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

do more than wound them — but that, at least, would give the little man a chance to escape.
    For that was the most important thing now. Not just for the Ralad man, but for them all. The small, running man with the muddy feet was the only one who could save them. Only he could tell them the way across the quicksand. Only he could tell them which of the floating leaves were safe to tread upon, and which were not.
    Lief thought of the leaves as he had seen them, their strange red markings showing clearly against the shining, pale green background. Then, suddenly, he gasped.
    “But he has already told us!” he exclaimed aloud.
    Startled, the Ralad man glanced in his direction and stumbled. The great curved hook caught him around the waist, stopping him short and driving all the breath from his body. Jod screamed in triumph and began to pull him in.
    But at the same moment Lief’s sword came crashing down on the pole, cutting it through. Off balance and taken by surprise, Jod fell backwards, crashing into Jin. They went down in a tangle of lumpy, heaving flesh.
    Jasmine sprang for them, her dagger raised.
    “No, Jasmine!” shouted Lief, snatching the Ralad man from the ground and heaving him over his shoulder. “Leave them!”
    He knew that now that he had discovered the secret of the stepping stones, speed would be far more likely to save them than fighting would.
    Jin and Jod were clumsy, but very strong. If either Lief or Jasmine were wounded, it would be disastrous. The Ralad man was helpless, and Barda nearly so. They would both need help if they were to survive.
    He began running back towards the rock, where Barda was anxiously waiting. After a moment’s hesitation, Jasmine followed, shouting after him. He ignored her until they had reached Barda’s side. Then he turned to her, panting.
    “You are mad, Lief!” she cried angrily. “Now we are trapped with our backs to the quicksand! It is the worst possible place to stand and fight!”
    “We are not going to stand and fight,” gasped Lief, pulling the Ralad man more firmly onto his shoulder. “We are going to cross to the other side.”
    “But which leaves are we to trust?” Barda demanded. “Which mark the path?”
    “None of them,” panted Lief. “The spaces between them are the path.”
    He peered over Jasmine’s head and his heart thumped as he saw that Jin and Jod were already scrambling to their feet. “Jasmine, you go first!” he urged. “Then you can help Barda. I will follow with the Ralad man. Make haste! They will be upon us at any moment!”
    But Barda and Jasmine just gaped at him.
    “The spaces between the leaves are quicksand!” Jasmine shrilled. “You can see it. If we leap upon it we will sink and die!”
    “You will not die!” Lief panted desperately. “You will die if you leap anywhere else! Do as I say! Trust me!”
    “But how do you know it is safe?” mumbled Barda, rubbing his hand over his brow as he tried to clear his head.
    “The Ralad man told me.”
    “He has not said a word!” Jasmine protested.
    “He pointed to this spot and then to his legs,” shouted Lief. “His legs are muddy to the knees. But the leaves have not been trodden down into the mud in the last hour. They are quite clean and dry.”
    Still Barda and Jasmine hesitated.
    Jin and Jod were coming. Jin’s green-white, bristled face was so swollen with rage that her tiny eyes had almost disappeared. Yellow tusks jutted from her open, shrieking mouth. She was rushing towards them, the axe raised high, ready to strike.
    Lief knew there was only one thing he could do. He took a breath and, holding the Ralad man tightly, jumped straight for the first gap between the leaves.
    He plunged straight through the green slime. With a stab of panic he wondered if he had been wrong. He heard Jasmine and Barda crying out in horror. But then, at last, his feet touched flat rock. He had sunk only to his ankles.
    With an effort he wrenched his right foot free and