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Like all jinn, Jim Knee could hardly bear the physical touch of a human. There was something about the rush of blood beneath the skin, the swiveling of the bones, the tug of the tendons, the constant ker-chump of the heartbeat that set him on edge - it was all so busy. And the feel of their skin touching his was disgusting. One human grabbing hold of him would have been bad enough, but two was 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 Septimus, who was rapidly wising up to jinnee behavior.
"Now," Jim Knee wailed. "Now! I will do it now, now, now, Oh Wise and Wonderful One - if only you will let me go."
"Put him on the boat first, and then let go of him," Septimus told Beetle and Wolf Boy.
Jim Knee retreated to the stern. Like a wet dog, he shook himself to get rid of the feel of human touch.
"'Scuse me," said Jakey Fry, pushing past. "I need to get ter me tiller." At the touch of Jakey's elbow, Jim Knee leaped out of the way as though he had been stung. 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 stream of warriors still leaving the ship and, much farther away, pouring up the hill - looking exactly, as Nicko had observed, like ants. Septimus could hardly contain his impatience. The clud-clump of the warriors' marching feet still echoed in his head, and he knew that, with every moment, the jinn drew nearer to the Castle. He thought 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. Septimus wondered how fast the jinn were traveling - how much time was left before Tertius Fume would be marching into the Castle at the head of his terrifying army?
The answer was 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 them on ahead. He was heading for the Wizard Tower, which the ghost knew had open access to the tunnels - the Tower itself being considered a Seal. The jinn were traveling fast, faster than any human could run, and at that very moment they were pounding 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.
Half an hour later, the Marauder drew up alongside the Cerys. Warily Jakey watched a group of ax-handed jinn climbing down the side of the ship.
"How near d'yer want me ter go?" he asked. "Don't want one a them landin' on me boat."
"As near as you can - and as fast as you can," said Septimus. Jim Knee yawned. "No rush," he said. "I can't Freeze them until the last one is Awake."
"What?" gasped Septimus.
Sarah, Silas and Maxie walked past the Manuscriptorium.
"As I am sure you know, Oh All-Comprehending One, it is not possible to Freeze an Entity when it is not fully Awake. And, as I am sure you also understand, Oh Astute One, these jinn are but one Entity."
There was a sudden shout from Beetle. "Last one! There's the last one, Sep. Look!"
It was true. An ax-carrying warrior was mechanically descending, the clang of metal on metal marking every step - and above him was an empty ladder.
"Freeze them," said Septimus. "Now!"
Jim Knee shook Septimus off and bowed. "Your wish is my command, Oh Excitable One."
The last of the jinn stepped off the ladder and dropped into the sea. Dismayed, Septimus watched the warrior sink to the seabed.
"I'll wait until it comes out," said Jim Knee.
"You will not," Septimus told him. "You will go and Freeze one of those on the beach instead."
"I am sorry to inform you, Oh Misguided One, that a Freeze will only run in one direction. Therefore, if you wish to Freeze all the jinn - something that I would strongly advise, as a semi-Frozen Entity is a dangerous thing - you should Freeze either the very last or the very first one. I would suggest the last one as the safest option."
"Is he right, Beetle?" asked Septimus.
Beetle looked baffled. "I dunno, Sep. I guess he must know."
"Okay, Jim Knee. I command you to Freeze the last one now. Transform to a turtle."
Jim Knee remained surprisingly cool at the mention of the dreaded turtle. "As the Wise One undoubtedly knows, I must hold the Entity I wish to Freeze in both hands, in order to pass the Freeze between them. This is not possible with flippers," he said, pronouncing "flippers" with a tone of disgust.
Septimus was floored. What could Jim Knee Transform to? Surely everything under the water had flippers or fins? He watched the silver points of light glancing off the winged helmet of the last jinn, which was moving slowly - so slowly, like running in a nightmare - twenty feet below the sea. The tide was rising, and the Cerys was now much farther from the shore. How long would it take for the last of the jinn to emerge. And who knew how near they were to the Castle?
At the end of Wizard Way, Sarah, Silas and Maxie reached the Great Arch.
"A crab!" yelled Lucy. "He can be a crab!"
Jim Knee gave Lucy a withering stare - a crab was little better than a turtle. Septimus looked at Lucy in admiration. "Jim Knee," he said, "I wish you to Transform into a crab!"
"Any particular type of crab?" asked Jim Knee, putting off the evil moment.
"No. Just do it now."
"Very well, Oh Exigent One. Your wish is my command." There was a flash of yellow light, a dull pop, and Jim Knee disappeared.
"Where's he gone?" asked Septimus, trying not to panic. "Where's the crab?"
"Aah!" screamed Lucy. "It's here. On the floor. Go away, go away!"
A tiny yellow ghost crab was heading for Lucy's boots.
"Don't kick it, Lucy. Don't kick it! " yelled Septimus. Wolf Boy dived to the deck, grabbed the crab between finger and thumb and held it in the air, legs waving. "Got it!" he said.
"Chuck it in the sea," said Septimus. "Quick!"
Sarah, Silas and Maxie walked into the Wizard Tower courtyard. Silence fell on the Marauder. Hardly daring to breathe, they watched the warrior jinn still emerging onto the beach, waiting for the moment when the relentless march would cease. They watched, they waited, and still the jinn moved forward.
"What is he doing?" muttered Septimus.
A small yellow gull broke the surface and flew to the Marauder. It perched on the side, shook the seawater from its feathers and went pop. Jim Knee, looking somewhat harassed, sat in its place. "I am sorry," he said. "It didn't work."
Sarah, Silas and Maxie went up the marble steps to the silver doors of the Wizard Tower.
"No!" a collective cry rose from the Marauder.
Septimus was horrified. He had staked everything on his theory that jinn from gold were more powerful than jinn from lead - and it was wrong. "Why?" he asked desperately. "Why not?"
Silas said the Password, and the great doors to the Wizard Tower swung open.
"They were Awoken with Darkenesse," said Jim Knee. "They must be Frozen with Darkenesse. And, whatever you may think of me, Oh Displeased One, I do not have any Darkenesse in me."
"None?"
Jim Knee looked offended. "I am not that kind of jinnee."
Wolf Boy reached into the leather pouch that hung at his waist and drew out the decomposing Grim tentacle. Everyone reeled. "Is that Darke enough for you?" he asked.
"I am not even touching that. It is revolting," said Jim Knee. "And, before you command me to take it, Oh Desperate One, I warn you - take care. To command Darkenesse upon a jinnee is a dangerous thing."
"He's right, Sep," said Beetle. "If you command it, you too become part of the Darkenesse, and you will never get rid of it. Implicated, it's called. He's not such a bad jinnee after all. Some of them would jump at the chance to Implicate their Master."
Sarah, Silas and Maxie were in the Great Hall of the Wizard Tower, waiting for Marcia.
