Flyte

Chapter 16 The Burrow

  The iron door clanged shut behind them and they were plunged into total darkness. Jenna tried to keep calm and told herself what Silas had always said to her when she was afraid of the darkremember, though you can see nothing, no Thing can see you.

  As Jenna was reciting this to herself under her breath, Simon drew something from his pocket and cupped it in his hands. Then he breathed on it, muttering a few words that Jenna could not make out, and his hands began to glow with in eerie green light.

  "Home, Sleuth," said Simon, throwing the object to the ground. A glowing ball of green light bounced away in front of them, illuminating the smooth round tunnel just enough for them to find their way.

  "Follow me," Simon said sharply to Jenna, his voice echoing in the dark. "Don't bother to waste your time looking for a way out. There isn't one. And in case you're wondering where we are, we're in an old Burrow. " Simon chuckled to himself. "But don't worry, little sister dear, the Land Wurm that lived here has gone. "

  "Land Wurm?" gasped Jenna.

  "Yes. If you don't believe me just reach out and touch the sides of the Burrow. Silky smooth from all that lovely Wurm acid, and still beautifully slimy too. Nice, huh?"

  Jenna could not help herselfshe had to know if Simon was telling the truthso she gingerly ran a finger along the rock. It was disgustingicy smooth and covered with a glutinous slime that stuck to her finger. She fought down the urge to be sick and wiped her slime-covered finger on Lucy's cloak. It was almost impossible to get the slime off, it seemed to have an affinity with human skin.

  Holding her finger away from her, Jenna followed Thunder's clattering, slipping hooves as Simon led him through the dark tube of the Land Warm's Burrow. The Burrow felt, thought Jenna as she followed the serpentine bends, horribly like walking through the inside of the Wurm itself.

  The Wurm had been a long one, but eventually they reached the end of the slime-lined tube, and Thunder stumbled into a huge round cavern.

  "This is the Wurm Chamber, where the Wurm slept in the day and hibernated in the winter," said Simon, catching sight of Jenna's horrified look in the green light of the ball. He continued, enjoying Jenna's expression too much to stop. "If you look at the walls you can see the different-sized coils of the Wurm etched into them. All perfectly smooth from the acid of course. " Simon lovingly stroked the side of the cavern, and Jenna noticed that he didn't seem to mind the Wurm slime at all. "You see, the Wurm needs somewhere to turn around so that she can go out of the Burrow facing the right way. Just so that she doesn't miss a tasty morsel like you walking past. She sleeps here until nightfall and then goes out hunting. Just think of all those lovely Wurms who were curled up in their Burrows while we were riding through the quarries this afternoon. "

  Jenna shuddered, despite trying not to.

  "And over here we have Thunder's stable, don't we, boy?" Simon patted his horse affectionately and led him across the Wurm Chamber to an area covered in straw, with a manger attached to the wall and a drinking trough hewn from the rock, which was fed by a dripping spring just above it.

  Simon picked up the green ball and placed it on a ledge in the wall so that the light shone down on the horse and turned him an eerie greenish-black. "Make yourself at home, Sis," he said, "while I settle Thunder down for the night. " He threw Jenna a small rug from one of the saddlebags.

  "Isis this where you live?" asked Jenna. She put the rug down on the cavern floor as far away from Simon as she could get and sat down, trying her best to avoid touching any Wurm slime.

  "You think I live here, in this dump? What do you take me forsome kind of loser, living like a tramp?" snapped Simon,his suddenly angry voice echoing through the Wurm Chamber.

  "N-no," stammered Jenna.

  Simon glared at her coldly and then, to Jenna's relief, went back to tending his horse, which seemed to calm him down. Jenna watched him take the bridle and the heavy saddle off Thunder and hang them up, and then he rubbed the horse down and covered him with a blanket. Once Thunder was settled, Simon turned his attention back to Jenna and strode over to her.

  "This, let me tell you," he said, staring down at her, "is just the beginning of my domain. You have no idea just how much I control. No idea at all. " Jenna stared at Simon and saw the same mad glint in his eye that he had had when she had turned to look at him in Cutpurse Cut.

