The Magician

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I n her bedroom at the top of the house, Sophie sat on the deep window ledge

and looked down over the Champs-Elys es. The broad tree-lined street was wet

with rain and shone amber, red and white in the reflected lights of the cars

and buses. She checked her watch: it was almost two a.m. on Sunday morning,

yet traffic was still heavy. Anytime after midnight, the streets of San

Francisco would be deserted.

The difference emphasized just how far from home she was.

When she d been younger, she d gone through a phase when she d decided that

everything about herself was boring. She d made a conscious effort to be more

stylish more like her friend Elle, who changed her hair color on a weekly

basis and had a wardrobe that was always filled with the latest styles.

Sophie had collected everything she could find about the exotic European

cities she read about in magazines, places where fashion and art were

created: London and Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin. She was determined that she

wasn't going to follow fashion; she was going to create her own. The phase

had lasted about a month. Fashion was an expensive business, and the

allowance she and her brother got from their parents was strictly limited.

She still wanted to visit the great cities of the world, though. She and Josh

had even started talking about taking a year off before college to go

backpacking around Europe. And now here they were in one of the most

beautiful cities on earth, and she had absolutely no interest in exploring

it. The only thing she wanted to do right now was return to San Francisco.

But what would she return to?

The thought stopped her cold.

Though the family had moved around a lot, and traveled even more, two days

ago, she d known what to expect in the coming months. The rest of the year

was mapped out in boring detail. In the fall, their parents would resume

their teaching positions at the University of San Francisco, and both she and

Josh would return to school. In December, the family would take their annual

trip to Providence, Rhode Island, where their father had given the Christmas

lecture at Brown University for the past two decades. On the twenty-first of

December, their birthday, the twins would be taken to New York City to see

the shops, admire the lights, look at the tree in Rockefeller Center and then

go skating. They would get lunch in the Stage Door Deli: have matzo ball soup

and sandwiches as big as their heads and one slice of pumpkin pie between

them. On Christmas Eve, they would head out to their aunt Christine s house

in Montauk on Long Island, where they d spend the holiday and then see in the

New Year. That had been the tradition for the past ten years.

And now?

Sophie took a deep breath. Now she possessed powers and abilities she could

barely comprehend. She had access to memories that were a mixture of truth,

myth and fantasy; she knew secrets that could rewrite history books. But she

wished, more than anything else, that there were some way she could turn back

time, to return to Thursday morning before all this had happened. Before the

world had changed.

Sophie rested her forehead against the cool glass. What was going to happen?

What was she going to do not just now, but in the years to come? Her brother

had no career in mind; every year he announced something different he was

going to be a computer game designer or a programmer, a professional football

player, a paramedic or a fireman but she d always known what she was going to

do. From the time her first-grade teacher had asked her the question What do

you want to be when you grow up, Sophie? she d known the answer. She wanted

to study archaeology and paleontology like her parents, to travel the world

and catalog the past, maybe make some discoveries that would help put history

in order. But that was never going to happen now. Overnight, she d realized

that the study of archaeology, history, geography and science had been

rendered useless or if not useless, then simply wrong.

A sudden wash of emotion caught her by surprise, and she felt a burning at

the back of her throat and tears on her cheeks. She pressed the palms of both

hands against her face and brushed the tears away.

Knock-knock Josh s voice startled her. Sophie turned to look at her twin.

Her brother was standing at the door, the stone sword in one hand, a tiny

laptop in the other. Can I come in?

you've never asked before. She smiled.

Josh stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the double bed. He

carefully placed Clarent on the floor by his feet and rested the laptop on

his knees. A lot s changed, he said quietly, his blue eyes troubled.

I was just thinking the same thing, she agreed. At least that hasn t

changed. The twins often found they were thinking the same thought at the

same moment, and they knew one another so well that they could even finish

each other s sentences. I was just wishing we could go back in time, to

before all this happened.

Why?

So I wouldn't have to be like this so we wouldn't be different.

