The skeleton stood up uncertainly, swaying slightly as if it were trying to get its balancethen suddenly, like a ghastly puppet, it lurched forward and headed straight for Marcia.
Marcia was pale but composed. Slowly she backed away from the skeleton, thinking fast.
Alther watched the Shadow follow Marcia, and he didn't like what he saw one bit. The Shadow was no longer the hunched and formless creature that Alther had watched follow Marcia around her rooms for the past year. It was now an almost solid beingit stood up straight and tall, its dim yellow eyes shining with excitement as it hovered by Marcia's shoulder. Waiting.
"Ellis Crackle!" gasped Alther. The Shadow looked up at the mention of its name.
"Are you trying to be funny, Alther?" snapped Marcia.
"Your Shadow, Marcia. It's Ellis Crackle."
"Right now, Alther, I don't care who that Shadow is." Marcia stepped back over a shredded cushion; her movement was mirrored by the advancing skeleton, which made an unpleasant clicking noise with each step toward her. Marcia took another step back. The skeleton took another step forward.
"For heaven's sake, Alther, this is serious," said Marcia. There was an undercurrent of panic in her voice.
"I know," said Alther quietly. "There is only one way out of this."
Marcia stepped back again. The skeleton stepped forward.
"You have to Identify," said Alther, floating a few feet off the floor and keeping pace with Marcia.
"Alther, I can't. I don't know who it is."
But Jenna knew who it was. All the time she had been piecing the skeleton together, she had been thinking things through. "It's DomDaniel," she said. "It has to be."
Marcia glanced at Jenna, taking her eyes off the advancing bones for a moment. "Jennawhat do you mean?" she asked.
Jenna looked steadfastly at Marcia and not at the bonesshe could hardly bear to look at the same grinning skull and the empty eyes that had followed her around the Observatory. "I meanI mean it's DomDaniel. Simon had his skull but not his bones. But he told me he had found all of the bones on the Marsh. I wondered where they were..."
"Are you sure, Princess?" asked Alther quietly.
"Yes," said Jenna. "Yes, yes. I'm sure."
Marcia was dithering, muttering to herself. "But then it might not be him ... it might be a bluff ... in fact I'll bet it is a bluff ... that's the sort of thing he'd do, Place some poor sailor from that ghastly ship ... but then maybe it's a double bluff and it really is him ... it's the kind of thing he'd love to do himself ... Oh, Alther."
"You must trust Jenna. Identify it, Marcia. Now," said Alther in a low, careful voice, instructing Marcia as though she were still his Apprentice.
The skeleton was almost within reach of Marcia, and it began to raise its right arm toward her. All color drained from her face. Marcia whispered, "If the Identify is wrong, Alther, thenthen II'm finished."
"Marcia, you have nothing to lose. If it touches you, you're finished."
The bones took a big step forward.
Marcia took a corresponding step back and could go no farther; she had reached the door. She snapped her fingers and there was a loud clunktwo silver bars slid out of the wall and Barred the door. A quiet whirring noise followed, as the thick purple door SafetyLocked itself. Marcia smiled grimly; at least the rest of the Wizard Tower was protected from the havoc a successful Placement would wreak. She leaned against the door for support and began what she had to do. A purple haze of powerful Magyk began to flicker around the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, lighting up her deep-green eyes and shimmering across her long purple cloak.
Suddenly the skeleton lunged toward herMarcia raised her hand and shouted, "I Identify!"
The skeleton stopped in its tracks. It regarded Marcia with as much of a taunting stare as an empty skull could manage, folded its arms and stood tapping its foot impatiently. Go on, it seemed to be saying, surprise me, why don't you?
Marcia was nonplussed. "Alther, it knows what I'm going to say and it's not even bothered," she said urgently. "Jenna must be wrong."
"It's bluffing," said Alther, sounding much more confident than he felt.
Unconvinced, Marcia flashed Alther a weak smile. "Look after Septimus, Alther," she said. "I'll be back in a year and a day to check up on you."
"Yes. I will. Now do it."
Marcia raised her arm and pointed at the skeleton. She took a deep breath and said in a low, singsong voice,
"Hand on Heart,Eye to eye,I you IdentifyAs..."
Marcia's voice faltered. She looked fondly at Septimus, Jenna, Alther and even Beetle, for what was quite possibly the last time she would see them as a living being.
". . . DomDaniel!"
A terrible shriek filled the air.
Jenna gasped in horror, convinced that the shriek had come from Marcia. Like a wailing banshee, the shriek continued, howling and yowling around the room. Unable to bear it, Beetle threw himself to the floor and shoved a cushion over his head. Jenna stuffed her fingers in her ears, but Septimus listened. He listened and he watched, with open ears and eyes, for he wanted to hear the sound of the most powerful Magyk he had ever seen, he wanted to know what it felt likebut most of all, he wanted to be part of it.
Septimus took a step toward Marcia.
Wrapping her Magykal purple cloak tightly around her for protection, Marcia was pressed back against the unyielding door. In front of her was the skeleton, its arms outstretched, reaching to seize the Akhu Amulet from Marcia's neck. Septimus watched the purple haze around Marcia grow darker and deeper and the shapes of Marcia and the skeleton grow dim within it.
Alther shook his head, worried by the continuing shriek. Something was wrong. The Identify was not working as it should.
Septimus reached the edge of the purple haze.
"No!" shouted Alther, trying to make himself heard above the terrible shriek. "Keep back, Septimus. This is dangerous Magyk."
