Chamly's Quest Read online

  ‘What is going to happen to him now?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she replied. ‘I’ll arrange something with the owls until he is released from the wall. The quest I am about to send you on, will hopefully do just that.’

  ‘What quest?’ Chamly asked.

  Chapter 9

  THE SHE DEMON BECOMES EVIL

  The Mother of the Western Skies sighed and patted his knee. ‘You have already started the quest by picking the peach, Chamly. You have no choice but to continue or die at the hands of the she demon. She needs to kill you to keep all her evil powers. This evil is causing mayhem and misery for millions of people and if the planet is to survive at all, she has to be stopped. You are the only one who can do that.’

  ‘Don’t you think I’m a bit young for the job?’ Chamly asked despairingly.

  ‘You have no choice, Chamly. Once the she demon finds out you have picked the peach, she will hunt you down and kill you.’

  ‘Is there a reason she is so evil?’ asked Chamly.

  ‘Pure jealousy made her evil, nothing more. The history of the world would have been very different, if the she demon hadn’t lost the one thing she loved, her mate the monkey. For thousands of years, they lived happily together high up on the Tibetan Plateau. But one day, a tired and dusty monk knocked on the door of the palace kitchens. The monk was on his way to India to collect the Dao Scriptures for the Emperor of China and he enthralled the monkey for weeks with his tales of travel and adventure.

  At the time, the she demon was half woman and half snake. She was beautiful, vain and very spoilt, but not evil. However, as the weeks went by and she continued to be ignored by the monkey, she became irritable and jealous of the monk. One day, as she was admiring herself in the mirror, she noticed that her anxiety was causing her skin cells to burst and ooze puss. Furious, she lost all reason and blamed the monk for her diminishing beauty. She concluded that the only way to get rid of him was to kill him. She knew that when the monk sat in the garden with the monkey, he drank only water from the spring well, whilst her mate only drank wine. Chuckling at the simplicity of it, she looked out of her window to see if anyone was in the garden. Seeing no one, she carried all her perfume bottles down to the garden and tipped their contents into the well. Stashing the empty bottles under a bush, she called her dog and went for a long walk. After she had left the garden, the sound of laughter and chatter could be heard coming from the South Gate of the garden. The she demon had forgotten that the monkey had organised a party for all the children of the town. A passing Nightingale happened to see the she demon pouring the perfume into the well and curious perched in a Cherry Blossom Tree as the children entered the garden.

  The excited children sat down in a circle on the blossomladen lawn and the palace Cook and Chief Gardener handed around cups of honeyed-lemon-water and plates of food. Within minutes, the children started to moan and clutch at their bellies. The servants quickly went to find the she demon, but by the time they returned with her, two hundred children lay dead amongst the blossom.

  The she demon accused the Gardener and Cook of killing them and was about to call the guards when she realised from their keening and wailing, that their children were amongst the dead.

  The Nightingale heard the she demon’s voice change to one of sympathy. She told them that she believed they were innocent, but said her mate would not and would skin them alive. She ordered them to take the dead children across the border into China and to never return.

  The servants thought of their lives. Under the supervision of the she demon, they harnessed horses to large carts and piled the children onto them. After covering the children with some rough cloth, the Cook and the Gardener left the garden forever.

  As the creaking carts made their way past the mothers coming up the road to collect their children, not one of them thought it strange when petals fell from the carts and floated past them on the breeze.

  The monkey and the monk had been away visiting Sky Lake, the highest lake in the world, and it wasn’t until the next day that the monkey was confronted by the unhappy mothers. They told him about their missing children and the disappearance of the Cook and Gardener and pleaded with him to find them. Sure that his servants had stolen the children to sell as slaves in another land he enlisted all his subjects to search far and wide. No trace was ever found. Heart-broken, and blaming himself for their disappearance, the monkey decided to leave all his worldly goods behind and left the palace with the monk. He did not tell the she demon he was leaving, for fear of her reaction.

  When the she demon realised that her mate had left her she flew into a terrible rage, smashing everything in the palace to pieces. A candle fell on the books strewn across the floor and soon a fire had engulfed the wooden palace in flames.

