Brellitine Grever and The Sea of Gelled (The Brell Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Oh no.

  No… he wouldn’t… he knew the stories as well as she did.

  But her heart sank as she prayed that Timmy hadn’t gone into the Wandering Woods.

  Chapter 3: The Wandering Woods

  “No.”

  She fought back the thought, shuddering internally. The Wandering Woods were so dense, so full of creepy sights and smells, that she was sure it was the last place Timmy would go to. And there was a reason for its name. Anyone who ever went in there always got lost, and no one had ever returned from it. There was no particular trail or path to follow, and there were rumours that it was home to demons, which was why no one even dared to build a road through it.

  Brell herself had never dared to set foot in there. But the thought of Timmy lying helplessly somewhere, possibly hurt, was enough for her to want to go in.

  The first streaks of the sun’s rays were creeping across the sky when she threw on her coat and stealthily crept out of the attic. She tiptoed past her aunt’s room, praying fervently that she would not wake up. The continuous snores of her aunt stopped and so did Brell’s heart as she froze. After a small hiccup, the snores continued and she breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  The early morning air was more than chilly — it was freezing. White mist bellowed out of her mouth as she raced out of Snowshill, past the lavender farm that would soon be filled with bright purple lavender, past the yellow fields of rapeseed and halted at the edge of the Wandering Woods.

  The Wandering Woods stretched for acres in every direction. The trees formed a monolithic wall in shades of emerald green, with sparkles of diamond dewdrops here and there. Vast shadows loomed in every corner. The moment she laid a foot in the forest a chill ran down her spine. Even the temperature dropped by a noticeable degree. An ice cold dewdrop splashed onto her check, making her jump out of her skin.

  ‘Just a dewdrop’ she assured herself. The wind howled through the trees and even though she knew the summer sun was steadily climbing up the sky, not a ray of sunshine managed to penetrate through the thick canopy that hung above her, giving the forest a cold, desolate feel. Brell walked carefully through the forest though even the slightest sound made her heart stop. Since there was no path, she knew she was travelling in an unknown direction. Was it just her ears or did she hear whispers?

  “Timmy …” she whispered, terrified of making even a small amount of noise.

  “Timmy!” she called out a little louder, drawing her overcoat even tighter over herself to keep out the cold as she looked around the darkening woods.

  The overcoat had been her father’s and brought just as much comfort as warmth. Her mother told her that he used to wear it every single day to work. It used to smell of pinewood and vanilla, just like her father, but time had faded the familiar scent.

  Then when her mom went missing, Brell had dug through their things, finding the coat and a rather large and chunky heart-shaped locket that just wouldn’t open. The stone that covered the entire front of the locket was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was glittering dark from some angles and burnt with iridescent blue, gold and turquoise fire from other angles. Sometimes, when she held it against the sunlight, it seemed to become transparent with brown swirls. She hadn’t shown it to Lucy, for the fear that it would be taken away from her.

  A rustling sound plucked her out of her thinking. Brell spun to her left, scanning the broad leaved trees and shrubs which looked exactly the same as the ones on her right. She looked back the way she thought she came, and was startled to see that it was surprisingly far. What if she got lost? Remembering Hansel and Gretel, she ripped a long strip of grey cloth from the bottom of her shirt and tied it around a low hanging branch. Satisfied with what she had done, Brell wiped the sweat which had formed on her brow despite the cold around her.

  “Timmy!” she murmured again. “It’s me Brell! Where are you?’ Maybe she should go a bit further before calling him. Picking her way carefully through the overgrown undergrowth, she moved forward. Her feet were sore from all the walking and she was aching to sit down.

  She kept on shouting his name as she travelled further into the forest. Calling Timmy’s name so many times made her voice quite hoarse. She tore off some more grey cloth and tied it to the tree trunk. It was well over half an hour when she finally began to worry whether or not he was actually in the forest.

  What if he never even came here at all? What if he was back again, hiding in the cottage? What if…what if…what if…?

  She turned back just to make sure the cloth she tied was always there to guide her back to the open, and then she stopped short, her throat tight.

  She could not see her grey cloth. It was gone.

