Flyte

Septimus saw it first. Something Darke crackled in the air and made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. He sat up with a sudden jolt.

"What's the matter?" asked Jenna, waking up with a start. "Ouch,"she grimaced, as the Tag burn on her arm began to throb.

"Lookover there." Septimus pointed to the sky. "I-I don't like the look of it. It's too big for a bird."

Jenna rubbed her arm and squinted up at the bright blue expanse, following the direction of Septimus's finger. In the distance, high above the Marram Marshes, she saw a large, black, bird-like shape. "It might be a Marsh Kite..." she said uncertainly.

Septimus shook his head and stood to get a better look, shielding his eyes against the glare of the bright light. He looked pale and serious.

"Wassup?" asked Nicko, blearily opening his eyes. Wordlessly, Jenna pointed toward the approaching shape.

Wolf Boy stopped his pacing and looked. "Weird..." he muttered under his breath.

"What can you see?" asked Nicko, worried. He knew that Wolf Boy's sight was as keen as a hawk's.

"Looks like a massive, great bat ... but, no, hang on a minute ... gosh, it's going fast ... it'sno, that's not possible"

"What?" asked Septimus edgily. "What's not possible?"

"Some idiot up in the air. Flying."

"You sure, 409?"

"Yep, 412."

"But that is impossibleno one can fly like thatI mean, properly, like a bird," said Jenna, with a feeling of dread.

"They did once. So it's been said." Septimus whistled under his breath.

The black speck was moving fast and soon there was no mistaking the shape of a flying man, his black cloak streaming out behind him, swooping over the Marshes, zigzagging back and forth somewhat erratically, and scanning the land below. He was homing in fast on the Tag that Sleuth had provided.

"It is Simon!" gasped Jenna, hardly able to believe what she was seeing.

"We need to hide," said Septimus. "Come on, Jen, the reed bedsquick!"

"Well, I don't see what you're all so bothered about," declared Nicko, staring up at the approaching figure. "There's four of us here and it's only Simon after alljust old smarty-pants big brother Simon. Okay, so he's learned to fly, but so what? I bet Sep can do that too. Can't you, Sep?"

"No, Nik. Not like that. That's the real thingthat's Flyte."

"But you can go up and down, can't you, Sep? That's flight."

"Only a few feet off the ground, Nik. I couldn't fly like that in a million years. I didn't think anyone could."

Jenna had taken refuge next to Thunder and was holding on tightly to his reins. Somehow she felt safer beside the solid, unflustered animal as she watched the approaching figure in the sky. Septimus stood beside her, determined to protect Jenna this time. From a secret pocket in his Apprentice belt he took his most precious Charm. It was a tiny pair of silver wings that Marcia had given him when she had first asked him to become her Apprentice. The wings sat in Septimus's right palm and glittered in the sun. Across the shining silver, four words were written in letters of pure gold: Fly Free With Me.

Septimus tried to remember what it was he had done that morning with Marcia beside the Boggart patchwhich seemed so long ago nowwhen he had first held the Charm and felt the tingle of Magyk shoot through him. He remembered that he had said the words to himself and imagined that he really was flying. That was all. Surely there was more to it than that?

"SeeI knew you'd be able to do it, Sep," said Nicko admiringly as Septimus's feet lifted a few inches off the ground.

Septimus looked down and landed with a thump.

Jenna, meanwhile, had not taken her eyes off the dark figure in the sky. He was close enough now for her to see his long straw-colored hair streaming behind him as he came down low above the reed bed, homing in on the Tag. At the last minute, when it looked as if he might hurtle headlong into the Causeway, Simon swooped up and skidded to a halt with a look of extreme concentration on his face. This was Simon's first attempt at Flyte. He had crashed three times on takeoff from the top of the Observatory roof and had narrowly avoided smashing into one of the marsh islands which had been overrun with chickens. It was nothing like as easy as Hugh Fox had told him it would be.

