The Shaman's Secret (Kalika Magic Book 2)

by Karen Hughes

  The

  Shaman’s

  Secret

  Karen Hughes

  Kalika Magic/ Australia

  Copyright © Karen Hughes 2014

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written per-mission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address below.

  admin@kalikamagic.com

  Kalika Magic

  Australia

  www.kalikamagic.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Ordering Information: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.

  Hughes / Karen Author — First Edition

  ISBN 978-0-9941579-2-8

  Kindle Edition

  For Annabelle, Ethan, Grace and Lily

  Chapter 1

  The Village in the Treetops

  Kai climbed the tree like a monkey, hand over hand, bare feet on rough bark, up and up through the spidery branches. At the top, perched on the highest branch, there was a boy. The boy peered out through the leaves, his body tense, his hand on the small silver knife at his belt. When he saw Kai, he grinned.

  'Hey! When did you get here?'

  Kai climbed onto the branch beside him.‘Last night.’

  The boy frowned.‘No one told me.’

  ‘No one else knows.’

  ‘You came by yourself? All the way from Ballyndor? With no guards, no soldiers, nothing?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Kai. He looked away. It was almost the truth.

  The boy stared at him, his eyes wide.‘I didn’t think they’d let you do that,’ he said.

  The forest was buzzing all around them. Hidden among the leaves were men with beads and feathers in their hair. Brown-skinned and wiry, they scrambled through the branches, carrying brushes and ropes and pots of thick green wax. They were Kalika, the people of the forest, and they were rebuilding the village that the nukpana woman and her soldiers had destroyed.

  'How much longer are you on watch?' Kai asked.

  'Another hour,' said the boy. 'Unless you want to have a go.'

  Kai didn’t mind taking his turn as lookout. When he lived with Grandma Helki, it had been one of his favourite jobs. From high in the treetops he could see right out over the forest, all the way north to the great stone walls of Ballyndor. To the south, where the trees gave way to the sweet grasslands, he could just make out the dark shapes of the Dasa Mountains, towering over the plains.

  Kai shivered. He didn't want to look at the mountains. He didn't want to think about them at all.

  'Well?' The boy looked hopeful. 'Are you going to take a turn?'

  Kai shook his head. 'I can’t,' he said. 'I've come to see Aunty Mai.'

  He swung back over the branch and climbed down to the sway bridge that linked the tallest trees. Running lightly through the leaves, he leapt from tree to tree until he was on the roof of a small tree house with curved windows and walls of twisted greenwood. A staircase of polished wood spiralled around the tree trunk, each step inlaid with gold letters and shining stones. At the base of the tree stood a mass of purple coneflowers.

  Shimmying down a corner pole, he landed on a balcony hung with smoky crystals and faded prayer flags. There was a door with a painted sign.

  Mai Whitefeather

  Herbs, Tinctures and Healing Charms

  By Appointment Only

  He lifted the knocker and let it drop with a thump. He heard footsteps, laughter, and the door swung open to reveal a girl. She was tying her copper hair back with a strip of white ribbon and she had a smudge of flour on her nose.

  ‘Just in time for dinner,’ she said, whirling back inside.

  Kai stared at his sister.‘What are you doing here?’

  Indie turned, pulling a face. 'Mum was being so boring. She made me practise the mandolin all morning. Stupid instrument; way too many strings.’

  'What? Four?' Kai asked. He was teasing, but he knew what she meant. Their mother, Queen Tala, seemed determined to make up for lost time. She hadn't been there to watch her children grow. She hadn't even seen them lose their first teeth. Now she hovered over them, never letting them out of her sight– insisting that they fill their days with lessons.

  King Eamon frowned, telling his wife there was plenty of time for manners and music. 'Let them be free,' he said. 'They're strong. They can look after each other.'

  But the queen was not convinced. She wanted to keep her children locked behind the walls of the royal city, safe from whatever prowled outside.

