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

life?
    Dain had hoped to find his parents in Tora, and he had not. But how could this shock and disappointment fell him so completely? It was as though his heart was broken like Tora’s stone, and the light of his spirit had been snuffed out like the green fire.
    They walked on, all but Dain glancing from side to side at the houses they passed. Clearly visible through gleaming windows were the sad signs of vanished life: food as fresh as the day it was made, wonderfully painted plates and dishes, embroidered cushions and hangings. In almost every house there was a weaver’s loom on which cloth of miraculous fineness hung waiting for the long-vanished weaver to return.
    The looms reminded Lief of his mother. How often had he seen her sit weaving cloth for their garments and household needs? Lief knew that his mother’s skill was great, because other people had told him so. But the threads she had to use were coarse and dull — nothing like the threads of Tora, which glowed like jewels.
    The finest thing she had ever made was the cloak he now wore. Into that she had put her greatest skill. And love and memories besides, she had said.
    Where was his mother now?
    I, of all people, should understand Dain’s grief, Lief thought. I know what it is to miss and fear for well-loved parents.
    But you have not given up hope, a voice in the back of his mind whispered. You have not abandoned yourself to despair and become ill in body and mind. And did Jasmine give in and die when her parents were taken? Did Barda despair when his mother was killed and his friends were slaughtered?
    Lief shook his head, to drive the voice away. People have different strengths and weaknesses, he told himself. I should not blame —
    His thoughts took a different turn as another idea came to him. Perhaps there was something else behind Dain’s collapse that he did not yet understand. All the signs were that the boy was not simply grieved and disappointed, but deeply shocked. More shocked than was reasonable, if he had told the whole truth.
    The entrance tunnel was before them. They entered its cool shade and once again Lief felt that mysterious tingling run through his body. He walked in a dream, moving out into the sun with regret.
    He and Barda lowered Dain gently to the ground. The boy lay shivering as if with cold, his great eyes staring sightlessly at the bright sky.
    “Dain, you must try to be strong,” Barda urged softly. “You are making yourself ill.”
    He said the words several times, and at last Dain responded. Slowly the blank eyes came back into focus. The boy swallowed, and wet his dry lips.
    “I am sorry,” he murmured. “Finding the city empty … was a great shock. But that is no excuse.”
    Kree screeched, flapping his wings warningly.
    “Someone is coming!” Jasmine exclaimed, drawing her dagger.
    Lief looked across the lake, but it remained still.The danger was coming by land, then. From the hills that rose beside and beyond the city.
    Kree soared upward, preparing to investigate.
    “No, Kree!” Jasmine cried. “They may have bows and arrows. Stay with us.”
    The bird hovered for a moment, then reluctantly came back to earth.
    “Jasmine, are there many?” snapped Barda.
    As she had done so often before, Jasmine knelt and put her ear to the ground. “Only two, I think,” she said after a moment. “Both tall. One heavier than the other.”
    Dain was watching her intently, plainly very impressed. Lief saw that the trembling in the boy’s limbs had eased. Having something else to think about seems to be just what Dain needs, he thought. But he found that he was slightly annoyed.
    Yet why should Dain not admire Jasmine? he thought, turning his irritation on himself. Anyone would admire her skill! Then it occurred to him that if he was still inside Tora he would not be angry, but quite calm.
    The city’s spell is wearing off, he thought. I am almost back to normal.
    And at last he understood what the tingling in the