Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) Read online

  With a start Charlie awoke from a terrible dream. Her brow was slick with sweat and her stomach churned from the memory of it. Even now faint flashes of her grandmother trapped at home with Mr Crow, Bane and a pack of Shades fizzled across her sleep-befuddled mind.

  A shadow moved beneath the door.

  ‘Jensen, is that you? Salixia?’ Then she realized that she could still hear the hiss and spine-chilling scream of the Shades from her dream. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t still asleep. ‘Ow!’

  She rubbed furiously at the blotchy mark on her skin. Well, if it hurts, thought Charlie with a puzzled frown, then I can’t be dreaming. But if she could hear Shades while she was awake, then that meant …

  The door began to rattle and bang. Shadowy black tendrils eased under the door as it started to buckle and bend, losing its shape. Finally it exploded from its hinges as fierce guttural cries filled the room. With shark-like grace, the Shades streamed into Charlie’s bedroom. Howling and hissing, they swept across the floor and poured on to her bed, eager for blood.

  She wasn’t there.

  Screaming their fury and frustration, they scrambled around the room, searching for any sign of her. They sniffed and scratched at the carpets, tore at the panelled walls and overturned wardrobes, tables, chairs and closets.

  It was the flutter of curtains in the breeze that gave away the girl’s escape route. Snarling, they scampered out on to the balcony, screaming in triumph when they saw their prey.

  Charlie took one look at the shadowy, hungry mass that streamed towards her and, swallowing her fear, jumped. Arms outstretched, she barely reached the woodwork of the neighbouring balcony. Her fingers scrabbled for purchase and her hips slammed heavily against the railing. She gasped in relief as she secured a handhold. Ignoring the pain and the tears that leaked from her eyes, she pulled herself up and over to drop breathlessly on the other side. She then scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide in sheer horror when she saw the Shades scuttling across the wall in a lizard-like fashion.

  Quickly she tried the door that led into the neighbouring tower but it was bolted from the inside. Spinning around, she hurriedly took stock of her options.

  There weren’t many.

  ‘Blast, blast, blast, BLAST!’ she spat.

  The fetid, cold, corpse-like breath of a Shade on her shoulders told her that she had run out of time. Gulping in a huge lungful of cold night air, she took aim, bent her legs and jumped.

  ‘Oof!’

  The smooth wooden plumbing that ran down the side of the tower knocked the wind out of her, but she held tight and began to slide down the drain like a fireman on a pole. Faster and faster she descended, the windows of the tower blurring past. As she got to the bottom she closed her eyes tight and, sucking up all her courage, she kicked off and leaped away from the building.

  ‘Ouch!’

  Dusting herself off, she scrambled to her feet. In her opinion, her rough landing on to the bridge should have been a lot more graceful. She’d be sure to talk to Kelko about her K’Changa training. Maybe it had something in it that would help with falling and hopefully include some advice to prevent her from landing on her bottom.

  The screech and shrieks of the pursuing Shades soon had her focused and running down the bridge.

  ‘Help! Help me!’ she hollered as loud as she could. ‘Help!’

  But no one appeared to hear and Charlie soon shut up. Screaming seems to work well for people in the movies, she thought as she raced along the roads of Sylvaris, but not so well in real life. Putting her head down, she concentrated on pushing her legs as fast as she could. It seemed a wiser option than just screaming like a little girl.

  Unsure where to go, she headed towards the tower of the Jade Circle. Surely there would be someone there who could help. She’d even put up with the obnoxious Delightful Brothers if it meant she was safe.

  Glancing back, she caught sight of the Shades leaping from Jensen’s tower and on to the bridge. They quickly gave chase and, to Charlie’s horror, soon began to narrow the distance between them and her.

  She really began to panic. Looking from side to side, she hunted for any means of escape.

  Any. Means. Of. Escape.

  Running close to the bridge’s edge, she looked over the side. Nothing. Veering over to the other side, she again peered over. There! Another bridge, graceful and sleek in the pale moonlight and not too far away. Could she make the jump?

  She’d have to.

