An Army of Good (10 page)

For the first time in around a hundred years Serenity Sunrise Beach wasn't quiet and peaceful. It was astoundingly beautiful, yes, and it still felt relatively tranquil, but it definitely wasn't as serene as it would normally have been. Almost all of Liberty's creatures had gathered there, with the exception of the Woodland Kith, the Hudor Drakos and of course Nahla the Water Warrior. Nahla was to remain hidden until such a time that the Heart of Gold was needed by its rightful owner; a time which only the Heart itself knew. As the threat from the Nomeds grew, it was imperative that both Nahla and the Heart stay safely concealed.

That night, the section of beach by the fire was filled with bustling bodies, laughter and chatter. Even the night sky was a hive of activity. Whizzing Fire Fairies were joined by the luminous dragonflies, darting strips of colour through the darkness. The ocean roared as the Water Warriors rolled ashore and they, too, joined with everyone around the fire.

Zavier stood up, ready to address everyone. “Quiet, please!” he ordered, and the hustle and bustle quickly reduced until the only sounds were those of the waves lapping at the sand and the crackling of the fire.

“Firstly, I would like to formally welcome the Humans to Liberty, and thank them for agreeing to help us.”

“Yes, thank you. Welcome. Thank you,” the creatures of Liberty chorused in agreement.

“I didn't agree to anything,” Henrietta muttered under her breath.

“I also have some things that I need to discuss with you all. Lorenzo, an elder of the Leaf Kith has asked that we keep an eye out for one of their young. She has been missing for a while now and the Woodland Kith are growing increasingly concerned about her. Her name is Leah. If anyone sees her or knows anything of her whereabouts, then please let me know. I will be meeting with Lorenzo at noon tomorrow.”

A lump rose in Harry's throat. He gulped and carefully pushed Leah further inside his pocket.

“And lastly, I must remind you all that we are preparing for war. The Humans are going to need our help, support and training. This is the main purpose of this meeting. Takoda, Aurora and Pelagia have already been allocated a Human that they are to share their powers with, and now I am going to select a Human for each of the remaining Berthold.”

Zavier walked over to the log where Ice was perched. “Ice, your chosen Human is Elsie.”

“Yay, Elsie!” Grace cheered, giving the elderly lady a wave.

Elsie's enchantment had worn off and the old lady was now regretting the cartwheels and vaults that she'd done earlier that day. She sat watching what was going on from a rocking chair on the veranda. Her hearing wasn't great, and she had no idea that she'd been chosen to share the magical powers of Ice the enchantress. She clutched at the fleece blanket covering her legs with one hand and she gave Grace a wave back with the other.

“Francis, the Human that I would like you to share your camouflage power with is Grace's grandfather, Arthur,” Zavier said.

Arthur turned to his wife, Lizzy, placed a hand on his chest and gasped as if he'd just won the lottery. “I'm gonna be magical!” he beamed.

“What about your power, Zavier? Who are you going to share your barrier with?” Christian asked.

“Well now, Christian, that was by far the easiest choice that I had to make. I'm going to share my power with Grace.”

Training began at sunrise. Harry stood at the water's edge waiting for Pelagia to emerge from the deep, so that they could begin the first lesson in orb production. Ice and Elsie sat on the veranda together, discussing which enchantments might be most beneficial for the old lady to learn. Takoda and Christian were gathering a small selection of creatures for Christian to practice his newly acquired powers of paralysis on. Francis and Arthur perched on logs beside the fire-mound preparing to begin camouflaging themselves, and Aurora and Dan had taken themselves further down the beach, to a spacious area where they could transform into mighty Meh-Tehs. Zavier had also chosen an area away from the beach house, where he could train Grace on how to place the protective barrier around her.

The Humans that hadn't been selected to share the power of a Berthold were to be trained in more traditional ways. April, Hazel, Aaron, Tobias and Ezekiel were going to start them off with some general self-defence lessons. The rabbit family were to give lessons on enhanced alertness. Jock and Joanney, the woodpeckers, were to teach a sequence of secret knocking codes, and Shannon and the Ice Elves would demonstrate strength in numbers. The Fire Fairies had tips on bedazzlement, and Rian, Romulus and Remus had some useful pack strategies that they wanted to share. Preble the jumping meadow mouse's role was simple, but effective. He was to jump around, enthusiastically cheering everyone on to boost their morale.

The remaining Halfse men set up a workshop in the stable, where they began to craft weapons out of wood, such as shields, bows, arrows, spears and the like. The women busied themselves, crafting camouflage outfits and preparing energy rich refreshments.

* * *

Meanwhile, juvenile Nomeds lined the woodland that bordered the beach. They observed the goings-on from within well-concealed hiding positions, ready to report their findings back to their king.