  The she demon ran from the palace shrieking, but only the Nightingale heard her cries.

  Having never been liked by the servants, she was forced to flee or starve. Transforming herself into a desert snake, she began her revenge on the human race. For thousands of years she caused terrible and violent sand storms, causing travellers to lose their way in the desert. Lost and exhausted, they lay helpless in the sand as the she demon slithered towards them and gobbled them up.

  It was not until the seventh century that she finally had an adversary. Her name was Princess Wencheng and she was one of the wives of the King of Tibet. She was an extremely clever woman who became convinced that there was a demon under the Tibetan Plateau killing her subjects. Surrounded by bodyguards, she traversed the desert on horseback ordering temples to be built wherever she thought the she demon could be. She believed that pounding temple foundations into the demons’ body would kill it. She was wrong. The she demon continued terrorizing the desert. It was not until Princess Wencheng had the brilliant idea of placing her dowry, a sacred golden statue of the Buddha Sakyamüni inside one of her temples that the she demon was finally paralysed beneath the foundations.

  When Princess Wencheng died of old age, her relations, the Tang Dynasty, attacked Tibet. The new king, fearing for the statue’s safety, hid it under the sand. As the first grains of sand fell on the statue of Sakyamüni, its powers ceased and the paralysed she demon stirred for the first time in years.

  Aching from cramp, she slithered away under the Tibetan sands and escaped over the Kunlun Mountains. Ever since, she has been spreading her evil across all the lands by transforming herself into an earwig and crawling into the ears of men and women of power. She destroys any goodness these people have by gnawing her way through the eardrum to the part of the brain that controls Peace and Harmony. Which reminds me, have you had enough to eat?’

  Chamly shivered and shook his head.

  ‘As the Chosen One you have no choice but to defeat her. To do this, you must go east to the Cave of the Ancient Dragon and gain some wisdom from the blind dragon Muchilinda.’

  ‘A dragon! ’ Chamly cried out in alarm.

  Chapter 10

  THE SWORD OF VICTORY

  ‘Muchilinda wouldn’t hurt a fly. He minds the wisdom of the world and as you are the Chosen One, he will pass it on to you.’

  ‘Why do I have to be the Chosen One? What do you want me to do with this wisdom, save the planet?’ Chamly asked, frightened at the prospect. He stood up to leave, but found his arm gripped with surprising force.

  ‘Sit down,’ The Mother of the Western Skies ordered. ‘Unfortunately for you, it is too late to turn back. Speed is essential. The she demon will soon smell your scent as it’s carried on a whisper of wind.’

  The Mother of the Western Skies clicked her fingers and a tall man in long white robes stepped forward and placed a white jade box on the cushion beside her. He bowed and moved away. Unclasping the lid, she withdrew a glistening red sword. ‘This is the Sword of Victory Chamly. It was forged from the red copper of the sacred Kunwu Mountain. Thousands of years ago, the sword was once used by the Yellow Emperor to bring peace to the heavens by killing an evil god. You must al
ways keep the sword close by.’

  She handed Chamly the sword and he tried to close his fingers around the huge handle. It was so heavy that he could barely lift it up. He tried to give it back to the Mother of the Western Skies, but she shook her head. Then to his amazement, the copper began to glow and the sword shrank to fit his hand. Parrying and thrusting the now lighter sword, Chamly began to feel that perhaps there could be more fun in this Chosen One business than he’d first thought.

  ‘How am I going to carry it around?’ Chamly asked. ‘ It’s too big to fit into my belt.’

  ‘Stand up and let me be the judge of that,’ the Mother of the Western Skies commanded.

  Once Chamly had stood up, she placed the tip of the sword against his belt and immediately the sword reduced to the size of a needle. Pinning the sword firmly into the belts leather, she said, ‘As you can see, the sword has special qualities.’

  ‘Cool,’ said Chamly stiflingly a yawn. Suddenly a great tiredness overcame him and he settled himself back down on the cushions.

