Chapter 1

A hooded man walks across the ancient cobbled path of Wizard Way. It is night, close to the Dark of the moon, so that in the cloudless sky the stars shine clear and bright. The air is clean and crisp, permeated with the smells of castle life. Although the street is mostly empty, the few that do walk at this late hour are either drunken, returning home from a long night at the Taverns, or young lovers, giggling and holding hands, searching for a place to settle down for the night, or maybe find a tall rooftop somewhere and watch the stars.

Click Click Click. The man's boots sharply echo off the buildings. He strides along, unaware of the romancing young people walking about the street. He has a purpose, and nothing will get between him and his mission.

A sharp turn left and there, in all of its glory, is the Wizard tower. Colors swirl around it and glitter dances in the air, which feels alive even at this hour. But the hooded man does not marvel at the beauty of it, the majesty, the Magyk. No, he continues on the path, and opens the small gate that leads up to the tower.

Swish Swish Swish. His black cloak swaying in the gentle breeze is the only noise as he stands in front of the magnificent doors that guard the tower. Ancient symbols long forgotten adorn it in a seemingly chaotic style, but as you relax your mind and stop looking so closely, the symbols flow in an intricate pattern. A Magykal pattern.

Dark eyes look upon the door, and the hooded man mutters under his breath. For almost a minute he keeps this up, and at the end the colors around the tower have congealed, slowed, and now looked like drippy crystals suspended in the air. He places his hand on an object on his belt, and begins to chant. Dark blue energy surrounds him, infuses itself into his hair, his skin, his cloak. The peaceful night begins to grow cold, and a vengeful wind springs up. Dark clouds flood across the sky, and an almost audible sigh is heard throughout the castle, the lovers whose perfect night has just been spoiled deciding that the bitter wind and the ugly clouds were just not worth it. Glowing with power, the man steps up to the door but instead of bumping his face against it, he takes one more step and vanishes, through the door.

Inside the wizard tower things are peaceful. The snores of dozens of wizards echoes around the empty hall, and the usually bright and cheerful leftover Magyk floats in the air leisurely, looking for all the world like glowing liquid hovering over the hall. The sifting sand floor is still, the staircase unmoving, almost. Young Piscel Adamthrope, an Ordinary Wizard, is sitting in on the stairs, yawning and wondering when his door will decide Allow into his rooms again. He is contemplating seeking out an Ax to chop his stupid door down, as the stairs were very uncomfortable and he was quite sick of this happening every Thursday, when a WHOOOSH began to reverberate around the hall. Under Piscel's astonished eye, the hooded man emerged from the gold doors, glowing with blue power.

Gradually, the light died, and Piscel sat staring at a tall, hooded stranger who had just broken into the Wizard Tower. He broke into the wizard tower! The shock flitted across Piscel's face and he opened his mouth to yell. Yell what, he did not know. A warning, a scream, a question of how in the world did you simply walk into the most Magykal, un-broken into building in the entire castle. Piscel didn't get a chance to figure it out, for just as he filled his lungs with air, the man reaches into his pocket and withdraws a small glowing charm. It was a Stunflash, a Silent Stunflash in fact. The man flicks it towards him. PWOOF! A flash of white light explodes in Piscel's face and his brain completely shuts down.

Thump thump thump thump thump. Piscel bumps and rolls and falls down the stairs to come and rest at the bottom, at the feet of the hooded stranger. The man gingerly steps over him, annoyed at having to lose one of his precious Silent Stunflashes so early into the mission. He makes no effort to avoid trudging on Piscel's fingers.

He climbs up the stairs, silent and still. Whatever charm his boss had given him to shut down the Wizard Tower, it seemed to be working. Nothing moves, not the sand floor, not the staircase, not the doors. Completely dead, or in Enchanted Sleep, if you wanted to be professional. And he was professional; he climbs all twenty floors without stopping, without breathing hard.

