Yay, it's another Deltora Quest fanfic, but this one is different, it comes with spandex! (Enjoy with caution.) Honestly, even I will agree that the whole basis for the plot came out maybe a bit too suddenly at the very beginning, but meh, I'm satisfied. Also, as always, I don't own any small bit of Deltora, not even in my wildest dreams. Except for Barda and Lindal's kids, as follows: Talia, Rolf, Sierra, Jack, Harper, and Scout.

But let's get on with the show!

Demons of Deltora: Plague of Decay
The New Enemy

Jasmine stood to the side of her father, Doom, as Endon, Jared, and Anna talked and played with their friends in the courtyard. By now, both boys had reached teenagerhood, their sister a year older. She smiled and put her head on Doom's shoulder. "Precious, aren't they?" Doom said cooly, stroaking his daughter's hair.

She smiled, her black hair was as dark as ever. "Yes. I'm glad they haven't lived to see the Shadow Lord." Jasmine's face darkened, and Doom nodded. "Perhaps he's.. given up?" He smiled as the sun passed out from under a cloud and basked him in light. He put a hand over his eye, watching Anna, shouting, chasing after Jarred.

"How is Lief these days?" he looked at her. "Oh he's as busy as ever, but affairs are finally settling down after the harvest." Doom nodded. Jasmine got up, patting Doom on the shoulder, as much affection as she was willing to show. "I'll see you later." She smiled to herself, and turned as he raised an eyebrow in amusement. Doom simply looked back to the children, running and laughing. "Play well, children. You needn't think of the Shadow Lord's eyes and ears, always everywhere. "He got up, and strode past a Guard, who watched him curiously until he vanished around the corner.

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The grey tide lay, cracked and dry, on the plains of Hira. An evil aura flowed from it, and no one ventured near it, no matter what the reason. It killed the rats, it killed the birds, it killed the plants. The city was mess of ruins, barely poking out from below the dried ooze. But now, something sealed away long ago beneath it, was awakening.

A blood-red light radiated from the deep below the ground, in slow succession, four orbs of incandescent red light floated through the air gently. Their light illuminated the endless plain of grey, the waves of ooze frozen in time reflecting an eerie light, the four glowing orbs whirled along the breeze. Four evils from before time, before the written records of the Land of Dragons, thought to be locked away forever.

Each one more horrible than the last, one-by-one leading to the last, a creature that should have been sealed away forever. But, through the slaying of the Four Sisters, the grey tide was unleashed, but it, in turn, had opened a gate to something that even the Shadow Lord had never dreamed of, who he paled in comparison to. It had been waiting all these years, brooding, unlocking its chains, and finally, it was free.

The four spheres of light flowed through the land, past Tora, through Broome, into the streets of Rithmere, over the River Del, and finally Del, and here, the first separated from the others, drifting through the silent streets and alleys, unnoticed.
The first sphere slipped through a crack under the rubble blocking the opening of the chapel's pit, faintly, a glow filtered through the gaps in the debris, and then there was nothing. Then, suddenly, cracks spread across the floor, snaking like a web.

Tiny bits of rock tumbled from the ceiling of the now-unused chapel, and a pale green-colored, claw burst from the rubble. There was a low hiss, and for just a moment, in the dust, two glowing green eyes flashed, and were gone.

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" 'Night, Dad." Anna smiled and Lief leaned down and kissed her forehead, and turned back toward the door, blowing out the candle on her dresser and shutting her door quietly. Jasmine waited for him, smiling at him, he kissed her for a moment and then stood back. "I'll be to bed in a little bit. Your father has something he wants to tell me about." Jasmine nodded. "Good night." Lief smiled at her. "Good night."

Doom looked up at Lief as he arrived, and he sat down at the table and folded his hands. Doom immediately got up and bowed before adressing him. "Lief, it is good to see you. I'm sure you've probably already heard about the great harvest all around your kingdom?" Lief laughed lightly, and nodded "Of course, the harvests are good, and the friends are many." Lief seriously doubted that Doom had called him here so late to address the great harvest. "What is on your mind, old friend?"

"It's just - perhaps I am finally becoming old and senile, but, I can't shake the uneasy feeling I'm getting. I can't help but think there must be something on the horizon." Doom leaned forward, putting his own hands together. "Doom.." Lief raised an eyebrow, and Doom furrowed his brow as he saw a smile play on his lips. "You really must learn to relax, really. Every month you have a new feeling, didn't you already tell me that the crops weren't looking well? That they were failing? Well, you just told me yourself that is not so."

Lief reached forward to pat him on the shoulder as Doom grumbled to himself, and was about to continue, but just then, a garrison of guards ran hurriedly past the open door to the chamber. Lief slowly looked at Doom, and they both got up in unison and pushed in their chairs, running into the hallway to follow the guards.

