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

by Marcus Alexander

  ‘What?’ Charlie demanded as she realized Crumble and Jensen were staring at her. ‘He’ll escape from those bonds. It might take him an hour or so but with the knife in easy reach it won’t take him all day.’

  ‘It’s not that –’ began Jensen.

  ‘And at least he’s got enough water to last him a day or two. That should be more than enough to find an oasis or something.’

  ‘It’s not –’

  ‘Do you think I let him off too easily?’

  ‘It’s –’

  Charlie sighed. ‘You’re right. I didn’t punish him enough, did I?’ Summoning her Will she reopened the Portal.

  Darkmount froze as he realized people were watching his embarrassing attempts to squirm like a caterpillar towards the knife. Humiliated and infuriated he fixed Charlie with a stare that could have broken boulders.

  ‘Darkmount?’ called Charlie. ‘Before we leave you for good I thought it would be best to remind you that you were beaten by me, Charlie Keeper. A fourteen-year-old girl who you liked to call “naive, innocent, stupid and immature”. And just to recap that in case you didn’t get it the first time: I’m a girl, I’m fourteen, I occasionally like to put my hair in pigtails and I just beat you.’ Then with a final impudent wave that she knew would have him grinding his teeth for years to come she closed the Portal.

  She turned to Crumble and Jensen. ‘Better?’

  Jensen and Crumble shared a what-happened-there look and a did-that-really-happen shrug.

  ‘I, uh, I was going ta say that I was proud of ya for not taking it so far. I wanted ta say that if yer parents were here they would have been proud that ya haven’t turned inta a bad apple.’

  ‘So it wasn’t that I didn’t punish him enough?’

  ‘Um … no.’

  Again there was a pause as Crumble and Jensen shared yet another look.

  ‘I did kind of like the bit about the pigtails,’ said Crumble.

  Jensen nodded in appreciation. ‘And rubbing yer age in his face too. That was, uh … unusual.’

  ‘But effective,’ said Crumble.

  Jensen blew air between his teeth. ‘Uh … effective. Yes.’

  Charlie decided that the less said about the matter the better. Ignoring the gestures that Jensen and Crumble were making to one another she opened her fist for a better look at the heart.

  She regretted it almost immediately. The heart, on closer inspection, was even more disgusting than she had first thought. Trying to force down a sense of revulsion as it wrapped one of its tendrils round her little finger, she rummaged through her pockets. Finding nothing useful she wandered over to Crumble.

  ‘Do you have any food on you?’

  Crumble pulled a strip of dried meat from his pouch. Charlie broke off a small piece and tried to feed it to the heart, but it didn’t appear interested.

  ‘How am I supposed to do this,’ muttered Charlie, ‘if it doesn’t even have a mouth?’

  ‘Sweet Sap, Charlie, didn’t yer parents tell ya any fairy tales when ya were younger?’ protested Jensen with a woeful shake of his head. Walking to the altar he broke one of the bowls that lay on its surface. Using one of the sharper fragments to prick his finger he went to Charlie’s side. ‘Bit obvious when ya think about it. Hold yer hand up.’

  He allowed several drops of blood to drip from his finger on to the heart. It reacted immediately. Pulsing faster on Charlie’s hand it squirmed and tried to latch several tendrils round Jensen’s finger, but he was careful to keep his hand out of reach.

  ‘Uck, it feels so gross,’ grumbled Charlie. She unwrapped the tendril that had twined round her finger. ‘Do you think that’s it? Is that all it’s going to need?’

  ‘I don’t know. Wanna try a little more?’

  ‘Go for it.’

  Jensen let drop some more blood.

  Once again the heart reacted. Wriggling and writhing, it desperately tried to reach Jensen’s finger.

  ‘It wants to touch you,’ observed Charlie. ‘Do you think we should let it?’

  ‘Wot? Are ya nuts? Everyone knows not ta do something like that.’

  ‘They do?’

  ‘Of course!’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Yer joking right? Ya must have read enough myths and legends ta know better than that. Even those cheesy horror movies yer’ve got on Earth make it easy enough ta understand. Ya don’t give monsters enough food ta grow big enough ta eat ya. Ya don’t let them touch ya when yer bleeding, particularly the weird ones like this with tentacles cos they always try ta stick them right in yer veins and drink ya dry.’