  A twig snapped directly behind her and Brell’s heart skipped a beat when she spun around… a polished silver and very real arrow was pointed at her chest. Brell’s eyes travelled up the arrow to the person who held it.

  Pitch black eyes bore down at her and glistening, tangled blonde hair fell in front of a mildly chubby face. A thin golden wire was settled around his head like a crown. The boy was a bit taller than Brell and seemed a bit older to her too. Strong hands held a silver bow which aimed the deadly weapon at her. He wore leather boots trimmed with a fluffy material Brell didn’t recognize. His red shirt was lined with gold and his jeans had a huge tear right below his knee. She knew almost all the people in the Cotswolds. He was definitely an outsider.

  Brell realised her face was frozen in a mask of shock and horror. She unsuccessfully tried to compose her face, and then gave up.

  “Who are you?” he snarled, bringing the arrow closer to her. Brell gasped and clutched the closest thing next to her right hand; a fern. So helpful.

  “Can’t you speak?” he said disapprovingly.

  “I can.” Never once did she take her eyes off the now very close arrow.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Brellitine.” She revealed unwillingly. There was something about being in front of an arrow that didn’t want to make her lie.

  The arrow glinted dangerously as a ray of light struck it. The boy appraised her long coat with perplexed eyes. Then he cleared his throat.

  “What business brings you here?”

  Brell wanted to point out that anyone was allowed to be in the forest, but figured that might be taken as hostility. “I… I was searching for my brother.”

  The boy’s eyes widened with an unknown acknowledgement.

  “What’s his name?” he barely whispered.

  Despite her fear, she felt a prickle of irritation at the stranger’s interrogation. “Why should I tell you?”

  “Is it Timothy Grever?” he whispered too fast.

  She stared at him in surprise. “Yes,” she replied hesitantly, wondering how he knew.

  That one word had such an effect on the boy, that she would never forget it. At first, he grew very still, surveying her with doubt. Then suddenly, as if something had triggered it, his face darkened like a storm cloud. His hands started shaking. “Go!” he growled angrily. “Get out of here immediately and don’t ever come back. Forget about your brother if you value your life. Go!”

  He pointed his arrow the other way and Brell breathed a sigh of relief. But she didn’t move. She could feel the anger boiling up inside of her now.

  “Why should I listen to you? You’re a stranger! And this is my brother we are talking about. I am going to search for him and you are not going to stop me!”

  She pushed past the boy and strode forward. Suddenly she was yanked back and she found herself pinned against a tree.

  “Don’t you see?” he spat out each word with frustration and aggravation. “Your brother is lost! Gone. And you can’t follow him! If you do, you’ll die! So what’s the use trying?” When he saw Brell’s stubborn face, he muttered something under his breath. “If you’re so adamant in going after him, go! But don’t tell me that I never warned you.” he released her, quickly stepping away.

  It t
ook more than a couple of moments for her anger to ebb away, and then realisation slowly dawned on her.

  “You just said that if I go after him, my life will be in danger.” She said in a surprisingly calm tone. “So you know where he is!” her voice grew stronger. She moved forward and grabbed onto the bow in his hand. “And he’s in trouble! How did you know his name? “

  The boy shuffled his feet and looked away. He muttered, “I know where he is.”

  “Well then tell me!” She clutched his bow tightly. “I want to know where Timmy is!”

  The boy pulled his bow away from her desperate fingers.

  “I already told you it’s too dangerous! Now go home, and forget this incident ever happened.” He began to walk away, but Brell hurried forward and stepped in front of him, holding her hands up placatingly.

  “Please.” She gazed directly into his coal black eyes. “Please. Tell me where my brother is.”

  Suddenly the golden wire around his head began to glow faintly in a blue colour. She watched it in amazement and enchantment. The blue seemed to be moving back and forth, like the waves in a turbulent ocean. The wire itself began to spin slowly in an anti-clockwise motion on the boy’s head, and then began to gain speed. It began swirling so fast, that watching it alone made Brell dizzy. But she kept staring at it in wonder as it slowly rose off his head and placed itself between Brell and the boy.