  ‘I can see you’re tired,’ said the Mother of the Western Skies gently. ‘Curl up and rest.’ Pulling her shawl from her shoulders, she spread it over him. ‘I’ll leave you to sleep. I must go and join the festivities. Sweet dreams.’

  Chamly snuggled down under the shawl. The sounds of music and laughter floated with him as he fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 11

  THE STONE OF PEACE

  When Chamly awoke, his body quickly registered that he was no longer lying on a soft cushion, but on a bed of sharp grey pebbles. He sat up. The shawl was still covering him. It had not been a dream.

  ‘I thought you’d never wake up.’

  Startled, Chamly turned his head round and saw Celeste standing on the pebbles at the waters edge. Beside her lay a sliced peach.

  He stood up and looked around. ‘Where is everyone?’ He looked down at the clear tranquil water and saw no sign of any tables or benches.

  ‘They’ve gone! Vamooshed! Saw it with my own eyes,’ Celeste said. ‘They didn’t budge an inch when the water rose over them.’

  ‘Didn’t they scream or run? They must have all drowned!’

  ‘They didn’t look as if they were drowning.’ Celeste said with conviction.

  Chamly sat down beside the owl and lowered his head into his hands. What was happening to him?

  Celeste poked his arm with her beak and pointing a claw at the peach said, ‘Eat it, please!’

  ‘I need a full size breakfast, not a piece of mouldy fruit!’ Chamly replied angrily.

  Celeste puffed up her feathers and looked at Chamly with eyes that brooked no argument. In a voice of steel, she said, ‘Do you want me to be your guide or do you not? I have been ordered to make you eat the peach so eat the peach.’

  It was then that Chamly noticed that the stone in the middle of the peach was not a peach stone at all. It was a tiny baby horse, intricately carved out of white jade.

  He tried to pick it up, but Celeste pecked at his hand. ‘You can have a look at it after you’ve eaten the peach and not before,’ she commanded.

  Realising that he had little choice, Chamly ate the peach slices before picking up the baby horse. How had the carved stone managed to get inside the peach, he wondered.

  He was about to ask Celeste when she said impatiently, ‘I know what you’re about to ask. Don’t bother. I haven’t got the answer.’ She lifted her claw and held out a length of plaited purple string. ‘I was given this by the Mother of the Western Skies. Loop it through the horse and tie it around your neck. Its vital you don’t lose it!’

  As Chamly did as he was told, he heard the donkey’s hooves on the pebbles and turned to welcome him.

  The donkey lowered his head and considered the owl. Even though she didn’t sound like a normal owl, she still smelt like one and she really wasn’t that big. In fact there wasn’t anything to be afraid of once you thought of it like that.

  Smiling, Chamly stroked the donkeys’ neck. ‘Do you know if he got fed, Celeste?’

  ‘He was completely spoilt by the partygoers last night. He’s had so much food I’m surprised he can move at all. Look at him! He could do with some exercise.’

  ‘Don’t be rude, Celeste. This donkey saved my life. Those years hanging around in the orchard hasn’t exactly left you in need of a good meal.’

  ‘I’m curvaceous!’ Celeste cried outraged. ‘Now lets go. The cockerels are already stirring and we don’t want the people of the village to see us.’

  Chamly looked across the lake. Where the mist had been the day before, a village of yurts had appeared. ‘I should go to my aunt and tell her of my mother’s death.’

  ‘No, I’m sorry, but that is totally out of the question.’ Celeste said more sympathetically. ‘It’s too dangerous. You would simply be endangering your aunt. I’ve been ordered to be your guide, so be a good boy and just follow me.’ She spread her wings and flew into the air. ‘The she demon will be expecting us to go east, so we’ll confuse her by going south first. Get up on the donkey and nudge him into the water. It will delay her further if we first hide your scent. Keep to the shallows of the lake until you come to a stream. Then staying in the water, wade upstream until you see a path. That path will lead you up to a pass through the mountains.’

  Sighing, Chamly picked up the shawl and squeezed it into his pocket. Checking the needle was still in his belt, he covered the belt with his shirt.

  He stared down at the lake. ‘When will she be back?’

