PathFinder (23 page)

Marcia wandered over to Way VII – the one that led to the Wizard Tower. From a space between two stones, she pulled out a tiny piece of pale blue lapis and gave it to Milo. “See? It’s sprinkled everywhere. And there is
much
more of it inside a Way. Little bits of lapis folded into the stone. It is very strange.”

Milo scraped up the last of the horse poo and set the lid on the bucket with a clang. “Hmm,” he said. “But even if there
were
an egg, why would this sorcerer want it?”

Marcia knew exactly why. “For the lapis lazuli. It concentrates
Magyk
like nothing else. The Wizard Tower sits on a huge chunk of the stuff. And think of the Dragon House; that’s lined with it. Not to mention the labyrinth that goes to the Great Chamber of Alchemie. That’s why the Castle is such a
Magykal
place. With enough lapis even minor
Magyk
can grow powerful. With the right conditions an Orm Egg would hatch and pretty soon the young Orm would begin creating enough lapis lazuli to make even a mediocre Wizard a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention a reasonably powerful
Darke
one.” Marcia shuddered. “It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Milo sighed. “I suppose not.”

There was the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. “Ah, here they come,” said Marcia.

Tod and Driffa stepped into the Hub. Driffa squinted in the purple light, shielding her eyes with her hands. “You have powerful
Magyk
,” she said.

“I hope so,” replied Marcia solemnly. “Right, let’s get going.”

Milo picked up his bucket. “And what about the horse?” he asked.

The Snow Princess gazed at Milo with her big blue eyes. “Nona would like to stay with you,” she said.

“Nona?” asked Milo, a little too dreamily for Marcia’s liking. Clearly Milo thought that the Snow Princess was called Nona.

“The
horse
, Milo,” Marcia snapped.

“Of course it’s the horse,” said Milo, recovering himself. “Who – I mean, what – else could it be?”

Marcia raised her eyebrows. “Milo, I have no idea.” She looked at Driffa. “We’ll be off now – and see that handsome ExtraOrdinary Wizard of yours.”

Driffa blushed pink against the purple-white of her hair. “Oh, he is not mine,” she said. “Another Princess has him. A grumpy one with dark hair.”

Marcia was puzzled but said nothing. She reminded herself that Septimus’s personal life had nothing to do with her.

“Goodbye,” Milo said a little sadly. “Stay safe.”

“You too.” Marcia gave him a quick hug and then, linking arms with Tod and Driffa, strode into Way VII.

Bucket and shovel in hand, Milo watched the trio walk into the depths of the Way. He saw them step into the strange white mist and their dark shapes fade as they went through the
Vanishing Point
. And then they were gone.

Deep in the Way, Tod’s hand closed over her little blue lapis box. Inside it she felt the
PathFinder
tap-tap-tapping against the sides, as if it wanted to be set free.

Oskar and Ferdie

Earlier that day, while Tod
had been wading through snow, Oskar had been kicking his way through ash.

Three nights had now passed since Tod had sailed away, and Oskar was beginning to realise that not only was Tod not coming back but he didn’t even know where she had gone. The Wizard Tower could be anywhere in the world – all Oskar knew for sure was that it was somewhere across the sea. Tod had disappeared as completely as Ferdie had done.
But unlike Ferdie
, Oskar thought angrily,
Tod had
wanted
to.

Oskar and Ferdie had been helping to clear the site of their old house, and now they were heading back to the place that was, for the moment, home. They were living with their elderly cousins, Marni and Dergal Sarn. Being a little way from the main village and almost hidden behind a dune, Marni and Dergal’s house had escaped the blaze. No one wanted to stay in Tod’s old house, which was smashed to pieces inside and still smelled of Garmin.

Over a frugal meal, Marni once again tried to console Ferdie. “Ferdie love, your parents didn’t want to go, but they had little Torr to think about. All the people with kids went.”

“But why did they trust this ‘wise woman’?” asked Ferdie. “They had no idea who she was.”

Marni shook her head. “Panic, I suppose. Many were facing a night out in the open and the thought of those awful Garmin coming back … Well, what would you do if someone – especially a big, motherly woman – offered to take you to safety? I would have done the same if I’d had a little one to think of.”

Ferdie frowned. “Marni, did you see this wise woman?” she asked.

Marni shook her head. She stuck out a heavily bandaged foot and glared at it. “I was stuck here with my stupid foot and, what with the house being hidden in this hollow in the dunes, I didn’t see a thing, except the terrible flames shooting up into the sky. But Dergal saw her. Dergal! Dergal!” Marni called.

Dergal Sarn’s head appeared at the top of the ladder. “All right?” he inquired.

“Dergal, you saw the woman come out of the Far, didn’t you?” Marni asked.

Dergal heaved himself up the rest of the ladder and plonked himself down in a chair. “Didn’t take to her myself,” he said.

“What did she look like?” Ferdie asked.

“Well …” Dergal, a slow-speaking man, considered the matter. “It was the strangest thing. I had to blink to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. I saw a light coming out of the Far and then the most bizarre woman emerged, carrying a lantern and looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. I mean, there was the village ablaze, flames shooting thirty feet in the air, but she didn’t look surprised at all. What really struck me was the smug little smile she had on her face. Not nice.” Dergal shook his head. “No, I didn’t take to her at all. Not one little bit.”

