SandRider (8 page)

Trouble
, Lucius signed. Tod, being a PathFinder, also used signs, and although the PathFinder sign language lacked the complex grammar of the Drummins' language, many of the
signs were similar. And “trouble”—the first two fingers of each hand folded at the second joint and twisted together—was easily recognizable.

What trouble?
Tod signed.

Claudius proceeded to sign something much longer, but seeing Tod's look of incomprehension, he stopped and whispered, “There are creatures behind the
Seal
.”

Tod's eyes widened in fear. “Not . . .
Garmin
?” Garmin were nightmarish beings that the sorcerer Oraton-Marr had used to abduct, terrify and control people—including, once, Tod herself. The
Seals
were placed across the arches for good reason: to stop any danger of the Garmins' return.

Both Drummins shook their heads—it wasn't Garmin.

Human
, Claudius signed.

Tod understood the sign for “human.” Encouraged, she signed,
May I try?

The Drummins respected Tod's knowledge of the Ancient Ways, and now that she was Apprentice they knew she would be careful with the
Magyk
protecting the
Seals
, so they stepped aside.

Very gently, Tod placed her hands on the delicate skin of the
Seal
. Beneath the thrum of the
Magyk
warming her
palms, Tod could
Feel
the energy from something alive on the other side, but her skills were untrained and she had no way of knowing whether it was even human—let alone if it was a good human or a bad one.

On the other side of the
Seal
, Sam lay slumped against the cold stone of the wall, with Marwick and Kaznim on either side. And, for a reason neither Sam nor Marwick understood, the tortoise was now resting on Sam's wounded stomach. When Kaznim had first placed Ptolemy on Sam's sodden bandage, Marwick had been horrified. He'd snatched the tortoise off with the words, “Don't! It's filthy! Have you never heard of infection?”

Kaznim didn't like Ptolemy being called filthy but she took the tortoise quickly because Marwick had looked as though he'd wanted to hurl Ptolemy to the ground, and Kaznim had a horror of the tortoise breaking his shell. But then Sam had murmured, “Put it back. Helps with . . . pain.” So Marwick had reluctantly replaced the tortoise and Sam had relaxed a little.

An awkward silence fell between Kaznim and Marwick and she occupied herself with gazing at the
Seal
, thinking of ways
to break through. She was just about to suggest they stick a knife into it when she saw the shadow of two hands, not much bigger than her own, appear on it. “There's someone there!” she gasped. “Look! On the
Seal
!” Marwick looked up, hope springing into his eyes. Kaznim jumped up and placed her hands against the shadows of those on the other side. Her hands fit neatly inside the shape.

“Oh!” Tod snatched her hands away and jumped back. “There's someone there. Someone
touched my hands
.” She stared down at her palms as if trying to find out what they knew.

On the other side of the
Seal
, Kaznim saw the shadow of the hands disappear. “No!” she yelled. “Come back, please come back! We need help.
Help!
” She pummeled the unyielding
Seal
in desperation. Marwick sighed. It had been too good to be true, he thought. It was just a kid on the other side fooling around, nothing more.

In the Hub, Tod saw small, round shadows hitting the shimmering purple skin. “There's someone trying to get out,” she
whispered. “A child. Look how small the fists are. And how low down.”

“It's a trick,” said Lucius.

“A
Darke
trick,” added Claudius.

Tod frowned. “It didn't feel
Darke
,” she said. “Well, I don't think so. It felt more like a child to me. A frightened child.”

“The
Darke
plays many tricks,” Lucius said gloomily. “Impersonating a small human is but one.”

“Particularly a frightened one,” Claudius added for good measure.

Tod stared at the
Seal
. She could not shake off the feeling that someone on the other side was in desperate need of help. “I'll go upstairs and get Marcia,” she said.

“Fabius has already—” Claudius began to explain, when the Drummin in question came thubbing down the stairs and bounced into the Hub. His gingery eyebrows were gathered into a frown.

“Boss has bloomin' gone,” he said. Then, suddenly noticing Tod, he said, “Begging your pardon, Apprentice. What I mean to say is that unfortunately, Madam Marcia has left.”

