Just completely disregard everything I say from now on, I suck at updating, somebody please hit me with a waffle iron. I could hit myself over the head with a keyboard at this point, but, yes, like I said, I suck. One way or another though, I'm getting this mother done, even if it takes a really, really long time. I'm actually sort of in the progress of re-writing chapter three, because I'm completely unsatisfied with how I wrote it. So, keep in mind you might want to check that out at some point, too Plus, I want to make a note here about the guards, even though most of them are all really minor characters, I always thought Mrs. Rodda should have given them bigger roles. Also, remember how I said to disregard everything I say? Yeah... That's a paradox, ain't it?

Demons of Deltora: Plagues of Decay

Rescue

He stood on a large, raised wooden platform. Below, there is a vast crowd, staring up at him in horror. He is vaguely aware of others around him, his mother, his father, and a pale-green demon, its features cruel and slender, its eyes glowing like green fire. Something was wrong, something was horribly wrong. A loud, grating screech tore through the air, and he looked slowly up, and almost in slow motion, a terrible Ak-Baba streaked toward him, its talons aimed towards his heart. He could only stare in awe, for there was nowhere to go, stranded on the platform. The Ak-Baba descended, and tore him into a thousand beautiful pieces.

---

"Where are we going?" Jarred asking, following behind Barda, but Barda didn't say anything.

"Hello? I'm talking to you. Why are you quiet now? What aren't you telling us?" They were somewhere within the walls of the palace, and Barda seemed to be leading them in circles, and neither Jarred nor Scout seemed willing to say anything.

"Where are we going?" Jarred asked, and Barda stopped, rounding on them in irritation.

"With the King... incapacitated, I am in charge of your protection. Now of all times, I cannot let the royal heirs wander around by themselves, the palace is being held hostage, and it is no longer safe, especially if that thing has anything to do with the Shadow Lord!" Barda said, almost shouting. Jarred stared at him resentfully, but behind him, Josef and Scout's eyes both widened.

Barda turned back around, and continued down the corridor, and, finally, they seemed to meet up with a troop of guards. "Jakob, Urich, Farris, are you the only three going?" Barda asked, and they looked back and forth between one another awkwardly. "Yes, sir, everyone else is either too afraid or – or dead." One said, casting a sidelong glance at Jarred, Josef, and Scout. "What are you talking about? Where are you going?" Jarred asked, but Barda seemed to ignore him.

"That's fine, that's all we need, but those cowards who are left should know that there will be a spear up each of their hind-sides once this is taken care of. I will die for my King." The last part was whispered, and it seemed as if Jarred was the only one who heard it, and it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Father, where are you going?" Scout said, her voice shaky, listening with growing concern, Barda looked at her grimly. "We're going into the city, to look for survivors." He cast a meaningful glance at Jarred. "But, that green mist is out there?" Scout said weakly, but Barda's expression didn't change. "I want to go, too." Jarred said firmly, before Barda could say anything else. "No, you can't go, you're a royal heir." Jarred snorted.

"I'm third in line."

"You're a twin."

"Well, Endon's named after my grandfather, so he's probably got it called, anyway."

Barda laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't let you go out there, it's too dangerous. If your brother is out there, Jarred, and he is unable to be crowned, you are second in line." His voice hung in the air for a moment, but Jarred didn't seem any less resolute.

"Sir, if I may comment -." Urich, one of the guards, started to interject. "Who the hell said that you could?" Barda scoffed. "Sir, we need everyone we can get, we need to go through the entire city. The safe-houses, the streets, the sewers, if there's someone alive out there, they need our help." He flinched under Barda's scrutinizing gaze, but after a tense moment, he gave way with a helpless shrug. "Fine."

"Captain Barda, can I go too?" Josef asked tentatively, and Barda looked at him dully. "Sure… Fine, what ever you want to do, but you are sticking with me at all times." He looked slowly towards Scout. "Scout, do you want to come too?" She could feel how much he didn't want her too, and there was no way she could go out there; she didn't want to die.

Barda nodded. "Okay, then, you should go and find your sisters, and… are all the boys off with Lindal in Broome?" Barda paused, and Scout blinked. He lost track of them all sometimes. "Yeah, Rolf, Jack, and Harper are with Mom." She nodded. "Good, then." Barda smiled warmly. "Go off, then, we'll be okay."

