Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk
By Angie Sage and Mark Zug
4/5
()
About this ebook
The first book in the internationally bestselling Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage, featuring the funny and fantastic adventures of a wizard apprentice and his quest to become an ExtraOrdinary Wizard.
New York Times Bestselling Series
“A deliciously spellbinding series opener.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Fun, mystery, and rollicking characters.” —VOYA (starred review)
“Fluent, charismatic storytelling.” —ALA Booklist
Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby's father, Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow—a newborn girl with violet eyes. Who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to the Heaps' beloved son Septimus?
The first book in this enthralling series by Angie Sage leads readers on a fantastic journey filled with quirky characters and Magykal charms, potions, and spells. Magyk is the original story of lost and rediscovered identities, rich with humor and heart.
Angie Sage
ANGIE SAGE was born in London and grew up in the Thames Valley, London, and Kent. She loves the sea, spooky old houses, and time traveling (the easy way, by reading history books). Angie has created many books for children, including the New York Times bestselling series Septimus Heap and Araminta Spookie. She lives in England. Visit her online at www.angiesage.com and on Twitter @AngieSageAuthor.
Read more from Angie Sage
Enchanter's Child: Twilight Hauntings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Enchanter's Child: Midnight Train Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap: The Darke Toad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maximillian Fly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Septimus Heap, Book One
Titles in the series (7)
Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Three: Physik Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Two: Flyte Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Four: Queste Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Five: Syren Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Seven: Fyre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related ebooks
Septimus Heap, Book Three: Physik Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doll Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Two: Flyte Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Four: Queste Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Six: Darke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Septimus Heap, Book Seven: Fyre Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Septimus Heap, Book Five: Syren Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5TodHunter Moon, Book Two: SandRider Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic Thief Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Over Sea, Under Stone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Is Rising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic Thief: Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Storybound Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Greenwitch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sky Raiders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unwanteds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A World Without Heroes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sea of Trolls Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silver on the Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic Thief: Lost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Grey King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Land of the Unicorns Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Order of the Majestic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Magic Thief: Found Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Apprentice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Among the Stars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Blackthorn Key Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Children's Fantasy & Magic For You
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sideways Stories from Wayside School Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Graveyard Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hobbit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Howl's Moving Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice In Wonderland: The Original 1865 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Lewis Carroll Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dark Is Rising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice in Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Battle: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Keeper of the Lost Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secret Garden: The 100th Anniversary Edition with Tasha Tudor Art and Bonus Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fortunately, the Milk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Into the Wild: Warriors #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Amari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Over Sea, Under Stone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Horse and His Boy: The Chronicles of Narnia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Chocolate Touch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unlocked Book 8.5 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indian in the Cupboard Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neverseen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Grimm's Fairy Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Three Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The School for Good and Evil: Now a Netflix Originals Movie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Exile Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Septimus Heap, Book One
1,925 ratings119 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a good book overall, although it could be better. The concept of magic is used to create a wonderful and creative fictional story. Some readers enjoyed the characters, particularly Septimus, who is described as a sweet little kid. The book is engaging enough to be read in approximately 4 hours. However, some readers felt that the book is more suitable for a younger age group and may not continue reading the series. Overall, it is an enjoyable book with potential for improvement.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fun fantasy novel that kids will really get into. Longer review to come.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To be honest, when I began this book I wasn't sure I'd like it. I am not at all a fan of spelling magic as "magyk" and I thought that sort of thing would drive me nuts. But then a wonderful thing happened: I fell into the world of this book and didn't come out until I'd finished it, hours later. The feeling of reading it reminded me of how I felt when I was a young adult (or even younger) and discovering fantasy books for the first time. I'm looking forward to curling up with a cup of hot chocolate and book two as soon as I can.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really liked this book: as you know I had read Book 3 for our tag, and I liked the story so much, that I have decided to read the entire series.
As "Ordinary Wizard" Silas Heap is on his way home, he finds an infant hidden under a bush in the snow. Upon crossing the gate "Extra Ordinary Wizard" Marsha orders Silas to "tell no one" of his find. When Silas returns home to his wife Sarah he finds the midwife rushing out the door with his seventh son, Sepitums, saying that the baby is dead.... So begins the story of Sepitmus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, Queenling Jenna, the found infant, and the battle to save castle from the Evil Dom Daniel....
The story has a myriad of colorful and magykal characters: Boy 412, The Hunter, Extra Ordinary Wizard ghost Alther Mella, the Heap family, the Keeper AuntZelda, the Boggart, and the now awakened Dragon Boat. Adventure, suspense, even humor all together for a very good read. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I had really high hopes for this book since it was recommended by a friend. I was not disappointed. I did feel it was slightly difficult to follow in the beginning 10 or so chapter's but after that it was smooth sailing. As the mother of 4 I have a feeling these books are going to get alot of use.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Enjoyable easy read. I predicted early on what I thought would happen and it did. Silas and Sarah have 6 boys. Her seventh son seems to have died at birth and the same day as they experience this loss, they find an abandoned baby girl that the Extraordinary Wizard advises they must not tell anyone they found her. The story picks up 10 years later when DomDaniel is attempting to retake the Extraordinary Wizard position. He previously held this position but due to his practice of dark magic, his apprentice manages to extricate him from the position. You learn who the baby girl belongs to and the story unfolds from there.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slow starting, but good after about a quarter through. Must read the next one now...
