Leaning down, he slapped Charlie hard on the back to propel her out into the arena. Unfortunately Charlie squawked, staggered forward a couple of paces, then promptly tripped to fall flat on her face.
The crowd roared with laughter.
Blushing furiously, Charlie leaped to her feet. Quickly dusting herself down, she threw her chin out, straightened her back and then stomped the rest of the way into the middle of the arena. Unfortunately, some joker in the Treman band decided it would be funny to tootle a horrible, shrieking squeak from his flute every time that Charlie took a step. For all those thousands of spectators looking on, it appeared as though the young Keeper was so uptight that she squeaked when she walked.
Again, the crowd wept with laughter.
Shame began to ripple through Charlie’s stomach. Embarrassment coloured her cheeks and dismay sent sweat coursing down her neck to puddle uncomfortably in the small of her back. Thankfully, when she reached the centre of the arena the idiot playing the flute grew bored and fell silent. So too did the rest of the Colosseum. Everyone was waiting for the champion to arrive.
They didn’t have long to wait, as one of the large gates that lined the arena was flung open and a long line of Alavisian Watchmen, pounding and rattling their swords against their shields, marched into the arena. Constantina followed in their wake, accompanied by a dozen maids scattering lilies in her path. The crowd roared out their approval.
Constantina sauntered over to stand in front of Charlie. ‘Hello, buttercup. Ready for your humiliation? Well, I certainly hope so, because I promised all my fans a real show,’ she purred.
Charlie, still frantically embarrassed by her own entrance into the arena, struggled to come up with a suitable reply. All she could manage was, ‘Let’s get on with this.’
Constantina sneered. Turning her back on Charlie, she faced her audience. ‘Sylvaris! Sylvaris! Hear me now! When I defeat this impudent outsider I promise to show you just how great I can be. With me holding the pendant I will lead this city to a great future, free from Bane’s threat. A future of wealth and fame, so that throughout all of Bellania, Sylvaris will be known as the one great city … the city that saved our realm. Will you stand by me? Will you support me as your champion? What do you say?’
The crowd surged to its feet and bellowed out its approval: ‘Constantina! Constantina for the pendant! Constantina for the pendant!’
Delighted with the response, Constantina turned to Charlie and smirked. ‘Well, buttercup, it looks like your time has come,’ she hissed. ‘I hope losing to me hurts so much that you tremble in shame for the rest of your miserable life! Prepare to say goodbye to that precious pendant of yours …’
Staring into Constantina’s confident face, Charlie’s doubts grew more intense. How on earth was she going to win? Not once during practice had she succeeded in blending her Will with K’Changa, so what chance did she have now? But as nervous as Charlie was, there was no way she was going to show Constantina how she felt.
‘Yeah, well don’t expect it to be too easy,’ she blustered. ‘I might surprise you yet.’
‘With what? You’re a thirteen-year-old loser from the Other Realm and you’ve only just learned to play K’Changa. The only surprise that’s going to happen tonight will be if I allow you to touch the Zephyr.’
Charlie opened her mouth to say something witty, but fear for the future struck her dumb. Cold fingers of doubt churned through her stomach. Her head pounded with the need to do something, anything, to ensure that the pendant remained hers and hers alone. But she could not move.
Seeing Charlie’s hesitation, Constantina grinned. But before she could say anything the arena doors opened and out stepped the referee. She was dressed in robes of gold and black and as she strode towards the contestants they could see the bright blue Zephyr by her side.
‘Ya’ve both been briefed on wot ta expect with tonight’s Silent Duel,’ said the referee. ‘The first ta win two rounds will win the right ta hold the pendant. Right, are ya ready?’
‘I’m always ready,’ smirked Constantina.
‘And ya, Charlie Keeper, are ya ready?’
Charlie gazed around the stadium. Realizing what was at stake and that now was her moment to stand up for herself, she straightened her back and did her best to push her doubts aside. She wanted to make Azariah proud, even if he wasn’t here to see her. ‘I’m ready,’ she said.
‘Good. Sylvaris!’ the referee shouted out. ‘Let the Silent Duel begin!’ She nodded at one of the officials, who in turn nodded at the Treman band.
