The Alchemyst

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

W e need to go. Nicholas Flamel caught Josh s shoulder and shook him,

bringing him back to the present.

Josh turned to look at the Alchemyst. There were tears on his cheeks, but he

was unaware of them. Sophie , he whispered.

is going to be fine, Nicholas said firmly. Shouts echoed in the corridor

outside, the sudden clash of weapons mingling with the roars of humans and

animals. Above it all rose Scathach s delighted laughter. Flamel reached for

Sophie, who was still floating four inches above the earth, and his aura

flared white-green when he took her hand. Gently he pulled her back to the

ground. As soon as her feet touched the earth, it was as if all the strength

had left her body, and he caught her before she crumpled to the floor,

unconscious.

Josh was immediately at his sister s side. He pushed Flamel away and held his

twin in his arms. Crackling energy darted from Sophie s fading aura to his

flesh, but he didn't even register the tiny stings. When he looked up at

Flamel, his face was an angry mask. You knew, he accused, you knew how

dangerous this was. My sister could have been left in a coma.

I knew that was not going to happen, Nicholas said calmly, crouching down

beside Josh. Her aura your aura is too strong. I knew you would both

survive. I would never have deliberately placed either of you in danger. I

swear that. He reached for Sophie s wrist to check her pulse, but Josh

pushed his hand away. He didn't believe him; he wanted to, but somehow

Flamel's words rang false.

They both jumped as an agonized, catlike squeal came from the corridor

outside. It was followed by Scatty s voice. We really should be leaving. And

right now would be a good time!

The smell of burning wood was stronger, and tendrils of gray smoke begun to

curl into the chamber.

we've got to go. We Can'talk about this later, Flamel'said firmly.

You better believe we will, Josh promised.

I'll help you carry her, the Alchemyst offered.

I can do it myself, Josh said, and gathered his sister into his arms. He

wasn't going to trust Sophie to anyone else. He was surprised by how light

she felt, and he was suddenly thankful for all those painful months of

football practice that had made him stronger than he looked.

The Alchemyst picked up the short staff he d left propped against the wall

and spun it in the air before him. The tip glowed green and it left the

faintest of smoking emerald trails in the air. Ready? Flamel asked.

Josh, his sister held tightly against his chest, nodded.

Whatever happens, whatever you see, don't stop, don't turn back. Just about

everything outside this doorway will not hesitate to kill you.

Josh followed Flamel through the door and immediately stopped, frozen in

shock. Scatty was standing in the center of the narrow corridor, her two

short swords a blur before her. Behind the swords, crowding the corridor,

were some of the most terrifying creatures he had ever seen. He d been

expecting monsters; what he had not been expecting were creatures even more

terrifying. Creatures that were neither beast nor human, but something caught

in between. Humans with the heads of cats snarled and slashed at Scatty,

their claws striking sparks off her swords. Others with the bodies of men but

with the huge peaked skulls of ravens jabbed at her, attempting to gouge and

stab her.

Scatty down! Flamel'shouted. Without waiting to see if she even heard him,

he stretched out his arm and leveled the short staff. His aura flared green

and the air was suddenly bitter with the odor of mint. An emerald-colored

globe of spinning light gathered at the tip of the staff and then shot

forward with an audible pop. Scatty barely managed to duck before the ball

sizzled through the air and shattered against the ceiling almost directly

over her head. It left a bright mark, like a stain, which started to dribble

and drip sticky green light. The scarred head of a tabby cat pushed through

the opening, mouth gaping, fangs glinting. It spotted Scatty and lunged for

her and a drop of the gooey light splashed off the top of its head. The

cat-headed human went wild. It threw itself back into the corridor, where it

immediately attacked everything in its path. A birdman stepped up to the

opening, and was doused in the dripping green light. Its black wings abruptly

developed holes and tears, and it fell back with a hideous chattering cawing.

Josh noticed that although the green light, which had the consistency of

honey, burned the creatures, it had no effect on the wood. He knew he should

be paying more attention, but all his concern was focused on his sister. She

was breathing quickly, and behind her closed eyelids her eyes were dancing.

Scatty scrambled to her feet and darted back to Flamel and Josh. Very

impressive, I m sure, she muttered. I didn't know you could do that.

Flamel'spun the staff like a baton. This focuses my power.

Scatty looked around. We seem to be trapped.

Hekate went this way, Nicholas said, turning to the right and pointing to

what looked like an impenetrable barrier of knotted roots. I saw her come

running out of the chamber and walk straight through this. He stepped up to

the knotted wood and stretched out his arm. It disappeared right up to the

elbow.