Scout looked at Josef, and then lingered on Jarred, who smiled back, then she nodded again and dashed back down the corridor.

Barda sighed.

"Jakob?" A blonde-headed guard stood at attention. "Do you have them?" Jakob nodded rapidly, digging into his armor and coming out with a stack of rags, one of which Barda took from his hands, then held before Jarred. "Put it on." Jarred stared at him. "Umm, where?" He asked. Barda dropped it into his hands and turned around, then took another and wrapped it over his mouth. "It's all we can do to protect ourselves from the mist."

"I don't know if that will really help much, considering…" Josef trailed off. "Well, you volunteered, now didn't you?" Barda passed out the rest off the rags and they tied them around their head over their mouths and noses, and Barda motioned for them to follow. "Where are we going?" Jarred said again, and Barda almost turned around and smacked him over the head with the flat of his sword.

"We're going to the chapel." Josef and Jarred glanced at each other.

"Why are we going to the chapel?" Jarred asked darkly, remembering his last visit quite vividly. "We need to get past that beast on the gate, and the only way to do that, is through the chapel." Barda said, and the other guards just shrugged, and Josef exchanged a confused glance with Jarred. Although, Barda knew, without asking, that Jarred already knew where they were going. Both Doom and Lief had made completely sure that the royal family knew how to use the secret tunnel in the chapel, and Barda must have held the guards – and Josef – in high regard to even consider revealing it.

They made their way to the chapel, stepping inside, and Barda led them across the threshold. Jarred looked at the gaping hole in the center warily, pressing the cloth tighter around his face, and followed. Barda, who bent down somewhere nearby and, with some effort, dragged a tile loose from the floor. The guards looked at each other, and Josef glanced at Jarred, but he wasn't paying attention to any of them, switching his gaze from one hole to the other.

Barda grunted, setting down the cover. Looking down into the blackness, he looked back up at his companions in the chamber. "So? Who's first?"

---

Scout made her way up the stairs. She didn't know where her sisters had gone to. They couldn't be in the city, could they? No, they were here in the palace, she was pretty sure. It felt like their family was too big to fit in the entire palace sometimes, even when someone had been gone for days, in the entire palace, they all sometimes completely forgot who was where. But Lindal had recently taken the boys to Broome and left Scout and her sisters behind – she knew that much.

There was a throng of nervous people in the main hall, too afraid to go outside, and unable to delve further into the depths of the palace, handkerchiefs pressed tightly over their lips, glancing nervously from one to another, not knowing if someone else was already sick. It sickened her. She had little doubt that she, and everyone else, would go completely insane if things kept on like this. More people would get sick, more people would die, and somebody would snap.

People were fragile, and if conditions didn't get better, they could become their own worst enemy.

Nonetheless, Scout found herself quickly avoiding the main hall herself, and felt inwardly guilty, her, the daughter of the guard captain, above them all, she couldn't risk getting sick. She couldn't imagine how Jarred must feel, his own brother, trapped outside. It seemed almost unimaginable that Endon wasn't alive, it just didn't seem like it could happen, even when she tried to think of that creature on the gate, the green smoke, rising over the gate, sweeping over the town. What if her sisters were out there?

Scout shook her head, she knew they weren't out there, Jarred had so much more to worry about than she did, but she had little doubt that Endon was alive, somewhere.

Scout turned down the corridor and walked into the infirmary, and stopped for a moment, hearing the quiet sound of crying, and a soothing voice above it.

"It's okay, Anna, we're here…" Scout's eyes widened, walking forward, she called out. "Sierra?" Her auburn-haired sister looked up, she was sitting on one of the beds, her arm around Anna, Jarred and Endon's sister, who was sobbing violently. "Scout?"

Sierra looked up at her, her own eyes red. Anna looked up at her, too, her face stained with tears. "What's going on?" Scout said weakly, her throat felt dry. "Scout, I -." Sierra stuttered, and Anna let out a sob. "My father's dead! He's dead! Our great majesty!" Scout's eyes widened, and Sierra embraced Anna tightly. "No" Scout whispered to herself.

