Deltora Quest #3: City of the Rats by Emily Rodda Page A

up, surprised by the fear in his voice. He tried to speak, but his breath caught in his throat. Waves of horror flooded through him as he stared wildly at the moving plain.
    “What is it?” asked Jasmine, turning to look.
    And then she and Barda were crying out together, leaping to their feet.
    Spilling from the city, covering the ground, surging towards them like a long, low wave, was a scurrying, seething mass of rats.

R ats in the thousands — in the tens of thousands! Suddenly Lief understood why the earth of the plain was bare. The rats had eaten every living thing.
    They were creatures of the shadows. They had remained hidden in the ruined city while the sun glared down on the plain. But now they were coming, racing towards the scent of food in a frenzy of hunger.
    “The river!” shouted Barda.
    They ran for their lives. Lief glanced over his shoulder once only, and the sight he saw was enough to make him run even faster, gasping with fear.
    The first rats had reached their campfire. They were huge. They were surging over the food and other belongings left scattered upon the ground, gobbling and tearing with needle-sharp teeth. But their fellows were close behind, leaping on top of them, smothering them,fighting one another for the spoils, tipping into the fire in the haste, squealing and shrieking.
    And in the thousands more were scrambling over them, or wheeling around the struggling pile and scuttling on, sharp noses sniffing, black eyes gleaming. They could smell Lief, Barda, and Jasmine ahead — smell their warmth and their life and their fear.
    Lief ran, the breath aching in his chest, his eyes fixed on the river. The water gleamed in the last rays of the sun. Nearer … nearer …
    Jasmine was beside him, Barda close behind. Lief plunged into the cold water, gasping, and waded out as far as he dared. He turned to face the land, his cloak swirling around him.
    The squealing, dark grey tide that was the rats reached the riverbank. Then it seemed to curl and break like a wave, and surged out into the water.
    “They are swimming for us!” Barda shouted, struggling to draw his sword and pull it to the surface. “By the heavens, will nothing stop them?”
    Already, Jasmine was slashing with her dagger, shouting fiercely, and dead rats in their dozens were being swept away by the tide. Beside her, Lief and Barda swept their blades across the water, back and forth, gasping with the effort of the task.
    The water around them swirled with blood and foam. And still the rats came, clambering with bared teeth over their own sinking dead.
    How long will our strength last? thought Lief. How long will it be before they overwhelm us?
    His mind raced as he fought, his hands numb on the hilt of his sword. They would be safe on the other side of the river. The water was too wide for the rats to swim. But it was too wide for him, Jasmine, and Barda also. They would never survive if they cast themselves adrift in this cold, deep water.
    And the long night was ahead. Until the sun rose again, bringing light to the plain, the rats would attack. Thousands would die, but thousands would take their places. Gradually Lief, Barda, and Jasmine would weaken. And then at last the rats would swarm over them, biting and clawing, till they sank beneath the water and drowned together.
    The sun had set, and the plain had darkened. Lief could no longer see the city. All he could see was the campfire, flickering like a beacon.
    It was then that he remembered that he had put the jar of fire beads in his pocket.
    He took his left hand from his sword, plunged it under the water, and dug deep into his jacket. His fingers closed around the jar and he pulled it up to the surface. Water dripped from it, but the beads still rattled inside.
    Shouting to Barda and Jasmine to cover him, he waded forward, unscrewing the jar’s tight cap. He dug out a handful of beads with his stiff fingers and threw them at the rats on the bank with all his