  Backing up a couple of paces, she dug her nails deep into her palm, then sprinted as hard as she could and leaped …

  To her astonishment, she made it! She cleared the gap easily! Laughing with unexpected pleasure, she turned to see the Shades gathering at the other bridge’s edge. They weren’t able to make the jump. Hissing, spitting and snarling their fury, they hurried off to find another way over.

  Charlie grinned, her teeth shining in the pale moonlight. She didn’t know how she’d made such a mammoth jump, but she had! And with the head start she’d just given herself, she’d be able to make it to the tower of the Jade Circle ahead of the Shades easily.

  Smirking, Charlie trotted off down the bridge, but as she crested the peak and stared down the other side of the curved bridge she almost choked.

  The bridge she was standing on wasn’t finished!

  It came to a halt and ended a good stone’s throw before it reached the streets on the other side of the gap. The Torn Bridge! She should have realized!

  Gaping foolishly, Charlie turned to sprint back the other way. Maybe she could make it before the Shades caught up. Maybe! Arms pumping and legs pistoning, she practically flew back the way she’d come, but as she reached the bridge’s crescent she stumbled to a halt.

  She could see the Shades starting up the other end of the bridge. She was trapped! Her earlier bravado disappeared in a puff of fear. Frantically she stared around for any way out, but there was nothing.

  Maybe, thought Charlie, now would be a good time to start screaming again.

  ‘Help! Help! Helpppppppppp!’ she cried, as loud as she could. Surely someone would hear her, surely someone would wake up. ‘Help! Help! Oh! Please! Help! Someone, anyone, HELP!’

  The pendant hanging around her neck suddenly began to vibrate. It grew warm, then hot, as a thick beam of light abruptly shot out from where it hung beneath her shirt and speared out into the night sky. Charlie was so shocked that she just stood there, foolishly staring at her pendant, the threat of immediate danger temporarily forgotten.

  ‘It’s never done that before …’ she muttered in wonder.

  Shrill screams and echoing shrieks snapped her attention back to the present and she sprinted for the torn and broken end of the bridge. It was her only choice.

  The Shades were so very, very near.

  But when she reached the end of the bridge, what then? She felt goosebumps running up and down her back – she really, really didn’t want to die.

  ‘Blast, blast, blast!’ she swore through clenched teeth. The pendant had stopped its strange glow and now hung about her neck as though nothing had happened.

  ‘Young Keeper!’ cried a strong, lion-like voice from above. ‘Hold on, I’m coming!’

  Charlie slid to a halt and gasped as she saw a figure leap from a nearby tower to float softly towards her.

  She couldn’t believe her eyes. The distances were huge … surely no one could make such a jump. The approaching figure was covered in a dark robe that flapped behind him in the night air and for a brief second, backlit by the crescent moon, he looked like a great bird flying through the air towards her.

  Lightly and almost soundlessly, the mysterious figure landed beside her. A soft hood covered his head and it crossed Charlie’s mind that she had been whisked back in time to another place so that now she stood next to a medieval monk. Stranger things had happened to her recently, she had to admit.

  ‘Stand behind me,’ commanded the stranger as he turned to face back down
the bridge.

  The Shades came bubbling over the bridge’s crescent like a black wave, their eager, bloodthirsty cries turning the air thick and sour as they shot venomously forward.

  ‘BACK!’ cried the hooded stranger, punching his hands forward in a clawing motion. A thick rippling wave of golden light gushed from his fingers to push at the Shades. ‘Get you back!’

  The Shades screamed and tore at the beam but it held them fast. To Charlie’s unbelieving eyes, it appeared as though they were fighting a gluey, impenetrable torrent of light that simply could not be broken. Her mouth hinged open and all she could utter was a little ‘Oh!’

  ‘You foul creatures, how dare you enter Sylvaris with your rotten stink?’ growled the stranger with his booming voice. ‘Get you gone from here! I will not abide it! Be gone!’

