Septimus Heap, Book Six_ Darke - Angie Sage [149]
“You really don’t have to come,” she said.
“Yes, I do,” said Septimus. “You need all the Magyk you can get.”
“I know,” said Marcia.
“So I’m coming with you.”
Marcia smiled. “Out we go then. Don’t look down.”
Septimus looked neither down nor up. Focusing only on the hem of Marcia’s purple cloak, he followed her up the stepped side of the golden Pyramid. Alther flew slowly behind.
And so, for the second time that night, Marcia stood on the tiny platform at the top of the golden Pyramid. For some reason, she wasn’t sure why, she took off her purple python pointy shoes and stood barefoot on the ancient silver hieroglyphs that were incised into the hammered gold top. She waited for Septimus to join her and then together, in voices that cut through the Darke Fog, they began the forty-nine-word incantation of The Great UnDoing.
“Let there be . . .”
Far below, the leading Thing poked its finger lazily at the great purple door that guarded Marcia’s rooms. Twelve Things stood behind it expectantly, waiting to take over their new abode. The door swung open. The Thing turned to its companions with what was possibly a smile. They stood, savoring the moment, watching the Darke Fog tumble in and swirl around Marcia’s precious sofa.
At the top of the golden Pyramid, Marcia Overstrand, ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and her Apprentice, Septimus Heap, spoke the last word of The Great UnDoing.
With a great crash Marcia’s door slammed in the Things’ faces. A loud whirring ensued—the door Barred itself and, for good measure, sent out a Shock Wave. Thirteen Things screamed. A scream of thirteen Things is not one of the most harmonious sounds, but to Septimus and Marcia, teetering at the top of the golden Pyramid, it was the sweetest thing they had ever heard.
And then they saw the most beautiful sight they had ever seen—the Darke Fog rolling away. Once more they saw the Castle they loved—its higgledy-piggledy roofs, its turrets and towers, its crenulated battlements and tumbledown walls, all outlined against the pink sky of the dawn of a new day. And as they watched the sun rise, dispelling the shadows that lurked below, the first heavy snowflakes of the Big Freeze began to fall. Marcia and Septimus smiled at each other—the Darke Domaine was no more.
Some minutes later, a broadly smiling Marcia was ushering everyone into her sitting room, busily opening the windows to get rid of the dank smell of the Darke. Jim Knee was curled up in his usual place on the sofa with Jillie Djinn beside him, just as Marcia had left them. But there was something about the Chief Hermetic Scribe that made Marcia hurry over to her.
“She’s dead!” Marcia gasped. And then, much more dismayed, she cried, “She’s dead on my sofa!”
Jillie Djinn was slumped backward, mouth a little open, eyes closed as if asleep. Her body was there, but she herself had clearly gone—whatever it was that had been Jillie Djinn was no more. The Great UnDoing had been her undoing also.
Chapter 48
Restoration
Marcia, Septimus and Jenna emerged from the Great Arch and paused for a moment, looking down the newly liberated Wizard Way. It was a beautiful frosty morning. The sun was creeping out from behind a bank of clouds and slanting rays of the early morning light glanced low along Wizard Way. The first serious snowflakes of the Big Freeze were beginning to fall; they drifted lazily in the fleeting sunlight and settled onto the frosty pavement.
Marcia took a deep breath of the clear, sparkling air and a wave of happiness very nearly overcame her—but she could not allow herself to be completely content until she had successfully UnSealed the Hermetic Chamber. And found Beetle alive.
Marcia had steeled herself to expect many things waiting for her in the front office of the Manuscriptorium but she had not expected the Port Witch Coven. They had taken a trip to see the last moments of the Wizard Tower and, becoming bored with how long it was taking, they had crowbarred the planks off the door to the Wild Book and Charm Store. They were just emerging, covered