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wonderful characters, predictable plot
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I love Sage's voice in this. I wish she'd turn the snark up half a degree, but as-is, I'll take what I can get. I wish they hadn't made the parentage issue so obvious, but it's for kids, they probably wouldn't have seen it coming.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There's something about the seventh son of a seventh son that grabs my attention, which is just what this book did, lying in a huddle (or would that be a chapter) of books set out for others to pick up at a recent fantasy con I attended. Apparently this is the start of a series, and had the misfortune to come out during the craze involving another boy wizard, thus got kind of buried. But it's got charm of its own, and some lovely characters. (I admit to being thrown a couple of times when locations/descriptions distinctly our own world slipped in there (Roman, Sargasso Sea, etc) I'd assumed another world, or an alternate one, so it knocked the flow back a peg for me.) I also liked that this was not necessarily a story about a boy, or about a girl, but about several different young folk finding their truths and their paths.Will pass this on to a friend who has kids in the target age range.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Magyk takes place during medieval times and is about one baby, a boy named Septimus Heap, who disappears at night and another, Jenna, that is abandoned in the woods and found by Septimus' father the same night. During the story, it is discovered that Jenna is a Princess and that assassins are trying to kill her. Septimus' family protects her by moving to Marram Marsh, a land filled with magical creatures, to live with Aunt Zelda, a wizard. I thought this book was extremely creative. The author created a magical world filled with so many details, and clever touches such as rhyming names for all of the characters, that the story truly came alive in my mind. My favorite part was when they found the dragon boat under Aunt Zelda's house and rescued the extraordinary wizard.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5if you like Harry potter you'll love this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Septimus so much. He's such a sweet little kid and you can't help but feel for him. I'm going to be reading this book again, but I remember loving it!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fun children's book. Fun characters.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Terrible. Relying on virtually every fantasy trope available, this is the most pointlessly formulaic book I've ever read. The phrase, "Don't waste your time," seems tailor-made for this tome.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A good YA, standard fantasy to clear the palate and get ready for 2015.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sage is a great storyteller. At first I was not fond of her writing and found myself annoyed at similarities that seemed to be taken from other such novels. Still, her story is original and good. I might even try #2.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My grandson loved this series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5AWESOME BOOK! LOVE IT!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book did not initially make a good impression with me, mainly because of its plodding prose style. Even children deserve an author who can write elegant sentences, and even my 14-year-old could spot where a fronted adverbial was called for. This feeling was exacerbated by the fact that I was concurrently reading a book by Frances Hardinge, whose writing is a constant delight. I was also underwhelmed by the motif of a villain whose regime imposes Soviet-style utlitarian impersonality, which lacked justification in the plot or setting, and so simply felt tired.Having said that, once I got into the story, I did actually enjoy it. I can live without psychologically complex characters if the settings and the plot twists are entertaining enough. Unlike some other reviewers, I was happy with the long period of suspense during which the reader has guessed who Boy 412 is, but the characters have not (lacking the advantage of knowing the book's subtitle). I didn't find it very much like J.K. Rowling, and thought it closer in feel to Cressida Cowell, though with less slapstick comedy. I liked a number of elements, including the Messenger Rat and the fact that Boy 412's grim training actually comes in handy. I do plan to read on in the series.MB 09-viii-2021
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Children's fiction; magic/adventure. This might have been better when read vs. heard on audio, I thought the pacing wasn't fast enough (couldn't they figure out the true identity of Boy 412 already?!!?) but it wasn't a bad story, and there were lots of funny moments. Would recommend to HP fans (if they haven't already read it).
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The large Heap family welcomes an abandoned baby into their home, little realizing that she is in fact the orphaned princess--now queen--of their land. Eventually the evil that killed her mother comes looking for her, and so the whole family (along with an ExtraOrdinary Witch) goes on the run.
I could only get 26% of the way through this before I had to give up. I was too annoyed by the twee phrasing ("Silas felt a lurch in the bottom of his stomach, and it wasn't just the barley cake. It was dread.") and capitalization and bolding of every single magical--excuse me, magykal--term. It's written for a much younger audience than YA, so the plot and characters are ridiculously simple. Just no fun for an old fogey like me, but children might like it. It's a little wacky but still retains an essential sweetness of character. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed this middle grade fantasy story. The cast of characters were varied and enjoyable (down to the messenger rat). The story had a humor that kept me reading. The ending was a little predictable, but the humor and characters made it enjoyable, nonetheless. I will definitely continue the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very fun read! The characters were enjoyable, the action was fast, and the pace was perfect for a book in the YA genre.
I read some of the other reviews and saw many negative comments about the reading level and pandering style of the author. I don't agree with that at all, and think this is the perfect book to engage the more hesitant readers in middle school grades. At a hefty 500 pages, this type of book is needed to encourage and hook young readers, making them readers for life.
