Syren
Chapter 48 On Tentacles

Unlike Septimus, Lucy had been having a great time - and not a little success. While directing the turtle around Star Island, she had discovered the Marauder, complete with Milo's crew and Jakey Fry, hiding out in the old harbor. Lucy knew an opportunity when she saw one, which was why she was now standing in the well of the CattRokk Lighthouse directing operations. Milo's crew was reinstating the Light, Miarr was back where he belonged and Lucy Gringe had kept her promise.
Suddenly a narrow black door under the stairs flew open.
"Hello, Septimus," said Lucy. "Fancy seeing you here."
Half an hour later, on the rocks below the lighthouse, a conference was in progress. Septimus was pacing up and down. "I'm going back down the Ice Tunnel; I don't see any other way. We have to try and stop them."
Beetle shivered. He was warm now in the sun, but the very word "ice" chilled his bones.
"You don't stand a chance, 412," Wolf Boy said. "Remember what they used to say:
'Ten against One and You Are Done'? Well, it's true. One against four thousand is crazy."
"If I go right now there will be fewer - maybe four or five hundred."
"Four hundred or four thousand, it makes no difference. Still outnumbered. 'Use Your Head or You Are Dead.'"
"Oh, do stop it, 409 - that stuff gets irritating. I'm going now. Every second counts. The longer I leave it the more jinn there will be."
"No, Sep," said Beetle. "Don't. Please don't. They'll smash you to pieces."
"I'll do an UnSeen - they won't know I'm there."
"And can the sled do an UnSeen too?"
Septimus did not answer. "I'm off," he said. "You can't stop me." He raced away up the rocks, taking them all by surprise.
Lucy and Wolf Boy jumped up and tore after him.
"I'm stopping you," Lucy said, catching him and grabbing his arm. "You are not going to do anything so stupid. What would Simon think if I let his little brother go and get killed?"
Septimus shook her off. "I should think he'd be pleased. The last thing he said to me was - "
"Well, I'm sure he didn't mean it," Lucy cut in. "Look, Septimus, you're clever. Even I know what those purple stripes on your sleeves mean, so - like Wolf Boy said - use your head. Think of something that isn't going to get you killed. What about your turtle down there?" Lucy pointed at the little harbor far below. "Can't he help?"
Septimus looked down at the Marauder - to which, he now noticed, someone had tied a large and extremely unhappy turtle.
"He changes into things, doesn't he?" said Lucy excitedly. "Can't he change into a bird and fly back to the Castle? He can warn them, and then they can Seal stuff and it will be all right."
Septimus looked at Lucy with grudging admiration. She had surprised him with her skill in the sick bay, and she was surprising him once again.
"He could," he admitted. "But the trouble is, I don't trust him on his own."
"Then make him be big enough to take you. Make him be a dragon!" Lucy's eyes were shining with excitement.
Septimus shook his head. "No," he said slowly. "I've got a better idea."
Back on the rocks above the harbor, under the beady yellow eye of an extremely disgruntled turtle, Septimus outlined his plan. Beetle, Lucy and Wolf Boy listened, impressed.
"So, let me get this straight," said Beetle. "Jim Knee's bottle was gold, right?"
Septimus nodded.
"And the jinn tubes in the chest were made of lead?"
"Yep."
"And that's important?"
"I think it's crucial. You see, in Physik and Alchemie I learned a lot about lead and gold. Lead is considered to be the less perfect form of gold. And always, always, the thing is: gold trumps lead. Every time."
"So?" asked Wolf Boy.
"So, in the jinn pecking order, Jim Knee's the tops. He's from gold; they're from lead. He's much more powerful than those warriors are."
"You're right!" Beetle said excitedly. "I remember now. Someone gave Jillie Djinn a pamphlet called Habits and Hierarchy of the Jinn as a joke - which of course she didn't understand. I read it one quiet day in the office, and that is exactly what it said."
Septimus grinned. "So Jim Knee can Freeze the warrior jinn. He'll stop them in their tracks."
"Brilliant," said Beetle. "Absolutely brilliant."
"There," said Lucy, "see what you can do when you try?"
Wolf Boy was not so sure. "It's still four thousand to one," he said. "As soon as he Freezes one of 'em, the other three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine will be after him."
