The Alchemyst

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

S cathach was waiting by the enormous open doors when Sophie and Josh

returned to the tree. The pterosaur hopped along behind them, and the other

two circled low in the sky over their heads, the downdraft of their wings

setting eddies of dust circling and dancing around them. Although nothing was

said, the twins knew they were being gently but firmly herded back toward the

house.

In the gloom, Scathach s face was unnaturally pale, her cropped red hair

black in the shadows. Although her lips were set in a grim line, her voice,

when she spoke, was carefully neutral. Do you really want me to tell you

just how stupidly dangerous that was?

Josh opened his mouth to reply, but Sophie caught his arm, silencing him. We

just wanted to go home, she said simply, tiredly. She already knew what the

Warrior was going to say.

You cannot, Scathach said, and turned away.

The twins hesitated at the door, then turned to look back at the pterosaur.

It tilted its snakelike head and regarded them with a huge slit-pupiled eye,

and its voice echoed flatly in their heads. don't worry too much about

Scathach; her bark is much worse than her bite. The creature opened its

mouth to show hundreds of triangular teeth in what might have been a smile.

I do believe she was worried about you, it added, then turned away, ran in

a series of short hops and took to the air with a crack of wings.

don't say a word, Sophie warned her brother. Josh s quips and comments were

always getting him into trouble. Whereas Sophie had the ability to see

something and keep her mouth shut, her brother always had to make a comment

or observation.

You re not the boss of me, Josh snapped, but his voice was shaky. Josh had

a fear of snakes going back to the time he d gone camping with their father

and had fallen into a rattlesnake nest. Luckily, the deadly serpent had just

fed and had chosen to ignore him, giving him the seconds he d needed to

scramble away. He d had nightmares about snakes for weeks after that, and

still did occasionally, when he was particularly stressed usually at exam

time. The huge, serpentlike pterosaurs belonged to his darkest nightmares,

and when they d come hopping out of the night, he d felt his heart hammering

so powerfully that the skin on his chest had actually pulsed. When that

long-toothed face had leaned toward him, he d been sure he was going to

faint. Even now, he could feel the icy sweat trickling along the length of

his spine.

Sophie and Josh followed Scathach through Hekate's house. The twins were

aware now of movement in the shadows, floorboards creaking underfoot, wooden

walls popping and cracking as if the house were moving, shifting, growing.

They were also conscious that the voices, the screams and shouts of earlier,

had fallen silent.

Scathach led them to an empty circular room where Nicholas Flamel was

waiting. He stood facing away from them, hands clasped tightly against the

small of his back, and stared out into the shadowed night. The only light in

the room came from the huge moon now starting to dip toward the horizon. One

side of the room was bathed in harsh silver-white light, the other was in

darkness. Scatty crossed the room to stand beside the Alchemyst. She folded

her arms across her chest and turned to the twins, her face an expressionless

mask.

You could have been killed, Flamel'said very softly, without turning

around. Or worse.

You Can't keep us here, Josh said quickly, his voice sounding too loud in

the silence. We re not your prisoners.

The Alchemyst glanced over his shoulder. He was wearing his tiny round

glasses and, in the gloom, his eyes were hidden behind the silver circles.

No, you re not, he said very quietly, his French accent suddenly

pronounced. You are the prisoners of circumstance, of coincidence and

chance if you believe in such things.

I don't, Scathach muttered.

Neither do I, Nicholas said, turning around. He took off his glasses and

squeezed the bridge of his nose. There were dark circles under his pale eyes,

and his lips were pinched in a thin line. We are all prisoners of a sort

here prisoners of circumstance and events. Nearly seven hundred years ago, I

bought a battered secondhand book written in an incomprehensible language.

That day I too became a prisoner, trapped as securely as if I were behind

bars. Two months ago, Josh, you should never have asked me for a job, and

you, Sophie, should never have started working in The Coffee Cup. But you

did, and because you made those decisions you are both standing here with me

tonight. He paused and glanced at Scathach. Of course, there is a school of

thought that suggests that you were fated to take the jobs, to meet Perenelle

and me and to come on this adventure.

Scathach nodded. Destiny, she said.