  Arms outstretched, he braced himself as the light trapped the Shades, holding them fast. Straining, he began to walk forward, step by step, pushing the writhing and furiously spitting creatures backwards. ‘Be gone, I said!’ And with a last thunderous push, he heaved them off the side of the bridge.

  Charlie rushed to the edge just in time to glimpse the still-screaming Shades as they plummeted towards the Deep-forest canopy far below. She breathed a deep sigh of relief before turning to stare at the monk-like figure that stood next to her.

  ‘Oh, my days!’ she said, grabbing his arm as amazement overcame her fright. ‘That was awesome! Totally and completely awesome!’

  The stranger peered over the edge of the bridge, the light from his hands completely gone.

  ‘Hey, don’t I know you?’ continued Charlie, now she was looking at him properly. ‘Aren’t you from the Jade Circle?’

  ‘That is correct, young Keeper,’ said the stranger, pushing back his hood to reveal an old, wise-looking face. ‘I am indeed from the Jade Circle and I heard, or rather I felt, your cry for help.’

  Charlie studied his Human features. His head was completely bald and his bronzed skin shone softly in the moonlight. Long, thick eyebrows hung low to merge with his huge grey beard, which swept majestically to his chest. Wooden beads had been threaded through his beard and they softly clicked and clacked together as the night wind blew across the bridge.

  For all his obvious age, he looked incredibly powerful and strong. Charlie couldn’t help but think of paintings she had seen in the National Gallery back home in London. The ones that showed powerful Roman generals and Greek gods, greying, aged, but still mighty and very much in control of their elements.

  ‘You were the one who told me about my parents and Bane’s Tapestry, weren’t you?’ Charlie said. ‘In fact, you were the third to support the motion that the Jade Circle tell me the truth about my parents.’

  ‘That is correct, young Keeper,’ he said with his warm, golden voice.

  ‘Who are you?’ asked Charlie.

  The stranger smiled warmly. ‘My name is Azariah … Azariah Keeper.’

  17

  The Awakening

  Graceful, ancient columns that stretched as far as the eye could see reared up to caress the vaulted ceiling. The walls, if there were in fact any, were hidden in the darkness.

  The chamber smelt old, musky and faintly of liquorice. A layer of unmarked rock dust lined the floor, free of any footprint or mark. A slight breeze, almost unnoticeable, wafted around the huge space, gently stirring rows and rows of brightly coloured silken cocoons that hung from the ceiling.

  Excluding the rhythmic swaying of the pods, all was silent and still and had remained so for a long, long time.

  Until now.

  A thick beam of white light burst into the columned room, invading the darkness and washing the ceiling with a warm glow. The chamber soaked up the light, taking on a golden radiance that pulsed and throbbed rhythmically, like a living heart. After a short period, the light slowly faded and, once again, the room returned to its former darkness.

  One of the cocoons began to bulge. Flexing and stretching, it shook as its occupant, after almost seven years of silent sleep, awoke. A sharp talon poked its way through and began to saw at the thick membrane of the pod. Bit by bit, a tear was made, and, withdrawing its talon, the pod’s inhabitant slowly began to force its way through. After a brief struggle a dark, mysterious shadow wriggled free and fell, quite clumsily, to the hard floor, where it landed with a thud and a billow of dust.

  It lay there for a while, in the shadows, collecting its breath and allowing its eyes to adjust to the gloom. Then it eased itself to its feet and stretched. Really stretched. Muscles that had never before been used cracked and groaned. Shaking its lithe, powerful body, it padded across the chamber, sniffing at the air and looking up longingly at the other cocoons that lined the ceiling. All were silent and still.

  Slowly it collected its thoughts.

  Something had awoken it.

  It remembered a voice, a needy voice. A voice that had cried out in fear. A voice that it somehow knew. A voice that tasted like the scent of family. Raising its head on its long, sinuous neck, it again stared upward at the other dormant cocoons containing its brethren, its sisters and brothers. Up there was its family.

  But oddly enough it was quite sure that the frightened voice also belonged to a member of its family. And that was reason enough for it to have awoken. Family and all matters relating, it took very seriously and to heart.