I am also loathe to read reviews where this is compared to the Harry Potter series. While it is a fantasy book, with wizards and such, this is a totally different story. It cannot be compared, and suffers from the expectation that a comparison with the best-selling series in history invites. This is its own story, with simple and straightforward characters, clear action, and an intriguing storyline.
Buy this for your middle schooler and get ready for a love affair with Septimus Heap!
Highly recommended. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My family listened to this middle grade classic every night before bed for a week. It was exciting and endearing experiencing this anew through my daughter's eyes. She's 10 years old and she love, love, LOVED it!! I can't express that enough. She was begging for us to start book #2 even though it was waaay past her bedtime when we finished this book. Magyk has it all. There's a unique magical world occupied by all sorts of creatures both helpful and malevolent. There's (PG) action galore with wizards, and ghosts, an assassin and royal drama. There's betrayl, twisty turns and (easily sussed out) character reveals. Overall:This is great fun for bibliophiles of all ages. I can't reccomend this book highly enough. We're off to book #2, Flyte... well, we will be once we get some much needed ZZZZZs.~ Enjoy
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An enjoyable and immersive read. The variety of characters and locations really fleshed out the world nicely. The story was fun to follow and I found the good guys relatable. So little time was spent fleshing out the bad guy, he was just vaguely evil in description and actions, very one dimensional. I suppose since this is the first of a series, he was mostly a vehicle to move the story. I actually found the Hunter a better foe than domDaniel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nice and intresting..... Nice concept of the magic is used to create a wonderful and creative fictional story....
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5ok
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I often found myself thinking how much this book wanted to be Harry Potter, not that the story was derivative it just ached to be something it wasn't. I did tire of all the misspelt words: Magyk, Darke etc as there were times when the pages were littered with them. Once I learned to ignore them I could enjoy the story so much more.
Magyk, is a pleasant book, easy going and one which would be good to read at bed time to a 10 year old. There were no surprises, for me at least, it's all a bit too obvious. Having said that it is also fun to read and you get through it quick rapidly. All in all I liked it enough to pick up the sequel and read that too.
So 3 out of 5 is fair enough. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A promising beginning to a fun series. The Heap family are loving and practical and hopeful. The wizards and interesting. The adventure is exciting. And this book explores the idea of identity and figuring out who you are.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Blah. I'm sorry, is that rude? I don't want to be rude. I know I promised I wouldn't keep reading book that didn't fully entertain me, but then there is the problem of that they cost a lot of money when they are audio books. And I have to wait before I can buy a new one. And, it was mildly entertaining enough to sort of want to continue. Sort of. Here's what's wrong:
First: The point of view problems were horrendous. I never knew who was thinking what and the jumps were disconcerting to say the least. Second, The story was uninteresting. I would just start to think it was going to get interesting when... ug. Third: What was with the end? What the heck was that? A synopsis of all the characters that I didn't even care enough to know were in the book in the first place?
There was a couple of strengths I felt the author had. There were sprinkles of really good humor. And there were brief moments of really good writing where I felt like the world was real, but for some reason, they were not sustained. I think she has potential to write really good stories as she works on her craft, but I don't want to keep reading until I find out when that happens. And I don't know if I can trust other people because so many people liked this one! I don't get it.
Book preview
Septimus Heap, Book One - Angie Sage
1
SOMETHING IN THE SNOW
Silas Heap pulled his cloak tightly around him against the snow. It had been a long walk through the Forest, and he was chilled to the bone. But in his pockets he had the herbs that Galen, the Physik Woman, had given him for his new baby boy, Septimus, who had been born earlier that day.
Silas drew closer to the Castle, and he could see the lights flickering through the trees as candles were placed in the windows of the tall narrow houses clustered along the outside walls. It was the longest night of the year, and the candles would be kept burning until dawn, to help keep the dark at bay. Silas always loved this walk to the Castle. He had no fear of the Forest by day and enjoyed the peaceful walk along the narrow track that threaded its way through the dense trees for mile after mile. He was near the edge of the Forest now, the tall trees had begun to thin out, and as the track began to dip down to the valley floor, Silas could see the whole Castle spread before him. The old walls hugged the wide, winding river and zigzagged around the higgledy-piggledy clumps of houses. All the houses were painted bright colors, and those that faced west looked as if they were on fire as their windows caught the last of the winter sun’s rays.
The Castle had started life as a small village. Being so near to the Forest the villagers had put up some tall stone walls for protection against the wolverines, witches and warlocks who thought nothing of stealing their sheep, chickens and occasionally their children. As more houses were built, the walls were extended and a deep moat was dug so that all could feel safe.
Soon the Castle was attracting skilled craftsmen from other villages. It grew and prospered, so much so that the inhabitants began to run out of space until someone decided to build The Ramblings. The Ramblings, which was where Silas, Sarah and the boys lived, was a huge stone building that rose up along the riverside. It sprawled for three miles along the river and back again into the Castle and was a noisy, busy place filled with a warren of passages and rooms, with small factories, schools and shops mixed in with family rooms, tiny roof gardens and even a theater. There was not much space in The Ramblings, but people did not mind. There was always good company and someone for the children to play with.
