Flyte

Nicko had insisted on wearing the maskthere was no way he was going to let Rupert pe down to the Dragon Boat without him. Jannit had taken some persuading, however, as Nicko had not used the mask before. Jannit had invented what she called the inspection mask so that she could check her boats below the waterline. The oval slab of glass was edged with soft leather so that it fitted closely to the face and tied around the back of the head with a leather strap. The glass was tough and thick. It was a deep greenish color, which did not make for great visibility, but it was better than trying to keep your eyes open in the silt-laden water of the Moat.



Nicko was a good swimmer. When the boys were younger, Silas had often taken them out of the Castle to a sandy spot just past the One Way Bridge, which was where Nicko had learned to swim. But Nicko had never swum underwater before, and now, as he and Rupert struggled to lift the Dragon Boat's unwieldy head off the mud at the bottom of the Moat, Nicko was desperate to take a breath.



Rupert made a thumbs-up sign and together he and Nicko swam to the surface, bringing the dragon's head once more into the air. Jannit was waiting with a large canvas sling, which she quickly slipped under the head to take the weight.



"Well done, boys," said Jannit, gently bringing the limp head and neck down to rest on the side of the Cut, where she had laid her one and only Persian rug for the dragon's head to lie on.



Jenna watched. Septimus had taken Spit Fyre back to the Wizard Tower, but Jenna had refused to go with him. So Septimusunwilling to fly without his Navigatorhad walked Spit Fyre through the streets, much to the great interest of everyone he met.



Jenna knelt beside the muddy head of the dragon, searching for signs of lifebut there were none. The head lay motionless and the eyes were tightly closed under heavy green lids. Carefully, Jenna brushed the mud from the golden ears, and, with the hem of her dress, cleaned the silt from the dragon's smooth, scaly eyelids. She talked to the dragon as she always did, but there was no response. Only silence.



Jannit squatted down and looked at the head with a professional eye. There was no obvious sign of damage, but then what did she know? Was this a boat or a living creature? If it was living,could it breathe underwater? And if it couldn't, had the creature drownedor been killed by the Thunderflash? Jannit Maarten shook her head. She was out of her depth here.



"Is she ... dead?" Jenna whispered.



"I-I don't know, my lady," Jannit replied, a little ill at ease having the Princess kneeling beside her, covered in mud and with tears rolling down her face. "But we will have her out of the water in no time, once the boys get the sling underneath her hull. We will see what needs to be done, and then we will do it. We can make her hull as good as new."



"But can you make her open her eyes?" asked Jenna.



"Ah ... that I couldn't say," replied Jannit, who never promised anything she was not sure about.



But suddenly there was something that Jenna was sure about. She did not know how she knew, but she knew it was truethe dragon was dying and only Aunt Zelda could save her.



Jenna stood up. "There's something I have to do," she said. "Will you stay with her until I get back?"



Jannit nodded and Jenna was off, tearing across the boatyard. She flew through the dank tunnel and out the other side, into the sunlit streets of the Castle. She hurtled up the nearest flight of steps, which took her to the ledge on the inside of the Castle walls, and headed for the East Gate Lookout Tower. This was her last chance, she thought, as she sped along the broad ledge, oblivious to the sheer drop on one side. The dry stone of the ledge was well worn and smooth under her feet, and once or twice in her haste she very nearly slipped and fell. Slow down, Jenna told herselfyou will be no good to the Dragon Boat if you fall.



The Castle wall twisted and turned along the higgledy-piggledy houses that clustered around it. Jenna kept her eyes firmly fixed on the Lookout Tower, which rose from the Wall some distance away and looked toward the Forest. She kept up a steady pace and before long found herself standing at the foot of the tower, hot, flustered and out of breath.



Jenna took a few moments to get her breath back, breathing in the sour smell of some overflowing garbage bins lined up beside the small wooden door which led into the tower.



