Keeper of the Realms: Crow's Revenge (Book 1) (29 page)

Dridif nodded, but looked unsettled. Nazareth was quick to react. With a grand, eloquent gesture he bowed formally to those gathered around the table. Before anyone could say a word he launched his attack.

‘As a councillor I would like to formally lay charges of aggravated assault and treason against Azariah and Charlie Keeper.’ His words were laced with poisonous intent. ‘And seeing that they have finally managed to grace us with their presence, I should like to move briskly forward and proceed with the prosecution.’

Immediately there was uproar as the whole chamber
dissolved into bedlam and chaos. Voices screamed and hollered, fingers were pointed and wild accusations were flung about as Charlie, Azariah and Nibbler stood silently, shocked by the mayhem.

Through the pandemonium Charlie couldn’t help but notice that Lady Narcissa, seated on the far side of the Jade Table, was calm and collected, the perfect image of innocence. She gave Charlie a knowing smile. But Charlie wasn’t fooled: she could still see the cold, icy look of hatred hidden deep in the councillor’s eyes. Stix and Stones were standing nearby with menacing expressions plastered across their faces. Charlie shivered out of reflex before rebelliously glaring back at her opponents.

It was Dridif, the Royal Oak, who returned order to the Council Chamber in her usual manner of slamming her hands on the Jade Table. It was like a thunderclap going off right inside the room.

She then stared pointedly at each and every councillor until they looked away, shamefaced. One by one the blushing and embarrassed councillors took their seats. Finally only she and Nazareth were left standing. Dridif raised one eyebrow.

‘Why aren’t those two Keepers in irons?’ snapped Nazareth, ignoring Dridif’s warning look. ‘They are supposed to be under arrest. Handcuff them!’

‘Nazareth,’ said Dridif.

‘Well, don’t just stand there, Captain. Arrest them!’ hissed Nazareth, still pointedly ignoring Dridif.

‘Oh, Nazareth …’ whispered Dridif in a soft, sing-song voice.

‘Captain, I won’t tell you again,’ threatened Nazareth, unaware that the room had gone deathly quiet and that all eyes were upon him. ‘Those two are traitors and as such …’

‘NAZARETH!’ howled Dridif.

Charlie flinched. She’d never heard anything like it. It was the roar of a banshee, the shout of an angered goddess, the scream of a hundred thousand voices all hollering in unison.

Nazareth, caught by the full force of Dridif’s hurricane, was hurled across the room to slam heavily against the far wall. Slowly he slid to the floor. Dridif made a slight clawing gesture with her finger and Nazareth’s unconscious body tottered upright and lurched back to his chair. Releasing her hold upon him, Nazareth slumped forward so that his head rested on the table’s surface. He began to drool down the side of his mouth.

‘I will not abide any – ANY! – disobedience while I hold dis chair!’ snapped Dridif. Her old, wise face creased with anger. ‘If there are ta be any accusations levelled here today it will be done in a calm, polite and professional manner.’

Once again Dridif fixed each and every councillor with her steely gaze. When she was sure she’d got her message across, she made another little whirling motion with her finger. Nazareth awoke with a start. Looking wildly around the Council Chamber, he hurriedly straightened his robes, sorted out his beard and wiped the drool from his face. Folding his hands neatly together on the table, he straightened his back and generally tried to sit still like a good little boy.

Charlie couldn’t quite stop a smirk from appearing on her face. Curiosity also got the better of her. ‘How does Lady
Dridif do that?’ she whispered to Azariah. ‘It’s not tree-singing, is it?’

‘No, it is not,’ replied Azariah, also whispering out the side of his mouth. ‘Dridif’s strength comes from the Jade Table. It is a gift from the Winged Ones. As a sign of their support and belief in the Jade Circle, they have embedded the table with some of their power. Whoever leads the Jade Circle controls its powers. In this case it’s Dridif and while she’s in this room she is very much the boss.’

‘So it’s magic?’

‘What is it with you and magic? It isn’t magic, it’s a –’

‘Stop that whispering!’ scolded Dridif. ‘Now, if we can all agree ta act like adults we shall begin again. Nazareth, ya wish ta accuse Azariah and Charlie Keeper of assault and treason?’

