Septimus Heap, Book One_ Magyk - Angie Sage [15]
Marcia stood up and brushed the dirt off her cloak. As she did so, to her surprise, the ghost of Alther Mella floated through the wall and settled himself down beside Sarah Heap.
“Ah, here’s Alther,” said Silas. “He won’t be pleased about this, I can tell you.”
“Hello, Silas, Sarah. Hello, all my young Wizards.” The Heap boys grinned. People called them many things, but only Alther called them Wizards.
“And hello, my little Princess,” said Alther, who had always called Jenna that. And now Jenna knew why.
“Hello, Uncle Alther,” said Jenna, feeling much happier with the old ghost floating next to her.
“I didn’t know that Alther came to see you too,” Marcia said, somewhat put out, even though she was rather relieved to see him.
“Well, I was his Apprentice first,” snapped Silas. “Before you elbowed in.”
“I did not elbow in. You gave up. You begged Alther to annul your Apprenticeship. You said you wanted to read bedtime stories to the boys instead of being stuck in a turret with your nose in a dusty old spell book. You really do take the biscuit sometimes, Silas,” glowered Marcia.
“Children, children, don’t argue now.” Alther smiled. “I love you both the same. All my Apprentices are special.”
The ghost of Alther Mella shimmered slightly in the heat of the fire. He wore his ghostly ExtraOrdinary Wizard cloak. It still had bloodstains on it, which always upset Marcia when she saw them. Alther’s long white hair was carefully tied back into a ponytail, and his beard was neatly trimmed to a point. When he had been alive, Alther’s hair and beard had always been a mess—he could never quite keep up with how fast it all seemed to grow. But now that he was a ghost, it was easy. He’d sorted it all out ten years ago and that was the way it had stayed. Alther’s green eyes may have sparkled a little less than they had when he was alive, but they looked around him as keenly as ever. And as they gazed at the Heap household he felt sad. Things were about to change.
“Tell her, Alther,” demanded Silas. “Tell her she’s not having our Jenna. Princess or not, she’s not having her.”
“I wish I could, Silas, but I can’t,” said Alther, looking serious. “You have been discovered. An Assassin is coming. She will be here at midnight with a silver bullet. You know what that means…”
Sarah Heap put her head in her hands. “No,” she whispered.
“Yes,” said Alther. He shivered and his hand strayed to the small round bullet hole just below his heart.
“What can we do?” asked Sarah, very quiet and still.
“Marcia will take Jenna to the Wizard Tower,” said Alther. “Jenna will be safe there for the moment. Then we will have to think about what to do next.” He looked at Sarah. “You and Silas must go away with the boys. Somewhere safe where you won’t be found.”
Sarah was pale, but her voice was steady. “We’ll go into the Forest,” she said. “We will stay with Galen.”
Marcia looked at her timepiece again. It was getting late.
“I need to take the Princess now,” she said. “I must get back before they change the sentry.”
“I don’t want to go,” whispered Jenna. “I don’t have to, do I, Uncle Alther? I want to go and stay with Galen too. I want to go with everyone else. I don’t want to be on my own.” Jenna’s lower lip trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. She held on tightly to Sarah.
“You won’t be on your own. You’ll be with Marcia,” said Alther gently. Jenna did not look as though that made her feel any better.
“My little Princess,” said Alther, “Marcia is right. You need to go away with her. Only she can give you the protection you will need.”
Jenna still looked unconvinced.
“Jenna,” said Alther seriously, “you are the Heir to the Castle, and the Castle needs you to keep safe so that you can be Queen one day. You must go with Marcia. Please.”
Jenna’s hands strayed to the golden circlet that Marcia had placed on her head. Somewhere inside herself she began to feel a little bit different.
“All right,” she whispered. “I’ll go.”
6
TO THE TOWER