Suppose he was a five-hundred-year-old man? Wouldn't he just be a skeleton with bits of skin hanging off?
Why hadn't he thought of this before?
It was then that a large storm cloud covered the moon and Septimus was plunged into darkness. He stopped dead, his heartbeat pounding in his head, and pressed himself against the wall. As his eyes got used to the dark he found he could still see the tops of the Forest trees, but he could not, for some reason, see his feet, however hard he stared. And then he realized why. The mist had risen and was covering his boots; he could smell its dampness. The Dragon Ring on the index finger of his right hand was shining with its comforting soft yellow light, but he took the ring off and put it in his pocket, for suddenly the glow of the Dragon Ring felt like a large label saying, “Come and get me.”
It was probably only about half an hour later—although by now Septimus was sure it was at least three nights strung together by a Reverse Enchantment—when he heard footsteps behind him. Heart in his mouth, Septimus stopped, but he did not dare turn around for fear of falling into the Moat. The footsteps continued toward him and Septimus set off again, stumbling along the Path, peering into the night, desperate for the sight of Snake Slipway, but storm clouds kept piling in and the moon stayed hidden.
The footsteps were light and sounded agile, and Septimus knew they were gaining on him, for every two steps he managed to take, the Thing—and he was sure it was a Thing—took three. Desperately, Septimus tried to pick up speed, but still the footsteps kept coming.
Suddenly Septimus heard a noise behind him. “Ssss ... sssss...” The Thing was hissing at him. Hissing. It must be a SnakeHead Spectre ... or even a Magog.
Magogs sometimes hissed, didn't they? Maybe one of DomDaniel's Magogs had got left behind, maybe it lived in the Castle walls and then it came out at night when some idiot decided to go for a stupid walk along the Outside Path.
“Sssss!” A loud hiss sounded in his ear. Septimus jumped in fright. His right foot slipped from the narrow, crumbling Path and he slid off, hands clutching frantically at the stones as he went. His right boot was already in the Moat and Septimus was about to follow it when something grabbed his cloak.
7
Snake Slipway
Look, just keep still, will you?" said an exasperated voice. "You'll have us both in the Moat if you're not careful."
“Wh-what?” gasped Septimus, wondering why the Thing was pretending to be a girl. Things usually had very low, threatening voices that made your blood feel cold, not girls' voices.
This one must have got it wrong somehow.
Maybe it was a young Thing, thought Septimus, with a glimmer of hope. A young Thing might be persuaded to let him go.
Septimus decided he had to face whatever it was that had hold of him so tightly. He struggled to turn around, and as he did, he was hauled back up onto the Outside Path.
"Stupid boy. Lucky I didn't drop you. Would have served you right," said Lucy Gringe, breathless from heaving Septimus up.
Septimus suddenly felt weak and trembly with relief. “Lucy!” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Apprentice boy,” said Lucy.
“Um, well, I just felt like going for a walk,” Septimus replied lamely.
“Weird walk,” muttered Lucy. “Could think of better places to go. Well, get a move on, get on with your walk—or are you stopping here for the night? I hope not because you're blocking my way and I've got things to do.”
With no alternative, Septimus carried on with his slow shuffle along the Outside Path. Lucy's impatient breath sounded behind him. “Can't you speed up a bit? We'll take all night at this rate.”
“I'm going as fast as I can. Anyway, what are you in such a hurry for? And where are you going? Aargh!” Septimus's foot slipped but Lucy grabbed him and set him going again like a clockwork toy.
“None of your business. None of anyone's business,” Lucy replied. “The Path gets wider now, so you can go a bit faster, can't you?”
To Septimus's relief, his boots found a firmer hold as the Outside Path did indeed widen. “You've done this before, haven't you?” he asked.
“Might have,” said Lucy. “Can't you go any faster?”
“No, I can't. So why are you on the Outside Path ... it's because you don't want Gringe—I mean, your father—to know where you're going, isn't it?” asked Septimus, a suspicion forming.
“It's none of his business what I do or where I go,” said Lucy huffily. “Oh, just hurry up, will you?”
“Why?” asked Septimus, deliberately slowing down. “ Why don't you want Gringe to know where you're going?”
“Gosh, you're irritating. I can see why Simon says you're an awful little— ” Lucy halted in mid-sentence, but too late.
Septimus stopped dead and Lucy walked into him with a bump. “You're going to see Simon, aren't you?” he said.