The Lake of Tears

Lief felt a chill run through him. He swallowed.

“We cannot —” he began.

“Give the little man to me,” hissed Soldeen. “I like his face, and the music he makes. He will come into the Lake with me and sit upon the weeping stone. He will play to me through the endless days, the lonely nights. He will ease my pain, for as long as he lives.”

Lief heard Jasmine draw a sharp breath and looked around. Manus had risen, and was stepping forward.

“No, Manus!” cried Barda, catching his arm.

Manus was very pale, but his head was high. He strained against Barda’s grip.

“He wishes to join me,” hissed Soldeen. “Let him come.”

“We will not!” shrieked Jasmine, catching Manus by the other arm. “He would sacrifice himself for us, but we will not allow it!”

“Give him to me, or I will kill you,” growled Soldeen, the spines rising on his back. “I will tear you apart, and your flesh will be devoured by the creatures of the mud until there is nothing left but bones.”

A wave of anger rose in Lief, burning like fire. He jumped up and threw himself in front of Manus, protecting him from the front, as Barda and Jasmine were protecting him at the sides. “Then do it!” he shouted, drawing his sword. “But if you do you will kill your companion, too, for you are too large to take one of us without the others!”

“WE SHALL SEE!” roared Soldeen, lunging forward. Lief braced himself for the attack, but at the last moment the beast twisted like a serpent, and three of the swordlike spines beneath his eyes ran under Lief’s arm, tearing his shirt to ribbons and running through the folds of his cloak.

One easy toss of Soldeen’s head, and Lief was jerked away from Manus and swung off his feet. For two terrifying seconds he dangled in midair, fighting for breath as the strangling ties of the cloak bit into his throat.

There was a roaring in his ears and a red haze before his eyes. He knew that in moments he would be unconscious. The cloak was double-tied, and he could not unfasten it. There was only one thing he could do. With the last of his strength he twisted, swung himself up, and caught one of the spines in his hands.

Immediately, the choking band around his neck loosened. Panting, he pulled himself up until he was sitting on the spine. He edged along it until he was just under the beast’s eye.

His shirt had been torn away, and he shuddered at the feel of Soldeen’s slippery, ridged hide on his bare skin. But still he clung there, pressing himself close, his sword steady in his hand.

“Drag me down into the mud and slime and drown me, if you will, Soldeen,” he muttered. “But while we are gone my friends will escape. And I will plunge my sword into your eye before I die, I promise you. Will you enjoy life half-blind in this dank place? Or does your sight mean nothing to you?”

The monster was very still.

“Let our friend go, Soldeen,” Lief urged. “He has suffered long, and only now is free. He came here for our sake. Make up your mind that we will not give him up. You shall not have him, whatever the cost!”

“You … would die for him,” the beast growled, finally. “He … would die for you. And all of you would give up — everything — for your cause. I remember — I seem to remember — a time when I, too … long ago. So long ago …”

His eyes had narrowed. He had begun to sway, groaning and shaking his head.

“Something — is — happening to me,” he moaned. “My mind is — burning … clearing. I see — pictures of another time, another place. What have you done to me? What sorcery —?”

And only then did Lief realize that the Belt of Deltora, and the topaz that it held, were pressing against the creature’s skin.

“It is no sorcery, but the truth you see,” he whispered. “Whatever you see — is real.”

Soldeen’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight, no longer the eyes of a ravenous beast, but those of a creature filled with unbearable suffering. And suddenly Lief remembered the golden eyes of the guardian of the bridge, and understood.

“Help us, Soldeen,” he whispered. “Let Manus go free, and give us the stone. For the sake of what you once were. For the sake of what you have lost.”

The tortured eyes darkened, then seemed to flash.

Lief held his breath. Confused and afraid, Barda, Jasmine, and Manus pressed together on the rocks, not daring to move.

“I will,” said Soldeen.

Lief felt the eyes of his friends upon him as Soldeen slid back into the Lake and moved away from the shore. He knew that his life hung by a thread. At any moment Soldeen might change his mind, grow impatient or angry, toss him into the oily water, tear at him in rage.

Then he felt something that made him forget fear and doubt. The Belt of Deltora was warming on his skin. It sensed that another gem was near — very near.

Soldeen had almost reached the weeping rock. The water had worn deep cracks and holes in its smooth surface. Under the gentle light of the moon it looked like a woman with her head bent in sorrow, tears falling from between her hands. Lief’s heart thudded as he saw, cupped in one of the hands, something that did not belong there.

It was a huge, dark pink gem. The dripping flow of water hid it completely from the shore. Even here, so close, it was very hard to see.

“Take it,” hissed Soldeen.

Perhaps he was already regretting his promise, for he turned his head aside, as if he could not bear to watch, while Lief stretched out his hand and plucked the gem from its hiding place.