They began to pound on their drums, filling the arena with a rolling, thumping rhythm. The beat echoed around the Colosseum, bouncing off the walls, and crashed into the night sky. The torches and illuminating fires seemed to burn brighter as the crowd, anticipating a match of legendary proportions, leaned forward in expectation.
The referee threw the Zephyr into the air.
59
Unleashing the Will
Charlie breathed in and time seemed to slow.
The moan of the crowd sounded long and drawn out, the drumbeat seemed slow and thick. She could feel the brush of the wind on her cheek and the grate of sand beneath her feet. Torchlight glittered off the Zephyr’s incandescent feathers and the referee’s robes flapped slowly around her as though she were wading under water. Beneath all of this Charlie felt a sense of impending doom settle around her heart like a fist.
Breathing out, time returned to normal.
Charlie leaped desperately for the shuttlecock, but Constantina beat her to it. Landing lightly, the champion began to duck and weave from side to side, the Zephyr moving like a blue flash around her body. Horrified at just how quickly Constantina could move, Charlie started to pursue her. Somersaulting and cartwheeling, kicking and sweeping, the two opponents streaked across the arena. The shout of the referee beginning her countdown urged them to even greater speeds.
‘One! Two! Three!’
It soon became apparent that Charlie was outclassed. Constantina moved with the speed of a snake. Elusive and slippery, she constantly evaded Charlie’s efforts to take the Zephyr, moving even faster until she left Charlie groping helplessly in the dust of her passage.
Already disheartened, Charlie grew even more miserable as it finally dawned on her just how skilled her opponent was. Constantina was on a whole different level. Hearing the count drawing perilously close to the end, Charlie gritted her teeth and did her best to block out the sound of the crowd as she drew upon her Will. Azariah had been right – it was her only hope.
Focusing, she breathed deeply and summoned her Keeper power. It seemed to come easily this time, surging through her and racing down her arms until her fists started to glow. Grinning with new confidence, Charlie raced forward. Bounding and leaping effortlessly into the air, she swiftly caught up with her opponent. Eyes intent upon the Zephyr, she flung out a hand … But, just as it had during training, everything started to go wrong. Her head pounded, her heart jittered and her vision blurred.
KRA-KHUMPF!
The blast from the backfire sent Charlie tumbling across the sandy floor to land in a heap of sprawling limbs. Pain racked her body; it tore at her flesh with cruel fingers and caused her to arch her back. The crowd jumped to their feet in shock, the drums lost their rhythm and in the sudden silence came the shout of the referee.
‘TEN! Round one to Constantina.’
There was a long moment of silence. Of stillness. Charlie stared up at the night sky and wondered where everything had taken a turn for the worse. Then Constantina’s unwelcome face appeared in her line of vision.
‘Ha! I knew you’d be no threat.’
Misery swept through Charlie’s soul. She clenched her teeth and bunched her hands into fists so that her nails dug into her palms. She wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t show any weakness. She would –
‘Charlie Keeper, this is no time for sleeping!’ said the referee. Reaching down, she heaved her upright. ‘Are ya a
ll right?’ She peered at her face for signs of sickness. ‘Do ya want ta quit and forfeit the pendant?’
‘No. No! I’m, uh, I’m all right. Really.’ But she wasn’t. Her Will had failed her and now she had no idea how to prevent Constantina from robbing her of her pendant. Her hopes of overcoming Bane and being reunited with her parents lay in tatters at her feet.
‘Well, if yer sure. Here,’ she said, holding out a towel. ‘Clean yerself up, then please return ta the centre of the arena and we will commence with round two.’
Constantina grinned as she saw Charlie stagger towards her on unsteady feet. ‘What’s the matter, Charlie Keeper? Has your Will got the better of you or have you just lost your Way?’
Full of bleak despair, Charlie finally snapped. ‘Shut your trap! You’re stealing my parents from me and all you want to do is laugh about it? I’ve had enough. Enough, you hear me? I might lose this stupid Silent Duel, but that doesn’t mean that I have to put up with you smirking while my parents hang in Bane’s Tapestry. If I hear any more taunts coming out of your mouth I promise you that I’ll see you after this match and we can settle this with a different type of duel!’
