‘So he began wearing a mask to hide his injuries,’ Lief said slowly.
‘He did,’ said Doom. ‘But not long afterwards he was accused of attempting to kill Elstred out of bitterness and jealousy, and was forced to flee.’
He shrugged at Lief’s muffled gasp. ‘Yes, it is likely that Elstred’s chief advisor planned it all, to ensure that Elstred listened to her alone. Your father and I were separated by the same trick, centuries later. The Enemy forgets nothing, it seems.’
‘Ballum was hunted, no doubt, supposedly on the king’s orders,’ Lief said, remembering how bitterly the Masked Ones had spoken of the king in Del.
‘Of course,’ Doom said. ‘But he kept to the wilder parts of Deltora, earning his bread as a travelling entertainer, and was never caught. Gradually a loyal troop gathered around him. They moved around constantly, and they all wore masks, so that if ever they were attacked, the guards would not know at once which one of them was Ballum.’ He raised a tired hand, and dropped it again. ‘Whether Ballum had discovered the secret of making the masks permanent by that time, or found it out later, no-one can know,’ he added.
Lief shuddered and turned his head away.
‘Forgive me,’ Doom said awkwardly. ‘This is not the time to be speaking of such things.’
He cleared his throat. ‘Steven’s story of what nearly befell you filled me with horror, but I was glad to see him—more glad than I can say. Now I wish with all my heart that he had stayed away. If he and Nevets fall victim to this accursed plague—’
‘They will not,’ said a quiet voice. ‘Did you not tell me that Steven and the boy had taken the horse-master’s place? They will be safe in the stables, surely.’
Lief looked up and with dull surprise saw Zeean of Tora standing by a second bed on the other side of the room. Like him, and like Doom, Zeean was wearing a mask of red over her mouth and nose. Her hands were covered by close-fitting scarlet gloves of some shining Toran cloth.
She saw him staring at her, and her eyes warmed in a sad smile of greeting. Lief saw with a shock that there was a large, darkening bruise on her cheekbone, just beneath her eye.
‘As you see, I decided that I had to come after you, to bring Sharn what comfort I could,’ she said. ‘Marilen dearly wanted to come also, but her father persuaded her to remain in safety, and I am very glad of that. Del is no place for Marilen now—and not just because the risk of infection is so great, either.’
She moved away towards the wash stand, revealing the person lying motionless in the bed. Lief stared in horror at the strong, handsome face branded by the terrible marks of the Toran Plague.
‘Lindal!’ he whispered. ‘But only last night she was—’
‘The Plague works quickly once it strikes,’ Doom said grimly. ‘Consider the guards on the door last night—healthy when they went on duty, dead before dawn. I found Lindal like this when I came to tell her that you were here, and injured, and that Josef and Paff had been struck down.’
He grimaced. ‘And now Zeean has come to take her turn in this chamber of death,’ he added. ‘She insists upon it, though neither Sharn nor Lindal would want her to risk—’
‘They cannot be left alone to suffer, Doom,’ said Zeean calmly, dipping a cloth into a bowl of water and wringing it out. ‘And you cannot be here night and day. Who is seeing to Josef and Paff?’
‘Gla-Thon was willing,’ said Doom briefly.
Zeean nodded and crossed the room to Sharn’s bed with the wet cloth in her hands.
‘There is little enough that can be done,’ she murmured, beginning to sponge Sharn’s hot face. ‘Cool the face and hands. Be there to comfort, and give water. Hope and pray that the body will have the strength to throw off the pestilence.’
Lief wet his lips. ‘I had hopes that the diamond in the Belt might help Mother,’ he said huskily. ‘Now, I fear the help may have come too late.’
Zeean hesitated. ‘You may be right,’ she said gently, at last. ‘Sharn has clung to life far longer than anyone else, but it is a cruel illness, this thing they call the Toran Plague.’
Lief saw her mouth tighten beneath the mask.
‘Doom himself came to the city gates to escort me through the city,’ she said. ‘I think that if he had not, harm would have come to me. The very sight of me—of my Toran robe—seemed to inflame the people in the streets. They called and jeered. Some threw stones.’
Thoughtfully she lifted a gloved hand to the bruise on her cheek.
‘Oh, Zeean!’ Lief muttered in dismay. ‘I am so—’
‘I do not mind for myself,’ Zeean broke in, moving back to the wash stand, putting aside the cloth and picking up Sharn’s silver-topped jar of soothing cream. ‘I mind only that your people believe that this evil has come to them from Tora, when I know it cannot be so.’
‘It must be so, Zeean,’ Doom said firmly. ‘Sharn came here directly from Tora, and there is no doubt that the plague came with her. Perhaps she was protected from its effects while she stayed within the magic city’s walls, but once she left—’
Zeean shook her head, her eyes fixed determinedly on the lid she was removing from the jar. ‘If the seeds of such an evil had been within Sharn in Tora, we would have known,’ she said.
‘I beg you not to say that outside this room,’ Doom answered gravely. ‘From what I hear, it is exactly what the people of Del suspect.’
‘What can you mean?’ Zeean demanded, looking at him at last.
In dismay Lief saw Doom draw a yellow notice from his pocket and hold it out to her.
Zeean was certain to find out at last, in any case, Lief told himself, as with sinking heart he watched Zeean take the yellow paper and begin to read. I can only hope that she can be persuaded not to tell her people. If food ships do begin arriving on the west coast now the Bone Point Light is restored, Del will desperately need Tora’s goodwill.
Gritting his teeth, he turned his back on his companions and shut their voices from his mind. Slowly he unclasped the Belt of Deltora.
Zeean was frowning over the yellow paper. Doom was watching her. Neither of them saw Lief take the Belt from his waist and place it on his mother’s chest, with the great diamond over her heart.
And neither of them saw him stare, astounded, at what happened then.
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck him. He stopped breathing. The blood rushed to his face. For a moment he stood motionless, unable to believe what he was seeing. Then, slowly, he lifted his arms.
‘Lief!’ bellowed Doom, suddenly looking around. ‘Lief, no! What are you doing?’
For Lief was pulling the red mask from his face.
6 - Life and Death
Lief glanced at Zeean and Doom, who were both rigid with shock. Then he turned back to his mother and put his fingers to her wrist. Already the faint pulse was strengthening.
‘Do not fear,’ he said. ‘There is no infection here.’
‘Are you mad, Lief?’ exploded Doom. ‘Replace your mask! Make haste!’
Lief did not move. Doom ran his fingers through his hair in despair.
‘What have you done?’ he groaned. ‘Paff was in this room without a mask for only a moment, but still she caught the plague—and passed it on to Josef!’
Lief shook his head. ‘I saw Josef,’ he said softly. ‘I knelt by his chair and spoke to him. Yet I have not fallen ill with the thing you call the Toran Plague.’
‘But when did you see Josef?’ cried Doom, astounded.
‘Before the beast on the stairs attacked,’ Lief said. ‘No-one knew of it, Doom. And that is why I have not fallen ill.’