Septimus Heap, Book Six_ Darke - Angie Sage [64]
Septimus veered away from the Cordon and its Magykal camaraderie and headed off into the night. He had reached the riverbank and was jogging toward the Palace Landing Stage when the ghost of Alice Nettles suddenly Appeared to him. Since Alther’s Banishment, Alice didn’t Appear anymore, but she made an exception for Septimus. Alice was the only ghost Septimus knew who always seemed to react to the weather and tonight, even though he knew she could not feel the cold, she looked frozen.
“Hello, Alice,” he said.
“Hello, Septimus,” said Alice in a faraway voice. She turned to Septimus and, for the first time ever, the ghost of Alice Nettles reached out to a human being. She put her hands on Septimus’s shoulders and said, “Bring my Alther back, Apprentice. Bring him back.”
“I’ll do my best, Alice,” Septimus replied, thinking how cold Alice’s touch was.
“You will go tonight?” she asked.
The key to Dungeon Number One—and the beginning of his Darke Week—hung heavy in his pocket. But the Cordon had thrown all of Septimus’s plans into confusion. He had absolutely no idea what was going on or what Marcia would be doing at midnight. He hesitated.
Alice looked anxiously at Septimus. “You do not answer, Apprentice.”
Septimus saw the stricken look in Alice’s eyes and he made a decision. He may have let Jenna down but he was not going to do the same with Alice. He would enter Dungeon Number One whether Marcia was there or not. “Yes, Alice. I will go and get Alther.”
A slow smile dawned on Alice’s face. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Septimus left Alice wandering along the Landing Stage, gazing dreamily at the river. He walked slowly along the riverbank, plunged into gloom. Never—not even in the Young Army—had Septimus felt so alone. He realized how he had become used to being in the very center of things, to being an integral and important part of the Magykal life of the Castle. Now that he suddenly found himself on the outside of the Magykal circle—literally—he felt bereft.
Septimus trudged through the long grass right at the edge of the riverbank, while the dark, cold waters of the river ran silently by. Tiny snowflakes drifted down and settled on his thick woolen cloak, and the grass felt crisp with frost beneath his feet. As he walked Septimus felt the presence of the Palace looming up on his left side. Like the scene of a horrible accident, his eyes felt drawn to it. And every time he glanced up with a feeling of dread, he saw yet another window go dark, and he could not help but imagine that Jenna was still in there, trapped somewhere.
He plowed on along the riverbank, convinced he could have stopped whatever was happening to the Palace if only he had helped Jenna when she had asked him. But it was all too late. Jenna wasn’t here to ask him now. He was on his own—and he had only himself to blame.
Septimus reached the gate that led through the tall hedge into the Dragon Field. He pushed it open. There was only one creature left for him to talk to—his dragon, Spit Fyre.
Chapter 21
Quarantine
Inside the Palace, unaware of the events silently unfolding around her, Sarah Heap was perched precariously at the top of a stepladder in the Palace entrance hall. By the light of a beautiful chandelier (it had taken Billy Pot ten whole minutes to light all of its candles) Sarah was busy nailing up a banner that read HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY JENNA AND SEPTIMUS above the archway that led into the Long Walk. She was not pleased to hear the sound of approaching footsteps outside.
“Botheration,” Sarah muttered under her breath. She knew that one set of footsteps belonged to Marcia Overstrand—somehow Marcia always managed to walk everywhere as though she owned the place. Sarah struggled irritably with the unwieldy banner above her head. Trust Marcia to arrive early, she thought. Well, she would have to make herself useful until the party started. Goodness knows there was plenty to do. Oops. She could hold the stepladder steady for a start.
The sound of the footsteps changed from cinder