The Alchemyst

CHAPTER NINE

T he three Golems moved stiffly into the corridor, spotted the open door at

the far end of the hallway and moved toward it. The finger-length metal darts

hissed from the walls and stuck deeply into their hardened mud skin, but

didn't even slow the creatures down.

The half-moon blades close to the floor were a different matter altogether.

The blades clicked out of their concealed sheaths in the walls and sliced

into the ankles of the clay men. The first creature crashed to the floor,

hitting it with the sound of wet mud. The second tottered on one foot before

it slowly toppled forward, hit the wall and slid down, leaving a muddy smear

in its wake. The semicircular blades click-clacked again, slicing the

creatures completely in two, and then the Golems abruptly reverted to their

muddy origin. Thick globules of mud spattered everywhere.

The third Golem, the largest of the creatures, stopped. Its black stone eyes

moved dully over the remains of its two companions, and then it turned and

punched a huge fist directly into the wall, first to the right, then to the

left. A whole section of the wall on the left-hand side gave way, revealing

the space beyond. The Golem stepped into the dojo and looked around, black

eyes still and unmoving.

The rats meanwhile raced toward the open door at the end of the corridor.

Most of them survived the scything blades .

In the speeding limousine, Dr. John Dee released his control of the rats, and

now concentrated his attention on the surviving Golem. Controlling the

artificial creature was much easier. Golems were mindless beings, created of

mud mixed with stones or gravel to give their flesh consistency, and brought

to life by a simple spell written on a square of parchment and pressed into

their mouths. Sorcerers had been building Golems of all shapes and sizes for

thousands of years: they were the source of every zombie and walking-dead

story ever created. Dee himself had told the story of the greatest of all the

Golems, the Red Golem of Prague, to Mary Shelley one cold winter s evening

when she, Lord Byron, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and the mysterious Dr.

Polidori were visiting his castle in Switzerland in 1816. Less than six

months later, Mary created the story of The Modern Prometheus, the book that

became more commonly known as Frankenstein. The monster in her book was just

like a Golem: created of spare parts and brought to life by magical science.

Golems were impervious to most weapons, though a sudden fall or blow could

shatter their mud skin, especially if it was dry and hardening. In a damp

climate, their skins rarely dried out and could absorb incredible punishment,

but this warm climate made them brittle which was why they had fallen so

easily to the concealed blades. Some sorcerers used glass or mirrors for

their eyes, but Dee preferred highly polished black stones. They enabled him

to see with almost razor-sharp clarity, albeit in monochrome.

Dee caused the Golem to tilt his head upward. Directly above him, on a narrow

balcony overlooking the dojo, were the pale and terrified faces of the teens.

Dee smiled and the Golem s lips mimicked the movement. He d deal with Flamel

first; then he d take care of the witnesses.

Suddenly, Nicholas Flamel's head appeared, followed, a moment later, by the

distinctive spiky hair of the Warrior Maid, Scathach.

Dee s smile faded and he could feel his heart sink. Why did it have to be

Scathach? He d had no idea that the red-haired warrior was in this city, or

even on this continent, for that matter. Last he d heard of her, she was

singing in an all-girl band in Berlin.

Through the Golem s eyes, Dee watched both Flamel and Scathach leap over the

railing and float down to stand directly in front of the mud man. Scathach

spoke directly to Dee but this particular Golem had no ears and couldn t

hear, so he had no idea what she had just said. A threat probably, a promise

certainly.

Flamel drifted away, moving toward the door, which was now dark and heaving

with rats, leaving Scatty to face him and the Golem alone.

Maybe she wasn't as good as she d once been, he thought desperately, maybe

time had dulled her powers.

We should help, Josh said.

And do what? Sophie asked, without a trace of sarcasm. They were both

standing on the balcony, looking down into the dojo. They had watched

openmouthed as Flamel and Scatty leaped over the edge and drifted far too

slowly to the ground. The red-haired girl faced the huge Golem, while Flamel

hurried to the door where the rats were gathering. The vermin seemed

reluctant to enter the room.

Without warning, the Golem swung a huge fist, then followed it up with a

massive kick.

Josh opened his mouth to shout a warning, but he didn't get a chance to say

anything before Scatty moved. One moment she was standing directly in front

of the creature, then she was throwing herself forward, moving under the

blows, closing right in on it. Her hand moved, blurringly fast, and she

delivered a flat open-handed blow to the point of the Golem s jaw. There was

a liquid squelch, and then its jaw unhinged and its mouth gaped open. In the

blackness of its maw, the twins could clearly see a yellow rectangle of

paper.

The creature struck out wildly and Scatty danced back out of range. It lashed

out a kick, which missed and struck the polished floorboards, shattering them

to splinters.

we've got to help! Sophie said.

How? Josh shouted, but his twin had run into the kitchen, desperately

looking for a weapon. She emerged a moment later carrying a small microwave

oven. Sophie, Josh murmured, what are you going to do with ?