“But what did she look like?” Ferdie asked again.

“Well, she was a big lady, that’s for sure. And here’s a thing – she looked like she was off to a
very
fancy party. She was wearing a shiny, bright blue billowing dress, silk I would have said, and she had a piece of gold cloth wound all around her head. Very
fancy
.” Dergal sounded disapproving.

“Ferdie!” Marni cried out. “Ferdie, whatever is the matter?”

The colour had drained from Ferdie’s face. She looked grey. “It’s her,” she whispered.

“Who, sweetheart?” asked Marni. “Dergal, go and get Ferdie some water, she looks terrible – oh, this
stupid
foot.”

“It’s the Lady,” Ferdie whispered. “From the ship. I was her prisoner. It’s
her
!”

Marni stared at Ferdie, shocked. “But … but it can’t be.”

“It is her,” Ferdie said. “I
know
it is.”

“No,”
Marni said. “No. It must be some other woman in a party dress.”

“Marni,” Dergal said with an air of exasperation. “And just how many women do you suppose walk around the Far in a fancy blue party dress, eh?”

“There’s only one like that,” Ferdie said flatly. “She got me. And now she’s got Mum and Dad and little Torr.”

Thieves in the Night

That night Tod was back
in the Junior Girls’ Apprentice Dorm, sleeping peacefully. But far away across the sea, Oskar and Ferdie lay wide awake. They were sharing a bedroom, just as they used to before Torr was born and, as ever, they were talking late into the night. But they were no longer whispering about Oskar’s plans for what he called “contraptions” or Ferdie’s ideas for a new kite. Now their conversation was serious – because Oskar and Ferdie had decided to track down the Lady.

When everyone had gone to bed, Ferdie crept downstairs. She put as much dried food as she felt was fair to take into her backpack, filled up the water bag and took two light sticks from the cupboard. Ferdie knew it was not good to be raiding Marni and Dergal’s store cupboard. She felt like a thief in the night, but she hoped they would understand.

Meanwhile, Oskar was writing a letter, and finding it difficult. When Ferdie returned with the backpack he showed it to her.

Dear Marni and Dergal and Jerra and Annar,

Ferdie and me are going into the Far to find Mum and Dad and Torr. And everyone. I know you will be worried, but we will be all right.

Love from Oskar and

Ferdie looked at the letter. It was a typical Oskie letter, she thought, short and to the point, but she didn’t think she could do any better. She signed her name beside his.

They slept for a few hours. Oskar woke just before dawn and shook Ferdie awake. In minutes they were easing open the outside door and climbing stealthily down the ladder. The first rays of the sun were creeping over the dunes as Oskar and Ferdie stepped into the Far.

Far away across the water, in the Wizard Tower, Tod slept on. At the foot of her bed, Dan’s fishing jacket was neatly folded. And under her pillow was her blue lapis box, where the
PathFinder
, like Tod, now slept. But unlike Tod, the
PathFinder
slept peacefully. It had no nightmares of dark forests and prison cells.

The Far

The early morning sun shone
through the pale green leaves of the beech trees as Oskar and Ferdie walked briskly along. It felt like the beginning of so many family picnics they had enjoyed over the years, and neither of them could quite believe that this expedition into the Far was going to be any different.

They had no trouble following the path that people had taken. Oskar was in his element. “Look, Ferd,” he said. “You can see all those snapped twigs, the leaves broken off and brushed on to the ground, the trodden grass. You can tell that
loads
of people have been this way. It will be easy to follow them.”

After a few hours of steady walking they reached the usual Sarn picnic spot – a bright clearing with a small stream bubbling through on its way to the sea. Oskar paced the clearing, looking for clues in the sunlight. He felt that if he looked carefully enough he would surely see traces of his parents and little brother. There were indeed signs of children – a few small footprints in the mud beside the stream – but nothing that could tell Oskar to whom they belonged. But as Oskar walked slowly along the stream he came across something that he did not want to see.

“Ferd.”
The tension in Oskar’s voice had Ferdie running to his side.

“Oskie, what is it?”

“Come here.”

Ferdie peered at the patch of mud that Oskar was squatting beside. “What?” she asked anxiously.

“Garmin.”

“
Garmin?
But … but how can you tell?”

Oskar pointed to what looked like a huge, dog-like paw print scuffed into the mud.

Ferdie didn’t want to believe it. “It could be any kind of animal, Oskie.”

Oskar shook his head. “No, Ferd. Look at this … See here? That’s the front paw. Like a monkey’s hand. See, where it’s leaned down to drink?” He looked up at his sister. “It’s a Garmin, Ferd. There’s no way around it.”

Ferdie picked up a stone and hurled it angrily into the stream. “I hate her,” she said.
“I hate her.”

Oskar knew exactly who Ferdie was talking about. “Yeah,” he said.

“Mum and Dad and Torr. They must have been so
scared
.”

“Yeah,” said Oskar.

Ferdie kicked the Garmin tracks in disgust. Then she looked up at Oskar and said, “We’re going to get her, Oskie. She’s going to regret she ever messed with us.”

“Yeah,” said Oskar. But he didn’t sound convinced.

They sat down miserably on the well-trodden grassy bank and Ferdie fished out two large biscuits, a handful of dried raisins and an apple. “Breakfast,” she said.

“Not hungry,” muttered Oskar.