‘I am sorry to have wasted your time, your majesty,’ he said with dignity. ‘It is just that—I want so much to help you. Forgive me for saying so, but you are bearing great burdens for one so young.’
Suddenly, Lief could pretend no longer. ‘I fear I am not bearing them very bravely at present, Josef,’ he said. His throat tightened and he bowed his head.
Timidly Josef put a hand on his arm. ‘I have lived long,’ he said. ‘I have lived through terrible times, and seen terrible things. But I have never lost faith. That is what saved me. You must have faith in yourself, your majesty, faith in your destiny.’
‘Destiny,’ Lief muttered.
‘Yes!’ The old man nodded violently. ‘You are the true heir of the great Adin, and not just because his blood runs in your veins. Surely it is no accident that you were born and raised not in this grand palace, but in Adin’s old home? Why, day after day you worked with your father at the very same blacksmith’s forge where Adin beat out the steel that was to become the Belt of Deltora!’
Lief gave a muffled exclamation, but Josef rushed on.
‘You are heir to all the Belt’s magic and power, my king,’ he said. ‘Surely it will aid you now. See how Del’s topaz, the symbol of faith, shines for you?’
Lief’s fingers slid down and touched the golden topaz in the Belt of Deltora. But still he did not raise his head or speak.
Josef glanced nervously at Barda, who was looking puzzled and almost afraid.
They both started as there was a timid knock. They turned to see the fluffy golden head and small face of Josef’s assistant, Paff, peeping around the door.
‘Forgive me, Josef, your majesty—oh!—and captain of the guards!’ Paff gasped, her pink-tipped nose twitching nervously. ‘But—the people are growing restless. I was sent to ask you—’
‘The full moon,’ Lief murmured. ‘Full moon … Of course! But I need Doom. And Doom is in the west, in Tora. I must …’
Paff’s eyes grew very wide. Her small mouth dropped open.
‘Paff!’ said Josef. ‘Leave us! His majesty is not—’
But Lief had raised his head. His eyes were clear and bright.
‘Josef! A pen and paper, quickly, if you please!’ he said. ‘Barda, I need the fastest messenger bird we have—Jasmine’s favourite, Ebony, if she is here. And Paff, please let the people know that I will be with them in one moment. We will have our meeting and then—then I have something of great importance to tell them.’
3 - The Full Moon Meeting
The meeting ran its usual course through the day. Reports and complaints were made, questions were asked and answered. None of the news was good, but Lief kept nothing back.
He knew that it was no use trying to give the people false comfort. They had eyes and ears. They knew only too well that times were hard. They would see through any pretence in a moment.
To be seen by all, he had to stand on the stairs that led to the upper floors of the palace. Just a little closer to the source of the voice that soon came back to torment him.
He fought it by keeping his hands on the Belt of Deltora—using the power of the gems, keeping his fingertips on the amethyst that soothed, the diamond for strength, the topaz that cleared the mind.
But the voice was relentless. Its poison dripped into his mind hour after hour, till his stomach was churning and his clothes were damp with sweat.
Soon, he told himself. Soon …
The Belt cannot save you, little king.
Abruptly the voice left him. His head reeled with the sudden freedom. He became aware that Barda had taken his arm, that the people were staring up at him in fear. He realised that he must have staggered.
‘I am sorry,’ he said. ‘I … am a little tired.’
‘The king must rest now,’ said Barda. ‘Thank you all—’
There was a stir from the crowd as a woman holding a sleeping baby scrambled quickly to her feet. The woman was gaunt, and her clothes, though carefully washed and pressed, were ragged. She looked nervous, but stood very straight, with her shoulders back.
‘I am Iris of Del, boot maker and mender, wife of Paulie and mother of Jack,’ she began, identifying herself as was the custom at these meetings. ‘I have a question.’
As Lief met her determined eyes, he knew exactly what she was going to ask. Plainly Barda knew it too. The big man stiffened and began to raise his hand as if to say that it was too late, that no more questions could be answered.
‘Yes, Iris,’ Lief said quickly.
The woman hesitated, biting her lip as though suddenly regretting her boldness. Then she looked down at the baby in her arms and seemed to gain confidence.
‘There is something worrying my husband and me, sir,’ she said. ‘I am sure it must be worrying many others, too, but no-one has yet spoken of it.’
Lief saw that many people in the crowd were nodding and murmuring to one another. So—the word has spread, he thought. All the better. It will make what I have to tell them easier, if they are prepared. I only wish …
He opened his mouth to speak, then froze as there was a sudden stir near the doorway. Two women shrieked and ducked, a man shouted and a small child gave a high-pitched cry of excitement.
Then the whole crowd was exclaiming, looking up.
A messenger bird had soared through the doorway and into the palace. Lief’s heart gave a great leap as it sped towards him.
‘Kree!’ Barda muttered.
Kree landed on Lief’s outstretched arm and waited until Lief had taken the scroll from his beak before squawking a greeting. Lief unrolled the note.
‘Thank you, Kree,’ he said, passing the note to Barda. He did not know how to feel. He needed Doom urgently, and was filled with relief at the thought that Toran magic was speeding him to Del. But he would rather Jasmine had remained in the west, in Tora, where she would be safe.
Then he shook his head. How could he have thought Jasmine would agree to that?
‘I must have been mad,’ he said aloud. Barda nudged him, and he glanced up. Iris was still standing in the centre of the crowd, looking bewildered.
‘Go on, Iris,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘I am sorry for the interruption.’
The woman swallowed, tightened her grip on her child, and spoke again.
‘It sounds foolish, but Paulie and I half feared to come here today, sir,’ she said. ‘Especially as we had to bring our little Jack with us. We have heard rumours that somehow the Shadow Lord has returned—that he lurks here in the palace, in a locked room above stairs. Is that—could that be—true?’
‘No, it is not!’ barked Barda, before Lief could speak. ‘The Enemy has been exiled to the Shadowlands, as well you know.’
But Iris’s anxious eyes had never left Lief’s face.
‘We have heard that the Enemy talks to you, sir, in your mind,’ she said in a low voice. ‘And perhaps to others too, for all we know.’
‘That is so,’ Lief said quietly, ignoring the pressure of Barda’s hand on his arm. ‘And it is time to tell you about it. I was going to do so today in any case, as soon as the time for questions was over. Thank you for giving me a way to begin.’
Very flustered, not knowing whether to be pleased or afraid, Iris sank back down beside her husband. He put his arm around her and gently touched the baby’s cheek with a work-stained finger.
The room was very still as Lief began to speak.
‘On the third floor of the palace, in a sealed room, there is a thing called the crystal,’ he said. ‘It is a piece of thick glass set into a small table, and it has been in the room where it now stands for hundreds of years. The Shadow Lord can speak through it, as you or I might speak through an open window.’
A murmur of dread rippled through the crowd.