Emerald Child (Kalika Magic Book 1)

by Karen Hughes

  There were footsteps on the stairs below.

  The moon filled Kai with hope. Surely, Indie must have seen the damaged tree houses; she must have smelled the smoke. He closed his eyes and tried to send a message with his mind.

  Turn back, Indie, he thought, trying to picture her. Run! Hide!

  Over and over he sent out the thoughts, but the footsteps kept coming. Higher and higher, closer and closer until they were at the top: right outside the door.

  Gar winked at Pem with his good eye. Pem stood next to the door, his knife at the ready.

  ‘Now?’ he mouthed, reaching to rest his hand on the door handle.

  Gar nodded.

  Both men charged at the door, flinging it open and hurling themselves outside.

  They stopped.

  There was no one outside the door, no one at the top of Grandma Helki's stairs; no one waiting to be pounced on and dragged inside, kicking and screaming.

  Kai closed his eyes, breathing hard. He was still lying here trussed up like a chicken. He had the power to warn Indie, it seemed, but not the power to free himself.

  ‘Be free,’ he told his wrists, hoping desperately that this time the spell might work. ‘Rope be gone!'

  He rolled against the wall, suddenly outraged. How dare they tie up a prince of Ballyndor! How dare they burn the village! A surge of anger built up inside him like a fire: hot and red and ready to explode.

  He pulled his arms again. ‘Rope ... be gone!’

  And it was. Completely gone.

  He was free.

  A shadow filled the doorway. He saw Gar hurtle out of the tree and land with a thump. Pem ran back into the tree house, pushed Kai aside and flung himself through the window, desperate to escape.

  There was the sound of men running and shouting.

  ‘Dargan,’ called a voice. ‘Are the children there? Have you found them?’

  The figure in the doorway pushed back his hood to reveal a face Kai had known and loved since he was a small child. He ran to the man and threw himself into his arms.

  ‘Dargan,’ he cried. ‘They said you’d fallen.’

  Dargan looked grim. ‘The people of the forest do not stay down for long,’ he said. ‘Even when the attack comes at night and the attackers are men with poison in their hearts.’ He glanced around. ‘Hurry. The sorcerer knows you’re here. He won’t risk losing you again.’

  The man’s eyes darkened as they searched the empty cabin. ‘Where is your sister?’

  Kai hung his head. ‘She stayed at the edge of the forest.’

  ‘You left her there?’

  ‘She wasn't going anywhere. I was coming to find you and – ’

  ‘She doesn’t know this place like you do. You should not have left her.’

  ‘I'm sorry Dargan, I thought – ’

  ‘You didn’t think, boy, you never do. I told Grandma Helki you weren’t ready for this.’

  ‘Indie’s strong,’ Kai whispered. ‘She’ll be okay.’

  Dargan turned away. ‘Not if Tenzel finds her,’ he muttered.

  The first rays of the sun broke through the forest canopy as Dargan gathered his men. They were brown-skinned, like Kai, and they had long supple fingers better suited to making medicines than holding a sword.

  And, in fact, they were healers not killers. From the earliest days of Ballyndor, the people had looked to the Kalika to take away their ills and ease their pain, but the sorcerer had changed all that.

  ‘Tenzel has threatened us many times since he stole the throne,’ Dargan addressed the men assembled before him. ‘He has taught the people to fear us, where once we had love and respect. He has forced us to defend ourselves. Now he knows we have Kai and Indie, it will be much worse.’

  He turned to a heavy-set man with a black beard. ‘Maja, I want you to take five men and return to the camp. It’s only a matter of time before Tenzel sends in his army.’ The man nodded and disappeared into the trees.

  Dargan looked at the others. ‘Brek, you come with me. You others take your positions in the forest.’

  The men ran off on swift and silent feet. Kai was left with Dargan and Brek, a smaller man with gentle eyes and a quiet smile.

  ‘Hello Kai,’ he said, ruffling the boy's hair. ‘Looks like things are about to get exciting.’

  Dargan fastened a hunting knife to his belt. He pulled a tiny bottle from the pouch at his hip and looked inside, before wrapping it up again.

  ‘What’s that?’ asked Kai, noticing a strange glow around the mouth of the bottle.

