Keeper of the Realms: The Dark Army (Book 2) (8 page)

Nibbler pushed a door open and light came spilling in.

They were still underground, but in a cave the like of which Charlie had never seen before. The cavern was so large that it dwarfed Darkmount’s house. Charlie gazed around with a sense of wonder and delight.

Fat stalagmites reared upward like great tree trunks to
touch a roof of amethyst that glowed and flickered with a light of its own. Several chuckling and trickling streams meandered between the large stalagmites to gently fill an oval pond. Looking into the crystal clear waters Charlie could see lazy carp swimming in circles. Moths the size of eagles flapped close to the ceiling, the strange light from the amethyst giving their wings a soft, lantern-like glow.

‘So our sleeping Keeper finally awakens,’ said Darkmount, appearing from behind a stalagmite.

‘Erm … yeah.’ Charlie fidgeted as she realized she owed this unlikeable man a debt for the care he had given her over the past days. ‘I wanted to thank you for carrying me here and for all the cooking … That was … nice of you.’

‘We are partners in the undertaking of a deal,’ grunted Darkmount. ‘It makes sense that I look after you. So today is the day for action. Are you ready?’

‘Yes, I think I am. But if we’re making a move today then today is also the day you tell me about my pendant.’

The Stoman bishop nodded. ‘And so I shall. But first you must show me that you have regained control of your Will. Show me that, then we will talk about your pendant and then, well, then we shall talk about retrieving my god.’

‘OK.’ Charlie could already sense that using her Will wouldn’t be a problem. The rest had finally restored the familiar energy that nestled like a deep pool within her body. ‘So what exactly do you want me to do?’

‘First show me your talent. Show me you can hold your Will.’

Charlie reached deep then grinned as she felt her Will coiled inside. It was like the welcome return of an old friend.
Golden flames flowed from her hands and forearms. ‘Is this what you were looking for?’

‘Good,’ grunted Darkmount. ‘Now open a Portal.’

‘Where to?’

‘Anywhere, it matters not.’

Charlie hesitated. By the rules that governed her Will it needed to be a place she could visualize. Reaching a decision, she gestured with her hands. A slice appeared in the air. She teased it apart so that it formed a circular portal; through it they could see Deepforest and the slender towers of Sylvaris, the Treman capital. The sound of tree song and the scent of orchids breezed into the cave, filling her with a welcome sense of déjà vu. Memories and flashbacks flickered in her mind’s eye: the Jade Circle informing her of her parents’ fate, Lady Dridif’s no-nonsense approach to leading the Circle and ruling the city, eating exotic new foods with Kelko, and the day that her mentor and friend Azariah Keeper had first saved her from Bane’s Shades … and how he had ultimately died while trying to protect her from Mr Crow.

‘Good. Now open another,’ demanded Darkmount, snapping Charlie out of her daydream.

Charlie closed the first Portal, then, gaining confidence, swiftly opened one more. Through it they could all see the waterfall and cave through which, after being chased from her home by Bane and Mr Crow, she had first arrived in Bellania. Mist from the waterfall sprayed through the Portal.

‘Good. Now open two.’

‘Two?’ Charlie’s face grew pale. ‘I’ve never opened two! I didn’t even know it could be done.’

Darkmount shrugged. ‘Well now would be as good a time as any to try it.’

Charlie tensed her shoulders and hustled forward like a wrestler limbering up before confronting an opponent. Keeping the Portal with the waterfall open, she gestured with her left hand and to her delight a second Portal opened to reveal the grassy clearing where she had first met Kelko and the other Tremen.

‘Excellent. I believe that you are up to the task that lies ahead.’

Charlie smiled. Having her Will back felt wonderful. After the low moments in the Alavisian prison and during the escape she had felt weak … useless. But now, now she felt whole. Her grin nearly split her face in two. ‘So now it’s time for the pendant!’

‘Very well.’ Darkmount put out his hand.

Charlie felt the twin emotions of nervousness and excitement. Excitement that now, at long last, she would learn the pendant’s secret. Nervousness about entrusting it to someone she barely knew. Realizing that she would have to trust someone at some point in order to have it examined, she took a deep breath and with the insistent throb of excitement urging her on she pulled it from round her neck and placed it in Darkmount’s outstretched hand.

He held it up to the light, gave it a close look, then began to stroke it with his eyes closed. After a few brief moments of the slightly odd stroking he grunted thoughtfully and passed it back to Charlie.

