Kids on Fire: Enjoy A Free Excerpt From The Lost Secret of Fairies: The Crystal Keeper Chronicles Book 1

Wanda had always read about adventure. Now she was in the middle of one. The World of Fairies is real, and she is their new Crystal Keeper, human caretaker to the World of Fairies. But the Fairy World is in trouble. The fairies are falling ill from the pollution that ravages the world above. Wanda has to find the key to their cure, before it is too late.

But like in all adventures, there are a few unanswered questions to solve. What has happened to the old Keeper? What are Germites? And can Wanda get used to her cat giving her backtalk while trying not to get grounded for helping the fairies? Join Wanda on her adventure, while she finds out that sometimes the best solution to a problem is the one you find within yourself.

And here, for your reading pleasure, is our free excerpt:

 

Chapter 1

Discovery

 

So, you want to know how I became a Keeper? I’d probably have to explain the last few years. I guess I could begin at the beginning, but that would be too much like a fairy tale. This is anything but your average fairy tale. But then, the fairies always say “There is a beginning to every ending,” so maybe I should start there.

Let’s just say my name is Wanda, and no one understands me. That’s why I was out there in the middle of the orchard that first day I had free from gymnastics practice. It was the end of June, you know, that time you’re finally free from school. You know, when no one bosses you around.

I had escaped from my mom long enough to sneak over the back fence of my house and hide in the orchard. I was reading my favorite fantasy series at the time. Nothing much different than what I normally do.

I didn’t notice the air smelled extra fresh. I remember my hair tied back in a ponytail because of the heat, and wanting it to be a different color than my stupid, boring brown. I’d make a better outcast if I had some cool off the wall color hair, like jet black or cherry red. I’d studied the bottles carefully in the drug store.

I didn’t notice the sun doing strange reflections as I walked out to my favorite spot to read. I mashed down the grass into a perfect fairy bowery. The kind that is perfect to read in, hidden and secluded. I could see around the orchard at cat level. Nothing was crawling or walking around. There was just a slight breeze to disturb the tall grass growing around my hiding spot.

I remembered the last scene of my current book-de-jour. The princess was escaping from Landau, the dark sorcerer who was trying to take over her kingdom. Now, what would she do?

Would she use her secret power of flight? Or would she some how find the way to the locket she needed to free her frozen Mother Queen?

Yes, she’s going to have to fight him. I checked to see how many pages were left. Twelve. Good, I’m getting close to the climax.

I wiggled to get more comfortable in my grass hide-away. Glancing up, I blinked as the sun above me looked no different than before. A sharp bright flash came to the side of my vision. I shrugged, and figured it was a reflection of my glasses. Back then; I thought most things were just a flash, or something that I imagined. I know better now. But back to the story, or it just won’t make sense to you later.

I closed my eyes to listen to the breeze drifting across the grass. I was feeling pretty free right then. No more Jessica Newark to bother me. I hated her making fun of my fashion sense. Like I really cared about their group of popular trends and know-it-all about boys. What point was there? I liked being a loner. It was easier.

I was going to have to see them at gymnastics class. Thing with being in the same area of school and community center, sometimes the two overlapped. But for now, I could ignore them as long as I stood on the other side of the gym. Too bad Michelle moved. Emailing isn’t the same as being there. Good friends are hard to find when you’re fighting to save the world. But that comes later in the story.

Like I said, I was enjoying the summer weather, in my favorite reading spot, alone, how I liked it. I heard a little swoosh of something approaching. I thought it was my cat Brewford coming out to visit me, so I looked up.

“Caw!”

I was startled by the bird squawk. Shaking my head, I tried to find the source and saw nothing. Oh well, time to get back to where the princess was just about to make her move out of her hiding place to reach for the magic locket and….

“Caw.”

Not again! I looked around for the source of the awkward noise. Nothing. I shrugged, looked down to read and…

“Caw. Caw!”

A great black bird hopped into the grass alcove I had created. The bird stalked forward with a grace that gave him authority. His large beak dipped down as he pointed one eye to look at me.

This was odd, but I wasn’t scared. Animals can be friendlier than people most of the time. “What are you doing here crow?” He continued to eye me, twisting his head back and forth. Then hopped up next to my arm. Now, this got me to back up a little. Mind you, it was only from being startled. I mean, how scary can a crow be? Except that normally crows didn’t act like this.

