"Just shut up, Beetle. Okay?" Septimus snapped. He couldn't bear to think of the Syren going back to Syrah.
"Yeah, okay, Sep. It's been a tough day, I can see that."
Septimus knew that what Beetle said made sense, but he could not get rid of a growing sense of threat. The fact remained that he had failed to do what Syrah had asked of him. The Ice Tunnel was still UnSealed, and something told him that Syrah's talk of the threat to the Castle meant more than just an UnSealed Ice Tunnel hatch. But he didn't see how he could make Jenna and Beetle understand. So all he said was, "I don't care. We are not going over the rocks - it is too exposed. We go into the dunes single file under battle silence - "
"Battle silence?" Beetle sounded incredulous.
"Shh! This is serious - as serious as any Do-or-Die exercise in the Forest. Okay?"
"No, but I don't suppose it matters. It looks like you've pretty much decided to be Chief Cadet," Beetle observed.
"Someone has to be," Septimus replied. He had never admitted it to himself while he was in the Young Army, but he had always harbored a sneaking ambition to make it to Chief Cadet. "You go first, men," he said, getting into role.
"Men?" Jenna objected.
"You can be a man too, Jen."
"Oh, great. Thank you so much, Sep." Jenna made a face at Beetle, who grimaced in return.
"But - " Beetle began.
"Shh."
"No, you listen to me, Sep," said Beetle. "This is important. If you're so convinced that the Possession Wraith is going to come out and find you, I think you've forgotten something. All it has to do is follow our footprints and then later, when we are all asleep in our hideout..."
Jenna shuddered. "Beetle - don't."
"Sorry." Beetle looked abashed.
"There aren't any footprints to follow," said Septimus. "That's why I'm going last. To scruffle them."
"To what?" asked Beetle and Jenna.
"Technical term."
"Scruffle - a technical term?" said Beetle, half laughing. But Septimus was deadly serious. "It's a Young Army thing."
"Thought it might be," muttered Beetle.
"It's the way you move your feet in the sand. Look, like this - " Septimus demonstrated his crablike shuffle. "See, you scruffle them. If you do it properly, it makes it impossible for anyone to pick out your footsteps, but only in soft sand. It doesn't work in firmer sand, obviously."
"Obviously."
Jenna and Beetle set off into the dunes with Septimus behind them. He directed them to a path that was deep and narrow, like a miniature canyon. It was fringed at the top with the coarse grass of the dunes, which arched protectively above their heads and formed a secluded tunnel. Sheltered from the brightness of the Light, Septimus's Dragon Ring began to glow, and he pulled his purple-banded sleeves down to hide it. Septimus was pleased with his choice. The path took them parallel to their beach, and led to a spot just before the hideout. By the time they emerged, the sky was sprinkled with stars and the high tide was on the turn. They headed straight for Spit Fyre. The dragon was sleeping a healthy, gently snoring, dragon sleep. Jenna patted his soft, warm nose and Beetle commented favorably on the bucket. Then, a little fearfully, everyone went to look at his tail. At once they knew it was all right; the tail no longer stuck straight out like a felled tree but now curved gently in its usual way - and it smelled fine. A faint scent of peppermint still hung in the air, which reminded Septimus of Syrah. A feeling of sadness swept over him at the thought of her.
"I'll just sit with Spit Fyre a while," he said to Jenna and Beetle. "Okay?"
Beetle nodded. "We'll go and fix some WizDri," he said. "You come down when you're ready."
Septimus sat down wearily against Spit Fyre's neck, which was still warm from the sun. He reached into his pocket and took out the little water-stained book that Syrah had given him and he began to read. It didn't make him feel any better. While Beetle tended an improbable combination of WizDri in a pan on the FlickFyre stove, Jenna sat and watched the tide creep slowly out. Her thoughts drifted to Nicko. She wondered if the Cerys had set sail. She imagined Nicko at the massive mahogany wheel, in charge of the beautiful ship, and a little twinge of regret crept into her mind. She would like to be standing on deck with Nicko, spending time with him as her big brother once more, just like it used to be, and then going below to sleep in her beautiful, comfortable, sand-free cabin. Jenna remembered the tiny gold crown that Milo had painted on her cabin door and smiled. The crown had embarrassed her at the time, but now she saw that Milo had done it because he was proud of her. Jenna sighed. She felt badly about the way she had behaved...maybe she shouldn't have left like she did. Beetle heard the sigh. "Missing Nicko?" he asked.
Jenna was surprised that Beetle had guessed her thoughts.
Septimus appeared. "Quiet, Beetle," he said. "This is a silent camp."
Beetle looked up. "A what?" he said.
"Silent camp. No noise. No talking. Hand signals only. Got that?"