Josh looked into his sister s face and tilted his head slightly. You d give

it up? he asked very softly. The power, the knowledge?

In a heartbeat, she said immediately. I don't like what s happening to me.

I never wanted it to happen. Her voice cracked, but she continued. I want

to be ordinary, Josh. I want to be human again. I want to be like you.

Josh looked down. He opened the laptop and concentrated on powering it up.

But you don't, do you? she said slowly, interpreting the long silence that

followed. You want the power, you want to be able to shape your aura and

control the elements, don't you?

Josh hesitated. It would be interesting, I think, he said eventually,

staring at the screen. Then he looked up, his eyes bright with the reflected

image of the log-on screen. Yes, I want to be able to do it, he admitted.

Sophie opened her mouth to snap a response, to tell him that he didn't know

what he was talking about, to tell him just how sick it made her feel, how

scared she was. But she stopped herself; she didn't want to fight, and until

Josh had experienced it for himself, he would never understand.

Where did you get the computer? she asked, changing the subject when the

laptop finally blipped.

Francis gave it to me, Josh said. You were out of it when Dee destroyed

Yggdrasill. He stabbed the tree with Excalibur and it turned to ice and then

shattered like glass. Well, my wallet, cell phone, iPod and laptop were in

the tree, he said ruefully. I lost everything. Including all our photos.

And the count just gave you a laptop?

Josh nodded. Gave it to me, insisted I have it. Must be my day for

presents. The pale glow from the computer screen lit his face from below,

giving his head a vaguely frightening appearance. He s switched over to

Macs; they ve got better music software, apparently, and he s not using PCs

anymore. He found this one dumped under a table upstairs, he continued, eyes

still locked on the small screen. He glanced quickly at his sister. It s

true, he said, recognizing her silence as doubt.

Sophie looked away. She knew her brother was telling the truth, and that had

nothing to do with the Witch s knowledge. She d always known when Josh was

lying to her, though, strangely, he never knew when she was lying to

him which she didn't do too often anyway, and only ever for his own good. So

what are you doing now? she asked.

Checking my e-mail. He grinned. Life goes on , he began.

e-mail stops for no man, Sophie finished with a smile. It was one of

Josh s favorite sayings, and it usually drove her crazy.

There s loads, he muttered. Eighty on Gmail, sixty-two on Yahoo, twenty on

AOL, three on FastMail

I ll never understand why you need so many e-mail accounts, Sophie said.

She drew her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her shins and

rested her chin on her knees. It felt good to be having an ordinary

conversation with her brother; it reminded her of how things were supposed to

be and had been until Thursday afternoon at two-fifteen precisely. She

remembered the time; she d been talking to her friend Elle in New York when

she d spotted the long black car pulling up outside the bookshop. She d

checked the time just before the man she now knew to be Dr. John Dee had

climbed out of the car.

Josh looked up. We have two e-mails from Mom, one from Dad.

Read them to me. Start with the oldest.

OK. Mom sent one on Friday, June first. Hope you re both behaving

yourselves. How is Mrs. Fleming? Has she fully recovered? Josh looked up and

frowned, confused.

Sophie sighed. Remember? We told Mom that the bookshop closed because

Perenelle wasn't feeling well. She shook her head. Try and keep up!

It s been a little busy, Josh reminded her. I can t remember everything.

Besides, that s your job.

Then we said that Nicholas and Perenelle had invited us to spend some time

with them in their house in the desert.

So. Josh looked at his sister, fingers hovering over the keys. What will I

tell Mom?

Tell her that everything s OK and Perenelle is feeling a lot better.

Remember to call them Nick and Perry, though, she reminded him.

Thanks, he said, hitting the backspace key, replacing Perenelle with Perry.

His fingers skipped over the keys as he typed. OK, next one, he continued.

From Mom again, dated yesterday. Tried phoning, but my call goes directly

to your voice mail. Is everything OK? Got a call from your aunt Agnes. She

said you didn't come home to collect any clothes or toiletries. Give me a

number where I can call you. We re worried. Josh looked at his sister. So

what do we tell her now?

