Then it would have what it wanted. What it had wanted from the beginning.
The Belt of Deltora.
Panic gripped Lief by the throat. He began to struggle, to scream —
Softly, boy, softly. Gently, gently!
The crabbed old voice was as clear in his mind as if it had spoken right beside his ear. It was like cold water splashed in his face.
The screams died in his throat. He opened his eyes. He forced himself to be still, to stop gasping for air, to breathe evenly.
He opened his eyes a fraction. Through the narrow slits he saw that the smoke pouring from the torch had at last begun mingling with the whirling red.
And the whirlwind was quieting. The Hive was slowing, and thinning. It was retreating to the darkness at the sides of the cone. And the thing that its fury had previously hidden was at last revealed — a glistening pyramid rising through the cone’s center.
Slowly, carefully, Lief reached up and tugged the rope once. His downward progress stopped with a slight jolt as, far above, Jasmine and Barda received the signal.
For a moment he simply swung in space, staring, fascinated, through the drifting smoke, at the astounding thing the living Sand had built, tended, and guarded for years without number.
It was a towering pyramid of cells made of gold, glass, gems, and bleached, white bones.
Lief told himself that he had expected this — or something like it. But the reality was beyond anything he could have imagined.
Anything that would not decay, or would decay so slowly that it would have to be replaced only after centuries, had been gathered and used for the building. Skulls and bones of every shape and size were packed side by side with glass bottles and jars, coins, crystals and gems, gold chains, rings and bracelets, and yet more bones. The individual parts, small and large, had been fitted together with such care that the tower glittered like an enormous jewel.
It was an awesome sight. And unbelievably horrible.
It was a pyramid of death. How many human beings had been stripped of life for its sake? And what was stored inside those secret cells? The Hive’s young, no doubt. Eggs, then tiny squirming things, packed in the thousands, nursed and cared for, fed on a disgusting brew of decayed red flies, dead lizards, and whatever else slipped beneath the sand. Till they grew into — what? Not insects of any kind he had ever known. Not insects at all, perhaps. Some other form of life he could not even imagine. Some tiny unit that would become part of the ancient thing that had lived on while all around it changed. The Hive.
Shaken with disgust, Lief ached to kick and tear at the tower, to see it fall and smash to pieces in the darkness below. In that darkness, no doubt, the giant Hive Queen lurked. He almost felt he could see her bloated shape, rippling in the depths, laying eggs, eggs without number.
But he knew that if he attacked the pyramid the Hive would be upon him. The smoke would not hold it back.
And the Belt was throbbing and burning. Somewhere in this gleaming tower lay the gem he was seeking. Was it the diamond? The amethyst? The emerald? He could see clear, purple, and green stones among those that sparkled in the pyramid. But which was the precious One?
He pulled his cloak and shirt aside to reveal the Belt, and looked down at it, peering through wreaths of smoke. He could hardly see the topaz and the ruby. But the opal shone, dancing with sparkling lights so that it seemed alive.
What did that mean? He struggled to see in his mind the words about the powers of the opal in The Belt of Deltora.
† The opal, symbol of hope, shines with all the colors of the rainbow. It has the power to give glimpses of the future, and to aid those with weak sight. The opal …
What came next? Lief screwed his eyes tightly closed to help him to think, but after a moment heopened them again, shaking his head desperately. He could not remember the end.
He looked up to the top of the pyramid. He knew
The Belt of Deltora.
Panic gripped Lief by the throat. He began to struggle, to scream —
Softly, boy, softly. Gently, gently!
The crabbed old voice was as clear in his mind as if it had spoken right beside his ear. It was like cold water splashed in his face.
The screams died in his throat. He opened his eyes. He forced himself to be still, to stop gasping for air, to breathe evenly.
He opened his eyes a fraction. Through the narrow slits he saw that the smoke pouring from the torch had at last begun mingling with the whirling red.
And the whirlwind was quieting. The Hive was slowing, and thinning. It was retreating to the darkness at the sides of the cone. And the thing that its fury had previously hidden was at last revealed — a glistening pyramid rising through the cone’s center.
Slowly, carefully, Lief reached up and tugged the rope once. His downward progress stopped with a slight jolt as, far above, Jasmine and Barda received the signal.
For a moment he simply swung in space, staring, fascinated, through the drifting smoke, at the astounding thing the living Sand had built, tended, and guarded for years without number.
It was a towering pyramid of cells made of gold, glass, gems, and bleached, white bones.
Lief told himself that he had expected this — or something like it. But the reality was beyond anything he could have imagined.
Anything that would not decay, or would decay so slowly that it would have to be replaced only after centuries, had been gathered and used for the building. Skulls and bones of every shape and size were packed side by side with glass bottles and jars, coins, crystals and gems, gold chains, rings and bracelets, and yet more bones. The individual parts, small and large, had been fitted together with such care that the tower glittered like an enormous jewel.
It was an awesome sight. And unbelievably horrible.
It was a pyramid of death. How many human beings had been stripped of life for its sake? And what was stored inside those secret cells? The Hive’s young, no doubt. Eggs, then tiny squirming things, packed in the thousands, nursed and cared for, fed on a disgusting brew of decayed red flies, dead lizards, and whatever else slipped beneath the sand. Till they grew into — what? Not insects of any kind he had ever known. Not insects at all, perhaps. Some other form of life he could not even imagine. Some tiny unit that would become part of the ancient thing that had lived on while all around it changed. The Hive.
Shaken with disgust, Lief ached to kick and tear at the tower, to see it fall and smash to pieces in the darkness below. In that darkness, no doubt, the giant Hive Queen lurked. He almost felt he could see her bloated shape, rippling in the depths, laying eggs, eggs without number.
But he knew that if he attacked the pyramid the Hive would be upon him. The smoke would not hold it back.
And the Belt was throbbing and burning. Somewhere in this gleaming tower lay the gem he was seeking. Was it the diamond? The amethyst? The emerald? He could see clear, purple, and green stones among those that sparkled in the pyramid. But which was the precious One?
He pulled his cloak and shirt aside to reveal the Belt, and looked down at it, peering through wreaths of smoke. He could hardly see the topaz and the ruby. But the opal shone, dancing with sparkling lights so that it seemed alive.
What did that mean? He struggled to see in his mind the words about the powers of the opal in The Belt of Deltora.
† The opal, symbol of hope, shines with all the colors of the rainbow. It has the power to give glimpses of the future, and to aid those with weak sight. The opal …
What came next? Lief screwed his eyes tightly closed to help him to think, but after a moment heopened them again, shaking his head desperately. He could not remember the end.
He looked up to the top of the pyramid. He knew
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