Septimus Heap, Book One_ Magyk - Angie Sage [66]
“Very well,” said Marcia, who knew better than to try and make Nicko do anything he wasn’t interested in, “but just remember that only those within the same Unseen can see each other. If you have a different one, Nicko, you will not be visible to anyone who has a different spell, even if they too are Unseen. All right?”
Nicko nodded vaguely. He didn’t really see why it mattered.
“Now, then”—Marcia turned to Boy 412—“it’s your turn.”
Boy 412 went pink. He stared at his feet. She had asked him. More than anything he wanted to try the spell, but he hated the way everyone was looking at him, and he was sure he was going to look stupid if he tried it.
“You really should have a go,” said Marcia. “I want you all to be able to do this.”
Boy 412 looked up, surprised. Did Marcia mean he was just as important as the two other kids? The two who belonged?
Aunt Zelda’s voice came from the other end of the room. “Of course he’ll have a go.”
Boy 412 stood up awkwardly. Marcia fished out another Charm from the book and gave it to him. “Now you Imprint it,” she told him.
Boy 412 held the Charm in his hand. Jenna and Nicko looked at him, curious to see what he would do now that it was his turn.
“Say the words,” Marcia prompted gently. Boy 412 said nothing, but the words to the spell whizzed around his brain and filled his head with a strange buzzing sensation. Underneath his red beanie hat, the stubbly hairs on the back of his head stood up. He could feel the Magyk tingling through his hand.
“He’s gone!” gasped Jenna.
Nicko gave a low whistle of admiration. “He doesn’t hang about, does he?”
Boy 412 felt cross. There was no need to make fun of him. And why was Marcia giving him such a weird look? Had he done something wrong?
“Come back now,” Marcia said very quietly. Something in Marcia’s voice made Boy 412 a little scared. What had happened?
Then an amazing thought crossed Boy 412’s mind. Very quietly he stepped over Bert, slipped past Jenna without touching her and wandered into the middle of the room. No one watched him go. They were all still staring at the space where he had just been standing.
A thrill of excitement ran through Boy 412. He could do it. He could do Magyk. He could Fade into the Aire! No one could see him. He was free!
Boy 412 gave a small hop of excitement. No one noticed. He put his arms in the air and waved them above his head. No one noticed. He put his thumbs in his ears and waggled his fingers. No one noticed. Then, silently, he skipped over to blow out a storm candle, caught his foot under a rug and crashed to the floor.
“There you are,” said Marcia crossly.
And there he was, sitting on the floor nursing a bruised knee and slowly Appearing to his impressed audience.
“You’re good,” said Jenna. “How did you do that so easily?”
Boy 412 shook his head. He had no idea how he had done it. It had just happened. But it felt great.
Marcia was in a strange mood. Boy 412 thought she would be pleased with him, but she seemed to be anything but.
“You shouldn’t Imprint a spell so fast. It can be dangerous. You might not have been able to come back properly.”
What Marcia didn’t say to Boy 412 was that she had never seen a first-timer master a spell so quickly. It unsettled her. And she felt even more unsettled when Boy 412 gave her back the Charm and she felt a buzz of Magyk, like a small click of static electricity, jump from his hand.
“No,” she said, giving it back to him, “you keep the Charm. And Jenna too. It’s best for beginners to keep the Charms for spells they might want to use.”
Boy 412 put the Charm in his trouser pocket. He felt confused. His head still swam with the excitement of the Magyk, and he knew he had done the spell perfectly. So why was Marcia cross? What had he done wrong? Maybe the Young Army was right. Maybe the ExtraOrdinary Wizard really was crazy—what was it they used to chant every morning in the Young Army before they went off to guard the Wizard