‘Er …’ Nazareth coughed slightly and did his very best not to shoot a quick tell-tale glance in Narcissa’s direction. Still dazed, he shook himself and hurriedly collected his thoughts. It didn’t take long for his lofty, self-important expression to settle back on to his face. ‘Yes, I do.’

‘And why do ya wish ta make these charges?’ enquired Dridif.

‘Because that little brat,’ snarled Nazareth, getting back into the flow of things, ‘in association with Azariah Keeper, conspired to sell the secrets of her pendant to Bane, the Western Menace. When she was caught in the act she, with the aid of the rogue Winged One we see before us, assaulted Lady Narcissa, near-poisoned one of the Delightful Brothers and made good her escape by using a forbidden set of Isiris Bracelets on the remaining Delightful Brother.’

At that point Charlie took a step forward to protest, but Azariah held out his hand to stop her.

‘I would also like to point out,’ Nazareth continued, ‘that before she fled the scene of the crime she and the Winged One tried to hide the evidence of her actions by setting fire to the Ivory Tower. Fortunately only the uppermost floor was burned before the brave Alavisian Watchmen managed to extinguish the blaze. That little girl is a clear and present danger to the safety of Sylvaris! I demand that she be jailed!’

Charlie couldn’t believe it. They’d changed everything around so that she was the scapegoat! Nazareth was setting her up to take the fall for Narcissa’s evil dealings. Charlie’s jaw dropped open. She was, for perhaps the very first time in her life, completely and utterly dumbfounded.

‘And can ya prove these accusations? Do ya have any witnesses?’

Nazareth smirked. ‘Oh yes, I most certainly do. And I have evidence to prove their guilt. In fact, if I could call forward my first witness, Aranea, Mistress of the Spinnery, then I’m quite sure –’

‘There will be time for witnesses later,’ interrupted Dridif. She stared at Charlie and Azariah as though weighing up their worth. ‘And what do ya have ta say about all of dis, Charlie Keeper?’

‘It’s a great big, dirty, stinking lie!’ retorted Charlie. ‘You might all think that Lady Narcissa is a nice and kind woman, but she’s nothing of the sort! She beat me, slapped me, forced me to do horrible, twisted things, let her two sons bully me, threw me into her stinking cattle pens and tried to sell me and my pendant to Bane! She’s the traitor, not me!’

‘Oh, come now, you surely can’t expect anyone here to believe that?’ chuckled Nazareth. ‘The word of a scruffy, spoilt teenager against the word of Lady Narcissa, one of our most valued councillors? Oh, please!’

‘It’s true!’ shouted Charlie, stamping her foot in frustration. ‘She’s in league with Bane and she means to sell you all out!’

‘Well, it appears as though we have a contradiction in accusations here,’ said Dridif, staring first at Charlie and then at Nazareth, a shrewd look in her wise eyes. ‘Nazareth, ya accuse Charlie Keeper of dealing with Bane and ya say that ya have proof. Correct?’

‘That is quite right, your Honour, absolutely –’

‘A simple “yes” will suffice, Nazareth. Please don’t get carried away with grand gestures. It annoys me and I know that ya wouldn’t want ta displease me any further.’

‘Er, no, First Speaker,’ muttered Nazareth.

‘And you, Charlie Keeper, you accuse Lady Narcissa of the same crime, do ya not?’

‘Yes, I do!’ said Charlie, with a fierce glare at Nazareth. ‘And the Delightful Brothers, they’re in on it too!’

‘Well, thank ya for clearing that up.’ Dridif smiled, but there was no humour or kindness in her eyes, just cold logic as she added up all the facts. This wasn’t Dridif, the nice old Treman who had first welcomed Charlie into Sylvaris; this was Lady Dridif, the Iron Councillor, whose first and foremost duty was to protect her city. Dridif clapped her hands together sharply. ‘Guards! Seal dis room. No one is ta get in or go out without me express permission!’

A muttering and rumbling of disbelief erupted from all
the councillors as heavily armed Treman guards took up positions in front of all the doors. As one, they drew their swords.

‘Might I enquire why you feel it necessary for such an action?’ asked Flint, the large Stoman councillor. ‘No blade has been drawn in this Council Chamber for the past one hundred and twenty years!’

‘Is it not obvious?’ said Dridif. ‘Logic dictates that if each is accusing the other of the same crime, then one of them must surely be guilty. Guilty of treason against Sylvaris! With the exits barred, the traitor is trapped, so now all we have ta do is discover who is lying and who is telling the truth.’

