Soldeen was in the center, by the weeping rock. He was motionless, his head upraised. He was staring at the moon as though he had never seen it before. As Lief watched, there was a long, whispering sigh. Then Soldeen simply — vanished, and standing in his place was a tall, golden man with a mane of tawny hair.
The weeping rock quivered, and cracked from top to bottom. The two halves crumbled away in a cloud of fine, glittering dust. A woman stepped from the shining cloud. She was golden, like the man, but her hair was black as night. In her hand, held high, was a huge, red gem.
Lief staggered to his feet. He wanted to shout, to exclaim, to cry out in shock, disbelief, and joy. But he could not make a sound. He could only stare as the man and woman joined hands and together began to walk towards him, across the water.
And as they walked, looking around them with the wondering eyes of those who still cannot believe their happiness, everything began to change.
The earth dried and bloomed with grass and flowers under their feet. Color and life spread from their footsteps, carpeting the dead earth as far as the eye could see. Twisted stumps and bare rocks became trees of every kind. Clay fell in sheets from the ragged peaks, revealing shining towers, beautiful houses, and spraying fountains. The pure, sweet sound of bells rang through the air.
All around the margins of the Lake, creatures were dissolving and re-forming. Golden people were rising from the ground, dazed from their long sleep, murmuring, weeping, laughing. Birds were fluffing their feathers and taking flight, singing their joy. Insects were chirruping. Furred animals were looking about them and hopping, bounding, or scurrying into the grass.
Lief felt Barda, Jasmine, and Manus move to stand behind him. The man who had been Soldeen, and the woman who had shared his long, long suffering, were not far from them now, but still Lief could hardly believe his own eyes.
“Can it be true?” he murmured.
“If it is not, we are all dreaming the same dream,” said a chirpy voice he did not know. He swung around to see Manus, grinning at him.
“Manus — you can speak!” His own voice cracked and squeaked in his astonishment.
“Of course! With Thaegan’s death, all her spells have been undone,” said Manus cheerfully. “The people of Raladin and D’Or will not be the only ones in these parts with reason to be grateful to your gallant black bird, believe me.”
Perched proudly on Jasmine’s wrist, Kree squawked and puffed out his chest.
“And grateful to you.” The deep, quiet voice was new to Lief, yet there was something familiar in it. He turned to meet the steady, deep grey eyes of the man who had been Soldeen.
“We have met before as enemies,” the man said. “Now, at last, we meet as friends.” His grey eyes warmed. “I am Nanion. This — is my lady, Ethena. We are the chiefs of D’Or, and we owe you our freedom.”
The woman smiled, and her beauty was like the beauty of a radiant summer sky. Lief blinked, dazzled. Then he realized that she was holding out her hand to him. Balanced in the palm was the ruby — richly glowing, deepest red.
“You have need of this, I think,” she said.
Lief nodded, swallowing, and took the gem from her hand. It warmed his fingers, and the Belt around his waist grew hot. Quickly he moved to unfasten it, then hesitated, for Manus, Nanion, and Ethena were watching.
“Your secret, if it is a secret, will be safe with us,” Manus chirped. He cleared his throat, as if still amazed and startled by the sound of his own voice.
“It will,” said Ethena. “For a hundred years we have lived a half-life that was worse than death, our land laid waste and our souls imprisoned. Because of you, we are free. Our debt to you will never be repaid.”
Barda smiled grimly. “Perhaps it will,” he said. “For if our quest succeeds, we will have need of you.”
He nodded to Lief, and Lief took off the Belt and put it on the ground in front of him.
Manus gasped, his button eyes wide. But it was Nanion who spoke.
“The Belt of Deltora!” he breathed. “But — how do you have it, so far from Del? And where are the seven gems? There is only one!”
“Two, now,” said Lief. He fitted the ruby into the medallion beside the topaz. It glowed there, scarlet against the shining steel. The ruby, symbol of happiness. Greedily, he drank in the sight.
But Ethena and Nanion had drawn close together, and their tawny faces were pale under the moon. “It has happened, then,” Ethena murmured. “What we feared. What Thaegan promised, before she sent us into darkness. The Shadow Lord has come. Deltora is lost forever.”
“No! Not forever!” cried Jasmine fiercely. “Any more than D’Or was lost forever. Or you!”
Nanion stared at her, startled by her anger. Then, slowly, he smiled. “You are right,” he said softly. “No cause is lost while brave souls live and do not despair.”
Lief lifted the Belt and put it on. It felt heavier than before. Only a little — but enough to make his heart swell with happiness.
A clamor of shouting and singing arose from the valley. The people had seen Nanion and Ethena from afar and were running towards them.
Ethena put a gentle hand on Lief’s arm. “Stay with us a while,” she urged. “Here you can rest, and feast, and be at peace. Here you can regain your strength for the journey ahead.”
Lief glanced at Barda, Jasmine, and Manus and read in their faces what he knew he would. D’Or was beautiful, and the air was sweet. But —
“Thank you,” he said. “But we are expected — in Raladin.”
They said their farewells and left Ethena and Nanion turning to greet their people. The sound of bells ringing in their ears, they climbed up the rocks, pushed their way through the gap, and began to trudge back the way they had come.
Happiness was behind them, and happiness was before them. They could only guess at the Ralads’ joy.
A few days’ rest, thought Lief. A few days of storytelling, laughing, and music, with friends. And then — another journey, another adventure.
Two gems were found. The third awaited them.
This book has been compiled in secret. If the work had been discovered by any authority, I, its author, would have paid with my life. Or so I believe.
The risk was worth taking. Forces are working in Deltora to suppress the facts of our past as well as those of our present. Lies are everywhere. King Alton believes that the kingdom is thriving. He thinks that if monstrous perils once existed in far-flung corners, they exist no longer.
I know this is false. Because I, who once wore the silken gloves and velvet tunic of a palace librarian, now scavenge for food in the gutters of Del. I now know what the common people know, and more. I could never have imagined such a future for myself. But I regret nothing.
Perhaps I would never have fled from the palace if the king’s chief advisor, Prandine, had not ordered me to burn The Deltora Annals. The threatened destruction of the Annals, that great, vivid picture of Deltora over the ages, was more than I could bear. And so it was that while pretending to obey Prandine’s order, I saved the Annals and myself.
This book contains material drawn from The Deltora Annals as well as new information I have gained in the past few years. It describes many of the dreadful, mysterious beings that haunt this land. Some of these creatures are as evil and unnatural as their master in the Shadowlands. Others are native to Deltora. All grow stronger every day. Yet the king does nothing to offer his people protection. They hate him for it. But why should he help, since he does not know the monsters exist? None of them are spoken of in the palace except as beasts of legend, dangers of the past.