  The boy’s eyes widened in shock, and his gaze darted to Brell, who was still staring at that spinning circle in bewitched silence. It kept on reducing in size till it was only as big around as three fingers, and then it drifted down towards her. At first, she didn’t move, still entranced by the beauty of the blue circle, but she then snapped out of it just as the circle was about to touch her leg. Brell jumped back.

  “W-what’s happening?” she stuttered, moving backwards. The circle, however, just wouldn’t stop following her. “Why is it following me?”

  The boy was still gaping at her, his eyes flickering between Brell and the circle.

  “Tell me what to do!” she yelled frantically, still trying to get the circle to go away, this time with a fallen down branch.

  “Hold still.” He finally whispered. “Let it touch you.”

  Brell stared at him in astonishment, but something made her stop as the blue ring advanced towards her. She paused because curiosity got the best of her. It wasn’t everyday she saw a spinning blue ring floating towards her. It hovered a little above her right ankle, and she could feel rays of warmth radiating from it. It slowly came closer to her so that it was now just an inch from her skin. As she watched it warily, it suddenly leapt forward and sank into her calf.

  Chapter 4: Unfamiliar

  Brell let out a scream of agony and crumpled onto the forest floor, gasping for breath. The ring was blazing hot and the moment it had touched her skin, searing pain had shot through her leg, like someone had poured molten lava into her veins. She lay on the springy moss, gritting her teeth, and wrapped her hand around her leg, as if it would push the pain away. Her whole body trembled, and blood boiled under her feverish skin. It seemed as if the pain would never go away. Then suddenly, it was all over; the pain was gone. It must have lasted less than thirty seconds, but it felt much longer. Brell unsteadily scrambled to her feet and gasped when she saw her calf.

  The place where the circle had touched her skin now held a faintly glowing bluish scar the same size as the circle. Brell reached out and touched it tentatively. It was pleasantly warm, but throbbed a bit under her fingers. Her blood didn’t race as it had done before, and all that was left of the painful heat was a gentle tingling that spread through her leg.

  “Are you all right?” a familiar voice rang through her head.

  “Who are you?!” she jumped, pressing her palms to her temples to get rid of the voice.

  The boy, whom she had nearly forgotten existed, took a hesitant step towards her.

  “It’s me.” he whispered.

  Brell stared at him in horror and confusion. How was that possible?

  “Did I just hear you? In my mind?”

  There were so many questions bubbling on the tip of her tongue; why did he tell her to let the circle touch her? Had he known that it would hurt so much? But instead of wasting time on that, she impatiently waited for him to reply to her first question.

  “Yes.” He finally admitted. The look he gave her was almost like that of… respect. “You can hear me in your mind, and I can hear your thoughts too. The Dreign allows us to communicate.” He bent over his right leg and rolled up his jeans to his knee, twisting his right leg so that Brell could see his leg.

  A green ring similar to the one on her own leg was embedded in his skin. Brell involuntarily gasped, her mind overflowing with questions to ask him. Immediately, the scar on the boy’s leg glowed green against his pale skin.

  He smiled at her and touched his calf. Almost at the same time, Brell heard her thought echo between the two of them, yet the forest remained silent.

  “How is this possible?”

  The boy straightened up and covered his calf again. “If you want to tell me something, think of me and the thought. No matter how far we are, my Dreign will glow. If I touch it with my finger, I’ll be able to hear your thoughts. You can also hear what I say if you open up your mind, but I think it’s a bit early for that.”

  “This is called a Dreign?” she repeated the unfamiliar word. “What does this mean?” the questions poured out of her mouth frantically. “How did that ring float and enter my calf? Did you know it would do that? You’re a person I just met in the woods and now suddenly I’m connected to you through my thoughts! How absurd is that?”

  The boy took a deep breath, as if he were thinking through his next words.

  “My name is Callum. Callum Hempt. How that ring floated and entered your leg is still beyond my understanding. But I do know this; the moment it entered your leg, it dissolved right into your blood. The Dreign has powers of healing, so the place where it entered your leg scarred immediately. If you ever get a wound, it will heal slightly faster than normal. The initial healing power was so strong that it immediately healed the wound and scarred your leg.”

