Disclaimer - Septimus Heap and Co. belong to the marvellous Angie Sage.
It was snowing heavily by the time Septimus arrived at the Manuscriptorium. Marcia had told him that she would meet him there because she needed to pick up some charms to cure the Sicknesse.
Septimus looked at his watch – a Magykal watch Marcia had given him on his fifteenth birthday. Marcia was very late. That was understandable, she despised the Chief Hermetic Scribe – Miss Jillie Djinn. However, Marcia was never this late. Something must be wrong.
Septimus ran outside, into Wizard Way. Where was Marcia? Septimus decided to go inside Terry Tarsal's shoe shop; maybe Marcia had broken a heel on the way to the Manuscriptorium. Unfortunately Marcia was not there.
Marcia did not go shopping when doing a task so Septimus assumed she had already picked up the charms. He had no choice but to go back to the Wizard tower. He ran through the streets, whispered the password and caught the stairs to the 21st floor, which he ran up anyway to get there faster.
He walked through the purple door and called out, "Marcia!" However there was no reply. Septimus focussed for a second and thought he Sensed a faint human heartbeat. Whoever was here was very weak.
Septimus checked all of the rooms apart from Marcia's room. He left that one to do last, because he was dreading what he might find. He knocked quietly and he heard a faint "Septimus…"
He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Septimus became very worried. Marcia's door only locked itself when either Marcia was in danger or was too weak to lock the door herself.
Septimus had no choice but to use his Flyte charm to hover outside Marcia's window and smash it open. Inside he saw Marcia lying barely conscious on the floor, her Platinum Keepsafe in her hand. She looked really pale and there was a large, deep wound in her chest, slightly to the right of her heart.
Septimus crouched down next to Marcia and whispered in her ear "Marcia. Are you OK? What happened?" Marcia groaned. "Don't worry, I'll help you in any way I can."
"DomDaniel ambushed me … Wizard way … Darke wound – poisonous … Transported back … collapsed … really hurts" was all Marcia could whisper. Septimus could tell she was dying.
Septimus had to act fast. He knew what to do for a Darke wound. You have to cast an AntiDarke and make sure they do not lose any more blood (when casting an AntiDarke the victim loses twice as much blood). Then you have to bandage the wound and cast a Heal. AntiDarkes were dangerous because if you hesitated, the caster would also have a Darke wound. Septimus was willing to take the risk. However Marcia was not. "No Septimus… Hurt Yourself… Too risky…" But Septimus was willing to sacrifice his safety for Marcia. He started the spell…
Begone Darke, I Banish thee…
Septimus had stayed by Marcia's side, staunching the blood flow whilst he cast the spell. He did not want to lose Marcia, because if he did his whole world would fall apart. Marcia groaned again – AntiDarkes were painful.
The spell was done. He now needed to bandage the wound. "I'm sorry Marcia, but this is going to be painful," Septimus warned. He picked her up and carefully placed her on her bed, dressing the wound. Marcia was getting weaker, she had almost lost 3 pints of blood. Finally, Septimus cast the Heal.
"Don't worry, Marcia. Everything will be OK. I wouldn't lose you for the world."
Septimus stayed by Marcia's side all night, casting a soothing spell every time she was in pain or had a nightmare. By the morning, Septimus was fast asleep and Marcia was beginning to wake.
Marcia woke up to find herself completely healed. She saw Septimus sleeping in a hastily pulled up chair and found the fire still going. She looked affectionately at Septimus. He looked extremely tired Marcia thought.
She stood up and found that Septimus had bandaged her up and wrapped his cloak around her, keeping her warm. Marcia knew Septimus had had a stressful night so she cast a spell to stop him from feeling tired. Septimus' expression became more relaxed and Marcia smiled – She was happy that at last Septimus could have a rest.
Marcia then proceeded to make breakfast. She decided to make Septimus' favourite – Porridge with lots of syrup. Septimus walked into the room. "Morning Marcia!" he said a little blearily
Marcia walked up to Septimus and gave him a big hug. "Thank you Septimus for saving my life yesterday and for staying awake all night for me. I am very grateful for what you did. You have shown courage and skill."
It was very rare for Marcia to thank anyone so Septimus knew this was a big compliment.
"Marcia, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you died because I couldn't save you. I really value your safety."
"Oh, and Septimus, your tunic is on back to front." Septimus smiled. He pulled his arms out of his tunic, with a flourish turned it the right way round and put his arms back through the holes.
Septimus finished his breakfast quickly and said "Thank you for breakfast" before walking out of the room.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked Marcia. "To see Jenna"
"No you're not! You're going to the Manuscriptorium with me!"
They both smiled and set off for the Manuscriptorium, arm in arm.