The man reaches the top floor of the wizard tower, and stands before the large, sturdy door of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. As before, he puts his hand on his belt, mutters an incantation, and walks through the solid wood. He emerges in Marcia Overstrand's neat and tidy living room. A warm fire is glowing in the hearth, and scrolls and assorted Magyk books are scattered across multiple bookshelves and desks.

Now the tricky part. He thinks to himself. He mutters a quick SafeShield, just in case, and sets out across the room. For a while the man wanders around, half-dazzled at the space and the luxuries, half-procrastinating the inevitable. Stop it! He orders himself. Just find the room and get the job done. Simple.

He goes to a room at the end of the hallway and peeks in. Sprawled across her sheets is Marcia Overstrand, ExtraOrdinary wizard, dark curly hair wild around her face, imposing even in sleep. The man quickly closes the door. No, not the one he is looking for. The next room he tries is full of books, and so is the next one, and the next one, but on his fourth try he is lucky.

A neat, tidy room with a boy in the bed. The hooded man enters. Wild, curly sand-colored hair and a pale face, peaceful with sleep. Slowly, so as to avoid making any noise, the man takes a drawing from his belt and holds it up in comparison. Yes this was him, the seventh son of a seventh son. Extremely powerful, and wanted by many. Septimus Heap.

Septimus dreams on, unaware of the threat standing beside his bed. The hooded man, for the first time, pulls down his hood, and reveals a harsh, cold face with long dark hair. From his belt he produces a small, glimmering orb and holds it right above Septimus' face. He then squeezes it until it pops. A rain of sparks falls onto Septimus' face. With his next breath they flow into his nose. He breathes in deeper, and all of the sparks are absorbed into his body, which suddenly goes completely limp.

Perfect. The Paralyzation Powdere had , the hooded man pulls back the covers and lifts the boy up, surprised by how light he is. Careful not to hit Septimus' head on the doorway he walks out into the hallway. Ha-ha, stealing the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice right under the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's nose! Wait till the boss hears about this! Feeling cocky, he shifts Septimus' slight weight to his shoulder and walks to the door, preparing to do another Go Through spell. But his shift caused the small, glowing ring on the boy's right hand to come lose, and it falls to the floor with a thump as loud as if he had just shot off a gun.

THUUUNKKK! Thuuunkk! Thunk! The unnoticeable sound echoes around the apartment, as loud as a cannon blast. It reaches the coffee pot, which turns itself on in fright, thinking Marcia is coming for midnight coffee; it reaches the mirror, which bends and twists in shock, believing Marcia to be on her way to yell at it. And at the end of the hallway, splayed across her bed, Marcia's very acute Hearing perceives it, and she sits bolt upright, tingling with urgency, something was wrong.

The hooded man is frozen, looking down at the reason for the noise, which is sitting innocently on the warm wooden floor. Continue to sneak, or go all out? His mind rings with the question of a lifetime. In a moment, however, his question is answered for him.

"Septimus?" Whispers a voice in the hallway, and the hooded man's blood turns to ice. Well, all out it is. Marcia steps into the living room, still in her nightgown, and at first her eyes pass over the still-frozen man with her apprentice slung over his back. Then they focus, and shock fills her face.

"SEPTIMUS!" She screams, and then flings herself to the side to avoid the man's Silent Stunflash. White light floods the room, capturing the action perfectly. Darn, I missed! It blinds her for a second though, giving him time to Go Through the door. Once through, he races down the stairs.

Marcia picks herself up off the floor. Thoughts flooded through her mind as she runs to the door and pulls it open with all of her might.

Who was he?

He had Septimus!

How had he gotten in here?

He had Septimus!

Why aren't the stairs working? Why isn't anybody waking up with all this bloody noise? How to beat him to the bottom?

HE HAD SEPTIMUS!

But why?

Through all of her scrambled thoughts however, she managed to stay calm and under control. Mostly. As she jumps the stairs fifteen at a time she chants words of an old spellshe had learned years ago.

