Free The Golden Symbol by Andrea Pearson Page A

enough time?”
    “It will—he only taught me one step. And I’d rather spend as much time learning with him right now as possible.”
    Jacob wished he could watch Akeno practice, but he looked at his watch. He only had twenty minutes before needing to meet with Azuriah. Besides, the Makalo obviously didn’t want an audience, and Jacob would respect that.
     
    ***
     
    Eachan wasn’t in the town hall when Jacob got there. And he made sure to search the entire place—upstairs, front porch, kitchen, backyard area, and cellar. He Time-Saw through the city and every part of the Lorkon castle he could still see. Eachan wasn’t anywhere.
    Jacob figured the man was probably in a place that had the anti-Shiengol potion smeared on its walls. He had no choice but to return home. He and Azuriah were leaving in five minutes, and he had to get his things together still.
    He Keyed home, grabbed the bag he’d laid out the night before, and ran to the kitchen, throwing dried fruits, beef jerky, and cheese inside. Azuriah said there was no need for pretty much everything else Jacob had planned to take. He even told Jacob to leave Early’s container home—she wouldn’t be able to go to Renforth’s world without permission, and Renforth had only approved Azuriah, Jacob, and Gallus.
    Jacob didn’t like the idea of not having his Minya with him. He was bringing seeds so he could call her anytime he needed while still on Eklaron, but once they got to Renforth’s world, he’d be completely cut off from her and his family.
    He really didn’t like that.
    After stuffing his backpack, Jacob Time-Saw and found Akeno. The Makalo was waiting near Azuriah’s door. Good.
    Jacob Keyed himself to Aldo’s cabin—who wasn’t there—and quickly took Akeno back to Onyev’s time. He didn’t wait to see where his friend went, but returned to the present as soon as possible.
    While waiting for Gallus, Azuriah checked with Renforth once more to see if he would consider lifting the ban on magical entry to his world. Of course he wouldn’t, so Azuriah would have Jacob Key them to an old city that used to be inhabited by Shiengols. The gateway to Renforth’s world was in that city.
    “It doesn’t have a name anymore,” Azuriah said when Jacob asked what it was called.
    “Why not?”
    “No one can remember it.”
    Jacob thought that was silly. Why hadn’t someone given it a new name? Judging by the expression on Gallus’s face—who’d just arrived—he felt that way too.
    But Azuriah continued, answering Jacob’s unspoken question. “Usually, when that happens, it’s because there’s a curse on the city. Nothing sticks, and trying to force the place to have a name would curse whoever was doing it.”
    Oh, great. Just great. Going to a cursed city? Totally not what Jacob wanted to do.
    “Key us to—”
    Gallus put his hand up. “Why was the city cursed?”
    Azuriah glared at Gallus and motioned for Jacob to continue with the Key. “The Shiengol leading it must have broken a law. That’s the usual reason.”
    Gallus grunted. “You should have warned us ahead of time. Is the curse going to affect us?”
    Azuriah didn’t respond. The colors in the air around him showed he was annoyed. Jacob was on Gallus’s side, though. A warning would have been excellent.
    Without further interruption, Jacob Keyed them to the city. It was weird, not knowing the name of the place. He ended up saying, “The cursed Shiengol city where Renforth’s link is located,” then crossed his fingers, hoping that would work.
    It did. He pushed the door open cautiously. The first thing he noticed was that the sun wasn’t nearly as bright there as back in Mendon. He didn’t say anything about that, though, figuring it had to do with the curse.
    Nothing of the city remained except heavy, dark stone ruins—ancient buildings that had once stood tall, given the amount of debris around them. Some were still three and four stories high. How long ago had this