River Baker and the Warriors of Rala

by Mali Baker

  ‘Want you a hand? Boba name is my.’

  River toppled sideways into the water, making a big splash. It was bitterly cold. She screamed from the shock as she rose to the surface. She flapped her arms about until she was floating, and then swung her head from side to side, trying to see where the strange voice had come from. Whoever it was had hidden behind a rock.

  ‘Sorryyyyy, is me,’ squeaked Boba.

  ‘You scared me,’ River shouted.

  ‘I mean not to,’ he squeaked in a very strange accent. The little creature, known as Boba, slowly peeked his head out from behind the rock. ‘I you help, if want?’

  River had to listen very carefully to what he said; his words were all jumbled up. She wriggled a finger in her ear, clearing out the water, just in case she wasn’t hearing him properly.

  ‘You River is?’ he asked. ‘I expecting you.’ He climbed up on to the rock. He was really tiny, no bigger than her hand.

  ‘I am to something show you,’ he said. ‘Come.’

  River swam to where he was and pulled herself on to the dry land. Puffing, she slouched next to him. He quickly scrambled on to her legs and stood, hands on hips, staring up at her. He paused before continuing to walk all the way up River’s body. He pulled himself on to her shoulder and then used her hair like a piece of rope to climb up on to the top of her head.

  ‘Ouch, that hurts,’ River groaned.

  ‘You Warrior or baby?’ he said.

  As River rose to her feet, Boba flew off her head and hovered in front of her eyes.

  ‘You can fly,’ River said, smiling.

  ‘Of course, I butterfly am. Like Adora.’

  The sound of her name filled River with reassurance that Boba was a goody.

  ‘Come, we work must do.’ He flew quickly ahead.

  ‘Where are we going?’ River chased after him, as fast as she could, trying to keep up with him.

  ‘Kit to see,’ he shouted, spinning in the air.

  A new lease of life shot through River at the sound of Kit’s name and she picked up speed, thrashing the exotic undergrowth out of her way. River had no idea what she would do when she faced Eleon, though, and, just as quickly as she’d picked up speed, the doubts in her mind made her slow down. Would Eleon let Kit go? Was she strong enough to save Kit?

  ‘Hey,’ she shouted. ‘Boba, wait.’ Boba stopped on her command in the middle of a dusty patch of soil. The trees and plants formed a perfect circle around them. ‘Where exactly are you leading me?’ she asked him. ‘Where is my sister?’

  ‘This way,’ he said, pointing straight ahead.

  ‘Where are my friends?’ River asked, suspiciously.

  He spun around, searching for people. ‘Me know not. But Kit this way,’ he said, pointing once again in the same direction.

  ‘But what do I do when I get there?’ River asked, thinking the worst. Her body became weak and she dropped to her knees. For the first time she thought about failing. What would happen if she couldn’t save Kit? Suddenly she felt as though the world was resting on her shoulders, and she didn’t know if she had the strength to carry it any more.

  ‘These thoughts stop must,’ he said. ‘Failure exists not.’ And he tapped River’s head fiercely three times. ‘Happens whatever, learn something you will. You better will be before than.’

  That’s all right for you to say, River thought. No one’s life was in Boba’s hands. Suddenly she wanted to stay here, in this exact moment forever. At least here she’d learnt how to cope. The unknown scared her.

  ‘You are your thoughts, River. What you think about, you become.’ Boba spoke slowly and clearly. Either he was talking differently or her ears had suddenly unclogged. ‘We practise,’ he said, spiralling upwards into the sky until he was nothing but a tiny dot above her head. River didn’t have time to look for him; the sky darkened dramatically. She was becoming used to the magic of this world but it still frightened her. The exotic plants began stirring around her and she felt them encroaching into the circle of soil she was kneeling on. She quickly stood up and widened her stance.

  ‘HELP!’ her first instinct was to shout. Then she tried to run, but there wasn’t an opening among the trees and plants. Before long she would be trapped, as good as plant food! ‘Think, River, think,’ she kept repeating to herself. What did he mean, practise?

