Part 1 (1/2)

DELTORA QUEST 2.

The Isle of Illusion.

Emily Rodda.

The story so far a.

Lief, Barda and Jasmine have learned that the Shadowlands was in ancient times the magical land of Pirra, a beautiful country protected by the fabled Pirran Pipe.

When the Pipe was divided into three parts by the warring Pirran tribes of Plume, Auron and Keras, the Shadow Lord invaded Pirra and the tribes were forced to flee to separate islands in a secret sea below Deltora. The companions are sure that the magic of the Pirran Pipe is the only thing that can help them free the Deltoran slaves in the Shadowlands.

On the island of Plume, they gained the first part of the Pipe. Now they are moving on through the underground sea, seeking the island of Auron.

1 - The Rainbow Sea.

Lief and Barda were silent as they paddled the frail boat through the world below the world. Jasmine sat in the front of the boat with Filli on her shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on Kree, who was flying ahead. In her hand was the tiny map that was their only guide to their next goala”the island of Auron.

Above their heads the soaring roof of the great cavern s.h.i.+mmered with opal light. The rippling water surrounding them was like liquid rainbows.

aTo think that this wonder exists below Deltora!a Barda murmured, finding his voice at last. aI still cannot quite believe it.a aNor I,a said Lief. aThe caverns of the Plumesa”the gold, and the scarleta”were beautiful enough. But this place aa Jasmine moved restlessly. aBeauty is all very well,a she muttered. aBut we do not know where we are!a She held up the battered map. aRanesh said he would trust Doran the Dragonloveras maps with his life. But there are no landmarks drawn here. Just four islands, a dotted line which could mean anything, and a few cavern walls.a Lief stared at the map, remembering the excitement with which he had traced it in the palace library in Del.

Little had he dreamed then that the Pirran Islands were not in the open sea, but hidden beneath Deltora itself. Little had he dreamed that a short journey to the Os-Mine Hills in pursuit of Jasmine was to lead him into this far longer and more dangerous quest.

With a pang, he thought of home. His long absence must be causing great anxiety. Not for most of the people, who believed their king was still safe in Tora. But for those few who knew he was not.

Doom. His mother. The old librarian, Josef. Josefas a.s.sistant, Ranesh. And the girl Marilen.

Most of all, Marilen. What must she be feeling now? Frightened? Lonely? Bitterly regretting that she had ever agreed to leave Tora?

Doom had promised her father that she would be closely guarded. But spies, traitors and a.s.sa.s.sins were everywhere, as Lief himself knew only too well.

Into his mind came the memory of the first attempts on his life. Both were in the great entrance hall. First, a frenzied, babbling woman had tried to strike him down with a knife. When her attack had failed, she had turned the knife upon herself and died without giving any reason for what she had done.

Not long afterwards, a man who could only walk with the aid of crutchesa”a man called Moss, a trusted palace guard before the time of the Shadow Lord, Barda saida”had seized Lief by the throat as Lief bent over the blanket where he lay.

The choking grip was like iron. It had taken three guards to break it. And then, as Moss was being taken away, someone in the jostling crowd had stabbed him in the back. That person had never been found.

After that, Lief had kept away from crowds. But he had learned that nowhere in the palace was truly safe. Even his own bed chamber.

And why? Why? Lief thought, as he had thought a thousand times before. Why would any Deltoran act as a servant of the Shadow Lord?

Impatiently, he pulled his mind back to the present. aDoran could not draw landmarks if none existed, Jasmine,a Barda was saying, lifting his paddle from the water and stretching his aching back.

aDo not wake Fury,a Jasmine warned.

Barda glanced quickly at the cage hanging from his belt. But Fury the fighting spider had not moved.

aIt is more important not to wake Flash.a Lief nodded at the second cage, resting in the bottom of the boat. aFlash was the loser in their last battle. He is the one who thirsts for revenge.a aWe are fortunate that the movement of the boat lulls them to sleep,a said Jasmine.

aIndeed, for nothing else does,a Barda growled. aIf only we could have left them behind! This boat is cramped enough without giving room to caged spiders.a aI do not blame the Plumes for refusing to keep them,a said Jasmine. aWho would want two beasts who think of nothing but fighting one another?a Filli snuffled agreement. The huge spiders made him nervous.