  She didn’t even know where to begin. Faster healing? Dissolved into her blood? Was she going to be a superhero now? Timmy would be excited and slightly jealous.

  Timmy! Her eyes whipped back to Callum. “Where is my brother?”

  Callum hesitated. “That’s… complicated.”

  “But you know where he is?”

  “Yes.” He paused, then sighed. “I’ll take you to him.”

  Brell heard a tiny voice niggling in the back of her mind that sounded suspiciously like Jane’s reminding her of stranger danger. “How do I know that you really know where Timmy is? That you’re not bluffing.” She said quickly. This was all happening too fast.

  He gazed at her for a second, and then his hand went to his pocket. Pulling out something crumpled, he handed it over to her.

  She gasped and reached for it, cradling the material in her hands. It was the blue handkerchief she had given Timmy the other day to stop him from crying.

  “Is that enough?” he asked. “I didn’t kidnap him.”

  “And I’m just supposed to trust your word on that?” The sarcasm dripped from her words.

  He rolled his eyes, then his shoulders slumped and he looked at her gently. “If I had, I would be long gone by now, wouldn’t I?” he said softly. “Will you trust me?”

  She looked at him, still suspicious.

  “Maybe.” She folded the handkerchief into her overcoat pocket before looking back up at him. “How did you know his name?”

  He pursed his lips. “I can’t answer that one.” he said slowly. “First I need you to understand something.”

  She was taken aback at the sudden switch in attitude; he was now so readily offering to lead her to Timmy when just moments ago he was yelling at her to go away and not bother about Timmy at all.

>   “Do you believe in the old tales? About enchantresses and… merpeople? Creatures that can possess magic?” asked Callum slowly.

  She thought about the bedtime story her mother told her about merpeople. It couldn’t be more than a story, could it? Where was he going with this?

  “No.”

  “This is going to be difficult.” Callum muttered to himself. Louder, he said. “Well, they do exist.”

  “Do I look like a fool to you? Just get to the part where you tell me where my brother is.”

  Suddenly, the Dreign called out to her. It now felt like a part of her body, although she had only just go it. She looked at Callum warily and brushed her fingers across it. Immediately, she was flooded with Callum’s thoughts

  “I’m not joking. Do I look like a person who cracks jokes? This explanation will take some time, and I don’t want to ruin my throat. Listen and don’t interrupt.”

  She slowly seated herself on a moss covered rock, watching him warily and ready to make a run for it if something happened.

  “What I am going to tell you is of utmost importance and you can’t tell this to anyone. Promise me.”

  “I can’t promise you that.”

  “Very well. But I’m warning you —”

  “You’re warning me?”

  “Yes. The consequences will be dire. So in the interest of your own safety, you should keep silent about this. There is a pond at the very centre of the Wandering Woods. It’s tricky to pass through. Well, once somebody has passed —”

  “What do you mean by pass?” she interjected.

  Callum ignored her and continued. “Once somebody has passed through, they enter the Sea of Gelled. There are seven seas, populated by merpeople, and Gelled is one of them.” He saw her brow furrow and hurried to cut her off. “Wait! Don’t interrupt. On the far north of Gelled is Castle Meethe, where the ruler of the Seven Seas, The Great Queen Zeldae, lives. She is one to be feared, and has power over all the Royal Families in the different Seas. Zeldae is an evil spirit in the form of a mermaid. Being a spirit, she doesn’t have the power to exist on her own. For this, she needs to have a part of a human… the heart. Not just any heart, but a live, beating one. She takes the still beating heart and inserts it into herself with magic, sustaining her mermaid form. The only problem is that the heart only survives for a year before it dies and she has to replace it. So every year she sends out her most trusted and loyal servant Salamandar to get a human heart for her — most preferably the heart of a human child. On the day of the eclipse when the sea becomes dark and shadows lurk everywhere, she removes the heart of the human child, and places it inside her own body. So, as the eclipse get over and light floods the ocean again, the human dies and Zeldae has a new heart for another year. That day is called CreDay, the Day of Creation.