Deltora Quest #8: Return to Deltora (5 page)

Many days passed. Slow days for Lief, Barda, and Jasmine, cooped up in the caravan. They knew from Steven’s songs that Ak-Baba had flown overhead and Ols in all shapes had stared as the caravan passed by. But the caravan was a familiar sight to the Ak-Baba, and the
Ols were not interested in it. They had been ordered to keep watch — but not for that.

Steven was singing again, giving the news.

A few minutes later, the caravan stopped, the back doors were thrown open, and the companions scrambled out. It was just past sunset. A rocky hill rose in front of them. The main road curved around the hill to the right. Another track wound off to the left. A signpost stood at the fork. Lief’s throat tightened as he read it.

“We must take the Del road, but it will be a journey into the unknown,” said Steven. “I know nothing of it, and neither does Doom. He always travels overland in these parts. The hills that hide the coast are treacherous, he says. But he prefers them.”

“I would prefer them, also,” muttered Jasmine.

“And I,” growled Barda. “But we must stay hidden. If we are sighted here, the decoys in the west will have risked their lives to no purpose.”

Lief was looking at the Del road. Endon and Sharn had no doubt followed it from the city, the night they escaped. They would not have tried to go overland, with Sharn so close to giving birth to her child.

He tried to imagine how it would have been. The road would have been crowded. Many fled from Del that night. He remembered his father’s sad voice, telling him about it. “Your mother and I stayed shut up in the forge all through the uproar. When at last we opened our gates, we found ourselves alone. Friends, neighbors, old customers — all were gone. Killed, captured, or fled.”

“We had been expecting something of the sort,” Lief’s mother had added. “But the confusion was worse than even we had imagined. It took a long time for life in Del to begin again. When it did, we were ready. And so grateful — because we were safe, and so were you, my son, for by that time you had been born, and were the light of our lives. But …” Her strong voice trembled. “But we feared for those who had fled.”

Those who had fled.

Unrecognized in their humble working clothes, Endon and Sharn would have lost themselves in the panicking crowd. They would have hurried along with others moving west, suffering who knew what terrors. Then, when the blackbird carrying Tora’s message reached them, they would have realized that there was no point in continuing.

What would they have done then? Moved off the road. Found a place to hide. Endon knew the Belt would
never again shine for him. Deltora’s only hope lay with his child. He and Sharn had to find a place where the baby could be born in safety. Where?

Lief was roused by Jasmine’s sharp voice. “Lief! We must go, so we can find a place to stop for the night.”

Lief turned to the caravan. But his thoughts still dwelled on a time before he was born, and on two desperate people he had never known, searching for refuge.

R
ain threatened as they set off the next day. The companions cared nothing for that, cheered by Steven’s assurance that they would reach Withick Mire before sunset. But they had not gone far before his voice reached them with bad news.

“What is a gripper field?” whispered Jasmine, as the caravan jerked to a stop.

“It cannot be worse than Grey Guards, in any case,” growled Barda. “And Guards, it seems, are ahead.”

The caravan doors were thrown open, and Steven looked in.

“The road is blocked,” he hissed. “The Guards must be searching all carts that pass.” He heaved a barrel from a corner as Lief, Barda, and Jasmine scrambled out onto the road. They were hidden from the Guards because the caravan had stopped in the middle of a bend. But once it moved on …

Lief looked quickly for a way of escape. On one side was sheer, high rock. On the other was a field, bordered by thickly wooded hills.

“Make for the hills,” muttered Steven. “With luck, the Guards will not notice you. We will meet further on. Take care. The stones are hard to —”

He broke off as a hoarse shout came from the road ahead. He slammed the doors and moved to the front of the caravan, carrying the barrel. “I am coming, sirs,” he called. “With ale, for your pleasure.”

The companions heard him climb onto the driver’s seat. Then the caravan began to move.

Kree soared towards the hills. Lief, Barda, and Jasmine rolled into the ditch that edged the road.

“I see no sign of grippers, whatever they may be,” Barda whispered, scanning the field.

Indeed, the field appeared quite empty. The only unusual thing about it was its bright green color, caused by a multitude of large, flat weeds. Like round mats made up of circles of broad leaves, the weeds pressed closely together, almost choking out the grass.