“Caw.” He fixed his eye on me again.

I was afraid to make any movement. Mostly, I was fascinated why the crow was doing this. Was I in his territory? Was it a female crow guarding her nest? I looked around for something in the grass. I thought of my butt crushing her eggs. Oops.

The crow came forward and dropped something that sparkled as it landed in my lap. It hopped backwards and looked at me with puppy dog eyes. This was definitely a strange bird.

I picked the thing up by the cord, and let it dangle in front of me. The crow watched, moving its head to follow the crystal pendant.

“Caw.” He/she/it continued to eye me sideways as I looked at the pendant.

The leather cord was worn, but still strong. It wrapped around a clear quartz crystal. Hints of sunlight sparkled as I turned it in my palm.

Definitely weird. “Curiouser and curiouser” kept repeating in my head like from a bad “Alice in Wonderland” cable movie. I turned it over watching the crystal catch the light. Etched into the crystal were lines or maybe writing, but it was nothing I’d seen before.

If I had known better, I would have dropped the crystal, and ran for my backyard fence. I could have never looked back. But I didn’t want that. And that Alice in Wonderland movie in my mind kept playing. Where did curious get her?

“Is this what you’ve been cawing so much about crow?” I held up the crystal.

“Caw.”

“Are you trying to tell me something,” I felt like one of the heroines in my books. Strange. I sat down leaning closer to the crow.

“Caw.” He hopped away from me and looked back. “Caw.” He began to bob up and down, moving back and forth.

“You want me to follow?” I kept my voice calm as the crow bobbed again, seemed to nod, and turned hopping through the tall grass.

That’s when I took a moment to think. I mean, this could have been my way out? But my sense of adventure was sparked. What was going on? Crows didn’t turn up out of nowhere, drop a crystal pendant in your lap, and hop away beggin’ you with a look to follow? That stuff only happened in movies or books.

I wanted to see what was going on. It could be a trained crow out drawing unsuspecting kids to some weirdo’s house. Like what they show on the news. Or even some new reality show catching unsuspecting kids in orchards. You know, cameras in the bushes somewhere. I tried to look around for something mounted on a tripod. But I doubted it. Nothing that exciting could happen to me. So I thought.

I looked at the crystal. It winked back a flash of light. Was there movement in it? What would the princess do? I had a choice, I guess, like her. I could go after the crow, or go back to reading.

I looked around. There was a rustling movement along the tops of grass stems as a flutter of black feathers rose above the jungle of high grass.

I got up, brushed off the clinging grass stems. I placed my book down under a half-covered rock, and held the crystal in my hand. I felt the wire wrapped tightly around the crystal.

Something began to puzzle me. I guess that’s why I decided to follow. Why was the crow doing this? What was this pendant? And if the crow was leading me on an adventure, it might be more exciting than just sitting here and reading. There was only one way to find out. I headed out after the crow and towards my destiny.

Up ahead I noticed the crow hopping towards a large walnut tree, or as the neighborhood kids called it, ‘The Great Oak’. It loomed ahead; its tire swing the center of a break in the grass jungle below the tree.

The crow hopped out into the leaf strung circle. It started to dance below the trunk.

“Caw, caw.” It seemed more agitated as its unfolded wing pointed toward the base of the trunk. Now, all doubts started to wash away. This was not a mix up or pretending to be on an adventure. The crow was pointing at the trunk.

“Is there something special about the trunk, you weird bird?” I stumbled over a stray dirt-clog and caught myself with my hand. I found myself splayed out like I’d fallen while skating.

“Caw. Come.” The crow nudged forward.

I hesitated. I mean, I thought the crow was actually talking. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I lifted my head to get a good look at it. The bird hopped closer and looked at me, beak to nose.

“Come.” “Caw.”

Did I hear that right? Was that come or caw? I closed my eyes a moment. I wanted to believe the crow had said come. It was like one of my favorite books. But crows couldn’t talk. But then, most crows don’t lead you to trees in the middle of orchards either.

I looked at the crow, which was still looking straight at me. I could almost hear Clint Eastwood music, waaah wahh wahhh.