Sophie heaved the microwave over the edge of the railing. It struck the Golem

full in the chest and stuck, globules of mud spattering everywhere. The Golem

stopped, confused and disorientated. Scatty took advantage of its

disorientation and moved in again, feet and hands striking blows from all

angles, further confusing the creature. Another blow from the Golem came

close enough to ruffle Scatty s spiky red hair, but she caught its arm and

used it as leverage to spin the creature to the floor. Floorboards cracked

and snapped as it hit them. Then her hand shot out and almost delicately

plucked the paper square from the Golem s mouth.

Instantly, the Golem returned to its muddy origins, splashing foul, stinking

water and dirt across the once-pristine dojo floor. The microwave rattled to

the ground.

I guess no one s cooking anything in that, Josh murmured.

Scatty waved the square of paper at the twins. Every magical creature is

kept animated by a spell that is either in or on its body. All you have to do

is remove it to break the spell. Remember that.

Josh glanced quickly at his sister. He knew she was thinking the same thing

he was: if they ever came up against a Golem again, there was no way they

were getting close enough to stick their hands in its mouth.

Nicholas Flamel approached the rats warily. Underestimating them would be

deadly indeed, but while he had no difficulty fighting and destroying magical

creatures, which were never properly alive in the first place, he was

reluctant to destroy living creatures. Even if they were rats. Perry would

have no such compunction, he knew, but he had been an alchemyst for far too

long: he was dedicated to preserving life, not destroying it. The rats were

under Dee s control. The poor creatures were probably terrified though that

would not stop them from eating him.

Flamel crouched on the floor, turned his right hand palm up and curled the

fingers inward. He blew gently into his hand, and a tiny ball of green mist

immediately formed. Then he suddenly turned his hand and plunged it straight

into the polished floorboards, his fingers actually penetrating the wood. The

tiny ball of green energy splashed across the room like a stain. Then the

Alchemyst closed his eyes and his aura flared around his body. Concentrating,

he directed his auric energy to flow through his fingers into the floor.

The wood started to glow.

Still watching from the landing, the twins were unsure what Flamel was doing.

They could see the faint green glow around his body, rising off his flesh

like mist, but they couldn t work out why the furry mass of rats gathered in

the doorway had not burst into the room.

Maybe there s some sort of spell keeping them from coming in, Sophie said,

knowing instinctively that her twin was thinking the same thing.

Scatty heard her. She was systematically shredding the yellow square of paper

she d taken from the Golem s mouth to tiny pieces. It s just a simple

warding spell, she called up, designed to keep bugs and vermin off the

floor. I used to come in here every morning and find bug droppings and moths

all over the place; it took ages to sweep it clean. The warding spell is

keeping the rats at bay but all it takes is one to break through and the

spell will be broken. Then they ll all come.

Nicholas Flamel was fully aware that John Dee could probably see him though

the eyes of the rats. He picked out the largest, a cat-sized creature that

remained unmoving while the rest of the vermin scuttled and heaved about it.

With his right hand still buried in the floorboard, Flamel pointed his left

hand directly at the rat. The creature twitched and, for a single instant,

its eyes blazed with sickly yellow light.

Dr. John Dee, you have made the biggest mistake of your long life. I will be

coming for you, Flamel promised aloud.

Dee glanced up from his scrying bowl to see that Perenelle Flamel was wide

awake and watching him intently. Ah, Madame, you are just in time to see my

creatures overpower your husband. Plus, I'll finally have an opportunity to

deal with that pest Scathach, and I'll have the pages of the book. Dee

didn't notice that Perenelle s eyes had widened at the mention of Scathach s

name. All in all, a good day s work, I think. He focused his full attention

on the biggest rat and issued two simple commands: Attack. Kill.

Dee closed his eyes as the rat uncoiled and launched itself into the room.

The green light flowed out from Flamel's fingers and ran along the

floorboards, outlining the planks in green light. Abruptly, the wooden floor

sprouted twigs, branches, leaves and then a tree trunk then another and a

third. Within a dozen heartbeats a thicket of trees sprouted out of the floor

and were visibly climbing toward the ceiling. Some of the trunks were no

thicker than a finger, others were wrist thick and one, close to the door,

was so wide it almost filled the opening.

The rats turned and scattered, squealing as they raced down the corridor,

desperately attempting to leap over the click-clacking blades.

Flamel'scrambled back and climbed to his feet, brushing off his hands. One

of the oldest secrets of alchemy, he announced to the wide-eyed twins and

Scatty, is that every living thing, from the most complex creatures right

down to the simplest leaf, carries the seeds of its creation within itself.

DNA, Josh murmured, staring at the forest sprouting and growing behind

Flamel.

Sophie looked around the once-spotless dojo. It was now filthy, spattered and

splashed with muddy water, the smoothly polished floorboards broken and

cracked with the trees growing from them, more foul-smelling mud in the

hallway. Are you saying that alchemists knew about DNA? she asked. The

Alchemyst nodded delightedly. Exactly. When Watson and Crick announced that

they had discovered what they called the secret of life in 1953, they were

merely rediscovering something alchemists have always known.

You re telling me that you somehow woke the DNA in those floorboards and

forced trees to grow, Josh said, choosing his words carefully. How?

Flamel turned to look at the forest that was now taking over the entire dojo.

It s called magic, he said delightedly, and I wasn't sure I could do it

anymore until Scatty reminded me, he added.