“She never said,” Lucius growled.

“Left message with Cook. Caught ebb tide. Gone to wave
the Captain off from the Seaward Quay.”

“Huh. She's supposed to let us know first,” muttered Lucius.

“Well, time and tide wait for no woman,” said Fabius. “An' the Captain don't, neither. An' moanin' about the boss don't get us any closer to knowin' what be on the other side of the
Seal
.”

On the other side of the
Seal
Sam's eyes were closing and his body was becoming limp. Marwick looked at Kaznim. “If we don't get out soon, Sam won't . . .” His voice trailed away.

Sam stirred and groaned. A trickle of blood ran from his sodden bandage and Kaznim watched the dark red line slowly make its way along the pure white stone. When it reached the
Seal
, to her surprise, it ran through.

Kaznim turned to tell Marwick what had happened, but he was whispering something to Sam, and suddenly she felt like an intruder on something very private. She stared studiedly at the
Seal
. Behind her a stillness had descended. As an Apothecary's daughter, Kaznim knew what that meant. Sam's Leaving Time was near. She sat down, cross-legged by the
Seal
, and placed her palms on it once more. “Help us,” she whispered. “Please.
Help us
.”

In the Hub, Tod and the Drummins watched a dark liquid emerge from beneath the
Seal
.

“Blood,” whispered Lucius.

“Murder,” muttered Fabius.

“Most foul,” Claudius added, shaking his head.

Tod could see the shape of two small hands once more pressed down low on the purple skin and she knew that, murder or not, someone was begging for help. “I'm going to get Septimus,” she said.

The Drummins nodded. It was time to call in reinforcements. “Travel fast,” said Fabius. “We will stand guard.”

In less than five minutes, Tod was back with Septimus. His long purple robes and his impressive gold-and-platinum belt gave him an instant air of authority. The Drummins quickly jumped away from the
Seal
and let Septimus through. Like Tod, he rested his hands on the shimmering purple skin. Like Tod, he understood that there was someone in urgent need of help on the other side, but unlike Tod, he knew for sure that there was nothing
Darke
there.

Kaznim saw the shadow of two large hands on the
Seal
, high above her head. Then, while Septimus was explaining to Tod how to
Feel
the absence of
Darke
, Kaznim, with a sudden feeling of hope, jumped up. Stretching her hands high above her head and standing on tiptoe, she just managed to place her hands against the larger shadows.

“You are right, Tod, it is a child. And others, too, in great distress,” Septimus said, taking his hands away—to Kaznim's despair. “Now, this is a serious step: I am going to override Marcia's
Seal
. One may only countermand another Wizard's
Seal
when a matter of life or death is at hand. I believe this to be the case right now. You understand?”

“Yes, I do understand,” Tod said, feeling very relieved. She had wanted to break through the
Seal
ever since she had seen the small hands on the other side. Tod watched Septimus place his palms once more on the
Seal
. She saw two small shadows try to touch them and her heart did a little flip of pity—someone was desperate.

Under Septimus's instructions, Tod ushered the Drummins away from the
Magyk
and they watched from
the other side of the Hub. They saw a bright blue mist flow from the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's hands; it spread across the
Seal
and Tod felt the familiar buzz of
Magyk
in the air. She had become used to the background of
Magyk
in the Wizard Tower but now, as concentrated
Magykal
energy flowed around the Hub, setting up eddies and swirls, Tod felt her old dizziness return. She leaned back against the wall, determined not to fall over. This was powerful
Magyk
, and Tod wanted to see it.

The purple skin
across Way I was now coated with a shining blue mist that stuck so close that it looked as though the
Seal
was covered in wet paint. Tod watched Septimus stand back, bringing a thin stream of blue with him, which he took into both hands and formed into a ball. Then he muttered something and breathed onto the blue ball. At once, its color changed to bright orange. The orange flowed along the strip linking to the
Seal
and then spread rapidly over it. Tod watched, fascinated, as the tight skin of the
Seal
began to dissolve and be replaced by a soft orange mist through which she saw three figures. Two were slumped to the ground, but a small one came hurtling out, yelling, “Help us, oh, please help! He's
dying
!”