  The forest grew vicious, howling and hissing angrily in her direction. Her worst fear, of losing Kit, rose to the forefront of her mind, fogging up her brain.

  ‘Please stop,’ she said, talking to the winding plants racing towards her. She held out her arms, hoping her light would illuminate the way, but that only made it easier for two long, winding stalks to tie themselves in a knot on each of her arms, playing tug of war with her body as if she were a piece of rope. She looked up at the sky and, despite being pulled about like a ragdoll, she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful it looked. It was a deep, dark blue, scattered with stars of all different colours shining their light upon her.

  ‘Think of Kit,’ she said, allowing the light of the stars to sink into her body, but she still needed her own light to protect herself.

  Now the plants had wrapped themselves around her. They were squeezing her like a large snake capturing its dinner. ‘AARRRGGHHH!’ she screamed. ‘LET. ME. GO!’ She could barely breathe, let alone move. She closed her eyes, as tightly as she could, and felt the warmth of the light filling her heart ready to burst, but still the plants just kept coming. ‘Believe in yourself, believe in yourself.’ She said it out loud, trying to convince herself that she could do this.

  Let them go, let them go, River, she heard Adora say. She looked for her but she wasn’t in sight.

  ‘What do I need to do, Adora?’ River pleaded.

  Let them go, River. You need to let them go, Adora’s voice said again.

  River felt a long, slimy leaf wrap around her mouth and start circling up her face, nearing her nose. Before long she wouldn’t be able to breathe. She opened her eyes slowly and noticed that her hands were tightly clasping the green, ropelike plants. She released her fingers and all of a sudden a flash of light shot like a shooting star from behind her eyelids up into the sky. White sprinkles fell down like rain, and before the plants could cover the rest of her head the sprinkles formed a shield around her, dissolving the plants into nothingness.

  ‘I let you go, I let you go,’ she whispered, over and over, until every plant had disappeared or retreated.

  River kept growing her bubble. She wanted it to be as thick and as big as possible. Never again did she want to feel like that; it was suffocating. She lifted her hands, palms facing away from her, and with little effort a beautiful baby-pink light emerged from them, filling every inch of the bubble, and soothing every wound the plants had made on her body, inside and out.

  When she had finished, she couldn’t believe what she saw. Hundreds of butterflies where fluttering around her. It sent shivers down her spine and she smiled, proud of herself and happy to have them there to share this moment with her. River looked up at the big blue sky and its stars. ‘Thank you, you helped me let go of my fears,’ she said, her words floating, far and wide, out into the universe. Little did she know how powerful those words were. And if she had listened a tiny bit harder she would have heard in response, Our pleasure, River Baker.

  The Warriors of RALA watched over River as great balls of light in the sky while she rested from her biggest test so far. Boba and Adora lay under the light of the stars, recharging their energies as well.

  Sedina continued to watch over Indigo House, while No Name, Neith and Maolan waited for their signal, a sign they would only know when they felt it. When she was ready, River would be faced with the most challenging moment of her life, and no one, absolutely no one in this world or hers, knew what the outcome would be. It all rested on the actions of one eleven-year-old Warrior P
rincess… River Baker.

  CHAPTER 22

  Eleon’s Black Beam

  ‘Wake up, River, wake up.’

  River felt her whole body being shaken but she couldn’t quite open her eyes. She was enjoying the sleep so much. ‘I don’t want to go to school, Mum,’ she said, still half-asleep. She shoved away the arm that was tapping her and rolled on to her side.

  ‘River, it’s me, Maolan.’

  Her eyes popped open, Kit had told her that she talked in her sleep, but River was mortified that a boy had just witnessed it! She pretended she hadn’t heard him.

  ‘River, we need to move, quick.’ He sounded serious. She could hear the panic in his voice. Timidly, she positioned herself on her back again. It was so dark she could barely see him, thankfully.