Sophie chewed on her bottom lip, thinking aloud. We should tell her She

hesitated. Tell her we had the things with us at the shop. She knows we have

clothes there. That s not a lie. I hate lying to her.

Got it, Josh said, typing fast. The twins both kept clothes in his locker

in the back room of the bookshop for the occasional evening when they went to

the movies or walked down to the Embarcadero.

Tell her we have no cell service here. Just don't say where here is, she

added with a smile.

Josh looked disgusted. You mean we have no cell phones

I ve still got mine, but the battery is dead. Tell Mom that we ll call as

soon as we get a signal.

Josh continued to type. His finger hovered over the Enter key. Is that it?

Send it.

He hit Enter. Sent!

And you said there was an e-mail from Dad? she asked.

It s for me. He opened it, read it quickly and smiled broadly. He s sent a

jpeg of some fossil shark teeth he found. They look pretty good. And he s got

some new coprolites for my collection.

Coprolites. Sophie shook her head in mock disgust. Fossilized poo! Why

couldn't you collect stamps or coins like a regular person? It s just too

weird.

Weird? Josh looked up, suddenly irritated. Weird! Let me tell you what s

weird: we re in a house with a two-thousand-year-old vegetarian vampire, an

immortal alchemist, another immortal who s a musician specializing in Fire

magic and a French heroine who should have died sometime in the middle of the

fifteenth century. He nudged the sword on the floor with his foot. And

let s not forget the sword that was used to kill King Arthur. Josh s voice

had been rising as he spoke and he suddenly stopped and drew in a deep

shuddering breath, calming himself. He started to smile. Compared to all

that, I think collecting fossil poo is probably the least weird thing around

here! His smile turned to a grin and Sophie smiled, and then they were both

laughing. Josh laughed so hard he got the hiccups, and that made them laugh

even harder, until tears ran down their cheeks and their stomachs hurt.

Oh, stop, Josh moaned. He hiccupped again, and they both dissolved into

near hysteria.

It took a tremendous effort of will to control themselves, but for the first

time since Sophie had been Awakened, Josh felt close to her again. Usually,

they laughed every day; heading into work on Thursday morning was the last

time they d laughed together as they d watched a skinny man in roller skates

and running shorts being pulled along by a huge Dalmatian. All they needed to

do was to keep finding things to laugh at but unfortunately, there hadn't

been too many of those over the past few days.

Sophie sobered up first and turned back to the window. She could see her

brother in the glass and waited until he looked down at the screen before she

spoke. I m surprised you didn't object more when Nicholas suggested that

Francis train me in Fire magic, she said.

Josh raised his eyes and looked at his sister s face reflected in the window.

Would it have made any difference if I had? he asked seriously.

She took a moment to think. No. I suppose not, she admitted.

I didn't think so. You d still have done it.

Sophie turned to look directly at her twin. I have to. I need to.

I know, he said simply. I know that now.

Sophie blinked in surprise. You know?

Josh closed the laptop and dropped it on the bed. Then he picked up the sword

and rested it across his knees, absently rubbing the smooth blade. The stone

felt warm. I was angry, scared no, more than scared terrified when Flamel

had Hekate Awaken you. He didn't tell us about the dangers. He didn't tell us

that you could have died, or fallen into a coma. I ll never forgive him for

that.

He was pretty sure nothing would happen .

Pretty sure isn't sure enough.

Sophie nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

And then, when the Witch of Endor passed her knowledge to you, I was scared

again. But not so much scared for you I was scared of you, he admitted very

softly.

Josh, how can you even say that? Sophie began, genuinely shocked. I m your

twin. The look on his face silenced her.

You haven t seen what I ve seen, he said earnestly. I watched you stand up

to the cat-headed woman. I saw your lips move, but when you spoke, the words

were out of sync, and when you looked at me, you didn't recognize me. I don't

know what you were but you weren t my twin sister then. You were possessed.