"No," said Beetle, "I don't think so. I reckon these jinn are basically one organism - look at the way they all move together. Freeze one and you Freeze the whole bunch."
"That's right," said Septimus. "They only needed one Awake, didn't they? After that they just kept on coming."
"Trouble is, Sep," said Beetle, "there's only one way to find out for sure."
"Yep," agreed Septimus. "Now where's that turtle?"
A sodden Jim Knee sat on the harbor steps spitting out turtle spit and moving his fingers separately, just because he could.
"Jim Knee," said Septimus, "I command you - "
"You have no need to command, Oh Forceful One," said Jim Knee, wiggling his toes experimentally. "Your wish is my command."
"Good," said Septimus. "I wish you to Freeze the warrior jinn."
"How many, Oh Vague One?"
"All of them."
Jim Knee was aghast. "All? Every single one?"
"Yes, every single one," said Septimus. "That is my wish. And my wish is what?"
"My command," Jim Knee replied glumly.
"Right then. Come on. We'll take you to them."
Jim Knee looked up at his Master. "I could do with a nap first," he said.
"Oh, really?" said Septimus.
"Yes, really," said the jinnee.
Jim Knee did not know what hit him. One minute he was sitting, eyes slowly closing in the heat of the sun, and the next he had been grabbed, hauled to his feet and frogmarched down to the smelly fishing boat he knew too well.
"We've got him, Sep," the dark-haired boy with the viselike grip on his left front flipper - no, his arm - was saying.
"And we're not letting go," said the boy with the rat's nest on his head, who had an equally nasty hold on his right arm.
"Good," said his Master. "Get him on the boat."
Like all jinn, Jim Knee could hardly bear the physical touch of a human. There was something about the rush of blood beneath the skin, the swiveling of the bones, the tug of the tendons, the constant ker-chump of the heartbeat that set him on edge - it was all so busy. And the feel of their skin touching his was disgusting. One human grabbing hold of him would have been bad enough, but two was intolerable.
"Order them to unhand me, Oh Great One," Jim Knee pleaded. "I promise I will do what you wish."
"When will you do it?" asked Septimus, who was rapidly wising up to jinnee behavior.
"Now," Jim Knee wailed. "Now! I will do it now, now, now, Oh Wise and Wonderful One - if only you will let me go."
"Put him on the boat first, and then let go of him," Septimus told Beetle and Wolf Boy.
Jim Knee retreated to the stern. Like a wet dog, he shook himself to get rid of the feel of human touch.
"'Scuse me," said Jakey Fry, pushing past. "I need to get ter me tiller." At the touch of Jakey's elbow, Jim Knee leaped out of the way as though he had been stung. The Marauder drew steadily closer to the Cerys, which was now safely at anchor in the bay. Silence fell on the fishing boat. All on board could see the stream of warriors still leaving the ship and, much farther away, pouring up the hill - looking exactly, as Nicko had observed, like ants. Septimus could hardly contain his impatience. The clud-clump of the warriors' marching feet still echoed in his head, and he knew that, with every moment, the jinn drew nearer to the Castle. He thought of Marcia and the Wizards in the Wizard Tower going about their daily routines, Silas and Sarah in the Palace, all oblivious to the threat drawing ever nearer. Septimus wondered how fast the jinn were traveling - how much time was left before Tertius Fume would be marching into the Castle at the head of his terrifying army?
The answer was not one that Septimus, or anyone on the Marauder, would have wanted to hear. Tertius Fume had chosen a personal cohort of five hundred warrior jinn and taken them on ahead. He was heading for the Wizard Tower, which the ghost knew had open access to the tunnels - the Tower itself being considered a Seal. The jinn were traveling fast, faster than any human could run, and at that very moment they were pounding along below the Observatory in the Badlands.
It is a little known fact that it takes an arthritic wolfhound exactly the same time to walk from the Palace Gate to the Wizard Tower as it takes a cohort of jinn to run the Ice Tunnel from the Observatory to the Wizard Tower. That afternoon Sarah and Silas Heap had an appointment with Marcia. As the jinn passed beneath the Observatory, Silas, Sarah and Maxie went out of the Palace Gate.
Half an hour later, the Marauder drew up alongside the Cerys. Warily Jakey watched a group of ax-handed jinn climbing down the side of the ship.
