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M errin Meredith was biting the head off a licorice snake when Sih the door

"You stupid little worm," hissed Simon

Merrin leaped to his feet in terror

"Give me Sleuth before I bite your head off You thief"

"Baaaaaah" Merrin was paralyzed

"Give me Sleuth Now"

Desperately, Merrin fuh the pockets of his new Manuscriptorium tunic He had so many pockets - which one had he put Sleuth in? Si from his narrowed eyes "GivemeSleuth," he intoned

With relief, Merrin&039;s treers closed around the tracker ball He pulled it from his pocket, hurled it at Simon and shot off into the depths of the Manuscriptoriued to catch the ball but Merrin&039;s terrified throide and fast It hurtled past Si, Sleuth was deftly caught by the twenty-sixth visitor to the Manuscriptoriuht," said Marcellus, the twenty-seventh visitor

Si noise - surprisingly like the one Merrin had made a minute before - trickled out

"Well, well," said Marcia "Mr Heap Now remind me, Mr Heap, about e last met Was it up in my rooms perhaps, after a little trouble with a particularly nasty Placement?"

"I - I, yes It was" Simon Heap blushed "That was kind of a mistake I - I&039;ht, then"

"Does it?" Si accepted back at the Castle lifted the burden he had carried ever since the night of Septih to canoe off into the Marram Marshes and look for DomDaniel&039;s bones

But Marcia was scornful "Of course it doesn&039;t How dare you show your face back here after all the trouble you have caused How dare you!"

Si at Marcia, who had Sleuth clasped fir to plan

"You have five minutes to leave the Castle before I alert the lock-up Five rily

Simon seemed unable to move "Um," he said

"Yes?"

"Uo!"

Si of how upset Lucy would be if he ended up in the lock-up - not to mention his mother - he fled

With Marcellus in tow, Marcia strode into the Manuscriptoriue looked up, glad of a break from his calculations, which he was laboriously quadruple-checking "Can I help you, Mada down froe," said Marcia "You can escort lanced at one another with raised eyebroo visits to the Vaults within the week by the ExtraOrdinary Wizard - as going on?

A loud rustle of silk drew the scribes&039; attention back to their work Jillie Djinn bustled out of the passageway that led to the Hermetic Chamber "Yes?" she said peremptorily

Marcia looked at Jillie Djinn crossly The woood - were rapidly disappearing, she thought "We wish to be escorted to the Vaults," Marcia repeated

"It is not convenient at present," replied Miss Djinn, eyeing Marcellus Pye suspiciously "All o!" said Partridge

Jillie Djinn glared at him "You will not You will finish your calculations"

Partridge sighed heavily and picked up his pen

"If you would care to ask my new Front Office Clerk for an appointment, I will probably be able to fit you in sometime next week," said Jillie Djinn

"New Front Office Clerk?" asked Marcia "Where&039;s Beetle?"

"He is no longer in our employment"

"What? Why?"

"His conduct was not satisfactory," replied Miss Djinn "Allowwith rage, Marcia and Marcellus were ushered out If the Chief Hermetic Scribe chose to refuse access to the Vaults, there was nothing Marcia could do Within her own small territory, Jillie Djinn wielded as much power as the ExtraOrdinary Wizard did in the Wizard Tower

And Jillie Djinn knew it

Jillie Djinn closed the door fire "If she thinks I a the robes of an Alche," she told hih he understood exactly what Jillie Djinn meant and would have done the same himself Then he put his feet up on the desk, tilted his head back and tried to fit a whole licorice snake in his mouth at once

Marcellus had had as much excitement - and as much Marcia Overstrand - as he could stand for the day After offering any help he possibly could with finding Septiood-bye

Marcia let hio; she could see he was unused to company and quite exhausted by it She watched as the Alche alances from passersby Marcellus ive up on Finding Septimus She had another idea up her sleeve - literally

Marcia didn&039;t like doing Magyk in public She felt it was showy and she didn&039;t like the way people would stop and stare But sometimes it had to be done And so those who had only just recovered froht of Marcellus Pye and his shoes were now treated to the astonishing spectacle of their ExtraOrdinary Wizard doing a Find right in the aped as Marcia - as standing very still, chanting under her breath - becaan to disappear One brave child ran up to poke Marcia to see if she was real, but by the tiirl had reached her, all that was left of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard was a purple shi shadow The child burst into tears, and her e a co for the ferry with Lucy when a shi purple haze appeared beside him Lucy screamed When Si too "I - I&039;ood-bye to Mum and find Lucy and then we just missed the ferry and - "

"Please don&039;t put hi I&039;ll take him away and make sure he doesn&039;t come back ever Ooooh, please, pleaseOooooh!"

"Lucy, I a to put him in the lock-up," said Marcia quickly She could see that Lucy orking up to a scream