  ‘Yarrow. To mend wounds and stop bleeding.’ Dargan said. ‘Pray we will not need it.’ He ran ahead in the direction Kai had pointed.

  He’s still angry with me for leaving Indie, thought Kai. All the elation he had felt when the ropes disappeared and Dargan stood in the doorway was gone. Hunger and exhaustion seeped through his body. He felt a hunk of moka bread pushed into his hand.

  ‘Can you eat and run at the same time?’ Brek called as he disappeared after Dargan into the trees.

  It took all Kai's speed and strength to keep up with the two men. They raced across the uneven ground – through gullies full of water from the summer rains; beneath bushes thick with leaves and thorns; around trees so massive they seemed to touch the clouds.

  By the time Kai reached the grasslands, Dargan had already gone. He had found Indie's tracks leading into the forest and was standing at the Seeing Tree, waiting for the others to catch up.

  ‘She slept inside the tree last night,’ Dargan said, when Brek and Kai were standing beside him. ‘Clever girl. I wonder if she knew what she was doing.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Kai was clutching his side, fighting for breath.

  Dargan didn’t answer. He knelt to search for Indie's trail.

  ‘They say this tree has been asleep for a hundred years,’ Brek said. ‘See these marks on the trunk, and here where the moss has been disturbed. The tree must have woken, just like in the prophecy.’

  ‘Prophecy?’ Kai asked. ‘You mean the old stories Grandma Helki used to tell? About the Fiery Emerald and the Sword of Veladin …’

  Brek smiled and began to recite, ‘The trees of Gort, asleep for a hundred years, will be woken by the Emerald Child; the child who will save Gort from a century of sorrow.’

  ‘And she’ll have flaming hair and emerald eyes, and all the power of the kingdom will be hers,’ said Kai. ‘But it’s only a story. Trees don't wake up. Next you'll be saying it spoke to her.’

  Brek winked. ‘Who's to say it didn't?’

  ‘Trees can't speak.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I've never heard one.’

  Brek smiled again. ‘Maybe you weren't listening.’

  Dargan stood up. ‘Come on, we’re wasting time here. She’s headed toward the river. She can't be too far ahead.’

  They ran on, zig-zagging along hidden pathways, until they reached the old willow by the river's edge.

  ‘Hello there,’ Brek said. ‘Still snoring, I see.’

  He gave the bark an affectionate pat. It quivered beneath his palm and a thin voice said, ‘Snoring! Why I've never snored in my life, you cheeky young whippersnapper.’

  There was a slow creaking of branches and Brek stepped back, his eyes widening in dismay. ‘I … I … beg your pardon,’ he stammered. ‘I didn't mean to be rude.’

  Kai grabbed Dargan's arm. ‘The tree is talking!’

  The man shook him off. ‘Look at the ground.’ He pointed to the roots. There were fresh boot prints: some large, some small.

  He plucked a scrap of cloth from one of the branches. ‘Do you recognise this?’

  ‘It's a piece of Indie's shirt. See, it’s exactly the same as mine.’

  Kai looked up at the old tree, ‘Excuse me, Mr Willow … sir,’ he said. ‘Do you know what happened here? Did you see a girl about my size with red hair and green eyes? Wearing the same clothes as me?’

  The tree was silent. ‘Oh please,’ Kai said
, patting the bark. ‘You must have seen something.’

  Brek pulled Kai away. ‘It’s gone back to sleep,’ he said. ‘It’s enough that it was awake.’

  ‘How can that be enough?' asked Kai, flailing his hand against the trunk in frustration. ‘It must know something. It must be able to help us.’

  ‘It is enough, Kai.’ Dargan was turning the material over and over. ‘Don't you understand? The wise women told us long ago the trees would wake for the true heir, the child who would save Gort. And it is happening. First the Seeing Tree, now the old willow …’ His voice trailed off.

  ‘We have to find that girl,’ he said softly. ‘We have to find your sister.’

  Chapter 11

  Captured

  on the other side of the river, hidden in the leaves of a very prickly bush, Indie struggled to call out to Kai. Aunt Sofia sat next to her, hissing in her ear.

  Indie had been happy to see her aunt at first. She hadn’t been able to believe her eyes as Aunt Sofia stepped out from behind a tree, wearing that dreadful hat she always wore – the straw one with the droopy flowers. In her hands was a wooden box, covered with dirt.

