Chapter Fourteen

Septimus spent much of the next few weeks trying to restore the Castle. Because so many people had died, Septimus knew it wouldn't be necessary to build back as many houses as there had been before. Just thinking about all those who had lost their lives made him feel desolate. No matter how hard he tried to keep going and force a smile on his face, he knew that his life would never be the same again. Septimus could even begin to think of himself as the "ExtraOrdinary Wizard." That was Marcia's position and it always would be in his mind. Of course, he wasn't even technically the ExtraOrdinary at all. He didn't even have the amulet. Someone had stolen it and he didn't even have the foggiest idea how to get it back. He had tried to appear confident in front of the citizens of the Castle, who were still quite distraught, but in all honesty, he didn't even know where to begin looking for the amulet. Besides, wearing the amulet would feel wrong, even if it rightly belonged to him now.

Even though it had been a few weeks since Marcia's funeral, Septimus still felt as though she wasn't really dead. As though it were all a big joke being played on him, just to make him miserable. He hadn't even really begun to grieve for her properly because he couldn't convince himself that she was gone. He didn't want to have to face it. Septimus was executing the duties of an ExtraOrdinary Wizard, but he was doing it like a robot. It was if he hadn't really been conscious from the moment Nicko had told him that Marcia had died. He kept expecting to wake up, to become conscious once more and recognize that it was all a dream. During his first few weeks in charge of the Tower, Septimus had had some very unusual dreams. Mostly, they were about Marcia, but occasionally, they had one about Jenna. He realized how long it had been since he had thought about his affair with her. Something in Septimus had changed, and now, romance scarcely seemed to matter at all. The last time he had had a conversation with Jenna had been a few days after Marcia's funeral. She had come to give him the news that she no longer expecting his child. She told him she had lost it that night Simon had attacked the Castle. Jenna had obviously expected Septimus to be hurt by this information because she was quiet and kind when she told him. Septimus had not been hurt at all. In fact, he was somewhat relieved. He was happy for Jenna. She could carry on with her life and marry Beetle and she could maybe have a chance at happiness.

Happiness! Septimus couldn't even remember what happiness felt like anymore. He knew he had been happy with Jenna, before all of these horrific events had occurred. He also remembered how happy Marcia had made him during the seven years he had been her apprentice. He couldn't believe that this time last year, he hadn't even graduated from his apprenticeship yet. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Even his graduation, which had only been a few months earlier, seemed like something that had occurred ages earlier. Septimus hated looking back on his happier years. He hated it that he had had such a good life, yet he had never even realized just how good it had been until it was too late.

Sarah was no longer speaking to Septimus anymore. She told him that, because he has supported Marcia over Simon, he had traded on his own family. She partially blamed Septimus for Simon's death, which wasn't at all fair, but Sarah didn't seem to notice that. Sarah had decided she no longer wanted to be associated with Septimus when he had told her that he believed Simon had gotten exactly what was coming to him. Sarah was now spending her days with Galen, lying in bed and not doing much of anything. Jenna was afraid that her mother might die she was so depressed. Jenna tried to stop by and visit her as much as she could, and when she visited, she tried her best to seem cheerful. Although, after a while, Jenna began to realize that Sarah was living in her own world now. She didn't really care about much anymore, and it was getting to a point where Jenna didn't want to have to be around her mother. She could only take so much sadness.

Jenna was stressed for many of the same reasons as Septimus. Many people were looking to Jenna for guidance, after all, she was their Queen. But Jenna wasn't sure she was ready to give any. She was trying, she really was. But somehow, she just didn't know what to do. She wanted to help all of the citizens by wiping all of the sorrow from their lives, but she knew this wasn't possible. If it weren't for the patience of Beetle, Jenna knew she would have lost her mind eventually.

