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

  ‘You’re lying!’ said Charlie, convinced that Jensen was pulling her leg.

  ‘Ah-ha! But I bet ya didn’t believe in Tremen, or doors that led ta Bellania, or Bane until ya saw them, right?’ said Kelko, coming to Jensen’s aid.

  Charlie, who was just about to answer back, snapped her mouth shut with an audible click. ‘Er … Well, how come I’ve never heard of, let alone seen a Treman before now?’ she said, changing the subject.

  ‘That’s one of the laws that all Bellanians follow,’ Jensen explained. ‘Bellania and Earth were separated a long, long time ago and they’re supposed ta stay separate. If Humans ever found out about Bellania, how long d’ya think it would take them ta mess things up? They ain’t got no respect; they just ruin and waste everything. Besides, if the two sides were whole again, the risk of another cataclysm would be too big.’

  ‘But what about the people you trade with? Surely the corporations know who they deal with?’ said Charlie.

  ‘Well, of course they do! But it’s only a handful of people, the very big bosses and the top executives, that know the truth, and they certainly aren’t gonna spill the beans on their products, are they? Can ya really see them admitting that they get their secret ingredients from little green men?’ chuckled Jensen.

  ‘Hmm … well I guess that kind of makes sense. Although I think it’s weird no one has ever caught sight of you guys, or that after all that time of trading you haven’t slipped up once,’ said Charlie.

  ‘Well, ta be honest, it does happen every once in a while, but who’s gonna believe the occasional poor idiot who does see us? Who’s gonna believe some poor fool screaming and hollering about green-skinned men with big ears? Sure, ya get yer wild stories in the newspapers about elves and pixies and gremlins and aliens, but no one takes them seriously. That’s wot’s so great about yer side – ya Humans have got closed minds and a really skewed sense of perspective. It makes trading so much easier.’

  Charlie walked quietly besides Jensen. It took a little while for her mind to grasp these new facts. She sighed to herself. None of those soft drinks and sweets would ever seem the same again.

  ‘OK, so tell me about this Western Menace character, Bane,’ she said after a while.

  ‘Well, lass, rumours coming outta the Western Mountains say that Bane went hunting for some ancient and powerful relic that was lost in the Great Cataclysm. Apparently the evil fool found it and used it ta win over the Stomen and he’s got ’em all fired up. They think they can take over Bellania now he’s the Stoman Lord. Don’t get me wrong, not all Stomen have followed Bane down his path. There’s still some tribes that stand apart from the war and some that still live among us. I’m sure ya’ll meet some of them in Sylvaris,’ said Jensen. ‘But now, me little Hippotomi, if ya will excuse me for a minute I gotta go talk with Kelko. He still owes me from our dice game last night and if I don’t nag him I probably won’t be seeing me silver!’

  And with that Jensen hurried off, leaving Charlie alone with her thoughts.

  7

  Tree Song

  As she passed through the forest, marvelling at all the gigantic trees, strange flowers and bizarre wildlife, Charlie couldn’t quite get over what she’d heard. To think that her house protected the entrance to a whole new land. But, more importantly, Bellania seemed to hold the answer to her parents’ disappearance. Her palms itched at the thought of unlocking the secrets that the Jade Circle was keeping. They had to tell her where her parents were!

  Walking along surrounded by her new Treman friends, Charlie realized that for the first time in ages she felt … safe. Safe from Mr Crow anyway. She wasn’t too sure about Bane, though. It was typical that having escaped from one bad thing in her life, another had followed her here.

  She felt for her pendant. It was special to her as a reminder of her parents, but she knew now that she wasn’t the only person who thought it was important. Well, this Bane wasn’t going to get it from her, she decided, her resolve hardening.

  ‘Gran,’ she suddenly whispered, as an image of her grandmother home alone at the mercy of Crow came into her mind. She gritted her teeth and hoped that Tina and Mrs Bagley would be good enough to check up on her, and that Crow hadn’t done anything to her in the meantime.

  So busy was Charlie with her thoughts that she ignored the sudden spurts of wind whistling through the trees, the spatter of heavy raindrops and the silent flash of a nearby lightning strike. It was only when the Tremen started panicking and shouting at her that she snapped back to attention.

  ‘Get outta the way!’ screamed Jensen. ‘Watch out, Charlie! Move!’

