The Fae Princess (The Pacific Princesses Book 2) Ektaa Bali (free ebook reader txt) 📖

The Yarama scrambled as fast as they could out of the cave.

The three Fae kids exchanged fearful expressions.

“What could be so scary that even the Yarama are afraid of it?” asked Willow, blowing a raspberry.

“Have you heard of the Leaf Master?” asked Vidya to Lotus.

The older boy shook his blonde head. “Nope, never.” He pulled at his ropes, but they held fast.

“I sure hope Pancake is okay,” said Vidya. “I hope he’s far away from here.”

“I don’t!” said Willow. “I hope he comes out here and saves us!”

“Willow,” groaned Vidya. “But you’re right, I hope so too.”

“But did you guys see?” Willow said excitedly. “Look at that flower in the lanterns. That Chief Yarama said ‘fire flowers of the western marshes!’ I saw them on the map!”

“What about them?” asked Vidya glumly, tugging on the black ropes.

“Fire,” urged Willow. “Fire and earth together! What King Wollemi was talking about!”

Recognition sparked with Vidya. In all the hustle of being captured by the Yarama, she had forgotten why they were even here.

“That’s the missing piece of the puzzle!” Vidya exclaimed, clicking her fingers together. “Good one, Willow. That’s exactly how we complete the spell.”

“Good one, Will,” echoed Lily. “But we can’t get to the marshes if we’re stuck in this place. And it’s gone all quiet outside, I wonder what’s happening.”

They sat in an uneasy silence, mouths open for breathing, for what seemed like forever, listening to the sounds of the Yarama scurrying outside. Very soon, outside, it went quiet. The four prisoners looked at each other fearfully by the orange light of the lantern.

But it wasn’t long before a shuffling sound by the entrance made them freeze.

14

Fire Flowers

When met with a dangerous plant, the wisest course of action is to be polite.

—The Book of the Fae, Queen Mab the First, 3333 B.C.

“Is it a ghost?” breathed Lotus.

“Ghosts don’t make noises,” whispered Willow.

Pancake’s brown face appeared around the corner, and the Fae kids groaned with relief.

“Thank the earth, Pancake!” hissed Vidya.

“Why are Yarama so scared?” asked Pancake. “They running back into their cave.”

“Oh nothing,” said Vidya and Lotus hurriedly.

Pancake cast them a confused look but shook his head.

“Well, lucky Pancake is here,” he said pointing to his mouth. “I have very sharp teeth.”

It didn’t take Pancake long to chomp through the ropes that held them.

“Nice one, Pancake, thank the earth you came back!” said Lily.

“I wasn’t gonna leave you here!” he said.

“But come on,” said Vidya. “Let’s get out of here,”

Vidya grabbed Pancake, shoved him back in her front pocket, and followed Willow, Lotus, and Lily up the dirt stairs into the night air. Not a single Yarama was in sight. The little dirt clearing in front of the cave was empty.

“The air feels weird,” said Lotus, rubbing his arms.

A chill had begun to seep into Vidya’s chest.

“I have a bad feeling,” she said softly.

“Let’s get into the cover of the trees,” hissed Lily. “The Yarama have gone into hiding, we should too.”

They used their wings to flutter themselves quickly across the clearing and into the darkness of the large gnarly trees.

“Up there,” they followed Pancake’s direction into a large tree with thick brown leaves. All three Fae crouched on a sturdy branch, peering down into the clearing. “This is where I hid while I waited.” Pancake said. “Once they put you inside that underground prison, all of a sudden they scrambled out into that big cave.”

“That would be Will’s doing,” whispered Lotus.

“Why?” asked Pancake.

Lotus and Vidya looked at Willow awkwardly.

“I told them I saw something in the forest,” admitted Willow. “They seemed to think it was this Leaf Master guy.”

“Apparently he’s being ruling over them,” said Vidya. “The Bunyip King promised to get rid of him, so they told us they serve him now.”

“Well, I don’t know about you guys,” hissed Lily, “but I sort of don’t feel like hanging around to find out whether he’s gonna turn up or not.”

“Right,” said Lotus. “Which way to the fire marshes?”

“West,” Willow pointed to their right. “But wait, what about our noses?”

“Oh right,” said Lily, screwing up her face. “But I don’t know if it’s a good idea to hang—”

The sound of drums reached their ears.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Their eyes darted around the clearing, looking for the source. Willow silently pointed to a section of the trees on the other side where two small shadows were emerging.

Two large green frogs the size of large dogs hopped out into the clearing. Each held a drum in one front limb, and when they reached the centre of the clearing, they sat there, a wide gap between them, banging on the drums.

Vidya was about to whisper something to the others when a larger shadow hopped into the clearing.

A gigantic, lumpy, brown toad the size of a horse hopped in, a large, round, cloaked figure riding him, gripping reins to control his movements. From within the black cloak was the large furry face of the biggest koala Vidya had ever seen.

Vidya had to cover her mouth to stop herself from gasping. Pancake trembled in her pocket.

The huge toad hopped regally into the centre of the clearing, right between the two smaller frogs. The large, hooded koala figure sat, waiting. Pancake and the four kids held their breaths.

A small movement on the opposite side of the clearing—where the Yarama were hiding in their cave, caught their eye. The Chief Yarama, the black feather on his cap bobbing with each step, ran into the clearing in front of the frogs, something cupped between his hands. He came to a stop a few meters in front of the robed koala and fell onto the ground, lying flat on his tummy. Vidya saw how rapidly the chief was breathing by the rising and fall of his back, and she couldn’t but help feel sorry for the creature.

The Koala pulled on the reins, and the gigantic Toad stepped forward over the dirt ground to come to stand over the chief.

“Your tax is due, Yara-ma-yha-who,”