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Unlike Septireat ti the turtle around Star Island, she had discovered the Marauder, co out in the old harbor Lucy knew an opportunity when she saw one, which hy she was now standing in the well of the CattRokk Lighthouse directing operations Milo&039;s creas 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, Septi you here"

Half an hour later, on the rocks below the lighthouse, a conference was in progress Septi back down the Ice Tunnel; I don&039;t see any other way We have to try and stop them"

Beetle shivered He arm now in the sun, but the very word "ice" chilled his bones

"You don&039;t stand a chance, 412," Wolf Boy said "Reainst One and You Are Done&039;? Well, it&039;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 &039;Use Your Head or You Are Dead&039;"

"Oh, do stop it, 409 - that stuff gets irritating I&039;er I leave it the more jinn there will be"

"No, Sep," said Beetle "Don&039;t Please don&039;t They&039;ll smash you to pieces"

"I&039;ll do an UnSeen - they won&039;t know I&039;m there"

"And can the sled do an UnSeen too?"

Septimus did not answer "I&039;m off," he said "You can&039;t stopthem all by surprise

Lucy and Wolf Boy ju you," Lucy said, catching hi so stupid What would Siet killed?"

Septimus shook her off "I should think he&039;d be pleased The last thing he said to me was - "

"Well, I&039;m sure he didn&039;t mean it," Lucy cut in "Look, Septimus, you&039;re clever Even I knohat those purple stripes on your sleeves mean, so - like Wolf Boy said - use your head Think of soet you killed What about your turtle down there?" Lucy pointed at the little harbor far below "Can&039;t he help?"

Septimus looked down at the Marauder - to which, he now noticed, soe and extres, doesn&039;t he?" said Lucy excitedly "Can&039;t he change into a bird and fly back to the Castle? He can warn theht"

Septi admiration She had surprised hi hiain

"He could," he admitted "But the trouble is, I don&039;t trust hih to take you Make hi with excitement

Septiot a better idea"

Back on the rocks above the harbor, under the beady yellow eye of an extreruntled turtle, Septimus outlined his plan Beetle, Lucy and Wolf Boy listened, iht," said Beetle "Jiht?"

Septimus nodded

"And the jinn tubes in the chest were made of lead?"

"Yep"

"And that&039;s important?"

"I think it&039;s crucial You see, in Physik and Alcheold Lead is considered to be the less perfect forold trumps lead Every time"

"So?" asked Wolf Boy

"So, in the jinn pecking order, Jiold; they&039;re from lead He&039;s much more powerful than those warriors are"

"You&039;re right!" Beetle said excitedly "I reave Jillie Djinn a pamphlet called Habits and Hierarchy of the Jinn as a joke - which of course she didn&039;t understand I read it one quiet day in the office, and that is exactly what it said"

Septirinned "So Jim Knee can Freeze the warrior jinn He&039;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&039;s still four thousand to one," he said "As soon as he Freezes one of &039;em, the other three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine will be after him"

"No," said Beetle, "I don&039;t think so I reckon these jinn are basically one organisether Freeze one and you Freeze the whole bunch"

"That&039;s right," said Septimus "They only needed one Awake, didn&039;t they? After that they just kept on co"

"Trouble is, Sep," said Beetle, "there&039;s only one way to find out for sure"

"Yep," agreed Septimus "Nohere&039;s that turtle?"

A sodden Ji out turtle spit and ers separately, just because he could

"Jim Knee," said Septimus, "I command you - "

"You have no need to co his toes experimentally "Your wish is my command"

"Good," said Septimus "I wish you to Freeze the warrior jinn"

"How ue One?"

"All of thele one?"

"Yes, every single one," said Septimus "That is my wish And my wish is what?"

"My coht then Come on We&039;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

Ji, eyes slowly closing in the heat of the sun, and the next he had been grabbed, hauled to his feet and frog boat he knew too well

"We&039;ve got hirip on his left front flipper - no, his aro," said the boy with the rat&039;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 hu about the rush of blood beneath the skin, the swiveling of the bones, the tug of the tendons, the constant ker-chue - it was all so busy And the feel of their skin touching his was disgusting One huh, but tas 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 Septi up to jinnee behavior

"Now," Jim Knee wailed "Noill do it no, Oh Wise and Wonderful One - if only you will let o"

"Put hio of him," Septimus told Beetle and Wolf Boy

Ji, he shook hiet rid of the feel of human touch

"&039;Scuse et ter me tiller" At the touch of Jakey&039;s elbow, Ji 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 strea the ship and,exactly, as Nicko had observed, like ants Septimus could hardly contain his i feet still echoed in his head, and he knew that, with every ht 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 Septi - howinto the Castle at the head of his terrifying army?

The ansas 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 thehost knew had open access to the tunnels - the Tower itself being considered a Seal The jinn were traveling fast, faster than any hu 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