Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) Page 3

  ‘My pendant?’ said Charlie, instinctively grabbing it.

  Mr Crow scurried over to Charlie. Kneeling down, he slapped her hand away and removed the necklace with his spider-like fingers. Unclipping his braces from his trousers, he leaned over to tie up Charlie with them. But, recovering her senses, Charlie grabbed the lawyer’s hand and bit him with all her might.

  Crow screamed, grabbing his bleeding hand as he leaped back. Charlie snatched up her pendant and made for the door, but before she could reach it enormous python-like fingers grabbed her leg and hauled her into the air.

  ‘Going somewhere, little maggot?’ chuckled the giant.

  Charlie yelled in terror and instinctively lashed out with her hands. The pendant whipped round and hit the giant’s arm. Immediately, thick bubbling smoke erupted where the necklace had made contact. The giant roared and Charlie found herself airborne as she was flung across the room. She quickly struggled to her feet and turned round to see the giant bellowing in pain and Mr Crow still holding his mangled hand. She bolted for the door.

  ‘Fool! Grab her!’ roared the giant. Crow made a lunge for Charlie but tripped over his braces. ‘Idiot!’ the deep voice boomed. ‘Shades, come to me. Come now – your master commands it!’

  Opening the study door, Charlie glanced back. Mr Crow was on his hands and knees on the floor; the giant stood arms outstretched and silhouetted in the centre of the room. But what made Charlie go cold were the shadows tumbling and oozing out of the safe. Mewling and snuffling, they crowded around the giant’s feet. Turning, she fled.

  Racing through the house, Charlie sped away as an unnatural howling and barking followed her. Bolting through doorways, scrambling up and down stairs, she ran from the pursuing Shades. While she paused for breath at the top of a flight of stairs, Charlie tried to take stock of the situation.

  ‘Oh no – Gran!’ she cried.

  Turning to head back and warn her grandmother, Charlie was confronted by a Shade rippling up the stairs. She yelped, quickly changed direction and bounded through the nearest door. Snatching a look over her shoulder, she glimpsed more Shades tumbling after her.

  Putting her head down, Charlie pumped her legs even faster. She jumped through a door, almost tearing it off its hinges, and quickly turned the key in the lock. Looking round, she was surprised to find herself in the corridor where she had so recently met Jensen. Lungs heaving and with a stitch beginning to burn in her side, she raced down the hall.

  BAA-BOOM!

  The door in front of her burst apart and, as the dust began to clear, Charlie saw the black-robed giant brushing past the shattered doorframe. His huge bulk completely blocked her exit. Looking back, she saw a Shade oozing under the locked door behind her.

  ‘Yes, little maggot, what are you going to do now? Give me the pendant, squishy Human girl, and I might not feed your fleshy carcass to my Shades.’

  The Shade behind her hissed in anticipation. But spying the small door Jensen had used earlier Charlie scrambled through into the huge vaulted chamber. It may have been her fevered imagination, but the dragons carved on the walls seemed to move and writhe even more than earlier. There was no sign of Jensen.

  Hurrying over to the nearest door, she tried the handle, but as before it was firmly locked. Remembering her previous lack of success with opening the doors, Charlie began to panic. She hurried over to the next one, but it too was locked.

  A deep, rumbling chuckle filled the room. Knowing what to expect, Charlie slowly turned towards the sound. The giant stood there with his arms crossed as Shades boiled and twisted around his feet.

  ‘Oh no! Oh no! Not good!’ Charlie raced to the next door – the one made from wood – and began to scream and shout as she pounded on it. ‘Help! Help me! Jensen, where are you? Gran, help me! Someone, anyone! Please!’

  Turning, she saw the giant stalking towards her. The Shades had spread out across the room, foiling any possibility of escape.

  She scrabbled at the handle and pounded on the door again. ‘Let me in! Let me in! Jensen, please let me in. Please open!’

  An icy wind suddenly filled the chamber. Snapping at Charlie’s ponytails, it howled across the room and blew at the bracketed torches, causing the flames to flare. On the walls, the dragons snarled and lashed their tails, definitely moving this time. The giant bellowed as his robes flapped around him and the Shades screamed. Charlie fell over and stared in disbelief as the door swung open.

