them.
“But — the gnomes collect Gellick’s slime for themselves!” cried Jasmine. “How could it be in the blisters? How could —”
“We keep only a little,” mumbled Gla-Thon, her lips stiff with fear. “The rest must be taken, at each full moon, to the bottom of the Mountain and left by the roadside. It was part of the bargain. We did not know —”
“RI-NAN,” Gellick roared. “ANSWER ME! WHO ARE THEY?”
“They are the intruders, great Gellick!” gabbled Ri-Nan. He pointed at Gla-Thon and Fa-Glin. “And there are the traitors who set them free, and helped them find you. Kill them! I, your faithful servant, can make the gnomes work harder than that doddering fool Fa-Glin ever could. I should be leader. I, Ri-Nan, deserve your —”
He broke off as Gellick’s awful eyes turned on him.
“Down, while it is not looking!” muttered Barda. “Hide under …”
“YOU DESERVE , RI-NAN?” roared the monster. “YOU DARE TO ORDER ME ? THIS IS WHAT YOU DESERVE, WORM!”
It spat and Ri-Nan collapsed, screaming, rolling over and over, kicking and writhing among the gold. The toad’s tongue flicked in satisfaction. Then it turned, slowly …
“Ah,” it hissed, as it saw that the drifts of treasure now glittered empty in the flickering light. “Now you hide from me, do you, worms? You burrow under my trinkets, trembling at my rage? That is as it should be.”
It lifted a huge foot, stamping with a sound like thunder, and its voice rose to a deafening roar. “I AM THE GREAT GELLICK! THE SHADOW LORD HIMSELF RESPECTS ME. MY VENOM ALONE DEFEATS HIS ENEMIES!”
The hideous bellow echoed around the cavern. Hidden below a glittering mass of coins and gems, scarcely able to breathe, Lief listened in terror. He knewhis companions were somewhere near, but he did not dare move or speak as Gellick’s voice roared on.
“HE GAVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN, AND A RACE OF SLAVES TO SERVE ME. HE KNOWS I WILL NOT FAIL HIM. HE TRUSTS ME TO KILL YOU, WORMS! HE TRUSTS ME TO GUARD THE STONE I WEAR ON MY BROW. OTHERS MAY HAVE FAILED HIM. BUT NOT I!”
Lief’s thoughts were racing. The beast had been expecting them. It knew they had come for the emerald. The moment they raised their heads, the moment they moved to escape or attack, it would kill them.
Now it had fallen silent. It was waiting, watching, no doubt for any sign of movement. Long moments passed. At last it spoke again, its voice rasping, sneering, and low.
“I know where you are. I have only to wait, worms, till at last you show yourselves. But I choose not to wait. I choose instead to crush you where you lie.”
There was a tumbling, clinking sound as gold and jewels were pushed aside. The toad was moving, crawling towards them, heaving its great bulk along on its vast, clawed feet. Nearer. Nearer …
“It will please me to feel you beneath my weight, and hear your screams, worms,” it hissed. “It will please me to see what is left of your bodies dragged away at last, to feed the flies.”
Lief lay very still. His sword was in his hand. He realized, almost with surprise, that he felt very calm.He had already decided that he would wait until the last moment, then spring up and try to pierce the beast’s belly, whatever the gnomes had said. It would mean his death, but his death was coming in any case, one way or another.
The monster was very close now. So close that through the gaps in the jewels above his head Lief could see its shadow. The Belt of Deltora was burning at his waist. The Belt could feel the emerald — the emerald that would never shine again, but would remain dulled by the toad’s evil.
Was it time yet to scramble from hiding, to make his last, hopeless gesture of defiance? No. A moment more. But no longer than that. Lief thought that Jasmine and Barda were somewhere behind him, with the two gnomes. But he could not be sure. His greatest fear now was that he would hear their anguished cries before he himself could escape into death.
“But — the gnomes collect Gellick’s slime for themselves!” cried Jasmine. “How could it be in the blisters? How could —”
“We keep only a little,” mumbled Gla-Thon, her lips stiff with fear. “The rest must be taken, at each full moon, to the bottom of the Mountain and left by the roadside. It was part of the bargain. We did not know —”
“RI-NAN,” Gellick roared. “ANSWER ME! WHO ARE THEY?”
“They are the intruders, great Gellick!” gabbled Ri-Nan. He pointed at Gla-Thon and Fa-Glin. “And there are the traitors who set them free, and helped them find you. Kill them! I, your faithful servant, can make the gnomes work harder than that doddering fool Fa-Glin ever could. I should be leader. I, Ri-Nan, deserve your —”
He broke off as Gellick’s awful eyes turned on him.
“Down, while it is not looking!” muttered Barda. “Hide under …”
“YOU DESERVE , RI-NAN?” roared the monster. “YOU DARE TO ORDER ME ? THIS IS WHAT YOU DESERVE, WORM!”
It spat and Ri-Nan collapsed, screaming, rolling over and over, kicking and writhing among the gold. The toad’s tongue flicked in satisfaction. Then it turned, slowly …
“Ah,” it hissed, as it saw that the drifts of treasure now glittered empty in the flickering light. “Now you hide from me, do you, worms? You burrow under my trinkets, trembling at my rage? That is as it should be.”
It lifted a huge foot, stamping with a sound like thunder, and its voice rose to a deafening roar. “I AM THE GREAT GELLICK! THE SHADOW LORD HIMSELF RESPECTS ME. MY VENOM ALONE DEFEATS HIS ENEMIES!”
The hideous bellow echoed around the cavern. Hidden below a glittering mass of coins and gems, scarcely able to breathe, Lief listened in terror. He knewhis companions were somewhere near, but he did not dare move or speak as Gellick’s voice roared on.
“HE GAVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN, AND A RACE OF SLAVES TO SERVE ME. HE KNOWS I WILL NOT FAIL HIM. HE TRUSTS ME TO KILL YOU, WORMS! HE TRUSTS ME TO GUARD THE STONE I WEAR ON MY BROW. OTHERS MAY HAVE FAILED HIM. BUT NOT I!”
Lief’s thoughts were racing. The beast had been expecting them. It knew they had come for the emerald. The moment they raised their heads, the moment they moved to escape or attack, it would kill them.
Now it had fallen silent. It was waiting, watching, no doubt for any sign of movement. Long moments passed. At last it spoke again, its voice rasping, sneering, and low.
“I know where you are. I have only to wait, worms, till at last you show yourselves. But I choose not to wait. I choose instead to crush you where you lie.”
There was a tumbling, clinking sound as gold and jewels were pushed aside. The toad was moving, crawling towards them, heaving its great bulk along on its vast, clawed feet. Nearer. Nearer …
“It will please me to feel you beneath my weight, and hear your screams, worms,” it hissed. “It will please me to see what is left of your bodies dragged away at last, to feed the flies.”
Lief lay very still. His sword was in his hand. He realized, almost with surprise, that he felt very calm.He had already decided that he would wait until the last moment, then spring up and try to pierce the beast’s belly, whatever the gnomes had said. It would mean his death, but his death was coming in any case, one way or another.
The monster was very close now. So close that through the gaps in the jewels above his head Lief could see its shadow. The Belt of Deltora was burning at his waist. The Belt could feel the emerald — the emerald that would never shine again, but would remain dulled by the toad’s evil.
Was it time yet to scramble from hiding, to make his last, hopeless gesture of defiance? No. A moment more. But no longer than that. Lief thought that Jasmine and Barda were somewhere behind him, with the two gnomes. But he could not be sure. His greatest fear now was that he would hear their anguished cries before he himself could escape into death.
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