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dazed.
    Thunder growled outside, threatening as an angry beast. Black clouds edged with scarlet were tumbling towards the tower.
    “We must hurry to the tunnel,” Jarred said urgently. “Come quickly!”

    The palace was echoing with frightened voices as they ran down the stairs. The people were waking to darkness and terror.
    “I have brought them to this,” moaned Endon, as they reached the chapel door. “How can I leave them?”
    “You have no choice, Endon,” panted Jarred. “Your family must survive or Deltora will be lost to the Shadow Lord forever.”
    He pushed Endon and Sharn into the chapel and closed the door behind them. “We will go straight to the forge,” he said, hurrying towards the tunnel entrance. “There we will think what we should do.”
    “We must flee the city and find a place to hide,” said Sharn.
    But Endon’s hands tightened on the tangled handful of steel that had once been the Belt of Deltora.
    “I cannot run and hide!” he burst out. “I must find the gems and restore them to the Belt. Without them I am helpless and Deltora is doomed.”
    Glancing at Sharn’s worried face, Jarred took his friend’s arm. “The gems must be found, but you cannot be the one to find them, Endon,” he said firmly. “The Shadow Lord will be searching for you. You must stay in hiding and wait.”
    “But what if I die before the Belt is whole again?” Endon argued desperately. “It will only recognize Adin’s true heir. It will only shine for me!”
    Jarred opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it. Soon enough Endon would realize for himself that he had lost the last trust his people had in him. The Belt of Deltora would never shine for him again.
    But Sharn had moved quietly to her husband’s side. “Do not forget, my dear,” she murmured. “Our child will also be Adin’s heir.”
    Endon stared at her, open-mouthed. She lifted her chin proudly.
    “If the Shadow Lord can be patient, so can we,” she said. “We will hide ourselves away from him for now. But it will not be for fear of our own lives, as he will think. It will be to keep our child safe, and to prepare for the future.”
    She stroked his arm lovingly. “Years will pass and we may die, Endon,” she said. “But our child will liveafter us, to reclaim the kingdom and lift this evil from our land.”
    Jarred’s heart swelled at her courage. And at that moment he himself found the courage to face what he must do.
    Endon had gathered Sharn close to him. “You are indeed a precious gift,” he was murmuring. “But you do not understand. Without the Belt our child cannot defeat the Shadow Lord. The gems —”
    “One day the gems will be found,” Jarred broke in.
    They turned from each other to look at him. “We will discuss this further at the forge,” he said rapidly. “For the moment, remember that now that Prandine is dead, no one knows that you have a friend outside the palace. The Shadow Lord will not suspect that a humble blacksmith could be a threat to him.”
    “ You will go now, to find the gems?” whispered Endon.
    Jarred shook his head. “I would not succeed now, any more than you would do, Endon. Our enemy’s servants will be watching the gems’ hiding places for signs that they are in danger. But in years to come the Shadow Lord will begin to believe that he is safe and the watching will become less. Then, and only then, the quest can begin.”
    He held out his uninjured hand to Endon. “After this day we may not meet again in this life, my friend,”he said in a low voice. “We will be far apart, and who can tell what will become of us in the dangerous times ahead? But one day the gems will be found and the Belt will be restored. It will be done.”
    Endon took the hand in both his own and bowed his head. Then, suddenly, the walls of the chapel trembled as though the palace had been struck by a great wind.
    “We must go!” Sharn cried in alarm.
    As he helped her climb into the tunnel