Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) (37 page)

‘Excuse me, ma’am,’ announced a footman, ‘but Councillor Flint is here. He requests an immediate conference with your ladyship.’

‘Very well. Please inform him that I shall meet him in the audience chamber on the fifteenth floor.’

The footman nodded. ‘Certainly, ma’am.’ Bowing low, he departed.

‘How big will my banquet be?’ asked Constantina with a petulant toss of her hair.

‘Constantina, now is not the time to be bothering me with such minor details. I have said that you may have one and a banquet you shall have,’ Narcissa promised. ‘You and I shall discuss this later.’

‘Later! It’s always later with you,’ stormed Constantina with a bitter tone. ‘You’re always busy, aren’t you?’

‘Yes! Yes, I am, and that is the price that you must pay for having a member of the Jade Circle for a mother.’

‘It’s a price that I never asked for!’ screamed Constantina as she once again lost her temper.

‘And you think that I care?’ replied Lady Narcissa with an arched eyebrow.

Straightening her skirts, she swept from the room, pretending not to see her daughter furiously stick her tongue out at her departing back, and headed off to her rendezvous with Flint.

Striding along passageways lined with ancient, self-important portraits of the Narcissa family, Lady Narcissa made her way through the Ivory Tower. Pushing open a wide door carved from pale maplewood, she entered the audience chamber.

‘Flint.’

‘Lady Narcissa.’

‘What can I do for you?’

The large Stoman councillor with his many, many necklaces and bracelets sighed and grimaced horribly. ‘It is Azariah Keeper. It appears that every time I approach one of the councillors with our
proposal
, he has got there first. Blackmail or bribe, Azariah is countering our every move with one of his own! We are losing the battle.’

‘That poisonous old man!’ barked Narcissa. Her eyes blazed furiously and her hands tensed into clawed fists. ‘How dare he! How dare he try and undermine me. I will not have it!’

‘That is all very well for you to say, but dealing with a Keeper is no easy task,’ Flint reminded Narcissa.

‘I do not care what you think. Deal with him I shall!’ retorted Narcissa.

‘Oh yes, and how do you plan to do that?’ replied Flint, his tone mildly mocking.

‘Lord Bane has arranged to send me a servant of power to aid me specifically for events such as this. Heed my words well, Councillor Flint – Azariah Keeper’s time has come.’

52

An Ill-fated Zephyr

Charlie tensed her jaw, rolled her hands into fists and concentrated as the Zephyr came spinning towards her. Summoning her Will, she burst into motion and leaped towards it.

PHFOOM!

Kelko and Jensen stared with wide, disbelieving eyes as the Zephyr exploded in a cloud of smoking feathers and Charlie, off balance, landed in a heap of tangled limbs.

‘Wufa-whargh?’ mumbled Charlie as she sat up. Her hair, previously so tidy and neat for once, was now a mess, she had dirt on her cheeks and, after flying through the remnants of the burst Zephyr, her mouth was full of blue and slightly singed feathers. She used her fingers to pull what she could from her mouth. ‘Why does that keep happening?’

It took Kelko and Jensen a second or two to regain their composure. They weren’t used to seeing such wild displays of the Will and the Way, and certainly weren’t used to seeing how powerfully destructive they could be when applied incorrectly.

‘Uh …’ began Jensen. ‘Perhaps a little too much of the old Will and the Way there, me little Hippotomi.’

‘Ah … yes,’ agreed Kelko. He stared around at Azariah’s back garden. It was covered in feathers, not only from the latest Zephyr but from twelve others they had used previously. Charlie had managed to burn, mangle, crisp and exterminate all of them. So far her training to mix her Will with K’Changa-playing wasn’t proving a success. ‘Um, methinks think we’d better tidy up dis mess before Azariah gets back.’

