‘You said you were Azariah Keeper,’ she ventured. ‘Does that make you family?’
As the two of them walked side by side, Azariah stared down at her with something approaching admiration.
‘So you did manage to focus your mind. Well done, young Keeper. You do your family name proud.’
He was silent for a while, but Charlie didn’t press him. She could tell he was collecting his thoughts.
Finally he answered her in that strong, strange voice of his. ‘No, I am not family, or at least you and I are not tied by blood connections. We are, however, bound to one another in our duties to safe guard the Ways and Paths of the realms of Earth and Bellania. I am aware that at your young age, and as a direct result of not knowing your parents for these last seven years, you will not have been instructed in your duties and sacraments, but nevertheless as a Keeper of the Realms these are yours to maintain and be true to. In this, our honour-bound obligation, you and I are in a sense family. And as such you can rely on me to protect you as well as I can while you are in Sylvaris. Now then, Charlie, your final question of the night.’
Charlie tried to take in all that he had said before she asked the final question. Things just seemed to get weirder and to think that her parents had seemed so, well, normal. It was hard to believe that any of this was real, but when she pinched her arm it hurt so she knew she wasn’t dreaming. Charlie sighed. As desperate as she was to know all the details of tonight’s occurrences, there was something more important to be asked.
‘Were you and my parents friends?’
‘Yes, Charlie, we were. In fact, I owe my life to Mya and Elias Keeper. Without them I would not be here now,’ said Azariah. ‘And that is all I will say on the matter. Tonight I have answered all the questions that I care to answer.’
The two of them walked on in a bearable and oddly comfortable silence until they reached Willow Tower.
‘I assume,’ asked Azariah Keeper, ‘that Jensen the Willow is not in, correct?’
‘I don’t think so,’ admitted Charlie. ‘His sister is home, but Jensen said he was going off earlier to sort out his business, and then I fell asleep.’
‘Very well. I shall escort you inside and await his return.’
Jensen had been to visit Stotch’s family and share their grief. Not stopping at Stotch’s house, he had also visited the homes of the other four fallen Tremen to pay his respects. Bane’s war had been hanging over Bellania for longer than he wanted to remember, but it had never come this close to him before. Charlie’s arrival was proving a turning point in more ways than one.
Returning home from his weary evening, he entered the Willow Tower. Jensen paused at the foot of the spiral staircase. He would check on Charlie to make sure everything was all right before making his own way to bed. The poor girl had had a lot of shocks the past few days. Jensen grinned ruefully. She was a strong girl – like her parents – and had a good heart.
Jensen frowned as he approached Charlie’s bedroom. He could hear voices coming from inside. That certainly wasn’t right.
Slowly and silently, he removed one of the unlit torches that were bracketed to the wall. Hefting it above his head as a makeshift cudgel, he burst into Charlie’s bedroom.
‘Hi-yaaa! Take dis, ya – oh.’
‘Jensen, what are you doing?’ asked Charlie.
She stared at the shocked Treman, who for some reason held an unlit torch foolishly above his head. He looked like a very poor (and short) imitation of the Statue of Liberty. She turned to Azariah and shrugged her shoulders in an ‘I don’t know what he’s doing’ motion.
‘I thought ya might be in trouble …’ mumbled Jensen, looking slightly abashed as he lowered the torch. Snapping out of his embarrassment, he stared at all the things lying scattered about. ‘Charlie! Ya cheeky Hippotomi, did ya make dis mess? Or was it ya, Azariah? Ya Jade Councillors don’t know when ta stop, do ya? Always making a muddle and a clutter outta everything!’
‘What!’ squawked Charlie, suddenly realizing how things must appear to Jensen’s eyes. She probably could cause such an impressive, chaotic mess if she put her mind to it, but she would never have the poor manners to do it in a friend’s house! ‘Of course I didn’t make this mess, it was the Shades. They came looking for –’
‘Shades?’ barked Jensen, abruptly interrupting her. ‘Shades in Sylvaris? In me tower? Blight me Leaf and Burn me Sap!’ He turned to Azariah, who merely nodded his head in confirmation. ‘Charlie, lass, are ya OK? I should never have left ya. I thought me tower was the safest place in Sylvaris. Ya weren’t bitten or scratched, were ya? Tell me yer OK!’
‘I’m fine, really. They never touched me.’
