Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) by Marcus Alexander Read Free Book Online Page B

ever caught sight of you guys, or that after all that time of trading you haven’t slipped up once,’ said Charlie.
    ‘Well, ta be honest, it does happen every once in a while, but who’s gonna believe the occasional poor idiot who does see us? Who’s gonna believe some poor fool screaming and hollering about green-skinned men with big ears? Sure, ya get yer wild stories in the newspapers about elves and pixies and gremlins and aliens, but no one takes them seriously. That’s wot’s so great about yer side – ya Humans have got closed minds and a really skewed sense of perspective. It makes trading so much easier.’
    Charlie walked quietly besides Jensen. It took a little while for her mind to grasp these new facts. She sighed to herself. None of those soft drinks and sweets would ever seem the same again.
    ‘OK, so tell me about this Western Menace character, Bane,’ she said after a while.
    ‘Well, lass, rumours coming outta the Western Mountains say that Bane went hunting for some ancient and powerful relic that was lost in the Great Cataclysm. Apparently theevil fool found it and used it ta win over the Stomen and he’s got ’em all fired up. They think they can take over Bellania now he’s the Stoman Lord. Don’t get me wrong, not all Stomen have followed Bane down his path. There’s still some tribes that stand apart from the war and some that still live among us. I’m sure ya’ll meet some of them in Sylvaris,’ said Jensen. ‘But now, me little Hippotomi, if ya will excuse me for a minute I gotta go talk with Kelko. He still owes me from our dice game last night and if I don’t nag him I probably won’t be seeing me silver!’
    And with that Jensen hurried off, leaving Charlie alone with her thoughts.



7
    Tree Song
    As she passed through the forest, marvelling at all the gigantic trees, strange flowers and bizarre wildlife, Charlie couldn’t quite get over what she’d heard. To think that her house protected the entrance to a whole new land. But, more importantly, Bellania seemed to hold the answer to her parents’ disappearance. Her palms itched at the thought of unlocking the secrets that the Jade Circle was keeping. They had to tell her where her parents were!
    Walking along surrounded by her new Treman friends, Charlie realized that for the first time in ages she felt … safe. Safe from Mr Crow anyway. She wasn’t too sure about Bane, though. It was typical that having escaped from one bad thing in her life, another had followed her here.
    She felt for her pendant. It was special to her as a reminder of her parents, but she knew now that she wasn’t the only person who thought it was important. Well, this Bane wasn’t going to get it from her, she decided, her resolve hardening.
    ‘Gran,’ she suddenly whispered, as an image of her grandmother home alone at the mercy of Crow came into her mind. She gritted her teeth and hoped that Tina and MrsBagley would be good enough to check up on her, and that Crow hadn’t done anything to her in the meantime.
    So busy was Charlie with her thoughts that she ignored the sudden spurts of wind whistling through the trees, the spatter of heavy raindrops and the silent flash of a nearby lightning strike. It was only when the Tremen started panicking and shouting at her that she snapped back to attention.
    ‘Get outta the way!’ screamed Jensen. ‘Watch out, Charlie! Move!’
    ‘What?’ she asked, twisting round to see what they were shouting about, but all the Tremen were pointing behind her. She turned back.
    ‘Move!’ shouted Stotch.
    Charlie wished that she could move, but her whole body had frozen in shock at the awesome sight unfolding in front of her. In a corner of her mind she registered the sound of everyone hollering and screaming at her, but her attention was firmly focused on the immense tree, split by the lightning and falling in slow motion towards her. She could almost feel its weight as it plummeted near her. She wanted