Emily Rodda - Deltora Quest #8 - Return to Deltora

Contents

Title Page

1 Toran Magic

2 Fallow

3 Suspicion

4 The Seven Tribes

5 Messages

6 Dangerous Road

7 Withick Mire

8 Arrivals

9 The Heir

10 The Road to Del

11 The Square

12 Desperation

13 The Forge

14 The Place of Punishment

15 Fight to the Death

16 The Last Secret

The Deltora Book of Monsters

Preview: The Golden Door

About the Author

Venture into Deltora

Copyright

The story so far …

Lief, Barda, and Jasmine have found the seven lost gems of the magic Belt of Deltora. Now they must find the heir to Deltora’s throne, for only when the Belt is worn by the true heir can the evil Shadow Lord be overthrown, and Deltora freed.

Lief’s parents, now imprisoned in Del, told Lief that when they helped King Endon and Queen Sharn to escape the city on the coming of the Shadow Lord, over sixteen years ago, a hiding place was planned for the royal couple and their unborn child. But the companions have learned that this plan failed when the magical people of Tora broke their ancient vow of loyalty, and refused to offer refuge. The Torans were banished to the Valley of the Lost, and the royal family’s whereabouts are unkown.

Doom, the grim, mysterious leader of the Resistance, left the companions in anger when they refused to heed his warning to keep away from the Valley of the Lost. Dain, a young Resistance fighter of about Lief’s own age, reluctantly went with him. Now the valley has been freed of its evil enchantment, but Lief, Barda, and Jasmine do not know which way to turn. They must find the heir, but they do not know how. And the Shadow Lord’s servants — Grey Guards, hideous shape-changing Ols, and huge vulture-like birds called Ak-Baba — are searching for them.

Now read on …

The Belt of Deltora was complete. Seven gems glowed once more in its gleaming medallions of steel. It was perfect. And yet …

Lief glanced at Barda and Jasmine, walking with him through the sunlit beauty of what had been the Valley of the Lost. In the blue sky above them, Kree sailed on the wind with others of his kind. Many birds had returned to the valley since the evil mist had lifted, the exiled people of Tora had been freed from their living death, and the evil Guardian had returned to his old character of the hermit Fardeep.

The three companions had triumphed. But now they had to face the fact that unless they found the heir to Deltora’s throne all their efforts would have been in vain. They had believed that the Belt would lead them to the heir. But so far there had been no sign.

Sighing, Lief flipped open the little blue book he carried. This copy of The Belt of Deltora was one of the few things that had survived the destruction of the Guardian’s palace. And why? Lief thought. Why, unless it holds the key? He stared again at the words he had read so often.

† Each gem has its own magic, but together the seven make a spell that is far more powerful than the sum of its parts. Only the Belt of Deltora, complete as it was first fashioned by Adin and worn by Adin’s true heir, has the power to defeat the Enemy.

“Reading the words again will not change them, Lief,” muttered Jasmine. “We must find the heir — and soon!” She plucked a berry and gave it to Filli. Many little furred creatures now thronged the valley. But all were larger than little Filli, who stayed shyly on Jasmine’s shoulder, peering around with wondering eyes.

“If only we knew where to look!” Barda moved restlessly. “We cannot remain here any longer, waiting for a sign. At any moment —” He looked up, and his brow creased in a sudden frown. Lief, too, looked up, and was startled to see that where only moments before there had been clear blue, a swirling mist was gathering. The birds were wheeling, screeching …

Sharply, Jasmine called Kree, who broke away from the flock and came hurtling down towards her. At the same moment, Lief saw Fardeep approaching. Two Torans were with him: Peel, a tall, bearded man, and Zeean, a straight-backed old woman in a scarlet robe.

“Do not fear!” Fardeep called. “The Torans are weaving a veil of cloud to shroud the valley once more. The Shadow Lord must not discover that we are free.”

“But what of the creatures?” Jasmine exclaimed.

“Our mist will not harm them, little one,” smiled Zeean. “It is soft and sweet. Now that our magic has returned, we can do many things.”

“Except the thing we want most,” Peel said soberly. “Except return to Tora.”

“Indeed.” Zeean’s eyes turned to Lief, Barda, and Jasmine. “And yet,” she murmured. “I have hopes …”

Lief glanced quickly at Fardeep.

“Fardeep has said nothing, Lief,” Zeean said. “But we remember what we saw just before the valley changed. You are carrying a precious thing — a thing that could save us all. Yet you are troubled. We can feel it. Can we not help?”

Lief hesitated. The habit of secrecy was strong. But perhaps, indeed, the Torans could help. Barda and Jasmine stirred beside him and he knew that they, too, felt the impulse to trust.

“Be aware,” Zeean said softly, “that to tell one Toran is to tell all. We have no secrets from one another. But this is our strength. Between us we have much knowledge, and our memories are long.”

Lief touched the Belt, heavy under his shirt. But before he could say a word, Zeean and Peel stiffened. “Strangers are entering the valley!” Peel hissed. “Walking quickly, along the stream.”

“Friends?” Fardeep asked urgently.

Zeean shook her head, puzzled. “We cannot tell. Shape-changers — Ols — we can usually sense. Others of evil will also. But these minds are closed to us.”

The light dimmed as the mist thickened. Lief made a decision. “We will go to meet them,” he said. “And, on our way, we will talk.”

And so it was that, walking in the greenness of the valley floor, the companions told the secret they had kept for so long. It was strange to speak the words aloud. But Lief felt no fear as the Torans drank in the sight of the Belt.

“The amethyst,” Zeean whispered, gently touching the purple gem. “The Toran stone, symbol of truth.”

“The Toran stone?” exclaimed Jasmine. “What do you mean?”

“Why, the Torans were one of the seven tribes who gave their talismans to Adin when the Belt of Deltora was first made,” Zeean said.

“No doubt that is why the amethyst was in the Maze of the Beast, so near to Tora,” Peel added. “Once taken from the Belt, the gem yearned to return to its first place. As far as it could, it bent to its will the Ak-Baba which carried it. Perhaps —”

Two people rounded a bend in the stream ahead. One gave a cry, and broke into a run. Startled, Lief saw it was Dain, and that the man with him was Doom.

“Dain!” Doom bellowed. Dain glanced behind him guiltily, and his flying feet stumbled and slowed.

“Why, this boy looks very like one of us,” Zeean murmured. “His hair — his eyes …”

“Dain’s mother is of Toran blood,” Lief told her. “His parents were taken by the Grey Guards a year ago. Now he works with Doom, in the Resistance.”

Both of the visitors were now standing quite still. Doom glanced at the cloud above his head.