Septimus ignored him. The shriek rose to an unbearable pitch and Septimus walked into the Magyk. He entered a thick silence where everything was slow and still, and he knew that Marcia had seen him. Her lips moved but no sound came, and she raised her hand as if to stop him from coming any nearer.
Septimus stood inside the Magyk, trying to understand what was happening. Now he could see the unmistakable shape of DomDaniel appearing around the boneshe recognized the Necromancer's short cylindrical hat, his straggly hair and his long black cloakand his fat hands still reaching for the Amulet. Marcia had got the Identify right, so why wasn't it working? And then he realized whyMarcia was outnumbered.
Septimus now saw what Alther had seen; the Shadow was no longer just an indistinct form, but a wild-looking young man with yellow eyes, his teeth bared in a rictus smile. Ellis Crackle, one-time Apprentice to DomDaniel, stood next to Marcia, countermanding the Identify.
Wading as if underwater, Septimus moved through the Magykal haze toward Marcia. He saw Ellis Crackle reach out to push him away, and he knew that it was Apprentice against Apprentice. Septimus raised his hand; they met palm to palm and Septimus felt the coldness of the Shadow's touch. He looked Ellis Crackle in the eye and Ellis Crackle returned his gaze, yellow to green. Septimus concentrated hard, and slowly but surely he Transfixed the hapless Ellis Crackle.
Suddenly Alther, Jenna and Beetle saw Ellis Crackle shoot out from the swirling purple mist; in a wraith of black smoke, the Shadow spun and tumbled around the room, desperately searching for a way out. There was nothing Alther wanted to see more than the Shadow leaving Marcia, and so he did something he did not often dohe Caused a thing to happen. A rush of air blew open the biggest window in the room, and the Shadow of Ellis Crackle flew out and vaporized in the clear summer air.
The brightness of the light surprised Jenna after the darkness inside the room, and it took her a few moments to notice that, silhouetted against the sun, there was someonehumanoutside the window. Balancing precariously on a surprisingly large wooden platform that stuck out from the windowsill was Simon Heap.
Alther Caused the window to slam shut, but Simon pushed it open and leaped into the room. Jenna shrank back and Beetle, who had just emerged from underneath his cushion, put a protective arm around her. But this time it was not Jenna who Simon was interested init was the skeleton.
With the departure of Ellis Crackle, the haze of Magyk was clearing, revealing three figures, one of which, arm still outstretched toward Marcia's throat, was disintegrating fast.
Simon ran toward the decomposing form. "I'm here, Master!" he shouted. "Your new Apprentice is here!"
So eager was Simon to claim his place as DomDaniel's Apprentice that at first he did not stop to consider that Marcia was still alive, which meant something had gone badly wrong with the Placement. But as he reached the last Magykal strands of purple, Simon stopped, an expression of dismay dawning on his face.
DomDaniel did not look good. Indeed, DomDaniel looked worse than Simon had ever seen him before, and that included the time when Simon had first encountered the muddy set of bones clambering out of the ditch. At least Brownie-picked bones were relatively clean and tidy. They did not melt and soften into a disgusting liquid mass, and they did not make a revolting squelching noise, either.
"Y-your new Apprentice is here ... M-Master," Simon stammered,suddenly aware of Marcia and Septimus right there in front of him. Marcia was clutching Septimus's arm tightly, and their faces were ashen and wore identical expressions of revulsion mixed with relief as they watched DomDaniel sink and begin to pool across the floor. The Identify was finally working.
Simon began to understand that all was not well.
A low, unearthly laugh filled the room. "You're no Apprentice of mine, you fool. I ask you to dispose of the Queenlinga simple taskand what happens? Not only does she escape from you three times, but she comes back here and messes around with my bones. Puts me together on the carpet like some child's jigsaw puzzle, in fact. And it is all your fault, you wretched Heap. Not that you ever were going to be my Apprenticeyou were nothing more than a delivery boy. My Apprentice has been here all the timeShadowing ... Shadowing ... Shadowing..." DomDaniel's voice faded away. A foul black mess spread out and collected around Simon's boots.
"You double-crossing fiend!" Simon yelled. "After all I've done for you and your revolting bones. You promised me!" Like a child kicking through a pile of fallen leaves, Simon kicked his way through the pool of sludge that was all that remained of DomDaniel, spraying it across the room.
"Don't do that!" shouted Marcia. "Get out, Simonor do I have to make you go?"
Simon backed away. "Don't worry, I'm going. I wouldn't want to stay here with all these impostors." He broke off and stared angrily at Septimus. "But you will not get rid of me that easily. I was promised the Apprenticeship. And I will have it. I will."
Simon ran to the window, pulled it open and scrambled onto the broad ledge outside. He stood for a moment, gathering his courage, then he threw himself off, scarcely caring whether the Flyte Charm would workall his plans were gone, destroyed. But as Simon fell through the air, the Flyte Charm kicked in, and as he soared unsteadily over the Wizard Tower Courtyard (to the amazement of a group of Ordinary Wizards returning from a shopping trip) he knew that there was only one thing left for himrevenge.
Back in Marcia's room, the two thick silver bars slid back with a clunk and UnBarred the huge purple door, while the quiet whirring of the lock UnLocked itand a faint tapping noise could be heard.
"Excuse me," came the tentative voice of Catchpole on the other side of the door, "erare you all right in there? Need any help?"