  ‘What?’ she asked, twisting round to see what they were shouting about, but all the Tremen were pointing behind her. She turned back.

  ‘Move!’ shouted Stotch.

  Charlie wished that she could move, but her whole body had frozen in shock at the awesome sight unfolding in front of her. In a corner of her mind she registered the sound of everyone hollering and screaming at her, but her attention was firmly focused on the immense tree, split by the lightning and falling in slow motion towards her. She could almost feel its weight as it plummeted near her. She wanted nothing more than to move out of the way, but shock and disbelief had frozen her body to the spot. Creaking and groaning, cracking and splitting, the tree came down.

  A blurring shadow shot towards Charlie and a sudden blow to her stomach winded her as she felt herself propelled backwards. Coming to a halt in the mud, she lay flat on her back, staring up at the thunderous clouds tumbling overhead in the stormy sky. The ground trembled and shook as the mammoth tree struck the forest floor beside her.

  Slowly Charlie sat up. Sic Boy was standing next to her, calmly shaking leaves and mud from his fur. Charlie felt a shiver run up and down her spine and goosebumps prickled her skin. That had been close.

  Too close.

  With stiff fingers, Charlie reached over and gently rubbed Sic Boy’s muzzle in a ‘thank you’ gesture. The large dog stared back at her with his huge eyes before casually yawning as though to say it was no big deal.

  ‘Blight me Leaf, Charlie, but ya sure know how ta have a close shave!’ yelped Jensen. Relief was clearly stamped across his face. ‘Now tell me, lass, why didn’t ya move?’

  ‘Move?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Yeah, ya know, get outta the way of big falling objects? Y’know … move?’

  ‘Oh yeah, move. I’ll have to remember to do that next time,’ said Charlie, who couldn’t stop staring at the fallen tree. Its sheer size and immensity was overwhelming. She wouldn’t admit it to Jensen, but it had been fear that had seized her muscles.

  ‘Well, make sure ya do next time, lass. I don’t think ya would make a good pancake, and I’m betting that’s not the last storm we sees before Sylvaris.’ Jensen gave her a helping hand up and plucked a couple of leaves from her hair. ‘Right, then, let’s go and inspect the damage.’

  ‘Damage?’

  ‘To the tree,’ said Kelko, coming over. ‘Gotta see if we can save it.’

  Charlie stared up as sunlight broke through the cloud layer. It seemed as though the storm would clear almost as fast as it had started. Looking around, she could see the forest return to life. The wildlife slowly emerged from hiding and the cries and whistles of birds resumed.

  ‘Save it?’ she asked.

  Kelko was busy organizing the Tremen. They were clambering over the broken tree trunk, running their hands along the cracks and tears, and gently patting the ruptured bark. ‘We’re checking ta see wot parts of the tree can still be repaired,’ he explained.

  ‘But it’s fallen over,’ said Charlie. ‘How’re you going to fix that?’

  ‘Wait and see, blossom,’ said Kelko with a faint smile across his lips. ‘All right, boys, let’s do it!’

  The Tremen placed their hands on the broken tree stump and in silence bowed their heads. Charlie stood there, looking around, wondering what was going to happen. Suddenly she could feel it: an unseen presen
ce, a change in pressure as the temperature seemed to rapidly rise and fall. A heavy silence descended on the forest as the birds stopped singing and the smaller animals stopped rustling in the bushes. The monkeys that had been hooting, chittering and chattering in the distance quietened and stopped.

  Then the air began to shimmer around the stump. One by one the Tremen raised their heads and, still holding on to the tree, broke into song. Their warm voices rose and fell, echoing around the greenery of the forest. As the song grew in volume and in strength, Charlie could smell the faint aroma of freshly cut grass intermingled with cherry blossom and lavender. To her astonishment she could see the stump begin to bulge and writhe beneath the Tremen’s fingers. Green shoots and leaves erupted from the torn bark, twisting and turning as they grew. The new growth quickly gained height, thickening all the while. The Tremen’s melody slowly quietened until, one by one, their voices fell silent.

  Kelko was the last to stop, and Charlie noticed that his voice was surprisingly warm and tender. Releasing his hold on the newly healed tree, the Treman stepped back and smiled cheekily at Charlie. ‘Well, blossom, wotcha think of that?’