  ‘She was having a panic attack because there was no coco,’ Indie continued.‘You know the stuff she orders from Moto? Well, the road through the mountains is blocked or something. I don’t know. Dad came in looking really worried.’

  ‘Why would anyone block the road?’ said Kai.‘It’s the only way to Moto.’

  ‘Dad said it was the Dasa Warriors.’

  Kai remembered Grandma Helki's stories about the men of the mountains. Giants with filthy hair and long, dirty toenails. Magic men, with such terrible powers they had only to look at you and you would shrivel up and die.

  Indie leaned closer.‘Aunty Mai says that the Dasa Warriors aren’t even human. They’re vengeful spirits. Even when you can’t see them, you know they are there by the smell of decaying corpses.’

  Kai frowned.‘Aunty Mai says a lot of things. Doesn't mean they’re true. Did you tell Mum you were going to the forest?’

  Indie bit her lip.‘Not exactly.’

  ‘You’ll be in trouble,’ said Kai.

  Indie shrugged.‘So what? I’m always in trouble.’

  There was a rustle of skirts and Aunty Mai appeared in the doorway. The queen’s eldest sister was a small woman with a straight back and a warm smile. She held out a floury hand.

  ‘Kai,’ she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. 'Have you been climbing on my roof again? Your mother will be furious.’

  Kai gave her his most winning smile. 'She won't find out unless you tell her.'

  Aunty Mai leaned back and looked at him. She touched his hair for a moment, brushing it back from his forehead. 'I won't tell her,' she said. 'You just be careful.'

  She turned and walked through the doorway. Kai followed her into a room filled with bright rugs and cushions. Against the wall was a small table covered with white roots, green stems and tiny yellow buds. Bunches of herbs lay in baskets, waiting to be tied. On the floor were ribbons and streamers, coils of string, and silver buckets filled with flowers.

  ‘Mind where you tread,’ said Aunty Mai.‘I’m getting everything ready for Okowa.’

  She saw Indie’s blank look and a shadow crossed her face.‘Okowa,’ she said again.‘The autumn festival.The night when the spirits come to dance.’

  For a moment she looked smaller, older, and then she said quietly,‘There are so many things I should have taught you when we were hiding on the island together. I should have told you about our people. I should never have listened to your Aunt Sofia.’

  She climbed the steps to the kitchen, leaving them standing among the he
rbs and ribbons.

  Indie turned to Kai. 'You knew about the festival! Why didn't you tell me? I would have come with you.'

  'I couldn't,' said Kai. 'Mum said it was too dangerous.'

  'She thinks everything is dangerous.'

  'Well, she's right about Okowa. It's the night when the veil between the worlds is thin. Anything can happen.'

  'She let you come.'

  'Only because Brek rode to Ballyndor and spoke to Dad. We left before daybreak.'

  'But that's so unfair!'

  Kai put his finger to his lips. He reached into his pack and pulled out a tattered book, wrapped in oilskin and tied with a strip of leather. It was the spell book of the great Wicasa, ancient chief of the Kalika.

  ‘You've been practising your magic,’ whispered Indie.‘I knew it.'

  Kai nodded. He told her how he had been meeting Brek, the Kalika medicine man, to practise the spells in the book.

  ‘He wants us to go to the mountains with him,’ said Kai. 'He's been talking about it for weeks.'

  Indie stared at him.‘But the road is blocked, and Aunty Mai says the Dasa Warriors chop people to pieces and hang them from poles.’

  Kai shook his head wearily.‘I told you not to listen to Aunty Mai.’

  ‘What about Dad? Can I listen to him?’ Indie wrapped her arms around her chest.‘He says the Dasa Warriors want revenge. He says they hate us.’

  ‘They hate the nukpanawoman,’ said Kai. ‘She sent her soldiers to the mountains to burn their homes.’

  His mother’s other sister, Sofia, was very different to Aunty Mai. She was nukpana. Evil. He couldn’t even say her name.

  ‘She did the same thing to the Kalika,’ said Indie.‘Don’t the Dasa Warriors know that? We were on their side. We fought against her.’