  ‘How did you get through my bubble?’ she said, sitting up, still dozy. He didn’t answer her. Without asking, he yanked her up to standing. River was a little unsettled by his forwardness; she had imagined him to be gentler than this. And she was still aching from the plant attack a few hours ago. ‘I can get up on my own, you know,’ she grumbled, brushing the dust from her arms and legs. He started to walk away, and she noticed that he didn’t look the same from behind; something about the way he walked seemed different, and he seemed so much bigger, or was it just too dark for her to see him properly?

  ‘Maolan, where are the others?’ She didn’t say their names; something told her not to. Her stomach began to swirl, leaving her with a tight knot in the centre of it. She didn’t follow him; instead she focused as carefully as she could on letting the light seep out from her heart and begin to form a new bubble around her, hoping he wouldn’t notice her doing it. He whipped his head around just before she could protect herself fully and lassoed a thick red beam around her waist. The force of it winded River. She screamed from the shock. Her light vanished, instantly.

  ‘Maolan, what are you doing?’ she said. As he walked towards her she stood paralysed with fear. She noticed he was holding something in his hand, and it was glowing in the dark. ‘The crystal,’ she gasped. ‘The crystal of RALA.’ As the moon shone down on both of them she could see it wasn’t Maolan, it was Eleon.

  Eleon dragged her along by the cord of red light that he’d attached to her waist. Her feet were blistering beneath her. She wanted to cry but she wouldn’t let him see her weak, not this time.

  ‘You will never get away with this!’ she yelled, furiously.

  ‘I already have,’ he said. ‘You’re a fool to try to fight me, River: I am Eleon. The greatest Warrior there ever was.’

  She hadn’t known he was a Warrior; she had never considered they were two of the same.

  ‘Ha, what a joke.’ She couldn’t hold her tongue, and she could see he was surprised by her cockiness considering she was his prisoner. ‘You’re a disgrace. What would Violet say if she saw you now, huh? Hardly a true Warrior.’

  She’d gone too far. ‘HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT?’ His words echoed through the forest.

  ‘Well, it’s true,’ River said boldly. ‘I know everything.’ She didn’t show any fear.

  ‘You…’ he said, clenching the red beam with his huge hand and pulling her into him ruthlessly. She fell to the floor at his feet. He towered over her. ‘You. Know. Nothing.’ He spat the words at her with venom.

  River had known he was dangerous, but she’d had no idea she was going to feel this intimidated by him. She waited a minute before speaking, rethinking her approach.

  ‘She didn’t leave you, Eleon. I saw it with my own eyes. Her mother, she made her leave.’

  River searched his eyes for something but they were emotionless. She saw nothing beneath them: no glisten, no spirit, and no life. He was unreachable. The Eleon Violet had known was no longer here.

  ‘GRRRRRRRRRRR!’ he roared, his face flushed with fury; he couldn’t control his rage. He picked River up with ease, throwing her over his shoulder the same way he had done with Kit. Her hipbones crunched as they hit his solid shoulders. He could snap her like a twig if he wanted to. She was about to start kicking and screaming, but then a white flicker caught her eye. Adora had joined them.

  River knew not to alert Eleon to Adora’s presence. Adora stopped a few metres away from River and began frantically fluttering her bright white wings. She had landed on Boba, who was waving at River, trying to get her attention too.

  ‘We here,’ he whisper-shouted at her, raising his hands in the air. ‘Hands, use them…us protect!’

  River looked at the palms of her hands and remembered the pink light that had come from them, the light that had filled the inside of her bubble. Her hands began to throb and she knew they were ready to work. She turned them to face the two butterflies and immediately the light started to flow out of her hands towards them.

  You have the power in your hands, River; don’t forget to use it. Adora sent the message to River loud and clear, encouraging her to let the light pour from her palms. Both Adora and Boba took to the air, flying carefully behind River, staying out of Eleon’s sight, both covered from head to toe in River’s pink protecting light.

