Few, in fact, had seen Steven and Nevets fighting the beast—the dreadful power of the Sister of the South had seen to that. Only a few more had seen the dragon destroy the Sister of the South.
But all of them knew that a great battle had been fought and won, and that something wondrous had occurred. They all felt a lightness of spirit, a flooding joy.
Many kept tapping their ears, or shaking their heads as if to clear their ears of water. A sound they had always known had gone. For the first time in hundreds of years, the dull, despairing song of the Sister of the South no longer hummed through the air and earth of Del.
Why can I not rejoice? Lief thought for the hundredth time. He gripped Jasmine’s hand more tightly. That small, rough hand had become a lifeline for him, a link to what was real, what was true.
He saw that Lindal, Manus and Gla-Thon had disappeared, and that Barda was now speaking to the guard called Dunn. As Lief watched, Dunn saluted, and left Barda at a run, shouting to his men.
The next moment, the guards had begun urging people away from the pit, and back towards the palace gates.
‘That will please the dragon,’ Lief said. His own voice sounded strange to him—as if it was coming from far away.
Barda was standing alone now—a tall, proud figure silhouetted against the sky. Jasmine hailed him, and he beckoned.
The moment they reached him, Filli leaped from his shoulder into Jasmine’s arms, chittering frenzied welcome. Lief took one look at Barda’s dulled, vacant eyes, started forward and embraced his old friend.
For a moment Barda returned the embrace. Then, embarrassed as always by shows of emotion, he pushed Lief away.
‘Pah! You smell of dragon, Lief,’ he said, grinning. ‘Keep your distance!’
Then the grin faded from his face. He blinked. A furrow deepened between his brows. He stretched out his arm.
‘Take my hand,’ he said abruptly.
Wondering, Lief clasped the outstretched hand. Barda blinked again. And then Lief saw that the blankness of his eyes had lessened.
‘It is the Belt,’ Barda said, his voice trembling slightly. ‘One of the gems is aiding my sight. I can feel it!’
And Lief remembered.
He did not hesitate. He moved his free hand to the opal. He gripped it tightly.
Instantly his mind was filled with pictures. Grey, barren land. The skeletons of trees. A grey river, sluggish water thick as mud, with huge grey fish lying dead on the wrinkled surface. Monstrous creatures shrieking in the sky. And he felt …
Horrified, he tore his hand from the Belt. Panting, he looked up at Barda—at Barda’s dark, clear eyes regarding him curiously.
‘Was it—enough?’ Lief stammered.
‘Enough for now,’ Barda said. He waited. But Lief’s throat was dry. He could not speak.
‘What did you see, Lief?’ Jasmine asked quietly.
Lief swallowed. ‘I think I was in the Shadowlands,’ he said. ‘I saw the seven Ak-Baba. I felt … a terrible, helpless rage. Burning—’ His throat closed, and he shuddered.
‘That is what the Enemy will feel when he learns what has happened here today,’ said a quiet voice beside him. ‘Perhaps it is his future you have seen.’
Very startled, Lief spun around and saw Zeean, wrapped in a shawl and leaning on Lindal’s good arm. So absorbed had he been in his vision that he had not heard the two women approaching.
‘Zeean! How—why—are you here?’ he stuttered, as Lindal moved joyfully to Barda’s side, exclaiming over his cure.
Zeean held out her hand to show a huge emerald ring that Lief recognised as one of the royal jewels.
‘This finished what the emerald in the Belt began,’ she said calmly. ‘I was able to walk from the palace, with Lindal’s help. Sharn is still very weak, so Gers carried her. Doom and Gla-Thon brought Paff, and Josef’s body, I think.’
She put her head on one side and regarded Lief and Jasmine’s puzzled expressions in surprise.
‘Do you not know?’ she asked. ‘It seems there is a danger the palace will fall.’
‘What?’ Jasmine cried in horror.
‘Manus says that the hole in that foundation wall means that the palace is no longer properly supported,’ Barda said. ‘All or part of it will collapse if something is not done quickly.’
He pointed into the pit, and Lief saw the small figure of Manus directing a dozen guards. The guards were labouring to raise a vast pole—a tall tree trunk—in the centre of the hole in the palace wall. They kept glancing nervously over their shoulders at the topaz dragon, who was watching them narrowly, the spines on its neck raised.
And now Lief could see the ugly cracks running up the wall, running all the way up to the long windows of the great hall on the first floor.
‘Why you are all still standing here, I do not know,’ said Lindal. ‘Manus told you to clear the area! When I saw you, I could not believe my eyes! Come away!’
But as she spoke a chorus of triumph rose from the pit. The guards had succeeded in wedging the tree trunk into place. Manus looked up and saw the group watching him.
‘It will hold!’ he roared, punching the air. He turned back to his men, pointed to a second pole lying on the ground, and began giving orders.
‘Excellent!’ said Lindal with satisfaction. ‘Shall we go and tell the others, old bear?’
They strode away, laughing and talking.
‘Shall we go also?’ Zeean murmured. ‘I would be grateful for a chair.’
Jasmine took her arm. ‘We will go in the back way,’ she said. ‘It is far quicker from here—and there are no stairs.’
In silence they began to make their way to the back of the palace. They walked very slowly, for Zeean’s sake, and Lief was glad of it. He was not looking forward to what was ahead.
They reached the kitchen door and helped Zeean inside. A chorus of cheers rang out. Startled, Lief and Jasmine saw that the great table was crowded with people, all turned to them, smiling.
‘Why, even Marilen is here!’ Jasmine cried. ‘And Ebony!’
Lief gazed around at the familiar faces.
Marilen, glowing with happiness, Ebony perched on her shoulder. Ranesh, smiling. Gla-Thon, raising a goblet. Gers shouting. Steven, grinning broadly. The boy Zerry, taller than Lief remembered, his sharp eyes sparkling. Lindal, laughing and banging the table. Barda, beaming, pulling out chairs for Jasmine and Zeean. Sharn, very pale, royal emeralds gleaming at her throat, holding out her arms to him.
Only one was missing.
Lief went to his mother, and embraced her. ‘Where is Doom?’ he asked quietly.
‘He carried Paff back to her bed,’ called Gla-Thon, overhearing. ‘She has recovered a little, but she is still unconscious. He will be with us shortly.’
‘If he has not fallen asleep on his feet,’ Gers growled. ‘He looks like death walking. I offered to take Paff myself, but he would not have it.’
‘No doubt he thought the poor girl was sick enough, without being scared to death by your ugly face, Jalis,’ grinned Gla-Thon.
With a roar, Gers swung around, reaching for Gla-Thon but succeeding only in upsetting one of the jugs with his elbow. Wine flooded the table. Everyone jumped up, shouting or laughing. At the same moment, a black bird soared through the door, heading straight for Jasmine.
‘Kree!’ Jasmine shouted, overjoyed.
Lief took advantage of the confusion to slip away. Only Sharn saw him go.
Lief let himself into the library and walked silently through the maze of shelves. His hand was on his sword. His mind was blank.
A dim light glowed in Josef’s room. Lief paused and looked in. For a moment he thought he saw a hunched figure, ruler in hand, bent over something on the desk—something that Lief now knew must have been the plan of the chapel.