Flyte

Down in Jannit's boatyard, work was beginning on the Dragon Boat. Jannit had towed her out of the Dragon House, turned her around and was about to reverse her back in so that she could face out onto the world. It was something that Jenna had asked Nicko to do the previous night, telling him that the dragon herself had requested it. Nicko, who still had trouble with the idea that the Dragon Boat was also a living creature, did not see why it mattered which way the boat faced, but Jenna had been insistent.



From her small tugboat, Jannit surveyed the Dragon Boat with a critical eye. She and Nicko carefully splinted the broken wing and fixed it to the hull, but the wing was badly smashed and a strange green fluid was oozing from it and dripping into the water. The dragon herself did not look well. Her scales were dull, her eyes were heavy and her head and tail drooped feebly. "She doesn't look good," Jannit called up to Rupert Gringe who, with Nicko, was on the deck of the Dragon Boat, directing operations.



Rupert nodded. "Don't see what we can do," he grunted. "If you ask me what she needs is some hocus-pocus rubbish."



Three Wizards, chosen by Jannit as the least bothersome from the thirteen that Marcia had sent to guard the boat, made disapproving noises. Hocus-pocus indeed.



Nicko said nothing. He didn't like the way Rupert had said it, but he thought he was probably right. What could an ordinary boatyard hope to do for a living/breathing Dragon Boat?



"What the" Rupert suddenly exclaimed, catching sight of a movement far above him. "Some idiot's thrown himself off a roof. No he hasn'tBusted Barnacles, hehe's flying!"



With a sinking feeling, Nicko looked up. "Simon," he muttered. "It's Simon."



"Whatyour Simon?"



"He's not my Simon," said Nicko indignantly. "Quick, Ruperthe's dangerous. Get the Dragon Boat back inside." But Rupert Gringe seemed mesmerized by the black figure that had dropped down over the Castle walls and was flapping about like a wounded crow, flying slowly toward them.



"It is. It's Simon blasted Heap." Rupert shook his fist and yelled up into the air. "Get out of here, Heap. Or do I have to come and make you?"



"Rupert," hissed Nicko. "Don't upset him."



"Upset hm? I'll upset him all right. " Rupert raised his voice in Simon's direction. "Heap! Stop prancing about up there like a girl at the MidWinter Feast. Come down here and fight like a man."



"Rupert, don't," pleaded Nicko. "Just get out of the way. He's got a Thunderflash."



"Oh, yes, and my aunt Gertie's the Queen of Sheba. Good, he's coming over. Come on then, Heap. Don't be shy. Ha!"



Simon Heap was having a good deal of trouble with the Flyte Charm. It was only once he was airborne and on his way to the Wizard Tower that Simon had realized that the Chief Hermetic Scribe had done nothing whatsoever to sort out the Charm. He had not dared turn back and insist that Hugh Fox repair it, for he could not possibly be late for his appointment with DomDaniel and the beginning of his new Apprenticeship. Little did Simon know that even if he had returned, Hugh Fox would not have been able to fix the Flyte Charmfor all the codes and encryptions had been in The Book, The Undoing of the Darkenesse.



Simon had only just made it over the Castle walls and he was using all his willpower to stay airborne. The Dragon Boat was in his sight and this time Simon knew that he would not missthird time lucky, he muttered to himself, or third time unlucky if you happened to be a mutant mix of a boat and a dragon. As Simon flew awkwardly across the boatyard he took his very last remaining Thunderflash from his belt. He had had a recent run on Thunderflashes and Merrin had been worse than useless at preparing the new onesbut that didn't matter. The boat was a sitting duck; this time there was no way he could miss. That would teach the oaf Rupert to yell at him. He'd get two birds with one stoneeven better.



Simon primed the Thunderflash.



A yell followed by two loud splashes rang through the air. Nicko had pushed Rupert Gringe into the Moat and jumped in after him. Cursing the fact that he had lost his chance to get even with Rupert Gringe, Simon hurled the Thunderflash.



It flew off with a roar, rumbling and rolling through the air. With a surprising turn of speed, the three Wizards also hurled themselves into the Moat.



The Thunderflash hit the Dragon Boat square on the stern, passed through the golden wood of the hull like a knife through butter and came to rest on the bottom of the Moat where it exploded, sending a spout of water shooting into the sky. In a seething mass of bubbles and steam, the Dragon Boat slowly disappeared under the water and sank to the bed of the Moat.



