Fyre (50 page)

It is time, Duglius Drummin,
Perius agreed.

Duglius’s climb up the escape burrow was considerably faster than Marcellus’s, but it was made more difficult by the rocks that came hurtling down. It was a slightly bruised Duglius who reached Marcellus just as he was clearing the very last rock away. A soft touch on his foot told Marcellus that Duglius was there.

While Duglius was climbing up, the Dragon Boat was flying down—into the abyss. Around and around she went, spiralling down into the depths of the canyon that encircled the House of Foryx. Hotep-Ra stood at the tiller, concentrating hard on keeping the wing tips of his Dragon Boat safely away from the sheer rock of the canyon walls. It would have been a testing task for any pilot, but for one who had not flown for many thousands of years, it was a huge challenge.

No one wanted to distract Hotep-Ra. Jenna, Nicko, Septimus and Aunt Zelda had no choice but to stare silently into the mist, notice how cold it got as they went ever deeper and listen to the screams of whatever-it-was that haunted the abyss. They hoped that Hotep-Ra had a good reason for what he was doing.

At last the Dragon Boat landed with a
swooooosh
and a plume of ice-cold water sprayed into the boat. She settled into the pool of dank water that lay on the floor of the abyss, folded her wings and fastidiously arched her tail out of the water. The emerald green of the dragon’s eyes shone through the dusky gloom as she turned her head and looked at Hotep-Ra as if to ask what he thought he was doing coming to such a forsaken place.

Hotep-Ra enlightened neither his dragon nor his crew. He took a pinch of
Sprite
Sand
from his pocket and held it in his fist. Then, as though sowing seed, he threw his arm out and a cluster of tiny lights flew up from his hand. The
Sprites
swirled into the air and gathered around Hotep-Ra like a swarm of bees, bathing him in a bright light. Septimus was entranced. He had read about ancient
Lighting Sprites
, whose
Magyk
had been lost long ago. He had thought what a lovely idea they were—little personal spheres of light that followed you around, and he had heard that some
Guiding Sprites
even showed you the way.

Hotep-Ra bowed to Aunt Zelda. “Madam Keeper,” he said, waving away Aunt Zelda’s protests that she was no longer Keeper. “Excuse me for a few minutes while I assist these young travelers in their return to the Castle. I trust that you and I will then have a more pleasant journey in the Dragon Boat.”

Septimus, Nicko and Jenna frowned at one another. This didn’t sound good. Aunt Zelda looked concerned. “But how are they getting to the Castle?” she asked.

“I will explain when I return. I will not be long.”

Aunt Zelda gave Jenna, Septimus and Nicko a worried wave as they followed Hotep-Ra and his
Sprites
down the embarking ladder and away into the darkness. The light from the
Sprites
and the splash of their footsteps soon faded and Aunt Zelda was left alone in the gloom. She eased herself up from beside the tiller and felt her way along to the prow. The dragon lowered her head to greet her and Aunt Zelda sat, stroking the dragon’s velvety nose, whispering calming sounds—as much for her benefit as the Dragon Boat’s.

Out of sight of Aunt Zelda, the
Guiding Sprites
led the way, dancing through the mist. Hotep-Ra and his crew followed them, stumbling through puddles and over the uneven ground. The floor of the abyss was not a pleasant place to be. The mist swirled around, cold and clammy, and when Septimus turned to look back at the Dragon Boat he could no longer see her; a pall of gloom hung between them. They struggled on, following the
Sprites
, and soon the dark rock face reared up in front of them and Septimus saw that Hotep-Ra was heading for a small, rusty iron door set deep in the rock.

Suddenly Septimus felt a cold grip fasten around his neck and the livid face of the Toll Man whom he had once pushed into the abyss materialized in front of him, its eyes glittering with hate. A malevolent voice hissed in his ear. “See, now I have my revenge.”

“
BeGone
, fiend!” Hotep-Ra’s staff came down between the Toll Man and Septimus and the wraith disappeared.