As the winter sun sank below the Castle walls, Silas quickened his pace. He needed to get to the North Gate before they locked it and pulled up the drawbridge at nightfall.
It was then that Silas sensed something nearby. Something alive, but only just. He was aware of a small human heartbeat somewhere close to him. Silas stopped. As an Ordinary Wizard he was able to sense things, but, as he was not a particularly good Ordinary Wizard, he needed to concentrate hard. He stood still with the snow falling fast around him, already covering his footprints. And then he heard something—a snuffle, a whimper, a small breath? He wasn’t sure, but it was enough.
Underneath a bush beside the path was a bundle. Silas picked up the bundle and, to his amazement, found himself gazing into the solemn eyes of a tiny baby. Silas cradled the baby in his arms and wondered how she had come to be lying in the snow on the coldest day of the year. Someone had wrapped her tightly in a heavy woolen blanket, but she was already very cold: her lips were a dusky blue and the snow dusted her eyelashes. As the baby’s dark violet eyes gazed intently at him, Silas had the uncomfortable feeling that she had already seen things in her short life that no baby should see.
Thinking of his Sarah at home, warm and safe with Septimus and the boys, Silas decided that they would just have to make room for one more little one. He carefully tucked the baby into his blue Wizard cloak and held her close to him as he ran toward the Castle gate. He reached the drawbridge just as Gringe, the Gatekeeper, was about to go and yell for the Bridge Boy to start winding it up.
You’re cutting it a bit fine,
growled Gringe. But you Wizards are weird. Waddyou all want to be out for on a day like this I dunno.
Oh?
Silas wanted to get past Gringe as soon as he could, but first he had to cross Gringe’s palm with silver. Silas quickly found a silver penny in one of his pockets and handed it over.
Thank you, Gringe. Good night.
Gringe looked at the penny as though it were a rather nasty beetle.
Marcia Overstrand, she gave me an ’alf crown just now. But then she’s got class, what with ’er being the ExtraOrdinary Wizard now.
What?
Silas nearly choked.
Yeah. Class, that’s what she’s got.
Gringe stood back to let him pass, and Silas slipped by. As much as Silas wanted to find out why Marcia Overstrand was suddenly the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, he could feel the bundle beginning to stir in the warmth of his cloak, and something told him that it would be better if Gringe did not know about the baby.
As Silas disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel that led to The Ramblings, a tall figure in purple stepped out and barred his way.
Marcia!
gasped Silas. What on earth—
"Tell no one you found her. She was born to you. Understand?"
Shocked, Silas nodded. Before he had time to say anything, Marcia was gone in a shimmer of purple mist. Silas spent the rest of the long, winding journey through The Ramblings with his mind in turmoil. Who was this baby? What did Marcia have to do with her? And why was Marcia the ExtraOrdinary Wizard now? And as Silas neared the big red door that led to the Heap family’s already overcrowded room, another, more pressing question came into his mind: What was Sarah going to say to yet another baby to care for?
Silas did not have long to think about the last question. As he reached the door it flew open, and a large red-faced woman wearing the dark blue robes of a Matron Midwife ran out, almost knocking Silas over as she fled. She too was carrying a bundle, but the bundle was wrapped from head to toe in bandages, and she was carrying him under her arm as if he were a parcel and she was late for the post.
Dead!
cried the Matron Midwife. She pushed Silas aside with a powerful shove and ran down the corridor. Inside the room, Sarah Heap screamed.
Silas went in with a heavy heart. He saw Sarah surrounded by six white-faced little boys, all too scared to cry.
She’s taken him,
said Sarah hopelessly. Septimus is dead, and she’s taken him away.
At that moment a warm wetness spread out from the bundle that Silas still had hidden under his cloak. Silas had no words for what he wanted to say, so he just took the bundle out from under his cloak and placed her in Sarah’s arms.
Sarah Heap burst into tears.
2
SARAH AND SILAS
The bundle settled down into the Heap household and was called Jenna after Silas’s mother.
The youngest of the boys, Nicko, was only two when Jenna arrived, and he soon forgot about his brother Septimus. The older boys slowly forgot too. They loved their little baby sister and brought home all kinds of treasures for her from their Magyk classes at school.
Sarah and Silas of course could not forget Septimus. Silas blamed himself for leaving Sarah alone while he went out to fetch the baby’s herbs from the Physik Woman. Sarah just blamed herself for everything. Although she could hardly remember what had happened that terrible day, Sarah knew she had tried to breathe life back into her baby and had failed. And she remembered watching the Matron Midwife wrapping her little Septimus from head to toe in bandages and then running for the door, shouting over her shoulder, Dead!
Sarah remembered that all right.
But Sarah soon loved her little baby girl as much as she had loved her Septimus. For a while she was afraid that someone would come and take Jenna away too, but as the months passed and Jenna grew into a chubby, gurgling baby, Sarah relaxed and almost stopped worrying.