"Barda, what's happening?" Barda glanced behind him as Lief, with Doom in tow, walked up to him, they were at the door of the chapel, which Lief had sealed shortly after the Fourth Sister had been destroyed, and had had a team of Ralad builders create a new one on the opposite side of the palace. Now, the brick wall he had had built was lying in ruins.

"I don't know, something knocked down the wall and several servants heard it and came running!" Lief raised an eyebrow, exchanging glances with Doom. "Do you think - ?" Barda looked at them quizzically. "Could someone have found the secret way into the palace and broken down the wall, or could something else have been down there?" Very few knew of the secret tunnel under the walls besides the royal family, its advisors, and the captain of the guards, who was Barda.

"Sir!" A guard came out of the room and bowed briefly towards Lief, and addressed Barda. "It's all clear, sir! But - ." Barda growled "Out of my way!" And strode into the chamber, Doom following him, with a quick shrug, Lief entered last. The room looked the same as the day he had sealed it, besides the fact that there was a strange green mist flowing across the floor of the room, and the rubble blocking the pit itself had collapsed inward.

Lief quietly inched towards the area where the removable tile was located, and scoured his foot across the floor, and found nothing. This gave no guarantee that it hadn't been opened, but it helped ease his fears. "What's with the mist?" He walked up behind Barda, who had been kneeling by the open pit with Doom. "I haven't a clue." Barda turned to a nearby guard. "Korin! Report?" The guard, who had been examining the chapel with awe, turned to him and tried to hide his surprise.

"Don't know, sir. When you ordered us all here, the wall was gone, the pit was open, and this green smoke was spilling out of the whole place. But it does seem to be coming from the pit, sir." Barda nodded, glancing at Lief. "At ease, Korin." He turned back to Lief and Doom. "Well, I guess we know where we're going to be looking." Lief looked over into the pit with dread. "Well, I just say - ."

There was a horrified gasp as the previous guard, Korin, backed away from another guard, who was bent over in pain over the floor. The second guard let out a scream and fell to his knees, tearing off his helmet and vomiting blood upon the floor in a single, sickening motion. "By the gods, Korin!" Doom grabbed Barda's shoulder and held him back.

The guard choked, dropping on to his stomache and turning on his back, clutching horribly at the air, he wheeze, writhing upon the floor, his eyes rolling back in his head, until he finally stilled, his head lolling to the side. Lief fell back against the wall, putting a hand over his stomach, fighting back nausea at the sight. Barda ran forward and kneeled down beside him, pressing two fingers to his neck, unnatural green veins ran across the guard's body, snaking across his face. "So he's dead, just like that."

Barda got up and stumbled backwards, a mask of horror on his face. "Loren, get me - ." But he couldn't finish, because just then another guard bent forward, writhing in pain. Lief averted his eyes and another guard fell before the second could even finish his seizures. Korin and the other guards simply abandoned the room, another falling in the hallway. Doom, fearing for his King, briskly ushered both him and Barda out. And Lief was relieved to be free of both the green mist and the lifeless bodies of the guards.

Lief looked up as hurried footsteps echoed down the hall, and Jasmine appeared around the corner, clinging to a pink nightdress. Lief moved to stop her, but she ran to the door of the chapel, her fascination turning to horror. She gagged and turned away, bending over in disgust. "Oh, god! Oh - what is that?"

Jasmine stumbled forward, bracing herself on the wall, trying to regain her composure. "Jasmine, you're supposed to be back in bed!" Lief tried to push the guards' deaths out of his mind, his anger towards Jasmine coming out of worry towards Jasmine, for she had now come in contact with whatever had killed the guards in that room. "I'm sorry, I heard a scream, and I just - ." She swallowed and regained her usual proud posture.

"I'm sorry." She repeated, straightening the bottom of her nightdress idly. "It's alright." Lief wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, there was a smell of decay in the air, whether it was the guards' rotting bodies or the mist spilling into the hallway, he couldn't tell which, and didn't care to find out. Lief's gaze lingered on the mist, and his eyes widened. "Let's go. Barda, I want something put up to stop the mist spilling into the rest of the palace.." Barda looked at him in confusion, and he too, seemed to realize what must be true.

The mist was the cause of whatever had happened to the guards, and the very horrible truth was, that all four of them and almost the entire staff of royal guards had been exposed, and were potentially infected.

The Enemy is clever and sly, to its anger and envy a thousand years is like the blink of an eye..

The phrase from The Belt of Deltora suddenly floated into his mind, and it made him wonder as he put an arm around Jasmine and they moved back into the corridors of the palace. Could this be the Shadow Lord's doing, could this mist have been planted by him to be released after the death of the Sisters, if perhaps the Grey Tide failed? But it had been nearly fifteen years since his last attack, longer than it had ever been before, there were now many who didn't even know the Shadow Lord existed.

It didn't add up, why now? But Lief couldn't help but think that there was something on the horizon..