Chapter 15 The Badlands
While Septimus and Nicko were getting lost far away in the Forest, Simon Heap was taking Jenna deep into the Badlands.
Thunder stumbled slowly up a narrow track, which wound through endless slate quarries, some old and abandoned, oth' ers with signs of recent work, although eerily deserted. The disturbed earth and the shattered rocks gave off a malevolent atmosphere, and Jenna felt her spirits sink. Far above her, a ~ournful moan drifted from the desolate tops of the hills trie east wind was blowing in and thick gray clouds were piling up in the sky. The sunlight grew dim and the air became chill. Simon wrapped his long black cloak around him, but enna was shivering; all she had to keep her warm was her light summer tunic.
"Stop shivering, will you?" growled Simon.
"I don't have a cloak like you do," snapped Jenna.
"You wouldn't want a cloak like mine. " Simon sneered. "Too much Darke Magyk for Little Miss Perfect here. "
"You shouldn't joke about that stuff, Simon," protested Jenna.
"Who said I was joking?" asked Simon.
Jenna fell silent, still shivering.
"Oh, have this then and stop fussing," said Simon, exasperated. He fished out a cloak from his saddlebag and grumpily handed it to Jenna. Jenna took the cloak, expecting to find a rough horse blanket, and was amazed at what Simon had given her. It was the most beautiful cloak that she had ever seena rich, deep blue, finely woven from the softest wool combed from the belly of a mountain goat, and lined in golden silk. Simon had intended it as a present for Lucy Gringe. He had planned to leave it outside the gatehouse, with a note tucked inside the lining that only Lucy would find. But when Simon had arrived at the North Gate early that morning, with his dark cloak pulled high around his face to avoid Gringe recognizing him, he had seen Silas jauntily walking down the street carrying the box of Counter-Feet. The last person Simon wanted to see was his father, and he had quickly changed direction and taken a shortcut to Wizard Way. Silas had not even noticed himhe had been too busy going over his strategy for that morning's game. So now, to Simon's irritation, the beautiful and extremely expensive cloak he had chosen for Lucy was wrapped around Little Miss Princess Perfect.
Jenna pulled Lucy's cloak tightly around herself. She was warm now, but very tired, in front of Simon on the weary horse. The dark slate quarries went endlessly on, and Thunder was plodding up a steady incline. The track had narrowed; it was bound on one side by steep slate cliffs that rose into the overcast sky, and on the other side by a deep ravine, at the bottom of which was a dark swirling river full of jagged rocks and treacherous whirlpools. Jenna wondered if Simon was ever going to stop; he seemed to have no concern for her or his horse. Thunder was tiring fast, and once or twice the horse had lost his footing on the loose scree, which covered the sides of the gray slate hills, and had nearly sent them all plunging into the river below.
Suddenly Simon spoke. "Whoa, Thunder, whoa there, boy. " Thunder slowed to a halt and shook his head, snorting wearily. Jenna glanced about, suddenly anxious now that they had stopped.
Quickly, Simon dismounted from Thunder and took the reins. "You can get off," he told Jenna. "We're here. "
With a sinking feeling, Jenna slipped off the horse and stood, undecided whether to make a run for it or not. The trouble was, there didn't seem to be anywhere to run to. Simon read her thoughts.
"Don't be stupid and run off," he told her sharply. "There's nowhere for you to go, unless you want to find yourself in a Land Wurm's Burrow. "
"Don't try and frighten me, Simon," said Jenna. "You know as well as I do they only come out at night. "
"Oh, do they now? Of course I forgotLittle Miss Princess knows everything there is to know, doesn't she? Well, I can leave you out here tonight, if you like. There's a nice selection of Wurm Burrows up there if you want to go and have a look. "
Jenna was not tempted to take up Simon's challenge. She had been told too many stories about the huge gray Land Wurms that lived in the slate hills and preyed on passing travelers at night. Some Castle people thought they were nothing more than old miners' tales, told in order to keep people out of the slate workings, where the purest gold was sometimes found, but Jenna knew better. So she stood beside Thunder in Lucy's cloak and stared fixedly at the ground, determined not to give Simon the pleasure of seeing her look frightened.
Simon took hold of Thunder's bridle. "Follow me," he told Jenna, and he led the horse up a steep winding path while Jenna followed, glancing behind to check that she was not being trailed by a Land Wurm. She had a feeling that Simon would not rush to her rescue if she was.
Suddenly the path came to an unexpected end at a sheer rock face.
"Home sweet home," said Simon with a wry grimace. Jenna stared at him, wondering if Simon had perhaps lost his mind. It would explain a lot.
"Open to you commands, Master your, Nomis," muttered Simon. Jenna listened carefully to what he said and shivered it was, she knew with a feeling of horror, a Reverse Incantation. She took a step back, unwilling to be close to any Darke Magyk.
Silently, part of the rock face Transformed into a massive round iron plug, which swung outward and upward to open for its Master. Jenna glanced behind her; it briefly crossed her mind to turn and run, but the sight of the dark and lonely valley and the sound of the wind whining across the hilltops was not appealing. Then, as she glanced up, Jenna saw something that made her heart jump into her mouthfrom a dark, perfectly round hole halfway up a nearby overhang, she thought she caught sight of a pair of pale red Land Wurm eyes staring out at her.
"Well, are you coming in or not?" asked Simon, jangling Thunder's bridle impatiently.
It was a choice between the Land Wurm and Simon Simon won, but only just. Jenna took a deep breath and followed him and Thunder into the rock face.