‘Wot about that scrape on yer knee?’ accused Jensen, pointing to a tear in her jeans.
‘Oh, I got that when I ran away. Honestly, Jensen, you don’t have to worry,’ said Charlie, who was secretly quite chuffed that he was so concerned about her.
‘Wait – where’s Salixia? Is she OK?’
‘Yes,’ said Azariah. ‘She’s fine. I’ve asked her to go and notify the guards at the Jade Tower. I think more patrols will be needed now that Shades have shown themselves in the city.’
‘Azariah got rid of the Shades,’ said Charlie with wide eyes. ‘He threw them off a bridge.’
‘Threw them off a bridge, huh? Sounds like Keeper stuff if ever I heard it. Still, I know better than ta question a Keeper about their methods,’ said Jensen, wrinkling his nose in unmasked curiosity. ‘But, burn me Sap, Sylvaris is supposed ta be one of the last safe places in Bellania. Ta think that Bane can reach so far!’
‘Enough of that, Jensen of the Willow. Such remarks can wait till tomorrow. For now I think it would be prudent to get this young Keeper off to bed. After all, she can hardly sleep in this room, at least not in this condition,’ said Azariah, raising one eyebrow at the room’s chaotic state.
‘Of course, of course. Not ta worry. I know just the room ta put Charlie in. In fact, if I’d been thinking straight earlier tonight, I’d have put her there in the first place. Used ta be me great-great-great aunt’s bedroom and it’d suit Charlie right for sure.’ Jensen grinned before a sudden thought caused his brow to wrinkle. ‘Yer quite sure ya got rid of the Shades, Azariah? They won’t be coming back some time tonight, will they?’
‘No. No, they won’t,’ assured Azariah. ‘In fact, I seriously doubt any of them could have survived such a fall. If one did have the good fortune to survive, it would be in no fit state to threaten us. I will, however, send a squad of Treman guards down to Deepforest tomorrow to search for survivors and to remove any corpses. But for now I strongly recommend that Charlie Keeper be put to bed.’
‘But I’m not tired,’ insisted Charlie, hiding a huge yawn behind her hand. ‘Please let me stay up for just a little longer. There’s so much I want to know.’
‘I thought we had already had our discussion about unnecessary questions,’ said Azariah. ‘In your tired state, young Keeper, you are in no fit state to be asking intelligent questions. You need sleep.’
Charlie tried to hide another huge yawn, but her companions weren’t fooled. ‘OK, OK. I get the message,’ she sighed. She really was too tired to argue the point. ‘I’ll go to bed.’
‘Good, I shall show myself out. Charlie Keeper, Jensen of the Willow, I bid you a goodnight.’
‘Azariah?’
The councillor paused by the doorway. ‘Yes, Charlie Keeper?’
‘Thank you for saving me,’ she said.
Azariah’s beard wrinkled slightly, as though he was smiling beneath its thick embrace. Nodding his head slightly to accept her thanks, he turned and left.
‘C’mon, lass, I’ll show ya ta ya room,’ said Jensen.
Charlie followed the Treman through a series of dark passageways. Eventually she staggered thorough a final doorway that Jensen held open for her and, without looking around or even bothering to take off her shoes, stumbled into bed. Almost immediately she fell into a dee
p sleep, yet a nagging doubt dragged her back to a state of alertness.
Jensen, who was still standing by the doorway, appeared to read her mind. ‘Don’t worry, lass. I’ll keep the door open and if ya need anything just holler. I’ll be sleeping right outside – there’s a big comfy chair here with me name on it. Salixia should be back in a wee bit and hopefully she’ll have brought some guards from the Jade Tower. And in the morning I’ll see about arranging for Sic Boy ta come over and be yer guard dog. So don’t worry yerself. Everything’s gonna be fine.’
Charlie really did do her best to say thanks but it came out all muffled. For some reason she just couldn’t lift her head from the soft, silky pillow. Before she knew it she’d plummeted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
19
Lady Dridif, the Royal Oak
‘For crying out loud! You’re telling us that this silly little girl has been in Sylvaris for just one day and we nearly lost the pendant to the Western Menace’s Shades?’ snarled Nazareth, his thick beard trembling as he thumped his fist on the jade table. ‘First Speaker, how can you call this acceptable? I demand that stricter measures be taken to prevent such an occurrence from happening again!’