‘We can do that later,’ disagreed Jensen. ‘We need ta keep practising. We have ta get dis right and get it right soon. We’re running outta time. There are only three more days until the match and we ain’t got it right yet. We’ve got ta work harder. Get another Zephyr and we’ll try a different method.’

Kelko rummaged inside his training sack. ‘That was the last one. We’re outta Zephyrs.’

Jensen sighed. ‘Want ta wait around until Azariah gets back or shall we go and get some more now?’

‘No, let’s get some more. We can get ta the shop and be back here in no time. We’ll take Sic Boy with us so we don’t have ta worry about any trouble.’ Kelko heaved Charlie to her feet. ‘C’mon, lass. Let’s roll ta the shop.’

Walking along the crowded boulevards, they headed towards one of Sylvaris’s shopping districts. Kelko and Jensen led Charlie into a shop called Fah Sweet Vibrations, which was full of K’Changa-related merchandise. There was a selection of snug-fitting boots, sleek-looking trousers, streamlined gloves and, of course, a huge selection of Zephyrs. They lined two of the shop’s walls and were in every colour imaginable. There were the traditional blue-feathered variety, but also a range of vibrant greens, shimmering golds
and others that were a mishmash of loud colours. When Charlie leaned closer to look at one of the labels she realized that some of the novelty Zephyrs also came in different flavours (for those who got the munchies during practice).

‘Yes, gentlemen and, er, lady. Can I help ya?’ asked the shopkeeper.

Jensen brightened at the idea of spending some of his money. ‘Yes, ya can. We’re in need of several Zephyrs for our young protégée here.’

The shopkeeper eyed Charlie and her dishevelled appearance warily. ‘And what type of Zephyr would the, um, young “lady” be requiring?’

‘All of them,’ answered Jensen, his eyes shining.

The shopkeeper goggled. ‘All?’

Jensen grinned and reached for his moneybag. ‘Yes, all of them.’

‘Do you really need all of them?’ asked a sneering voice. ‘Sounds like someone must be having trouble mastering the finer skills of K’Changa.’

Charlie groaned. It was Constantina and she was surrounded by a small crowd of pretty and very well-dressed Human and Treman teenage girls.

‘Of course,’ continued Constantina, ‘only a skank from the Other Realm would be rude enough to buy out a whole shop of Zephyrs so no one else in Sylvaris can play K’Changa.’

The girls surrounding Constantina giggled.

‘What?’ squawked Charlie, suddenly embarrassed. ‘Look, I don’t need all of them. If you want some that’s not a problem.’

‘Me?’ said Constantina in mock surprise. ‘I don’t need them, buttercup, but it looks like you really do, so please take them. After all, I wouldn’t want to go up against a player who didn’t know what she was doing. My, imagine how humiliating it would be if you only lasted a couple of seconds against me. Take the Zephyrs and go home and practise some more. Believe me, you’re going to need it.’

‘What? Why, you …’ began Charlie, feeling her anger rise. ‘Listen, you empty-headed chump –’

‘No,
you
listen!’ warned Constantina. She stepped forward so she was almost nose to nose with Charlie, ignoring the warning growl from Sic Boy. ‘Do you really think you can waltz on over from the Other Realm, come here to Sylvaris and suddenly become a big shot? You think that you can come to my mother’s house, burn down the roof and get away with it? And on top of that you think that you can become some kind of hero who’s going to save Sylvaris and win the war? Do you really think you’re worthy, let alone capable?’

Already tired and worked up from the day’s training, Charlie could feel her calm completely unravelling. The hatred and anger that had festered since her stay in the Ivory Tower began to simmer and boil inside her chest. ‘You’ve got everything twisted! If you think that’s what –’

‘Wot methinks,’ interrupted Jensen, before Charlie and Constantina started a fight, ‘is that dis is no way for a champion of Sylvaris ta behave. Constantina, if yer a real K’Changa champion and really believe in everything that ya just said, then I suggest ya clamp yer mouth shut and
save it for the Colosseum. Now then, we’re here ta do some shopping so … shopkeeper, here’s a little something for ya.’ Jensen threw his moneybag into the surprised shopkeeper’s hands. ‘Kelko, grab the Zephyrs. Charlie, Sic Boy, we’re outta here.’

