Emily Rodda - Sister Of The South

The rainbow stone could give glimpses of the future. And he did not want to see the future. He could not bear it.

He remembered that only one of Deltora’s last seven dragons remained locked in enchanted sleep—the dragon of the opal, the dragon of hope. It is an omen, he thought. Now the opal dragon may never again fly Deltora’s skies. Just as hope may be lost to us forever.

The topaz warmed beneath his fingertips. And suddenly the chapel was filled with shadows, drifting around him like smoke.

The topaz is a powerful gem, and its strength increases as the moon grows full … It has the power to open doors into the spirit world …

Lief began to shiver. Tonight it will be full moon, as it was the night we burned the Enemy’s crystal, the night this all began, he thought. The spirits of my ancestors came to me then, to aid me. Now they come to me again, but this time …

Spirit voices began echoing from the marble walls, crying out wildly. Lief could not make out what they were saying. But the misty faces were angry and fearful. No doubt they were accusing him of cowardice and faithlessness. He did not care.

‘I will take it off!’ he roared, tearing at the clasp of the Belt. ‘I will die free of it, at least!’

And then, among all the shadowy forms, he saw Josef. Josef was holding out his arms beseechingly. His lips were moving, but Lief could not hear a single word.

‘Josef, I cannot hear you!’ Lief shouted. ‘Josef—’

He swung around as the chapel door opened.

A small blue-grey figure stood in the doorway, a large piece of parchment clutched in his hand.

‘Manus!’ gasped Lief. Quickly he glanced back to where he had last seen the shade of Josef. There was nothing there. All the shadows had gone.

‘I am sorry to disturb you, Lief,’ Manus said, a little nervously. ‘I did not know you were here. I came to see—’

He broke off, staring at Josef’s body lying on the candle-ringed platform.

‘Ah, how could anyone do such a terrible thing?’ he exclaimed, in a completely different tone. ‘It is—abominable!’

‘I am not sure now that Josef’s death was planned,’ Lief managed to say, clambering to his feet. ‘Manus—’

‘No, no!’ Manus broke in, hurrying forward. ‘I was not referring to Josef’s death. I meant this—this great ugly monument here. Abominable!’

He kicked the side of the marble platform violently.

Lief stared, trying to gather his wits. He had never seen the Ralad man so angry. Even the tuft of red hair on Manus’s head seemed to be quivering with rage.

‘This chapel was one of the first rooms to be completed when the palace was built,’ Manus panted. ‘It was to be a place of peace—a refuge from the bustle of palace life. And so it was, by the drawings. It was exquisite!’

Again he kicked the side of the platform. ‘And then, this monstrous thing was built right in the centre of the floor, completely ruining the space! Look at it! High as your shoulder, and half again as long! Ah, that man! King or no king, he was a buffoon!’

Lief’s heart had begun pounding painfully. ‘King Brandon?’ he asked huskily.

‘Not Brandon,’ snorted Manus. ‘Brandon had an eye for beauty. This—this crime was committed by his son, King Lucan.’

He scowled ferociously ‘The Ralad builders played no part in it, I assure you. They were working on the upper floors of the palace by then. The first they knew of it was when Rufus, their chief, visited the chapel and saw what had been done.’

He flapped the parchment angrily. ‘Rufus was horrified, of course. He found the original plan of the chapel—I have it here—and wrote a note upon it to the king, begging that the room be restored to its original state. But King Lucan refused absolutely. Or so his chief advisor said, in the insulting note he wrote back.’

‘What was this chief advisor’s name, Manus?’ Lief asked in a low voice.

Manus thrust the parchment forward. ‘See for yourself!’ he exclaimed bitterly, stabbing a finger at the words penned beneath the Ralad builder’s note.

11 - The Dare

Lief turned away from the parchment and looked down at Josef’s peaceful face. So this is what you were trying to tell me, Josef, he thought. The evil is here, in the palace’s dead heart, the centre of centuries of grief and pain.

Gently he gathered the old man’s body in his arms and lifted it from the platform.

‘Lief, what are you doing?’ Manus cried, very shocked. ‘The platform is vile, yes! But I did not mean—’

But cradling Josef’s frail body, Lief was already walking to the chapel door.

‘Drumm was chief advisor in the time of Doran the Dragonlover, when the Four Sisters were put in place,’ he called back over his shoulder. ‘He caused the platform to be built. The Sister of the South is here, I know it.’

‘But this is not the centre of the palace, Lief!’ Manus exclaimed, trotting anxiously after him. ‘It could not be further to the side!’

He gestured behind him at the far wall of the chapel. ‘That is the palace’s east wall. The Place of Punishment once stood just outside. The Great Hall is above—’

‘I know, Manus,’ Lief said quietly. ‘But still this is the place.’

He carried Josef’s body up the steps and placed it gently on the floor of the entrance hall.

‘But—but you cannot leave him here!’ Manus cried in horror.

‘Better here than where he was,’ Lief said. He turned to go back into the chapel.

‘Lief, wait a little,’ said Manus nervously, plucking at his sleeve. ‘You are pale as a ghost! Your hands are trembling. You—you are not well.’

‘I fear I am not,’ Lief murmured. ‘I do not know how much time I have left. And that is why I must hurry.’

His shadowed eyes focused at last on the Ralad man’s worried face, and he blinked, as if waking from a dream.

‘I am sorry, Manus,’ he said softly. ‘There is no easy way to tell you what I must. I have made a fearful mistake, and all of us will pay for it. There is no poison. The Toran Plague is real.’

Manus took a sharp, hissing breath and clasped his hands over his heart. Lief braced himself for the cries of shock, fear and blame that he knew must come. But the Ralad man bent his head, and when he looked up again, his black eyes were clear and calm.

‘What must I do to help?’ he asked simply.

For a moment Lief could not speak. Then he put his hand on Manus’s arm—so small and thin, and yet so full of strength.

‘What is below the chapel?’ he asked.

‘Why—nothing,’ Manus said. ‘The outside wall runs down beneath the earth, to meet the palace foundations. The inner wall beside us here continues down to form the first wall of the dungeons below the entrance hall. By the plan, there is only empty space in between—a cavern too small and low to be used for anything.’

‘The Enemy found a use for it, it seems,’ Lief said grimly. ‘Now, listen carefully, Manus. Everyone, except those too ill to walk, must leave the palace at once. Tell them it is by order of the king. Tell them to put their masks back on, go down to the city and spread the word that the plague is real. Then go yourself, Manus. Find Doom, Gers and Steven, if you can, and tell them I …’

His throat closed. He struggled to go on, but this time he could not.

‘You have not mentioned Barda and Jasmine,’ Manus said quietly. ‘They are here, in the palace. Do you really think that they will leave “by order of the king”?’