Until one day when her best friend, Sally Mullin, arrived breathless on the doorstep. Sally Mullin was one of those people who knew everything that was going on in the Castle. She was a small, busy woman with wispy ginger hair that was forever escaping from her somewhat grubby cook’s hat. She had a pleasant round face, a little chubby from finishing off too many cakes, and her clothes were generally covered in sprinkles of flour.
Sally ran a small cafe down on the pontoon beside the river. The sign over the door announced:
THE SALLY MULLIN TEA AND ALE HOUSE
CLEAN ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE
NO RIFFRAFF
There were no secrets in Sally Mullin’s cafe. Anything and anyone arriving at the Castle by water was noticed and commented on, and most people coming to the Castle did prefer to arrive by boat. No one apart from Silas liked the dark tracks through the Forest that surrounded the castle. The Forest still had a bad wolverine problem at night and was infested with carnivorous trees. Then there were the Wendron Witches, who were always short of cash and had been known to set traps for the unwary traveler and leave them with little more than their shirt and socks.
Sally Mullin’s cafe was a busy, steaming hut perched precariously over the water. All shapes and sizes of boats would moor up at the cafe pontoon, and all sorts of people and animals would tumble out of them. Most decided to recover from their trip by having at least one of Sally’s fierce beers and a slab of barley cake, and by telling the latest gossip. And anyone in the Castle with half an hour to spare and a rumbling tummy would soon find themselves on the well-trodden path down to the Port Gate, past the Riverside Amenity Rubbish Dump, and along the pontoon to Sally Mullin’s Tea and Ale House.
Sally made it her business to see Sarah every week and keep her up to date with everything. In Sally’s opinion Sarah was much put-upon with seven children to care for, not to mention Silas Heap, who did very little as far as she could see. Sally’s stories usually involved people Sarah had never heard of and would never meet, but Sarah looked forward to Sally’s visits all the same and enjoyed hearing about what was going on around her. However, this time what Sally had to tell her was different. This was more serious than everyday gossip, and this time it did involve Sarah. And, for the first time ever, Sarah knew something about it that Sally did not.
Sally swept in and closed the door conspiratorially behind her.
I’ve got some terrible news,
she whispered.
Sarah, who was trying to wipe breakfast from Jenna’s face, and everywhere else that the baby had sprayed it, and clean up after the new wolfhound puppy all at the same time, was not really listening.
Hello, Sally,
she said. There’s a clean space here. Come and sit down. Cup of tea?
Yes, please. Sarah, can you believe this?
What’s that, then, Sally?
asked Sarah, expecting to hear about the latest bad behavior in the cafe.
The Queen. The Queen is dead!
What?
gasped Sarah. She lifted Jenna out of her chair and took her over to the corner of the room where her baby basket was. Sarah lay Jenna down for a nap. She believed that babies should be kept well away from bad news.
"Dead," repeated Sally unhappily.
No!
gasped Sarah. I don’t believe it. She’s just not well after her baby’s birth. That’s why she has not been seen since then.
That’s what the Custodian Guards have been saying, isn’t it?
asked Sally.
Well, yes,
admitted Sarah, pouring out the tea. "But they are her bodyguards, so they must know. Though why the Queen has suddenly chosen to be guarded by such a bunch of thugs, I don’t understand."
Sally took the cup of tea that Sarah had placed in front of her.
"Ta. Mmm, lovely. Well, exactly… Sally lowered her voice and looked around as though expecting to find a Custodian Guard propped up in the corner, not that she necessarily would have noticed one amid all the mess in the Heaps’ room.
They are a bunch of thugs. In fact, they are the ones who killed her."
"Killed? She was killed?" exclaimed Sarah.
"Shhh. Well, see here… Sally pulled her chair closer to Sarah.
There’s a story going around—and I have it from the horse’s mouth…"
Which horse would that be, then?
asked Sarah with a wry smile.
Only Madam Marcia
—looking triumphant, Sally sat back and folded her arms—that’s who.
"What? How come you’ve been mixing with the ExtraOrdinary Wizard? Did she drop by for a cup of tea?"
Almost. Terry Tarsal did. He had been up at the Wizard Tower delivering some really weird shoes that he had made for Madam Marcia. So when he had stopped moaning about her taste in shoes and how much he hated snakes, he said that he had overheard Marcia talking to one of the other Wizards. Endor, that little fat one, I think. Well, they said the Queen had been shot! By the Custodian Guards. One of their Assassins.
Sarah could not believe what she was hearing.
"When?" she breathed.
"Well, this is the really awful thing, whispered Sally excitedly.
They said she was shot on the day her baby was born. Six whole months ago, and we knew nothing about it. It’s terrible…terrible. And they shot Mr. Alther too. Dead. That’s how come Marcia took over…"
"Alther’s dead? gasped Sarah.
