The Lake of Tears

Thaegan raised her left hand high above her head, fist tightly clenched. It gleamed, green and hard as glass. The yellow smoke swirled as Kree dived wildly, uselessly, around her head. Lief, Barda, Jasmine, and Manus staggered together, trying to run. Laughing at their terror, she lifted the little finger, ready to strike. Its tip, white as bone, gleamed through the dimness.

Like a black arrow, Kree hurtled from the smoke. With a vicious snap his sharp beak stabbed and stabbed again at the death-pale fingertip.

The sorceress shrieked in rage, shock, and pain, shaking the bird off, hurling him aside. But red-black blood was already welling from the wound on her fingertip and slowly dripping to the ground.

Her eyes widened, unbelieving. Her body shuddered and writhed and turned as yellow as the smoke that still hung about her. Her face became a hideous blur, melting and reforming before her victims’ horrified eyes.

And then, with a high, whistling hiss, she began to shrivel, to crumple, to collapse in upon herself like a rotting fruit left in the sun.

Face down in the mud, Lief wrapped his arms around his head to hide the ghastly sight, smother the terrible sound. He heard Soldeen bellowing in the Lake behind him, crying out in triumph or terror. Then, with a low, terrifying rumble, the earth began to shudder and heave. Icy waves pounded on his back as the waters of the Lake swelled and crashed upon the shore.

Terrified at the thought of being sucked back into the deep, he threw himself forward, dragging himself blindly through the spray. Dimly he could hear Jasmine and Barda calling to each other, calling to Manus and to him. His fingertips touched rock, and with a last, desperate effort he heaved himself out of the swirling mud onto firm ground. He clung there, the breath sobbing in his aching throat.

Then, suddenly, everything stilled.

His skin prickling, Lief lifted his head. Barda and Manus were lying near him, pale but alive. Jasmine crouched a little further away, with Kree on her wrist and Filli, soaked and bedraggled, in her arms. Where Thaegan had stood there was nothing but a yellow stain on the rock.

The sorceress was dead. Trying only to stop her from casting her spell, Kree had wounded her in the one place on her body that was not armored — the fingertip she used to work her evil magic.

But it was not the end. Something was about to happen — Lief could feel it. The clouds had disappeared, and the full moon flooded the earth with radiant white light. The very air seemed to shimmer.

And the silence! It was as though the earth had caught its breath. Waiting …

Slowly, Lief turned to look behind him.

The tempest had almost emptied the Lake. Now it was just a broad sweep of shallow water gleaming in the moonlight. A multitude of slimy creatures lay stranded in heaps around its edges and on its flattened banks.

Soldeen was in the center, by the weeping rock. He was motionless, his head upraised. He was staring at the moon as though he had never seen it before. As Lief watched, there was a long, whispering sigh. Then Soldeen simply — vanished, and standing in his place was a tall, golden man with a mane of tawny hair.

The weeping rock quivered, and cracked from top to bottom. The two halves crumbled away in a cloud of fine, glittering dust. A woman stepped from the shining cloud. She was golden, like the man, but her hair was black as night. In her hand, held high, was a huge, red gem.

Lief staggered to his feet. He wanted to shout, to exclaim, to cry out in shock, disbelief, and joy. But he could not make a sound. He could only stare as the man and woman joined hands and together began to walk towards him, across the water.

And as they walked, looking around them with the wondering eyes of those who still cannot believe their happiness, everything began to change.

The earth dried and bloomed with grass and flowers under their feet. Color and life spread from their footsteps, carpeting the dead earth as far as the eye could see. Twisted stumps and bare rocks became trees of every kind. Clay fell in sheets from the ragged peaks, revealing shining towers, beautiful houses, and spraying fountains. The pure, sweet sound of bells rang through the air.

All around the margins of the Lake, creatures were dissolving and re-forming. Golden people were rising from the ground, dazed from their long sleep, murmuring, weeping, laughing. Birds were fluffing their feathers and taking flight, singing their joy. Insects were chirruping. Furred animals were looking about them and hopping, bounding, or scurrying into the grass.