  Kai looked down at the spell book in his hands. He remembered how he had used the book to call on the four elements– air, fire, water and earth– to defeat Sofia's army. He remembered how Indie had raised her father’s sword and proved she was the Emerald Child, heir to the throne of Ballyndor. She had stood strong, as the battle raged and the old stables exploded and the only thing left of Sofia was a circle of ash, burned into the grass.

  ‘We fought for the Kalika people,’ he said softly.‘It was too late for the Dasa.’

  ‘It was too late for Gort,’ muttered Indie.‘Sofia left the whole land in ruins.'

  It was true. The land of Gort was crumbling, the earth brown and barren. The rivers were dry, the forest scorched and black, the city overflowing with villagers desperate for work.

  ‘That’s why Brek wants us to go to the mountains,’ he said.

  chapter 2

  The Apiki Flower

  By the time Aunty Mai came back into the room, carrying two bowls filled with tarts and syrup and dandelion cream, Kai had told Indie everything.

  ‘But that’s so great,’ Indie was saying.‘If we can find the flower, we can –’

  ‘Indie, please stop dancing around the room. You’ll knock over my baskets,’ said Aunty Mai.‘Here, push them to one side. And Kai, run up to the kitchen and grab some stools.’

  When they were seated at the table, Aunty Mai said,‘I’m glad your mother let you come. I was afraid she wouldn’t.'

  ‘Mum doesn’t–’Kai began, but he stopped when he saw his sister’s frown.

  Indie turned to Aunty Mai with an innocent smile.‘Mum doesn’t think she’ll come to the festival,’ she said.‘But we came because we need to talk to you. Kai has been to see Brek. He says we have to find the apak… apoka…’ She turned to Kai.‘What was it called?’

  ‘The apiki flower,’ said Kai, glancing at Aunty Mai and then quickly looking down at his tarts.

  ‘Oh,’ said Aunty Mai. Her face went pale and she put her hand to her throat. ‘Oh.’

  ‘It’s in the mountains,’ said Indie.‘Kai says we have to go during the autumn festival because that’s when Kalika magic is strongest. He says that’s when the silver veil is thin and you can step through to other places.’

  Aunty Mai’s grip on her spoon had tightened. Her knuckles were white. Kai nudged Indie, but she kept talking.

  ‘Kai says there’s a shaman in the mountains. He’s like a witch doctor. How awesome is that? He’s going to help us find the flower.’

  ‘Sweet Mother Earth,’ whispered Aunty Mai. She began to gather the bowls, her hands trembling. Then she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.

  ‘The Dasa Mountains are dark and terrible,’ she said,‘Shaman Yanti has cast all sorts of evil spells over them. Kalika magic doesn’t work there. Chief Wicasa’s spells are useless. I don’t see how Brek expects you to do this.’

  Indie’s face fell.‘We have to,’ she said.‘Don’t you see? Sofia was part of our family, and she destroyed everything. There are no crops. The animals are dying. The people in the villages are starving. We have to do something.’

  There was a clatter of boots on the stairs, a banging fist at the door. It was Dargan, the leader of the Kalika, a tall man with a silver knife at his belt and eagle feathers in his hair. In his arms he carried a boy. The boy’s face was grey, his tunic stained with blood. His head lolled against Dargan’s shoulder.

  ‘I found him at the edge of the forest,’ Dargan said.‘He’s wounded. Looks like a knife or a spear.’

  Aunty Mai pulled back the boy’s shirt. There was a long gash down his side.‘Did you use yarrow leaves?’

  ‘Yes. But he’s still bleeding.’

  ‘Bring him inside.’

  She lit the lamps, calling to Indie to clear away the ribbons and the flowers. Dargan laid the boy across the cushions on the floor. He stepped back, looking grim.

  Aunty Mai pushed her dark hair behind her ears and peered at the boy through her gold spectacles. She rolled up her sleeves.‘Kai, we need to burn some osharoot,’ she said.‘Indie, get me some hot water and a clean cloth.’

