Deltora Quest #5: Dread Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page B

jolted unmercifully, could only hold on, gasping for breath. Then they saw what was ahead. They were running straight for the edge of a cliff.
    Lief yelled and shut his eyes as Ailsa launched herself into space. There were a few dizzy moments of panic as the great wings beat hard above his head. Then he felt an upward rush and a surge of cool air against his face. He realized that the sound of the wings had settled down to a steady beat. He opened his eyes.
    The earth below looked like a patchwork rug embroidered all over with little trees and narrow winding paths. Ahead, Dread Mountain already seemed closer. It was still hazy, but looked larger, darker, andmore ominous than it had before. Behind it were the folds of the mountain range that marked the border with the Shadowlands. They too seemed closer.
    “How long will it take to reach the Mountain?” Lief shouted above the noise of the wind.
    “We will have to stop when the light fails,” Ailsa called back. “But if we continue to have good weather, we should reach it tomorrow.”
    Tomorrow! Lief thought. Tomorrow we will know for good or ill if the gnomes of Dread Mountain still watch the skies for Kin. If they do, it will mean our deaths. The gnomes will shoot down Ailsa, Merin, and Bruna, and we will go crashing to the ground with them.
    He shivered. His hand stole down to the Belt at his waist and he lightly brushed the four gems set in place there. They warmed beneath his touch: the topaz for faith, the ruby for happiness, the opal for hope, and the mysterious lapis lazuli, the Heavenly Stone.
    Surely all will be well, he told himself. Surely these gems together will keep us safe. But even as he thought this, words from The Belt of Deltora flashed into his mind.
     
    † Each gem has its own magic, but together the seven make a spell that is far more powerful than the sum of its parts. Only the Belt of Deltora, complete as it was first fashioned by Adin and worn by Adin’s true heir, has the power to defeat the Enemy.
     
    The warning was clear. The gems that Lief and his companions had in their charge so far could help them on their way, but could not save them.
    Lief took care not to let his fingers linger on the opal. He did not want to glimpse the future. If it was fearful, he did not wish to know it. He would face whatever fate had in store when the time came.

A s the sun sank in a blaze of red, the Kin circled lower and lower, searching for the place where they planned to spend the night.
    “There is water there, and food, and shelter from above,” Ailsa called to Lief. “It is a small forest where long ago we always broke our journey between the Mountain and the grove. We call it Kinrest.”
    It was almost dark by the time they dropped to earth, their great wings beating hard as they sank between tall trees to the soft shelter below.
    Lief, Barda, and Jasmine climbed unsteadily to the ground. It felt very odd to have firm earth under their feet again. They looked around. Kinrest was indeed a peaceful place. Ferns thickly edged the small stream that bubbled through it, and toadstools grew in clumps under the great trees. Somewhere near there was the sound of a waterfall.
    “How the trees have grown!” Merin exclaimed excitedly, brushing leaves and twigs from her fur. “They hide the stream completely. And, see, Ailsa — the entrance to the big cave where we used to play is choked with ferns.”
    “Everything looks quite different,” Ailsa agreed. “No wonder we took so long to find it from above. We should have visited it in our dreams long ago, instead of always going to the Mountain.”
    Wearily Lief, Barda, and Jasmine sat down by the stream and watched as the three Kin began to explore. Jasmine put her head on one side, listening to the rustling of the trees.
    “What do they say?” asked Lief eagerly. “Are we safe?”
    Jasmine frowned. “I think so. The trees are happy to see Kin again. Many of them are hundreds of years old and remember