Lief felt Barda, Jasmine, and Manus move to stand behind him. The man who had been Soldeen, and the woman who had shared his long, long suffering, were not far from them now, but still Lief could hardly believe his own eyes.

“Can it be true?” he murmured.

“If it is not, we are all dreaming the same dream,” said a chirpy voice he did not know. He swung around to see Manus, grinning at him.

“Manus — you can speak!” His own voice cracked and squeaked in his astonishment.

“Of course! With Thaegan’s death, all her spells have been undone,” said Manus cheerfully. “The people of Raladin and D’Or will not be the only ones in these parts with reason to be grateful to your gallant black bird, believe me.”

Perched proudly on Jasmine’s wrist, Kree squawked and puffed out his chest.

“And grateful to you.” The deep, quiet voice was new to Lief, yet there was something familiar in it. He turned to meet the steady, deep grey eyes of the man who had been Soldeen.

“We have met before as enemies,” the man said. “Now, at last, we meet as friends.” His grey eyes warmed. “I am Nanion. This — is my lady, Ethena. We are the chiefs of D’Or, and we owe you our freedom.”

The woman smiled, and her beauty was like the beauty of a radiant summer sky. Lief blinked, dazzled. Then he realized that she was holding out her hand to him. Balanced in the palm was the ruby — richly glowing, deepest red.

“You have need of this, I think,” she said.

Lief nodded, swallowing, and took the gem from her hand. It warmed his fingers, and the Belt around his waist grew hot. Quickly he moved to unfasten it, then hesitated, for Manus, Nanion, and Ethena were watching.

“Your secret, if it is a secret, will be safe with us,” Manus chirped. He cleared his throat, as if still amazed and startled by the sound of his own voice.

“It will,” said Ethena. “For a hundred years we have lived a half-life that was worse than death, our land laid waste and our souls imprisoned. Because of you, we are free. Our debt to you will never be repaid.”

Barda smiled grimly. “Perhaps it will,” he said. “For if our quest succeeds, we will have need of you.”

He nodded to Lief, and Lief took off the Belt and put it on the ground in front of him.

Manus gasped, his button eyes wide. But it was Nanion who spoke.

“The Belt of Deltora!” he breathed. “But — how do you have it, so far from Del? And where are the seven gems? There is only one!”

“Two, now,” said Lief. He fitted the ruby into the medallion beside the topaz. It glowed there, scarlet against the shining steel. The ruby, symbol of happiness. Greedily, he drank in the sight.

But Ethena and Nanion had drawn close together, and their tawny faces were pale under the moon. “It has happened, then,” Ethena murmured. “What we feared. What Thaegan promised, before she sent us into darkness. The Shadow Lord has come. Deltora is lost forever.”

“No! Not forever!” cried Jasmine fiercely. “Any more than D’Or was lost forever. Or you!”

Nanion stared at her, startled by her anger. Then, slowly, he smiled. “You are right,” he said softly. “No cause is lost while brave souls live and do not despair.”

Lief lifted the Belt and put it on. It felt heavier than before. Only a little — but enough to make his heart swell with happiness.

A clamor of shouting and singing arose from the valley. The people had seen Nanion and Ethena from afar and were running towards them.

Ethena put a gentle hand on Lief’s arm. “Stay with us a while,” she urged. “Here you can rest, and feast, and be at peace. Here you can regain your strength for the journey ahead.”

Lief glanced at Barda, Jasmine, and Manus and read in their faces what he knew he would. D’Or was beautiful, and the air was sweet. But —

“Thank you,” he said. “But we are expected — in Raladin.”

They said their farewells and left Ethena and Nanion turning to greet their people. The sound of bells ringing in their ears, they climbed up the rocks, pushed their way through the gap, and began to trudge back the way they had come.

Happiness was behind them, and happiness was before them. They could only guess at the Ralads’ joy.

A few days’ rest, thought Lief. A few days of storytelling, laughing, and music, with friends. And then — another journey, another adventure.

Two gems were found. The third awaited them.