They fell silent once more, gazing around them.

Unbroken water met their eyes on every side. The cavern wall through which they had pa.s.sed to reach this glittering sea was lost in the hazy distance. There was no sign of another.

aAt least we know where we are in Deltora,a said Lief at last. aWhen we first went underground in the Os-Mine hills, the cavern walls and roof shone gold like the topaz, the Del tribeas talisman. But by the time we reached the island of Plume, the cavern walls were s.h.i.+ning red.a aSo we can guess that Plume lies below Deltoraas north-easta”the land of the Ralad people, whose talisman is the ruby,a said Barda.

Lief nodded. aAnd now we are in the territory of the opal. We must be moving west, beneath the Plains. And the island of Auron is near, I am sure of it.a He broke off as sweet, piping music filled his minda”the music of the Pirran Pipe, calling to him through time. The sound had come to him before, but it was more compelling now. Because now he possessed the mouthpiece of the Pipe itself.

The mouthpiece hung around his neck. It was m.u.f.fled in a red cloth bag and hidden beneath his clothes. Yet he could feel its power, as once he had felt the magic of the Belt of Deltora.

He could feel, too, its yearning to be joined once more with the other two parts of the Pipe, from which it had been separated so long ago.

aLief! Barda!a Lief jumped slightly as Jasmineas voice broke the spell of the music. He saw that she was holding out her arm to Kree, who was swooping towards her.

aKree sees land ahead!a Jasmine called excitedly. aLand!a Land a Land a Land a murmured the echoes.

Liefas heart beat faster as he and Barda plunged their paddles into the rainbow water and the boat began moving forward once more.

Far away, in the palace in Del, Josef the librarian sighed. The day was still young, but comparing the official library catalogue to the books actually on the shelves was a sad and tiring task.

Many books were missing. Some might have been put away on the wrong shelves. But most, Josef suspected, had been quietly removed and destroyed, because they contained things that the Shadow Lord had wanted Deltorans to forget.

At least I was able to save The Deltora Annals, Josef thought, glancing at the pale blue books standing in pride of place near the library work tables. So King Lief was able to read of the Pirran Pipe, the only thing which can help him save the prisoners in the Shadowlands. And he could see Doranas map, which will lead him to the three parts of the Pipe when he returns from the Os-Mine Hills.

When he returns a Josefas brow creased. Now he came to think about it, where was Lief? Surely he should have returned long ago.

The old librarianas stomach knotted with sudden fear. Why, Lief and the Belt of Deltora were the landas only defences against the Shadow Lord. What if a?

Ringing laughter disturbed the libraryas silence. Startled and angered, Josef shuffled forward, but stopped when he saw where the sound was coming from.

His apprentice, Ranesh, was bending over the table where sat Marilen, the young Toran visitor who had spent many hours in the library of late.

Marilen had several weighty books open in front of her, but she was looking up at Ranesh, her eyes dancing. As Josef watched, Ranesh murmured something, and the girl laughed again.

Josef hesitated, very troubled. He was not wise in the ways of the world, but he had been young once. Something about that laughter, and the look on Marilenas face, warned him that this situation was not as it should be.

Lief had asked Josef to make Marilen welcome in the library, but not to speak of her to others. Marilen was a very special guest, Lief had said, but her presence in the palace must be kept secreta”at least until his return from the Os-Mine Hills.

Josef had smiled discreetly. He had not been in the palace long, but already he had heard the rumours that Lief had gone to Tora to choose a bride. He had no doubt as to who this beautiful, high-born young lady called Marilen was.

Now this same young lady was laughing with Ranesh in a way that did not seem at all fitting. And Ranesh was surely leaning far too close to one who was the future queen of Deltora.