  ‘Who? Oh her! I’ve no idea. I only met her last night,’ Celeste answered as she stretched out her enormous wings and flew off.

  Chamly longed to go to his aunt, but did as Celeste directed. Climbing onto the donkeys’ back he urged him into the freezing water.

  It was not long before the donkey was climbing out of the stream and making his way up a steep path. Much of the path had disintegrated over time and the donkeys’ hooves kept slipping on the loose gravel. Chamly had to hang on tight to the donkeys’ stubby mane to avoid falling. He sighed with relief when the path finally levelled out and they reached a dark and gloomy narrow pass. Centuries ago, a narrow path had been chiselled out of the towering mountains. Now it was littered with boulders and their progress was made difficult and slow.

  When they reached the far side of the mountains, Chamly raised his arm shielding his eyes from the glare of the returning sunlight and gasped in wonder at the vast red desert rippling in the heat far below.

  ‘Surely you don’t expect us to cross that?’ he called up to Celeste.

  ‘Difficult to see how you’re going to get to the other side, if you don’t?’ she called back sarcastically. Instantly regretting her comment, she said, ‘There’s got to be shade on it somewhere. I’ll go and see what this desert has to offer while you follow the path down the mountain.’

  It was getting dark by the time Chamly and the donkey reached the wooded base of the mountains and found a cave to sleep in.

  Chapter 12

  CHAMLY TRAVELS BY TRAIN

  Chamly woke as the first weak rays of daylight entered the cave.

  He went outside to find the donkey grazing and Celeste perched in a tree.

  ‘Good morning, Chamly.’ Celeste called down. ‘Are you hungry?’

  ‘Of course I am. I’m a twelve year old boy who hasn’t eaten for twenty-four hours,’ he replied gruffly.

  ‘Well, today you’re in luck. I’ve been scouting for fruit and nuts and found plenty so I suggest you make a sack out of the shawl and follow me. While you do that, the donkey can stay here and feast on the weeds.’

  ‘Fruit and nuts, wow! That will really keep me going!’ Chamly muttered sarcastically.

  ‘Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Pretty much what I’d expect from a human.’

  A few minutes later, he was eating his breakfast whilst collecting fruit and nuts in the shawl for later.

  Less than happily, the three soon set off across a plate
au of gritty reds covered in small barren hills stained horizontally in stripes of rusty red and dirty yellow. To Chamly, they looked like moulded jellies that had had been tipped upside down haphazardly across the desert.

  By the time they reached a small oasis the temperature was sizzling at a temperature of fifty degrees. Exhausted and dehydrated, Chamly flopped to the ground beside the small watering hole. Having quenched his thirst, he lay down under the shade of a tree and fell asleep.

  It was the cold that awoke him. Night had descended and Chamly could not believe that he’d gone from sweating to shivering in the space of a few hours. Nestling into the donkeys’ side for warmth, he shared the remaining fruit and nuts with his companions.

  Celeste glided down. ‘Clearly you can’t travel during the day. It’s too hot for you to survive when you have no water containers. Make sure the donkey has a good drink. Speed is very important tonight. I’ve spotted water tanks beside a metal track going east across the desert. It’s some distance away, so for your sakes, I hope you reach it by morning.’

  Whilst the waxing moon brushed the landscape with an eerie whiteness, Celeste flew high amongst the air currents and guided them onwards.

  It was dawn when Chamly and the donkey finally reached the rail track.

  Chamly slid off the donkey, tired and still shivering from the cold. Rubbing his sore bottom, he looked down. His legs, which had been over the donkeys’ ribs all night had become bowed. ‘Look at my legs!’ he cried out to Celeste. ‘You could shoot arrows with these!’

  Celeste flew down and perched on the rail in front of him. ‘Stop complaining! Get back on the donkey at once. You have just enough time to get to the first water tank before the sun starts to suck the moisture from your body. You’re in luck. There’s a roof over the tank that you can use for shade.’

  ‘Stop ordering me around, Celeste! Use your eyes. Look at the donkey. Can’t you see he’s exhausted?’