Duglius continued along the rim—his suckered feet protected by their heat pads—drumming the metal as he went. The Cauldron was still intact but there was a duller sound to the ring of the hammer, which worried him. Something was changing. As Duglius listened yet again to the cling of his hammer, out of the heat haze he saw the fearful shapes of the Ring Wizards coming toward him along the Inspection Walkway. Steadfastly, the old Drummin carried on drumming. As he drew near and saw the Ring Wizards’ green armor shimmering in the glare, their dark cloaks flying out in the updraft of the flames and their wild eyes shining with excitement, Duglius could not help but hold his breath in fear; but he kept going and passed by with no harm. The Ring Wizards, like all Wizards, treated Drummins as vermin and paid them no attention—although this had not stopped them from destroying two Drummin sets heading for the Control Room for the fun of it. This time, to Duglius’s relief, they paid him no attention and he continued safely on his way.
Duglius found his second-in-command, Perius Drummin, waiting for him on the Viewing Station.
There’s rockfall a-coming down the escape burrow, Duglius Drummin, Perius signed. Wish you I do go to see what is to see?
I shall go to see, Perius Drummin. You will please take over from me.
I will take over from you, Duglius Drummin.
Thank you, Perius Drummin. Please open the Cauldron Heat Vents to the Ice Tunnels. It is time.
It is time, Duglius Drummin, Perius agreed.
Duglius’s climb up the escape burrow was considerably faster than Marcellus’s, but it was made more difficult by the rocks that came hurtling down. It was a slightly bruised Duglius who reached Marcellus just as he was clearing the very last rock away. A soft touch on his foot told Marcellus that Duglius was there.
While Duglius was climbing up, the Dragon Boat was flying down—into the abyss. Around and around she went, spiralling down into the depths of the canyon that encircled the House of Foryx. Hotep-Ra stood at the tiller, concentrating hard on keeping the wing tips of his Dragon Boat safely away from the sheer rock of the canyon walls. It would have been a testing task for any pilot, but for one who had not flown for many thousands of years, it was a huge challenge.
No one wanted to distract Hotep-Ra. Jenna, Nicko, Septimus and Aunt Zelda had no choice but to stare silently into the mist, notice how cold it got as they went ever deeper and listen to the screams of whatever-it-was that haunted the abyss. They hoped that Hotep-Ra had a good reason for what he was doing.
At last the Dragon Boat landed with a swooooosh and a plume of ice-cold water sprayed into the boat. She settled into the pool of dank water that lay on the floor of the abyss, folded her wings and fastidiously arched her tail out of the water. The emerald green of the dragon’s eyes shone through the dusky gloom as she turned her head and looked at Hotep-Ra as if to ask what he thought he was doing coming to such a forsaken place.
Hotep-Ra enlightened neither his dragon nor his crew. He took a pinch of Sprite Sand from his pocket and held it in his fist. Then, as though sowing seed, he threw his arm out and a cluster of tiny lights flew up from his hand. The Sprites swirled into the air and gathered around Hotep-Ra like a swarm of bees, bathing him in a bright light. Septimus was entranced. He had read about ancient Lighting Sprites, whose Magyk had been lost long ago. He had thought what a lovely idea they were—little personal spheres of light that followed you around, and he had heard that some Guiding Sprites even showed you the way.
Hotep-Ra bowed to Aunt Zelda. “Madam Keeper,” he said, waving away Aunt Zelda’s protests that she was no longer Keeper. “Excuse me for a few minutes while I assist these young travelers in their return to the Castle. I trust that you and I will then have a more pleasant journey in the Dragon Boat.”
Septimus, Nicko and Jenna frowned at one another. This didn’t sound good. Aunt Zelda looked concerned. “But how are they getting to the Castle?” she asked.
“I will explain when I return. I will not be long.”
