Hey, this is alj97. Thanks for being interested in my story! I won't be able to update for a while, what with school, sports, and other junk that eats up my day, but I'll try to as soon as I can. So, enjoy Chapter 2!
"And through all of that, I was asleep?" Septimus asked eyes wide. He was sitting on Marcia's couch, drinking a disgusting mixture of coffee and a Wake up charm, which tasted like rotten milk.
"No, not asleep, Paralyzed. It's an old spell, used over five hundred years ago to kidnap wizards. But I haven't seen it actively used since I was Alther's apprentice, and he taught me about it." Marcia got up off the couch and walked to the coffee pot. "Oh hurry up you blithering piece of junk!" She said irritably, tapping it hard on its top. In a panic, the poor coffee pot immediately began squirting coffee into the waiting cup, and on the surrounding floor, and on Marcia's bare feet.
"AAhhh! Oh you stupid little…"
"Marcia!" Septimus interrupted, wanting to spare to poor coffee pot nightmares. She stopped cursing at the pot and turned back towards him. "Yes Septimus?" She asked, calmer. She came and sat down on the couch next to him.
"Marcia, how in the world did he get in here?" Septimus asked, "This is the Wizard Tower! How could he get in without anybody knowing?" He cut off as Marcia shook her head, dark curls bouncing.
"That, I do not know. But if you feel up to it, you can come with me, and together we can try and find out." She looked at her apprentice, his face slightly less pale, sand-colored hair wild and sticking in all directions, eyes glittering with curiosity and excitement.
"Oh yes please!" He blurted out, but then looked down at himself, and then across at Marcia.
"But we better get dressed first."
Sometime later, the great wooden door of Marcia's room burst open, and out walked Marcia, ExtraOrdinary Wizard, swathed in purple, with the glittering ExtraOrdinary belt glinting in the lantern light, purple python shoes clicking on the stairs. Behind her a figure in the green ExtraOrdinary Apprentice robes followed, curly hair wild and crazy, struggling to keep up with Marcia's brisk pace.
"Wait, Marcia, slow down!" Septimus cried as he jogged behind her, down the frozen stairs, and into the Great Hall. He was still trying to pull on one boot, and almost fell onto her before regaining his balance.
Marcia slowed down so he could walk at her side. "The man who grabbed you is Frozen down in the hall. If those idiotic Ordinary Wizards can do anything right they'll have Disarmed him, and put him in the holding cell."
They reached the leftover crowd of Wizards who had stayed behind instead of going back to bed. Milling around, gossiping, laughing at those dressed in sleepwear, spreading theories on how the man had gotten in, they were having a wonderful time. Nothing this exciting had happened since the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice's nasty dragon had somehow gotten into the hall, and was clawing and crushing everything in his reach. No, that had been terrifying, this was mysterious.
When the crowd saw Marcia coming they parted, their whispers hushing down to nothing. Marcia strode to the door that would lead of to the holding cell, but Septimus tripped on something lying on the floor. No, someone. Piscel Adamthrope, the unknown savior of the day, was still lying on the floor, untouched. Everyone believed him to have passed out with all of this excitement. The Silent Stunflash was wearing off, however, and just as Piscel was picking himself gingerly off the sandy floor Septimus rammed into him, tripped, and fell face first onto the ground in an eerily similar echo to the nosedive the hooded man had taken just minutes before.
"Umphh!" He grunted, and then turned to see why he had fallen.
"Hey! Watch where you're walking…" Piscel's angry remark trailed off as he saw who he was talking to. "Oh! I'm sorry ExtraOrdinary Apprentice, I didn't mean to…" He stopped his blubbering as Septimus was pulled to his feet by an even more annoyed Marcia.
"Oh get up off the floor! Come quickly Septimus." She barked, and quickly sped away to the holding cell. Piscel watched them go in dazed wonder, and then asked a very important question
"Wait, what's going on?" Immediately, dozens of Wizards began to fill him in on their version of the events that had taken place, none of which included him.
Marcia and Septimus continued to the holding cell, a small, dark chamber usually used for storage, time outs, and hide-and-seek spots. It was now holding the Frozen man, and all of the junk was piled along the sides of the corridor.
"Have you Disarmed him?" She asked the two wizards guarding him, and they nodded and began to fill her in on the adventure of moving the man from hall to hold. Marcia waved them off and came to stand behind Septimus, who was gazing at the man in bewilderment.
"Who is he?" He asked Marcia, turning to look at her.
"No idea, I don't recognize him from anywhere." She answered, studying the face of the man.
He had long, greasy dark hair that hung in his eyes, a square chin, and dark eyes narrowed in hatred. He was short, but built solidly as if he was made completely of muscle.
"Can you please leave us now?" She asked the two wizards in a tone that implied that her question was not a question, but a demand. They muttered "Sure ExtraOrdinary" and quickly exited the room, back into the crowd of gossiping wizards.
Septimus looked up at Marcia, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "Marcia, are you going to do what I think you are going to do?" He asked, and was rewarded with a small nod and a smile.
"Yes Septimus, I am going to attempt a MindSearche, but since he is frozen I am not sure how well it will work." She walked up to the man, looking in his eyes. "Watch closely, this is extremely complicated, and I want you to see it done right." Holding back a shiver of disgust, Marcia leaned her forehead against his, closed her eyes, and concentrated, murmuring under her breath. Septimus leaned forward to hear what she said, but jumped back as a powerful purple haze surrounded her. Best not to interfere with Mind magic Septimus. He thought to himself, and leaned against the wall, watching.
