Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) (7 page)

‘You keep telling me you’re a merchant, but what do you trade?’ asked Charlie. ‘I don’t see you guys carrying anything to sell.’

‘Ha! Ya got good eyes, me stompin’ Hippotomi, but not that good! Here, take a look at dis,’ said Jensen. Reaching for his backpack, he pulled out a plain-looking leather pouch.

Opening it, Charlie peered inside. It contained a light-blue powder that sparkled in the sunlight and had the most unusual smell. It reminded Charlie of all the great food that she had ever eaten, all the wonderful home-made pastries that Gran had baked her and all the most refreshing drinks that she had ever had.

‘What is it?’ she asked.

‘That, me dear, is me little something-something and it’s guaranteed ta make anything, absolutely anything in the whole world – Bellania or Earth – taste yummy.’

‘Your little “something-something”?’ said Charlie, looking doubtful.

‘It’s Moreish powder,’ explained Jensen, with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. ‘Made from Lindis flowers. It’s an ancient Willow family recipe, made by me great-great-grandma and passed down from generation ta generation … ta yers truly, Jensen the Willow.’

‘Moreish powder?’ said Charlie.

‘Sure Moreish powder. Once ya’ve had a little, yer gonna want more. More … more-ish … Moreish! It makes for a
top-seller and all yer big manufacturers pay serious money for it. Ya Humans can’t produce good grub without it!’

‘Are you trying to tell me that you supply all the biggest food corporations in the world with this? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?’ said Charlie.

‘Sure, and why not?’ asked Jensen, the grin on his face getting even bigger. ‘Ever wonder why ya always feel like having another ice cream straight after yer first, or why one chocolate is never as good as two? Do ya really think it’s just down ta good baking and cooking skills? Of course not! It’s because me Lindis plants produce the best Moreish powder and, wot’s more, I’m the only one who knows the secret ta producing it!’

‘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 presence, 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.