Several other councillors rumbled their agreement, some of them even daring to glare openly at Dridif, the Royal Oak.
‘Do not be so presumptuous with ya quick tongue, Nazareth!’ she shot back. ‘Who here would ever have thought that Bane’s hand could stretch so far, or that he would move so fast ta lay claim ta the pendant? Never before have his forces managed ta get dis close ta Sylvaris. Did ya assume or even think that he would have struck so soon? Or perhaps ya are only a mortal like the rest of us poor councillors and cannot see inta the future? Because if by some amazing chance ya do possess the ability ta look inta the future I’m sure all of us here could benefit from yer pearly wisdom!’
‘Stop trying to distract us from the point, First Speaker,’ sneered Nazareth, easily brushing aside Dridif’s pointed sarcasms. ‘Your incompetence almost lost us one of our greatest assets. And I doubt that I am the only one here who shares that viewpoint.’
Again there were more rumbles and mutters of agreement among some of the councillors.
Dridif’s eyes flashed dangerously, as though daring Nazareth to continue.
Foolishly he did.
‘In fact, if I were to go on, which I will, I might dare to say that your guidance and leadership of this council isn’t good enough,’ spat Nazareth, his beady eyes glinting with malice. ‘Perhaps it is time that the Jade Circle voted for a new First Speaker?’
‘Not good enough?’ roared Dridif. The room suddenly dimmed and her eyes blazed like lightning. Fierce anger sent her robes flapping and writhing, and in the dim light of the Council Chamber she appeared to grow in stature. She slammed down both palms to crack like thunder on the jade table in a fit of fury. ‘How dare ya judge me! Never forget ya stand before Dridif, the Royal Oak, First Speaker of the Jade Circle. I stood and fought for Sylvaris and Bellania before ya were even born, Nazareth, ya idle, scheming spider! I was fighting off armies and negotiating treaties ta preserve our way of life when ya were swaddled in nappies. Never raise yer voice at me again, ya poor-mannered excuse for a Human, or I will provide ya with a penance and punishment that will be yer curse for decades ta come!’
Charlie, who had been quietly standing with Jensen and Kelko to one side of the room, stared in awe as Dridif appeared to physically shake with raw power. The petite First Speaker now reared above the table, making all those seated around it look childlike in comparison.
‘We will not discuss dis matter any further. None here could have foreseen Bane’s agents appearing in Sylvaris, so there is absolutely no point in looking for a scapegoat.’ Having had her say, Dridif’s anger lessened slightly. ‘The reason we are all here today is ta discuss how ta keep Charlie and her pendant safe. Now then, can anyone present offer a suitable solution?’
One of the councillors, a large Stoman who was almost covered from head to toe in heavy jade and turquoise jewellery that rattled and clinked whenever he moved, slowly stood up.
‘Yes, Flint,’ welcomed Dridif, her temper now cooled somewhat.
‘The pendant, even though we do not understand its function, is obviously one of Sylvaris’s most precious resources. If the Winged Ones promised us that it could destroy Bane, then it is a treasure beyond compare. Perhaps even our only chance of winning the war,’ rumbled Flint. ‘Our strong room and safes are famous throughout Bellania for the sole reason that no one has ever been able to rob them. Why, even the Western Menace himself would have to first conquer the city before he could even hope to gain access to the Jade vaults. I say we simply place the pendant in the strong room alongside all our other treasures.’
‘But would the young Keeper be willing ta give up the pendant for such security measures?’ asked a wizened old Treman, whose skin was cracked and wrinkled with age.
‘No, I would not!’ boldly interrupted Charlie as she felt a flickering of rage awaken deep inside herself. Why did adults always feel they could treat children like idiots? They all talked about her like she wasn’t even in the same room! ‘We had this discussion yesterday – I will not part with it. It’s the last and most important gift my parents ever gave to me and I’m not going to take it off, even for a minute or a second and not for all the money in the world! D’you hear me?’
‘OK, OK, youngster, I get the message,’ cackled the ancient Treman as he tugged at his long white goatee. He appeared to be impressed with Charlie’s bravado and keen spirit. ‘I was just testing the water!’