  She could see nothing through the doorway, just a throbbing deep blackness. But the giant’s angry bellow of rage brought Charlie sharply to her senses. Gathering all her courage, she took a deep breath and jumped into the darkness.

  4

  A High Dive

  Charlie hit the ground hard and fell in a heap. Rolling on to her knees, she stared back at the approaching Shades. They came bounding and leaping towards her, screaming and spitting venomously, their rage and terrible anger causing Charlie to flinch in horror. The giant was also nearing the door, his black, bandaged hands reaching out. She could hear him repeating a fevered chant as his legs stumbled their way across the floor.

  ‘Squeeze her, crush her! Suck her marrow! Squeeze her, crush her! Suck her marrow!’

  Charlie recoiled in fear. Springing for the door, she tried to force it shut. Pushing all her weight against it, she attempted to close it, but the door wouldn’t move. Steadfast and stubborn, it stayed ajar.

  ‘Oh no, oh no, oh no! Shut, shut, shut, SHUT!’ cried Charlie. She stamped her foot in frustration. ‘Shut, shut! Oh, please, please shut!’

  Incredibly, the door began to move. The giant, seeing his prey about to escape, put on a sudden burst of speed. Jumping towards Charlie, he lashed out with clawed fingers, but the door was faster. With a thunderous bang, it slammed shut, cutting off the terrible cries of her pursuers and leaving her alone in the dark. Reaching out, Charlie placed her trembling hands on the wooden surface. She could feel faint tremors from their frenzied efforts, nothing more. The door stood firm. It didn’t budge, not even an inch.

  Charlie released a shuddering breath, then turned round in an effort to get her bearings. As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she began to make out faint details. She was in what she guessed to be a large tunnel, and spaced at regular intervals along the walls were what looked like statues, but in the gloom she couldn’t be sure. Following the walls, she began to edge her way along and soon she became aware of the sound of rushing water.

  Turning a corner, Charlie’s path joined a much larger tunnel lit by smoky torches that spat and popped in the moist air. A river cascaded down a causeway and graceful bridges spanned it at regular intervals. In the distance, Charlie could see a circle of daylight.

  A terrible and sudden thought brought her to a halt. Her house was enormous and she had, of course, seen many unusual sights and wonders within its walls, but nothing as strange as a whole river. Charlie had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t in her house any more. The thought almost made her stop, turn round and head back. However, the idea of returning to confront the giant wasn’t exactly appealing. Besides, she had a curious nature. She had never tired of discovering new territory inside her house, so why should this be any different? Setting her mouth in a determined pout, Charlie hurried towards the light, eager to see where it led.

  The bright end of the tunnel opened out on to a cliff face. Standing at the edge of the path, Charlie gaped in delight as she took in the view. Spread far below her lay an immense forest. Huge trees thrust their foliage skyward to form an extraordinary ocean of green that stretched as far as her eyes could see. Many of the trees were in bloom and the scents that filled the air and tickled at her nose – lavender, vanilla, aniseed and others – were unlike any she had experienced before. Gazing in wonder, Charlie saw huge pink birds that reminded her of flamingos gliding above the forest canopy.

  Beside her the river emerged into the sunlight and fell to form a vast, roaring waterfall before continuing on its winding, sna
king way into the distance. Near the base of the waterfall was a large clearing. Through the spray Charlie could just make out a small group of figures sitting around a blazing bonfire, with more people fishing nearby on the riverbank.

  A sudden menacing growl coming from behind Charlie made her jump. Had the giant made it through the door? Spinning, she grabbed her pendant and prepared to put up a fight. But to her shock – and immediate fear – she found she was facing the largest dog she had ever seen. Hunching forward, the beast was nearly the size of a pony. Powerful muscles bunched and rippled beneath a gleaming black coat and a strip of white fur ran down its spine. Peeling back its lips to reveal enormous teeth, it growled. Clearly it wasn’t happy.

  Charlie groaned. ‘Can my day get any worse?’ she muttered to herself. Bending down, she picked up a nearby stick and threw it down the path. ‘Er … fetch?’

  The dog wasn’t amused. Snarling, it slowly padded towards Charlie, who just as slowly backed away.