  ‘Or they control your mind,’ said Crumble.

  ‘Right,’ said Jensen nodding his head in agreement. ‘Or they turn ya inta a zombie.’

  ‘Or they turn your hand against you so that you have to cut it off,’ said Crumble. ‘But even then it crawls around on its fingers and still tries to kill you.’

  ‘Right!’ said Jensen with another enthusiastic nod. ‘Or they –’

  ‘OK, I think I get it,’ interrupted Charlie. ‘So we can’t give it too much of your blood. But how do we know we’ve got enough? Does it look satisfied to you?’

  Crumble and Jensen looked warily at the heart, which continued to wriggle on Charlie’s hand.

  ‘Uh … no. It still looks kinda hungry ta me.’

  ‘Me too,’ admitted Crumble.

  ‘OK, you big sissies, I’ve got a better idea,’ said Charlie. ‘Crumble do you still have all that money on you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good.’ Charlie opened a Portal that led to Opal Hold. ‘Can you grab us a couple of steaks and another waist pouch like yours?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Excellent. Do you think anyone will recognize you and cause trouble?’

  Crumble looked down at himself. ‘I think I’m a little too muddy.’

  ‘Uh … good point. Hang on, will anyone serve you looking like that?’

  ‘I’ve never known a merchant to turn down business as long as there’s gold to be gained.’ Crumble flicked a coin in the air. ‘And thanks to you we’ve still got some money to our name.’

  ‘Great.’ Charlie frowned as she eyed the Portal. ‘Don’t be long, Opal Hold is further away from here than Shidden Vale was and, uh … well the Portal feels a bit heavier.’

  ‘Heavier?’

  ‘Yeah. Harder to hold open.’

  ‘OK, I’ll be quick.’ Crumble darted through.

  ‘Think ya can hold that without having ta look at it?’

  Charlie gave it some thought then nodded.

  ‘Then follow me.’

  Jensen led her to the tent opening. Together they looked out into the torrential rain and at the precise ranks of the silent army. ‘Are ya thinking wot I’ve been thinking?’

  Charlie stared at Jensen then turned to look once more at the long lines of gargorillas disappearing into the downpour.

  ‘Sylvaris,’ she said with a jubilant grin.

  ‘Right,’ said Jensen, his white teeth breaking the mask of his muddy face.

  A new sense of purpose filled Charlie. Since Jensen had first broken the news of Sylvaris’s imminent doom, a feeling of urgency had filled her. At first she had hoped to confront Bane in his palace, maybe stop him in his tracks. Then, learning that there was still a chance to retrieve her pendant, she had been filled with dreams of freeing the Winged Ones in time to save Sylvaris. But as the reality of the distances and time involved became apparent those hopes had slowly crumbled. All along she had assumed that she would be fighting a losing battle to save Sylvaris and Bellania from the Stoman Lord, but now in one swoop of luck she had changed everything.

  Charlie’s smile grew as she looked at the long line of gargorillas. If she really could control them with that yucky heart she had a strong chance of doing some real good. ‘So we get to give Bane a taste of his own medicine at last.’

  ‘About time,’ said Jensen, perhaps a little louder than he should. The idea o
f saving his beloved city rode high in his heart. ‘Me little Hippotomi, if only Azariah could see ya now he’d be proud of ya.’

  ‘If there’s a Will there’s a Way,’ said Charlie as she fondly remembered Azariah’s teaching.

  ‘Yes!’ said Jensen, his voice rising as he got caught in the moment. ‘Yes! If there’s a Will there’s a Way!’

  One of the stone soldiers near the tent shifted its head as the sound of Jensen’s excited voice carried above the noise of the storm.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ said Jensen. He pulled Charlie back from the entrance as the thing knuckled over to investigate the disturbance. Keeping to the shadows the two held their breath as it approached.