Harry was enjoying the gentle lapping of the ocean as it washed over his feet, and the warmth of the newly risen sun as it warmed his face. He stood there in the shallows, willingly allowing Serenity to take hold of him. Suddenly, the water dragged away from his feet, pulling him out of his dream-like state. He was left unsteady, sinking into the sand, but not for long. The waves soon returned with force, splashing around his knees and Pelagia rose beside him. Harry was completely awestruck by the magical man made of water. He had seen Pelagia and the Warriors before, but he had never been this close to any of them. He looked deep into the commander's eyes, fascinated by the turbulence that raged behind them. Harry continued to stare mindlessly at Pelagia, mesmerised by the lively movements of his sea-spray-hair and frothy beard.

“Let's get started,” Pelagia boomed in his thunderous voice, startling Harry.

“Yes, let's,” Harry agreed.

“First, you must be aware that orb production requires a huge amount of energy, focus and determination. It is very important that you assess your surroundings and your situation before you choose your target. Your height will help with this. I imagine your towering stature is why Zavier chose you to share this power with me. You will be able to survey the area much better than the shorter humans. You must choose your target well. Do not select the one that needs the power the most. Select the one that will be able to do the most with it. And never, I repeat never, hit a Nomed! Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Good, then let us begin,” Pelagia said, slapping Harry's back with a strong wet hand.

Pelagia selected some of Liberty's creatures to act as targets. He found an expanse of beach that wasn't already being used for training purposes and then he handed Harry a small pouch filled with sand.

Harry held the bag of sand. It had a satisfying weight to it and he tossed it up and down in his palm. “What's this for?” he asked.

“It's for target practice. I must be sure that your aim is perfect before I allow you to attempt to produce a power orb. Orbs are implements of intense force and are not to be thrown around without due caution. Only when I am certain that both your mind and aim are focused, will I teach you how to create an orb.”

Pelagia ordered the creatures that he'd selected to run and fly around Harry in all directions. Mountain hares and meadow rabbits sprang all about him. The foxes, Rich and Josanne, ran rings around him, dizzying him. George and Mable, the wood pigeons, flew awkwardly overhead, as they bobbed in and out of his field of vision. And Yas, Yappa and Yukiko the mule deer, leapt gracefully to and fro.

“Listen carefully to my commands. I'm going to call out the name of a creature and then I want you to try and hit it with the pouch. Gently, of course, we don't want to cause any injuries. Are you ready?”

“Ready!” Harry asserted planting his feet firmly in the warm sand and holding the pouch beside his head, ready to throw it.

“Deer!” Pelagia hollered.

Harry spun around in the sand, focused on Yas, the largest of the mule deer, and threw the sand-filled pouch. The bag smacked against Yas's rump, causing him to kick out in irritation.

“Excellent shot, but maybe a little less force next time,” Pelagia said.

“Sorry,” Harry agreed.

Harry repositioned his feet and wiped the sweat from his brow as he prepared for his next shot.

“Pigeon!” Pelagia yelled.

Harry took aim and launched the pouch into the air. It struck George the wood pigeon in the abdomen, sending him plummeting to the ground. Mable rushed to George's side and helped him to his feet. The poor old pigeon was startled. Mable wrapped a wing around him and led him away to recover.

“I'm so sorry,” Harry apologised, looking more than a little embarrassed. George was unable to answer so he spluttered a bit and held up a wing indicating that there were no hard feelings.

“Rabbit!” Pelagia boomed, taking Harry completely by surprise. He hadn't re-positioned himself, he was unprepared, but he gathered his thoughts and launched the pouch, hitting his target. “Yes!” he cheered.

“No!” Pelagia scolded. “That was not a rabbit, that was a hare! Focus!” he ordered.

“Yesss, sirrr,” Harry responded in a military fashion. Pelagia was a great commander and the sound of his booming voice had this effect on people, drawing out the respectful warrior in all those that he met.

“Okay, let's make this a little trickier,” Pelagia said, beckoning the foxes, Rich and Josanne, to come towards him. He whispered something to them both before sending them away to the beach house.

“When Rich and Josanne return, we will continue. Harry, I want you to focus and listen to my instructions. This time you must expect the unexpected.”

“Sure,” Harry replied, wondering what Pelagia had planned for him.

Rich and Josanne weren't gone long at all. A few minutes at most, just enough time for Harry to down some homemade lemonade that Jazmine had handed out to all those who were training. Harry wiped the lemonade from his mouth and then took a stance similar to that of a baseball pitcher preparing to strike out an opponent. Pelagia gave Rich and Josanne the signal and they began to run away from Harry at speed. Harry stared hard, contemplating their speed, and calculating the distance that he would need to throw the bag.

“Hollie!” Pelagia bellowed.