"How near d'yer want me ter go?" he asked. "Don't want one a them landin' on me boat."
"As near as you can - and as fast as you can," said Septimus. Jim Knee yawned. "No rush," he said. "I can't Freeze them until the last one is Awake."
"What?" gasped Septimus.
Sarah, Silas and Maxie walked past the Manuscriptorium.
"As I am sure you know, Oh All-Comprehending One, it is not possible to Freeze an Entity when it is not fully Awake. And, as I am sure you also understand, Oh Astute One, these jinn are but one Entity."
There was a sudden shout from Beetle. "Last one! There's the last one, Sep. Look!"
It was true. An ax-carrying warrior was mechanically descending, the clang of metal on metal marking every step - and above him was an empty ladder.
"Freeze them," said Septimus. "Now!"
Jim Knee shook Septimus off and bowed. "Your wish is my command, Oh Excitable One."
The last of the jinn stepped off the ladder and dropped into the sea. Dismayed, Septimus watched the warrior sink to the seabed.
"I'll wait until it comes out," said Jim Knee.
"You will not," Septimus told him. "You will go and Freeze one of those on the beach instead."
"I am sorry to inform you, Oh Misguided One, that a Freeze will only run in one direction. Therefore, if you wish to Freeze all the jinn - something that I would strongly advise, as a semi-Frozen Entity is a dangerous thing - you should Freeze either the very last or the very first one. I would suggest the last one as the safest option."
"Is he right, Beetle?" asked Septimus.
Beetle looked baffled. "I dunno, Sep. I guess he must know."
"Okay, Jim Knee. I command you to Freeze the last one now. Transform to a turtle."
Jim Knee remained surprisingly cool at the mention of the dreaded turtle. "As the Wise One undoubtedly knows, I must hold the Entity I wish to Freeze in both hands, in order to pass the Freeze between them. This is not possible with flippers," he said, pronouncing "flippers" with a tone of disgust.
Septimus was floored. What could Jim Knee Transform to? Surely everything under the water had flippers or fins? He watched the silver points of light glancing off the winged helmet of the last jinn, which was moving slowly -  so slowly, like running in a nightmare - twenty feet below the sea. The tide was rising, and the Cerys was now much farther from the shore. How long would it take for the last of the jinn to emerge. And who knew how near they were to the Castle?
At the end of Wizard Way, Sarah, Silas and Maxie reached the Great Arch.
"A crab!" yelled Lucy. "He can be a crab!"
Jim Knee gave Lucy a withering stare - a crab was little better than a turtle. Septimus looked at Lucy in admiration. "Jim Knee," he said, "I wish you to Transform into a crab!"
"Any particular type of crab?" asked Jim Knee, putting off the evil moment.
"No. Just do it now."
"Very well, Oh Exigent One. Your wish is my command." There was a flash of yellow light, a dull pop, and Jim Knee disappeared.
"Where's he gone?" asked Septimus, trying not to panic. "Where's the crab?"
"Aah!" screamed Lucy. "It's here. On the floor. Go away, go away!"
A tiny yellow ghost crab was heading for Lucy's boots.
"Don't kick it, Lucy. Don't kick it! " yelled Septimus. Wolf Boy dived to the deck, grabbed the crab between finger and thumb and held it in the air, legs waving. "Got it!" he said.
"Chuck it in the sea," said Septimus. "Quick!"
Sarah, Silas and Maxie walked into the Wizard Tower courtyard. Silence fell on the Marauder. Hardly daring to breathe, they watched the warrior jinn still emerging onto the beach, waiting for the moment when the relentless march would cease. They watched, they waited, and still the jinn moved forward.
"What is he doing?" muttered Septimus.
A small yellow gull broke the surface and flew to the Marauder. It perched on the side, shook the seawater from its feathers and went pop. Jim Knee, looking somewhat harassed, sat in its place. "I am sorry," he said. "It didn't work."
Sarah, Silas and Maxie went up the marble steps to the silver doors of the Wizard Tower.
"No!" a collective cry rose from the Marauder.
Septimus was horrified. He had staked everything on his theory that jinn from gold were more powerful than jinn from lead - and it was wrong. "Why?" he asked desperately. "Why not?"
Silas said the Password, and the great doors to the Wizard Tower swung open.