I'll go first, Scatty said. Josh noticed that although she had been

fighting the deadly combination of birds and cats, there was neither a

scratch on her body nor a hair out of place. She wasn't even breathing

hard though if she really was a vampire, then maybe she didn't need to

breathe at all, he thought. Scatty darted forward, and in the last moment

before she reached the wall of roots, she dived straight into the opening,

swords crossed over her chest.

Flamel and Josh looked at one another in the brief moment that followed and

then Scatty s head poked through the solid-looking tangle of roots. All

clear.

I'll take the rear, Flamel'said, stepping back to allow Josh to go ahead of

him. I'll deal with anything that follows us.

Josh nodded, unwilling to trust himself to talk to Flamel. He was still

furious with the Alchemyst for endangering his sister s life, but he also

recognized that Flamel was now fighting for them, placing himself in very

real danger to protect them. Josh stepped up to the wall of twisted roots and

packed earth, closed his eyes and walked right through. There was an instant

of damp chill and then he opened his eyes to see Scatty directly in front of

him. He was standing in a low, narrow chamber created entirely from the

Yggdrasill s gnarled roots. Clumps of green moss leaked a dim green light

into the chamber, and he could see that Scatty was standing at the bottom of

a set of narrow, irregular steps that led upward into the gloom. Scatty s

head was tilted to one side, but before Josh could ask what she was hearing,

Flamel'stepped through the wall. He was smiling, and the top of his staff

emitted traces of green gas. That should hold them for a while.

Let s go, Scatty called as soon as the Alchemyst appeared.

The stairway was so narrow that Josh was forced to move in a sideways

crab-crawl, head ducked low, with Sophie held close to his body to prevent

her head and legs from cracking against the rough wooden walls. He tested

every step before he took it; he didn't want to risk falling and dropping his

sister. He suddenly realized that these steps were cut into the space between

the inner and outer bark of the great tree, and couldn t help wondering if a

tree the size of Yggdrasill was riddled with secret passages, hidden rooms,

forgotten chambers and lost stairways. It must be, he decided. Did Hekate

even know where they all were? And then, his mind racing, he wondered who had

created these steps. Somehow he could not imagine the goddess carving them

out of the living wood herself.

As they climbed, they could smell the bitter stench of burning wood, and the

sounds of battle came clearer. The cat shrieks became even more human, the

bird screeches were completely terrifying, and they mingled with the

bellowing roars of the boars and the hissing of the nathair. Now that the

group was no longer underground, the heat and smoke intensified and they

began to hear another sound a deep bass groaning rumble.

We need to hurry. Scatty s voice drifted back out of the gloom. We really

need to hurry now . And somehow the forced calm in the Warrior s voice

frightened Josh more than if she had screamed. Careful now; we've reached an

opening. We re at the end of a thick root, about thirty yards away from the

main body of the tree. We re well clear of the fighting, she added.

Josh rounded a corner and discovered Scatty standing bathed in shafts of

early-morning sunshine that shone through a curtain of vines directly ahead

of her. She turned to face him, sunlight turning her red hair golden and

running along the blades of her short swords, and in that moment, Josh saw

her as the ancient and terrifying Warrior she was. The sounds of battle were

all around them, but louder than all the other noises was the groaning rumble

that seemed to vibrate deep in the ground. What is that sound? he asked.

The cries of the Yggdrasill, Scatty answered grimly. Hekate's enemies have

set light to the World Tree.

But why? He found the very idea horrifying this ancient living tree had

harmed no one. But the action gave him an insight into the contempt with

which the Dark Elders held life.

Her powers are inextricably linked to it; her magic brought it to towering

life, its life force keeps her strong. They believe that by destroying it,

they will destroy her.

Flamel came panting up the steps to stand behind Josh. The Alchemyst s thin

face was bright red and beaded with sweat. Getting old, he said with a wry

smile. He looked at Scatty. What s the plan?

Simple, she began, we get away from here as quickly as possible. Then she

spun the sword in her left hand so that the blade was lying flat against the

length of her arm. She pointed with the hilt. Flamel and Josh stood close to

her and peered out through the curtain of vines. On the opposite side of the

field, Dr. John Dee had appeared, moving cautiously through the undergrowth.

The black-bladed short sword that he held in both hands glowed and flickered

with a cold blue light.

Dee, Flamel'said. Never in my life would I have imagined being delighted

to see him. This is good news indeed.

Both Scatty and Josh looked at him in surprise.

Dee is human which means that he came here via human transportation, the

Alchemyst explained.

A car Scatty nodded in agreement that he would probably have left just

outside the Shadowrealm.

