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"Now, Septi complicated on your FirstFlyte You are to fly around the Tower once and land in the courtyard Do you want a Navigator?"
"A hat?" asked Septi to jelly
"Draxx, rule 16b, subsection viii states that: a Navigator may only be used if be or she has participated in the FirstFlyte So if you want a Navigator, it&039;s now or never"
"It&039;s no good asking etically, as he tried to help Marcia push the dragon&039;s tail out the"I&039;m indentured to the Manuscriptoriuhtif I&039;ator Though I s&039;pose I ht not have a job after all this"
"Of course you&039;ll have a job," Marcia told Beetle "Which is h Fox"
"Thank you," Beetle stammered
"I&039;ll do it, Sep," offered Jenna "I&039;ll be your Navigator I mean, if you want one, that is"
"Would you really, Jen?" asked Septiht that at least he&039;d have soround
"Yes, of course I would I&039;d be honored to"
Out on the launch pad, Spit Fyre finished the last biscuit and then, to avoid wasting any cruulped down the box as well He sniffed the evening air The thrill of electricity that all dragons get just before their FirstFlyte ran through him He snorted loudly and smashed his tail down in anticipation Marcia and Beetle leaped back just in tiet on, Septi off without youwe don&039;t want the Castle to be plagued with a riderless dragon for years to come"
Septimus forced himself to climb out theonto the launch pad You can do it, he told himself You&039;ve been up a three hundred-foot tree, walked across a rickety bridge at the top of a witches&039; house and flown a boat You are not afraid of heights Definitely not But whatever Septis appeared to take no notice and still felt as if they were made of jelly that has been left outside on a hot summer&039;s day
"C&039; up behind him onto the launch pad She put her ar the ooden platform Septimus swayed for a moment as he felt the wind that blew around the top of the Wizard Tower ruffle his hair "You&039;re okay," whispered Jenna "Look, Spit Fyre is waiting for you to get on"
Septied it but a few seconds later he was sitting on the dragon&039;s neck, in a dip just in front of the shoulders It seely secure The dragon&039;s scales, although s, and the broad spines running like a mane down the back of Spit Fyre&039;s muscular neck fitted perfectly into Septimus&039;s hands
Jenna was less coht by the wings here" Septiled forward as much as he dared and Jenna dropped down into the space behind hi beside thes to re to drop like a stone But, trust me, it will only be for a second or two That&039;s how FirstFlyte always starts Then you&039;ll be off Secondsteering Kick left for left turn, right for right Two kicks left for doo kicks right for up Or you can just tell hion, he&039;ll understand ThirdI&039;ht here with you You&039;ll be just fine"
Septimus nodded, anxious to start
Marcia and Beetle looked out apprehensively "Ready?" asked Marcia
Septin
"Go!" yelled Marcia "Go! Coether, Marcia and Beetle gave the dragon a hefty shove Unfortunately, they had no effect whatsoeverSpit Fyre still sat firoodness&039; sake!" spluttered Marcia, giving the dragon another push "Get going, you lazy lu his decision to climb to the topmost board, and knows there is only one way down, Spit Fyre shuffled forward and curled his toes around the edge of the launch pad Hesitantly, the dragon peered out over the precipitous drop and gazed at the courtyard far, far below Septiht Behind her Jenna felt the fledgling wings twitch, but nothing happened
"Look, you daft dragon, don&039;t think you can co back in here, because you most certainly cannot!" Marcia shouted "And if you knohat&039;s good for you, you&039;ll get going right now!" Using all their strength, Marcia and Beetle heaved the rest of the dragon&039;s tail onto the launch pad
Spit Fyre&039;s look of uncertainty changed to panic Marcia on onit hard to tell the difference
"Do as you&039;re told and fly!" Marcia yelled, and slammed theclosed
Spit Fyre did as he was told He threw himself off the launch padand dropped like a stone Down, down, down, past the nineteenth, eighteenth, seventeenth floors Past the sixteenth, fifteenth, fourteenth they plummeted At the thirteenth floor Spit Fyre realized what he had to do At the twelfth he worked out how to do it At the eleventh his wings were stuck At the eighth floor he finally unfurled the seventh floor Spit Fyre spread his wings into a huge green canopy, caught the air and glided up in a beautiful curve until he was once again level with the top of the Wizard Tower Peering out from the Tower, Marcia&039;s white face broke into a wide soodness,"up to join the dragon and his shocked passengers "All right?" Alther yelled, keeping pace with soon was reveling in the sensation of flying, and he was fast
Septimus nodded
"Once around the Tower, and land him in the courtyard," Alther shouted
Septimus shook his head In the distance he could see the uncoordinated black shape that was Simon Heap Simon had just cleared the rooftops of the line of houses that abutted the boatyard wall and was dropping down to the other side
"Go, Spit Fyre Go get him," shouted Septimus