Ian Johnstone - Circles of Stone

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2015

HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright © Ian Johnstone 2015

Cover photography © Eliz Huseyin

Ian Johnstone asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007491179

Ebook Edition © 2015 ISBN: 9780007491209

Version: 2015-06-08

“I became totally immersed in an amazing world of painted words … breathtaking and an absolute joy to read. A book that you will reflect on for the rest of your life. Just like when you first read The Hobbit or took your first stroll along the story path of Terry Pratchett … An epic masterpiece.” Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books

“Johnstone effortlessly conjures up elaborate worlds rich in both magic and fantasy. The Bell Between Worlds has an enchanting quality that is capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials … The narrative flows with ease and the story maintains excitement right to the end. This highly-charged adventure is a delightful page-turner for both children and adults alike.”

We Love This Book

For Mum and Dad, who let me dream

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

Part One: The Valley

1. Safe Harbour

2. Sylva

3. The Valley

4. Sorcery

5. The Garden

6. Born

7. The Merisi Band

8. The Choice

9. Friends

10. Hope and Despair

11. Duty

12. Exodus

13. The Way

14. The Tempest

15. Undone

16. Remember

17. Death

18. The Kraven

19. Never Look Back

20. What You Are Not

21. Doubt

22. Faith

Epilogue

Part Two: The Yin and the Yang

23. What Magic

24. Wonders Scientific

25. Unthinkable

26. The Time Machine

27. War

28. Home

29. Mr Zhi

30. The Lost Legion

31. Things

32. The Black

33. Before The Storm

34. Time

35. The Place of Tongues

36. Ragers

37. The Temple of Isia

38. The Climb

39. Discovered

40. On the Threshold

41. Salve for the Soul

42. The Bond that Binds

43. The Merisi

44. The Glen

Part Three: Knowing

45. The Fruit of the Knowing Tree

46. Trapped

47. The Girl

48. The Beginning and the End

49. Laythlick

50. Good Medicine

51. The Motherland

52. The Silent Surge

53. The Darkling Horde

54. Of Glove and the Hand

55. Isia’s Song

56. A Proposition

57. Surge

58. Sacrifice

59. The Elements

60. Storm

61. Shattered

62. The Source

63. Burdens to Bear

64. Gather the Suhl

65. Journey’s End

66. The Perilous Path

67. The Glimmertrome

68. Our Riven Soul

69. A light in the Darkness

70. At Last

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Books by Ian Johnstone

About the Publisher

“From the frothing talons of tempest a single craft emerged – broken but afloat – drifting wearily to safe harbour .”

THE TWO GIANT TREES towered above the others, their arms outstretched as though claiming the ancient forest as their own. But it was not only their size that made these mighty oaks so magical, nor their drapery of white where the other trees wore thin cloaks of orange and brown leaves. What made them wondrous was their slow graceful motion. Like commanders inspecting their troops they took a stately path between the lesser trees, sweeping this way and that through the vast skeletal canopy.

And so it was that as the forest chattered and rustled and chirped its welcome, the great masts of the Windrush brought it to the end of its long journey.

The captain heaved at the wheel and the battered old ship turned another bend in the river. He brushed back his ragged mop of blond curls and peered through the pockets of evening mist. He frowned and blinked.

“This is it …” he muttered, raising his head to look for his companions. “This is it!”

Simia was sitting with her feet dangling over the side of the ship and did not look up.

“You said that three bends ago, Ash,” she grumbled, throwing a pebble into the river. “And two bends before that.”

“But it really is this time, I’m sure of it! Get Naeo … or Sylas … either – both of them!”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n …” grumbled Simia, giving him a wilting salute.

She made her way to the nearest hatch and disappeared below. Moments later her shock of red hair reappeared above deck and behind her another girl stepped into view. She looked about the same age as Simia but was taller and climbed the ladder lightly, with a longer, more graceful step. Her blonde hair was drawn back and held in place by a criss-cross of sticks, revealing a narrow neck and delicate features. As she stepped on to the deck, she fixed Ash with her piercing blue eyes.

He grinned and stepped down from the helm. “Naeo, look – look at the trees!” he exclaimed, striding past them both to the bow of the ship. “There’s something about them – this has to be it!”

Simia and Naeo walked up and stood at his shoulders, staring out at the forest. Birds flitted from branch to branch as the aged trees hung over the swirling waters, dropping the occasional long-dead leaf. Above, the canopy ascended towards two hills, themselves blanketed in yet more forest. There was perhaps an odd quality to the light, a slight vividness to the mottled browns and oranges, but otherwise everything looked normal.

“Ash, they look just like the million other trees we’ve passed,” said Simia, shaking her head. “Except these ones are getting really close – I mean really close – shouldn’t you be at the wheel?”

The river curved away in a wide bend and the Windrush was indeed drawing ever closer to the far bank. Ash sighed his disappointment, then pushed back from the handrail.

“Don’t!” exclaimed Naeo suddenly. She looked up at him. “Wait.”

She leaned forward and peered into the tangle of branches ahead.