Free Deltora Quest #2: The Lake of Tears by Emily Rodda Page B

narrow path that wound away from the village.
    Manus led the way, his head high. He did not look back, but Lief did.
    The people were standing very still, crowded together, watching them. Their hands were pressed to their hearts. And they did not move until the travelers were out of sight.

    By mid-afternoon the way had grown rough and the hills more rugged. Dead trees held bleached, white branches up to the pale sky. The grass crackled under the travelers’ feet, and the low-growing bushes were dusty and dry.
    There were scuttlings in the bushes, and rustlings in dark holes beneath the tree roots, but they saw no living creature. The air was heavy and still, and it seemed hard to breathe. They stopped for food and water, but sat only for a short time before moving on. The scuttling sounds were not pleasant, and they had the feeling that they were being watched.
    As the sun sank lower in the sky, Manus began to walk more and more slowly, his feet dragging as though he was forcing them to move. His companions trudged behind him in single file, watching the ground which had become treacherous, filled with cracks and holes and littered with stones. They all knew, without being told, that they were nearing the end of their journey.
    Finally, they came upon a place where the bases of two steep, rocky hills met, making a narrow “V” shape. Through the gap they could see the red-stained sky andthe fiery ball of the setting sun, glowing like a danger sign.
    The Ralad man stumbled to a stop and leaned against one of the rocks. His skin was as grey as dust, his small black eyes were blank with fear.
    “Manus, is the Lake —” Lief had not spoken for so long that his voice sounded like a croak. He swallowed, and began again. “Is the Lake just beyond these rocks?”
    Manus nodded.
    “Then there is no need for you to come any farther,” said Barda. “You have guided us here, and that is all we ask of you. Go home now to your friends. They will be waiting anxiously for your return.”
    But Manus firmed his lips and shook his head. He took a stone and wrote on the rock.

    This time Lief did not have to wait for Barda to read what the Ralad man had written. He had seen this message before. “You saved me twice from death. My life is yours.”
    He, Jasmine, and Barda all began to speak at once, but nothing they could say would change Manus’s mind. In fact, their arguments seemed to strengthen him. Hisbreathing slowed, his color returned, and his dull eyes began to shine with determination.
    At last, he decided to take action. He turned abruptly and almost ran to the gap between the rocks. In moments he had disappeared from view. They had no choice but to run after him.
    They stumbled through the narrow passage in single file, keeping as close to the Ralad man, and to one another, as they could. So intent were they on their task that they were not prepared for what they saw when finally they reached the end of the pass.
    Not far below them was a murky lake ringed by banks of thick, grey mud riddled with what looked like worm holes. In its center a slimy rock oozed water which dripped ceaselessly into the pool, causing slow, oily ripples to creep across its surface.
    Twisted, barren peaks of clay rose beyond the lake like haunted things. There was not one green, growing thing to be seen. There was no sound but the dripping of water and the faint, squelching movements of mud. There were no smells but damp and decay. It was a place of bitterness, ugliness, misery, and death.
    Lief’s stomach churned. The Lake of Tears was well named. This, then, was what the sorceress Thaegan had made of the town of D’Or — the town that Jasmine had said was “like a garden.” He heard Barda cursing softly beside him, and Jasmine hissing to Filli and Kree.
    Manus simply stared, shivering, at the horror he had heard of all his life, but never seen. The demonstration of Thaegan’s jealousy and wickedness. The evil that had caused his people to