"He said he would never die, he said he would be there for me." Anna said hoarsely, her heard resting on Sierra's shoulder, she looked up at Scout in disbelief. "I – I can't do this! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" She buried her head in Sierra's shoulder, who let out a sob, looking sadly at Scout, who was growing increasingly paler.

"He – he died? King Lief died?" The words slipped sourly over her tongue, but Sierra couldn't even bring herself to nod. "The King is gone, and she has to be queen now." Sierra said, her own voice low. "I can't do this! I can't do this!" Anna sobbed over and over again, muffled through Sierra's shoulder. "But – but, what about Jarred – and Endon?" Scout rasped.

Sierra looked up at her, her eyebrows falling. "They – they don't know?" Her voice faltered. "Endon's – out in the city, and Jarred's – going after him." Sierra stared at her in disbelief. "What? Endon's trapped out in the city? Why is Jarred going out there? Is he insane? His father's dead!" Sierra said, her voice rising, and Anna wailed, and Scout didn't know what to say.

"They – they didn't know." Sierra sobbed, shaking her head. "Doesn't Jarred know he's going to get himself killed? Doesn't he know that Endon -?" Sierra couldn't continue, overcome with her own emotions, she sobbed again, and Scout slid back against the wall. This couldn't be happening. Lief was the King, he couldn't be dead, he was like a second father to every single one of them. And Jarred… She had to stop him, she had to tell him, but it was too late.

Scout looked at Anna again. Her father was gone, and now, it seemed as if she was going to lose both of her brothers, and now, there was nothing Scout could do. It was all her fault, she could have told them to come back with her, now Jarred was going to die out there, and Josef, those guards, and Barda. She had just let her father go out there to writhe in the mist.

Scout looked at the two girls on the bed, crying together, and she said nothing, nothing at all, hot tears burning her face.

---

Jasmine slept fitfully on the couch, and Marilen sat nearby, watching her, and nearby, Doom leaned against the wall, staring at Lief's peaceful body. He had barely said anything since he got here, he had spoken a few comforting words to Jasmine, knelt beside Lief, and then he had moved to the spot he was in now. Marilen felt like getting up and slapping him, he should be doing something, this was his son-in-law, this was the man that he had fought for, all those years ago, and yet, there was nothing.

The silence was deafening, and she had to say something.

"Don't you care?" Marilen said, and instantly felt as if she shouldn't have, here voice invading the peaceful quiet, violating the sanctity of his majesty. "He's been like a son to you. Don't you feel anything?" Her voice quivered, and she wished she had just said her mouth shut. Doom looked at her dully, even though he said nothing, she could feel something different about him, an aura around him, darker than usual, even for Doom.

"Why do you think that I don't care?" Doom said simply. "Perhaps I just grieve differently than you do. No matter how many years I spend in the palace, deep in luxury, I have still seen things, done things, that I will never forget. Sometimes, you forget how to cry." His words struck Marilen deeply, and she felt even worse, even as she realized that he had just managed to turn her anger towards him right back on to herself. "Doom, even demons cry."

"Is that so?" A wry smile spread across his face. "Do you know this as a fact, Mrs. Marilen? Do the beasts of the Shifting Sands weep over the death of their young? Do the Vraal mourn for their fallen comrades? Some cannot cry, perhaps they are just so evil, so heartless, they have lost all notions of sadness, of emotion, and for some, there might just be no tears left." He shrugged.

"But, perhaps, maybe, when the Shadow Lord himself saw the Belt of Deltora whole again, all that time ago, maybe he cried on the inside. For the loss of his power, his hold over the land he had sought after for so long, ripped out of his grasp. Perhaps demons can cry, but they cannot cry over anything besides themselves." Marilen looked up at Doom thoughtfully, but he was looking at Lief, his face hidden beneath the sheets.

"Why do they still call you Doom? Why don't you want to be called by your real name?" Marilen said softly, looking away from Doom as he glanced at her, a dark expression on his face, remembering a man he had met once, a hermit in the mountains, so long ago. "Like I said, Mrs. Marilen. There are some things so horrible, you can never wash them off of your hands." Doom stood up quietly, nodding towards Marilen, then left, back into the winding corridors of the palace.