  Although the thing had definite similarities to the stone behemoth that Charlie had seen in the courtyard, it certainly had a gorilla-ness to it. Gargorilla was definitely an appropriate name. It had short, almost deformed rear legs, a narrow waist that led to a broad and powerful chest that in turn was supported by long and heavily muscled arms that thudded, fist first, into the ground with every step. Its craggy head had limited features, a crude slit for a mouth, a hint of a nose and broad eyebrows that overhung poorly defined eyes. All in all it looked like a half-baked and half-glazed pottery figure crafted by either an enthusiastic seven-year-old or a mad artist. Or in this case, thought Charlie, a mad Stoman bishop.

  Brutal and at the same time eerie-looking, the gargorilla pushed its way into the tent. Charlie and Jensen, quiet as mice, tiptoed backwards.

  The gargorilla saw the Portal hanging at the back of the tent. Suspecting that something was amiss it croaked out a tortured call. Two of its comrades answered and thudded their way into the tent. Making odd snuffling, sniffing noises they spread out and began to investigate.

  46

  The Dark Army

  Jensen put his finger to his lips, indicating the need for silence. Taking Charlie by the arm he led her towards their initial entrance point. Pushing Charlie through the slit in the tent he followed after. They waited in the narrow channel that lay between the two walls.

  The sniffing noises grew closer, so too the thud-thud-thud of heavy movement. A shadow loomed close. Charlie and Jensen pressed themselves to the floor and held their breath as it passed.

  ‘Wot are we gonna do about the Portal?’ whispered Jensen. ‘And wot about Crumble? We’re gonna have ta warn him somehow.’

  ‘How about if we –’

  A huge fist punched through the canvas mere inches above Charlie’s face. She squawked and rolled out of the way.

  ‘Jens–’

  ‘Shh!’ said Jensen. With agitated gestures he indicated that they should crawl further along the perimeter.

  Keeping as low and as silent as possible they scurried along on their hands and knees. Charlie turned to Jensen with eyes as wide as saucers.

  SSSSSCCKKRR!

  A pair of stone hands pushed through the fabric and ripped away a large portion of canvas. Looming over the two with a sullen face the gargorilla growled.

  ‘Run!’ shouted Charlie.

  Scuttling between the creature’s legs she squeaked in surprise as she came face to face with a second.

  ‘On yer left!’ screamed Jensen.

  Charlie turned left and bounced off the third’s backside.

  ‘No!’ hollered Jensen, ripping at his hair in frustration. ‘Don’t turn left. There’s one on yer left!’

  Sprinting past the soldiers he grabbed Charlie by the back of her shirt and hauled her out of the way as a boulder-like fist smashed into the ground.

  ‘Use yer Will!’

  Charlie panicked when she realized she couldn’t. ‘I can’t! I can’t hold the Portal open and wield my Will!’

  ‘Duck! Duck!’ yelled Jensen, watching with horror as Charlie narrowly missed getting squished by one of the lumbering creatures. ‘Well let go of the Portal then!’

  Charlie, already fatigued from her fight with Fo Fum, and grown weary from holding open a Portal for so long, was in no shape for a fight. Falling back on her K’Changa skills she bobbed, weaved and sprang out of the way. She was unable to use the hand that held the pulsing heart, which severely disadvantaged her. Eluding the gargorilla’s grasping paws, but becoming further exhausted by the second, she struggled to think of a solution.

  ‘What about Crumble?’

  ‘He’s safe where he is! Let go of the Portal and we can get him later.’

  Charlie, ending a series of complicated single handsprings, saw an opportunity in Jensen’s argument. ‘Let’s forget using my Will; let’s use the Portal instead! We can come back later.’ She ducked away as a fourth gargorilla entered the tent.

  Unfortunately Crumble, unaware of what was happening, chose that moment to step through the Portal with his shopping.

  ‘Cracked Rock!’ he cursed as the soldier nearest him spun round and tried to hammer him to a pulp.

  ‘Back!’ screamed Charlie. ‘Go back!’

  But one of the gargorillas barred his retreat. Realizing she had little choice, Charlie let go of the Portal. Calling on her Will she slammed a fist against the nearest creature. Large cracks appeared across its chest, but still it lurched on. Clenching her teeth Charlie punched it with all her might. It staggered forward for several more steps before shattering into a hundred pieces.

  But Charlie’s strength was fading fast.

  ‘Crumble! Throw me your shopping!’