Jannit Maarten stood open-mouthed on the tugboat, horrified at what had happened. No one, but no one, messed with any of the boats under Jannit's care. She picked up the nearest weapon that came to hand, a large hammer, and hurled it up at Simon. Jannit had a powerful swing to her arm and the hammer flew through the air, only narrowly missing Simon. It flew on, curving upward, and an oncoming dragon on its FirstFlyte just managed to avoid its first airborne missile (but not its last), thanks to a timely shout from its Navigator.



Simon had just caught sight of Spit Fyre. He could not believe his eyesor rather his eye, as Simon was still wearing his eyepatch after Wolf Boy's direct hit. What was it about this imposter brother of his? Why did he always turn up like a bad penny, just when he least wanted to see him? And what was he doing on a dragon?



Simon's success with the Dragon Boat had made him cocky. Even with no Thunderflashes left and a dodgy Flyte Charm to contend with, Simon felt invincible. It was easy; he'd push one off the dragon, then he'd push the other one off the dragon and that would be that. Good-bye upstart Apprentice and little Miss Princess.



Simon hurled himself through the air, aiming first for Septimus.



The Navigator saw him coming and yelled, "Down, Sep, down!" Septimus kicked the dragon twice on the left and Spit Fyre began to drop toward a spiky forest of masts below.



"Turn right!" yelled the Navigator. "Land on the pontoon!"



Septimus kicked once on the right followed by two kicks on the left and Spit Fyre headed down toward the pontoon, where Jannit was bringing the tugboat alongside with three Wizards in tow.



Simon was not to be put off. He threw himself toward Septimus, only to discover that the Flyte Charm had developed an alarming bias to the right, and he was now heading straight for Spit Fyre's nose. A dragon's nose is a sensitive spot, especially on a young dragon, and Spit Fyre did not take kindly to being hit hard on it. Instinctively the dragon opened his mouth to take a large bite out of Simon, only to be overtaken by the most enormous sneeze.



"Aaah ... aaah ... tchooo!" Like a cork from an enthusiastically shaken bottle of fizz, a huge slug of warm dragon dribble slammed into Simon and sent him cartwheeling through the air. Dragon dribble is a corrosive substance; it hit Simon on the stomach, winded him and, in a few seconds, ate its way through his cloak, his tunic and the red belt with the three black stars of DomDaniel. Simon was on his third somersault when the Flyte Charm parted company with his belt and tumbled to the ground, landing in a toolbox that Jannit had been using earlier.



Simon fell out of the sky.



Without thinking, Septimus shouted his very first dragon order"Save him!"



Spit Fyre knew what to do. He dropped like a stone, shot forward and caught Simon only seconds before he hit the ground. Then he landed with a jarring crash on the pontoon at the spot where the Dragon Boat's wing had been laid out only a few minutes earlier. The Navigator fell off with a bump and stood up angrily.



"What on earth did you do that for, Sep?" she demanded, jumping away from Simon, who was sprawled across Spit Fyre's back.



Septimus did not reply. He was staring at Simon.



"Hehe's not dead, is he?" Septimus asked Jannit, who had pulled Simon off Spit Fyre and was trying to get some response from him.



Simon lay white and still on the pontoon, his black robes full of holes from the acidic dragon dribble, his fair, curly Heap hair matted with sweat and his eyes closed. Jannit knelt down and put her ear to his chest.



"No," she murmured. "I can hear a heartbeat. He's just unconscious." At the sound of Jannit's voice, Simon's eyes flickered and he groaned. "Here, you lot," Jannit yelled at the Wizards, "come and make yourselves useful for a change."



Three dripping Wizards duly arrived at Jannit's side. "Help me get him over to the lock-up," Jannit told them.



Jenna and Septimus watched Jannit and the three Wizards each take an arm or a leg and carry Simon across the boatyard to the lock-upa tiny windowless brick building beside the Castle wall that boasted a thick iron door complete with three heavy, well-oiled bolts.



"I still don't know why you did that, Sep," Jenna said grumpily.



"Did what?" asked Septimus, stroking Spit Fyre's bruised nose.



"Saved Simon."



Septimus looked up at Jenna, confused by her angry tone of voice. "But what else could I have done, Jen?" he asked.



"Let him fall. I would have." Jenna kicked a pebble angrily into the Moat.



Septimus shook his head. "But he's my brother," he said sadly.