Then Gla-Thon blinked, and the greedy, suspicious light disappeared.
‘Certainly,’ she said calmly. ‘The emeralds to help those who have been poisoned. And the amethysts to test food.’
‘Indeed,’ said Lief, very grateful for her quick understanding. ‘There are some jewels here in the palace, but not enough. Naturally the Dread Mountain gems will be returned as soon as the crisis has passed.’
‘Naturally.’ Gla-Thon bowed slightly. From one of her pockets she pulled a small bag. She tipped the bag’s contents into the palm of her hand and held out a small pile of emeralds, gleaming like green fire.
‘I had hoped to purchase food to take home at the end of my stay,’ she said. ‘Things on Dread Mountain are improving, but the crops are still young. I soon realised my hope was foolish, but now I am glad I brought the gems with me. They will help us make a start.’
‘But surely only the gems in the Belt can—’ Lindal began.
‘Lesser gems are only shadows of the seven in the Belt of Deltora, but still they have some power, especially in large numbers,’ said Gla-Thon. ‘The Dread Gnomes have always known this. It is one of the reasons we value gems so highly.’
‘My plan is to gather all the sick into one place, and the emeralds with them,’ Lief said. ‘But the place cannot be the palace, which must be cleared of as many people as possible. I am not sure where else—’ He glanced at Doom uncertainly.
‘The great food store house near the square is almost empty,’ Doom said. ‘There is space there for hundreds of beds. Gers, perhaps, can begin the work while I fetch the palace jewels. I will join him as soon as I can.’
Gers grunted agreement.
‘Very well,’ said Gla-Thon. ‘I will see to the gems. I need only a bird to send the message, and the thing will be done.’
‘I will fetch a bird,’ Jasmine said, moving eagerly to join Gla-Thon at the door.
‘Fetch two,’ Lief called after her. ‘Zeean must write again to Marilen.’
‘Must I indeed?’ murmured Zeean. ‘And what am I to say?’
Lief glanced at her. She had lowered herself into a chair. Her hand was raised to the darkening bruise beneath her eye as if it pained her.
‘Your people must be told that the Toran Plague is a lie, and that soon everyone in Del will know it,’ he said.
Zeean nodded slowly. ‘And what else?’
Lief hesitated. He had planned to speak further to Zeean in private. Plainly, however, she had already guessed the second part of the message and was not going to permit him to keep any secrets.
Perhaps she is right, he thought. Everyone should understand what may be ahead.
‘Marilen must come to Del without delay,’ he said reluctantly. ‘She is the heir to the Belt of Deltora. When I face the Sister of the South Marilen must be here, standing in readiness to put on the Belt should I not survive.’
He paused. The room was utterly still. Zeean had closed her eyes. Everyone else was staring at him in shock.
‘Barda and Jasmine will be with me,’ Lief went on, without looking at either of his companions. ‘It will be their task to take the Belt from me and deliver it safely to Marilen, if they feel the time is right.’
‘You have faced three Sisters before this, and three guardians too, Lief,’ Barda said, almost angrily. ‘Why do you now—?’
‘This is the last Sister, and I fear it will be the most terrible, for all the rage of the Shadow Lord will be focused upon it,’ Lief broke in. ‘And—’
He looked down at his hands. And I have felt disaster ahead ever since I set foot in the palace, he thought. The feeling grows stronger with every step I take towards my goal.
‘And the topaz dragon is not merely exhausted, as the dragon of the amethyst was, but injured,’ he said aloud. ‘It will try with all its might to rid its land of the Shadow Lord’s evil. But the effort may destroy it, and without it, I too, am lost.’
Gla-Thon gave an agonised groan. ‘Then if you die, the fault will be mine, for it was I who shot the beast!’
‘No blame can be attached to you, gnome,’ growled Gers. ‘You thought you were saving Lief’s life. I would have done the same, in your place.’
‘And I,’ Lindal put in. ‘No-one from Broome, which is built on the ruins of Capra, could doubt the treachery of dragons. And so I have been telling all who ask me, ever since I came here.’
Lief did not argue. There was no time for a long discussion about the faith of dragons now.
‘All the more reason, then, for Barda to warn the guards that the topaz dragon is to be protected, not attacked,’ he said, instead.
‘They will not like that,’ growled Gers. ‘They think they saw the dragon savaging their king. It will be hard to persuade them differently.’
‘They will believe what they are told, and do as they are ordered!’ snapped Barda. ‘If they had responded to our calls for help in proper time, they would have seen the real attacker for themselves.’
He shook his head, scowling. ‘I thought I had left them in good hands with Corris, but it seems that discipline has grown very slack.’
‘Corris died on the first day of the plague,’ Doom said. ‘Dunn, his second in command, is in charge now.’
Barda grimaced, but whether this was in regret for Corris or disdain for Dunn, Lief could not tell.
‘I suggest we end this meeting now,’ Doom said abruptly. ‘There is much to be done, and little time to waste.’
There were murmurs of agreement, and soon only Lief, Zeean, Lindal and Manus remained in the room with the sleeping Sharn.
‘There are tasks for all but me, it seems,’ said Manus softly. ‘Is there nothing I can do?’
Lief put his arm around the Ralad man’s shoulders. His heart was heavy, but he kept his voice steady as he spoke.
‘You, Manus, have the most important task of all,’ he said. ‘You are a builder of Raladin. Your ancestors built this palace, stone by stone. If anyone can help me find where the Sister of the South is hidden, it will be you.’
8 - Fearful Discoveries
Leaving Zeean to write her letter to Marilen, Lindal to fume at the weakness that forced her to remain in bed, and Sharn still sleeping, Lief and Manus hurried downstairs to the library.
Lief went to the storeroom and quickly found the large, flat wooden box which held the original plans of the palace drawn by the builders of Raladin for King Brandon long ago. As he lifted the box from its high shelf and took it to a work table, he felt a pang.
Josef had often pointed out this box to him, plainly hoping that he would ask to see the plans. But Lief had never asked. He was bored by the whole idea. Josef had only managed to capture his interest once, when he told Lief that the palace had taken forty years to build.
‘Forty years!’ Lief had exclaimed.
‘Indeed!’ Josef had said, beaming. ‘Brandon moved in as soon as the ground floor was completed, but he did not live to see the work finished. His son, Lucan, had that honour. Now, if you would just lift the box down for me, I will show you …’
But Lief had hurriedly made excuses and left the library, promising to examine the plans another day.
Now, it seemed, that day had come. But Josef had not lived to see it.
Manus began taking out the ancient parchments one by one, exclaiming over them in awed fascination.
‘Look for secret spaces, especially in central rooms, Manus,’ said Lief. ‘Josef said the Sister was in “the centre”, “the heart”. He may just have meant the palace itself, in the centre of Del. But he could have meant that the Sister is hidden somewhere in the centre of the palace.’
Manus nodded vaguely, his eyes fixed on the plans.
Lief left him and went quickly to Josef’s room. He tapped the door lightly, looked in and was startled to find the room empty.