Emily Rodda - Sister Of The South

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.’

‘What do you mean?’ Zeean asked sharply.

‘I mean that there is no such thing as the Toran Plague,’ Lief said. ‘All the illness, all the deaths, have been caused by poison.’

Zeean gasped. Doom snorted in disbelief. But Lief knew he was right. The evidence was before his eyes.

‘You know that the amethyst in the Belt pales in the presence of poison,’ he said quietly. ‘Look here!’

He pointed to the great gem, which was pale as lavender water, and saw Doom go white to the lips.

Zeean hurried to the bed and bent over Sharn. ‘The red marks are fading!’ she exclaimed.

‘They always fade as death approaches,’ Doom said tightly. ‘An hour or two after death, there are no marks at all.’

Zeean shook her head. ‘Sharn is not dying. She is recovering! The fever is cooling. How …?’

Her eyes turned to the Belt. ‘The emerald,’ she breathed. ‘Antidote to poison.’

Lief nodded. ‘It saved Barda once. Now it will save Mother. Lindal, too. And Josef. And all those others who suffer, if I can reach them in time.’

Slowly Zeean straightened. Then, very deliberately, she set down the jar of cream, pulled the red mask from her face and stripped the gloves from her hands.

‘This is much better,’ she murmured. Briskly she picked up the jar again and began smoothing cream on Sharn’s lips.

‘You are both making a terrible mistake,’ Doom said harshly. ‘Sharn cannot have been poisoned! She ate and drank nothing I did not share. She did not touch her water jug in the night—that was the first thing I looked at when I could not wake her in the morning. And everyone close to her has fallen ill!’

‘Except you, Doom,’ Lief said in a level voice. ‘Why are you still standing?’

He would not have thought it possible for Doom to become paler, but it happened before his eyes.

‘What are you suggesting?’ Doom whispered.

Lief smiled ruefully. ‘Only that you are so wary, sleep so little, and are so careful of your food and drink, that it would be almost impossible to poison you. Others who spent time with Mother are a different story.’

He shrugged. ‘A troop of guards shares the same water vat. Families eat together. Groups of the hungry are served from the same pot. Such people were easy victims for a killer who wanted to mimic the effects of a plague. As were Josef and Paff, who both use the same tin of tea in the library kitchen.’

Doom was shaking his head. ‘How could a poisoner enter so many homes and move around the palace—even into this room—without being seen?’

But Lief was remembering a trail of liquid evil sliding into the shadows of the palace stairs. He was imagining it oozing beneath doors, slipping through keyholes, pooling like a living shadow in dark corners unnoticed, unsuspected.

‘Something evil is living in the palace,’ he said in a low voice. ‘A thing of sorcery. I have seen it.’

Doom and Zeean stared at him, then looked at one another uncertainly. Perhaps they wondered if he had taken leave of his senses.

And, indeed, Lief’s head was spinning. The urgent thoughts that were flashing into his mind one after the other were threatening to overwhelm him.

Drawing fresh power from the Sister of the South, the guardian would recover and try to kill him again, that was certain. And the killing of others would continue at the same time. The false ‘plague’ had begun for one, simple reason, Lief was sure of that. But the guardian had quickly seen that it served other purposes as well.

There was no doubt: while the fearful, secret song of the Sister of the South rang on unchecked, its guardian would remain a threat to every living being in Del.

I must get the Belt to Josef so that he can tell me what he knows, Lief thought. Then I must call the topaz dragon back, so we can face the Sister together. I must act quickly, before the guardian regains strength. But what of Lindal, Paff, and all the others who need the emerald’s power? Must I leave them suffering and dying?

He grew ever more panic-stricken as his thoughts ran on and on.

He had to warn the people of Del to beware of poison. Food would have to be thrown away—precious food, while people were starving! He had to make the palace guards understand that the topaz dragon was not a threat …

So many things to be done at once! And there was no time to waste—no time!

He looked down at his mother. The red marks on her face had still not faded completely, but she was breathing evenly. The power of the emerald had been working upon her for many minutes. He was sure that Barda had recovered in less time. Was it safe to remove the Belt now?

It will have to be, Lief thought grimly. Smothering his doubts, he snatched up the Belt of Deltora and hurried across the room to Lindal’s bed.

As he bent to put the Belt down, however, he became aware that something within him had changed. His racing heart had slowed. The feeling of panic was ebbing away.

He glanced at the Belt, heavy in his hands, and saw that his fingers were gripping the golden topaz, the water-pale amethyst.

He had not thought he needed their help. He had thought he was simply facing the truth. Now he saw that the most important truth of all had been driven from his mind by fear.

This was a puzzle, like any other, he thought in dull surprise, as he spread the Belt over Lindal. I almost failed to solve it. Panic almost conquered me. But now I know what must be done—or at least how to begin.

‘Not I, but we,’ he said aloud. ‘I am not alone.’

‘Of course you are not!’ exclaimed Zeean. ‘What—?’