Lief looked down at the magic Belt of Deltora. The seven great gems gleamed, the topaz and the ruby brighter than all the rest.
The Belt’s power keeps the Shadow Lord back for now, but his hand still stretches into Deltora, he thought bitterly. We cannot trust smiling faces or loyal words. Even here in Broome…
He felt a small, strong hand grip his own. He lifted his head and met Jasmine’s bright eyes.
‘I doubt we have an enemy in Broome, but we will take no risks,’ she said, as though she had read his mind. ‘We will leave here now—tonight. Then… we will disappear. We will disguise ourselves and take new names. We have done that before. Remember?’
‘Yes,’ Lief muttered. ‘But I did not think we would ever have to do it again. In those days, I was not king and the Belt of Deltora had not been restored. In those days, I thought that if we succeeded in our quest we would all live happily ever after. I did not dream the nightmare would go on, and on—’
He and Jasmine spun around as the door to the hall swung open in a blast of sound. Barda and Lindal of Broome strode out onto the veranda.
‘Lindal saw you through the window,’ Barda said. ‘What—?’
He broke off as his eyes fell on the parchment in Lief’s hand. His face sobered, and he glanced at Lindal.
‘You will be wanting privacy,’ Lindal said quickly. She turned to go back into the hall.
Trust only old friends.
‘No, Lindal, please stay,’ begged Lief. ‘We need your help.’
Less than an hour later, four figures slipped silently out of the city gates. The dance was still in full swing, and no-one saw them go.
Even if they had been seen, it was unlikely that the first three would have been recognised.
Only the woman turning to close the gates behind them would have been familiar. Lindal looked as she always did—tall and straight in leather jacket, leggings and boots, her shaved skull painted with swirling red patterns.
Her friends, however, now looked very different.
All were dressed in the drab, close-fitting woollen caps and long oiled coats of Broome fisher folk, and their most famous features had been disguised.
Lief no longer wore his cloak, and the Belt of Deltora was concealed beneath his clothes. Jasmine’s hair was hidden under her cap and her face was streaked with grime so that she looked like a grubby young boy. Barda’s dark beard had been cut back to rough stubble.
‘It was bad enough playing the part of a beggar, in the old days,’ he grumbled. ‘But at least I still had my beard then. And I did not stink of fish that died before I was born!’
Lindal laughed. ‘Your garments smell very strong, I must admit. I suspect that no-one will want to keep company with the rough-looking man Berry, and his two young nephews, Lewin and Jay, for long.’
‘That will suit Berry, Lewin and Jay very well,’ Jasmine answered, though Filli, crouched on her shoulder and rubbing his nose, plainly disagreed.
‘Filli will have to stay hidden, Jasmine,’ Lindal warned. ‘And Kree will have to keep his distance.’
‘I know,’ sighed Jasmine, glancing at the black bird perched on her arm. ‘And the journey to Shadowgate will be very long. I only wish Honey, Bella and Swift were still with us.’
‘The horses are back in Del by now, no doubt,’ said Barda. ‘But we may be able to buy others in the north.’
Lindal shook her head in wonder. Horses were unknown in Broome, where people used their own legs to carry them from place to place, whatever the distance.
‘Thank you for all you have done for us, Lindal,’ Lief said, anxious to be gone. ‘Send Ebony back to Del in the morning. And remember, the ruby dragon has promised me that it will do the people of Broome no harm—as long as they leave it in peace.’
‘Time will tell,’ Lindal said darkly. ‘I do not place great value on a dragon’s promise. Perhaps the ruby beast kept faith with Doran the Dragonlover. But that does not mean it will keep faith with you.’
And at that very moment, Kree screeched a warning, and the stars above them were blotted out.
The ruby dragon swept above them. Its red scales glittered in the moonlight. Its wingbeats were louder than the wind.
‘Why, the beast has already broken its vow!’ cried Lindal furiously, reaching for a spear. ‘It thinks to take advantage of the celebration, to plunder the city!’
‘Wait!’ shouted Lief, throwing himself in front of her. ‘Lindal! Let me speak to it!’
Lindal tightened her lips, but pointed her spear to the ground.
The dragon landed in front of them and settled itself comfortably.
‘Greetings, king of Deltora,’ it said to Lief. ‘You are leaving Broome a little earlier than you planned.’
‘Yes,’ Lief said uncomfortably. ‘It became… necessary.’
The dragon nodded. ‘I approve,’ it said. ‘In darkness, we can fly unseen.’
‘What?’ exclaimed Barda.
The dragon turned its flat, red eyes in his direction. ‘Sadly, I cannot take you all the way to the second Sister,’ it said. ‘My oath to Dragonfriend prevents me crossing my border. But I will take you as far as I am able.’
It bared its terrible fangs in what it no doubt intended as a smile.
‘Do you like my surprise?’ it asked. ‘Are you not pleased? Dragonfriend always said it was the greatest happiness, to ride upon a dragon.’
2 – North
It was like hurtling through a tunnel of darkness. Below them, the lights of villages flashed into view and disappeared again. Above them gleamed the silent stars. But where the ruby dragon flew, there was only blackness, and cold, and the sound of the wind.
Bound with ropes to the dragon’s neck, the companions felt as battered as shellfish clinging to the wave-beaten rocks of Dragon’s Nest. Kree and Filli huddled motionless beneath Jasmine’s jacket, making not a sound.
They had flown for hours. Lief had lost all track of time. Then, suddenly, his stomach gave a sickening lurch.
They were falling. They were plummeting down, down, and the thick blackness of the land was rising to meet them.
Lief screwed his streaming eyes shut.
Abruptly, the downward plunge ceased. The roaring of the wind died. Now there was only a slow, rhythmic sound—the sound of the dragon’s wings, steadily beating.
Slowly, Lief opened his eyes.
They were hovering just above a field which was bordered by a massive hedge. On three sides the hedge was studded with white flowers that fluttered in the breeze. The remaining side was dark.
Beyond this dark side was a forest. Behind the trees towered the great mountains of Deltora’s northern border, snow glimmering on their peaks.
The dragon sank to earth and folded its wings.
‘This is the place where I must leave you,’ it said. ‘I feel it.’
The ropes loosened as Barda cut through the knots. Lief slid down onto the ground and sprawled there, trying to gather his wits. The earth was rough, and the patchy grass was mingled with some sort of herb that smelled unpleasantly like over-ripe fruit.
‘Ah, it is freezing, and as dark as pitch!’ he heard Barda say.
There was the sound of scraping flint. Light began dancing on the grass as a lantern flamed into life.
Lief crawled to his knees, feeling as stiff as an old, old man and as weak as a baby. He was ashamed to see Jasmine already standing up, with Kree perched on her arm and Filli chattering on her shoulder.
‘Where are we, dragon?’ Jasmine was asking. ‘Can you show us on our map?’
‘I know nothing of maps,’ the dragon said. ‘I know only that this is the far north of my territory, and very near to the land of the opal.’
It turned its great head towards the forest. ‘As I landed I saw lights there, and heard music,’ it added helpfully. ‘Humans are camped not far away. No doubt they can tell you what you wish to know.’