I can’t believe it. I really can’t…We all thought he’d retired. Silas was his Apprentice years ago. He was lovely…"
Was he?
asked Sally vaguely, eager to get on with the story. "Well, that’s not all, see. Because Terry reckoned that Marcia had rescued the Princess and had taken her away somewhere. Endor and Marcia were just chatting, really, wondering how she was getting along. But of course when they realized Terry was there with the shoes, they stopped. Marcia was very rude to him, he said. He felt a bit strange afterward, and he reckoned she’d done a Forget Spell on him, but he’d nipped behind a pillar when he saw her muttering and it didn’t take properly. He’s really upset about that as he can’t remember whether she paid him for the shoes or not."
Sally Mullin paused to draw breath and have a large gulp of tea.
That poor little Princess. God help the little one. I wonder where she is now. Probably wasting away in some dungeon somewhere. Not like your little angel over there…How is she doing?
Oh, she’s just fine,
said Sarah, who usually would have talked at length about Jenna’s snuffles and new tooth and how she could sit up and hold her own cup now. But just at that moment Sarah wanted to turn the attention away from Jenna—because Sarah had spent the last six months wondering who her baby really was, and now she knew.
Jenna was, thought Sarah, surely she must be…the baby Princess.
For once Sarah was glad to wave good-bye to Sally Mullin. She watched her bustle off down the corridor, and, as Sarah closed the door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she rushed over to Jenna’s basket.
Sarah lifted Jenna up and held her in her arms. Jenna smiled at Sarah and reached out to grab her charm necklace.
Well, little Princess,
murmured Sarah, I always knew you were special, but I never dreamed you were our own Princess.
The baby’s dark violet eyes met Sarah’s gaze and she looked solemnly at Sarah as if to say, Well, now you know.
Sarah gently laid Jenna back in her baby basket. Her head was spinning and her hands shook as she poured herself another cup of tea. She found it hard to believe all that she had heard. The Queen was dead. And Alther too. Their Jenna was the heir to the Castle. The Princess. What was happening?
Sarah spent the rest of the afternoon torn between gazing at Jenna, Princess Jenna, and worrying about what would happen if anyone found out where she was. Where was Silas when she needed him?
Silas was enjoying a day’s fishing with the boys.
There was a small sandy beach in the bend of the river just along from The Ramblings. Silas was showing Nicko and Jo-Jo, the two youngest boys, how to tie their jam jars onto the end of a pole and dip them in the water. Jo-Jo had already caught three tiddlers, but Nicko kept dropping his and was getting upset.
Silas picked Nicko up and took him over to see Erik and Edd, the five-year-old twins. Erik was daydreaming happily and dangling his foot in the warm, clear water. Edd was poking at something under a stone with a stick. It was a huge water beetle. Nicko wailed and clung on tightly around Silas’s neck.
Sam, who was nearly seven, was a serious fisherman. He had been given a proper fishing rod for his last birthday, and there were two small silver fish laid out on a rock beside him. He was about to reel in another. Nicko squealed with excitement.
Take him away, Dad. He’ll frighten the fish,
Sam said crossly.
Silas tiptoed off with Nicko and went to sit beside his oldest son, Simon. Simon had a fishing rod in one hand and a book in the other. It was Simon’s ambition to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, and he was busy reading all of Silas’s old magic books. This one, Silas noticed, was called The Compleat Fish-Charmer.
Silas expected all his boys to be some kind of Wizard; it was in the family. Silas’s aunt was a renowned White Witch and both Silas’s father and uncle had been Shape-Shifters, which was a very specialized branch, and one that Silas hoped his boys would avoid, for successful Shape-Shifters became increasingly unstable as they grew older, sometimes unable to hold their own shape for more than a few minutes at a time. Silas’s father had eventually disappeared into the Forest as a tree, but no one knew which one. It was one of the reasons why Silas enjoyed his walks through the Forest. He would often address a remark to an untidy-looking tree in the hope that it might be his father.
Sarah Heap came from a Warlock and Wizard family. As a girl, Sarah had studied herbs and healing with Galen, the Physik Woman in the Forest, which was where she had met Silas one day. Silas had been out looking for his father. He was lost and unhappy, and Sarah took him back with her to see Galen. Galen had helped Silas to understand that his father, as a Shape-Shifter, would have chosen his final destination as a tree many years ago and would now be truly happy. And Silas too, for the first time in his life, realized he felt truly happy sitting next to Sarah by the Physik Woman’s fire.
When Sarah understood all she could about herbs and healing, she had said a fond good-bye to Galen and joined Silas in his room in The Ramblings. And there they had stayed ever since, squeezing in more and more children while Silas happily gave up his Apprenticeship and worked as a jobbing Ordinary Wizard to pay the bills. Sarah made herb tinctures at the kitchen table when she had a spare moment—which did not often happen.
That evening, as Silas and the boys made their way up the beach steps to go back to The Ramblings, a large and menacing Custodian Guard, dressed in black from head to toe, barred their way.
Halt!
he barked. Nicko started to cry.
Silas stopped and told the boys to behave.
Papers!
shouted the Guard. Where are your papers?
