The locket! Lief plunged his hand into his pocket and winced. He had forgotten that his hand was cut and bleeding. He felt around with his fingers, but the locket was not there.
‘Filli has it,’ Jasmine said softly. ‘Do you not remember? You gave it to him for safekeeping, when you thought you would not survive. You told him to take it out of the castle. And so he did. He has been waiting to return it to you.’
‘Indeed,’ said Barda. ‘He would not give it up to anyone else—even Mariette. The emerald dragon is not the only one in this land who values honour.’
Proudly Filli climbed down from Jasmine’s shoulder, uncurled his paw and tipped the locket into Lief’s waiting hand.
Lief opened the locket. Inside, as he had expected, was a small painting of Bede.
‘Jasmine, your dagger?’ he asked.
Jasmine passed the dagger to him. Gently, using the dagger’s point, Lief prised the little picture out.
And behind it, pressed into the back of the locket, was a small pad of tightly folded paper. Lief picked it out in turn and carefully unfolded it.
Together the companions stared at the grim name of their next goal, and noted how far away it was. They stared at the new lines of verse, wondering what they meant. But no-one said a word, and after a few moments Lief folded the paper again, and thrust it deep into his pocket.
They all knew that, all too soon, he would have to take it out again. Soon they would have to travel on, and face whatever dangers might come.
Troubling questions would have to be faced, too. How, despite all their secrecy, had the guardian of the north known where they were, almost every step of the way? Why did the Masked Ones hate the king so bitterly? Where had Laughing Jack gone? Would they see him again? Was he still a threat to them?
But this—this moment under the hazy blue sky—was not a time for plans and questions, but for rejoicing.
They were safe. The dread song of the Sister of the North had been silenced forever. At last, the land of the north could throw off its mask of death, and begin to live again.
For now, that was all that mattered.
Copyright
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First published in 2004.
This edition published in 2011.
Text and graphics copyright © Emily Rodda, 2004.
Graphics by Kate Rowe.
Cover illustrations copyright © Scholastic Australia, 2004.
Cover illustrations by Marc McBride.
Collectors’ Edition cover design by Nicole Leary.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, unless specifically permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 as amended.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Rodda, Emily, 1948-.
Shadowgate.
For children aged 9 and above.
ISBN 978-1-74169-958-6.
Title. (Series : Rodda, Emily, 1948– Deltora quest 3 ; 2).
A823.3
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eISBN: 978-1-921-98968-1