The Alchemyst

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

T he Shadowrealm was breaking down.

In the west, the clouds had vanished and huge patches of the sky had already

disappeared, leaving only the blinking stars and the overlarge moon in the

black sky. One by one the stars were winking out of existence, and the moon

was beginning to fray at the edges.

We don't have much time, the Morrigan said, watching the sky.

Dee, who was crouching on the ground, gathering as many icy fragments of

Hekate as he could find, thought he could hear a note of fear in the

Morrigan s voice. We have time, he said evenly.

We Can't afford to be here when the Shadowrealm disappears, she continued,

looking down at him, her face expressionless. But he knew by the way she

hugged the cloak of crow feathers about her shoulders that she was nervous.

What would happen? Dee wondered aloud. He d never seen the Crow Goddess

like this before, and he took pleasure in her discomfiture.

The Morrigan raised her head to look at the encroaching darkness, her black

eyes reflecting the tiny spots of stars. Why, we d disappear also. Sucked

away into the nothingness, she added softly, watching the mountains in the

distance turn to something like dust. The dust then spiraled up into the

black sky and vanished. A true death, the Morrigan murmured.

Dee was crouched among the melting remains of the Yggdrasill, while all

around him Hekate's elegant and beautiful world was turning to dust and

blowing away on invisible winds. The goddess had created her Shadowrealm out

of nothingness, and now, without her presence to hold it together, it was

returning to that once more. The mountains had vanished, blown away like

grains of sand, whole swathes of the forest were slowly fading and blinking

out of existence like lights being turned off and the overlarge moon hanging

low in the sky was losing shape and definition. Already it was nothing more

than a featureless ball. In the east, the rising sun was a golden orb of

light and the sky was still blue.

The Crow Goddess turned to her aunt. How long before it all disappears? she

asked.

Bastet growled and shrugged her broad shoulders. Who knows? Even I have

never witnessed the death of an entire Shadowrealm. Minutes perhaps

That'sall I need. Dee laid the sword Excalibur on the ground. The smoothly

polished stone blade reflected the blackness creeping in from the west. Dee

found three of the largest chunks of ice that had once been Hekate and placed

them on the blade.

The Morrigan and Bastet leaned over his shoulders and stared at the sword,

their reflections rippling and distorted. What is so important that you must

do it here? Bastet asked.

This was Hekate's home, Dee replied. And here, right here, at the place of

her death, the connection to her will be strongest.

Connection , Bastet growled, and then nodded. She suddenly knew what Dee

was about to attempt: the darkest and most dangerous of all the dark arts.

Necromancy, Dee whispered. I m going to talk to the dead goddess. She

spent so many millennia here that it is part of her. I m wagering her

consciousness remains active and attached to this place. He reached out and

touched the handle of the sword. The black stone glowed yellow and the carved

snakes around the hilt came briefly alive, hissing furiously, tongues

flickering, before they solidified once again. As the ice melted, the liquid

ran over the black stone, covering it in a thin oily sheen. Now we shall see

what we shall see, he muttered.

The water on the blade began to bubble and pop, sizzling and crackling. And a

face appeared in each bubble: Hekate's face. It kept flickering through her

three guises, only the eyes butter-colored and hateful remaining the same as

she glared at him.

Talk to me, Dee shouted, I command you. Why did Flamel come here?

Hekate's voice was a bubbling, watery snap. To escape you.

Tell me about the human children.

The images that appeared on the sword blade were surprisingly detailed. They

were all from Hekate's perspective. They showed Flamel arriving with the

twins, showed the two children sitting, fearful and pale, in the battered and

scratched car.

Flamel believes they are the twins of legend mentioned in the Codex.

The Morrigan and Bastet crowded closer, ignoring the rapidly encroaching

nothingness. In the west, there were no longer any stars in the heavens, the

moon was gone and huge portions of the sky had completely vanished, leaving

just blackness in its wake.

Are they? Dee demanded.

The next image on the sword showed the twins auras flaring silver and gold.

Moon and sun, Dee murmured. He didn't know whether to be horrified or

elated. His suspicions were confirmed. From the first moment he d seen them

together, he d started to wonder if the teens were, in fact, twins.

Are these the twins foretold in legend? he demanded again.

Bastet brought her massive head down next to Dee s. Her foot-long whiskers

tickled his face, but he didn't risk brushing them away, not with her teeth

so close. She smelled of wet cat and frankincense; Dee felt a sneeze building

at the back of his nose. The Cat Goddess reached out for the blade, but Dee

caught her hand in his. It was like grasping a lion s paw, and her retracted

claws suddenly appeared dangerously close to his fingers. Please don't touch

the blade; this is a delicate spell. There is time for perhaps one or two

more questions, he added, nodding toward the western horizon, to where the

edges of the earth were crumbling, blowing away like multicolored dust.

Bastet glared at the black blade, her slit-pupiled eyes flaring. My sister

has or should I say had a very special gift. She could Awaken powers in

others. Ask her if she did that with these humani twins.

Dee nodded in sudden understanding; he had been wondering why Flamel had

brought the twins to this place. He remembered now: in the ancient world, it

was believed Hekate had power over magic and spells. Did you Awaken the

twins magical abilities? he asked.

A single bubble popped. No.

Dee rocked back on his heels, surprised. He had been expecting her to say

yes. Had Flamel failed, then?

Bastet growled. She s lying.

She cannot, Dee said. She answers what we ask.

I saw the girl with my own eyes, the Egyptian goddess growled. I saw her

wield a whip of pure auric energy. I ve never seen such power in my life, not

since the Elder Times.

Dr. John Dee glanced at her sharply. You saw the girl but what of the boy?

What was he doing?

I did not notice him.

Ha! Dee said triumphantly. He turned back to the sword.

The Morrigan s cloak rustled warningly. Make this your last question,

Doctor.

The trio looked up to see that the utter blackness was almost upon them. Less

than ten feet ahead of them, the world ended in nothingness. Dee turned back

to the sword. Did you Awaken the girl?

A bubble popped and the sword ran with images of Sophie rising off the

ground, her aura blazing silver. Yes.

And the boy?

The sword showed Josh cowering in a corner of a darkened chamber. No.

The Morrigan s clawlike hands gripped Dee s shoulders and jerked him to his

feet. He caught his sword and shook the bubbling water droplets into the

rapidly encroaching void.

The mismatched trio towering Bastet, dark Morrigan and small human raced away

as the world crumbled into nothingness behind them. The last remnants of

their army the birdmen and cat-people remained, wandering aimlessly. When

they saw their leaders fleeing, they turned to follow. Soon every creature

was racing to the east, where the last of the Shadowrealm remained. Senuhet

limped after Bastet, calling out her name, begging her to stop and help him.

But the world dissolved too quickly. It swallowed birds and cats, it took the

ancient trees and rare orchids, the magical creatures and the mythical

monsters. It consumed the last of Hekate's magic.

Then the void claimed the sun and the world went dark and was no more.