  Charlie stared in disbelief at the tree stump. Where before it had been broken and blackened from the lightning strike, it now sprouted fresh growth. The cracks had healed and growing from the stump was a young sapling. It was nothing like as tall as the original, yet it still stood higher than a three-storey house.

  ‘Wow!’ said Charlie.

  ‘Yup, ya could say that!’ said Kelko. He enthusiastically patted the new tree. ‘Give it another couple of years and it’ll be big enough ta throw a party on.’

  ‘How’d you do that?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Invite all the neighbours round for a nice brew and get some funky music going! Oh yeah and party clothes. A party ain’t a party without slick outfits, fine food, good drink and an outrageous helping of naughtiness!’

  ‘No, no!’ Charlie rolled her eyes. She pointed at the flourishing sapling. ‘How did you do that?’

  ‘Oh! We just encourage it ta grow a wee bit. Ya know, give it a little push, a little helping hand. It’s one of the Treman rules: ya gotta look out for the trees. We provide for them and they provide for us.’

  ‘Was it the singing?’

  ‘Well, yeah, the singing is how we tell the trees what ta do.’ Kelko could see Charlie didn’t quite understand. ‘Blossom, it’s wot’s done in Bellania. The Tremen treesing and harvest the forest, and the Stomen sing to the stones and manage the rock fields. I can’t explain it any more. It’s like eating and breathing; it’s wot comes naturally ta us.’

  ‘Right …’ said Charlie.

  Jensen had been admiring the new tree growth. Now, noticing that the clouds were clearing and the sun had started to shine again, he rallied the Tremen together.

  ‘Good job, boys! Now then, let’s get moving or we won’t be reaching Sylvaris any time soon!’

  The young Stoman had been tending his family’s rock fields, harvesting crystals and storing them in the large leather sack slung over his shoulder. As the sun began to dip beneath the horizon, he prepared to finish his day’s work.

  A shrill keening howl that echoed across the distance made him pause in his tracks. In all his thirteen years of tending the rock fields he’d never heard anything like it. The cry sounded again, sending shivers down his spine. Climbing a nearby finger of rock, he stood and shielded his eyes from the setting sun’s glare. Gazing around, he tried to locate the source of the sound.

  His thick, gnarled skin rippled nervously as he heard the howling yet again, and this time it was joined by other similar voices that hissed, chittered and chattered. The shrieking drew nearer and the sounds echoed back and forth, bouncing from the towering rocks and causing small stones to tumble and shatter on the rocky floor below.

  Close to panic, the young Stoman peered out from the ledge, desperate to locate whatever was making the noise. The screeching increased in volume, the sound tearing at his eardrums.

  Suddenly a thick sinuous shape spat overhead, the wind from its passage almost knocking the boy from where he stood. Others soon followed, their scaled bodies glinting horribly in the setting sun. Huge talons and wicked teeth shone and twinkled in the light. Calling and hissing to each other, the creatures sped through the air, lashing at the rock spires with their barbed tails as they swept past. The whir of their dragonfly wings reverberated around the stone surroundings. The young Stoman clung to the outcrop with white knuckles, shivering and sweating.

  With a final rush of wind and a flashing glimpse of scales, they were gone, their cries dwindling into the distance.

  ‘Legends, they’re only supposed to be legends,’ the boy whispered to himself. ‘They can’t be real, they can’t.’

  Sliding from his perch, he fled home to tell his rock-siblings that Wyrms once more flew in Bellanian skies.

  8

  An Introduction to K’Changa

  ‘We’ll set up camp here for the night,’ said Jensen.

  After yet another hard day of marching with the Tremen, Charlie was ready for a rest. All the amazing sights she’d seen over the past three days, the strange creatures and the entertaining company, had kept a smile firmly plastered on her face, but her feet were aching.

  The Tremen busied themselves making a fire and preparing food.

  ‘Can I help?’ Charlie asked Jensen, who was clearing a space for sleeping.

  ‘Ya just rest, lass. We’ve set a good pace. I reckon another day and a half will see us in Sylvaris,’ he said, the constant twinkle in his eyes brighter than ever.

  ‘Will I like it?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Like it? Why, of course ya will! It’s not called the Flower of Deepforest for nothing. But we’ll be there ta look after ya, me little Hippotomi, and it’ll be a pleasure ta show ya around and introduce ya ta the Jade Circle.’