You re saying that we have no free will, Sophie asked, that all this was

meant to happen? She shook her head. I don't, for one minute, believe

that. The very idea went against everything she believed; the idea that the

future could be foretold was simply ludicrous.

Neither do I, Josh said defiantly.

And yet, Flamel'said very softly, what if I were to tell you that the Book

of the Mage a book written more than ten thousand years ago speaks of you?

That'simpossible, Josh blurted, terrified by the implications.

Ha! Nicholas Flamel'spread his arms wide. And is this not impossible?

Tonight you encountered the nathair, the winged guardians of Hekate's realm.

You heard their voices in your heads. Are they not impossible? And the Torc

Allta are they not equally impossible? These are creatures that have no right

to exist outside of myth.

And what about us? Scathach asked. Nicholas is nearly seven hundred years

old, and I am so old I have seen empires rise and fall. Are we not equally

impossible?

Neither Josh nor Sophie could deny that.

Nicholas stepped forward and put a hand on Josh s and Sophie s shoulders. He

was no taller than they were and looked directly into their eyes. You must

accept that you are trapped in this impossible world. If you leave, you will

bring destruction onto your family and friends, and in all probability, you

will bring about your own deaths.

Besides, Scathach added bitterly, if you re mentioned in the Book, then

you re supposed to be here.

The twins looked from Scatty to Flamel. He nodded. It s true. The book is

full of prophecies some of which have certainly come true, others which may

yet come to pass. But it does specifically mention the two that are one.

And you believe ? Sophie whispered.

Yes, I believe you may be the prophecy. In fact, I am convinced of it.

Scathach stepped forward to stand beside Flamel. Which means that you are

suddenly much more important not only to us, but also to Dee and the Dark

Elders.

Why? Josh licked dry lips. Why are we so important?

The Alchemyst glanced at Scatty for support. She nodded. Tell them. They

need to know.

The twins looked from Scatty back to the Alchemyst. There was a sense that

what he was about to tell them was of immense importance. Sophie slipped her

hand into her brother s, and he squeezed her fingers tightly.

The Codex prophesies that the two that are one will come either to save or

to destroy the world.

What do you mean, either save or destroy? Josh demanded. It s got to be

one or the other, right?

The word used in the Codex is similar to an ancient Babylonian symbol that

can mean either thing, Flamel explained. Actually, I ve always suspected

that it means that one of you has the potential to save the world, while the

other has the power to destroy it.

Sophie nudged her brother in the ribs. That would be you.

Flamel'stepped back from the twins. In a couple of hours, when Hekate

arises, I will ask her to Awaken your magical potential. I believe she will

do it; I hope and pray that she does, he added fervently. Then we will

leave.

But where are we going? Josh asked at the same time that Sophie said, Will

Hekate not allow us to stay here?

I m hoping some of the other Elders or immortal humans might be persuaded to

help train you. And no, we cannot stay here. Dee and the Morrigan have

contacted one of the most fearsome of the Elders: Bastet.

The Egyptian cat goddess? Sophie asked.

Flamel blinked in surprise. I m impressed.

Our parents are archaeologists, remember? While other children were being

read bedtime stories, our parents told us myths and legends.

The Alchemyst nodded. Even as we speak, Bastet and the Morrigan are

gathering their forces for an all-out attack on Hekate's Shadowrealm. I

suspected that they would try and attack during the hours of darkness, when

Hekate is sleeping, but so far there is no sign of them, and it will be dawn

soon. I m sure they know that they will only get one chance, and they need

all their forces in place before they attack. At the moment, they believe we

are still ignorant of their intentions; more importantly, they do not know

that we are aware of Bastet s involvement. But we will be ready for them.

How do we know? Sophie asked.

Perenelle told me, Flamel'said, and waved away the next obvious question.

She is a resourceful woman, she enlisted a disembodied spirit to pass on a

message to me.

A disembodied spirit? Sophie said. You mean like a ghost? She realized

that now it was quite easy to believe in ghosts.

Just so, Flamel'said.

What will happen if they attack here? I mean, what kind of attack are we

talking about? Josh asked.

Flamel looked at Scatty. I was not alive the last time beings of the Elder

Races warred with one another.

