River Baker and the Warriors of Rala

by Mali Baker

  RIVER

  BAKER

  AND THE WARRIORS

  OF RALA

  Mali Baker

  Copyright © 2018 Mali Baker

  Illustrations © 2018 Fay Austin

  Edited and designed by Linda McQueen

  Cover design by Catherine Gaffney

  Mentor and advisor Theresa Carter

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

  Matador

  9 Priory Business Park,

  Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,

  Leicestershire. LE8 0RX

  Tel: 0116 279 2299

  Email: books@troubador.co.uk

  Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador

  Twitter: @matadorbooks

  www.riverbaker.com

  www.malibaker.com

  ISBN 978 1789012 255

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

  This book is for my Warrior Princesses

  Ayla Mae Yazdi Mullen

  Lyla Belle Yazdi Cozens

  Roxi Coco Yazdi Cozens

  And my wonderful Warrior

  Mummy Janet

  Contents

  1.The Special Room

  2.The Key

  3.The Light

  4.Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

  5.The Butterfly Pen

  6.Eddie

  7.Weed Attack

  8.Planting Seeds

  9.The Magical Path

  10.The Giant Boy

  11.What the Bubble…!

  12.I’m Alive

  13.Back on Track

  14.Indigo House

  15.A World Away from Home

  16.It Runs in the Family

  17.Happy Earth Day

  18.Protect Yourself

  19.Everyone Has a Power

  20.A Leap of Faith

  21.The Stars and the Moon

  22.Eleon’s Black Beam

  23.The Right Direction

  24.Help Me, RALA

  25.The Book

  26.Violet’s Letter

  27.Michael

  28.I Trust and I Believe in Myself

  CHAPTER 1

  The Special Room

  River stood in the doorway of Nana and Grandpa’s house, grudgingly waving goodbye to her mum and dad. Kit had already bounced her way back down the hallway, following the delicious smell of chocolate brownies being served up on the kitchen table. River, however, was doing her best to let her parents know that she was not in the least bit pleased about being left here for the weekend while they jollied off to Paris for what they called a ‘mini-break’. When she’d first heard them say, ‘We’re going to Paris,’ she had thought they had meant the four of them – she’d hoped they were taking her and Kit to Disneyland – but no. Instead, the two of them were to stay with their grandparents in their teeny tiny house in Midsomer Norton. Boring!

  It wasn’t that River didn’t love her grandparents; it was just that there wasn’t much to do where they lived. And now that she and Kit were about to start their first year at secondary school she felt they were old enough to stay home alone for three nights. Kit, being the slightly older sister – only by minutes, though, as River was always reminding her – had offered to take care of River for the weekend. But Mum and Dad didn’t think that at the grand old age of eleven they were quite ready to survive all by themselves.

  River closed the rickety white front door of her grandparents’ house and slouched on the bottom stair in the hallway. She waited there a while, hoping someone would notice her absence, but no one came. Huffily she removed her grubby trainers, picked up her backpack and made her way into the kitchen.

  ‘Chocolate brownie?’ Nana asked.

  ‘It’s delicious,’ Kit said through a muffled mouthful.

  ‘Okay, I suppose so,’ River said, rolling her eyes and sitting down in the chair next to Kit. She threw her back­pack on the floor and stared down at the brownie Nana had placed on a plate in front of her. She let out a very loud sigh in an effort to draw some attention to herself. Nana looked at River. River put her elbows on the table and then plunked her sulky face between her tiny hands.

  ‘You know, River,’ Nana said in her gentle yet persuasive manner, ‘you mustn’t decide not to like this weekend already. You never know what’s waiting around the corner.’

  River didn’t have a clue what Nana was talking about. Waiting around what corner? Still feeling hard done by, she looked at Kit, but her sister wasn’t paying attention; she was more interested in gathering the remaining crumbs of her brownie off the plate. Turning back to face Nana, she said, ‘Well, what I do know is, it won’t be the same as going to Disneyland.’

  When she thought about the weekend she had imagined, River’s face turned from sulky to sad. She looked as though she might begin to cry. Nana came quickly round and wrapped her arms around River, giving her a comforting squeeze.

  ‘It may not be the same, poppet,’ she said, ‘but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have just as good an adventure right here with us.’

  ‘Yeah, stop being such a grumpy pants, River,’ Kit spluttered, a few crumbs escaping her mouth and hitting River right in the eye. Now River really did feel like a grumpy pair of pants, if there was such a thing. She picked up her brownie and began nibbling off the chocolate icing on top. She tried not to let it show, but Nana really did make the most delicious brownies.

  Nana hummed away in the kitchen, cheerfully preparing dinner as the girls climbed down from their chairs and headed towards the front room. River stopped outside a door that was squashed into the corner of the hallway, in between the kitchen and the front room.

  ‘I really want to know what’s behind this door,’ she whispered, not wanting Nana to overhear her.

  ‘You say that every time we’re here,’ Kit whispered back. ‘Who knows? No one ever goes in there, plus we aren’t allowed anyway. It was Great-Auntie Violet’s “special” room.’ Kit made “rabbit ear” air signs as she said it. Then she turned away and continued walking towards the front room.

