Lief looked along the coast to the left of Broome’s harbour, along the line of foaming white where waves crashed against the jagged rocks.
Gradually the mountains of the Shadowlands border closed in on the white line as if marching towards the sea. And at last, at Deltora’s most eastern point, the rocks of coast and mountains met and mingled in a tumble of grey stone.
Somewhere in that grim confusion was the place called Dragon’s Nest. There, Lief was sure now, they would find the ruby dragon.
The memory of Doran’s hasty scrawl in the Deltora Annals was clear in his mind.
Lief was sure that once its first, terrible hunger had been satisfied, the ruby dragon had sensed the intruder in its territory, and sped to Dragon’s Nest to destroy it.
Perhaps even now it is doing our work for us, he thought, plodding doggedly after Lindal.
But the flicker of hope was small, and battered by the chill winds of fear. The ruby dragon was out of control. And it was only one.
Without the Belt to aid it, it might fail to destroy the evil thing hidden in Dragon’s Nest. Then its rage would be terrible indeed. It would lash out at anything that crossed its path.
And soon it would be hungry again.
The shadows were lengthening by the time they reached the bottom of the hills, and, as Lindal had promised, they slipped by Broome unnoticed.
When they were well past, and the sun had begun to set, Lief turned to look back.
What he saw made him gasp. He stood, staring, unable to believe his eyes.
The city was bathed in pink light—and its whole shape had changed. It had become a dreaming, magical place of tall, delicate spires and shining glass domes.
Its sturdy outer walls had gone. In their place were groves of slender trees hung with glowing red globes that clinked softly together in the breeze making sweet, chiming music.
So beautiful …
His eyes filled with tears.
‘Lief, what is the matter?’ exclaimed Jasmine. She, too, spun around to look at the city, but clearly she could see nothing unusual.
‘Ah—he can see Capra,’ said Lindal quietly. ‘The topaz in the Belt makes him sensitive, no doubt—and sunset is the dangerous time, they say.’
She took Lief’s arm and shook it.
‘It is not real, Lief,’ she whispered. ‘It is a dream of something that is dead and gone. Turn away from it.’
Lief did not move.
Lindal tugged his arm more roughly, almost pulling him off his feet, then began to walk briskly again, dragging him after her.
He stumbled at her heels, shaking his head as if waking from a dream.
‘So beautiful …’ he mumbled.
‘Beautiful, but dangerous,’ Lindal said, striding on. ‘Keep walking! I should have warned you, but I had forgotten the old tales. Few ordinary mortals ever see Capra. No-one from Broome has seen it in my lifetime.’
She felt Lief dragging his feet and tightened her grip on his arm.
‘Do not turn around again,’ she warned him. ‘You are fortunate you were not alone when you saw the illusion. There are tales of lone travellers who have died of thirst, so long did they stand with their eyes fixed on Capra. Once you have seen it, it captures your mind and holds you. Or so the old folk say.’
‘A ghost city!’ muttered Barda, fascinated.
‘Yes. They say that is why the last of the Capricons still haunt the mountains, instead of moving into Broome or building a new city of their own,’ Lindal said, keeping up her fast pace. ‘They watch for Capra at sunset. The old ones teach the young ones to love it, and to mourn what they have lost.’
‘But Capra was destroyed before the time of Adin!’ Jasmine cried. ‘How long ago was that?’
Lindal shrugged. ‘If the Capricons would rather grieve over what is lost than live in the present, that is their own affair,’ she said carelessly. ‘They cannot be persuaded differently. The few that are left keep to themselves, and look down on everyone else.’
‘Rolf was not like that,’ Lief said, finding his voice. ‘He left the mountains and journeyed towards Del, to seek help for his people.’
And so was killed by his worst nightmare.
The thought pierced him like a dart.
‘Your friend would have found help in plenty if he had simply gone into Broome,’ said Lindal curtly. ‘He would also have learned that you were on your way there, and he had only to wait. But he would not enter Broome, oh no!’
She shook her head, striding on, her eyes fixed on the horizon. ‘He would not lower himself to speak to ordinary mortals. Only the king himself was good enough to deserve the notice of a Capricon!’
‘He had been brought up to think so,’ Lief murmured. ‘His ancestors—’
Lindal bared her teeth. ‘My ancestors were great warriors, who ate the brains of their slaughtered enemies,’ she said. ‘Do you suggest I do the same?’
‘Lindal is perfectly right,’ snapped Jasmine. ‘Rolf was cowardly, vain and foolish. Why deny it, just because he is dead? I think—’
‘I think we should stop arguing and light some torches,’ Barda put in calmly. ‘I can barely see my hand in front of my face, but there is something written on a stone ahead, and I suspect it is a warning.’
16 - Dragon’s Nest
The stone was very old, and looked unpleasantly like a tombstone. The very sight of it filled Lief with dread. He had to force himself to approach it, and lift his torch to read the words engraved upon it.
Jasmine shivered. ‘This stone gives me a bad feeling,’ she said. ‘Who made it?’
‘No-one knows,’ said Lindal. ‘It has always been here—and it has kept most people well away from Dragon’s Nest.’
‘But not you,’ Barda said gruffly.
‘Not me,’ Lindal admitted. ‘As I told you, I was a wilful, disobedient child. Still, I hated to pass this stone. I always shut my eyes so I could not see it. I do not quite know why—or why I used to have nightmares about it afterwards. The verse is ominous, but …’
‘It is not just the verse,’ Lief said slowly.
It had become extremely cold. Waves were crashing on the rocks, very near. He realised that without noticing it they had almost reached the tumble of rocks they had seen from the hills. A sickening trembling had begun deep within his body. His arm felt unbearably heavy as he held his torch flame closer to the stone.
‘It is not just the verse,’ he repeated. ‘It is the carving in the background. Do you see? Those marks are the Sister signs, repeated endlessly. And the border …’
Barda leaned forward, peered at the border, then looked up, shaken. ‘Despair and die …’ he muttered.
Filli whimpered beneath Jasmine’s collar. She put up her hand to soothe him.
‘The whole stone is a curse,’ she said softly. ‘It is an evil thing—full of hate.’
‘Come away from it,’ Lindal said abruptly, taking a step back.
Barda forced a grin, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness. ‘It seems you were braver as a child than you are now, Lindal!’ he said.
‘Only more foolish,’ Lindal retorted. ‘But still I never passed by the stone in darkness. The way to Dragon’s Nest is fearful, even in daylight. At night—’
Lief backed away from the stone gripping the Belt of Deltora with both hands. With relief he felt his mind begin to clear, and the deep trembling to ease.
‘We must stop in any case,’ he managed to say. ‘We need food and sleep. We will move on in the morning. Everything seems better in the light.’
Lindal chose a camping spot well away from the evil stone. They lit a small fire for warmth and comfort. They ate, and at last they slept, keeping watch in turns.
But their sleep was far from peaceful. The sound of the crashing waves was cold and lonely, and dark, formless shadows haunted their dreams.