Hotep-Ra bowed to Aunt Zelda. “Madam Keeper,” he said, waving away Aunt Zelda’s protests that she was no longer Keeper. “Excuse me for a few minutes while I assist these young travelers in their return to the Castle. I trust that you and I will then have a more pleasant journey in the Dragon Boat.”

Septimus, Nicko and Jenna frowned at one another. This didn’t sound good. Aunt Zelda looked concerned. “But how are they getting to the Castle?” she asked.

“I will explain when I return. I will not be long.”

Aunt Zelda gave Jenna, Septimus and Nicko a worried wave as they followed Hotep-Ra and his Sprites down the embarking ladder and away into the darkness. The light from the Sprites and the splash of their footsteps soon faded and Aunt Zelda was left alone in the gloom. She eased herself up from beside the tiller and felt her way along to the prow. The dragon lowered her head to greet her and Aunt Zelda sat, stroking the dragon’s velvety nose, whispering calming sounds—as much for her benefit as the Dragon Boat’s.

Out of sight of Aunt Zelda, the Guiding Sprites led the way, dancing through the mist. Hotep-Ra and his crew followed them, stumbling through puddles and over the uneven ground. The floor of the abyss was not a pleasant place to be. The mist swirled around, cold and clammy, and when Septimus turned to look back at the Dragon Boat he could no longer see her; a pall of gloom hung between them. They struggled on, following the Sprites, and soon the dark rock face reared up in front of them and Septimus saw that Hotep-Ra was heading for a small, rusty iron door set deep in the rock.

Suddenly Septimus felt a cold grip fasten around his neck and the livid face of the Toll Man whom he had once pushed into the abyss materialized in front of him, its eyes glittering with hate. A malevolent voice hissed in his ear. “See, now I have my revenge.”

“BeGone, fiend!” Hotep-Ra’s staff came down between the Toll Man and Septimus and the wraith disappeared.

“Thank you,” Septimus muttered with relief.

Hotep-Ra smiled. “I too have enemies in the abyss,” he said. “And in the abyss is where they stay. Aha, here we are!” He tapped his staff on the iron door, it swung open and the Sprites flew inside like an excited swarm of bees.

Septimus followed Jenna, Nicko and Hotep-Ra into an ice-cold chamber hollowed from the rock. The Sprites led them across to another door, which Hotep-Ra opened to reveal something that they had all seen before.

Cradled between two metal lattice platforms lay a purple-colored tube with rounded ends, about fifteen feet long. There were four hatches ranged in a line along the roof, the front one being the larger. Along the side of the tube was a line of tiny green glass windows and below it were runners that rested on two parallel metal rails, which sloped steeply down into the dark mouth of a tunnel.

“It’s the Red Tube!” gasped Septimus.

“Only purple,” said Jenna.

Hotep-Ra looked very surprised. “It is indeed a Tube. But I did not expect you to recognize it.”

“Once I helped to get one just like that back to CattRokk Light,” said Septimus, smiling at the memory. He had loved piloting the Tube under the sea, seeing the fish swimming by and the feeling of being in another world.

“So you understand how it works?”

“Sort of. I wasn’t in it for long.”

Hotep-Ra smiled. “Even so, this is good news. You will be off to the Castle in no time.”

“In that?”

“Of course.”

“But how? There is no water here.”

“But there is ice. Ice or water, it is all the same to a Tube.”

Nicko shivered. He’d refused a ride in the Tube before, and the thought of having to go into its coffinlike space now was terrifying.

Hotep-Ra pushed the end of his staff onto a rubbery black button in front of the oval hatch. With a faint whirr, the hatch flipped open, a dull purple light switched on inside the Tube and a smell of old leather and iron wafted out. Nicko felt sick.

Septimus peered down. Inside he saw the high-backed bench seat for the pilot, a simple set of dials and the thick green windshield that wrapped around the front of the Tube. It was even more cramped inside than he remembered. He knew Nicko would hate it.

“Okay, Nik?” he said.

Nicko did not answer.

Jenna decided it was time to be a bit Princessy. She turned to Hotep-Ra and said, “Hotep-Ra, Septimus and I will go in the Tube, but I would like Nicko to help with the Dragon Boat. It’s a long way to the Castle and some of your journey will be through the night.”

To Jenna’s surprise it wasn’t only Nicko who looked relieved. Hotep-Ra did too. Jenna guessed that the frail old Wizard had not been looking forward to the long flight on the Dragon Boat with only Aunt Zelda as crew.