‘I searched long and hard for a good place to put it. No one will ever find it. It is safe, so you don’t have to worry about it.’
‘I know you would have done a very good job of keeping it safe. Would you like to tell me where you put it, Holly?’
‘I would like to tell you, Salli, but you wouldn’t know the place anyway.’
‘Why not tell Carter where you hid it? Maybe he would know.’
Holly started to inhale and exhale deeply, as if preparing herself to raise an enormous weight off her shoulders. Her legs were swinging furiously in nervousness. She stared at her hands, wringing and twisting them in her lap. With a great gasp, she said, ‘I buried it under some stones, at the bottom of a pool fed by a mountain stream on a ledge above Duma’s town.’
She collapsed back in her seat, exhausted by the ordeal of finally freeing herself from the power of the Crystal.
Salli looked to Carter. He nodded. ‘I know where it is, Salli. There’s a small pyramid of stones by the side of the pool to mark it.’
Salli stepped over to hug Holly. “You’re one of the strongest girls I’ve ever known. Welcome home, Holly.’
* * *
The loud knocking on the wooden frame, where the door would eventually hang, made everyone turn. The two strangers standing in the flickering lamplight made a sorry sight. Their long blond hair was dirty and unkempt. Their unshaven faces gave them a look of travellers who’d come far and seen much hardship. Lulu noticed they both carried large bruises across their arms, and one had deep scratches across his powerfully built chest. Even with the heavy woollen blankets covering their bulk, their size was still imposing and filled the empty door space, blocking out the night sky behind them.
Though their faces and chests looked to be battered, their eyes still shone with youth and energy. The younger one had a playful grin on his face while he looked into the hall. Carter rose quickly, knocking over his stool in the rush to greet them. ‘Naz, Vin, you’re back!’ He walked quickly across the hall to embrace his friends.
Salli and Lulu, with their jaws hanging, catching flies in wonder at finally seeing the Snow Bears in their real form. Salli was the first to reach out her hand in welcome. The smiles brought a new glow to the room.
‘So that’s what you really look like!’ said Lulu, grinning.
Once everyone had shaken hands and embraced in welcome, Salli called them to sit and drink.
“As long as it’s not Yellow Berry juice,’ said Naz.
‘Just tea this time, but I’m sure there will be a lot of celebrating later tonight, now that you’re all home safe,’ she said.
Lulu turned serious for a moment. ‘On behalf of the Clan, I want to thank you both for bringing Holly and Carter home safely.’
‘Carter saved our skin on more than one occasion, so our thanks go to him too,’ said Naz, laughing at the memories.
‘But where’s Holly?’ asked Vin. ‘I really want to give her a hug and tell her I want to be her latest best friend!’
Salli cleared her throat to speak, but Lulu stood to interrupt her. ‘Holly’s with her parents, Vin. I do believe she’ll sleep for a week. The doc has given her some moss tea. He thinks sleep will help overcome the trauma of what she’s been through.’
‘Yes, the best thing for her is rest and lots of love and attention,’ said Naz.
‘She’ll get plenty of that from the Clan,’ said Lulu.
She could feel the small talk was coming to an end and braced herself for the big question that she knew they were waiting to ask. It came sooner than she thought.
‘Queen Lucinda,’ said Naz formally, ‘I respectfully ask that the Crystal that was “taken” from our possession be returned to us.’
A deathly silence filled the room. Lulu sat down slowly, her back straight, her hands folded on her lap. Looking regal and poised, she paused to catch her thoughts. She looked from Vin to Naz, who watched her expectantly.
‘I don’t have it … we don’t have it,’ she corrected herself. ‘Holly didn’t bring it with her,’ she said slowly and calmly.
‘But … but, Holly was carrying it … she had it with her all the time … she…,’ said Naz, his head reeling.
‘Holly hid the Crystal. When her mind was confused, she thought you or Carter or the apes would take it from her. So, she hid it. I believe for the moment it is safe.’
‘But do you know where it is?’ asked Naz, not yet coming to terms with the shock.
‘Carter knows.’ Lulu nodded to Carter.
‘Before she went down into the town, the night she saw Duma, she hid it in a pool above the town. She marked the spot. I know where it is,’ said Carter.
Naz sat dumbstruck, not knowing what to say.
‘She was confused, Naz, and I believe she was under the influence of the Crystal, and the voice was leading her astray,’ Carter said.
‘We can’t leave it there. If the apes find out we don’t have it, they’ll turn over every rock on the mountains looking for it. They’ll never stop till they have it, and eventually, they will find it,’ said Naz.
‘I believe for the moment it is safe,’ said Lulu. ‘The pool is probably frozen by now. The apes don’t know we haven’t got it. You do understand that the apes are controlled by someone with evil intentions?’
Naz nodded, lost in his own thoughts and worries. ‘If they find it, they’ll destroy my land and my people, and then they’ll come looking for you.’
‘Only the people in this room know that the Crystal is not here. My Mom has put a block around us here. A shield, if you like. The one that was torturing Holly cannot hear us nor see us.’
‘Torturing? Seeing? Do you really believe this voice in Holly’s head is capable of that?’ asked Naz.
‘I’m sure of it,’ interrupted Salli. ‘I’ve heard Him myself. I know who He is and I know what He’s capable of.’
There was a long silence while Salli waited to be asked.
Naz finally said, ‘Who is He and how does He get inside Holly’s head?’
‘By now, He’s probably the ruler of another race of people … my people,’ said Salli. ‘He can do it because He has powers learnt from a sacred Book, a book that I now have. It’s one of the Three that your people know of, Naz. Once He has the Crystal and the Knowledge, He will have unimaginable power.’