Sophie blinked and huge tears rolled down her cheeks. She had only the

vaguest memories, little more than dreamlike fragments, of what her brother

was talking about.

Then, in Ojai, I watched you make whirlwinds, and today yesterday I saw you

make fog out of nothing.

I don't know how I do those things, she murmured.

I know, Soph, I know. He stood up and crossed to the window, looking out

over the rooftops of Paris. I understand that now. I've been thinking about

it a lot. Your powers have been Awakened, but the only way you ll be able to

control them, the only way you ll be safe, is by being trained. At the moment

they are as much a danger to you as they are to our enemies. Joan of Arc

helped you today, didn't she?

Yes, she helped a lot. I don't hear the voices anymore. That s a huge help.

But there s another reason too, isn't there? Sophie asked.

Josh turned the sword over in his hand, the blade almost black in the night,

tiny flecks of crystal in the stone winking like stars. We have no idea what

sort of trouble we re in, he said slowly. But we do know that we re in

danger real danger. We re fifteen years old we shouldn't be thinking about

being killed or eaten or worse! He waved vaguely in the direction of the

door. I don't trust them. The only person I can trust is you the real you.

But Josh, Sophie said very gently, I do trust them. They are good people.

Scatty has fought for humanity for over two thousand years, and Joan is a

kind and gentle person .

And Flamel has kept the Codex hidden away for centuries, Josh said quickly.

He touched his chest and Sophie heard the crackle of the two pages in the bag

Flamel had given him. There are recipes in this book that could make this

planet a paradise, could cure every disease. He saw the flicker of doubt in

her eyes and pressed on. And you know that s true.

The Witch s memories also tell me that there are recipes in the book that

could destroy this world.

Josh shook his head quickly. I think you re seeing what they want you to

see.

Sophie pointed to the sword. But why did Flamel give you the sword and the

Codex pages? she asked triumphantly.

I think I know they re using us. I just don't know what for. Not yet,

anyway. He saw his twin start to shake her head. Anyway, we re going to

need your powers to keep us both safe.

Sophie reached out and squeezed her brother s hand. You know I d never let

anything hurt you.

I know that, Josh said seriously. At least, not deliberately. But what

happens if something uses you, like it did in the Shadowrealm?

Sophie nodded. I had no control then, she admitted. It was like I was in a

dream, watching someone who looked like me.

My football coach says that before you can take control, you have to be in

control. If you can learn how to control your aura and master the magics,

Josh continued, no one would be able to do that to you ever again. You d be

incredibly powerful. And let s say, for instance, that my power isn't

Awakened. I can learn how to use this sword. He twisted it in his hand,

attempting to spin the blade, but it slipped sideways and cut a deep gouge in

the wall. Oops.

Josh!

What? You can hardly notice it. He rubbed his sleeve against the cut. Paint

and plaster flaked away, exposing the brickwork beneath.

You re making it worse. And you've probably taken a chunk out of the sword.

But when Josh held the weapon up to the light, there wasn't even a mark on

the blade.

Sophie nodded slowly. I still think I know you re wrong about Flamel and the

others.

Sophie, you have to trust me.

I trust you. But remember, the Witch knows these people, and she trusts

them.

Sophie, Josh said in frustration, we don't know anything about the Witch.

Oh, Josh, I know everything about the Witch, Sophie said feelingly. She

tapped her temple with her forefinger. And I wish I didn't. Her entire life,

thousands of years, are in here. Josh opened his mouth to reply, but Sophie

held up her hand. Here s what I ll do: I ll work with Saint-Germain, learn

everything he has to teach me.

And keep an eye on him at the same time; try and find out what he and Flamel

are up to.

Sophie ignored him. Maybe the next time we re attacked, we ll be able to

defend ourselves. She looked across the rooftops of Paris. At least we re

safe here.

But for how long? her twin asked.