Emerald Child (Kalika Magic Book 1) by Hughes Karen

Author:Hughes, Karen [Hughes, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Kalika Magic
Published: 2015-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The Hiding Place

‘i’m sure it wasn’t this overgrown when we were here last,’ said Doli, her face red and shiny. ‘Do you remember it being like this, Mai?’

‘Completely unkempt,’ Aunty Mai said, looking around. ‘There was a lovely clear path here before.’

‘We must keep the path secret now,’ Brek said. ‘Grandma Helki still protects the forest, but she won’t be with us for much longer.’

‘What do you mean?’ Kai had caught up and was helping Aunty Mai over the fallen logs.

Brek stopped. ‘Grandma Helki is dying,’ he said, looking at the boy. ‘That’s why it is so important for you to go back. It is only her protection that has stopped the sorcerer attacking us all these years.’

He sighed. ‘We are healers, not warriors. With Grandma Helki gone, the Kalika are finished. We’ll be destroyed, like the Dasa tribes in the south. Do you remember last year when Tenzel led his army into the mountains? The fighting was over in a few hours.’

A cold hand had taken hold of Kai’s heart and was squeezing the life out of it. Grandma Helki dying? It wasn’t true. She’d looked after him for as long as he could remember. She’d taught him everything – the wisdom of Mother Earth, the power of herbs, even magic. She couldn’t die.

Brek had started walking again, with the other ladies following him. But Aunty Mai stayed behind.

‘I don’t want her to go,’ Kai whispered.

Aunty Mai took his hand. They walked in silence.

‘Are the stories true?’ Kai asked at last. ‘Grandma Helki's stories about the Enchanted Island. Do you really go there when you die?’

‘Everyone has their own story,’ said Aunty Mai. ‘The Kalika tell of a green island covered with apple trees, where the dead rest until they’re ready to come back. In Ballyndor they say we’ll live forever in a city in the sky, with gates of pearl and streets of gold.’

‘But –’

‘And the Dasa people, poor things, believe in a giant cauldron stirred by Old Mother Moon, where the souls of the dead are all mixed together to make new souls.’

‘But which is it?’ Kai had heard the stories. He wanted a real answer.

‘I don’t think it matters,’ said Aunty Mai, squeezing his hand. ‘Grandma Helki loves you, Kai, more than anything. She’ll be watching over you wherever she is.’

She stopped and looked around, as though to check no one was listening.

‘I have something for you,’ she whispered. ‘Mind you look after it.’

She pressed something hard into Kai's hands. A whistle escaped his lips. It couldn’t be …

It was.

‘But how – ’ he turned it over, staring at the battered leather cover.

‘Shh,’ Aunty Mai said, winking. ‘Your Aunt Millie sends her love. Now, don't let anyone know you have it. Quickly, tuck it inside your shirt and let's find the others. I don't fancy spending the night out here.’

*

In the deepest part of the forest, they stopped.

Brek held up his hand. ‘Beyond the ancient fig tree, through the secret tunnel of green, protected by

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