A faded notice hung on the door:



CUSTOMER OFFICEMESSAGE RAT SERVICECHARTERED, CONFIDENTIAL, LONG-DISTANCE RATS AVAILABLEOPEN ALL HOURS



Under the notice hung a much newer sign:



CLOSED



Jenna was not to be put offshe gave the wooden door a shove and almost fell into a small dark room.



"Can't you read? We're closed," a grumpy voice greeted her from somewhere in the gloom.



"The notice says OPEN ALL HOURS," Jenna pointed out.



"And the other notice says CLOSED," the voice retorted. "And closed is what we are. You can come back tomorrow. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to lock up."



"I don't care," said Jenna. "I want a Message Rat and I want one now. It's urgent. It's a matter of life and death."



"Oh they all say that," said the rat dismissively, picking up a briefcase and making for the door. Jenna stepped in front of the rat, a rather portly brown creature. The rat glanced up and for the first time he saw properly who he had been talking to. He swallowed hard. "Oh," he said. "I. Um. I didn't realize it was you, Your Majesty. Very sorry."



"It doesn't matter. Just send the message, will you?" With Jenna still barring the door, the rat returned to his desk and opened his briefcase, looking through a list of names and shaking his head.



"Your Majesty," the rat said regretfully, "there is nothing I would like to do more, but all the Message Rats are unavailable. That's why I've closed up. The soonest I can get one for you will be tomorrow morning"



"It will be too late tomorrow morning," Jenna interrupted.



The elderly rat looked worried. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty.



We've had a very difficult time recently what with the epidemic down by the sewer pipe which took out some of my best young rats, and now half of my staff are on holiday. And then we've had so many long-distance call-outs I've lost count"



"I'll have a Secret Rat then," said Jenna. "Is Stanley available?"



The rat looked studiedly blank. "Secret Rat?" he asked. "I'm very sorry, but there is no such thing."



"Oh, don't be silly," snapped Jenna exasperated. "Of course there is. I should know."



The rat was stubborn. "I really don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Now I must be getting along, Your Majesty. I could send a Message Rat along to the Palace first thing tomorrow if that would be of any help?"



Jenna's patience was at an end. "Look," she said sternly, "I want a Secret Rat and I want one now. That's an order. And if I don't get one, there won't be a Secret Rat Service anymore. Let alone a Message Rat Service. Got that?"



The rat gulped and shuffled his papers. "I-I'll just make a quick call," he said. Then, to Jenna's surprise he leaned out a small window beside his desk and yelled, "Stanley! Hey, Stanley! Get your tail down here. Pronto!"



A few moments later Stanley appeared at the window. "Keep your fur on, Humphrey, what's so important?" And then, catching sight of Jenna, he said, "Oh."



"Special request for you, Stanley," said the rat somewhat apologetically.



"Ah," said Stanley, sounding less than enthusiastic.



Jenna lost no time. "Stanley," she said, "I want you to take an urgent message to Aunt Zelda. She has to come here as soon as she can. She is my only hope for"



In a familiar gesture, Stanley raised his paw. "No," he said firmly.



"What?" said Jenna. Even Humphrey looked shocked.



"I am sorry," said Stanley, stepping through the window onto the desk. "I am unavailable tonight."



"No, you're not," said Humphrey.



"Yes, I am," retorted Stanley. "Dawnie has asked me over for supper. I understand that she and her sister have had a falling-out. I have learned my lesson. In the past I have put my job first and Dawnie second. But no longer."



"But" protested Jenna.



"I know what you're going to say, Your Majesty, and I am very sorrybut tonight Dawnie comes first, even if I do lose my job. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to pick up some flowers from the florist's garbage bin before it gets emptied." With that Stanley gave a small bow and walked past Jenna, head held high. Dumbfounded, Jenna held the door open for him and watched the rat jump down from the ledge and disappear over a roof.



"Well," said Humphrey, "I really don't know what to say..."



"No," said Jenna. "Neither do I. It was my last hope. But I don't suppose Aunt Zelda could have got here in time anyway. I don't think there is much time left. Good night."



"Good night, Your Majesty," said Humphrey, as Jenna quietly closed the door and made her way back to the boatyard.