Beetle was another matter worth contemplating. Jenna grew more and more fond of him every day now. She was beginning to view her relationship with Septimus as a thing of the past. Naturally, she still loved him and would always love him, but she wasn't sure she loved him in the same way anymore. Even if she wasn't entirely over him, she was recovering. That much was certain. She hoped that one day, times would be better and she and Beetle could finally have the beautiful, grand wedding they deserved. The only thing that still bothered her about her wedding was Silas would not be there to give her away. In many ways, she was more distraught about Silas's death than she was about Marcia's. Silas had always been a huge part of Jenna's life. Although he had occasionally made life difficult, she still didn't know how she was going to carry on without him. She was still having trouble comprehending that Simon, her big brother, could do a thing like this. Jenna had heard Sarah say that Simon and Lucy had had twins. Jenna felt very sorry for Simon's children. Doubtlessly, Lucy had them hidden away somewhere and was probably teaching them all they would need to know to be just like their father. Jenna shuddered at the thought. The world didn't need any more Simon's, no two ways about it.

Marcellus Pye had spent the weeks that followed the Ball locked away in his house on Snake Slipway. He no longer felt like living. In the short time he had been with Marcia Overstrand, he had felt complete for the first time in years. He felt as if Marcia had been the missing part of himself he had spent much of his life searching for. He should have known it had been too good to last. At first, he blamed himself. He knew he never should have allowed her to go into the Tower alone. It had been far too dangerous. He had known what would probably happen, but he had run the risk anyway. Now, he was paying for it. Or was he? In the last few weeks, some strange thoughts had begun to occur to Marcellus. He was beginning to develop a faint hope. He knew that the woman's body discovered in the Wizard Tower was presumed to be Marcia. It was about the right size and shape, but still, no one had ever confirmed it was her. They had been unable to. The woman's body had been destroyed beyond recognition. Marcellus realized it was a small hope. After all, what other woman would Simon's men want to kill that badly? Marcellus didn't know, but he was determined to confirm that Marcia was truly dead. If she wasn't, he would have a reason for joy and happiness. He decided to go and talk to Septimus about it. Maybe, if they put their heads together, they could figure out what had truly happened to her.

The same night Marcellus had determined that he needed to go and visit Septimus, Cliff was enjoying some alone time. These days, he loved being alone. It gave him time to think. He had been thinking of all the darke magyk, he had been exposed to the night of the Ball. In the last few weeks, he had been secretly practicing it, but only a little. He was trying to convince himself that he was only using it because he was he had never been able to do any magyk, but he knew this wasn't really the case. He had become obsessed with darke magyk and it was taking him over. He now couldn't spend a day without at least doing one little darke spell. He was spending less and less time with Misty, and he didn't really care. Darke magyk was twice the companion she had been.

So, on this particular night, Cliff was studying the art of consuming. He had managed to consume a small rabbit and he wanted to know more about it. While he was studying, he heard a banging on the window. Normally, Cliff wouldn't have just opened the window to see who was there, but the darkeness had made him much more bold. "Who is it?" he called.

"A friend." A voice responded. "I have been watching you. You decided to come to your senses after all. Simon may be dead, but with your power and mine together, we can still run the Castle."

Cliff recognized the reedy voice immediately. It was that of Merrin Meredith. It was hard for Cliff to believe that a few weeks ago, Merrin had been trying to kill him. Now, he was asking him to be his partner. How queer life was really, if you thought about it. Cliff tried not to. He knew that by agreeing to work with Merrin, he would have to give up Misty. It wasn't that big a sacrifice. "Yes, I am interested." He confirmed. "I want to do everything I can to help reintroduce darke magyk into the world. The more people practicing it, the better."

Merrin smiled into the darkness. "I knew you would say that eventually. It's just what your father would have said. I was his apprentice, you know."

"Really?" gasped Cliff, "Tell me about my father."

Merrin hesitated. He knew he had to act as though he had enjoyed his years with DomDaniel, even though they had been dreadful. So Merrin did what he had always had a talent for. He lied. Merrin spent the whole evening telling Cliff about how close he had been to DomDaniel and what a wonderful Wizard he had been. By dawn, Cliff was sure he had made the right decision. He was going to honor his father. There was no looking back now.