Marilen stared at the place where he had been, and sobbed, reaching for a tissue. Like everyone, Doom would grieve in his own way, she knew that well enough. Wiping her eyes and trying to regain her composure again, she didn't notice Jasmine nearby, one of her eyes open, as a single tear slid down her face.

---

Jarred stepped out into the open, after the darkness of the chapel, and the even deeper darkness of the tunnel, he was overjoyed to be back out in the open air, but that joy quickly disappeared, the thick odor of death filling the air, the clouds overhead overcast, a green miasma coiling menacingly over the city, just visible through the trees.

Barda was last grunting and pulling himself free, he spoke in a hushed voices to the three guards, who nodded, and glanced at Jarred meaningfully. "Okay, come on." Barda said softly, motioning to the guards, they formed ranks around both Jarred and Josef. "I must be the most foolish guard captain in the history of Deltora." Barda sighed to himself, looking up towards the clouds. "Jinks would be proud." He laughed, starting forward, the rest of the group followed behind him.

"You two," Barda spoke to Jarred and Josef without turning around. "You will stay with me at all times, just because I gave you permission to accompany us, doesn't mean that I am going to let you wander out here alone." Barda was bashing himself more and more every moment for letting these kids come with him, though there was no stopping Jarred from going after his brother, he wondered if he should have just made Josef stay behind. Would it have been different if they were his sons? Scout had not wanted to go, and it was too late, they were here, and the decision was made.

Farris, a short, black-haired guard with a rough beard, pushed the stone back into place, then followed the others down the small slope and into the city. However, they all instantly wished that they hadn't come. The streets were clean, it was almost as if nothing had happened, besides the exception of an overturned produce cart or a broken flower pot or broken window, but what was more horrible were the bodies. Lying, twisted in the streets, curled up in the alleys, embracing each other in the cold grasp of death.

"We shouldn't have come." Josef said, weakly, to Jarred as they walked, but Jarred averted his eyes. It didn't seem as if anything could have survived, and it looked as if they had been too late. Many of the bodies looked as if they had been decomposing for weeks, and Barda felt sick, the contents of his stomach stirring dangerously.

"There's… There's no one left in this, captain." Urich said, trying to keep his voice low, but Jarred heard it, and felt a surge of anger go through him. "We haven't looked! You said it yourself, the safe-houses, the streets, the sewers! You should know all about how clever the people of Del are, you have seen for yourself, they won't just lay down and die, and neither will my brother!" Jarred's voice echoed eerily off of the streets.

Barda looked back towards the city gates in the distance, but the creature was nowhere to be seen, hidden behind the stone. Hopefully, he had no idea that they were here. "The people of Del may be clever, but the enemy is merciless, and to its anger and envy a thousand -." Jarred laughed uproariously, and Josef looked at him nervously.

"Oh, shut up! I know it all already, I know it all by heart! You don't need to give me any stupid lectures about "the Enemy." I've read all the old stories, my father, my mother, and you, you were brave, and courageous, you went straight into the Shadowlands to save your people, you fought dragons, ols, you destroyed the four sisters! And now you say the "Lord of Shadows" like it's a forbidden curse! You've become so used to living in peace that you have forgotten that to the Enemy's anger and envy a thousand years is like the blink of an eye!" Jarred cried, shaking his head, and everyone around him looked at him in shock.

Barda seemed to be lost for words, not quite sure what he should say, or what he could say. He looked at Josef absently, who looked helplessly back at him, but he saw something in his eyes. Barda blinked, turning away from all of them.

Was he right? He didn't know what to think. The Shadow Lord had been gone so long, had they become too used to it? The thought bewildered him for a moment, and he couldn't quite comprehend it. Could the young ones see something that he couldn't? Wistfully, Barda remembered two other younglings that he had taken charge of, many years ago.

But Barda was even more startled by the man who suddenly appeared in the street in front of him. No one else even noticed him at first, and Barda had no idea where he had come from. He reached slowly for his sword without really thinking. The man gaped back at him, even more astonished.

"Help has come! The King has sent someone to rescue us!" He shouted, turning and running back down the alley. Barda's eyes widened, and the guards, Jarred, and Josef, spun around in amazement.

"What did he just say?" Barda looked back at Jarred, his expression unchanging, but then, in his eyes, he saw hope in his eyes. Hopefully, it wasn't false.