Lief glanced along the road. The caravan had almost reached the Guards. There were ten — a whole
pod. The road was blocked by fallen trees. Heaps of rubbish, empty barrels, and boxes lay everywhere. Plainly, the Guards had been on duty here for months.

They will be bored, eager for entertainment, Lief thought, his heart sinking.

“And what do we have here?” one of the Guards shouted. “A big, ugly tick with a horse to match!” There was a gale of laughter as his brothers gathered around the caravan, their eyes fixed on Steven.

“Now!” hissed Barda.

Keeping together under the shelter of Lief’s cloak, the companions began scrambling forward. But almost at once Barda staggered, with a muffled cry of pain. At the same moment, Jasmine gasped and fell to her knees.

Lief whirled around, crouching to help them. But when he put down his left hand to brace himself, the ground gave way beneath it, and his hand was dragged down by something that bit and burned.

His hand had sunk into the center of one of the flat weeds. The center was widening, sucking at his arm, drawing it down …

Wildly, Lief tore himself free. His hand was covered in blood. The center of the plant gaped like a huge, flabby-lipped mouth, flecked with red. With horror, Lief looked down at the rows of vicious teeth lining the green throat that plunged deep into the earth.

The plants! Grippers! Steven thought we knew …

Beside him, Jasmine struggled to free her trapped leg as Filli squealed in terror, trying vainly to help her,
and Kree flew back to her side. Barda floundered in agony behind them, both legs caught and sinking.

Lief seized Jasmine’s arms and heaved. Her leg came free dripping blood, and all around her grippers opened their hideous mouths wide. Cheers rang out from the road, and for a moment Lief thought they had been seen. But when he looked, he saw that the Guards had their backs to the field. They were gathered around the barrel, filling their mugs.

“Barda!” choked Jasmine. Barda was pinned to the ground. All four of his limbs were trapped, now. His neck strained as he fought to hold his face away from a pulsing, greedy green mouth gaping just below it. Every moment he sank deeper, deeper …

Why am I not sinking? thought Lief. He looked down. He was standing on a patch of pale grass. Then he realized that the grass was covering a flat stone. Steven had begun to say something about stones …

The stones are hard to
— to see!

With a moan of frustration Lief saw pale patches making a line through the field. Stepping stones! A path that would always be safe because, though grass could overgrow a stone, grippers could only grow in deep earth.

He and Jasmine were standing on stones right now. Barda lay in a seething mass of bright green. But the line of stones snaked beside him.

“Jasmine! The pale patches are safe!” Lief hissed. “Move back along them!” As she sprang to obey, he snatched his rope from his belt and followed.

When he reached her, Jasmine was stabbing viciously at the grippers holding Barda. The plants were quivering and recoiling a little. Lief pushed the end of the rope under Barda’s chest. Then, leaning over perilously, he pulled it through on the other side and knotted it, pulling it tight under the big man’s arms.

“Help me, Barda!” he gasped, pulling with all his might. And Barda, making a final, anguished effort, groaned and arched his body.

His arms came free. The sleeves of his jacket were torn to ribbons, soaked with blood. The greedy mouths beneath him yawned wide.

Her teeth bared in disgust, Jasmine began attacking the leaves around Barda’s trapped legs. Again Lief heaved on the rope. This time Barda could help little. Blood flowed freely from his torn flesh, and he had almost lost consciousness. But at last, with agonizing slowness, his legs began to ease out of the ground, till he was free.

Jasmine and Lief rolled him onto the stepping stones and began half carrying, half dragging him towards the hills.

The noise from the road rose to a gleeful roar. The Guards had thought of a new entertainment. Five of them were holding Steven at dagger’s point. The other five were pulling the horse towards the gripper field. The creature, sensing its danger, was rearing and plunging, screaming in terror.

The Guards were cheering. Steven was shouting at them to stop, to stop! His huge brown figure with its crown of golden hair was almost hidden in a jostling crowd of grey uniforms.