  ‘I guess you’re not the sort of dog that pet shops hope to sell to urban, fun-loving girls, are you? Er … no? I didn’t think so. So why am I getting the really, really, really bad impression that you’re maybe the sort of dog that likes to EAT urban, fun-loving girls instead?’

  Looking over her shoulder, Charlie realized with sudden alarm that the dog had backed her into a corner. On one side was a sheer drop down the cliff face and on the other was the river. Lying on the floor a short distance away was a tree limb, worn smooth from its passage through the water. Charlie started to inch her way towards it. If she could just get her hands on it, she could use it to keep the dog at bay, maybe even scare it off.

  The dog, with canny foresight, moved between Charlie and her goal.

  ‘Oh, for crying out –’

  The dog suddenly leaped at her. Teeth snapping, it shot through the air. Charlie fell backwards in an attempt to get out of its way, but abruptly found herself submerged in icy-cold water. The realization that she was in the water and nearing a plummeting waterfall sent adrenalin pumping through her body. Kicking out in a frenzied front crawl, she tried to reach the riverbank, but it was too late. The rushing water dragged her under. Spinning and tumbling, Charlie lost all sense of direction as she dropped over the cliff face.

  The twisting free-fall seemed to go on forever. Charlie, dizzy beyond belief, saw the foaming surface of the river rushing up to meet her.

  ‘Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh–’

  She slammed into the water, which cut off her scream. Battling against the rushing water, she struggled back up to the surface. Gasping, she managed to drag in a lungful of air before the pounding waters pushed her under again. Struggling harder, Charlie swam with all her might against the powerful undercurrent, but with no success. The waters dragged her down and spun her along the stony riverbed.

  Charlie could feel herself beginning to tire. The thought of drowning in the murky waters made her thrash about, but a sudden collision caused white flashes and an explosion of pain along the side of her head. A trail of blood slowly disappeared into the murky water as she blacked out.

  The giant stood there, staring with a focused rage at the carved wooden door. His anger and fury was so intense that it could be seen pulsing around him like a dark halo. For a long, long time his only movement was the slow opening and shutting of clenched fists. The Shades cowered in silence to either side, forming a rustling and whispering carpet of shadow.

  With a shudder, the giant awoke from his bitter trance. Turning, he strode across the chamber towards the stone door and firmly grasped the criss-crossed carvings on its surface. Then he began to chant. His voice was a deep, rumbling baritone, a combination of whale song and distant thunder. The stone door began to glow a deep red until the giant’s powerful voice filled the chamber, rippling back and forth as it rose to a crescendo. As the chant built in power, the colour brightened from red to orange and finally to a luminous white. The eerie singing continued for a few moments, then suddenly stopped. The giant released his grip and stepped back.

  ‘Open,’ he said.

  Smoothly and silently, the huge door swung open. The giant strode forward with his shadowy servants following at his heels. Stopping halfway through, he turned to one of the Shades. ‘Fetch me a garment that belongs to that squishy little girl. Ensure it is rich with her disgusting and vile scent. Bring it to me in the Western Mountains.’

  He watched the Shade slink away. Slipping under the small door on the far side of the chamber, it disappeared back into the house. The giant grunted his approval before striding through the door with the remaining Shades, leaving the chamber empty and silent.

  5

  New Companions

  Charlie groaned as she came to. Sitting up, she stared around her and found that she was resting on the riverbank. She didn’t remember getting there; in fact, the last thing she remembered was the horror of drowning.

  ‘Hello, lass. Nice swim?’ said a voice.

  Charlie looked up and saw a figure looming over her.

  ‘Uh, hi,’ she said. Immediately she noticed that the man looked a lot like Jensen and she relaxed slightly. ‘Um, are you by any chance a Treman?’

  ‘Ha! Of course I’m a Treman. Wot else would I be? Look! Big nose, big earlobes and let’s not forget me green skin! D’ya meet many Humans that look like dis? I can see yer mind must have been turned ta mush after swallowing all that water!’

  ‘Uh, sure … Well, thanks anyways for saving me. I really appreciate it.’

  ‘Don’t thank me, blossom, thank Sic Boy. He was the one that pulled ya outta the water.’

  ‘Is that him?’ asked Charlie, pointing to a very fat Treman who was walking along the bank, whistling a jaunty tune as he came. His big green stomach, too large to be contained by his leather shirt, bulged over his belt. Charlie couldn’t help noticing that his belly button was pierced.

