After Spit Fyre had taken off from the Dragon Field, Septimus had flown him away from the Palace and out above the river. They had wheeled to the right just before the jagged crag of Raven's rock and were now flying above the Moat. Septimus craned over Spit Fyre's wide, muscled neck and stared down at the Castle below on his right-hand side. He gasped. It looked as though someone had dropped a large pool of ink onto the Palace and Wizard Way. The dark irregular shape was, even as he watched, moving outward as yet more candles and torches were extinguished.
Jenna was sitting in her usual Navigator space, in the dip between the dragon's shoulders, just behind Septimus.
"It's so dark down there!" she shouted above the noise of Spit Fyre's wings.
Septimus searched for a sign of Marcia's Safety Curtain. He thought that maybe, just possibly, he could see a faint purple glimmer deep within the blackness, but he could not be sure. The only thing he could be sure of was that the Safety Curtain had failed.
At least, Septimus noted with relief, Marcia knew what was happening. The spreading blackness had halted at the wall surrounding the Wizard Tower courtyard and from its boundaries he saw the Living SafeShield begin to grow upward into the night sky, encasing the entire tower in a cone of brilliant indigo and purple lights, the colors of which showed, to Septimus's knowledgeable eye, that Marcia was in residence. It was a magnificent sight and made him feel proud to be part of the Wizard Tower - although once again unhappy to be outside the Magyk.
They flew slowly along the Moat, keeping the Castle Walls on their right. The Darke Domaine was spreading fast and he knew that nowhere in the Castle would be safe for long. The one beacon of light - the Wizard Tower and his home - was now closed to him and to Jenna. They had a simple choice: leave the Castle and flee to safety or find somewhere within the Castle where they could hide out and keep the Darke at bay.
Jenna tapped him on the shoulder. "Sep, what are you doing? We have to get to the Palace. We have to get Mum out of there!"
They had now reached the other end of the Moat. The One Way Bridge was to their left and in front of them, on the other side of the river, lights ablaze, was the ramshackle shape of the Grateful Turbot Tavern. Septimus contemplated landing there - the lights looked so welcoming - but he needed time to think. He wheeled Spit Fyre around in a tight turn and began to retrace their path.
Septimus flew Spit Fyre slowly so that he could see how far - and how fast - the Darke Domaine was spreading. They flew over the drawbridge, which was raised as it always was at night. The Darkenesse had not yet reached there, although the Gringes' rather mean single candle in the upstairs window of the gatehouse did not make it easy to tell. But there were other signs that all was still well; Septimus could still see the thin covering of snow on the road reflecting the light from candles in houses set back from the gatehouse. He also saw, as he dipped down for a closer look, a rectangle of lamplight thrown onto the road from an open door at the back of the gatehouse.
Septimus took Spit Fyre down low along the Moat. He was relieved to see that candles were still burning in the windows of the houses that backed onto the Castle walls, as were the lamps in Jannit Maarten's boatyard and on the newly arrived late-night Port barge, which was just docking. But farther down, the Manuscriptorium boathouse was Darke. Not merely unlit but so dark as to be almost invisible. If Septimus had not known it was there, he would have thought it was an empty space. And yet, strangely, the houses on either side of it were still lit.
What Septimus could not see was that the Darke Domaine had followed Merrin to the Manuscriptorium and had spread through the entire premises, which extended down to the Moat. Merrin intended to make the Manuscriptorium his temporary headquarters until he got into the Wizard Tower. But being in charge was not as much fun as he had expected now that Jillie Djinn was no longer there to intimidate. The empty old place felt rather creepy, especially with the Seal on the Hermetic Chamber glowing eerily through the Darke, behind which - unknown to Merrin - Beetle was frantically searching for the Suspension Charm, which was now languishing in the garbage bin out in the yard along with the rest of the contents of the siege drawer.
With the Paired Code feeling like it was stuck in his throat, Merrin had gone upstairs to Jillie Djinn's rooms to wash it down with her stash of biscuits and plan his next move. His mouth full of stale biscuit, Merrin stared out of the window and caught a glimpse of Spit Fyre as he flew past. What was he doing up there? Merrin cursed. Stupid Things. They couldn't even do a simple job like getting rid of a pathetic dragon. Well, he'd show that dragon. He'd get it. Merrin smiled at his dark reflection in the grubby window. Oh, he'd get it all right - one way or another. It wouldn't stand a chance. Not against what he'd got planned. This was, Merrin told himself, going to be fun.
Spit Fyre flew slowly on, past tiny attic windows containing flickering candles until they came to Snake Slipway. Below them, to the left of the Slipway was Rupert Gringe's boathouse, still happily ablaze with a couple of buckets containing torches. The houses on either side of the slipway were also still untouched; many of them seemed to have caught Marcellus's habit of burning forests of candles, and the whole slipway shone brightly.
Septimus had made his decision - Alther must wait. He would use his Darke Disguise to rescue Sarah and then he would stay and fight the spreading Darkenesse. But he could not risk Jenna's safety. He wheeled Spit Fyre out across the Moat and over the Forest borders in order to give the dragon space to turn for a good run into Snake Slipway, where he planned to land.
"What are you doing?" yelled Jenna.
"Landing!" yelled Septimus.
"Here?"
"Not here. Snake Slipway!"
Jenna leaned forward and yelled in Septimus's ear, "No, Sep! We have to get Mum!"
Septimus turned to face Jenna. "Not you, Jen. Too dangerous. I'll go!"
"No way! I'm coming too!" Jenna shouted above the whooshing of the air as the dragon's wings swept down.
Spit Fyre was lining up for the tricky swoop down into Snake Slipway, but Septimus could not concentrate with Jenna yelling in his ear. He wheeled the dragon around once more.
"No, Jen!" Septimus yelled as Spit Fyre flew back across the Moat toward the Forest again. "I'm taking you somewhere safe first. We don't know what's in the Palace now!"
"Mum's in there, you - you total dumbrain!"
Septimus was shocked. Jenna never used language like that normally. He blamed the witch's cloak. He turned Spit Fyre around and lined him up once more for landing on Snake Slipway.
Spit Fyre began his second attempt to land.
"Septimus Heap, you are not dumping me!" Jenna yelled.
"But Jen - "
"Spit Fyre!" yelled his Navigator. "Go up!"
Spit Fyre - who obeyed his Navigator's instructions in the absence of any from his Pilot - began to go up. But not for long.
"Down, Spit Fyre!" his Pilot countermanded. Spit Fyre went down. His Pilot was in charge.