Lief drew his hand back from the rock, opened it, and stared at his prize. Then, slowly, his excitement changed to confusion. He had no doubt that this was one of the gems they had been seeking, for the Belt around his waist was so warm that his damp clothes were steaming.

But he could not remember that any of the gems in the Belt of Deltora were pink. Yet this stone was pink, indeed, and seemed to be growing paler in color as he looked at it.

Or was it just that the light had changed? A thin cloud had covered the moon, so that it shone through a smoky veil. Even the stars had dimmed. Lief shivered.

“What is the matter?” growled Soldeen.

“Nothing!” Lief said hastily, closing his hand again. “I have the stone. We can go back.”

He twisted and signaled to Barda, Jasmine, and Manus, clustered together on the rocks. He saw them raise their arms, and heard their shouts of triumph.

The emerald is green, thought Lief, as Soldeen turned to swim back to the shore. The amethyst is purple. The lapis lazuli is deep blue with silver dots like stars, the opal is all the colors of the rainbow, the diamond is clear as ice, the ruby is red …

The ruby …

Some words leapt into his mind. He could see them as clearly as if the page from The Belt of Deltora was open before him.

† The great ruby, symbol of happiness, red as blood, grows pale in the presence of evil, or when misfortune threatens …

The ruby is red, Lief thought. The ruby grows pale in the presence of evil. And when red pales, what is it but pink?

The gem in his hand was the ruby, its rich color drained away by the evil of the Lake. But surely it had faded even more in the last few moments. Now it was no darker than the palm of his hand.

A terrible fear seized him. “Soldeen!” he cried. “We must —”

But at that moment, the sky seemed to split open with a jagged streak of light. With a fearful, rushing sound, a cloud of foul-smelling, yellow smoke belched through the crack, churning the Lake to mud and filling the air above it with thick, choking fumes.

And in the midst of the smoke, hovering above the water, was a towering figure, shining green, with wild, silver hair that crackled and flew around her beautiful, sneering face as though it was itself alive.

“Thaegan!” It was as though the whole Lake moaned the name. As though every creature, and even the rocks themselves, shrank and trembled.

The sorceress jeered.

She pointed the little finger of her left hand at Soldeen, and a spear of yellow light flew at him, hitting him between the eyes.

The beast cried out, twisting and rolling in agony. Lief was pitched violently sideways, and the great ruby flew from his hand, high into the air. He shouted in horror, snatching at it vainly even as he plunged towards the churning water of the Lake.

The gem made a great half-circle and began to fall. Gasping, struggling in the muddy foam, Lief watched in horror as it dropped into a deep crack in the weeping rock and disappeared from sight.

“You shall never have it!” cried Thaegan, her voice cracking with fury. “You — who have dared to enter my lands! You who have freed one of my creatures and made another do your will! You who have killed two of my children and mocked my power! I have followed you. I have smelt you out. Now, you will see!”

Again she raised her hand, and Lief felt himself being swept towards the edge of the Lake. Foul-smelling water rushed into his eyes, nose, and mouth. Nameless things, fighting for life as he was, battered against his face and body and were crushed.

Half-drowned, he was cast up on the shore. He crawled, coughing and choking, through the oozing mud and foam, only half aware that Barda, Jasmine, and Manus were running towards him.

They hauled him to his feet and began dragging him to the rocks.

But Thaegan was already there, barring their way, her silver hair flying in the smoke, her body shining green. “You cannot escape me,” she hissed. “You will never escape.”

Barda flung himself at her, his sword pointed straight at her heart. “One drop of your blood, Thaegan!” he shouted. “One drop, and you are destroyed!” But the sorceress laughed shrilly as the blade swerved aside before it touched her and Barda was flung back, sprawling, into the mud. Kree screeched as Jasmine leapt forward to take the big man’s place, only to be thrown back with even greater force, tumbling over Lief and Manus, taking them both down with her.

They wallowed helplessly in the ooze, struggling to rise.

Thaegan grinned, and Lief’s stomach heaved as her beautiful face shifted like a mask and he glimpsed the evil horror beneath.

“Now you are where you belong!” she spat. “At my feet, crawling in the mud.”

Kree screeched again and flew at her, trying to beat at her with his wings. She turned to him, as if noticing him for the first time, and her eyes lit with greed.

“Kree!” screamed Jasmine. “Get away from her!”

Thaegan laughed, and turned back to face them. “The black bird I will save for my own delight,” she snarled. “But you — you will know nothing of his pain.”

Baring her teeth, she raked her victims with eyes full of hate and triumph. “You are to become part of my creation. Soon you will forget everything you have ever held dear. Sick with loathing at your own ugliness, feeding on worms in the cold and the dark, you will creep in the ooze and slime with Soldeen, forever.”