Harry was momentarily confused. Rich and Josanne were foxes, Hollie was a squirrel. Then he spotted a grey bushy squirrel's tail flowing from Rich's neck fur and realised that the squirrel was riding the fox.
But that's not Hollie, the grey squirrel is Tasha, Hollie is a red squirrel!
he remembered. Then he saw her, a patch of red that didn't quite match the fox red of Josanne's coat. He hurled the pouch toward Hollie, using enough force to go the distance, but not too much, so as not to harm her. The pouch hit its target square on, and Hollie was knocked from Josanne's back and sent spiralling across the sand.

“Superb!” Pelagia commended. “A few more strikes like that one and we will be ready to move on to orb production in no time.”

The day was getting hotter. Harry was exhausted and dripping with sweat. Pelagia looked up at the sun's position. “Midday,” he declared, “time for a break. I'm going to return to the ocean with the Warriors for a short while. I suggest that you seek some shade and refreshment too.”

“Yes, sir, I will, but first there is something that I must do.”

Harry spotted Aaron cantering toward him from the beach house. He stood in Aaron's path, waving his arms, signalling for him to stop. The large stallion halted abruptly, sending sprays of sand around his large hooves.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked.

“To Zavier, at the south end of the beach. Why?”

“Great, me too. Can I hitch a lift?”

“Sure, but why?” Aaron asked, trying not to grumble at the inconvenience.

“I'll explain when we get there.”

Harry tugged at the zip of his pocket, ensuring that its contents were safely contained before climbing upon the huge stallion's back. He held onto Aaron's thick black mane and the pair thundered down the beach to find Zavier. When they found him, he was in his human form, sitting on a boulder at the top of the rocky pathway with his knees pulled up and his elbows resting on them. He cradled his head between his arms and rubbed his hands through his silver hair in a concerned manner.

“What's up?” Aaron asked, clip-clopping up the stony path toward Zavier.

“Lorenzo has just informed me that the Nomeds were watching us this morning. They were out in the daylight, and extremely close to the beach. They hardly ever venture out in the daytime and what on earth were they doing that close to the beach?” he asked, shaking his head in despair.

Harry slid down off Aaron and interrupted. “Zavier, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Has Lorenzo gone? Have I missed him?”

“No, you haven't missed him. He's here,” Zavier said, beckoning the little leaf man out from behind a rock. “It's okay, Lorenzo. You can come out. This Human will not harm you. You have my word.”

Lorenzo clambered up the boulder and stood beside Zavier, gingerly looking up at the towering human. “You must be the one they call Harry. What have you done with Leah? Have you killed her? Have you?” he screamed.

“What…? Of course I haven't killed her! Don't be so ridiculous. Here, see for yourself!” Harry snapped, unzipping his beach short's pocket and pulling Leah out by her leaf.

“Oh Harry, how could you?” Leah sobbed.

Harry cupped Leah inside one of his hands, then he raised it in front of his face and cautiously un-cupped it. “I'm sorry, Leah, I know you asked me not to, but it's the right thing to do. Your friends and family are obviously very worried about you. I couldn't keep you from them any longer.”

An indignant Leah stood in Harry's palm and grabbed hold of his nose, gripping the sides of each nostril with her tiny hands and pinching as hard as she could. Her dark green eyes welled with tears and her bottom lip quivered. She looked into her angel's eyes, which were now watering too – not with emotion, though, but from the painful pinching being inflicted upon them by a heartbroken Leah.

“I knew that the tall Human was involved in your disappearance. I just knew it. Zavier, I think you should order him to leave Liberty. He cannot be trusted!” Lorenzo yelled, pointing a twig-like finger up at Harry.

Leah released her grip on Harry's nose then leapt down from his hand. She drifted gently before settling on the rock next to Lorenzo.

“It wasn't his fault. I won't let you blame him. I hid in his hood. He didn't even know I was there. When he found me, I asked him not to tell anyone because I didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay with him. He is kind, and caring, and I… I… really… really… like him!” Leah blurted out between sobs.

“Well, young lady, the elders are going to have much to say about this, you mark my words,” Lorenzo yelled, as he forcibly tugged Leah by the arm, dragging her back toward the woodland.

Leah turned to look at Harry.

“I really am sorry, Leah, but I had to. I hope you will understand that one day,” he called out, as Lorenzo pulled her into a dense area of ferns. The ferns closed behind the Leaf Kith and they disappeared from sight.

Harry turned to Zavier. “I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but all of this has been a bit crazy, and to be honest I think I'm still in shock.”

“That's okay, Harry. You did the right thing in the end, and I'm not surprised that you're feeling a little shocked. I realise that this whole situation must be very strange for you. Our two worlds are very different, after all.”

“They sure are,” Harry agreed.

“Well, Leah has been returned safely, and we have lots of work to do, so let's get back to the beach. We must push on with the training. Looks like we may have less time to prepare than we thought.”