  ‘Ha! Ya must be kidding. Kelko the Fat Oak swimming? The only thing he’s good for is floating!’

  ‘So who’s Sic Boy, then?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Sic Boy?’ said Kelko, who had just arrived and was now sitting down on the bank next to Charlie. ‘I just saw him off chasing squirrels. He’ll be back in a minute.’

  Charlie raised her eyebrow. Chasing squirrels? Riiiiight.

  ‘Nice dive, by the way,’ said Kelko. ‘I especially enjoyed all the arm waving and screaming. Very stylish, wouldn’t ya say, Stotch?’

  ‘Oh, sure. Real stylish,’ answered the Treman who had first spoken to Charlie. ‘Of course, ya’ve gotta be the only girl stupid enough not ta take the stairs,’ he added, pointing towards the cliff face.

  ‘Stairs? What stairs?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Those really, really big stairs cut inta the cliff face,’ said Kelko. ‘Ya know, the ones that are really hard ta miss.’

  Charlie looked back at the cliff face. Kelko was right: there was indeed a huge staircase carved into the rock.

  ‘Well, it’s not as if I didn’t intend to use them, but I never got the chance.’

  ‘And why’s that, then, lass?’ asked Stotch.

  ‘Because I got pushed into the water by a blooming big, black-furred monster, that’s why!’

  ‘Monster? Around here?’ said Stotch, surprised. ‘Hey, Kelko, ya haven’t seen any monsters around here, have ya?’

  ‘No, not since yer sister stopped coming around!’ said Kelko.

  ‘Shut it, ya big green lump o’ blubber!’

  ‘Hey, I’m serious!’ Charlie interrupted. ‘It jumped at me and … Oh, my days! There it is! Quick, run!’ she shouted.

  Stotch and Kelko stared around in puzzlement.

  ‘Wotcha going on about, lass?’ asked Stotch.

  ‘See, I always said Humans were a few acorns short in the head,’ added Kelko.

  ‘What are you two? Blind? There, right there!’ screamed Charlie.

  The huge dog was sitting calmly on top of the bank. Opening its huge mouth, it yawned and scratched its flanks.


  ‘Ha! Lass, don’t be stupid now, that’s Sic Boy,’ laughed Stotch.

  ‘Sic Boy?’ said Charlie. ‘No, it’s not. It’s the monster that chased me into the river.’

  ‘Sic Boy chased ya inta the river?’ said Kelko. ‘He wouldn’t have done that on purpose. Although I’ve gotta admit he does have a rather wicked sense of humour.’

  ‘Wicked sense of humour? He tried to bite me in half!’

  ‘Nah, he probably just wanted ta play a bit. He’s a bit feisty sometimes. Anyway, don’t forget he’s the one that pulled ya outta the water,’ said Stotch.

  ‘Hhmpf,’ grumbled Charlie. She still wasn’t convinced that the huge dog wasn’t going to pounce down the bank and try to gobble her up.

  ‘How’s yer head?’ asked Stotch.

  ‘Really sore, but I’ve had worse beatings from Mr Crow.’

  ‘Who’s Mr Crow?’ asked Kelko.

  ‘A skinny, deceiving, miserable … um … Never mind, he’s not important.’

  ‘Well, then, lass, if ya can walk, let’s go see the others, get ya some grub and something dry for ya to wear,’ suggested Stotch.

  Bending down, he scooped up his fishing gear, his catch (which consisted of some brightly coloured fish) and his fishing rod before clambering back up the riverbank with Kelko wobbling by his side. Making sure that the two Tremen were between her and Sic Boy, Charlie followed slowly after.

  ‘Hey, um, Kelko, is this Bellania?’ she asked.

  Kelko stopped and turned to her. ‘Of course, lass. Where else would ya see a forest like dis?’ he said, gesturing around him.

  Reaching the top of the bank, Charlie saw that they were in a clearing about half the size of a football pitch. The trees lining the clearing were gigantic, bigger than any she had seen in London. The trunks were wider than buses and the trees themselves towered high enough to look like small skyscrapers. A couple of the pink birds she had seen earlier were walking about, plucking at seeds and insects in the grass. Every once in a while one would lift its head and trill out a whistling song.