  ‘Looking for this?’ she said, and her smile had turned strangely cold.

  Now Indie was held fast by two men, so big they were more like ogres in size, staring at her aunt in bewilderment as she sat there, toying with the box and laughing.

  ‘All those years I watched you growing up. All those horrible clothes I had to sew. Just waiting for that old witch, Helki, to send for you.’

  She reached out and pinched Indie hard on the cheek.

  Indie stared at her indignantly, any answer she might have given stifled by the huge paw across her mouth.

  ‘I thought we’d make quite a team, you and I,’ Aunt Sofia continued. ‘I tried to teach you the things that matter. I tried to give you vision. But all you could think about was poetry and fairytales. Useless. Like your mother, my perfect sister. Pah! Far better all round if I rule this land myself.’

  Indie wriggled and thrashed her legs in a vain attempt to kick the ogre holding her. She tried to bite his fingers, but he merely swore loudly and tightened his grip.

  Aunt Sofia’s eyes flashed. ‘Only two things stand between me and the throne of Ballyndor,’ she whispered. ‘One is you – and we'll soon fix that – and the other is your nasty little brother.’

  Indie stopped thrashing; tried to think. She looked across the river. It was deep, but smooth flowing and slow moving and didn’t look too difficult to cross. With a shock, she noticed Kai, standing at the edge with two strange men. The men put their knives between their teeth and waded into the water. Her aunt’s eyes followed her gaze.

  ‘Deal with them quickly and return to the castle,’ Aunt Sofia ordered her ogres. She rummaged through the bushes, cursing to herself. ‘Ah ha!’ she said, pulling out a smooth green stick. ‘Rise up, rise up. Mottaka, mottaka.’

  Indie found herself sitting behind Aunt Sofia as the stick lifted them into the air. Below, she could see Kai clambering up the rocks, his clothes soaked and the water from his hair dripping into his eyes. He was pointing at her, and waving wildly to the others. She tried to call out, but they were too high and her voice was lost in the wind.

  Aunt Sofia gave the stick a jerk. ‘Call out all you like,’ she said. ‘Your friends can't help you now.’ She dissolved into peals of laughter, which shook the flowers on her hat and made her stick wobble, causing Indie to tighten her hold in alarm.

  ‘Up!’ she screamed. ‘Faster, faster, you useless piece of wood!’

  The stick gave a splutter. Thick white smoke poured from its tail.

  ‘On to Ballyndor!’ cried Aunt Sofia.

  *

  Kai shook the water from his eyes and looked up to see two men pounding towards him. One was a hunchback with his teeth filed to points; the other was a bald-headed giant with ears like cauliflowers.

  Dargan spun to one side, bracing himself.

  Brek held his hands out: knees bent, eyes steady.

  The brutes came running forward, their arms outstretched. Brek caught the hunchback under the chin with the side of his foot. Dargan sliced with his hand, knocking the giant in the mouth. Then he crouched and drove himself into the man's legs.

  The four men wrestled through the rocks and down to the river's edge: punching, kicking, biting, gouging.

  Dargan threw himself onto the giant's back. He tightened his arms around the giant’s neck only to be shrugged off with a casual twist of the shoulders. Dargan crashed to the ground as the giant made to bring his boot down on his chest.

  Brek threw a rock. It hit the giant above the eye, but the giant brushed at his face as if shooing away a fly and sniggered. Meanwhile, the hunchback had taken advantage of Brek’s distraction to reach out an enormous paw, grab Brek by the front of his shirt and shake him so hard his teeth rattled.

  Kai stood rooted to the spot. I have to do something!

  He ran toward the men, shouting, but it was as if they couldn’t hear him.

  He shoved the giant in the back, but the big man swatted him like a fly.

  The hunchback finished shaking Brek and threw him to the ground. ‘Yer not so tough now, are ya?’ he growled, spitting on Brek’s face.

  Kai closed his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. He looked at Brek, bleeding, his hands over his face. He looked at Dargan, crumpled and broken under the giant’s boot.

  No. No. No …

  He stretched out his hands and cried, ‘Mareka tali hom che rum.’ He didn't know where the words came from. It was if he’d found them in his heart.

