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"Beetle," protested Jenna, fixing Beetle with a Princessy stare

"Beetle&039;s right, Jen," said Septi over and over it - the moment when I took the Stone I know Marcia says never accept Chararde was a stranger But she had been standing next to the Questing Pot, hadn&039;t she?

And I Saw the Thing in the Pot So when Tertius Fu arde It was so dark and crazy anything could have happened"

Jenna looked at Septimus, puzzled "But why didn&039;t you tell us?" she asked

"Wellwhen I first found out I had it, I really thought that if I got away fro Guards like Marcia told o and find Nik and Snorri and forget about the Queste And then when it turned green - "

"When what turned green?" asked Jenna

"The Stone It started off blue but then, ere in the hut, I saw it had turned green, just like Alther said it would And then I realized I was on the Queste"

"So why didn&039;t you tell us?"

Septimus took a while to answer "I couldn&039;t I just couldn&039;t I&039; seeht" Septimus ran out of words He felt terrible, as if he had betrayed his closest friends

"But Sep, it is okay We&039;re still rescuing Nik, aren&039;t we?" said Jenna

"No," snapped Beetle suddenly "This has nothing to do with Nicko now We are with Sep, and Sep is on the Queste He has no choice Once you Accept the Stone, Your Will is Not Your Own Isn&039;t that right, Sep?"

Septimus nodded miserably

Jenna shook her head in disbelief "No! No way We are on our quest - for Nik And, look, we&039;ve done it" She pointed up to the great octagonal towers loo out of the mists "Because there is the House of Foryx"

Beetle was adamant "We don&039;t know that," he said "We don&039;t know anything anymore Like I said, all we know for certain is that we are with Sep, and Sep is on the Queste Oh yes - and one more little detail"

"What?" asked Jenna quietly, surprised at Beetle&039;s angry torrent of words

"That no one has ever come back from the Queste"

There was silence as this sunk in

Septimus felt awful "II&039;m sorry," he muttered "I&039;m really sorry"

A few stray snowflakes drifted down from the sky Fiercely, Jenna brushed theranite fortress loo somehow to find a clue that Nicko was indeed there As she stared at the blind s, a flight of ravens flew out of one of the towers, cawing Jenna shivered and pulled her cloak tighter Ullr , his hackles raised

At last Jenna spoke "Well, if we&039;re on some stupid Queste, then that&039;s okay We&039;ll do it and we&039;ll come back - with Nik That will show the path, with Ullr at her heels

Beetle and Septimus followed in her wake

"I&039;m sorry," said Septimus after a few minutes "I should have told you about the Stone"

"Yes," said Beetle "You should have" A few minutes later he said, "Wouldn&039;t have made any difference I would have still come"

"Thanks, Beetle"

"Jenna would have too," said Beetle

"Yeah," said Septimus "I don&039;t think I could have stopped her"

"I don&039;t think you could stop Jenna frorin "Not once she&039;s made up her mind"

Halfway up the path Jenna stopped and waited for Septi steadily now and it seemed as if the only color in the whole world was the fiery orange of the Questing Stone that shone in Septied from the mist

"You know," said Jenna, "this place reminds me of a story Dad used to tell us about the weary travelers who cliot to a door eird creatures carved all around it and pulled the bellpull Ages later it was opened by a little hunchback figure who stared at them for hours and then said in a really creepy voice, &039;Yeeeeeeeees?&039; You remember that, Sep?"

"Nope," said Septi Army at the time - probably at the botto to bedtime stories"

"Oh sorry, Sep Soh you ith us all the time"

"Wish I had been," said Septiine what he had ave hi of heaviness that was hard to shake off

They set off once ether, but soon the path narrowed and they were forced to go on in single file The path beca in and out of rocky outcrops, and as they cli that they were near the top He braced hiht of the snake that Snorri had drarapped around the tower

It ht, be enormous He wondered what it ate - and then he decided to stop wondering

It wasn&039;t ood

Now the path widened and began to level off With their boots crunching on fine gravel, they approached the smooth white marble of the wide terrace that surrounded the House of Foryx On the terrace they stopped to catch their breath In front of the with the snow, and behind that they could just lanced at one another Where was the snake?

Stealthily, they crept across the terrace, their feet slipping on the damp smoothness of theStone and like a beacon it guided theht of wide, shallow steps

"Wait there," Septio check out the snake"

"No," said Jenna "We&039;ll all go Won&039;t we, Beetle?"

Beetle nodded reluctantly He hated snakes "Okay," he said

Cautiously, they crept up the steps, Septiuide the way "There&039;s no snake," said Septie carvings around it"

"No snake?" asked Beetle just to make sure

"No snake," came Septimus&039;s voice, "not even a tiny licorice one"