room. A moment later he returned, holding a bright blue pot with a scraggly plant in it, around four inches tall.
“Are you sure that’s going to make it through the entire trip?” Jacob asked. “It looks like it’s about to die.”
Ebony chuckled. “It’ll be fine. It’s a type of evergreen—though it doesn’t look it. They’re hardy little things.” She put it in Akeno’s bag.
Jacob nodded, swinging the backpack over his shoulders. “We’ll send Early later when we’ve finished working on Gallus.”
They said goodbye, then keyed back to the door and crossed the board with no problems. They dropped to the ground under the arch and Jacob pulled a package out of his backpack, giving it to Akeno to put together.
Jacob got to his knees. “Can we use Gallus’s pant leg instead of the cloth in the package?”
“No,” Akeno said. “It has to be completely clean.”
“Well, we can’t afford to cut his pants.” Jacob carefully inched up to Gallus, making sure not to bump the man. “It’s too cold for him to walk around in shorts. And it’ll be too painful to take them off.”
“Let’s roll up his pant leg as far as it’ll go,” Aloren said. “Then reach up the rest of the way.”
Jacob agreed, and he and Aloren soaked the cloth strips in the mixture while Akeno and Matt readied Gallus. It was oddly comforting, being this near the people he cared for most. His hand brushed against Aloren’s several times and he thought over the kiss she’d given him on the cheek earlier. He sighed inwardly—she’d obviously done it as a way to say thanks and nothing more. She wasn’t the type of person to cheat, and he knew she really cared for Kevin.
Jacob turned his thoughts back to the task at hand, finding it required more concentration when he couldn’t see what he was doing.
Within a couple of minutes, Gallus’s knee was covered, and the man’s moans had stopped.
“Thanks, Jacob,” Gallus murmured.
“We need to get you to shelter. It’s too cold for us to be out in the open.”
“Tent. In my bag.”
Jacob pulled the bag out from under Gallus and rummaged through it, trying to figure out what everything was. “Gallus, I don’t know—”
Someone took the bag from him. Either Aloren or Akeno—he couldn’t tell.
“Here,” Aloren said.
Something heavy was placed in Jacob’s hands. “Push this button when you’re ready to open the tent.”
Gallus sighed. “It’s large—you’ll need space.” He took a deep breath. “Put it closer to the fortress than to the Argots.”
Jacob got to his feet and helped everyone move to the other side of Gallus. After they were safely out of the way, Jacob put the folded fabric on the ground, making sure the opening was nearest him. He pushed the button and jumped back.
A whoosh rushed through the air, followed by several clicks and the sounds of cloth being tightened quickly. When everything was quiet again, Jacob stepped forward and found the door of the tent.
“Okay. Aloren, you first. We’ll give you the far corner.”
He grabbed her hand, leading her around Gallus, then helped her into the tent. Good—her emotions were visible through the thick material. This meant that others’ emotions would also be visible through the tent, which would come in handy in case they had visitors during the night. Jacob shuddered at the thought.
“Matt, Sweet Pea, Akeno—I’ll need all of you to help me pull Gallus inside.” He guided them to Gallus’s shoulders and feet, then on the count of three, they half lifted, half dragged the nearly unconscious man into the tent.
After she was finished delivering messages, Early said she’d spend the night at the foot of Jacob’s sleeping bag, which was fine with him. He found his sword, pulled it into the tent with him, then closed the flap.
“Aldo said we wouldn’t be bothered by animals, right?” he asked.
Early didn’t respond, and Gallus only sighed. Jacob didn’t press either of them. They both needed sleep after the busy day.