  ‘Promise?’

  ‘Of course, so long as ya promise not ta start stompin’ those feet!’ snorted Jensen.

  ‘Hhmpf!’

  ‘Hey, boys, we got a grumpy lass in our midst!’ shouted Jensen. ‘Wot say we give her a little K’Changa demonstration?’

  Charlie grabbed Jensen by his ear. Pulling him down to her head height, she whispered quite sternly, ‘I’m not grumpy!’

  ‘I know, sweetheart, but dis gives me an excuse ta beat Kelko and some of the boys at K’Changa. It’s been a while and if I don’t stay on top of them, they’ll say I’ve lost me edge!’ whispered Jensen.

  ‘OK, but what’s K’Changa – a board game?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘Ya’ll see!’ he said, and threw her a cheeky wink. As he walked off, Charlie could hear him talking and chuckling to himself. ‘K’Changa a board game? Ha! A board game!’

  Before Charlie could ask what he was talking about, Jensen, Kelko and five of the other Tremen stripped off their shoes and shirts. Walking to the centre of the clearing in just their trousers, they began to stretch and warm up. Stotch, with a blazing torch in his hand, burned a wide circle into the grass.

  ‘Hey, Stotch, what’s K’Changa?’ asked Charlie.

  ‘It’s a sport, blossom. It’s like dis: the boys are gonna fight over a shuttlecock, which we call a Zephyr. The one who can hold on ta it for a slow count of ten wins. Wot makes it difficult is ya can’t actually hold the Zephyr, nor can ya drop it ta the floor. Ya have ta keep possession through striking it – knees, feet, hands, chest and head are allowed, but absolutely no holding. Anyone who grabs it gets an instant disqualification. Nor can ya leave the circle with the Zephyr – that’ll get ya disqualified too.’ Noticing that Charlie looked thoroughly confused, he pulled her over to the edge of the circle and they sat down. ‘Here, watch and see.’

  The Tremen who weren’t playing also sat down. They brought out their drums and soon a wild and fiery rhythm was flying around the clearing. Stotch threw extra timber on the fire and when the flames were roaring and the drums beating, the players prepared to start the gam
e.

  ‘All right, then!’ called out Jensen. ‘Cos ya lazy lumps can’t hope ta match me grace and sheer talent, I’ll let whoever first wins the Zephyr keep it for a count of five before I join the game!’

  Stotch, who was sitting next to Charlie, began to whisper commentary. ‘Jensen’s one of the best – trouble is he knows it. The boys will really hope ta take him down a peg or two!’

  ‘A count of five?’ roared Kelko. ‘That’s crazy talk! If ya give me a head start like that, y’know I’m gonna kick yer skinny green backside!’

  ‘Ha! Let’s see, then!’ cried Jensen. ‘Stotch, throw in the Zephyr!’

  Stotch pulled a shuttlecock from his bag. It had been made with startlingly blue feathers and bound with golden thread. With a casual flick of his wrist, he threw it into the centre of the circle.

  The Tremen burst into motion. Spinning and somersaulting, they kicked and struck at the Zephyr, keeping it aloft. Green bodies gleaming, they flashed and spun through the air. With jewellery clattering and feet stomping, they timed each movement to coincide with the rolling drumbeat.

  Charlie’s jaw dropped open. She didn’t know what to make of it. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The closest thing she could compare it to was martial arts mixed with dancing and gymnastics, but all ferociously blended together by a tornado. She loved it.

  Kelko, amazingly graceful considering his huge bulk, hooked the Zephyr out of the air and, with rapid taps, weaved the shuttlecock past all the other Tremen. Flipping on to his hands, he kicked it skyward, then flipped back to his feet to regain control of it with a toss of his head. Tapping the Zephyr with his knees, he spun away from the circle’s edge and back into the fray.

  Stotch began to count and Charlie joined in: ‘One … Two … Three …!’ Jensen was calmly standing by the side of the grassy circle. ‘Four … Five …!’

  With a shout, Jensen burst into the circle. Kelko saw him coming and flipped out of the way. Spinning and weaving, he anxiously tried to keep the other Tremen between himself and Jensen. It didn’t slow Jensen down at all. Ducking and gliding and with the beating of the drums pushing him on, Jensen drew closer to Kelko and the shuttlecock.