The Alchemyst

CHAPTER SIX

A lthough there were other ways he could have used to communicate, Dr. John

Dee preferred this century s method of choice: the cell phone. Settling back

into the cool leather interior of the limousine, he flipped open the phone,

pointed it to where Perenelle Flamel was slumped unconscious between two

dripping Golems and took a quick picture.

Madame Perenelle Flamel. His prisoner. Now, that was certainly something for

the photo album.

Dee keyed in a number and hit Send, then he tilted his head, looking at the

graceful woman across from him. Capturing Perenelle had been an extraordinary

stroke of good fortune, but he knew he d only managed it because she d used

up so much energy destroying his Golem. He stroked his small triangular

beard. He was going to have to make more Golems soon. He looked at the two

opposite: in the brief time they had been outside in the early-afternoon sun,

they had started to crack and melt. The big one on Perenelle s left was

dripping black river mud across the leather seat.

Perhaps he would choose something other than Golems next time. The brutish

creatures worked fine in damper climates, but were especially unsuited to a

West Coast summer. He wondered if he still had the recipe to create a ghoul.

It was Perenelle who presented him with a problem, however a serious problem:

he simply wasn't sure how powerful she was.

Dee had always been rather in awe of the tall, elegant Frenchwoman. When he d

first apprenticed himself to Nicholas Flamel, the Alchemyst, he d made the

mistake of underestimating her. He d quickly found that Perenelle Flamel was

at least as powerful as her husband in fact, there were some areas in which

she was even more powerful. Those traits that made Flamel'such a brilliant

alchemyst his attention to detail, his knowledge of ancient languages, his

infinite patience made him a poor sorcerer and a terrible necromancer. He

simply lacked the imaginative spark of pure visualization that was needed for

that work. Perenelle, on the other hand, was one of the most powerful

sorceresses he had ever encountered.

Dee pulled off one of his gray leather gloves and dropped it onto the seat

beside him. Leaning toward Perenelle, he dipped his finger in the puddle of

mud dripping from one of the Golems and traced a curling symbol on the back

of the woman s left hand. Then he painted a mirror image of the symbol on her

right hand. He dipped his hand in the sticky black mud again and was

inscribing three wavy lines on her forehead when she suddenly opened her

bright green eyes. Dee abruptly sat back in his seat.

Madame Perenelle, I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to see you again.

Perry opened her mouth to speak, but no words would form. She tried to move,

but not only were the Golems gripping her arms tightly, her muscles refused

to obey.

Ah, you must excuse me, but I ve taken the liberty of placing you under a

warding spell. A simple spell, but it will suffice until I can organize

something more permanent. Dee smiled, but there was nothing humorous in his

expression. His cell phone trilled, playing the theme from The X-Files, and

he flipped it open. Excuse me, he said to Perenelle.

You got the photo? Dee asked. Yes, I thought that would amuse you: the

legendary Perenelle Flamel in our hands. Oh, I m quite sure Nicholas will

come after her. And we ll be ready. This time he will not escape.

Perenelle could clearly hear the cackle of laughter on the other end.

Yes, of course. Dee reached into an inside pocket and took out the

copper-bound book. We have the Codex. Finally. He began to turn the thick

rough-edged pages as he spoke. His voice fell, and it was unclear whether he

was talking to the caller or to himself. Ten thousand years of arcane

knowledge in one place

Then his voice trailed away. The phone dropped from his hand and bounced

across the floor of the car.

At the back of the book, two pages were missing, roughly torn out.

Dee closed his eyes and then licked his lips with a quick flicking movement

of his tiny tongue. The boy, he rasped, the boy, when I pulled it from his

hand. He opened his eyes and began to sCan'the preceding pages carefully.

Maybe they re not important , he murmured, lips moving as he followed the

shifting, moving words. He concentrated on the bright illuminated letters at

the top of every page, which gave a clue to what followed. Then he stopped

abruptly, clutching the book in trembling fingers. When he raised his head,

his eyes were blazing. I m missing the Final Summoning! he howled. Yellow

sparks danced around his head, and the rear window behind him bloomed a

spiderweb of white cracks. Tendrils of yellow-white power dripped from his

teeth like saliva. Go back! he roared to the driver. Go back now. No,

stop, cancel that order. Flamel's no fool. They ll be long gone. He snatched

the phone off the floor and, avoiding Perenelle s eyes, took a moment to

compose himself. He drew in a deep shuddering breath and visibly calmed

himself, then dialed. We have a slight problem, he said crisply into the

phone, voice calm and unemotional. We seem to be missing a couple of pages

from the back of the book. Nothing important, I m sure. Perhaps you would do

me a courtesy, he said very casually. You might convey to the Morrigan that

I am in need of her services.

Dee noticed that Perenelle s eyes had widened in shock at the mention of the

name. He grinned in delight. Tell her I need her special talents and

particular skills. Then he snapped the phone shut and looked over at

Perenelle Flamel. It would have been so much easier if they had just given

me the Codex. Now the Morrigan is coming. And you know what that means.