  The air around him crackled. He could see flashes of colour – blue and green and gold. He was dimly aware of the sparks raining from his fingertips; of Aunt Sofia’s men rising into the air, shock and fear upon their faces, before tumbling back to the ground with their eyes closed, snoring.

  Kai stood there stunned, staring at his hands.

  Dargan pulled Brek to his feet.

  ‘Out cold,’ Brek said, taking a cursory look at the fallen ogres. He looked at the boy and shook his head. ‘You’re full of surprises, Kai.’

  Dargan brushed the dirt from his clothes. ‘Was that one of Wicasa's spells?’ he asked.

  ‘Didn't sound like it.’ Brek was rubbing his shoulder. ‘Effective though, whatever it was.’

  Kai looked at the thugs, anxiously. ‘They're not dead, are they?’

  ‘No,’ said Brek. ‘You've put them to sleep, that’s all.’ He started to laugh and stopped, wincing. ‘They'll have headaches when they wake. Magic can do that to you.’

  ‘Should we leave them here?’

  Dargan had taken the yarrow bottle from his pouch and was dabbing at his cuts. ‘That’s your decision, Kai,’ he said. ‘If it weren't for you we'd be tied up now. They’d be dragging us back to the dungeons.’

  ‘Or we'd be dead,’ said Brek.

  ‘If it weren't for me, Indie would be here.’ Kai kicked a rock, feeling the dull thud through his boot.

  Dargan put the bottle away. He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. ‘It takes courage to make your own decisions,’ he said.

  Brek watched him walk away. ‘I'd take that as an apology if I were you.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Kai.

  ‘Dargan has been hard on you because he expects so much. Your sister may one day be queen, but you are the hope of the Kalika people. The spells, the power inside you …’ he winced again and held his ribs.

  ‘It was you who brought the princess here,’ he said. ‘Grandma Helki was right. We thought you were too young, too unsure of yourself to make the journey. But you proved us wrong, just as she said you would.’

  Dargan appeared from the bushes. ‘The witch is headed for the castle. Come on. We have to hurry.’

  Brek frowned. ‘We should talk to Grandma Helki before we go any further,’ he said. ‘What do you think, Kai?’

  Kai wasn’t listening. He’d thought Dargan was angry with h
im for leaving Indie behind, for making the wrong decision. Now Dargan said it took courage to make your own decisions. Did he mean it took courage to make the wrong decision? Or maybe there was no right or wrong, just different choices.

  ‘What do I think?’ He looked startled. Was Brek teasing him? No, both Brek and Dargan were looking at him, waiting for his answer.

  ‘Um ... I think … I ... ’

  Dargan began to turn away.

  ‘Wait,’ Kai said desperately. ‘I … um … Why was Indie sitting on a willow stick? Who flies on a willow stick any more?’

  ‘I may be able to answer that,’ said a voice.

  Kai took a startled step backwards.

  Another voice, slightly hysterical, said ‘Oh sweet Mother Earth, here at last. I shall never, ever recover.’

  And a third, huffing and puffing, ‘You could’ve at least waited until I finished my tea.’

  The sky began to swirl. Kai could feel sparks of energy zapping his toes, making his hair stand on end. Lightening zigzagged through the trees.

  The four women of the island stepped out of the air and stood before them, brushing the sky from their hair.

  ‘Aunty Mai!’ Kai gasped. ‘I’ve seen you in the smoke.’ He stared at the women as if he couldn’t believe they were real. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘Perhaps I should ask you the same question,’ said Aunty Mai. ‘Dragging Indie from her bed in the middle of the night, without so much as a goodbye. Now, don't stand there gawping. I need to speak to her. She’s in terrible danger.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Doli, smearing dust across her nose with her fingers. ‘It’s a matter of life and death.’

  Aunty Mai turned to Dargan. ‘Ah, Paco’s boy. Dargan, is it? My goodness, you were just a lad when we left the forest.’ She stopped, looking around her.

  ‘Where is Indie?’ she asked. ‘Why isn’t she here?’

  ‘She flew off on a willow stick,’ said Kai. ‘With a lady – I couldn’t see her face, but she was wearing a really ugly hat.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ Aunty Mai wrung her hands. ‘We sent your Aunt Sofia ahead to find you. She insisted on coming alone.’