‘Oh-ho! So you do have a backbone after all? Well, Charlie Keeper, guess what? I’m not done with you yet. This is a Silent Duel, best of three makes a winner, but if I win this round the duel will be over too quickly. No, this is a match of a lifetime. This is the K’Changa game that is going to make me a legend. After tonight I’ll be more than a K’Changa champion, I’ll be champion of Sylvaris! So, Charlie … I’m going to let you win this next round.’
‘Say what?’
‘Yeah, you heard me.’ Constantina grinned. She turned to address the crowd. ‘Sylvaris! I have already proved that this interloper is no match for me. But now this game passes too quickly for your entertainment and surely that should be a crime. Tonight is the Three Winds Festival, so why don’t I make this Silent Duel last a little longer?’ She turned to the referee. ‘I, Constantina, give this second round to Charlie Keeper!’
Charlie’s mouth dropped open. Could Constantina really do that? The crowd sighed first in delight, then cheered ecstatically. Charlie turned her gaze across the stadium to where Kelko and Jensen waited.
Seeing Charlie’s look of awkward confusion, Kelko shouted over the sound of the crowd, ‘Take it, blossom, take it!’
‘He’s right, lass!’ hollered Jensen, holding his hand up in a thumbs-up gesture. ‘If she’s dumb enough ta throw it away ya should take the opportunity!’
Charlie bit her lip and nodded to show she’d heard.
‘So, Charlie Keeper,’ said the referee, ‘will ya take Constantina’s gift of a free round?’
‘I will.’
‘Very well, then. Begin.’ The referee threw the Zephyr.
‘What?’ said Charlie. Unprepared, she allowed the shuttlecock to fall to the ground.
‘This is a Silent Duel,’ admonished the referee as she bent down to retrieve the Zephyr. ‘Even if yer opponent doesn’t want ta face ya, ya still have ta play.’
‘What, by myself?’
‘Well, of course,’ snorted the referee. ‘Who else would ya play with?’
‘Well, uh … um,’ stuttered Charlie. ‘So I just have to keep the Zephyr in the air for a count of ten?’
‘Obviously.’ Once again the referee threw in the shuttlecock.
Charlie, uncertain with how to proceed but aware that she had no choice, jumped forward and, catching the Zephyr in the crook of her foot, began tapping it from foot to knee and back again. The referee began her count.
Charlie, very much aware of how ridiculous the moment was, felt like a fool. Someone in the audience began to snigger. Other spectators joined in and soon the sound of laughter swept across the stadium as everyone began to point and joke as Charlie was made to play K’Changa by herself.
Great torrents of shame, like nothing she had ever felt before, began to wash through Charlie’s soul. The humiliation and disgrace of the moment was so real, so vivid, that it carved a wound in Charlie’s being. And through this rift, this tear in Charlie’s spirit, the hatred and darkness that she had buried within her heart began to wriggle its way free from the cage that she had constructed around it.
‘And … ten!’ The referee finished her count and, after a final round of laughter, the crowd settled down to see how the rest of the duel would go.
Constantina, confident and cocky, strutted across the sand. ‘Think you’ll be able to survive being a joke for another round?’
Charlie stared at the spoilt brat in front of her. She could feel her anger growing like a blossoming black flower. It made her bold. ‘You want a show, you pampered fool? Fine, I’ll give you one. So stop bragging, stop all your talking and let’s get on with it!’
Charlie’s words were so strong that Constantina took a step backwards in shock. She quickly covered her surprise. ‘You’d better show me some respect. Don’t forget that when I hold the pendant I’ll stand higher than you, a broken and useless Keeper!’
Charlie groaned and almost doubled over as the sheer rage and volcanic anger seeping from her heart threatened to overwhelm her. But she held it all in. For now. ‘Stop stalling and let’s get this over with,’ she growled through clenched teeth.
‘Fine,’ snapped Constantina. ‘If you want to play it that way so be it. Third and final round. Let’s do it.’ She retreated and settled into a loose K’Changa stance.
Focusing on the turbulent emotions racing through her soul, Charlie merely stood still.