  After a time, the boy slept. The colour returned to his cheeks, and his breathing grew strong and deep.

  He stirred. Indie leaned to wipe his forehead.

  ‘My father…’ His eyes shot open and he tried to stand.‘My father…’

  ‘Aunty Mai,’ Indie shouted. She put both hands on the boy’s chest, pushing him back to the floor.

  ‘No!’ He shoved her out of the way and climbed to his feet. She stumbled backwards, slamming her elbow into the wall.

  ‘You cannot hold me here, you monster,’ he cried.‘I must avenge my mother. I must go to Ballyndor. The Warriors, the army of Moto, the emperor…’

  He fell to his knees with a groan.

  Aunty Mai ran into the room, Kai close behind her.

  ‘Now, now,’ she said.‘We’re trying to help you, child.’

  The boy toppled forward onto the cushions. Kai ran to help him.

  ‘What about me?’ asked Indie, nursing her arm. ‘He called me a monster and pushed me.’

  ‘He’s delirious,’ said Aunty Mai. 'He needs to sleep.' She helped Kai settle the boy, stroking his forehead, speaking to him in a low soothing voice.

  ‘He can sleep later,’ said Dargan, coming into the room. He pulled roughly at the boy’s sleeve to reveal a deep blue tattoo that began at his wrist and spiralled all the way up to his shoulder.

  ‘What is it?’ whispered Indie.

  ‘A snake,’ said Kai, his eyes wide.‘It’s the mark of the Dasa Warriors.’

  Indie stared at the boy, puzzled. He wasn’t a giant or a spirit. There was no corpse smell about him, and he didn’t look like he would chop anyone to pieces.

  ‘He doesn’t look fourteen, but he must be,’ said Dargan.‘That’s when they go into the mountains alone to speak with the spirits. When they come back, they are men– warriors– and they are marked with the snake.’

  He leaned down and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.‘Why are you here?’ he asked.‘What happened to you?’

  The boy pulled away, moaning.‘The Emperor of Moto is coming. He will fig
ht with us. We will march to Ballyndor. We will march to Ballyndor…’

  He fell back on the pillows, licking his cracked lips. Indie held a cup of water and he drank. For a moment his eyes cleared and he stared at her.

  ‘They killed my mother,’ he whispered.

  ‘Who?’ asked Indie. ‘Who killed her?’

  ‘The Dasa,’ said the boy.

  Dargan shook his head.‘He is a Dasa Warrior. Why would the Dasa kill his mother?’

  The boy was drifting in and out of sleep, rambling and moaning,tearing at the soft blue shawl Aunty Mai had wrapped around his shoulders. Indie looked at him closely. He was tall and fine-boned, with pale skin and a shock of thick black hair. His face was gentle. He didn’t look like a warrior. He looked like someone who should be playing the mandolin or reading books.

  ‘What if he’s telling the truth?’ she said.‘What if the Dasa Warriors killed his mother and he had to escape?’

  Dargan fastened his knife to his belt. He pulled on his cloak.‘I must tell your father about this.’

  Indie leapt to her feet.‘I’m coming with you.’

  ‘No, you’re not. For once you will do as you are told. Stay here with the boy. Find out all you can. I’ll be back in the morning for the festival.’

  Indie gave him a defiant look.‘Kai and I are going to the mountains tomorrow.’

  Dargan stared at her. He turned to Kai, who shrugged and looked at his feet.

  ‘We have to go,’ said Indie.‘We have to find the apiki flower.’

  Dargan’s face turned a mottled red.‘The mountains are cursed! If Shaman Yanti doesn’t kill you, the Dasa Warriors will. Or the Emperor of Moto will capture you when he marches his army across to invade Ballyndor.’

  ‘But–’

  ‘You are not going anywhere!’

  ‘But the apiki flower…’ said Indie in a small voice.

  ‘The apiki flower is a fairy tale. Stay here. I will see you in the morning.’