  "Get up," Simon said roughly. "It's time you saw just how powerful your dear brother really is. "

  Jenna hung back. "No. No, thank you, Simon. I'm really tired. "

  "You don't think I would let my honored guest sleep in the stable, do you?" Simon grabbed her arm and pulled her up from the rug.

  "Come!" he yelled to the green ball. Sleuth jumped off its ledge and bounced around Simon's feet like an eager puppy. Simon kicked it and sent it flying down the narrow passage that led out of the Wurm Chamber. Then Simon propelled Jenna along in front of him, pushing her roughly down the tunnel.

  Jenna stumbled along, slipping on the loose shale that covered the ground, until they reached the foot of some steep steps cut into the slate.

  "Up!" Simon snapped. Sleuth bounced onto the first step and started its climb. Simon gave Jenna a shove. "You too. Go on. "

  Jenna started up the steps. A thick rope was fixed to the wall and she clung to it as she wearily climbed up, and up, and up, following the never-tiring ball. Simon was close behind her and she could hear his breath coming faster as they climbed higher. Soon the air became fresher and Jenna's spirits lifted a little as she realized that they were going up toward the outside world again. At last Sleuth reached the top step. Simon grabbed Jenna's shoulder.

  "Wait here," he told her. He kicked the ball away and strode through a tall archway, disappearing into the darkness. Jenna stood at the top of the steps, trembling with cold and tiredness, and drew the cloak around her. She stared into the gloom but could make out nothing at all, though she could feel a few stray raindrops hitting her face. Jenna stuck out her tongue to catch them and taste the fresh air.

  Simon was back a few minutes later with a Glo Lampa long glass tube stuffed full of writhing Glo Grubs that he had hastily scooped out of the grub barrel and poured into the tube. Fresh out of the barrel, the Glo Grubs glowed brightly.

  Simon beckoned Jenna through the archway but she hung back. "You can stay out there all night if you want," he told her, "but I wouldn't advise it. There's a Magog Chamber at the bottom of the steps. Didn't you notice?"

  Jenna remembered Magogs from the time she had met them on board DomDaniel's ship. Reluctantly she decided that, yet again, Simon was the better of two evils.

  Jenna followed Simon through the archway.

  The Camera Obscura

  Welcome to the Observatorymy place," Simon said, for a moment letting himself slip into the role of the older brother showing off to his sister. "Come inside and take a look. "

  Jenna stepped through the archway and a terrible feeling of dread came over her. She stared into the gloom; the place felt chill and eerie. Jenna knew that there was something Darke in the air. Despite the best efforts of the Glo Grubs, Jenna could make out very little apart from a huge white circle, which glowed like the moon and seemed to float above the floor. Simon pushed her toward the circle, but Jenna resisted.

  "Oh, come on," said Simon, propelling Jenna forward and confusing her by sounding like his old self for a moment. "You'll like this, all kids do. "

  "I'm not a kid," said Jenna. "I'm"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know. You're Miss Princess high and mighty. Well, you'll like it anyway. Whatever you are. I'll uncover the lens and then you'll see itmy Camera Obscura. "

  A chill shot through Jenna. Where had she heard those words before? Surely that horrible boyDomDaniel's Apprenticehad boasted about having a Camera Obscura? A strange noise came from far above Jenna's head; she glanced up and could just about make out a tall domed roof with a long wooden pole hanging down from somethin
g in the middle. What was it?

  Suddenly Simon snapped, "Stop daydreaming and look at the dish. "

  Jenna looked down at the huge white circle before her, and to her amazement she could see a finely detailed picture of the ravine she had just traveled through. "Good, huh?" Simon smirked. "Better than all that witchy rubbish old Zelda did. This, little sister, is the real world. "

  Jenna knew he was talking about the night the Heaps had all stood on a rickety bridge and seen themselves reflected in the light of a full moon, while Aunt Zelda, a White Witch, had asked the moon to show them the family of a small boy soldier, Boy 412. Jenna decided it was wiser to say nothing.

