Septimus Heap, Book Six_ Darke - Angie Sage [52]
“Get her . . . off me,” Marissa gasped in a hoarse whisper.
You touch her and you’ll regret it, Jenna mouthed Silently at Linda.
Linda looked amused. She liked fights, and one between a witch and a Princess was pretty much top of her fight wish list. Unfortunately however, there was business to attend to and she needed to get on with it before the Witch Mother came tottering along to see what was happening.
“Well done,” Linda told Jenna. “Very impressive. You continue like this and I might just change my mind about Princesses. Possibly. Now just keep holding her right there. Perfect.”
Jenna saw that Linda was eyeing Marissa like a snake working out where to strike. Something was about to happen and she could see it wasn’t going to be good—particularly for Marissa.
Linda raised her hands up to her face and then pointed both index fingers at Marissa’s head, squinting down them like a marksman. It reminded Jenna horribly of how the Hunter had once lined her up in the sights of his pistol.
“Keep her still,” Linda instructed Jenna. “Hold her right there.”
Marissa whimpered.
Jenna did not like the turn events had taken. Suddenly she was Linda’s accomplice. She knew that Linda was about to do something very bad to Marissa and she did not want to be part of it, but she dared not let go. If she did, Marissa would immediately turn on her—as would Linda. She was stuck.
Slowly Linda lowered her pointing fingers and, as she did so, two thin beams of brilliant blue light streamed from her eyes and rested on Marissa’s face. Then the witch began to chant:
“Heart and brain
Flame and pain
Blood and bone
Rattle and moan
Lung and liver
Shriek and shiver . . .”
Marissa let out a terrified wail. She knew that this was the beginning of the dreaded Exit spell, the spell that takes away human form and replaces it with another—forever. It was, like most of Linda’s nastiest spells, Permanent.
“No!” yelled Marissa. “Please, nooooooooo!”
Linda’s yellow incisors slipped over her bottom lip as they always did when she was concentrating. The Exit was long and complicated. It required a great concentration of energy, but it was already off to a good start. Linda was very pleased with the way the Princess was helping; it was so much easier with an assistant. Excited, Linda now moved into the main body of the spell, where all Human parts of Marissa were one by one reassigned to Toad. Her voice descended to a low monotone so that the words became blurred into one long, singsong chant.
From Marissa’s terror, Jenna was beginning to realize that if she kept Marissa in her headlock she would be party to something truly awful. She had to do something—but what?
Linda’s menacing chant continued, the witch’s voice rising ever higher. The gloom in the scullery deepened and the thin beams of light from Linda’s blue-black eyes cut through the dark like needles, joining the witch with her victim.
“Princess Jenna. Please. Let me go,” Marissa whispered desperately. “I’ll do anything, anything you want. I promise.”
Jenna didn’t believe Marissa’s promises. She had to get what she wanted while she still had the witch in her grasp—but how could she? She was Silenced. Very slightly she loosened the headlock. Marissa looked up, tears welling in her eyes.
“Princess Jenna. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Please help me. Please, oh please.”
Jenna pointed to her mouth and Marissa understood. She muttered a few words and whispered, “Okay. It’s gone.”
Linda’s voice suddenly regained its normal pitch, the chant slowed down and once more the words became gruesomely clear:
“Pinprick bones and
Poison glands,
Warty skin
And creeping hands . . .”
Marissa screamed. She knew the end was coming very, very soon. “Please let me go,” she gasped.
Jenna tested her voice. “Fix the feet thing,” she hissed.
Marissa gabbled something under her breath and hissed, “It’s gone, it’s gone. Now, please, please, please.”
Jenna cautiously tried a small step back, taking Marissa with her—she was free. She released the headlock.
Chaos ensued.