Aunt Zelda gave Jenna, Septimus and Nicko a worried wave as they followed Hotep-Ra and his Sprites down the embarking ladder and away into the darkness. The light from the Sprites and the splash of their footsteps soon faded and Aunt Zelda was left alone in the gloom. She eased herself up from beside the tiller and felt her way along to the prow. The dragon lowered her head to greet her and Aunt Zelda sat, stroking the dragon’s velvety nose, whispering calming sounds—as much for her benefit as the Dragon Boat’s.
Out of sight of Aunt Zelda, the Guiding Sprites led the way, dancing through the mist. Hotep-Ra and his crew followed them, stumbling through puddles and over the uneven ground. The floor of the abyss was not a pleasant place to be. The mist swirled around, cold and clammy, and when Septimus turned to look back at the Dragon Boat he could no longer see her; a pall of gloom hung between them. They struggled on, following the Sprites, and soon the dark rock face reared up in front of them and Septimus saw that Hotep-Ra was heading for a small, rusty iron door set deep in the rock.
Suddenly Septimus felt a cold grip fasten around his neck and the livid face of the Toll Man whom he had once pushed into the abyss materialized in front of him, its eyes glittering with hate. A malevolent voice hissed in his ear. “See, now I have my revenge.”
“BeGone, fiend!” Hotep-Ra’s staff came down between the Toll Man and Septimus and the wraith disappeared.
“Thank you,” Septimus muttered with relief.
Hotep-Ra smiled. “I too have enemies in the abyss,” he said. “And in the abyss is where they stay. Aha, here we are!” He tapped his staff on the iron door, it swung open and the Sprites flew inside like an excited swarm of bees.
Septimus followed Jenna, Nicko and Hotep-Ra into an ice-cold chamber hollowed from the rock. The Sprites led them across to another door, which Hotep-Ra opened to reveal something that they had all seen before.
Cradled between two metal lattice platforms lay a purple-colored tube with rounded ends, about fifteen feet long. There were four hatches ranged in a line along the roof, the front one being the larger. Along the side of the tube was a line of tiny green glass windows and below it were runners that rested on two parallel metal rails, which sloped steeply down into the dark mouth of a tunnel.
“It’s the Red Tube!” gasped Septimus.
“Only purple,” said Jenna.
Hotep-Ra looked very surprised. “It is indeed a Tube. But I did not expect you to recognize it.”
“Once I helped to get one just like that back to CattRokk Light,” said Septimus, smiling at the memory. He had loved piloting the Tube under the sea, seeing the fish swimming by and the feeling of being in another world.
“So you understand how it works?”
“Sort of. I wasn’t in it for long.”
Hotep-Ra smiled. “Even so, this is good news. You will be off to the Castle in no time.”
“In that?”
“Of course.”
“But how? There is no water here.”
“But there is ice. Ice or water, it is all the same to a Tube.”
Nicko shivered. He’d refused a ride in the Tube before, and the thought of having to go into its coffinlike space now was terrifying.
Hotep-Ra pushed the end of his staff onto a rubbery black button in front of the oval hatch. With a faint whirr, the hatch flipped open, a dull purple light switched on inside the Tube and a smell of old leather and iron wafted out. Nicko felt sick.
Septimus peered down. Inside he saw the high-backed bench seat for the pilot, a simple set of dials and the thick green windshield that wrapped around the front of the Tube. It was even more cramped inside than he remembered. He knew Nicko would hate it.
“Okay, Nik?” he said.
Nicko did not answer.
Jenna decided it was time to be a bit Princessy. She turned to Hotep-Ra and said, “Hotep-Ra, Septimus and I will go in the Tube, but I would like Nicko to help with the Dragon Boat. It’s a long way to the Castle and some of your journey will be through the night.”
To Jenna’s surprise it wasn’t only Nicko who looked relieved. Hotep-Ra did too. Jenna guessed that the frail old Wizard had not been looking forward to the long flight on the Dragon Boat with only Aunt Zelda as crew.
Nicko flashed Jenna a thank-you smile and watched anxiously as she and Septimus dropped down through the front hatch into the red glow below. He saw the tops of their heads, fair hair and dark, as they both settled into the pilot seat. Hotep-Ra peered down.