‘Is that all?’ she blinked. ‘No magic, no flash of light?’

‘“Magic”? Bah, why do children always believe in magic?’

‘Well, I thought it was, you know, a magical item,’ insisted Charlie.

‘Of course it’s not a magical item! It is a Winged One’s artefact and it is my long years of study that allow me to plumb its secrets, not because I spent my youth daydreaming about “magic”!’

‘So what is it?’

‘It is a key.’

‘Yeah, I know that already.’ Charlie raised an eyebrow. ‘But a key to what?’

‘A key to free the Winged Ones.’

‘Huh?’ Charlie turned to stare at Nibbler. ‘But I thought Bane needed to completely take over Bellania before he could block their return? That’s what Lady Dridif told me.’

‘Bane’s power has increased far beyond anyone’s reckoning. My sources tell me that Bane has already managed to block the Winged Ones’ Gateway back. They cannot return, at least not through their traditional route. Hatchling, you must have returned to Bellania before this happened.’

‘What? Bane has blocked their return
already
?’ choked Charlie. Her dreams that the pendant would unlock some secret weapon – perhaps a magical wand or a super cannon – or give her the ability to control a legion of undead ninjas, were dashed. And now this news! ‘How are we supposed to do anything if we can’t get the Winged Ones back? I thought they were supposed to save the day and kick Bane’s backside! And what’s up with the pendant? I thought it was supposed to be a key to a weapon of some sort. A really powerful weapon that was going to defeat Bane and end this war!’

‘Wait,’ insisted Darkmount, holding out a hand to calm
Charlie. ‘Wait before you jump to conclusions. Yes, Bane has managed to block their Gateway, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways for them to return. Have you listened to anything I said? The Winged Ones knew that Bane was rising too quickly. They knew the threat he posed. And although you might not appreciate it, a key to return the Winged Ones to Bellania is a tool more powerful than your feeble reckoning. Imagine if the Winged Ones could return, especially if Bane wasn’t expecting it. What would happen to him then? All his dreams of conquest would come to nought. The Winged Ones could snuff out his empire like the wind does a candle.’

‘But how did he manage to block their Gateway?’

‘Pah! Easily! Do not forget how powerful he has grown and how large the forces that march beneath his banner. I should imagine that sending a small part of his army to the Winged Mountain was a simple task met with very little resistance. I doubt it would have taken his soldiers long to slit the throats of the sentinels that guarded the Winged Ones’ sanctuary. Since then I hear he’s kept a cadre of Stonesingers garrisoned there, where they funnel their energies day and night towards the Gateway, ensuring that it remains closed.’

Charlie rubbed her forehead in an attempt to dispel her growing headache. The pendant’s secret wasn’t all she had hoped it would be. She had wanted a quick fix. Not this. ‘So if the Winged Ones can’t return that way, what’s this other route you’re talking about?’

‘Well, the Winged Ones weren’t stupid. They prepared another Gate to be used in dire circumstances.’

‘What, like a secret door?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you know where it is?’

‘Yes I do. The pendant reveals the location, but if you recall our deal was half the secret now, half the secret later. My god first, location second.’

‘OK, that sounds fair. But how’d you know about this Gateway?’ asked Charlie with a suspicious frown. ‘It’s not like that pendant came with a map and an instruction manual.’

Darkmount chuckled. ‘Yes it did.’

‘Ppft. No it didn’t.’

‘Yes it did. The instructions are written upon it.’

‘What? No they aren’t!’

‘Yes they are. They have been written in Hydraic script.’ Darkmount sighed when he saw her puzzled frown. ‘Feel it, feel the pendant.’

Charlie rubbed it. ‘I can’t feel anything.’

‘Idiot child. The pendant is not smooth is it?’

‘Well no, it’s got lots of little bumps on it.’

‘Those “bumps” are Hydraic script.’

‘Huh?’

‘It is meant to be read with your fingers. By touch.’

‘Oh … like Braille? For the blind?’

‘I am not familiar with this “Braille”, but, yes, it is a script meant for the blind.’

‘Slick!’ Charlie turned to Nibbler and grinned. ‘How cool is that? Darkmount, one more question. How do I use the pendant once you give me the location?’

The Stoman shrugged. ‘Much like a normal key. Take it
to the Gateway, where you will find a keyhole in the Gate itself. Place the pendant in it and use your Will to power it open.’