Simon hovered now with some difficulty, as if buffeted by the wind, and stared in surprise at the group below. He had seen something he had not expected to ever see againsomething he thought had been eaten by the massive Land Wurm that now inhabited his Burrow (which was about to give birth to ten little Land Wurms and was consqeuently extremely bad-tempered and hungry).

"You've got my horse!" Simon yelled at Jenna. "Youyou horse thief!"

Everyone was transfixed by the sight of Simon in midair. Forgetting the danger, they watched him, wondering what he was going to do next.

"Go away and leave us alone, Simon!" said Jenna fiercely.

"Leave my horse alone then," Simon retorted, and suddenly he lost concentrationand height. Falling fast, he landed awkwardly beside Jenna, turning his ankle. Jenna leaped out of the way, pulling Thunder with her.

"Go away, Simon," Septimus told him angrily.

Simon laughed. "So you are going to make me go away, you Young Army brat? I don't think so."

With a surprising turn of speed, Simon grabbed the reins from Jenna and at the same time caught hold of her arm. He twisted it up behind her back until Jenna gasped with pain. "Let her go, you pig!" Nicko demanded. He hurled himself at Simon, but Simon was ready with a StunFlash, which he threw at Nicko's feet. The StunFlash knocked Nicko to the ground and caught Wolf Boy as it bounced away. Nicko tried to get up, but he couldn't; his head felt as though it was nailed to the ground. He closed his eyesthe light was hurting them, and the noise inside his head was making him feel horribly sick.

"Just be grateful that I know you're my brother," Simon told Nicko as he lay pale and sprawled on the dusty Causeway. "I don't Harm family. Well, not terminally anyway. But I don't see any more family around meonly a couple of kids who've stolen our name for themselves. Just like one of them stole my horse." Simon tightened his grip on Jenna.

"Stop it, Simon," gasped Jenna. "You're hurting me."

"Am I? Ouch!" Simon's free hand flew up to his neck. "Blasted Marsh Flies," he complained, looking at the smear of blood on his hand as, unbeknownst to him, Jenna's Shield Bug stood on his shoulder, having just missed Simon's jugular vein with its razor-sharp sword, and lined up the sword for a second stab. The bug was out of practiceever since it had been parted from Jenna in what was now known as The Great Storm, the bug had had no one to protect and had spent much of its time chasing an old enemy, the Hunter, who was now a buffoon at the circus. But the bug had never forgotten Jenna, and when it had seen her walk past the circus tent, it knew that once again it had a purpose in lifeto protect her from her enemies.

The Shield Bug's sword flashed toward Simon's neck.

"Stop!" Jenna yelled out, unable to let the bug kill someone she still saw as her brother.

The bug paused, confused. Why was it not allowed to complete its job? The small, heavily armored creature stood on Simon's shoulder, still eyeing up his neck, its arm itching to raise its sword and strike.

"Stop what, Princess? Surely I am not still hurting you. In fact, it appears to be me who's been hurtas ever," said Simon, somewhat self-pityingly. He stared around him, suddenly gloomy. His neck stung badly from the Marsh Fly bite, his ankle stabbed with pain when he put any weight on it and somehow he had to get this awkward girl back to the Badlands. This time he would enjoy leaving her out for the Magogs. "Get on the horse," he said sharply to Jenna. "We're going."

"No, we're not, Simon," Jenna told him calmly.

"Don't tell me what we are or are not doing. Get on the horse." Simon yanked at Jenna's arm angrily.

"If you do that again, Simon, I will tell my Shield Bug to finish what it has started. I don't want to, but I will."

"What Shield Bug?" Simon glanced around him warily, and then it dawned on him just what had bitten him. His hand flew to his neck. He caught the bug, tapped it with a Reverse, and it rolled up into a tight ball. Simon hurled the bug into the reed beds. "Oh, that Shield Bug," he smirked triumphantly. "Now get on the horse."

"You get on the horse." Septimus's voice came out of nowhere. "Then get out of here and don't come back."

Simon and Jenna both looked up in surprise. Septimus was hovering about ten feet above them.

