Lief’s heart beat faster as he and Barda plunged their paddles into the rainbow water and the boat began moving forward once more.
Far away, in the palace in Del, Josef the librarian sighed. The day was still young, but comparing the official library catalogue to the books actually on the shelves was a sad and tiring task.
Many books were missing. Some might have been put away on the wrong shelves. But most, Josef suspected, had been quietly removed and destroyed, because they contained things that the Shadow Lord had wanted Deltorans to forget.
At least I was able to save The Deltora Annals, Josef thought, glancing at the pale blue books standing in pride of place near the library work tables. So King Lief was able to read of the Pirran Pipe, the only thing which can help him save the prisoners in the Shadowlands. And he could see Doran’s map, which will lead him to the three parts of the Pipe when he returns from the Os-Mine Hills.
When he returns … Josef’s brow creased. Now he came to think about it, where was Lief? Surely he should have returned long ago.
The old librarian’s stomach knotted with sudden fear. Why, Lief and the Belt of Deltora were the land’s only defences against the Shadow Lord. What if …?
Ringing laughter disturbed the library’s silence. Startled and angered, Josef shuffled forward, but stopped when he saw where the sound was coming from.
His apprentice, Ranesh, was bending over the table where sat Marilen, the young Toran visitor who had spent many hours in the library of late.
Marilen had several weighty books open in front of her, but she was looking up at Ranesh, her eyes dancing. As Josef watched, Ranesh murmured something, and the girl laughed again.
Josef hesitated, very troubled. He was not wise in the ways of the world, but he had been young once. Something about that laughter, and the look on Marilen’s face, warned him that this situation was not as it should be.
Lief had asked Josef to make Marilen welcome in the library, but not to speak of her to others. Marilen was a very special guest, Lief had said, but her presence in the palace must be kept secret—at least until his return from the Os-Mine Hills.
Josef had smiled discreetly. He had not been in the palace long, but already he had heard the rumours that Lief had gone to Tora to choose a bride. He had no doubt as to who this beautiful, high-born young lady called Marilen was.
Now this same young lady was laughing with Ranesh in a way that did not seem at all fitting. And Ranesh was surely leaning far too close to one who was the future queen of Deltora.
Josef felt panic rise within him. Nothing but harm could come of this. Harm for the girl who had been put in his care. And terrible harm to Ranesh, who Josef loved liked the son he had never had.
Bitterly Josef blamed himself for being so wrapped up in his work that he had failed to see what was happening under his very nose. He had paid no attention to how much time the two young people were spending together.
I must stop this at once, before it goes too far! he thought wildly. I must speak to Ranesh. Send him away, perhaps. Just for a time. Until—
At that moment, Ranesh looked up and his eyes met Josef’s. His teeth flashed in a seemingly casual grin. But Josef knew his apprentice too well to be deceived. Josef recognised the gleam in those dark eyes.
It was the gleam of defiance. Josef remembered it from the days of the Shadow Lord’s rule, when Ranesh had often slipped back into their cellar home below the old pottery with bread, cheese or fruit under his jacket.
Josef, weak with hunger, had always eaten what he was given. But he had felt uneasy, nonetheless. He knew that Ranesh, once a homeless orphan surviving alone on the streets of Del, would not hesitate to steal to feed them both.
‘Did we disturb you, Josef?’ Ranesh called. ‘I am sorry. But Marilen and I have just discovered that we are both from the west. She is from Tora, I from Where Waters Meet. Is it not strange?’
‘I am going down to the kitchen for a warming drink, Ranesh,’ Josef said stiffly. ‘Please join me as soon as you can. I wish to talk to you about—about an important matter.’
He turned abruptly and hobbled out of the library. Nodding to the guards, he started moving carefully down the stairs.
Josef had never felt less like a warming drink. His fears had made him far too warm already. But he knew that the kitchen would be a safe place to talk to Ranesh, for Marilen never ventured below the library floor. Her meals were all carried up to her bed chamber by Sharn, Lief’s mother.
It is a lonely life for a young girl, Josef thought. No wonder she enjoys Ranesh’s company. And he must be flattered and pleased by the admiration of one so beautiful and high-born. But it will not do. No, it will not do.
Clinging tightly to the banisters, he began to move a little faster. Oh, let Lief be safe, and let him return soon, he thought desperately. Then there will be no need for me to send Ranesh away. Lief’s return will solve everything!
2 - Warnings
Little knowing the trouble that was brewing in Del—more trouble than even Josef suspected—Lief was paddling as fast as he could towards the land ahead.
The island was shimmering in the distance. Bright pink and yellow weed grew thickly in the shallows that surrounded it. Several times Lief thought he glimpsed movement on the shore, but it was difficult to be sure.
‘I can see small buildings, I think,’ said Jasmine, squinting into the rainbow haze. ‘Not like the houses of the Plumes, though. Much simpler dwellings, shaped like cones. Of course, they could be rocks …’
‘Indeed they could, and probably are,’ Barda growled. ‘If the map is accurate, and our course has been straight, this land is not Auron, but the small island to its east. The one marked with a cross.’
‘We should keep our wits about us, in any case,’ said Jasmine. ‘Remember what Clef and Azan said.’
Lief remembered only too well. The people of Plume had given their part of the Pirran Pipe gladly. But they had warned the companions that the people of Auron would not do the same with the Pipe’s stem.
The Plumes had nothing but hatred for their ancient enemies. They wanted to attack Auron and take the second part of the Pipe by force. Their anger had flared when Lief disagreed.
The Plume leader, the Piper, Nols, had frowned. And the young Plumes, Clef and Azan in particular, had argued violently.
‘The people of Auron will use their magic against you without pity!’ Clef cried. ‘To enter their territory unprotected would be madness! They are as savage as the monsters they breed in their seas.’
‘The Aurons breed monsters?’ Barda exclaimed disbelievingly.
‘Indeed! There are many old tales of it,’ Clef insisted. ‘We have long believed that The Fear, the beast you killed, was sent by the Aurons to prey upon us.’
Azan nodded agreement. ‘And they will never give up their part of the Pirran Pipe. Never, while they live. What is more, they will take our part of the Pipe from you, and keep it for themselves!’
‘No. It will be safe with us,’ said Lief steadily.
‘Your promises are useless,’ cried Azan. ‘Once the Aurons see you in one of our boats, they will slay you as viciously as they would slay three defenceless Plumes.’
‘We are not defenceless!’ Jasmine snapped. ‘And how do you know what the Aurons would do? The way between your sea and theirs has only now been opened after hundreds of years. Their feelings about you may have changed.’
‘Why should they?’ Clef asked shortly. ‘Our feelings about them have not changed.’
The arguments had continued for days, but at last the companions had been allowed to leave alone. Plume was far behind them now. Their memories of their friends’ warnings had not faded, however. If anything, they had grown stronger.