Silas stared at him. What papers?
he asked quietly, not wanting to cause trouble with six tired boys around him needing to go home for supper.
Your papers, Wizard scum. The beach area is forbidden to all without the required papers,
sneered the Guard.
Silas was shocked. If he had not been with the boys, he would have argued, but he had noticed the pistol that the guard was carrying.
I’m sorry,
he said. I didn’t know.
The Guard looked them all up and down as if deciding what to do, but luckily for Silas he had other people to go and terrorize.
Take your rabble out of here and don’t come back,
snapped the Guard. Stay where you belong.
Silas hurried the shocked boys away up the steps and into the safety of The Ramblings. Sam dropped his fish and started to sob.
There there,
said Silas, it’s all right.
But Silas felt that things were most certainly not all right. What was going on?
Why did he call us Wizard scum, Dad?
asked Simon. Wizards are the best, aren’t they?
Yes,
said Silas distractedly, the best.
But the trouble was, thought Silas, there was no hiding it if you were a Wizard. All Wizards, and only Wizards, had them. Silas had them, Sarah had them and all the boys except Nicko and Jo-Jo had them. And as soon as Nicko and Jo-Jo went to the Magyk class in school they would have them too. Slowly but surely, until there was no mistaking it, a Wizard child’s eyes would turn green when he or she was exposed to Magyk learning. It had always been something to be proud of. Until now, when suddenly it felt dangerous.
That evening, when at long last all the children were asleep, Silas and Sarah talked late into the night. They talked about their Princess and their Wizard boys and the changes that had overtaken the Castle. They discussed escaping to the Marram Marshes, or going into the Forest and living with Galen. By the time dawn broke and at last they fell asleep, Silas and Sarah had decided to do what the Heaps usually did. Muddle through and hope for the best.
And so, for the next nine and a half years, Silas and Sarah kept quiet. They locked and barred their door, they spoke to only their neighbors and those they could trust and, when the Magyk classes were stopped at school, they taught the children Magyk at home in the evenings.
And that is why, nine and a half years later, all the Heaps except one had piercing green eyes.
3
THE SUPREME CUSTODIAN
It was six in the morning and still dark, ten years to the day since Silas had found the bundle.
At the end of Corridor 223, behind the big black door with the number 16 stamped on it by the Numerical Patrol, the Heap household slept peacefully. Jenna lay curled up snugly in her small box bed that Silas had made for her from driftwood washed up along the riverbank. The bed was built neatly into a big cupboard leading off a large room, which was in fact the only room that the Heaps possessed.
Jenna loved her cupboard bed. Sarah had made some bright patchwork curtains that Jenna could draw around the bed to keep out both the cold and her noisy brothers. Best of all, she had a small window in the wall above her pillow that looked out onto the river. If Jenna couldn’t sleep, she would gaze out of her window for hours on end, watching the endless variety of boats that made their way to and from the Castle, and sometimes on clear dark nights she loved to count the stars until she fell fast asleep.
The large room was the place where all the Heaps lived, cooked, ate, argued and (occasionally) did their homework, and it was a mess. It was stuffed full of twenty years’ worth of clutter that had accumulated since Sarah and Silas had set up home together. There were fishing rods and reels, shoes and socks, rope and rat traps, bags and bedding, nets and knitting, clothes and cooking pots, and books, books, books and yet more books.
If you were foolish enough to cast your eye around the Heaps’ room hoping to find a space in which to sit, the chances were a book would have found it first. Everywhere you looked there were books. On sagging shelves, in boxes, hanging in bags from the ceiling, propping up the table and stacked up in such precariously high piles that they threatened to collapse at any moment. There were storybooks, herb books, cookery books, boat books, fishing books, but mainly there were the hundreds of Magyk books, which Silas had illegally rescued from the school when Magyk had been banned a few years back.
In the middle of the room was a large hearth from which a tall chimney snaked up into the roof; it held the remains of a fire, now grown cold, around which all six Heap boys and a large dog were asleep in a chaotic pile of quilts and blankets.
Sarah and Silas were also fast asleep. They had escaped to the small attic space that Silas had acquired a few years back by the simple means of knocking a hole up through the ceiling, after Sarah had declared that she could no longer stand living with six growing boys in just one room.
But, amid all the chaos in the big room, a small island of tidiness stood out; a long and rather wobbly table was covered with a clean white cloth. On it were placed nine plates and mugs, and at the head of the table was a small chair decorated with winter berries and leaves. On the table in front of the chair a small present, carefully wrapped in colorful paper and tied with a red ribbon, had been placed ready for Jenna to open on her tenth birthday.
All was quiet and still as the Heap household slept peacefully on through the last hours of darkness before the winter sun was due to rise.
However, on the other side of the Castle, in the Palace of the Custodians, sleep, peaceful or not, had been abandoned.
