Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) (4 page)

Yelping in terror, he tipped backwards in his chair and fell in an untidy heap. Hunched on top of his desk, a shapeless, inky-black monstrosity pulsed and writhed. Extending what could have been either an arm or a paw, it offered a parchment, rolled and bound in black ribbon.

‘Take it,’ the Shade’s voice whispered like a chill winter wind. ‘Take it, miserable Human.’

‘Hhmpf, I assume you’re the Shade my new benefactor
was referring to.’ Crow snatched the parchment. Unravelling the ribbon and breaking the seal, he stared in disbelief at the sketch.

‘Ahhh! It’s been under my nose all this time – I don’t believe it! I’ll skin that little filly alive! Quick, you! Go and tell your master it’s here, that I know where it is!’

The Shade didn’t budge.

‘Well, hurry, you piece of bile. Do what you’re told! Go on, shoo! Go and tell your master!’

The Shade jumped off the desk and thrust its shadowy head into Crow’s face. Cold, fish-like breath washed over the lawyer.

‘Your master too, Human, yours too. Don’t forget.’

With a snarl the Shade shook itself. Turning, it slid from the room.

Charlie had had a really enjoyable day. Breaking a sweat at gymnastics and hanging out with Tina had helped ease her worries and concerns. She finally felt strong enough to return home. But stepping through the front door Charlie groaned. Mr Crow was waiting for her.

‘Well, well, my filly. Had a good day, did you? Been out cavorting and playing with your friends while poor Crow has been working his fingers to the bone?’

Charlie’s anger levels suddenly soared. She would never be free of him, she realized. Losing all sense of caution, she stepped forward to speak her mind.

‘You’ve never done a real day’s work in your life, you
lazy sack of bones. You’re just a bully. You pick on me because I’m small, and you can get away with things because my gran can’t help. Well, you’d better watch out – cos when I get bigger I’ll make you pay!’

Crow’s eyes bulged, his fingers twitched and his face went red, then purple. Charlie shrank back. She knew she’d get punished, but she didn’t care; some things had to be said. Suddenly Mr Crow laughed. His mouth twisted into a sneer. Cracking his knuckles, he leaned forward.

‘When you get bigger?
If
you get bigger, my filly. IF!’

Striding forward on his long legs, Mr Crow grabbed Charlie by the hair and dragged her down the hall.

‘You’re in luck, my pretty. It’s not me you have to worry about. Someone else has expressed an interest in you. Oh yes, your precious little neck has more value than you think and it’s time for you to meet the new master of the house!’

Crow shouldered open the study door and, hauling Charlie kicking and screaming into the room, threw her to the floor by the safe. Stepping back, Crow called out, ‘My lord, she’s here! And she has what you want.’

Charlie looked up at Crow in bewilderment. Had the skinny lawyer lost his mind? Who was he talking to? She knew Crow talked to money, much like one talked to a pet, but surely calling it ‘master’ was a step too far?

BOOM!

Charlie stared as the safe door shook like a leaf in a gale.

BOOM!

The door began to buckle and bend.

KRA-KKOOM!

The safe door flew across the room and landed on the
floor with a loud clang. Charlie sat up. What had just happened? All of a sudden she felt sick and butterflies tore around the inside of her stomach. She couldn’t believe it. A huge foot was sticking out of the safe. Charlie began to whimper as the foot stepped out and a leg the size of a tree trunk followed.

Standing up and filling the study with his bulk, the creature radiated such a sense of menace that Charlie began to shake uncontrollably.

‘This is the one? She holds the key?’ asked the hulking giant in his deep voice. Stooping, he lifted Charlie up easily with one mammoth hand. Turning her head from side to side, he scrutinized his find. ‘Yes, I can see the family resemblance.’ Then, tilting Charlie’s head backwards, he examined her pendant. ‘You have done well, worm. She does indeed carry the key.’ Casually dumping Charlie back on the floor, the giant turned to Crow. ‘Remove the pendant and bind her. I will take them both.’

‘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, snaking 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?’