Chapters (23)
None of those it turned out. The ancient treekeeper crouched down, dwarfing her completely, letting sacred tree oil fall from a flask. She felt it land on the top of her right leg and sizzle there. A pins-and-needle tingle that slowly faded before happening again a little further down.
When she lowered her head to look, there was not one, but two stripes of the brightest leaf green wrapped around her foreleg.
‘Two . . .’ she breathed.
‘One for bringing us Nammu’s heart and one for using it to destroy Bitterblight,’ Edda said, and laughed. ‘You are now the youngest shapewalker ever to have two stripes.’
A cheer went up then, one which shook the roots of the Undrentree itself.
Liska blinked back hot, happy tears. Two stripes. It had happened. The thing she had lain awake nights, plotting and praying for. Double that in fact.
The funny thing was, now it finally had, it didn’t seem that important. And why had it been so vital in the first place? Just so she could show everyone how brave she was, she supposed. That she was someone to be admired.
‘Now all Arborven will see how courageous you have been,’ Edda was saying as if reading her mind.
Her eyes went to the cheering crowd, fixing on the three figures who were standing at the front, whooping louder than anyone, not caring who noticed or stared.
And what others might see as just a worm caller, a ghost girl and a talking cat, were so much more precious than stripes, fame or glory.
‘You don’t need to count someone’s stripes to see what kind of person they are,’ she said to Edda, looking up into those immense, powerful eyes.
‘Oh, really?’ He smiled back down at her. ‘What should you count then?’
She smiled back at him. The answer was simple.
‘Their truest friends.’
PRAISE FOR KIERAN LARWOOD
‘A joy to read and absolutely world-class.’
Alex, age 10, LoveReading4Kids
‘Will entertain everyone . . . already feels like a classic.’
BookTrust
‘The best book I have ever read.’
Mariyya, age 9, LoveReading4Kids
‘Jolly good fun.’
SFX
‘I just couldn’t put it down.’
Sam, age 11, LoveReading4Kids
‘Five stars.’
Dylan, age 12, LoveReading4Kids
‘Great stuff and definitely one to watch.’
Carabas
‘An original fantasy with . . . riveting adventure, and genuine storytelling.’
Kirkus
‘A great bit of storytelling.’
Andrea Reece, LoveReading
‘Rich with custom, myth, and a little touch of magic.’
Carousel
‘A story for children who enjoy fantasy, quests.’
The School Librarian
ALSO BY KIERAN LARWOOD
THE FIVE REALMS SERIES
The Legend of Podkin One-Ear
The Gift of Dark Hollow
The Beasts of Grimheart
Uki and the Outcasts
Uki and the Swamp Spirit
Uki and the Ghostburrow
THE CARNIVAL SERIES
Carnival of the Lost
Carnival of the Hunted