“Thank you,” Septimus muttered with relief.

Hotep-Ra smiled. “I too have enemies in the abyss,” he said. “And in the abyss is where they stay. Aha, here we are!” He tapped his staff on the iron door, it swung open and the
Sprites
flew inside like an excited swarm of bees.

Septimus followed Jenna, Nicko and Hotep-Ra into an ice-cold chamber hollowed from the rock. The
Sprites
led them across to another door, which Hotep-Ra opened to reveal something that they had all seen before.

Cradled between two metal lattice platforms lay a purple-colored tube with rounded ends, about fifteen feet long. There were four hatches ranged in a line along the roof, the front one being the larger. Along the side of the tube was a line of tiny green glass windows and below it were runners that rested on two parallel metal rails, which sloped steeply down into the dark mouth of a tunnel.

“It’s the
Red Tube
!” gasped Septimus.

“Only purple,” said Jenna.

Hotep-Ra looked very surprised. “It is indeed a
Tube
. But I did not expect you to recognize it.”

“Once I helped to get one just like that back to CattRokk Light,” said Septimus, smiling at the memory. He had loved piloting the
Tube
under the sea, seeing the fish swimming by and the feeling of being in another world.

“So you understand how it works?”

“Sort of. I wasn’t in it for long.”

Hotep-Ra smiled. “Even so, this is good news. You will be off to the Castle in no time.”

“In
that
?”

“Of course.”

“But how? There is no water here.”

“But there is ice. Ice or water, it is all the same to a
Tube
.”

Nicko shivered. He’d refused a ride in the
Tube
before, and the thought of having to go into its coffinlike space now was terrifying.

Hotep-Ra pushed the end of his staff onto a rubbery black button in front of the oval hatch. With a faint whirr, the hatch flipped open, a dull purple light switched on inside the
Tube
and a smell of old leather and iron wafted out. Nicko felt sick.

Septimus peered down. Inside he saw the high-backed bench seat for the pilot, a simple set of dials and the thick green windshield that wrapped around the front of the
Tube
. It was even more cramped inside than he remembered. He knew Nicko would hate it.

“Okay, Nik?” he said.

Nicko did not answer.

Jenna decided it was time to be a bit Princessy. She turned to Hotep-Ra and said, “Hotep-Ra, Septimus and I will go in the
Tube
, but I would like Nicko to help with the Dragon Boat. It’s a long way to the Castle and some of your journey will be through the night.”

To Jenna’s surprise it wasn’t only Nicko who looked relieved. Hotep-Ra did too. Jenna guessed that the frail old Wizard had not been looking forward to the long flight on the Dragon Boat with only Aunt Zelda as crew.

Nicko flashed Jenna a thank-you smile and watched anxiously as she and Septimus dropped down through the front hatch into the red glow below. He saw the tops of their heads, fair hair and dark, as they both settled into the pilot seat. Hotep-Ra peered down.

“Do you remember the controls?” he asked.

“I think so,” Septimus replied.

Hotep-Ra ran through the controls and then described what he called the “launch protocol” ending with, “and the power pedal is at your right foot, the brake at your left. Steer with the little wheel, although you will hardly need to; it is a straight run from here to the Castle.”

Nicko looked amazed. He thought of the long journey that he and Snorri had once taken across the sea, marshland and frozen forest to get there, when all the time there was what Hotep-Ra called a straight run. Hotep-Ra saw Nicko’s bemused expression and smiled at him. “This is why, Nickolas Heap, I built my House of Foryx here. But like you I have a fear of enclosed spaces. I have only traveled that way once—and once was enough, believe me.” He turned back to the
Purple Tube
. “Ready?” he called down.

“Um. Yes. Ready.” Jenna and Septimus’s voices echoed hollowly up through the open hatch.

Nicko noticed that Hotep-Ra looked as nervous as the voices below sounded.