The crow lost the staring contest by turning, and hopped onto the bottom of the trunk. Hop. It jumped through the trunk causing the opening to waiver, turn foggy and faint, and then back to a trunk again.

That did it. What ever was going on, I had to find out. I got up, brushed off the dirt, and started looking for a hole. There was none. I leaned against it, and felt its rough, flat surface. It was solid.

Did it really go into the tree? I could imagine myself bumping against the trunk and smashing my face. I thought of Jessica pointing and laughing, making comments about bad plastic surgery.

I backed away from the tree eyeing the trunk up and down. I looked at the crystal pendant and gripped it.

Well, I have nothing to loose except a smashed-face or a little dignity. Maybe if I brace for impact, it won’t hurt so much. The crystal warmed in my hand. There was a humming in my ear. I swatted around my face, but didn’t see insects. I saw something waver in the inner part of the trunk. I gripped the crystal harder and concentrated.

It’s just a quick hop forward. If I hold my arm out, it should break the impact. I eyed it slowly. It still looked like a regular tree trunk.

I leaned and put my arm forward. It went through sending tingles up my arm. Well, if this is the end, at least Jessica won’t get an opportunity to make fun of me again.

I stepped into the trunk.

Chapter 2

The Crystal Caves

“You can put that on now.”

In front of me was a small boy about three feet tall, with pointed ears and slightly green-tinged skin. I looked down at the crystal pendant. I took a moment.

Why not? I met up with weird looking green guys everyday, right? I must have fallen asleep or something. Wouldn’t hurt to follow orders, or would it?

He looked at me with a complete blank stare. I could tell nothing from his look. You know, I probably did fall asleep. I wonder if you’re supposed to pinch yourself or something. I reached down. Ouch. Yes. Awake.

The green pointy-eared guy raised an eyebrow. I wonder if he knows who Spock is? They could be brothers. I slipped the pendant on. The crystal began to glow with a dim, prismatic light.

“Come now.” The boy gestured to follow. “It’s time for you to meet the Queen.” The boy left through a hollowed opening to the right of the chamber. My crystal gave me the only light. I studied the chamber of grained curves. Dark waves of wood, smooth to my touch, outlined an opening across from where the boy disappeared.

“I wonder if Alice was as nervous as this.” I took another moment, to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Pinching done, check. Didn’t smash face at entrance. Check. Not much left but to head forward.

I headed towards the dark entrance, the crystal pendant sending out a strong white light to eat the darkness. When I got to the opening, I noticed that the wood crept back into dirt walls.

Taking a deep breath, I entered the tunnel, and noticed I was holding the crystal for reassurance. Its steady light seemed to seep into my hand. Warmth emitted from the crystal as I held it. It felt similar to the feeling of holding my blanket when I was three. I know, strange way to face my fear, but it worked for me.

I continued down the corridor of earth, dodging crystals that stuck out in different directions. Some were clear crystal quartz. Others were purple, orange, light yellow, or even dark black; creating stalactite barriers I had to work around.

I saw the strange boy ahead ducking around a deep amethyst point. Then, he stopped and was looking back at me. His dim features, lit by the crystals, showed me a smile that seemed to wink at me. Then, he disappeared around a bend in the tunnel.

“Heah, wait up! I hate hide and go seek.” I heard my own voice echo back at me. Captured by the crystals, an echo, in the sound of musical chords, ended my sentence. I stopped to cover my ears. The crashing of chords kept ringing for a while. Then, the music faded.

I ran my hands along the side of the walls, feeling the crystal edges. Tingles flowed up my arms and I drew it away. That was odd. I tried it again. Same tingles. Each crystal I touched felt warm and reassuring, like a new friend. I crept along the corridor and rounded the bend, and caught my breath.

It was a glowing cavern, with crystals of every color I could imagine, clustered together in one universal array. Points poked out like a giant pincushion. Thin to fat, tall points to small, were scattered in colors purple, light blue, yellow, pink, and blue-green. Each point had its own faceted design.

I didn’t know how long I’d been standing there. The word “Wow” sorta came out. It echoed back with added notes creating a musical chord like a harp. I tried another word. “Hello.” The tunnel echoed with another chord that sounded welcoming.

“Where did he go?” The mash of chords that reflected back startled me. I covered my ears again, bending down to shield myself from another onslaught of sound.

