Sister Of The South

6 - Life and Death

Lief glanced at Zeean and Doom, who were both rigid with shock. Then he turned back to his mother and put his fingers to her wrist. Already the faint pulse was strengthening.

‘Do not fear,’ he said. ‘There is no infection here.’

‘Are you mad, Lief?’ exploded Doom. ‘Replace your mask! Make haste!’

Lief did not move. Doom ran his fingers through his hair in despair.

‘What have you done?’ he groaned. ‘Paff was in this room without a mask for only a moment, but still she caught the plague—and passed it on to Josef!’

Lief shook his head. ‘I saw Josef,’ he said softly. ‘I knelt by his chair and spoke to him. Yet I have not fallen ill with the thing you call the Toran Plague.’

‘But when did you see Josef?’ cried Doom, astounded.

‘Before the beast on the stairs attacked,’ Lief said. ‘No-one knew of it, Doom. And that is why I have not fallen ill.’

‘What do you mean?’ Zeean asked sharply.

‘I mean that there is no such thing as the Toran Plague,’ Lief said. ‘All the illness, all the deaths, have been caused by poison.’

Zeean gasped. Doom snorted in disbelief. But Lief knew he was right. The evidence was before his eyes.

‘You know that the amethyst in the Belt pales in the presence of poison,’ he said quietly. ‘Look here!’

He pointed to the great gem, which was pale as lavender water, and saw Doom go white to the lips.

Zeean hurried to the bed and bent over Sharn. ‘The red marks are fading!’ she exclaimed.

‘They always fade as death approaches,’ Doom said tightly. ‘An hour or two after death, there are no marks at all.’

Zeean shook her head. ‘Sharn is not dying. She is recovering! The fever is cooling. How …?’

Her eyes turned to the Belt. ‘The emerald,’ she breathed. ‘Antidote to poison.’

Lief nodded. ‘It saved Barda once. Now it will save Mother. Lindal, too. And Josef. And all those others who suffer, if I can reach them in time.’

Slowly Zeean straightened. Then, very deliberately, she set down the jar of cream, pulled the red mask from her face and stripped the gloves from her hands.

‘This is much better,’ she murmured. Briskly she picked up the jar again and began smoothing cream on Sharn’s lips.

‘You are both making a terrible mistake,’ Doom said harshly. ‘Sharn cannot have been poisoned! She ate and drank nothing I did not share. She did not touch her water jug in the night—that was the first thing I looked at when I could not wake her in the morning. And everyone close to her has fallen ill!’

‘Except you, Doom,’ Lief said in a level voice. ‘Why are you still standing?’

He would not have thought it possible for Doom to become paler, but it happened before his eyes.

‘What are you suggesting?’ Doom whispered.

Lief smiled ruefully. ‘Only that you are so wary, sleep so little, and are so careful of your food and drink, that it would be almost impossible to poison you. Others who spent time with Mother are a different story.’

He shrugged. ‘A troop of guards shares the same water vat. Families eat together. Groups of the hungry are served from the same pot. Such people were easy victims for a killer who wanted to mimic the effects of a plague. As were Josef and Paff, who both use the same tin of tea in the library kitchen.’

Doom was shaking his head. ‘How could a poisoner enter so many homes and move around the palace—even into this room—without being seen?’

But Lief was remembering a trail of liquid evil sliding into the shadows of the palace stairs. He was imagining it oozing beneath doors, slipping through keyholes, pooling like a living shadow in dark corners unnoticed, unsuspected.

‘Something evil is living in the palace,’ he said in a low voice. ‘A thing of sorcery. I have seen it.’

Doom and Zeean stared at him, then looked at one another uncertainly. Perhaps they wondered if he had taken leave of his senses.

And, indeed, Lief’s head was spinning. The urgent thoughts that were flashing into his mind one after the other were threatening to overwhelm him.

Drawing fresh power from the Sister of the South, the guardian would recover and try to kill him again, that was certain. And the killing of others would continue at the same time. The false ‘plague’ had begun for one, simple reason, Lief was sure of that. But the guardian had quickly seen that it served other purposes as well.

There was no doubt: while the fearful, secret song of the Sister of the South rang on unchecked, its guardian would remain a threat to every living being in Del.

I must get the Belt to Josef so that he can tell me what he knows, Lief thought. Then I must call the topaz dragon back, so we can face the Sister together. I must act quickly, before the guardian regains strength. But what of Lindal, Paff, and all the others who need the emerald’s power? Must I leave them suffering and dying?

He grew ever more panic-stricken as his thoughts ran on and on.

He had to warn the people of Del to beware of poison. Food would have to be thrown away—precious food, while people were starving! He had to make the palace guards understand that the topaz dragon was not a threat …

So many things to be done at once! And there was no time to waste—no time!

He looked down at his mother. The red marks on her face had still not faded completely, but she was breathing evenly. The power of the emerald had been working upon her for many minutes. He was sure that Barda had recovered in less time. Was it safe to remove the Belt now?

It will have to be, Lief thought grimly. Smothering his doubts, he snatched up the Belt of Deltora and hurried across the room to Lindal’s bed.

As he bent to put the Belt down, however, he became aware that something within him had changed. His racing heart had slowed. The feeling of panic was ebbing away.