Kelko went along the walls of the shop and stuffed the Zephyrs into his sack as the shopkeeper greedily began to count the coins. Jensen, putting a firm hand on Charlie’s shoulder, began to guide her out of the shop.

As they pushed past the group of girls, Constantina leaned close to whisper in Charlie’s ear. ‘I like the look of the pendant but the chain seems cheap. I’ll have to have my jewellers reset it on something more befitting a real champion.’

Charlie stiffened and opened her mouth to reply, but Jensen forced her out of the shop. Kelko swiftly hurried after with his bulging sack. Sic Boy, however, took his time. He walked straight through the pack of girls, forcing them to squeal and jump out of the way, and even knocking a couple of them backwards with his muscular, furry bulk.

Once outside, Charlie spun around. ‘Why did you have to go and stop me?’

‘Blossom,’ began Kelko, ‘we can see that Constantina is a blight ta anyone’s tree, but ya can’t afford ta get in a fight with her before the match.’

‘He’s right, me little Hippotomi,’ added Jensen. ‘Ya’ve got ta keep calm, at least for the moment. Anger’s a good thing in certain situations, but yer using it wrong. If ya use yer anger right here and now on Constantina, ya will have wasted it. Ya’ve got ta use yer anger wisely.’

‘Use it?’ asked Charlie, suddenly puzzled.

‘Sure. Use it ta focus on yer training. Use it ta give yerself purpose and then, when ya face Constantina in the arena, use yer anger ta make yerself a better K’Changa player. If ya use it the right way ya can use it ta win.’

Charlie chewed on her lip while she thought about it. ‘Constantina is a brat and there’s nothing I’d like more than to use my Will on her, but …’ Charlie sighed. ‘You’re right, this isn’t the best way to go about this. I want to get back at Lady Narcissa and the Delightful Brothers and I have to defeat Bane. So … if I beat Constantina at K’Changa it’ll not only wipe the smile off her face but it’ll be a real kick to Lady Narcissa and, most importantly, it means that I get to keep the pendant, so Bane had better look out too.’

As Charlie talked her way through it and imagined how angry both Narcissa and Constantina would be if she won, a grin began to spread over her face. Seeing it, Kelko and Jensen smiled too.

‘That’s me Hippotomi!’ said Jensen. ‘Now, let’s get back ta Azariah’s and tidy up his garden before he turns us all inta donkeys or something!’

The long black ribbon of crows dropped the stag’s carcass, allowing the clutter of bones to fall to the distant earth. Cawing excitedly, the marauding pack flung themselves onward. Soaring over the crest of a large hill, they caught sight of their final destination: Deepforest.

And just there, twinkling like some jewel against a magnificent green background, was Sylvaris.

Mr Crow would soon be making his presence known.

53

Tough Training

Charlie squeaked in terror as her concentration faltered, then suddenly failed her. With a wild cry she toppled from the narrow beam and fell with a splash into the murky water of Azariah’s ornamental fishpond.

‘Gah!’ snorted Azariah. Even Kelko and Jensen, standing on either side of the garden, looked on in dismay. ‘You must do much better than that, Charlie. Much better! The Three Winds Festival is tomorrow and this is the best that you can offer? We might as well just hand over the pendant now and save ourselves any more trouble.’

Charlie’s training wasn’t going anywhere near as smoothly as it should have and although she had stopped burning the Zephyrs to a crisp she hadn’t progressed as much as she needed to. Even now, on her fourth day of training, she had still failed to combine her K’Changa skills with those of a Keeper. She was glad, really glad, that they had continued training in the garden at the back of Azariah’s house. At least this way no one else could see what a mess she was making of things.