“Maybe-one-word-at-a-time-is-better,” I whispered back slowly. One single chord answered per word. There, that was better. I noticed a path at the bottom of the tunnel. A dirt trail was marked along each side by yellow crystal pyramids.

“It’s not the yellow brick road, but it will do”, I thought as I started down the crystal-lined path. I worked my way through the chasm of rock points. The ceiling was high enough; I didn’t need to duck down. But my neck started to hurt from looking at the huge clusters above me.

I saw the strange boy ahead of me on the path, and chased after him. I was getting mad now. How come he’s playing cat and mouse stuff. I gave up chasing boys on the playground long time ago. In 5^th grade, we all stood around and looked cool, unless you’re Jessica. The boys came to you.

Besides, I hate running, and he seemed like this world-class sprinter. He was soon out of the light the crystal pendant cast.

“Uhh, I hate to say this, but this would be easier if you just held up for a sec.” My breathing was becoming difficult. I stopped and bent over holding my side. Maybe I couldn’t keep up with him, but as long as there was a path, I knew where he was going.

At that thought, total darkness engulfed me. “Great, now I don’t even know where I’m going”. My crystal had stopped glowing. The tunnel around me was pitch-black. I put my hand in front of me. Well, at least it felt like I had. Now what?

I never really liked the dark and I was trying to keep my feeling of panic down. How would I get out? No sight in front or behind. I had no idea where I was, let alone see where I was going. But, I could feel. The thought popped into my mind like that. I remembered the warmth of the crystals in the corridor.

I bent down slowly to feel the edge of the path. The crystals still outlined it, and I stood up, cautious to tap the crystals with my foot. There. I could feel the edge with my toe. That should get me down the path.

I started out again. This time I moved along in the darkness by the toe-tap pattern that helped me feel the sides of the path. The crystals echoed in reply. I started a rhythm that they started to echo, and the pattern turned into a song. Soon, I felt like I was dancing along the path. Dancing in the Dark. Dancing out my heart, like something straight off of American Idol.

Finally, I could sense the echo was not as long; and it dulled to almost nothing. I reached out and found a wall. It must be another corridor. I felt my way along the wall. It was lined with small-terminated crystals that made my fingers tingle again.

“That was a very good idea to feel your way along the path. Keepers need to use their common sense to get out of trouble.” I recognized the strange boy’s voice ahead of me. “In a moment, you’ll come to a door. Feel your way to it.”

I started to reach out ahead of me with my other hand. Slowing my pace, I edged along one foot at a time until I felt a polished wood surface in front of me. I felt around for a handle and pulled it towards me.

Nothing. Now what? The door didn’t open. Pulling didn’t work. But duh, so simple I almost missed it. Some doors you have to push. Nothing like a little common sense.

I pushed forward and felt the door give way, then was blinded by a bright light. I rubbed my eyes, and saw a young girl standing next to the boy. She had beautiful purple eyes and matching skin, with long silver braided hair.

The girl waved forward. “She’s expecting you Wanda. Hurry; there isn’t much time to save us all.”

Chapter 3

The Banquet

My eyes quickly readjusted to the light spilling into the tunnel around me. I got a good look at the boy now. He looked as if he were a page in some medieval court, complete with hose and tunic. He was dressed in different shades of brown, green, and black. His green skin seemed to be accented by his brown curls.

The girl was more extravagant, with a flowing gown and varying layers of silken material that flowed around her in lavender and blue. But her skin tone seemed to be a purple color. Her hair was French braided along her head, crowned with a small circlet of silver. A purple crystal decorated the circlet between her brows.

I studied them. I put my hands on my hips, feeling just like my mom. “Why have you led me here? Where am I? Who are you?”

The girl raised her hand as the boy stifled a giggle. “We are called Lavendora and Malik.”

“But why me? Where am I?” I was feeling used. Were these some new weird kids to the neighborhood? Were they just having some sick fun with me? And where was this place? I’ve been in the orchard way too many times before, and had never been in a cave. Let alone come through the tree.

“All answers are given when it is time.” Lavendora motioned forward. “Come. The Queen awaits.”

 

Click here to buy the book: Tiffany Turner’s The Lost Secret of Fairies: The Crystal Keeper Chronicles Book 1>>