Septimus Heap, Book One_ Magyk - Angie Sage [24]
Completely obsessed with what Marcia was doing, that’s what Sarah had said.
But of course, mused Sally, who had now reached the foot of the huge pile of rubbish and was painfully scrabbling her way up, Sarah was not entirely innocent either. Anyone could see that their little girl was not Silas’s child. She looked so different from all the others. And once when Sally had very delicately tried to bring up the subject of Jenna’s father, Sarah had very quickly changed it. Oh, yes, something had been going on between the Heaps for years. But that was no excuse for what Silas was doing now. No excuse at all, thought Sally crossly as she stumbled her way up toward the top of the dump.
The bedraggled figures had started making their way down and were heading in Sally’s direction. Sally waved her arms at them, but they appeared not to have noticed her. They seemed preoccupied and were staggering a little as if they were dizzy. Now that they were nearer, Sally could see that she was right about their identities.
“Silas Heap!” Sally yelled angrily.
The five figures jumped out of their skins and stared at Sally.
“Shush!” four voices whispered as loud as they dared.
“I will not shush!” declared Sally. “What do you think you are doing, Silas Heap? Leaving your wife for this…floozie.” Sally waggled her forefinger disapprovingly at Marcia.
“Floozie?” gasped Marcia.
“And taking these poor children with you,” she told Silas. “How could you?”
Silas waded through the rubbish to Sally.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “And will you please be quiet!”
“Shush!” said three voices behind him.
At last Sally quieted down.
“Don’t do it, Silas,” she whispered hoarsely. “Don’t leave your lovely wife and family. Please.”
Silas looked bemused. “I’m not,” he said. “Who told you that?”
“You’re not?”
“No!”
“Shushhh!”
It took most of the long stumble down the dump to explain to Sally what had happened. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as Silas told her what he had to in order to get her on their side—which was pretty much everything. Silas realized that they not only needed Sally’s silence; they could do with her help too. But Marcia wasn’t so sure. Sally Mullin was not exactly the first person she would have chosen to help. Marcia decided to step in and take charge.
“Right,” she said authoritatively as they reached the solid ground at the foot of the dump. “I think we can expect the Hunter and his Pack to be sent after us any minute now.”
A flicker of fear passed over Silas’s face. He had heard about the Hunter.
Marcia was practical and calm. “I’ve filled the chute back up with rubbish and done a Lockfast and Weld Spell on the rat door,” she said. “So with any luck he’ll think we’re still trapped in there.”
Nicko shuddered at the thought.
“But it won’t delay him long,” continued Marcia. “And then he’ll come looking—and asking.” Marcia looked at Sally as if to say, And it will be you he’ll be asking.
Everyone fell quiet.
Sally returned Marcia’s gaze steadily. She knew what she was taking on. She knew it would be big trouble for her, but Sally was a loyal friend.
She would do it.
“Right, then,” said Sally briskly. “We’ll have to get you all far away with the pixies by then, won’t we?”
Sally took them down to the bunkhouse at the back of the cafe where many an exhausted traveler had found themselves a warm bed for the night, and clean clothes too if they needed them. The bunkhouse was empty at this time of day. Sally showed them where the clothes were kept and told them to take as much as they needed. It was going to be a long, cold night. She quickly filled a bucket with hot water so that they could wash off the worst of the mess from the chute and then rushed out, saying, “I’ll see you down at the quay in ten minutes. You can have my boat.”
Jenna and Nicko were only too pleased to get rid of their filthy clothes, but Boy 412 refused to do anything. He had had enough changes that day, and he was determined to hang on to what he had, even if it was a pair