“When you release the
Tube
,” said Hotep-Ra, “you will drop steeply down the approach tunnel and enter the Ice Tunnel. You understand?”

Jenna and Septimus exchanged glances. “Yes,” they replied.

“Now, please put your seat belts on.”

Nervously, Jenna and Septimus fumbled with the stiff old leather belts and managed to clip the buckles tight.

“Good luck,” said Hotep-Ra. “Now you may begin the launch sequence.”

Along the curved metal dashboard were seven numbered brass dials. Jenna now turned the first one until it clicked into position. The top hatch closed above them with a
hisssss
and all went dark.

“This is
scary
,” Jenna whispered. Septimus swallowed. His mouth felt dry. Jenna’s fingers found the second dial, she turned it to the click and a line of tiny red lights lit the dashboard. The third made the headrest move down to fit them; the fourth dial sent a whoosh of air, which smelled of the sea, rushing into the capsule. Now Septimus took over. He turned the fifth dial, which switched on a brilliant white headlight and lit the way in front of them. This was not particularly encouraging—it showed a pair of glistening silver rails plunging down a steep drop into the circular black mouth of a tunnel. The sixth loosened a tether. Before he turned the seventh dial, Septimus looked at Jenna, his face eerily purple in the light.

“Okay?” he asked.

Jenna nodded. “Okay.”

They both guessed what would happen when Septimus turned the last dial. They were right: as the dial clicked into place, the
Tube
tipped forward and the next moment they were hurtling down the rails toward the gaping black O.

Nicko watched the
Purple Tube
shoot into the circle of darkness—and then it was gone. It felt to him like it was gone forever.

44

S
OMEWHERE

F
ar below the snowy Forest,
the
Purple Tube
hurtled along the longest, straightest Ice Tunnel that Septimus had ever seen. Its runners glided smoothly over the ice and its headlight picked out the glittering frost that swept past them in a blur of white.

“This is
fast
!” Jenna gasped.

Septimus stared out of the thick glass of the windscreen, transfixed by the black circle of darkness that always stayed the same distance ahead. “Don’t you think it feels like
we’re
staying still and the tunnel is moving?” he said.

“Sep—don’t say that!” Jenna put her hands over her eyes. “That is too weird.” She peered through a gap between her fingers. “Now that’s what
I
see—the
tunnel
moving.”

“Sorry, Jen.”

They fell silent for a while, listening to the constant rumble of the runners of the
Tube
traveling over the ice. After a while Septimus said, “I wonder where we are now—I mean I wonder what’s above us right now?”

Jenna shivered. “I don’t want to even think about all the stuff above us, thanks very much.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“That’s all right. Just remind me not to travel in one of these with you again. Or at all, actually.” She smiled at him. “Horrible boy.”

Septimus stuck his tongue out at Jenna and carried on staring at the white blur outside the window. It was mesmerizing.

The
Tube
sped on and they lost track of time. It was about an hour after they had started when Jenna, sounding worried, said, “Sep. It’s gone kind of wobbly. Do you think something’s broken?”

Septimus had noticed too. The smooth run had changed to an unpleasant shake that came up from the runners and was giving a bone-jarring ride. The low background rumble had become so loud that Septimus had to raise his voice to be heard.

“Perhaps we had better slow down,” he said. “If something is wrong and we crash at this speed . . .”

“I’m going to put the brake on,” said Jenna, moving her left foot across to the broad plate that came up from the floor on her side.

“Yep. Good idea.”

Cautiously, Jenna pressed her foot down on the brake. The
Tube
slowed to a crawl, but the shaking became even more pronounced.

“Something’s wrong!” said Jenna, snatching her foot off the brake.

Suddenly, Septimus realized what it was. “It’s the jinn, Jen!”

“Oh, do stop saying silly rhymes, Sep. This is not nice. Oh!” The
Tube
gave a particularly big lurch and Jenna fell sideways.