He had nodded vigorously when Sholto had sneered that the citizens of Weld were treated like children too young to decide for themselves what was dangerous and what was not.
He had laughed when Dirk had made fun of the Wardenas latest notices: Citizens of Weld! Dress warmly in winter to avoid colds and chills. Children of Weld! Play wisely! Rough games lead to broken bonesa.
But at least he had felt safe a" safe within the Wall.
Lying very still, his wrists crossed rigidly on his chest, Rye thought about that. He thought about Weld, and its Wall. Thought about the history he had learned and taken for granted. Thought, for the first time, about what that history meant.
Weld had existed for almost a thousand years, ever since its founder, the great sorcerer Dann, had fled with his followers from the savage barbarians and monstrous creatures that infested the coast of Dorne.
Turning his back on the sea, Dann had taken his people to a place where the barbarians dared not follow. He had led them through the dangerous, forbidden ring of land called the Fell Zone, to the secret center of the island. And there, within a towering Wall, he had created a place of peace, safety, and magic a" the city of Weld.
After Dannas time, the magic had slowly faded, but his Wall had remained. More than half of the cityas workers labored on it every day, repairing and strengthening it. Every rock and stone in Weld, except for the stones that formed the Wardenas Keep, had vanished into the Wallas vast bulk centuries ago. The workers used bricks of mud and straw to mend and thicken it now.
And as the Wall had thickened, little by little, it had crept ever closer to the great trench at its base a" the trench from which the clay for bricks was dug.
The trench now circled Weld in the Wallas shadow like a deep, ugly scar. In the past, houses had been pulled down to make way for it. Soon, everyone knew, more would have to go.
The people did not complain. They knew that the Wall, and the Fell Zone beyond it, kept Weld safe. They had thought it always would.
Then the first skimmers had come. And now, after five years of invasions, it was clear to everyone that the days of safety were over.
The barbarians had at last found a way to attack Weld. Not by tunneling through the base of the Wall, as had always been feared, but by breeding creatures that could do what had once seemed impossible a" brave the Wallas great height and fly over it.
And we are trapped inside, Rye thought.
Tender prey a aThis room is stifling!a he heard Dirk mutter to Sholto in the darkness. aI cannot breathe! Sholto, this cannot go on! The Warden must act!a aPerhaps he will,a Sholto whispered back. aThe riot in Northwall must have shaken him. Tomorrow may bring some surprises.a Emily Rodda is the author of the New York Times bestselling Deltora Quest series, with over two million copies of her books in print. Winner of the Childrenas Book Council of Australiaas Book of the Year Award (Younger Readers) a record five times, Emily lives in Sydney, Australia.
VENTURE INTO DELTORA.
1 The Forests of Silence.
2 The Lake of Tears.
3 City of the Rats 4 The Shifting Sands 5 Dread Mountain.
6 The Maze of the Beast 7 The Valley of the Lost 8 Return to Del.
end.