‘I think it only wanted your hair to line its nest,’ Lief murmured. ‘What a strange story it told. I can still hardly believe it.’
‘I would be pleased at least to have the chance to try,’ Barda said drily. ‘I was in the trees minding a trembling Capricon while you spoke to the beast, and I heard nothing. But as we are here, and it is still up there, I gather it has refused to help us.’
‘It is more complicated than that,’ Lief said.
He told the dragon’s story, and Barda listened carefully, all the while playing with the little locked box he had picked up before leaving the clearing.
‘So Doran persuaded the last dragons to sleep,’ he said, when Lief had finished. ‘Then, travelling back to Del, perhaps, he began hearing whispers of the Four Sisters. But by then it was too late. The dragons would not wake, even for him.’
He sighed, turning the carved box over in his hands, pressing it here and there, trying to find the hidden lock that would open it.
‘No wonder Doran’s last note in the Annals was so desperate,’ he said. ‘He must have felt that he actually helped the Enemy by removing the last barriers to his plan.’
Jasmine shrugged. ‘If he thought that, he was wrong. There was only one dragon left in each territory. They would have been killed by the Ak-Baba, one by one, if they had tried to interfere.’
‘Unless the Belt was with them,’ Lief said slowly.
He was remembering words he had seen in the Deltora Annals—words scrawled in desperation, long ago, by Doran’s hand:
Lief looked down at the Belt—at the great topaz gleaming with strange new depth and life. The golden dragon had added to its power. And the topaz had added to the dragon’s power. He was certain that it would be the same with the ruby—if they could find the ruby dragon.
If …
He felt inside his jacket for the Dragon Territories map Josef had given him. Carefully he unfolded it and spread it out so his friends could see it.
‘We had planned to move back south after this, then travel east to Dragon’s Nest by the coast road,’ he said, rapidly tracing the path with his finger. ‘But if we take that way we will not cross into the territory of the ruby until we have almost reached our goal.’
‘Does that matter?’ asked Jasmine.
‘I think so,’ Lief said. ‘We do not know where the ruby dragon sleeps, but surely the less of its land we cover, the less are our chances of finding it.’
Barda nodded slowly. ‘You think, then, that we should move north-east,’ he said. ‘That will take us into ruby territory almost at once. But it is a longer way. Unless you plan to lead this parade of ours through the Forests of Silence—which would surely be madness!’
‘The Forests are not so bad, if you keep to the trees and stay alert,’ Jasmine said stoutly.
‘With you as our guide, Jasmine, the three of us alone could try it,’ Lief agreed. ‘But Barda is right. Our present party is far too large to risk such a dangerous short cut.’
He put the map away and stretched, suddenly aware of how weary he was. ‘We had better eat now, and get some sleep,’ he said. ‘Barda, will you tell Brid we leave at dawn?’
‘A little before dawn, I think,’ said Barda, giving up on the locked box and thrusting it into his pocket in annoyance. ‘Whatever you say, Lief, I want to be well away from here by the time that dragon begins hunting again.’
The next two days were long and filled with frustration. The weakness of Rolf the Capricon, who was mounted unsteadily on a spare horse led by Barda, slowed their pace to a walk. Also, once the Os-Mine Hills were behind them, the travellers began to encounter farms and villages.
Seeing the string of riders approaching, people ran out to greet them, overjoyed at this unexpected visit from their king, thrilled to see the heroes Jasmine and Barda, impressed by the guards and fascinated by the Capricon.
The people were tired and worn, exhausted by the effort of toiling in barren fields while at the same time trying to re-build houses destroyed in the time of the Shadow Lord. Many had been prisoners in the Shadowlands, and had only recently been restored to their homes.
It was impossible to disappoint them. Impossible to refuse their pleas to stay a while, to share what food and drink they could provide, in the way of the country.
But even as his heart bled for them, Lief fretted over the hours that slipped by as he inspected the work they had managed to complete, and sympathised over failed crops and scrawny herds.
What was worse, as he and his party ate the stringy chicken, wizened apples and hard bread put before them, he was uneasily aware that the food could not really be spared.
The travellers always left a parting gift of food from their own supplies when at last they were allowed to leave, but Lief knew it could not make up for the feast they had been served. He knew that the villagers would be even hungrier as a result of the royal visit.
‘If only we did not have the guards with us,’ he murmured, as they rode away from yet another cheering crowd on the third day. ‘They make our group so large that we cannot go anywhere unnoticed.’
‘They are our official escort,’ said Barda, turning in his saddle to wave at a pair of skinny, red-headed children who were running after them, trying to keep up with the horses. ‘We cannot send them home without raising suspicion in Del that our reason for this journey is not what we claimed. Rumours will start. People will panic. And that is just what we do not want.’
He glanced at Lief’s dismal face. ‘Do not despair,’ he said. ‘By my calculation we are about to enter the territory of the ruby. Keep your eyes on the Belt. We must not risk passing the ruby dragon by.’
Lief nodded and straightened his back, ashamed of his grey mood. He glanced down at the Belt. The topaz still glowed, but the ruby was dull pink instead of the shining red it should be.
Danger. Danger here or approaching.
He looked warily from side to side, and then behind him, but could see nothing. The road was deserted. Even the red-haired twins had disappeared. He guessed they had grown tired of the chase, and run back to the village.
‘Another road crosses this one not far ahead,’ exclaimed Jasmine, standing up on her stirrups and shading her eyes. ‘But there is a signpost.’
They reached the signpost not long afterwards. It was battered and faded, and bent forward a little as though exhausted by its long years of service.
‘Ah, good, Ringle!’ Barda said with satisfaction. ‘It is on our way. I thought it would be marked. It is quite a large town, or used to be.’
‘Another town! At this rate, we will never reach Dragon’s Nest,’ Jasmine muttered as they turned their horses’ heads to the right and plodded on. ‘Of course, all these stops would not matter so much if only we could move faster when we were actually on the road.’
Lief glanced back at Rolf, who was already slumped forward. ‘Rolf slows us sadly, I know, but we cannot leave him to be cared for by the farmers here,’ he said in a low voice. ‘They do not have enough to feed themselves! And he is still far too weak to be left alone.’
‘He could be strong if he wished!’ snapped Jasmine, taking no trouble to keep her voice down. ‘He eats and sleeps well enough, and his wound is healing. He puts all his energy into pitying himself.’
‘He has lost his nerve,’ Barda said. ‘I have seen it happen to soldiers who have suffered sorely in battle. The sight of the dragon was too much for him.’
‘Everything is too much for him!’ Jasmine retorted. ‘I doubt he had any nerve to lose.’