40

A Dark God

‘Pah! What is the meaning of this?’ sputtered Mr Crow, as he was manhandled along by two writhing Shades. His large nose quivered with indignation. ‘You foul things! Release me at once!’

‘Our lord requires your presence and you will obey,’ hissed one of the Shades as it pushed and prodded the lawyer.

‘Let me go this instant, you miserable dogs! I’ll-I’ll sue you if you don’t release me! And when I’ve finished with you, you’ll be so deep in debt you’ll be denied credit forever! Stop prodding me, you loathsome things, I’m a lawyer! Wherever you’re taking me to … this, this “Bellania” … I will make things very difficult for you if you don’t listen to me!’

Crow was so furious that he failed to register where he was. After being dragged through doors and whisked along tunnels, it came as a shock when one of the Shades tripped him and he fell, face-first, on to the lush red carpet of Bane’s Throne Room. Raising his head to stare around in wonder, Crow fell silent for the first time that day.

‘Oh!’ he finally breathed as he stared at the fearsome, threatening majesty of the Devouring Throne.

Looking down from his dais, Bane sneered at the cowering lawyer. ‘So the cringing worm once more plays a part in this great act. Crowman, you are in luck. It would appear that you might be of some use to me after all.’ The hooded giant descended the steps from his throne and, reaching down, picked up the whimpering lawyer. ‘You, you miserable, greedy, pulsating piece of flesh, will come with me. It is time to reassess your beliefs, renew your faith and meet Bellania’s one true God.’

Striding along with Mr Crow tucked under one arm like a rolled-up newspaper, Bane marched the length of his Throne Room and passed under an arched doorway bearing a sign carved into the likeness of two blazing eyes. The lawyer stared miserably up at the carvings and to his horror the eyes hungrily glared right back. Crow flinched away from the terrifying sight.

Bane stamped his way down a passageway. Deep, deep into the darkness the two of them went, through lightless canyons and along dead riverbeds, past ancient corridors and forgotten paths. Eventually the walkway grew warm, the walls became hot to the touch and the air turned brackish and humid, tasting stale and sulphurous. Bane finally slowed to push through a huge door which again bore the strange carving of two blazing eyes. Once inside he unceremoniously dropped the skinny lawyer to the floor.

‘Ouch!’ squawked Crow. Dusting himself down and rubbing at his bruised backside, the lawyer slowly stood and looked around.

The two of them were on a bridge that dwindled into the distance. Crow could see no end to the bridge or to the room
itself. It was an unsettling image, and if he looked too long his stomach began to cramp and squirm. Such a sight was unnatural.

Crow sidled to the side of the bridge and peered over. Far below he could see a bubbling, boiling river of molten lava. The incredible heat and sulphurous stench arising from it singed the lawyer’s eyebrows and set his eyes watering. Hastily he scurried back from the bridge’s edge as his body began to shake and shiver. He couldn’t help it – this place was abnormal and alien.

‘Come, worm, cease your snivelling,’ said Bane. ‘Time for you to meet Bellania’s true master.’

As Crow was forced down the never-ending bridge, he was surprised to see a red star in the distance. He was sure it hadn’t been there before. Desperately trying to calm his nerves, he cracked the knuckles on his long skinny fingers. The lawyer was quite certain that he was in this predicament due to some fault of Charlie’s. If he ever got out of this mess that little nuisance of a girl was going to pay, and pay dearly.

The red star grew in size and luminosity until it was like a small sun. Blazing in eerie glory, it almost covered the bridge, stretching from wall to wall of the chamber. As the ball of light approached, Bane dropped down to one knee and bowed his hooded head.

‘My God,’ said Bane, ‘I greet you and pay you worship.’

With a sudden shock, Crow became aware that the sphere that writhed, spat and pulsed before him was alive. This thing was Bane’s God! The realization sent his brain reeling. Foul red light swamped everything, casting the surroundings in a bloody but surprisingly cold glow. Against all logic, the
blazing flames seemed to suck out heat and life, leaving whatever they touched weaker. Mr Crow felt his legs turn to lead and his heart start to beat erratically, first fast, then slow. Sharp pains and cramps gripped at his flesh, making him shake and twitch as a dreadful terror coursed through him.