From Septimus' point of view, Marcia was as still and quiet as if she herself had been frozen, but inside her head it was a chaotic whirl of color and sound. She mentally struggled with the mind of the hooded man, and it was hard, for he was very strong. But Marcia was Magyk. She overwhelmed him and spread out her mind into every corner of his, searching, looking, until there, she found it. Information all about the man's life. She shuddered, overwhelmed, and then tried to process everything.
Dominick De'Ara, professional assassin, mercenary, and hostage taker.
Work for money, money was good; he's so skilled nothing can stop him.
Courting a pretty girl while still a boy, she broke his heart, so he broke her home.
"I need you to obtain Septimus Heap"
There! That was it; slowly she brought the memory up to the front of her mind.
Dominick tapped his hand against his leg. It was meant to give off a feeling of boredom, but this man wasn't buying it. "Yeah, so what. Who's Septimus Heap. And why should I care?" tap, tap, tap. "Septimus Heap is a boy, young, maybe 14 or 15. And he is the seventh son of a seventh son." Shocked, Dominick stopped his tapping. Mad at himself, he tried to sound uninterested, but he was hooked, and this man knew it. "Yeah, what does that have to go with me. You want me to go kill him?" The man shook his head. "No, He will one day be extremely powerful, and I want him. He is to be taken from his home and brought to me, alive. And what's in it for you, well, I've been told that you Mr. De'Ara, take an interest in magic spells and charms." Dominick looked up intrigued. "And I have quite the little charm for you." Out of the folds of his robe, the man pulled out three objects; a slip of paper, a small glittering orb, and a square hunk of black jade. "My assistant will explain the purpose for each. And afterwards, when Septimus Heap is safely stored away in my home, you may keep them." The man, who Dominick was now mentally calling boss, smiled. "Good luck."
All of the sudden Marcia was torn from Dominick's mind as Septimus rammed into her side and pulled her away, breaking the connection with a SNAP.
"OHH! Septimus what did you do that for, I was just…"
"MARCIA, look out!" He pulled her back and away from Dominick. Marcia looked up and cried out, startled. "What in the…"
Dominick was UnFrozen. He stood up straight and tall in the hold, no longer glaring, but smiling, like a cat that has just caught his prey.
And in his hand is a knife.
A KNIFE?! Those bumbling fools! I thought they had Disarmed him! She pushed Septimus behind her, ignoring his all the while that Marcia had been in the man's head, Septimus had been watching. He almost couldn't believe it when Dominick's eyes snapped open; and as he reached down into his boot to pull out a knife, Septimus had jumped forward and pulled Marcia out of the way, unaware that Marcia wasn't the target.
He was.
Marcia quickly started a SafeShield, and purple energy began to fill the room. But Dominick was faster. Quicker than she could see he ran up to her and, with more strength then should be possible, kicked her to the side, her head hitting the wall.
"Marcia!" Screamed Septimus as he tried to run to her side, but Dominick grabbed the back of his robes, choking him. He moved as fast as he could towards the door with a wiggling, biting, screaming boy in both hands.
Marcia groaned, trying to clear her head so that she could Flash Freeze him again. She stood up and shakily tried to follow. But, oh, the floor was just so comfy, and her head was just so dizzy…
Dominick slammed Septimus into the wall to hold him still as he searched for his Go Through charm. Drat! Those stupid Wizards had taken it. Oh well, I can just demand a new one when I return.
Septimus tried to focus. He had no idea what this guy wanted, but he had to stop him! But how? Thinking quickly, Septimus began to mutter a spell off the top of his head. It was old, and he hadn't used it in years, but hopefully it would work.
"Let me Fade into Aire, Let all against me know not, Where, Let those that Seeke me pass me by, Let Harme not reach me from their Eye."
He faded from view just as Dominick turned his head back to him, only to see…nothing. What, where had the boy gone, huh? But, but I can still feel him… His bewildered thoughts were silenced as Septimus' elbow smashed into his nose, and Dominick howled. Before he could recover, Septimus quickly grabbed the knife from his hand, and pointed it straight at him. His days in the Young Army had prepared him for an ambush. He just hadn't expected to ever have to use that experience to his advantage.
Holding his nose, Dominick stared at the hovering knife. The boy was invisible, great. But so focused was he on the knife that he didn't notice the bright light that filled the corridor, or hear Marcia muttering before it was too late. The Thunderflash hit him in the chest, knocking him out into the Great Hall.
Still woozy, Marcia stumbled down the hallway. "Septimus?" She said, searching.
"Marcia, I'm here!" He exclaimed running and hugging her before he realized that he was still invisible. Quickly he ended the spell. "Are you okay?" He asked her.
Marcia laughed. "It takes more than a wall to knock this ExtraOrdinary Wizard down. Now come, let's go see what has become of Dominick."
"Dominick?"
"The man, that's his name. He's a professional Assassin, Mercenary, and Kidnapper. Dominick De'Ara. Uhg."
They reached the great hall, and found a cluster of wizards staring something in the middle of the floor. "Stay here Septimus." She commanded, and quickly pushed her way through the crowd. After a heartbeat, Septimus followed. He was not missing this.
When he managed to reach the center, he pushed his head under Marcia's arm, and looked down at what everyone was staring at.
Dominick De'Ara was dead.
"Oh bother." Marcia mutters, pushing Septimus back to open space. "There goes our only clue to what is going on. And who is responsible." Septimus nods, about to reply, but at that moment there is a hum, and the liquid lights floating overhead explode and become wisps of colored gas. The silent sand floor shifts, and a multiple messages role across its surface. INTRUDER! LOOK OUT WIZARD PISCEL! GOOD MORNING EXTRAORDINARY IS THERE A DEAD MAN IN THE WIZARD TOWER. The frozen stairs shoot to life, sending an elderly wizard flying. The Wizard Tower is back.
"Oh thank goodness." Says Septimus.