‘Pah! Enough of this useless banter! How does any of this secure Sylvaris’s future?’ grumbled Nazareth, almost tearing out parts of his beard in sheer frustration. ‘The pendant can be used to defeat Bane, yet we don’t know how. If it remains around her neck we will not be able to examine it to study its mechanisms. Nor will we be able to use it. It needs to be placed under Jade Circle control for these rather obvious reasons. Just confiscate it from the brat – she might be a Keeper, but she doesn’t know what to do with it. Can’t you see she only keeps hold of it for sentimental reasons?’
Charlie narrowed her eyes and stared at the horrible old man. How could he be so loathsome? Her stomach began to squirm as she stared at the awful Nazareth. Clenching her fists tightly by her side, she suddenly realized that she hated the man.
‘You cannot remove the pendant from the child,’ said a powerful voice from within the shadows. ‘It is a gift from the Winged Ones. It cannot be taken without her permission. To attempt to do so would mean breaking the law. Furthermore, it would anger both the Winged Ones and all of the Keeper families. The Jade Circle cannot afford to be so rash.’
Charlie smiled as she recognized the voice of Azariah.
‘So is this what the Jade Circle has become? A weak committee of grannies and wet nurses who have to ask a child’s permission before they can get their hands on the one item that will save the realm?’ snapped Nazareth, thrusting his angry red and bearded face across the table. ‘Stop asking for the whining girl’s consent and just take the blasted thing!’
‘Just you try, you big hairy chump!’ hollered Charlie, the rage within her suddenly igniting. ‘If I catch you trying to lay one finger on my pendant I’ll bite it off!’
Nazareth’s face turned an even darker shade of purple-red and the veins along the side of his forehead began to pulse. Furiously he drew up his robes, then, sliding back his chair, he began to stalk around the jade table, his eyes fixed talon-like on Charlie.
Half the councillors looked ready to join him, while some just sat stunned and white-faced. A few, however, quietly and diplomatically hid smiles behind their hands. The old Treman openly chuckled at Charlie’s outburst.
‘Enough!’ roared Dridif, slamming her palms on the table once more. Breathing heavily, she took stock of the situation. ‘Nazareth, ya should know better! Stop baiting the young girl and sit back down. And Charlie
Keeper, ya better get a grip on that temper of yers or else I will throw ya outta dis room and let ya cool yer heels in a cell with mouldy bread and stale water for company! I will not have dis council turned inta a schoolyard, so all of ya … buck up yer ideas!’
Charlie recoiled from Dridif’s angry face and took a step backwards, where to her further embarrassment she stood on Kelko’s toes.
‘Ouch!’ he shrieked.
‘Sorry!’ whispered Charlie. She wished her hair would cover her face. She could feel her skin go bright red in a heady mix of anger and humiliation as every eye turned to watch her. What had she been thinking of, challenging the councillors like that?
‘I think yer doing great,’ whispered Jensen encouragingly from her side. ‘I’ve never seen anyone stand up ta the Jade Circle before!’
Charlie was so shocked by his words of support that she turned to gape at her two friends. Kelko raised his hands in a thumbs-up gesture … Maybe she wasn’t making such a fool of herself as she had first thought.
‘Now then, for the last time, any useful suggestions?’ snapped Dridif.
‘I have a solution that I am sure will be found pleasing by all within the council,’ said a lady’s voice from the far end of the table.
Charlie craned her neck so that she could see who had spoken. It was Lady Narcissa, still breathtakingly beautiful, and lavishly dressed in flowing, white silk robes. The only indication that she had any association with the council was a slender Jade tiara that rested lightly on her snow-white hair. Charlie was in awe.
‘Yes, Lady Narcissa,’ said Dridif. ‘By all means, please speak up.’
‘It would be my pleasure if the young lady were to come and live with me in my Ivory Tower. My security is second only to that of the Jade Tower. My home, as you all well know, is guarded day and night by a full regiment of Alavisian Watchmen. Furthermore, my adopted sons, the Delightful Brothers, can guarantee the safety of both the Keeper and the pendant,’ said Lady Narcissa as she addressed the Jade Circle with her melodic voice. ‘And in regard to Charlie’s day-to-day well-being and happiness, I’m sure she would enjoy living with myself and my daughter, Constantina, when she returns from the Alavisian K’Changa Championship later this week. In fact, if I were to act as her mentor and guardian I feel that I could show her a real taste of Bellanian life, which would also benefit her in the long run.’
Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) Page 11