Septimus Heap, Book Six_ Darke - Angie Sage [162]
And so Snorri and her mother took the Alfrún out to sea for a test run. The barge performed perfectly and the decision was made—they would return home to the Land of the Long Nights. Snorri dreaded telling Nicko; she was sure he would not understand but to her surprise he did.
Snorri, Ullr and Alfrún left the day after the MidWinter Feast. As they waved good-bye to the little group gathered on the Palace Landing Stage, Snorri was surprised at how tearful she felt seeing Nicko waving to her as they drew away from the Palace and headed for the fast waters in the middle of the river. Snorri waved until the Alfrún disappeared around Raven’s Rock and she could see Nicko no more, then she went below into the beautiful cherrywood cabin that her father, Olaf, had built. As Snorri sat in the cabin, looking up through the hatch at her mother on the tiller, an unexpected feeling of happiness came over her. She was going home. All would be well. It was then she saw the ghost of Olaf Snorrelssen sitting on the bench in the shadows opposite, smiling at her.
Snorri whispered, “Papa?”
Olaf nodded happily. “Snorri,” he said. He smiled. They were a family once more.
On the Palace Landing Stage, Nicko stood gazing through the thickly falling snow at the departing Alfrún. And when, at last, the trading barge had disappeared from view, Nicko felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He was free.
THE ROOM BEHIND THE BIG RED DOOR
Sarah and Silas set up home once more in the room behind the Big Red Door. Sarah went over to the Palace every day to see Jenna, but the Palace was now Jenna’s home—not hers. The room behind the Big Red Door soon regained its previous lived-in look, and sometimes Sarah found it hard to believe they had ever left.
Thunder survived the Darke Domaine and took up residence in the stables at the back of a small house on Snake Slipway. Sarah cleaned the room from top to bottom until there was no clue that a horse had once spent a week there, although, in damp weather, Sarah still thought she could smell horse poo.
Ethel was never quite right after the Darke Domaine. The duck had had a difficult start in life and now became so nervous that she would not let Sarah out of her sight. Sarah made a duck bag—with two holes for Ethel’s legs to poke through—and she carried Ethel with her wherever she went. Silas harrumphed a lot about that daft duck bag but Sarah and Silas were far too happy being back home again to let a duck in a bag come between them.
THE DRAGON TRAIL
Dragon blood is indelible and the drips of blood from Spit Fyre’s head wound left a track right across the Castle, from the South Gate to the Wizard Tower. While some drips fell onto roofs, most left a winding trail along tiny alleyways. The dragon blood track soon became a favorite trail for Castle children and visitors alike.
Spit Fyre recovered well from his injuries and, now that he was truly an adult dragon, he began to calm down a little—but only a little.
Darke Week: RESULTS
Septimus passed his Darke Week.
Immediately below, for your interest, is part of a piece of paper found ripped to pieces in Marcia’s wastepaper bin. Following that is Septimus’s report sheet with Marcia’s comments.
WIZARD TOWER SAFETY COMMITTEE
Basic Health and Safety Report for Apprentice projects. Must be completed by Wizard Tutor.
APPRENTICE PROJECT: Darke Week
NAME OF APPRENTICE: Septimus Heap
WIZARD TUTOR: Marcia Overstrand
AREA OF OPERATION: the Darke Halls
Risk-benefit analysis scaled 0 to 49 (where 49 is the greatest and 0 is the least).
RISKS: 49++ What do you expect?
BENEFITS: 49+++
• Do you consider that the risk-benefit ratio was acceptable? Of course I do.
• Would you undertake this assessment in the same manner again? Never again, thank you.