  Eleon was on a mission and River had no choice but to go with him; she had been captured. And, despite being able to protect Boba and Adora with her light, she had not been able to do anything for herself. Her head bounced against Eleon’s back as he took one heavy step after another. She was thankful when he tired and threw her to the floor. She hadn’t seen a thing on their journey; she had been upside down for so long that her vision was blurred. As she landed, the blood rushed back down her body. She felt too faint to stand up, and anyway, what would be the point? Eleon had her attached to him. She felt him tugging at the cord and she looked up to see him glaring at her, his eyes blacker than ever.

  ‘Get up,’ he said.

  ‘Eleon, I can’t,’ she said pointing to her feet. They were red raw, cut and blistered all over. ‘Look!’

  ‘I don’t care.’ He tugged harder.

  ‘OK!’ she shouted at him, each tug irritating her more. She poised herself on all fours, like an animal on a lead. He took a step towards her; she knew she was pushing his buttons. She needed to be careful.

  ‘OK,’ she said, softer with her tone. ‘I’m getting up.’ She placed her feet on the ground, trying not to show the tears of agony that were welling up in her eyes.

  ‘You have something that I need,’ he said. ‘Give it to me.’

  River slowly looked from side to side. She wanted to know where Adora and Boba were, but she couldn’t see them. ‘I don’t know what you mean; I have nothing,’ she said, sitting back on her heels and opening the palms of her hands, trying to prove her innocence.

  ‘GIVE IT TO ME.’ Eleon frightened her and she lost control. The tears began to stream down her face from the shock of his voice. He threw his left arm out to the side and shot a thick black beam of light out of the palm of his hand. It was like a laser, burning a hole through the air and everything else in its path.

  ‘AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!’

  The scream was piercing and River felt a pain shoot through her own heart. She knew that voice. She followed the beam of light as quickly as her eyes could. Kit was mercilessly encased within the black shell of the beam. Eleon was hurting her. He had tied Kit to a nearby tree. She didn’t look like her sister any more. She was pale and withered. She looked drained, barely a semblance of the Kit she had been less than a day ago.

  ‘STOP!’ River yanked hard at the red cord; she pushed and pulled it in all directions but she couldn’t set herself free. ‘Stop, please, Eleon,’ she pleaded.

  He lowered his arm and the black beam withdrew back into his palm. River didn’t take her eyes from Kit’s limp body, hanging there, almost lifeless. River’s head flopped towards the ground again as she sobbed, wishing it were she and not Kit who had been captured back then. It was unbearable.

 
‘I don’t know what it is you want,’ she said.

  ‘Stop lying,’ he spat. His red bubble was now spreading like a fire in the woods. He barely looked like a person any more. It was so thick around him that if his eyes hadn’t been so black River wouldn’t have known his head from the rest of his body. He lifted his arm, preparing to fire at Kit again.

  ‘No, please!’ River cried. ‘Whatever you want I’ll do it, but please don’t hurt my sister any more.’

  The tree, it’s in the tree, Adora said.

  Of course, River thought, remembering the dream. Eddie has what he wants.

  ‘It’s in a tree. What you want is in a tree.’ She couldn’t say it fast enough.

  ‘The book is in a tree?’ Eleon’s voice rose as he finished the sentence, just as surprised to hear that it was in a tree as River was to hear it was a book that he was after.

  ‘Violet hid it there, the day she left.’ River decided not to tell him the tree was Eddie. If he still needed something from her, she could use it to her advantage. ‘Let Kit go and I’ll show you where it is.’ Her eyes darted back and forth between him and Kit. She was so afraid he might shoot his evil beam again.

  ‘No way.’ He looked at River as though she was crazy. ‘You will take me there and your sister will stay right here, exactly as she is.’

  River dared not lose her temper with him. She took a deep breath and thought long and hard about what she needed to do now. Adora and Boba crept over to Kit, who was still lifeless, plastered to the tree. River caught sight of them and knew what she needed to do.