  The young Stoman was having problems of his own. In his haste to escape the clutching hands of one gargorilla he almost backed straight into another and now found himself penned in.

  ‘Here!’

  He threw a wrapped packet at her, then, breaking into song, he dived forward to slam both glowing hands against one of the gargorilla’s feet.

  KRAAAACK!

  The soldier’s foot shattered, but Crumble’s sigh of relief was short-lived as it continued to limp forward on its ruined ankle. The young Stoman was forced to scramble away.

  ‘Charlie, if yer gonna do anything, now’s the time!’ shouted Jensen.

  Sensing her friends’ growing panic, Charlie tore open the paper, pulled out a chunk of meat and squeezed the blood over the heart. It pulsed and wriggled greedily as it feasted on the bloody offering, then reached up to snatch the flesh from her hand. The tendrils pulsed with an odd rhythm across her palm, then gripped gently at her skin. It was a disgusting sensation.

  THUD!

  THUD!

  THUD!

  The great noise was accompanied by a vibration that caused the ground to shake with each thud. Charlie, Jensen and Crumble struggled to keep their balance as the floor rocked from side to side. With shocking abruptness the tent was whipped away revealing the cloud-filled sky and torrential rain.

  THUD!

  THA-THUD!

  Charlie felt the blood drain from her face.

  The tent had been circled by a ring of gargorillas. They were pressed shoulder to shoulder, ripped remnants of the tent still gripped in some of their hands, and on their simple faces were expressions of mindless anger.

  ‘Use it!’ screamed Jensen over the roar of the downpour. ‘Use the heart!’

  Charlie, a horrified expression on her face, looked dumbly down at the nasty thing that squelched in her hand. ‘H-how?’

  ‘Tell it wot to do!’ shouted Jensen. ‘Tell it –’

  His words were cut off as one of the soldiers grabbed him round the neck. Yanking the Treman into the air it attempted to grab his writhing arms with its other hand. A second came along and grabbed Jensen’s kicking legs. Pulling him so he was spread-eagled they prepared to tear him apart.

  ‘STOOOOOOOOP!’ screamed Charlie. Her voice was ragged and her chest lurched from exhaustion, but there was no mistaking the command.

  THU–

  All the gargorillas froze mid-step. The two who held Jensen had assumed a statue-like stillness disturbed only by the motion of the heavy rain.

  ‘Release him!’

  Jensen fell to the floor. G
asping and clutching at his throat he began to retch and dry heave.

  Charlie rushed to his side. ‘Jensen?’

  ‘O-OK,’ he rasped between a fit of coughing. ‘I’m OK.’

  ‘Charlie!’ shouted Nibbler as he joined them in an ungainly tangle of wings. Limping forward he did his best to hurry to their side. ‘Are you guys all right?’

  ‘Safe for now, but we’ve all earned another set of bruises to add to our growing collection.’

  ‘Are they going to attack again?’

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘I saw them turn round to face the tent. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen! You should have seen them from up above; it was like clockwork in motion.’

  ‘Where’s Sic Boy?’

  ‘There!’ said Crumble. He pointed to the encircled mass of gargorillas that remained as still as statues.

  Sic Boy, unable to push through their ranks, was instead nimbly climbing across the gargorillas’ heads and shoulders. Leaping into the rain-drenched circle he made his way towards them. He halted by Jensen’s side and, noting how pale the Treman looked, Sic Boy carefully hauled his friend off the ground and plonked him as gently as possible across his own muscular back.

  ‘Let’s see what we can do with these,’ whispered Charlie.

  Mouth set in a determined line, she stomped her way over to the shattered remains of the gargorilla that she had destroyed moments earlier. Clambering up the rubble she punched her hand that held the heart towards the turbulent clouds that writhed overhead.

  ‘FORM RANKS!’ she shouted.

  THUUD!

  THA-THUUUD!

  The ground shook as the stone army reorganized itself. Crumble, Jensen and Nibbler stared first at the massed army as it stood in neat lines then to the small girl who held all that power in her fist.

  ‘KNEEL!’ bellowed Charlie.

  With a rumble that was louder than the thunder the army bowed their heads in deference to their new leader.