Again, at the referee’s prompt, the Treman band began to pound out a fiery rhythm on their drums. The beat filled Charlie’s blood with a desire to move and sway to the music. Suddenly she felt alive with the urge to twist and turn, to leap and bound across the arena.
Seeing that both players were ready, the referee threw in the Zephyr. Constantina gave a great shout and confidently sprang towards it.
Charlie just grinned and released the darkness that had been festering inside her heart.
60
Round Three
Once released, all the hatred and anger boiled free from Charlie’s heart like a tidal wave. It burned in her veins like molten lava and shivered through her muscles like wild lightning. It filled her to the point where she thought she would burst. No longer did she feel as though she had to constrain her true feelings. No longer did she feel the need to behave like a good little girl with a mind for manners. For the first time in her life she felt free.
Charlie stared across the arena and smiled. She’d found her Will, or perhaps rather her Will had found her.
The beat from the drums flickered around her, the shouts from the crowd slithered through her hair and the wild breeze arising from the west thrummed across her skin. Charlie breathed it all in. Standing still, she watched as Constantina leaped confidently into the air to claim the Zephyr. She watched and listened as the crowd began to roar out a chanted count.
‘One!’
Constantina landed lightly on her feet, the shuttlecock weaving from left to right.
‘Two!’
The champion back-flipped and sent the Zephyr floating into the sky.
‘Three!’
Somersaulting sideways, Constantina threw a triumphant grin at her fans, then caught the shuttlecock with a casual flick of her foot as it returned to earth.
‘Four!’
Charlie stood still, not even bothering to move, the odd smile still fixed firmly on her face.
‘Five!’
Ending a complex series of handsprings, Constantina noticed that Charlie hadn’t even attempted to challenge her.
‘Six!’
A worried frown crossed the champion’s face.
‘Seven!’
‘What are you doing, you little scab?’ hissed Constantina. ‘Aren’t you even going to attempt to make this round interesting?’
‘Eight!’
Charlie’s smile widened into a big grin as the darkness
coursing through her body met with her Will … and exploded.
‘Nine!’
Charlie’s hands burst into flame, her hair stood on end and her eyes blazed. Springing forward, she snatched the Zephyr from Constantina and, moving so fast that she actually blurred, she began to twist and turn.
Like a tornado.
Like a Human hurricane, awesome and unstoppable.
Constantina, realizing that the tables had turned, began to panic. Her face turned white, sweat appeared on her forehead and her K’Changa, so perfect before, began to unravel. Her stances grew sloppy, her acrobatics seemed hurried and her poise slumped.
The crowd fell silent as people pointed in disbelief. Even the band lost momentum. Shifting and bucking, leaping and bounding, slipping and diving, Charlie spun the Zephyr in intricate patterns. Taunting and teasing, she flicked the shuttlecock past Constantina’s face, then snatched it away before the champion could attempt to swipe at it. Charlie was dizzy with power and overawed by her new-found might. With a wild cackle of delight, she flung the Zephyr skyward and watched it disappear into the night sky.
Over in the stands, Jensen nudged Kelko in the ribs. ‘Well, I believe that must have been a count of ten.’
‘Uh, er … yeah. Yeah, I guess so!’ said Kelko, blinking away his shock. ‘Although I have a sneaky feeling that even the ref forgot ta count.’
‘Ha! Wot does that matter? Ten count or a hundred count, ain’t no one gonna beat that in a million years! Wot a way ta go! That’s me little stompin’ Hippotomi!’
‘Yeah, yer right! She won! She won! Go, girl!’ hollered Kelko, waving his hands wildly above his head. ‘Charlie Keeper, champion of Sylvaris! Champion! Champion!’
Jensen joined in the shout. It was quickly picked up by the audience and soon the whole Colosseum rang with the shout of ‘Charlie Keeper, champion of Sylvaris!’ The stands shook with noise as people began to stamp and cheer.
Constantina stared at Charlie, horror clearly painted across her petulant face. Her lips quivered and her hand trembled as she pointed at her adversary. ‘B-b-b-but … how?’ she stammered. ‘No one is supposed to beat me. I’m the best. I’m the champion! Me!’
Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) Page 29