Septimus hurried into the arch and Tod heard a sudden gasp. “Sam!” he cried. “It's Sam! And Marwick!”

Tod was dispatched to the Wizard Tower for two strong helpers and a stretcher. Her choice of helpers was, Septimus thought, exactly right. And so Sam Heap was carried home by Marwick and three of his brothers: Septimus, Edd and Erik Heap. Behind them followed Tod, holding Kaznim's free hand, while in the other Kaznim clutched her tortoise, caught in the nick of time as he fell from the stretcher.

Kaznim was startled when they emerged into a shockingly cold whiteness over which a myriad of lights and colors danced, reflecting off what she assumed was sparkling white sand. She shivered in her thin cotton coat and held Ptolemy close for comfort. Something told Kaznim that she was in a place so far away that it would take many months to travel back to her star-strewn tent. Tod saw the look of bewilderment on the young girl's face and put her arm protectively around her. She remembered the first time she had walked
into the Wizard Tower courtyard, how strange it had seemed and how the onslaught of
Magyk
had been so overpowering that she had fainted.

Kaznim, despite being from the
Magykal
Draa family, was not particularly sensitive to
Magyk
, but she was glad of Tod's comforting arm as she slithered and slid on the peculiarly slippery, cold sand. As they reached the wide marble steps that led up to the entrance to the Wizard Tower, Kaznim looked in awe at the massive structure rearing above her—surely it was impossible that something so tall could remain standing. As she followed Sam's stretcher up to a pair of vast, solid silver doors, which were now slowly opening before them, Kaznim felt as though she were walking into the face of a cliff.

An outbreak of panic mixed with excitement greeted the stretcher-bearers as they hurried into the Great Hall. Kaznim watched wide-eyed as a sea of people in blue robes surrounded the stretcher, and the young man in purple took charge. She saw a flash of silver at the far side of the Hall, and something that looked like a giant corkscrew that went up into a star-filled sky above began to spin so fast that it reminded her of a whirling sand dancer. Suddenly a flash of blue appeared through the sky and rotated rapidly downward; the next
moment a tall woman with short dark hair through which ran a dramatic streak of white was jumping off and hurrying somewhat unsteadily across to the stretcher. Kaznim had an odd feeling that she recognized her, although she had no idea where from. She watched intently as the woman knelt beside the stretcher and placed two fingers on Sam's neck. Kaznim knew from her expression that the woman was expecting something very bad, but she looked up with a grim smile and said, “Faint, fluttering. He's alive.”

Marwick made a strange choking noise and with renewed energy the stretcher-bearers picked up their burden and hurried Sam away to the back of the Hall. A sea of blue closed behind them and Kaznim could see no more.

Tod became aware that Kaznim was shivering violently. “Hey, you're cold,” she said.

Kaznim shook her head. She was
something
, but she didn't know what.

Tod thought she knew. “You must be tired and hungry,” she said.

Kaznim nodded even though she felt neither. All she felt was lost.

“I'll take you up to the Apprentices' common room,” Tod
said. “You can have some supper and I will find you a bed.” Kaznim bit her lip. She didn't want to sleep in this strange place, so full of people, so heavy with stone, so bright with light. All she wanted was her own bed in the tranquility of a starry tent with the soft breathing of her mother asleep in the darkness. Not trusting herself to speak, Kaznim allowed Tod to lead her onto the strange moving corkscrew.

Kaznim had seen stairs, but never any that
moved
. Numbly, she followed Tod's example. She stepped onto the silver platform and watched the ground drop slowly away. “They're weird, aren't they?” Tod said. “I remember the first time I went on them it was really scary.”

Kaznim nodded uncertainly as the world spun around. As they rose up through the height of the Great Hall, toward the star-studded sky, she began to feel sick. And then, to her surprise, they passed through a hole in the sky and emerged into another, much simpler, smaller space with a floor all of its own.