Deltora Quest #7: The Valley of the Lost Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Messenger? What messenger?” he stammered.
    “A bird, no doubt,” said Barda. “A blackbird like Kree, almost certainly. Once they were plentiful in Del, and in olden times they were always thought of as the King’s birds, because of their cleverness. That is probably why the Sorceress Thaegan so hated them, and relished eating them.”
    “The Torans tore the note apart,” breathed Lief. “They refused help, and broke the vow. How could they risk so much?”
    Barda shrugged. His face was heavy, grey with disappointment. “The stone in the square dates from the time of Adin. Perhaps the Torans no longer believed in the words. But the ancient magic was still powerful. The moment they tore up the note, they were doomed.”
    He looked down at the carved box in his hands. “This was something your father did not count on, Lief. The king and queen left Del in haste, long before any return message could have been expected from Tora. No doubt they thought they would receive word as they travelled, and Toran magic to help them on their way. But the plan failed.”
    “So all this time Father has believed that the heir was safe in Tora, waiting for us,” Lief murmured. “That was his secret. He thought we would meet here, and early in our travels, too. Do you remember? His plan was for the Valley of the Lost to be our first goal, not our last.If it had been, we would surely have passed Tora on our way to the Maze of the Beast.”
    He put his hands on the Belt. It gave him courage.
    “The plan to hide in Tora may have failed, but somehow Endon and Sharn found another place of safety,” he said. “The Belt is whole. Father told us that means the heir lives, wherever he may be. When the Belt is complete, it will show us the way. Father told us it would. We must believe him.”
    He put the two halves of the note back into the carved box, closed the lid firmly, and put the box back on the step.
    When he looked up, Barda was frowning, his gaze sweeping around the great square and the buildings that surrounded it, the great columns, the statues of birds and beasts, the carved urns overflowing with flowers. Lief wondered what he was doing. Except for the cracked stone, where Dain still huddled, locked in his private misery, and Jasmine crouched beside him, there was nothing to see.
    “If the city is empty, why is it still so perfect and whole, Lief?” Barda asked suddenly. “Why have looters and scavengers not destroyed it? The pirates, the bandits … what has stopped them from plundering this place at their will?”
    He pointed at the box. “Even that is a work of art. It would be of great value to a trader. No doubt the city is full of such things. Yet no one has stolen them. Why?”
    He spoke softly, but still the square seemed to echo with his voice.
    Lief felt a chill run up his spine. “You think Tora is — protected?” he whispered.
    “Lief! Barda!” called Jasmine.
    Startled, they looked down. Jasmine was still crouching beside Dain. She beckoned urgently, and they ran back down the stairs and across the square to her side.
    Dain did not raise his head, though he must have heard them come. Jasmine had wrapped a blanket around him, but still he trembled.
    “He will not move,” whispered Jasmine fearfully. “He cannot stop shaking, and will not take any water. I am very afraid for him.”
    Dain’s pale lips opened. “Take me away from here, I beg you,” he mumbled. “I cannot bear it. Please — take me away.”

W ith Lief and Barda supporting Dain between them, the companions began to make their way out of the city. Dain’s eyes were dark and blank. His feet stumbled and dragged. Cold sweat beaded his brow. The terrible shuddering still racked his slight body.
    Lief was sorry to see his suffering, but somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered at Dain’s collapse. Had the boy not trained with Doom and the Resistance for a year? Had he not faced Ols and other terrible dangers as part of everyday