  Great-Auntie Violet was Nana’s sister. Nana rarely talked about her, but, when she did, her big blue eyes would light up. River had to see what was in her great-aunt’s room. Somehow she felt as though she had a right to know. Besides, her mum and dad were thousands of feet in the sky by now; how much trouble could she possibly get into?

  ‘Aren’t you the least bit curious?’ River asked, not noticing Kit had already left the hallway. She stood very still in front of the door, her feet glued to the floorboards. Contemplating whether to peek inside, she looked left then right.

  There was no one in sight to stop her.

  ‘Why not?’ she said quietly to herself, feeling like a secret agent. She lifted her arm slowly, reaching for the door handle, trying not to make a sound. She was almost touching it when a rather loud snorting sound fill
ed the hallway. River jumped out of her skin. She had been so intensely focused on seeing what was behind the door that she had forgotten where she was.

  Then she let out a sigh of relief. It was only Grandpa making such a noise; he was taking his afternoon nap.

  ‘I’ll be back,’ she warned the door before creeping into the front room.

  ‘You’d think they had a pet pig stashed in here.’ River giggled to Kit as she walked in to find Grandpa drooping across a chair with his arms draped over either side. His head flopped so far back that his nose was sticking up towards the ceiling, nostrils flaring, mouth wide open and snoring like a beast. Every now and again he nearly choked on his own tongue. It was a very funny sight.

  ‘You thinking what I’m thinking?’ Kit said with a mischievous look on her face.

  ‘Yep. I think that’s enough napping for Grandpa today,’ River said. ‘Time to wake up, Gramps. One. Two. Three…’

  And both girls yelled at the tops of their voices, ‘WAKE UP, SLEEPYHEAD!’ and startled their Grandpa silly.

  CHAPTER 2

  The Key

  The twins laughed so much that their bellies hurt. Exhausted from the fun they’d been having, they fell on the floor, grinning from ear to ear.

  Grandpa hadn’t quite regained his composure after being shocked half to death by his granddaughters, but he was happy to see them nevertheless.

  ‘Grandpa, what’s in Great-Auntie Violet’s room?’ River couldn’t help but ask.

  ‘Oh, well, let’s see…there’s monsters and ghosts,’ Grandpa joked, ‘and goblins and all sorts.’

  Kit snuggled up against Grandpa’s chair, ready for his silly story, but River wanted a serious answer.

  ‘Grandpa,’ she grizzled, ‘tell the truth! I don’t know anything about her.’

  ‘Neither do I,’ he said, pulling a goofy face. ‘Your nana won’t often talk about her. I guess she doesn’t like to be reminded.’

  He sat back in his seat and sighed.

  ‘It was a very difficult time for her, from what I heard.’

  ‘What was?’ River asked. ‘What happened?’

  ‘Your nana prefers for it not to be discussed,’ he said, tapping his nose. ‘All that’s left is a small memory box she keeps. She rarely brings it out.’

  ‘William,’ Nana called from the kitchen. ‘Will you come and give me a hand.’

  ‘That’ll be me,’ Grandpa said. ‘I’ve said nothing.’ He winked at River as he headed towards the door. Then he paused. It looked as if he was thinking about what he was going to do. Then he turned round and pointed at a glass cabinet. ‘Try the box under there,’ he whispered. ‘There might be a picture or two. But be discreet.’ He left the room. ‘Coming, sweetheart,’ he called to Nana as he made his way to the kitchen.

  ‘I’m not looking,’ Kit said, straight away. ‘If Nana wanted us to see, she would have shown us.’ But River headed to the cabinet, got down on her hands and knees and looked underneath. She saw the old box and pulled it out.

  ‘River, you are going to get us into so much trouble,’ Kit said, keeping an eye on the door.

  ‘Grandpa said we could, and no one says you have to look.’ River pulled the lid off the box. It was as Grandpa said, just a box of pictures. She took the first few from the pile. ‘Look, Kit,’ she said, holding one out towards her.

  Kit reluctantly took a peek. ‘This must be Nana,’ she said, looking at a beautiful young girl about the same age as they were now. River flicked through the others until she came to a very old-looking picture that interested her. There were two babies in the picture, and a man and a woman, presumably the parents.

  ‘Do you think these were Nana’s parents?’ River asked, handing it to Kit.

  Kit nervously took the picture. ‘Perhaps, but why are there two babies?’ She gasped, and then said, ‘Do you think Nana and Violet were twins, like us?’

  River grinned, excited by the idea. Kit sat down next to River and they both rummaged through more pictures, trying to find evidence to prove their theory. There was nothing, until finally River pulled out a picture in a frame, the last one in the box. She dusted it off a little and then stared at the girls looking into the camera. They were identical. Nana and Violet were twins! The only difference between them in the picture was the clothes they were wearing.

  ‘Girls, dinner’s ready,’ Nana called from the kitchen. Kit flinched and threw the pictures back into the box.

  ‘Come on, let’s go,’ she said, getting up and walking to the door, leaving River to put the box away.

  ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’ The picture fascinated River. She couldn’t quite believe Nana was a twin.

  ‘OK, but I’m not covering for you,’ Kit said, as she left the room.

  River turned the picture over and brushed her hands over the back of the frame. It felt lumpy. She quickly undid the catch that held it closed and pulled off the back. A key fell to the floor beside her.

  ‘River, dinner!’ Nana called, impatiently.

  Kit must have sat herself at the table already. River knew she had to tidy the box away, and fast. It had to be left exactly as she’d found it, so Nana wouldn’t suspect anything.

  She heard Nana start to walk towards the front room. ‘Are you OK, River?’ she called.

  ‘Yes, uh, I’m fine. Just coming,’ River said. She quickly stuffed the key into her pocket and put the framed picture back in the bottom of the box. She piled the other photos on top and slid the box back underneath the cabinet only seconds before Nana came into the room.

  At dinner, Kit talked and talked about the new secondary school they would be going to in September, but all River could think about was the key she had just found. It had to be for Violet’s room.

  ‘Right, girlies, it’s time for bed,’ Nana said, when they had finished the last mouthful of cottage pie. River eagerly jumped down from her chair, kissed her grandparents goodnight and ran up the stairs into their bedroom. She was grateful the evening had come to an end.

  ‘What’s the rush?’ Kit said, joining River in the bed­room. ‘I’ve never seen you run so fast.’

  River went to the door and closed it, making sure she couldn’t be heard. ‘I found a key, hidden in a picture frame,’ she said.

  ‘So?’ Kit said.

  ‘It must be the key to Great-Auntie Violet’s room.’

  Nana knocked on the bedroom door and both girls jumped on to their beds. She opened it and poked her head inside. ‘Sleep well, and don’t get up to anything in the night, now.’ She caught River’s eye as she said it.

  ‘We won’t.’ River laughed quickly, hoping Nana wasn’t really suspicious. Nana closed the door behind her and left the girls to get changed into their PJs. ‘I think Nana has eyes in the back of her head,’ River said, only half joking.

  ‘You’re going to have to put the key back, you know,’ Kit said, once she was changed.

  ‘OK, OK,’ River said, turning the light out and climbing into bed. After a minute or so she whispered, ‘But aren’t you a tiny bit curious? I mean, surely you’d like to know more about your own great-aunt?’ Kit loved to learn, and River knew the only way she could get Kit on board was by making it sound as if they were going on some kind of school trip.

  River sat up in her bed and put on her torch, the one Nana had given them to use as a reading light. She held out her hand, and slowly uncurled her fingers to reveal the key to Kit. It looked rather big in her hand, and there was a butterfly on the bow of it that flickered under the torchlight. Kit stared at the key, clearly undecided as to whether she wanted any part in this or not. ‘You need to put it back,’ she repeated, eventually and River fell back on to her pillow, feeling deflated. She’d thought they might be able to share an adventure together. Perhaps Kit’s reluctance was because this time it was River’s idea, not Kit’s – Kit was usually the one who t
hought up their games.

  Kit went to say something else, but in that instant the bedroom door swung open and startled them both so much so that River dropped the torch and the key. ‘Grandpa,’ River panted, ‘you scared us!’ She prayed he wouldn’t see the key on the floor. She reached down to pick up the torch and shone it at him, making him turn his head away.

  ‘It’s really time for bed now,’ he said, in his most serious tone, which never had very much effect on his granddaughters.

  ‘OK, Gramps,’ River teased. She turned off the torch and Grandpa shut the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, she flicked it back on and searched for the key on the floor, picking it up and putting it straight under her pillow. ‘Night, Kit,’ she said, but Kit didn’t answer. River closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Eventually she did, but with Great-Auntie Violet at the forefront of her mind.

  CHAPTER 3

  The Light

  River woke up, startled by the furious rain hitting the window, and the rumbling of an angry thunderstorm. It was way too dark to be anywhere near morning, but she threw the duvet cover to one side and sat up in her bed. She peered out of the window and was fascinated by the fork of lightning splitting the sky in the distance. She hoped that it wouldn’t venture any closer.

  Kit was fast asleep but River suddenly felt very awake. She got up and crept towards the bedroom door, gently opened it and peered out on to the landing. She could hear Nana and Grandpa snoring loudly. Hoping not to wake them, she thought she might creep downstairs and help herself to the leftover brownie she knew would be sitting on the kitchen table. She floated down the stairs and into the hallway, tiptoeing quietly and avoiding the creaky step at the bottom. Slowly she made her way towards the kitchen.

  The whole house felt very different at night, and the door to her Great-Auntie Violet’s room was no exception. It stood out in the darkness, glistening like the sea under moonlight. As she steered herself towards the kitchen, a bright white light shone through the keyhole of the door to Violet’s special room, completely distracting her. The light beamed so brightly that River could hardly keep her eyes on it, yet she felt herself drawn towards it. As she approached the door she held one arm in front of her eyes to stop the light from blinding her, and waved the other arm around in search of the handle. Finally, she found it, and without hesitation she began to twist it from side to side. It was locked, obviously! Why hadn’t she brought the key with her?