‘For now, the fewer people who know where the Crystal is, the safer we’ll be,’ said Lulu.
‘We need to go back. The lives of my people depend on us finding it and bringing it home,’ said Naz.
‘There’s something else you need to know, Naz,’ said Salli. ‘He has seen us, He has seen me and knows I have the Book, the Book that He believes is His alone. He will come here. He will not stop sending the apes until He has what He wants. Naz, I think our people are on the verge of war, and it’s a war where only one people will survive.’
Naz and Vin sat in stunned silence. It was Vin that spoke first. ‘We need to get home. We need to tell The Boss what is happening here. They must know and they must prepare themselves.’
‘Naz, do you think your people will support us in this fight?’ asked Lulu.
‘I cannot speak for my people. I have no authority. But like Vin says, we need to go home. We need to leave immediately. The most important thing is recovering the Crystal and making sure it’s safe, for both of our peoples.’
‘You’re right, Naz,’ said Lulu. ‘We will do all we can to help. Will you take a letter to your people?’
‘Of course. I also have a letter for you, from our Boss. Will you describe to us exactly where the pool is and how Holly marked it?’ asked Naz.
Carter sat in silence, staring into the fire. No one was sure he had heard Naz’s question.
‘Carter?’ Lulu gently squeezed his hand.
He slowly raised his head, looking to Naz and then Vin.
‘I’ll go and get it. I know exactly where it is. I can be there and back in four days.’
There was a gasp fr
om Lulu and Salli. ‘Carter! You can’t go back …’
‘I’ve no choice. Don’t you see? There’s no other way. Someone needs to get in quick and get out. I can outrun the apes and be back here before they know what’s happening.’
‘Carter, this is a very brave thing you want to do, but we cannot allow it, not this time,’ said Naz.
‘You cannot go, Carter, I won’t allow it,’ said Lulu. ‘Think about your family. Think about Holly. She will blame herself if you leave and where will that end? We need you here.’
‘You need to start living again, living a normal life. People need you here. Kerri needs you here,’ said Vin.
‘Do you remember the way, Vin? Do you remember the waterfall? Or the ridgeline, or the ledge?’
‘We can find it. Draw us a map and we will find it.’
‘In the dark, in the snow, beneath the ice, when the town and the mountainside is crawling with apes?’
Naz and Vin sat looking at him silently.
‘There won’t be time for searching or waiting for the ice to melt. The apes are in the town and everywhere around. I can smell them in the dark. I can pick up Holly’s scent across the border, even now.’
There was silence within the group. Naz sat shaking his head, staring at the floor, unable to make eye contact. ‘And what if you are ambushed, or surrounded? There will be nowhere to run. We must think of the Crystal first and last. This is the most important thing. The safety of our land and yours.’
‘And if you don’t find it?’ asked Carter. ‘We’ll never know, we’ll forever live in fear. We have to be sure it’s safe. If the apes find it, they could attack at any time, without warning. I’ll take you there. I’ll show you where it is.’
The tension hung in the air, everyone aware of the consequences of the Crystal falling into the hands of the apes.
‘I don’t think we have any choice, Naz,’ said Vin. ‘If anything happens to us, people need to know.’
‘And you’re positively sure, you’re definitely, without a doubt, totally certain that if we go back there, you’ll be able to find the pool and the Crystal?’
Carter looked at his friends for a long while. He knew he had to give them something to feel good about, to make them feel they weren’t just using him, and to make them feel he needed them.
‘I’ll find it for you, Naz. I’ll lead you there and you’ll get me home safe.’
‘Is there any other choice?’ asked Naz, spreading his hands wide in surrender.
‘Who’s gonna tell Kerri?’
Coming Soon…
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Also by the author:
Acknowledgments
I would sincerely like to thank every member of the ‘Changing Times Launch Team’ who helped bring this book to publication. Your encouragement, generosity and good humour have helped lift me to this place I now find myself. You are such a supportive community, it’s a pleasure to call you friends. Truthfully, I could not have done this without you.
My sincerest thanks to my writing “Buddy” Kimberly Gordon, who picked me up, dusted me off, and put me back on the writing track. To ‘Sam’ Bass Joines for the kind words when they were most needed. To all the beta readers of my manuscript, that beat it into shape. And my eternal thanks again to Steve Windsor and his Nine Day Novel series (unaffiliated), without whom, I’d never have started this project. It may still suck! but it’s getting better.
And most of all, thank you to my family, for putting up with me during the dark days, sharing my happiness, and for still being there when I needed you.
— Shaun Griffiths.
About the Author
Shaun Griffiths was born in Cardiff, South Wales. He studied Electronic Engineering at Llandaff College, graduating top of his class.
His first honest job was with an American company, manufacturing computer Hard Disks. After five years in a “Clean Room,” never knowing the difference between night and day, he saw a light at the end of the tunnel and walked away to travel the world.
His last honest job was in London, working in the Financial District, until the City’s “re-alignment” sent him packing. He moved to Poland, where he now lives with his family and dog in a house they built in the forest.
‘The world of Changing Times is on my doorstep. Wherever you look, there are scenes recognisable in these pages. Except no shifters… though sometimes, I do wonder.’
This is his second fiction novel. Continue to watch as the Changing Times trilogy rushes to its earth-shattering conclusion.
An Urgent Request…
Thank you for downloading my book. I really appreciate all of your feedback and love hearing what you have to say about the characters and the world we’ve created together. I’m always happy to receive your comments to make the next book in the series, more of the world that you want.
I will be extremely grateful if you would leave an honest and helpful REVIEW of my work with your preferred book supplier.
Thank you so much.
Shaun L Griffiths
Lost Lands (CHANGING TIMES Book 2) Page 27