Lief’s blood ran cold. “Jasmine, faster!” he cried. The trees were not far away now. A few more steps …

There was a spine-chilling bellow. Lief looked up. The Guards were falling to the ground, their hands pressed to their eyes. Steven was staggering back, blinding yellow light pouring from his body like smoke. Then another figure was rising in front of him, taking shape in the glare. A golden giant, with a wild mane of dark brown hair.

“Nevets,” Lief whispered.

The giant’s body was covered in golden fur. His yellow eyes glittered with cruel fury. His massive fingers were tipped with viciously curved brown claws. He lunged for the terrified horse and swung it to safety. Then, growling like a beast, he began snatching up the screaming, writhing Guards, shaking them like dolls, and tearing them apart.

Lief and Jasmine stood frozen in horror. Steven crawled to his feet, and saw them. “Go!” he roared. “Once he has begun, I cannot stop him! Get out of his sight!”

Safe under the trees, Lief and Jasmine bandaged Barda’s terrible wounds, wrapped him in blankets, and gave him
Queen Bee honey. But the bleeding would not stop, and Barda did not stir. Rain began, soaking, icy.

Desperately, Lief looked for shelter. Then he gave a cry of amazement. Not far away, like the answer to a prayer, was an old stone hut, almost hidden by bushes. Of course! The stepping stones had once led to someone’s home.

With Kree fluttering anxiously above them, Lief and Jasmine hauled Barda to the hut. Inside, it was dark, for the small windows were filmed with dirt. There was a musty, unpleasant smell. But it was dry, and its fireplace was piled with sticks and dead grass.

They dragged Barda inside and Jasmine ran to the fireplace. In moments she had started a fire. The tinder-dry wood crackled as flames leaped up. Light began to flicker around the tiny room.

And it was then that Lief saw what lay in a corner.

Two skeletons were propped against the wall. Scraps of clothing still clung to the bones, and hair to the skulls, so Lief could see that it had been a man and a woman who had crept in here to die. Then he saw that the woman cradled in her arms, in the tatters of a shawl, another small heap of bones — the bones of a tiny baby.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. He forced himself to take a step forward, then another. There was something lying at the man’s feet. A flat tin box.

“No!” Jasmine’s hushed voice was filled with fear, but Lief did not stop. He picked up the box and opened
it. Inside was a scrap of parchment covered in black writing. He squinted at it, the terrible words dancing before his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“What is it?” whispered Jasmine.

Lief read the note aloud. His voice sounded thin, like the voice of someone he did not know.

The note crushed in his hand, Lief stared at the bones. He could not take in what he was seeing.

The heir to Deltora was not safe in hiding, waiting for them. The heir had been dead all along.

“This Endon was a man who did not deserve to be king,” Jasmine said harshly. “Weak and peevish, filled with pity for himself. It is what I always feared.”

Lief forced himself to speak. “You are cruel, Jasmine!” he whispered. “He had lost all he loved when he wrote this note. He was in despair.”

“He caused his loss himself!” Jasmine spat. “If he had been brave enough to depend on himself for once, they would have survived, as my parents did. There is wood here. I heard the sound of a stream. There are berries and other wild foods.”

She shook her head angrily. “But oh, no! Still looking for others to hold his hand and make his life easy, he could not even try to help himself or his family. And so they ended in this barren place, starving and cold, and his wife and her little one died.” Her eyes were brimming with tears as she stared at the tiny, ragged bundle resting on the woman’s breast.

“We will never know the truth of it,” Lief said heavily. “But one thing we do know. Without the heir to wear it, the Belt cannot save Deltora.”

His chest was tight, his stomach churning. Barda is dying, he thought. Dying for a cause that was lost before it began. And Mother and Father! How much have they suffered? All for nothing. Nothing! Father’s plan to help his friend and hide the heir led only to death and misery. Who told him the lie that the Belt would remain whole only while the heir lived?

Was it stated in
The Belt of Deltora
? Lief searched his
memory. No! He was sure — positive — that the little book had never mentioned any such thing. Why had he not thought of that before?

Because I simply believed what Father told me, he thought dismally. As no doubt Father believed someone else. Prandine, perhaps. Or even Endon himself. He bowed his head, in an agony of despair.