The Shadowlands Read Online Free PDF

‘There are—things here. Coming closer.’
    Lief tore his gaze from the barren horizon and looked at her. Her eyes were startled, wide, almost black.
    ‘People? Beasts? Ols?’ he asked quickly.
    ‘I—do not know,’ Jasmine whispered. ‘Things.’ She shuddered. Filli whimpered in his hiding place under her jacket.
    Barda had scooped Emlis from the ground and was hurrying towards them.
    ‘Do not just stand there!’ he said roughly. ‘If an Ak-Baba should sight us, we are finished!’ He grabbed Lief by the arm and swung him around.
    Only then did Lief realise that they were not marooned in the middle of the vast plain, as in his confusion he had thought. Behind them, rising like a great, jagged fence, were the mountains, their cruel peaks piercing the cloud, their foothills edging the plain. The great bulk of Dread Mountain hulked in the background, spreading away to the west.
    Of course! Lief thought, sprinting towards the bare, forbidding foothills with the others pounding close behind him. The Kerons spirited us to the surface just inside the Shadowlands border. Of
course
the mountains are here! What was I thinking of?
    He heard Emlis waking, protesting, demanding to be put down. Well, that was one good thing. Barda would have his hands free to climb, at least. Lief swerved around the first of the grey boulders that lay at the edge of the plain and began to scramble rapidly upward, aiming for the shelter of the larger rocks he could see further ahead.
    Then, suddenly, a white flash of pain exploded behind his eyes as something slammed against his brow with shocking force. He staggered backwards, arms spinning wildly, fighting to keep his balance. Through the ringing in his ears he heard muffled cries of alarm, then, with relief, he felt a firm hand on his back. Barda was supporting him, pushing him back on his feet.
    Trembling, he sank to his knees. Barda, Jasmine and Emlis crouched beside him, pressing closely together so that the great boulder hid them from the plain.
    ‘Lief, what happened?’ he heard Jasmine whisper.
    ‘Did you not see?’ he mumbled, pressing his hands to his aching head. ‘Something hit me.’
    ‘No!’ she whispered back. ‘There was nothing there. You just jerked backwards, suddenly, for no reason. One minute you were running, the next—’
    Barda drew breath sharply. He picked up some pebbles and threw them at the empty air in front of them. Astounded, Lief saw the pebbles stop short in mid air, bounce slightly back, then fall to the ground.
    ‘An invisible wall!’ Jasmine breathed.
    ‘Yes,’ Barda said grimly. ‘I thought it strange that the mountains were unprotected. The Shadow Lord has sealed the border in his own way, it seems.’
    As he spoke, they saw movement near where one of the pebbles had fallen. A small, brown striped lizard with bright eyes had scuttled into view.
    ‘But it came from uphill!’ whispered Jasmine excitedly. ‘From behind the magic wall. I saw it! Is it only humans who are stopped by the shutting spell?’
    Lief felt ill. He had thought of another explanation, and he could see by Barda’s grim face that Barda had thought of it too.
    The lizard’s tiny forked tongue flickered in and out for a few moments. Then, abruptly, it turned and scuttled back uphill. When it reached the invisible wall it stopped dead and fell back.
    ‘Yes,’ Barda said slowly. ‘That is what I feared. The spell does not stop people or creatures coming in. It only prevents them getting out.’
    He, Lief and Jasmine looked at one another, the words hanging heavily between them. Then Lief began struggling to rise.
    ‘Stay still,’ Jasmine hissed, catching hold of his arm to hold him down. ‘You must rest. You hit your head—’
    ‘No!’ Lief gritted his teeth and pulled against her restraining hand.
    Jasmine’s grip tightened and he fell back with a groan, his head swimming. ‘You said—you said something was coming!’ he mumbled. ‘We must—’
    ‘Do as you