Josh was about to ask how she knew he would have left it outside when he

suddenly realized he knew the answer. Because he knew if he drove it in

here, the battery would be drained.

Look, Scatty murmured.

They watched one of the huge, boarlike Torc Alltas emerge from the long grass

behind Dee. Although it was still in its beast shape, it rose on its hind

legs, until it reached nearly three times the height of the man.

It s going to kill him, Josh murmured.

Dee s sword flared bright blue, and then the small man threw himself

backward, toward the Torc Allta, bringing the sword around in a short arc.

The sudden movement seemed to surprise the creature, but it easily batted

aside the blade and then it froze. Where the blade had touched it, a thin

sheath of ice grew up the beast s arm, tiny crystals sparkling in the

early-morning sunshine. The ice coated the Torc Allta s chest and flowed down

its massive legs and up his shoulders and head. Within a matter of heartbeats

the creature was encased in a block of blue-veined ice. Dee picked himself up

off the ground, dusted off his coat and then, without warning, hammered on

the ice with the hilt of his sword. The block shattered into millions of

tinkling pieces, each one containing a fragment of the Torc Allta.

One of the elemental swords, Scatty remarked grimly, Excalibur, the Sword

of Ice. I thought it was lost ages past, thrown back into the lake when

Artorius died.

Looks like the doctor found it, Flamel murmured.

Josh discovered that he wasn't even surprised to hear that King Arthur had

been real, and he found himself wondering which other legendary figures had

really existed.

They watched as Dee hurried back into the undergrowth, heading for the other

side of the huge tree house, where the sounds of battle were loudest. The

smell of smoke was stronger now. Sharp and bitter, it curled and twisted

around the tree, carrying with it the reek of ancient places and

long-forgotten spices. Wood snapped and cracked, sap boiled and popped and

the deep bass thrumming was now strong enough to set the entire tree

vibrating.

I'll clear the way, Scatty said as she darted through the vines. Almost

immediately a trio of the birdmen came winging toward her, followed by two of

the cat-people, running on all fours.

we've got to help her! Josh said desperately, though he d no idea what he

could do.

She is Scathach; she doesn't need our help, Flamel'said. SHe'll lead them

away from us first .

Scathach raced into the undergrowth, running lightly, her heavy boots making

no sound on the soft earth. The birds and cats followed.

SHe'll back herself up against something, so that they can only come at her

from one side, then sHe'll turn to face them.

Josh watched as Scatty spun and faced her attackers, with her back to a

gnarled oak tree. The cat creatures reached her quickly, claws flashing, but

her short swords were quicker, and struck sparks from their claws. A

bird-creature swung in low, huge wings flapping, talons extended. Driving the

sword in her left hand into the ground, she caught the creature s extended

wrist and yanked it out of the air, then tossed it into the middle of the

snarling cats. The bird instinctively lashed out at the cats, and suddenly,

the animals were fighting among themselves. Two more bird-people immediately

dropped onto the cats with a hideous squalling. Scatty yanked her sword out

of the ground and used it to beckon to Flamel and Josh.

Flamel tapped Josh s shoulder. Go. Get to Scathach.

Josh turned to look at the Alchemyst. What about you?

I'll wait a moment, then follow and protect you.

And even though Josh knew Flamel had placed them in terrible danger, he had

no doubts that the Alchemyst would watch his back. He nodded, then turned and

burst through the curtain of vines and ran, clutching his sister tightly to

his chest. Away from the shelter of the tree, the noise of battle was

incredible, but he concentrated on the ground directly ahead of him, watching

for roots or other irregularities in the earth that could trip him. In his

arms, Sophie stirred; her eyes flickered, and she started to move. Josh

tightened his grip. Stay still, he said urgently, though he wasn't sure if

she could hear him. He shifted direction, moving to the right, away from the

struggling creatures, but he couldn t help noticing that when they were badly

injured, they reverted to their original bird and cat shapes. Two

bemused-looking cats and three ragged crows picked themselves out of the dirt

and watched him run past. Josh could hear Flamel running behind him, could

smell the mint on the morning air as the Alchemyst worked his magic. Another

ten or fifteen footsteps would take him to Scatty, and Josh knew that once he

was with her, he was safe. But when he reached Scatty, he was just in time to

see her eyes widen in horror. He looked over his shoulder and saw a tall

woman with the head and claws of a sleek feline, wearing the robes of ancient

Egypt, leap at least twenty feet and land squarely on Nicholas Flamel's back,

driving him into the ground. A curved, sicklelike claw shot out and sliced

his short staff neatly in two, then the creature threw back her head and

hissed and spat triumphantly.