City of the Rats

Darkness. Evil. Fear.

Trembling, Lief put the pipe to his mouth, and blew. Glowing bubbles drifted upward, lighting what had once been a vast meeting hall.

A giant snake rose, hissing, in the center of the echoing space. The coils of its shining body, as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree, filled the floor from edge to edge. Its eyes were flat, cold, and filled with ancient wickedness. On its head was a crown. And in the center of the crown was a gem that flashed with all the colors of the rainbow.

The opal.

Lief took a step forward.

Stop!

Lief did not know if the word was in his mind, or if the snake had hissed it aloud. He stood motionless. Barda and Jasmine came up behind him. He heard them draw breath sharply, and felt their arms move as they raised their weapons.

Remove the thing you wear under your clothes. Cast it away.

Lief’s fingers slowly moved to the Belt around his waist.

“No, Lief!” he heard Barda whisper urgently.

But still he fumbled with the Belt’s fastening, trying to loosen it. Nothing seemed real — nothing but the voice that was commanding him.

“Lief!” Jasmine’s hard brown hand gripped his wrist, tugging at it furiously.

Lief struggled to shake her off. And then, all at once, it was as if he had woken from a dream. He looked down, blinking.

The palm of his hand was resting on the golden topaz. So it was this that had cleared his mind, and broken the great snake’s power over him. Beside the topaz the ruby glimmered. It was no longer bloodred, but pink, showing danger. Yet still it seemed to glow with strange power.

The giant snake hissed in fury and bared its terrible fangs. Its forked tongue flicked in and out. Lief felt the tug of its will, but pressed his hand onto the topaz even harder, and resisted it.

“Why does it not attack?” breathed Jasmine.

But by now, Lief knew. He had remembered some lines from The Belt of Deltora — lines about the powers of the ruby.

† The great ruby, symbol of happiness, red as blood, grows pale in the presence of evil, or when misfortune threatens its wearer. It wards off evil spirits, and is an antidote to snake venom.

“It feels the power of the ruby,” he whispered back. “This is why it is fixing its attention on me.”

Your magic is strong, Lief of Del, but not strong enough to save you, hissed the snake.

Lief staggered as again its will struck at his mind.

“The opal is in its crown,” he panted to Jasmine and Barda. “Do what you can while I distract it!”

Ignoring their whispered warnings, he began edging away from them. The snake turned its head to follow him with hard, cold eyes.

“How do you know my name?” Lief demanded, holding the topaz tightly.

I have the gem that shows the future. I am all-powerful. I am Reeah, the Master’s chosen one.

“And who is your master?”

The one who gave my kingdom to me. The one they call the Shadow Lord.

Lief heard Jasmine make a stifled sound, but did not turn to look at her. Instead, he held Reeah’s gaze, trying to keep his mind blank.

“Surely you have been here for a very long time, Reeah,” he called. “You are so large, so magnificent!”

The snake hissed, raising its head proudly. As Lief had thought, its vanity was as great as its size.

A tender worm I was when first I came into the cellars beneath this city. A race of snivelling humans lived here, then. In their ignorance and fear they would have killed me, had they found me. But the Master had servants among them, and these were awaiting me. They welcomed me, and brought me rats to feed upon, till I grew strong.

Out of the corner of his eye Lief caught a glimpse of Jasmine. She was climbing one of the columns that supported the roof. Gritting his teeth, he forced his mind away from her. It was vital that Reeah’s attention remain with him.

“What servants?” he called. “Who were they?”

You know them, hissed Reeah. They are branded with his mark. They have been promised eternal life and power in his service. You wear their garments, to deceive me. But I am not deceived.

“Of course you are not!” Lief cried. “I was testing you, to see if you could really see into my mind. Who else would have known where to find rats, what would make them breed, and how to trap them? Who else but the city’s rat catchers? It was a clever plan.”

Ah, yes, hissed Reeah. There were few rats, then. My kingdom had not yet achieved the glory of its destiny. But my Master had chosen his servants well. They bred more rats for me — more rats, and more. Until at last the walls teemed with them, and disease spread, and all the food of the city was consumed. And then the people begged the rat catchers to save them, little knowing that they were the very ones who had caused the plague.

Its wicked eyes glowed with triumph.

“So the rat catchers seized power,” said Lief. “They said that the rat plague had come through the people’s own wickedness, and that there was nothing left but to flee.”

Yes. Across the river to another place where they would build again. When they were gone, I came up from beneath, and claimed my kingdom.

Lief felt, rather than saw, that Jasmine was beginning to walk along the great beam that spanned the hall right beside the great snake’s head — walking as easily and lightly as she had walked along branches in the Forests of Silence. But what was her plan? Surely she did not think her daggers could pierce those shining scales? And where was Barda?

The great snake was growing restless. Lief could feel it. Its tongue was flicking in and out. Its head was bending towards him.

“Reeah! The new city is called No Rats — Noradz,” he shouted. “I have seen it. The people have forgotten what they once were, and where they came from. Their fear of rats has broken their spirit. The rat catchers are called Ra-Kacharz now, and are like priests, keeping sacred laws. They carry whips like the tails of rats. They are all-powerful. The people live in fear and slavery, serving your Master’s purpose.”

It is good, hissed Reeah. It is what they deserve. So you have told your story, Lief of Del. Your pitiful magic, your puny weapons, and your smooth tongue have amused me — for a time. But now I am sick of your chatter.

Without warning, it struck. Lief slashed with his sword to protect himself, but the snake’s first sweep struck the weapon from his hand as if it were a toy. It spun away from him, circling high into the air.

“Jasmine!” Lief cried. But there was no time to see if Jasmine had caught the sword. The snake was about to strike again. Its huge jaws were open, its fangs dripping with poison.

“Lief! The fire beads!” Barda’s voice sounded from the other end of the hall. He must have crept there, to try to attack the monster from behind. The giant snake’s tail lashed, and to his horror, Lief saw Barda’s body crash into a column and lie still.

The fire beads. Desperately, Lief felt in his pockets, found the jar, and threw it, hard, straight at his enemy’s open mouth. But Reeah was too fast for him. The wicked head jerked to one side. The jar sailed past it, smashing uselessly into a column and bursting in a ball of flames.

And then it was only Lief and Reeah.

You are mine, Lief of Del!

The huge head lunged forward with terrifying speed. And the next moment the great snake was raising itself, triumphant, Lief’s body dangling from its jaws.

Up, up to the rafters, the hot breath burning …

I will swallow you whole. And your magic with you.

There was smoke. There was a crackling sound. Dimly Lief realized that the flames had raced up the column and were licking at the old wood of the rafters.

The fire will not save you. When I have devoured you I will put it out with one gust of my breath. For I am Reeah, the all-powerful. I am Reeah, the One …

Through a dizzy haze of terror and pain, through a film of smoke that stung his eyes, Lief saw Jasmine, balancing on a beam beside him. His sword was swinging in her hand. She had torn the red covering from her face. Her teeth were bared in savage fury. She raised her arm …

And with a mighty slash she swung the sword, slitting the monster’s throat from edge to edge.

Lief heard a hoarse, bubbling cry. He felt the beast’s jaws open. He was falling, hurtling towards the ground, the hard stones rushing up to meet him.

And then — there was nothing.