  Simon took hold of the pole, and he began to walk slowly around the white dish. The pole moved with him, and far above their heads a thin creaking noise began as the lens that focused the scene onto the white dish of the Camera Obscura began to turn through a full circle. As it turned, the scene before them changed, and despite herself, Jenna was entranced. She had never seen anything like it before; the picture was bright and intricately detailedbut strangely silent.

  "So you see," Simon said, moving very slowly to allow Jenna to take in the changing scene before her, "you can have no secrets from me. I can see everything. I can see the Castle, I can see your precious Palace and I can even see mad Marcia in the Wizard Tower with that upstart Apprentice who thinks he's my brother. I see it all. "

  Jenna stared at the scene. It was beautiful, but everything was very small and far away. She didn't really understand how Simon could see everything.

  In the distance, beyond the Badlands and the Farmlands, she saw the Castle outlined against the setting sun. As she stared at the image, she saw seagulls flying silently across the sky and boats moving slowly up the river. Jenna could just about pick out the Palace by its wide green lawns stretching to the riverand all at once she felt a terrible longing to be home.

  "Want to have a closer look?" asked Simon with a sneer. "Want to see how much they're missing you?"

  Jenna did not answer, but Simon opened a drawer in the platform under the dish and took out a large brass magnifying glass. He held it above the dish, clicked his fingers and muttered, "Magnify do descry we that all. . . "

  Suddenly everything on the white dish jumped in size.

  "You see," said Simon, "I see everything clearly now. The Chief Hermetic Scribe at the Manuscriptorium had it. He collects Reverse memorabilia. Reckons that this Enlarging Glass was owned by the first Darke Wizard. D'you know who that was, little sister? Have they taught you that in your Princess history lessons yet?"

  Jenna did not respond. She had recently developed Septimus's dislike of even hearing the Reverse side mentioned. Septimus had a theory that even by talking about it you could invite it in.

  "Well, I'll tell you anyway," said Simon. "It was none other than Hotep'Ra. The very first ExtraOrdinary Wizard. The one who brought your precious Dragon Boat here. Don't look so surprised. So you see, wethe Reverse sideare the true inheritors of the Castle. And don't go thinking you'll be seeing your precious Dragon Boat again, either. Because you won't. "

  Simon chuckled, pleased with the effect he was having on Jenna, who looked white. She refused to meet Simon's eyes and was resolutely staring at the scene on the dish.

  Simon followed her gaze and turned his attention back to the Camera Obscura. Then, as though he had thrown a switch, he suddenly became the older brother again.

  "Good, isn't it?" he said, waving the Enlarging Glass over the dish, seeking out scenes and making them leap in fine detail. "Now, here we have the Forest . . . ah, there's a boat tied up on the beach where Sam fishes. I miss Sam . . . not much else to see in the Forest. Too dense. Although at night I can sometimes see the wolverines' eyes . . . Now let's go up the river to the Castle . . . here's old Jannit's boatyard . . . now where's my little brother Nicko? He came back today with Rupert. Did you know that, Jenna? No, I didn't think so. But I did. I saw them coming up the river before I left. And . . . ah, yes, there's the North Gate and that idiot Gringe arguing with that imbecile son of his . . . now where's my Lucy? There she is, sitting by the Moat. Waiting. But she'll wait for me a little longer. Now there's the Wizard Tower. Look at that window therethere's Marcia in her study and her Shadow keeping her company as all good Shadows should. See how he watches her every move? Now let's go somewhere you know well, shall we? Here we are . . . the Palace. Home sweet home, eh? If I am not mistaken, there are my dear misguided parents up on the roof. Are they looking at the sunset do you suppose, or are they wondering when their son and heir is going to bring back their little cuckoo?"

  "Shut up, Simon!" yelled Jenna. "I hate you, I hate you!" She hurled herself away from the images of Silas and Sarah and raced toward the steps. But Simon was faster. In a moment he had grabbed her and held her prisoner again. But not before Jenna had seen something hidden in the shadows that she really wished she hadn'ta bleached white skull ginning at her from the seat of an ornate wooden throne.

  "I think you have met before," Simon said with a smile. "Let me introduce you to the head of my Master, DomDaniel. "