In a moment, Simon had let go of Jenna and shot up off the ground to confront Septimus. Jenna watched the two brothers squaring off to one another ten feet above the ground. Septimus's lack of height compared to Simon was no longer a problem, and he stared Simon in the eye, daring him to make a move.

"Let Jenna be, Simon," Septimus told him, concentrating hard on trying to speak and hover at the same time, which was not as easy as he had hoped. As soon as he thought of what to say he found himself dipping toward the ground. "Go back ... whoops ... to wherever you came from and ... ah ... take your Darke Magyk with you."

Simon's eyes darkened with anger. Septimus noticed that they had become almost black, with disconcerting flashes of playing across the irises like lightning in a thunderstorm.

"You don't fool me; you're a fake," Simon sneered. "You're a fake Heap and fake Apprentice. You've just got hold of one of those dinky little Wing Charms. Ten a penny, they are. No maneuverability, no speed and you'll get no higher than a hovel's chimney with those." As if to prove his point, Simon shot far above Septimus, then whizzed down again and buzzed around him in circles, like an angry bee.

"Flyte," Simon continued, circling Septimus and trapping him in midair. "Flyte, as you should know, being the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's little pet, is the last Lost Art, which I have rediscovered." Simon was gratified to see a look of amazement flash across Septimus's face. He had the kid rattled now; he knew it. This was turning out to be funat last. "And wouldn't you like to know where I discovered it, you little worm, hey?"

Septimus stared at Simon, determined not to give anything away and focusing all his concentration on staying in the air.

"Of course," Simon carried on, "I'd really like to say that you can go home to dear Marcia and her faithful Shadow and tell them all about how the next ExtraOrdinary Apprentice has discovered the Lost Art of Flyte, but unfortunately for you and the lovely Miss Overstrand, you will not be going back. You will be staying here in the reed beds along with the Shield Bug. Forever."

Now Simon stopped his manic circling and came to a halt in front of Septimus. Almost lazily Simon reached into his pocket, while Septimus watched him, wondering what he was about to do. Then, with a sudden flick of his wrist, Simon hurled a Thunderflash at Septimus. Somehow Septimus threw himself to one side, and, with a deafening roar, the Thunderflash shot past his ear, singeing his hair and scorching the side of his face. Burning with a brilliant white light, it shot into the reed beds and exploded with a deafening clap of thunder, sending up a huge plume of muddy water, which landed on Nicko and Wolf Boy and woke them from the StunFlash.

The shock waves from the Thunderflash threw Septimus off-balance and, to his horror, he found himself falling against Simon. As Septimus crashed into him, Simon threw off his cloak and wrapped it tightly around his youngest brother, pinning Septimus's arms to his sides. Septimus struggled and fought but, at a muttered Command from Simon, the Darke cloak Transformed into a huge black serpent and curled around him, trapping him within its coils. With every breath that Septimus breathed out, the snake tightened its grip, so that each new breath was shallower and harder to take. Slowly, deliberately, Septimus was having the life crushed from him.

Simon hovered and watched the proceedings with a smirkuntil a sharp stone caught his hand and sent him tumbling backward with surprise.

"You got him!" came Jenna's voice from below. "Quick, quick, do another one!"

Wolf Boy did not need telling; he was already lining up his catapult for another shot. He drew back the sling and let loose a small round stone. It caught Simon's right eye and sent him plunging to earth, screaming in pain. He hit the ground with a dull thud. The serpent fell away from Septimus and followed its Master. It landed with a thump and slithered off into the reed beds. Septimus, dazed and light-headed from lack of oxygen, sank slowly down until Jenna, Nicko and Wolf Boy caught hold of him and laid him down on the bank. They were too concerned with Septimus, who was deathly white with a blue tinge to his lips, to notice that Simon had struggled to his feet. It was only when Jenna heard the sound of Thunder's hooves galloping along the Causeway that she looked up.

Simon Heap, one hand held to his blinded right eye, the other grasping Thunder's reins, was on his way back to the Badlands.