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down.
    Akeno reached the stone wall—no ladder here,
but handholds in the stone. He was having difficulty trying to
climb with Jaegar, unconscious, in his arms. Jacob put Butch down,
took Jaegar, and motioned for Akeno to climb the wall. Akeno
scrambled halfway to the top. His hand in one of the holes, he bent
and got hold of Jaegar by the arm, hoisting the injured boy over
his head. Someone reached down to grab Jaegar.
    Jacob picked up Butch and shoved him up the
wall to Akeno, who tried pulling the Makalo up as he'd done with
Jaegar.
    “You gotta help,” Akeno said to Butch,
grunting. “You're too heavy.”
    With Akeno pushing, Butch pulled himself up,
crying out in pain. Jacob urged them to go faster—the wolves were
only yards away. Someone lifted Butch over the ledge.
    Akeno climbed the rest of the way, then
reached back down. Jacob took his offered hand and hoisted himself
over the edge and out of the reach of the wolves.
    Kenji was at the top, Jaegar in his arms.
Jacob looked around for Butch and saw him with an elderly man who
supported most of Butch's weight. They hobbled to the right,
disappearing between buildings.
    Kenji addressed a couple of Makalos who were
anxiously peering over the ledge. “Watch the wolves. Tell me when
they leave.” He fled down the path to his left, Jacob and Akeno
jogging to keep up with him.
    “My son, my poor son—” Kenji said to no one,
the pain in his voice evident.
    “I'm so sorry,” Jacob said.
    “If he dies, I . . .” He cleared his throat.
“Jacob, before you came, the wolves never dared enter Taga
Village.”
    Jacob bit his lip, trying to control the
guilt that overwhelmed him. If only he'd listened to the Makalos.
None of this would've happened.
    They entered a house painted bright blue with
white streaks and splashes across the stone. Kenji gently placed
Jaegar on a large table on the left side of the room. Ebony burst
into tears at the sight of her tattered young son.
    “What happened?” she asked.
    “The wolves attacked while . . . ” Akeno
started.
    “While I was trying to go home,” Jacob
finished. Guilt poured over him again.
    Disappointment flushed across Ebony and
Kenji's faces before they looked at their young son again.
    “Oh, Jaegar, Jaegar . . .” Ebony said. “What
if those wolves were poisonous? Will sap help?”
    “We’ll need to work quickly,” Kenji said.
“This is hard, but I need your help. Gather yourself. You know what
to do.”
    Ebony nodded, sniffing, and ran from the
room, returning moments later with some familiar things—a small
package, an armful of cloth, and a bowl.
    Kenji mixed the sap while Ebony separated the
cloth. Most of it had been cut into strips, though one was big
enough to be a sheet.
    Jacob leaned forward, wanting to watch
everything they did, since last time he'd been the injured
person.
    Kenji poured the contents of the jug and the
small package into the bowl, creating a thick, brown liquid. A
smell Jacob recognized reached his nose. Maple syrup. Why on earth
did it smell like maple syrup?
    Akeno and Ebony quickly cut off Jaegar’s
shirt, revealing severe bites all over his chest and arms. Jacob
shook his head, feeling helpless and at fault. The Makalos
saturated strips of cloth with the mixture and laid them on
Jaegar’s wounds.
    Very soon, Jaegar was almost completely
covered. Ebony and Akeno stepped back, Ebony letting out a worried
breath. Kenji covered Jaegar with the sheet, and the three of them
stood near Jacob.
    “Was it too late? Will he die?” Jacob asked,
but Ebony held up her hand.
    “Give it time.”
    Every few moments, she lifted the edge of one
of the strips and looked under, a deep frown on her face. Kenji
paced near the front door, his hands behind his back.
    At first, nothing appeared to be changing.
But after a few minutes, Jacob was relieved to see that the wounds
were healing and disappearing.
    After what felt like forever, Ebony let out a
breath and pulled off all the strips. Every