Author Note: This chapter is SHORT, I was getting really bored... I will now draw your attention to the fact that my story now officially has the most chapters out of any Septimus Heap story! Yeah, 26 chapters of complete drivel (what fun(!))... I'm really surprised anybody actually bothered to read this far... I may well finish this story soon, or at least split it in two... And then I shall write my fabled 2nd generation story... Eventually...

Quote: I've been saving this country every year since 1898 and I need a holiday- Gerald Whinfrey (Whinfrey's Last Case)... This has no bearing on this story, it's just what I feel like at the moment...

Chapter 26

Marcia Overstrand survived being stabbed, she lost a lot of blood and it was quite a close call but Marcellus Pye managed to use physik to save her.

Hettie Icadden was still hysterical, she wanted Trevor back more than anything. Marcia considered locking her in a dungeon but Nicko wouldn't allow her to, he knew exactly what Hettie was feeling and it wasn't nice. He tried to comfort her, he had lost Snorri for almost a year and he had given up part of his life to save her from the past, but she didn't want comforting. She wanted Trevor.

Marcellus Pye couldn't possibly know what it felt like to lose a loved one. He had never been that close to somebody before. He had lost a fair number of friends since his birth several hundred years in the past and his family died long ago, but he chose to live this long, he had been fine with it. He had never really loved anybody romantically before, eternal youth generally doesn't bode well for relationships with ageing women. He realised that, as an Alchemist, he was going to be rushed off his feet when Simon Heap attacked, even if Trevor and Septimus returned in time, they couldn't protect everyone at once and there were bound to be a few fatalities and an even greater number of casualties.

Trevor Mason walked through the darkness with a strong determined look on his face.

"Trevor, no, you're the seventh son, you can't die, and we'll need you!" Septimus shouted after him.

Trevor turned around and strode back. He was smiling. "I have a plan… Remember that Young Army drafting chemical that they use… Kills the babies, right? Kills me, Trevor Mason…"

Sep grinned. "Oh, OK then… Have a nice afterlife, Trevor…"

Jenna was slightly confused but was sure that the boys knew what they were doing. The next thing she knew Trevor was dead on the floor and they were returned back to reality.

*****

"Trevor!" shouted Hettie, seeing the dead body on the floor. "You have killed him, you vile…"

"Hettie!" Septimus shouted back even louder. "He will be fine."

"But he is dead…" she said, tears streaking from her eyes.

"He'll be fine," Septimus repeated. "In an hour or so… He is merely… drugged, I guess… Young Army drug!"

Hettie was confused. "Are you sure he is still alive?"

"100%. They drugged me with this stuff the day I was born… Why else do you think my mother let them take me into the Young Army? She thought I was dead… Nobody's ever died from this stuff. Trevor's had it used on him before too…"

"One hour, no more…"

Most people were still too worried about Jenna to even care about Trevor. She was alive and at the moment he was not and only Hettie seemed to care. Jenna was fine, as fine as she had been before she'd died, but people were intent on taking special care of her because she was the Princess and indeed the only person ever to be resurrected from death. Marcellus checked her over carefully, noting down anything he noticed, and Marcia breathed a loud sigh of relief. Septimus was so happy that Jenna was still alive; it completely wiped his slate clean, now he could attempt to be normal even though nobody would ever forgive him for what he did. Nicko had gone to fetch Sarah and Silas Heap and to tell them the good news about Jenna's return. Hettie was far more concerned with Trevor's wellbeing than Jenna's, she didn't care if Jenna was the Princess, she loved Trevor and she was not a citizen of the Castle, nor did she have any ties to the Castle. Snorri Snorrelssen thought it was very sweet of Hettie to care about Trevor so much, even if she had done the same for Nicko.

The biggest threat, however, was moving towards the Castle at a much faster rate than it ought to be. Simon Heap and Merrin Meredith had formed their army of mercenaries a lot faster than they had planned for and were now headed on a collision with the Castle and anything else that happened to be standing in their way.

They were not going to give up until they had captured the Castle and/or all of its occupants. Of course, most of them would first be killed, a few would be kept for servants but most definitely all of the Wizards would be killed and anyone else who tried to oppose their takeover. It was going to be so easy…