‘Right … I’m still not a hundred per cent with this Keeper stuff. I know how to open a Portal and how to use my Will to boost my K’Changa. But I’m not sure how to do other stuff with it. Last time I managed to use the pendant to call Nibbler and Azariah it was by accident.’

‘I am not a Keeper; my strengths and studies outside stonesinging are limited to Winged Ones. Opening the Gate is something that you will have to work out for yourself.’

Charlie bit her lower lip then forced a confident grin. ‘Nothing is ever easy, huh? OK, that’s something that I can sort out on my own.’

‘I’ll be there too,’ said Nibbler. ‘If it’s a Winged One’s Gateway then maybe I can help too?’

Charlie flashed him a smile. ‘Thanks, Nibbler. So that’s it, then. Once we’ve got your god you’ll give me the location, right?’

‘Correct.’

‘Then all I have to do is travel to the Gate, plonk in the pendant, use my Will on it, bring the Winged Ones up to date on what’s been going on, then go give Bane the beating he deserves and rescue my parents?’

‘Pah! I do not care what you do – just help me get my god.’

‘Still not one for small talk, are you?’

Darkmount gave her a long level stare.

Charlie sighed. ‘OK, then, let’s talk about what we’re going to do tonight.’

‘We will talk over a meal. You will need all your energy for what comes next. It will not be easy and shall most assuredly be dangerous.’

‘Oh, great.’ Charlie grimaced, rolling her eyes at Nibbler. ‘I can hardly wait.’

9

Planning Ahead

The three of them sat in the middle of the cavern. Darkmount’s cooking, although no five-star affair, was filling and hearty.

Charlie stretched the kinks from her back then leaned back to enjoy the feeling of being suitably stuffed. Her eyes narrowed as Nibbler, having polished off his bowl, pulled out a great slab of ham.

‘Where’d you snatch that from?’

‘I didn’t “snatch” it,’ he protested. ‘Darkmount gave it to me in exchange for allowing him to sketch my wings.’

Charlie looked at her friend. ‘Darkmount’s right you know. You’ve got bigger.’

It was true. Nibbler had bulked up. No longer was he the size of a mastiff; he was more the size of a tiger.

Nibbler paused in his efforts to bury his face in the ham. ‘What? Is that a bad thing?’

‘No, no, Nibbler.’ Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. ‘It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a surprise that’s all. I guess Winged Ones do “growth spurts” slightly differently from Humans.’

‘Well, Nibbler by name, Nibbler by nature,’ he smirked.

‘Enough,’ interrupted Darkmount, ‘Enough of this pointless chatting. We have work to do.’

‘Sorry.’ Charlie sat up. She knew she’d need to pay attention if she hoped to keep her skin in one piece while retrieving the bishop’s god. ‘So what’s the plan for tonight?’

‘Tonight will come in two parts. Firstly, we have to gain entrance to the Stubborn Citadel and, secondly, you will have to enter the Gate that leads to the lower dominion while we keep the soldiers occupied. But before we delve into details you will need to know some geography. The Stubborn Citadel lies on the southernmost part of the mountains, where the Western Mountains join the Slumbering Hills.’ With a few notes of stonesinging and a wave of his hands, Darkmount caused the floor to ripple and move. At his insistence the ground pulled itself into a three-dimensional map.

Charlie blinked at the phenomenon. It was very detailed, more a work of art than a topographical map.

Darkmount stood and, like a teacher giving a lecture, began to point out locations. ‘Deepforest and Sylvaris lie here in the east.’ His fingers then tracked to the left, indicating a range of jagged-looking mountains that ran from north to south. ‘The Western Mountains, obviously in the west. This great expanse that lies between them and Deepforest is the Great Plains.’ He pointed to two city-like bumps to the south of the Great Plains. The bumps were separated by a river. ‘Alavis and Alacorn, the twin cities. And even further south, right here, is the Winged Mount.’

‘That’s where the Winged Ones live, right?’

‘Yes, and that is where Bane has posted his Stonesingers to seal their Gate.’

Charlie stared at the mountain. It held the one thing that would destroy Bane and free her parents. If only she –

‘Pay attention!’ snapped Darkmount, jerking Charlie from her thoughts. ‘Now, if we travel up from Alavis, across the Great Plains, we reach the Slumbering Hills. And here, right where the Slumbering Hills meet the Western Mountains, is the Stubborn Citadel.’

He sang another note and a miniature citadel appeared on the mountains. Charlie leaned forward for a better look.