"They were Awoken with Darkenesse," said Jim Knee. "They must be Frozen with Darkenesse. And, whatever you may think of me, Oh Displeased One, I do not have any Darkenesse in me."
"None?"
Jim Knee looked offended. "I am not that kind of jinnee."
Wolf Boy reached into the leather pouch that hung at his waist and drew out the decomposing Grim tentacle. Everyone reeled. "Is that Darke enough for you?" he asked.
"I am not even touching that. It is revolting," said Jim Knee. "And, before you command me to take it, Oh Desperate One, I warn you - take care. To command Darkenesse upon a jinnee is a dangerous thing."
"He's right, Sep," said Beetle. "If you command it, you too become part of the Darkenesse, and you will never get rid of it. Implicated, it's called. He's not such a bad jinnee after all. Some of them would jump at the chance to Implicate their Master."
Sarah, Silas and Maxie were in the Great Hall of the Wizard Tower, waiting for Marcia.
"Are there builders in the basement?" Silas asked Sarah. "There's a lot of banging down there."
Septimus was thinking hard. "Okay...but what if he takes it because he wants to?"
"Then that's all right," said Beetle. "You're not part of it then. But it won't happen - he doesn't want to."
"Jim Knee," said Septimus, "I wish you to Transform to a gull."
Jim Knee sighed. There was a yellow puff of smoke and a pop. Once more the little yellow gull stood on the gunnels of the Marauder.
"Okay, 409," said Septimus, "show the gull the tentacle."
Marcia stepped off the spiral stairs and forced a welcoming smile for Sarah, Silas and the malodorous Maxie.
Wolf Boy held his hand out to the gull. The tentacle, rank and putrid, sat in his palm like a fat, juicy sand eel.
The little gull regarded its Master with a mixture of loathing and grudging admiration. It knew what was going to happen, but it couldn't stop itself. With a swift peck at Wolf Boy's scarred palms, it sucked up the oh- so-repulsive tentacle and gulped it down.
"Nice one, Sep," said Beetle admiringly.
A massive crash came from inside the broom closet. Maxie growled. Marcia went to investigate.
Heavy with undigested tentacle, the gull took off from the Marauder. It skimmed the surface of the sea, searching for the telltale stream of tiny air bubbles that would be floating up from the armor of the final warrior jinn.
The ghost of Tertius Fume Passed Through the broom closet door into the Great Hall of the Wizard Tower.
"Ah, Miss Overstrand," he said. "We have a score to settle."
"I don't know what you think you're doing here, Fume," Marcia blazed. "But you can get out - now! I won't tell you again."
"How true," said Tertius Fume with a smile. "Indeed, you won't. One of the many things you will not be doing again, Miss Overstrand."
He spun around and yelled to the broom closet door, "Kill her!"
The gull stopped in mid-flight. There was a small puff of yellow smoke, the gull vanished and a tiny ghost crab plopped into the water.
Twelve warrior jinn came smashing through the broom closet door as though it were made of paper. In a second Marcia was trapped, surrounded by a circle of swords.
"Run!" she yelled to Silas and Sarah.
The watchers on the Marauder waited. Still the jinn marched out from the sea. Frantically, Marcia began a SafeShield spell, but the Darke in the jinn made her Magyk slow. With the points of twelve razor-sharp blades just inches from her throat, Marcia knew it was too late. She closed her eyes.
A little yellow crab caught the heel of the last warrior jinn. In an instant, the jinn Froze. Marcia felt the sudden chill in the air and opened her eyes to see twelve swords dulled by a fine, crystalline frosting surrounding her like a necklace. Marcia Shattered them and stepped out of the circle of Frozen jinn, shaking. She found three Wizards lying in a dead faint and Sarah and Silas white-faced with horror. She marched up to the shocked Tertius Fume and told him:
"As I said, I will not tell you again. But I will tell you this, Fume. I shall be taking steps to Eradicate you. Good day."
Jenna heard a distant cheer go up from the Marauder. Through Milo's telescope, she saw the jinn stopped in mid-step, covered with a sparkly sheen of crystal. She swung the telescope back to the Marauder - the closest she could get to joining in the celebrations.
"Oh, yuck!" she said.
Jim Knee was getting sick over the side of the boat.