  The creature didn’t know why it would have family outside this chamber. Or why they might need its help so urgently. All it knew was that it had to go. A strong urge was pulling it, tugging it northward to an unknown destination. Somewhere that was far, far away.

  Powerful muscles bunched and tensed. With long, smooth bounds, the creature took off. As it ran past the eerily silent columns, it realized with a sinking feeling that it would never reach this mysterious family member in time. The distance was too great. It sensed days of travel lay between the two of them and that whatever danger threatened its relative was already perilously close. But nevertheless it had to try.

  For family.

  The columns flashed by as it began to sprint faster and faster. Head down, tail outstretched, it streaked into a narrow tunnel. Warm, musky air filled its lungs as it bounded up the tunnel’s slope. Twisting and turning, the passageway led upward, always upward.

  The tunnel’s darkness began to fade and ahead the mysterious creature could see a slash of night sky. With a triumphant growl, it burst out and, increasing its stride, tore along the barren mountainside. Charging forward, it headed at breakneck speed towards a sheer cliff. Ligaments stretching and muscles popping, it approached the drop and, with a last, final effort, it jumped.

  The sound of the wind rushing by and the glorious sense of free-fall delighted the creature. As it plummeted, a fierce grin crept across its face. It was enjoying itself. With a sharp, snapping noise, leathery wings unfurled and sprang open, catching at the air, halting its unchecked descent. And with broad sweeps of its wings, the creature began to fly northward.

  Searching for Charlie Keeper.

  Hissing in pain and making half-hearted attempts to lick its wounds, the Shade dragged its broken body along Deep-forest’s hidden paths.

  Unlike its comrades, it had been fortunate enough to survive the long fall from Sylvaris. The forest canopy and countless branches had slowed its tumbling descent. Bouncing from tree limb to tree limb, it had miraculously survived.

  But it wasn’t happy. It had failed and failed miserably in its task. The master would not be happy.

  Growling, muttering and gasping, it crept painfully through the undergrowth and slid, worm-like, into the dark recess of the newly created crevasse. It would take the dark paths back to the Western Mountains and there it would inform the master of all that had happened within Sylvaris. Perhaps, with luck, the master would grant it a quick release from its pain.

  18

  Questions and Answers

  ‘Oh, my days!’ squawked Charlie, as a thousand questions tumbled and flickered across her
mind. ‘Are you part of my family? Did you know my parents? And how did you do that? That jump was amazing – I can’t believe you managed it. And that light, what was that? How did it come out of your hands? Could I learn to do that? Are the Shades dead or have you just stopped them for now? How did you hear –’

  ‘Young Keeper,’ broke in Azariah, putting an abrupt end to Charlie’s torrent, ‘you must learn to control your mind and through that your tongue.’

  ‘But –’

  ‘No buts. Conserve your energy. Observe, listen and you will learn a lot faster,’ intoned Azariah. ‘Now then, I think that perhaps it would be wise for me to escort you back to Willow Tower. Along the way I will allow you to ask three questions.’

  ‘Three questions!’ gasped Charlie, ‘Why just three? I’ve got so many –’

  ‘Because I do not desire to spend the whole night answering the questions of a young girl who should really be in bed!’ interrupted Azariah. ‘By asking less and studying what occurs around you, perhaps you could answer some of these questions for yourself. Now then, that was one question answered, so you have two more to ask.’

  ‘What! But that’s unfair! That wasn’t a real question – at least, not one of the three that I wanted to really, really ask you.’

  ‘Well, young Keeper,’ said Azariah, ‘this is exactly what I was talking about. If you engaged your mind more you would not make such foolish mistakes!’

  Charlie wanted more than anything to just stand there and stamp her foot in indignant rage. Was he mad? Just three questions! And what was worse, she had the distinct impression that her saviour was smirking at her from behind his beard.

  What questions to ask? What was most important to her? That light was amazing: how did he do that? And that jump, no Human could have done that. It must have been magic!

  Ooh! thought Charlie. Two questions weren’t enough. No way!

  But she realized there was one burning question that had to be asked first. The others could wait.