"Awake!" She screams as the purple aura of magic fizzes in the air. The spell swung around the wizard tower, and immediately roused the hundreds of Ordinary Wizards who were sleeping, quite peacefully, before. About half were immediately annoyed, and turned over in their beds so as to fall back asleep. But the other half knew something was wrong, and exited their apartments to see, to their astonishment and horror, a man dressed in a black cape and hood carrying the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice down the unmoving staircase, with the ExtraOrdinary Wizard in her nightgown following and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"STOP HIM! STOP HIM! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY! HE HAS MY SEPTIMUS!"

The hooded man cursed. He had not counted on the whole freaking tower being awake! Septimus bumped against his back, threatening to fall off as he rounded the next corner and nearly collided with a young Ordinary Wizard named Camilla Flanges, who screamed and jumped out of his way. Fifth floor. Fourth floor. Third Floor. Second floor. He leaned over the railing and jumped the remaining distance, landing softly. So close! Almost to the door! He reached for his belt and grasped the Go Through charm, about to start the incantation when the unthinkable happened.

He tripped.

Throughout all of this action Piscel Adamthrope had lain unconscious at the bottom of the stairs, and Marcia's Awake had no effect on his Stunflash- affected brain. He was out cold for the next half-hour. But his positioning was perfect, right in the path of the speeding man.

"Aargh!" the hooded man lands flat on his stomach, the air knocked out of him. Septimus goes flying and thuds to the ground a few feet from him, still as floppy and lifeless as a dead fish. Wheezing, the man struggles to stand up, but he is to slow, and the very irritated and angry ExtraOrdinary Wizard is on him in an instant. Within moments he is Frozen, glaring in Marcia's direction.

"Deal with him, will you?" She says to the two closest wizards, and they begin to chant containing spells around the hooded man.

"Septimus!" She hurries to her apprentice's side. His face is pale, and she hurriedly checks to make sure he isn't hurt. Despite a few bruises from being tossed and thrown, he was fine. So, why won't he wake up? Putting her face next to his, Marcia breathes in deep, and suddenly starts to feel lightheaded. Oh that miserable excuse for a …

"Rose!" Marcia shouts, spotting the young Wizard in the throng of bystanders witnessing the most interesting thing to happen in the Tower in months. Rose hurries over to Marcia's side.

"Marcia! What in the world is going- oh no! Sep! Is he okay? What's wrong with him?"

"He'll be fine Rose, I just need some water for him for when….."

But Rose was already gone.

Marcia leans over Septimus, wishing for a less public place to do this.

She mutters a very long and complicated spell, and then breathes out deeply. The she cups her palm to his cheek, lifts it, and slaps him across the face with a loud SMACK!

With a loud gasp Septimus jerks to life, eyes wild. You see, for him he had gone to bed, fallen asleep, and was suddenly now lying in the middle of the great floor of the Wizard tower, with absolutely no idea how he had gotten there.

And his cheek hurt.

"Whaaa?" He gasps as he looks from Marcia to the large crowd of wizards gathered around him. Marcia looks at him with relief, and, is that guilt? Why did she-

He begins to cough violently, leaning to the side and hacking for several minutes before he can speak again. When he looks down, his hands (and the floor) are both covered in a fine, sparkly powder.

Septimus looks up at Marcia, and then focuses on the frozen body of the hooded man. His eyes grow wide, and he looks at Marcia again.

"What…"He begins, but Marcia quickly cuts him off. "In a minute Septimus, let's just get you back up to you room, and I'll explain everything there."

Septimus nods, confused and dizzy, but he doesn't notice the lie in Marcia's eyes. Explain, explain WHAT? A mysterious stranger who can walk through walls just turned off the Wizard Tower, walked into her apartment (HER apartment!), and kidnapped Septimus using Paralyzation Powdere (Darke concoction that was banned from the castle since the Great Alchemy Disaster for goodness sakes!) for absolutely unknown reasons!

"Okay." He says, and shakily gets to his feet. Rose returns and, overjoyed at seeing her friend up and walking, accidently spills the water on him as she hugs him. Septimus laughs, and Marcia wishes she could enjoy it, but all the way up the stairs and into the apartment she can only think one thing.

What in the world is going on?