The Supreme Custodian had been called from his bed and had, with the help of the Night Servant, hurriedly put on his black, fur-trimmed tunic and heavy black and gold cloak, and he had instructed the Night Servant how to lace up his embroidered silk shoes. Then he himself had carefully placed a beautiful Crown upon his head. The Supreme Custodian was never seen without the Crown, which still had a dent in it from the day it had fallen from the Queen’s head and crashed to the stone floor. The Crown sat crookedly on his slightly pointed bald head, but the Night Servant, being new and terrified, did not dare to tell him.
The Supreme Custodian strode briskly down the corridor to the Throne Room. He was a small, ratlike man with pale, almost colorless eyes and a complicated goatee beard that he was in the habit of spending many happy hours tending. He was almost swamped by his voluminous cloak, which was heavily encrusted with military badges, and his appearance was made faintly ridiculous by his crooked, and slightly feminine, Crown. But had you seen him that morning you would not have laughed. You would have shrunk back into the shadows and hoped he would not notice you, for the Supreme Custodian carried with him a powerful air of menace.
The Night Servant helped the Supreme Custodian arrange himself on the ornate throne in the Throne Room. He was then waved impatiently away and scuttled off gratefully, his shift nearly over.
The chill morning air lay heavily in the Throne Room. The Supreme Custodian sat impassively on the throne, but his breath, which misted the cold air in small quick bursts, betrayed his excitement.
He did not have long to wait before a tall young woman wearing the severe black cloak and deep red tunic of an Assassin walked briskly in and bowed low, her long slashed sleeves sweeping across the stone floor.
The Queenling, my lord. She has been found,
the Assassin said in a low voice.
The Supreme Custodian sat up and stared at the Assassin with his pale eyes.
"Are you sure? I want no mistakes this time," he said menacingly.
Our spy, my lord, has suspected a child for a while. She considers her to be a stranger in her family. Yesterday our spy found out that the child is of the age.
What age exactly?
Ten years old today, my lord.
Really?
The Supreme Custodian sat back in the throne and considered what the Assassin had said.
I have a likeness of the child here, my lord. I understand she is much like her mother, the ex-Queen.
From inside her tunic the Assassin took a small piece of paper. On it was a skillful drawing of a young girl with dark violet eyes and long dark hair. The Supreme Custodian took the drawing. It was true. The girl did look remarkably like the dead Queen. He came to a swift decision and clicked his bony fingers loudly.
The Assassin inclined her head. My lord?
Tonight. Midnight. You are to pay a visit to—where is it?
Room 16, Corridor 223, my lord.
Family name?
Heap, my lord.
Ah. Take the silver pistol. How many in the family?
Nine, my lord, including the child.
"And nine bullets in case of trouble. Silver for the child. And bring her to me. I want proof."
The young woman looked pale. It was her first, and only, test. There were no second chances for an Assassin.
Yes, my lord.
She bowed briefly and withdrew, her hands shaking.
In a quiet corner of the Throne Room the ghost of Alther Mella eased himself up from the cold stone bench he had been sitting on. He sighed and stretched his old ghostly legs. Then he gathered his faded purple robes around him, took a deep breath and walked out through the thick stone wall of the Throne Room.
Outside he found himself hovering sixty feet above the ground in the cold dark morning air. Instead of walking off in a dignified manner as a ghost of his age and status really should, Alther stuck his arms out like the wings of a bird and swooped gracefully through the falling snow.
Flying was about the only thing that Alther liked about being a ghost. Flying, or the Lost Art of Flyte, was something that modern ExtraOrdinary Wizards could no longer do. Even Marcia, who was determined to fly, could do no more than a quick hover before crashing to the ground. Somewhere, somehow, the secret had been lost. But all ghosts could, of course, fly. And since he had become a ghost, Alther had lost his crippling fear of heights and had spent many exciting hours perfecting his acrobatic moves. But there wasn’t much else about being a ghost that he enjoyed, and sitting in the Throne Room where he had actually become one—and consequently where he had had to spend the first year and a day of his ghosthood—was one of his least favorite occupations. But it had to be done. Alther made it his business to know what the Custodians were planning and to try and keep Marcia up to date. With his help she had managed to stay one step ahead of the Custodians and keep Jenna safe. Until now.
Over the years, since the death of the Queen, the Supreme Custodian had become more and more desperate to track down the Princess. Every year he would make a long—and much dreaded—trip to the Badlands, where he would have to report his progress to a certain ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard turned Necromancer, DomDaniel. It was DomDaniel who had sent the first Assassin to kill the Queen, and it was DomDaniel who had installed the Supreme Custodian and his henchmen to scour the Castle and search for the Princess. For while the Princess remained in the Castle, DomDaniel dared not come near. And so, every year, the Supreme Custodian would promise DomDaniel that this year he would be successful. This year he would get rid of the Queenling and at last deliver the Castle up to its rightful Master, DomDaniel.
And this was why, as Alther left the Throne Room, the Supreme Custodian wore what his mother would have called a silly grin on his face. At last, he had done the job he was sent to do. Of course, he thought, his silly grin changing to a smug smile, it was only due to his superior intelligence and talent that he had discovered the girl. But it wasn’t—it was due to a bizarre stroke of luck.
When the Supreme Custodian took