He glanced at the Belt, heavy in his hands, and saw that his fingers were gripping the golden topaz, the water-pale amethyst.

He had not thought he needed their help. He had thought he was simply facing the truth. Now he saw that the most important truth of all had been driven from his mind by fear.

This was a puzzle, like any other, he thought in dull surprise, as he spread the Belt over Lindal. I almost failed to solve it. Panic almost conquered me. But now I know what must be done—or at least how to begin.

‘Not I, but we,’ he said aloud. ‘I am not alone.’

‘Of course you are not!’ exclaimed Zeean. ‘What—?’

She broke off with a startled cry as the door crashed open. Barda strode into the room, his throat bandaged and his eyes wild. Jasmine was behind him, vainly trying to hold him back.

‘Lindal!’ Barda said huskily. ‘Is it true—?’ He caught his breath as he saw Lindal lying unconscious in the bed.

‘She will survive, Barda,’ Lief said quickly. ‘Josef, too. The Belt—’

‘Josef is dead,’ Barda said, his lips barely moving.

A chill settled on Lief’s heart. Zeean gave a low cry. Doom’s face darkened.

‘Dead?’ Lief whispered. He could not believe it. Somehow he could not imagine a world without Josef in it.

‘Steven told us of it, just now,’ Jasmine said, tears shining in her eyes. ‘Josef died peacefully, not long ago, with Ranesh by his side.’

‘Ranesh is here?’ Zeean murmured.

Jasmine nodded. ‘Manus came with him. They had no trouble in the streets, for no-one could tell by their looks that they came from Tora.’

‘But I warned them to stay away!’ exploded Doom, clenching his fists. ‘Are they mad?’

‘Only if love and loyalty can be considered madness!’ Jasmine said sharply. ‘If you did not want Ranesh to come to Del, why did you tell him that Josef was ill?’

‘I did not tell him!’ Doom answered, just as sharply. ‘I, at least, have not lost my senses!’

‘I fear the fault is mine,’ Zeean said.

Doom swung round to her. She met his furious eyes calmly.

‘My heart was heavy after my arrival,’ she said. ‘Torans share their thoughts, but the distance between us now is too great for that to be possible. So I wrote to Marilen telling her of Josef’s illness, the attack on Lief, Barda and Jasmine and … everything else.’

Doom scowled, and Lief could well understand why. He knew that his own face must show his dismay.

Plainly, all in Tora now knew that the people of Del blamed them for the so-called ‘plague’, and that Zeean had been attacked in the streets.

‘And how did you send your letter, may I ask?’ Doom asked coldly. ‘The messenger birds are kept under guard.’

The corners of Zeean’s mouth tilted in a thin smile. ‘You have forgotten, I think, that the bird Ebony came with me from Tora. She carried my message.’

Doom cursed under his breath.

Zeean lifted her chin. ‘It seems you would rather my people were kept ignorant of things they have every right to know,’ she said icily.

‘Stop this, I beg you!’ Lief exclaimed, unable to keep silent any longer. ‘Do you not see? This is what the guardian of the south wants! The guardian wants distrust between Del and Tora—perhaps only to create fear and confusion, perhaps to stop supplies coming from the west, should food ships ever arrive.’

Neither Doom nor Zeean answered.

Lief flung out his hands desperately. ‘While we fight we can do nothing,’ he said. ‘And we must act quickly, before the guardian regains strength enough to stop us. We know that the Sister of the South is somewhere in the palace—’

Jasmine drew a quick breath, Zeean’s eyes widened, and even Barda looked up, suddenly alert.

‘The Sister is in the palace,’ Lief repeated. ‘Josef knew where, I think, but he is beyond telling us now. He may have left us a clue, and the topaz dragon will aid us also. I will summon it as soon as—’

‘Summon that menace?’ Doom growled. ‘You cannot—’

‘Listen to me!’ Lief begged. ‘There is much you do not understand. We must meet with Gla-Thon, Steven, Ranesh, Gers and Manus at once. When they are with us, I will explain everything.’

He saw Doom’s face harden into the familiar, stubborn lines of suspicion and leaned forward urgently.

‘Once, Doom, when we knew each other far less well than we do now, we stood together in the Valley of the Lost and heard Zeean say, “the time for secrecy between friends is past”. Those words are as true now as they were then, I know it!’

The scarred man’s eyes met his own. Memories flashed between them. Memories of distrust and heroism, pain and triumph. Memories of plans, of daring, of hope—and even of laughter.

‘Secrecy is pointless now,’ Lief said quietly. ‘The attack this morning proves that the Shadow Lord knows full well where we are. How, I cannot imagine, but clearly it is so. Fate has decreed that the friends we trust the most are here. We must ask them to help us.’

Doom bowed his head. He did not look up as Zeean stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm. But, slowly, he nodded.

‘I will gather the others,’ said Barda gruffly. ‘Where is the meeting to be?’

‘Here, old bear, or it will be the worse for you,’ said a slurred voice from across the room.

They whirled around. Barda gave a choked cry.

Lindal’s eyes were open. She turned her head on the pillow and looked at them.

‘The gathering must be here,’ she repeated. ‘For you leave me out of it at your peril and I fear that—just at the moment—walking is quite beyond me.’