I was, Scatty said glumly. The vast majority of humani will not even know

anything is happening. She shrugged. But the release of magical energies in

the Shadowrealms will certainly have an effect on the climate and local

geology: there may be earthquakes, a tornado or two, hurricanes and rain,

lots of rain. And I really hate the rain, she added. One of the reasons I

left Hibernia.

There must be something we can do, Sophie said. We have to warn people.

And what form would that warning take? Flamel asked. That there is about

to be a magical battle that may cause earthquakes and flooding? Not something

you can phone in to your local news or weather station, is it?

We have to

No, we don't, the Alchemyst said firmly. We have to get you and the pages

from the Book away from here.

What about Hekate? Josh asked. Will she be able to defend herself?

Against Dee and the Morrigan, yes. But with Bastet as their ally, I simply

don't know, Scatty answered. I don't know how powerful the goddess is.

More powerful than you can imagine.

They all turned toward the door, where a girl who looked no older than eleven

stood blinking and yawning widely. She rubbed a hand against her bright

yellow eyes and stared at them, then smiled, her teeth startlingly white

against her jet-black skin. She was wearing a short togalike robe of the same

iridescent material that the crone Hekate had worn, but this time the dress

was streaked with golds and greens. Her ice-white hair curled down to her

shoulders.

The Alchemyst bowed. Good morning. I did not think you rose before the

dawn.

How could I sleep with all this activity? Hekate demanded. The house

awakened me.

The house , Josh began.

The house, Hekate'said flatly, is alive.

There were a dozen comments Josh could have made, but remembering the green

slime from the previous night, he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

I understand that the Morrigan and my Elder sister Bastet are planning an

assault on my Shadowrealm, the girl said grimly.

Nicholas glanced quickly at Scathach, who shifted her shoulders slightly in a

shrug. She had no idea how Hekate knew.

I am sure you understand that everything that happens in this house, every

word said or whispered or even thought, Hekate added, glancing sidelong at

Josh, I hear. The girl smiled and, in that instant, looked like the older

versions of herself. The smiled curled her lips, but did not light up her

eyes. She walked into the room, and Sophie noticed that as she moved, the

house reacted to her presence. Where she had stood in the doorway, green

shoots had sprouted, and the lintel and doorsill had blossomed tiny green

flowers. The Goddess with Three Faces stopped before Nicholas Flamel and

looked up into his troubled eyes. I would have preferred that you not come

here. I would have preferred that you not bring trouble into my life. I would

have preferred not to go to battle with my sister and my niece. And I would

most certainly have preferred not to be forced to choose sides.

Scathach folded her arms across her chest and regarded the goddess grimly.

You never did like to choose sides, Hekate no wonder you have three faces.

Sophie was watching Hekate as Scathach spoke, and for an instant she glimpsed

something dark and immeasurably old behind the girl s eyes. I have survived

the millennia because I heeded my own counsel, Hekate'snapped. But I have

chosen sides when the struggle was worth it.

And now, Nicholas Flamel'said very softly, I think it is time to choose

again. Only you can decide, however: is this a worthy struggle?

Hekate ignored the question and spun around to face Sophie and Josh. Her tiny

hand moved in the air and immediately the auras around the twins flared to

silver and golden light. She tilted her head to one side, looking at them,

watching the silver bubbles crawling along the cocoon that enveloped Sophie,

and following the tracery of golden veins that moved up and down Josh s aura.

You may be right, she said eventually, these may indeed be the ones spoken

of in the cursed Codex. It has been many centuries since I ve encountered

auras so pure. They possess incredible untapped potential.

Flamel nodded. If I had the time, I would take them to be properly trained,

gradually Awaken their dormant powers but events have conspired against me,

and time is that one precious commodity I do not have. It is within your

power to unlock their potential. You can do something in an instant that it

would normally take years to do.

Hekate glanced over her shoulder at the Alchemyst. And there are good

reasons why it should take many years, she said dismissively. The humani

barely use their senses. Yet you are proposing to Awaken these two to their

full potential. I will not do it: the sensory overload could destroy them,

drive them mad.

But Flamel began.

I will not do it. She turned back to the twins. What he is asking me to do

could kill you if you are lucky, she said, and then turned and swept from

the room, leaving little grassy footprints in her wake.