Nicholas Flamel 1 - The Alchemyst sotinf-1

by Michael Scott

  the Dark Elders, want a return to the old ways, and work through agents like

  Dee to make it happen.

  And what about you? Josh demanded. Do you want to return to these old

  ways?

  I never thought they were that great, she said, then added, especially for

  the humani.

  They found Nicholas Flamel'sitting outside on a raised wooden deck set into a

  branch of the tree. Growing horizontally from the tree trunk, the branch was

  at least ten feet across, and sloped down to plunge into the earth close to a

  crescent-shaped pool. Walking across the branch, Sophie glanced down and was

  startled to see that beneath the green weeds that curled and twisted in the

  pool, tiny almost-human faces peered upward, mouths and eyes open wide. On

  the deck, five high-backed chairs were arranged around a circular table,

  which was set with beautifully hand-carved wooden bowls and elegant wooden

  cups and goblets. Warm, rough-cut bread and thick slices of hard cheese were

  arranged on platters, and there were two huge bowls of fruit apples, oranges

  and enormous cherries in the center of the table. The Alchemyst was carefully

  slicing the skin off an emerald green apple with a triangular sliver of black

  stone that looked like an arrowhead. Sophie noticed that he had arranged the

  green skin into shapes that resembled letters.

  Scatty slid into the seat beside the Alchemyst. Is Hekate not joining us?

  she asked, picking up a piece of cut skin and chewing on it.

  I believe she is changing for dinner, Flamel'said, slicing off another curl

  of skin to replace the piece Scatty was chewing. He looked over at Sophie and

  Josh. Sit, please. Our hostess will join us shortly and then we ll eat. You

  must be exhausted, he added.

  I am tired, Sophie admitted. She d become aware of the exhaustion a little

  earlier, and now she could barely keep her eyes open. She was also a little

  frightened, realizing that the tiredness was caused by the magic of the place

  feeding off her energy.

  When can we go home? Josh demanded, unwilling to admit that he too was worn

  out. Even his bones ached. He felt as if he was coming down with a cold.

  Nicholas Flamel cut a neat slice from the apple and popped it in his mouth.

  I m afraid you will not be able to return for a little while.

  Why not? Josh snapped.

  Flamel'sighed. He put down the stone arrowhead and the apple and placed his

  hands flat on the table. Right now, neither Dee nor the Morrigan knows who

  you are. It s only because of that, that you and your family are safe.

  Our family? Sophie asked. The sudden thought that her mother or father

  might be in danger made her feel queasy. Josh reacted with the same shock,

  his lips drawing into a thin white line.

  Dee will be thorough, Flamel'said. He is protecting a millennia-old

  secret, and he will not stop with killing you. Everyone you know or have come

  in contact with will have an accident. I d hazard a guess that even Bernice s

  Coffee Cup will burn to the ground simply because you once worked in it.

  Bernice might even perish in the fire.

  But she has nothing to do with anything, Sophie protested, horrified.

  Yes, but Dee doesn't know that. Nor does he care. He has worked with the

  Dark Elders for a long time, and now he has come to regard humans as they do:

  as little more than beasts.

  But we won t tell anyone what we've seen , Josh began, and no one would

  believe us anyway . His sentence trailed away.

  And if we don't tell anyone, then no one will ever know, Sophie said.

  We ll never speak of this again. Dee will never find us. But even as the

  words were leaving her mouth, she was beginning to realize that it was

  hopeless. She and Josh were as trapped by their knowledge of the Codex s

  existence as Nicholas and Perry had been.

  He would find you, Flamel'said reasonably. He glanced at the Warrior Maid.

  How long do you think it would it take for Dee or one of the Morrigan s

  spies to find them?

  Not long, she said, munching on the apple skin. A couple of hours maybe.

  The rats or birds would track you, then Dee would hunt you down.

  Once you have been touched by magic, you are forever changed. Flamel moved

  his right hand in front of him, leaving the faintest hint of pale green smoke

  dangling in the air. You leave a trail. He huffed a breath at the green

  smoke and it curled away and disappeared.

  Are you saying we smell? Josh demanded.

  Flamel nodded. You smell of wild magic. You caught a whiff of it earlier

  today when Hekate touched you both. What did you smell then?

  Oranges, Josh said.

  Vanilla ice cream, Sophie replied.

  And earlier still, when Dee and I fought: what did you smell then?

  Mint and rotten eggs, Josh said immediately.

  Every magician has his or her own distinctive odor; rather like a magical

  fingerprint. You must learn to heed your senses. Humans use but a tiny

  percentage of theirs. They barely look, they rarely listen, they never smell,

  and they think that they can only experience feelings through their skin. But

  they talk, oh, do they talk. That makes up for the lack of use of their other

  senses. When you return to your own world, you will be able to recognize

  people who have some taint of magical energy. He cut out a neat cube of

  apple and popped it into his mouth. You may notice a peculiar scent, you

  might even taste it or see it as a shimmer around their bodies.

  How long will the feeling last? Sophie asked, curious. She reached out and

  took a cherry. It was the size of a small tomato. Will it fade?

  Flamel'shook his head. It will never fade. On the contrary, it will get

  stronger. You have to realize that nothing will ever be the same for either

  of you from this day forth.

  Josh bit into an apple with a satisfying crunch. Juice ran onto his chin.

  You make that sound like a bad thing, he said with a grin, wiping his mouth

  with his sleeve.

  Flamel was about to respond, but glanced up and suddenly came to his feet.

  Scathach also rose smoothly, silently. Sophie immediately stood, but Josh

  remained sitting until Sophie caught his shoulder and pulled him up. Then she

  turned to look at the Goddess with Three Faces.

  But this wasn't Hekate.

  The woman she had seen earlier had been tall and elegant, middle-aged maybe,

  her hair cut in a tight white helmet close to her head, her black skin smooth

  and unwrinkled. This woman was older, much, much older. The resemblance to

  Hekate was there, and Sophie guessed that this was her mother or grandmother.

  Although she was still tall, she stooped forward, picking her way around the

  branch, leaning into an ornately carved black stick that was at least as tall

  as Sophie. Her face was a mass of fine wrinkles, her eyes deeply sunken in

  her head, glittering with a peculiar yellow cast. She was completely bald,

  and Sophie could see where her skull was tattooed in an intricate curling

  pattern. Although she was wearing a dress similar to the one Hekate had worn

  earlier, the metallic-looking fabric ran black and red with her every

  movement.

  Sophie blinked, squeezed her eyes shut and
then blinked again. She could see

  the merest hint of an aura around the woman, almost as if she were exuding a

  fine white mist. When she moved, she left tendrils of this mist behind her.

  Without acknowledging anyone s presence, the old woman settled into the seat

  directly facing Nicholas Flamel. Only when she was seated did Flamel and

  Scathach sit. Sophie and Josh sat down also, glancing from Nicholas to the

  old woman, wondering who she was and what was going on.

  The woman raised a wooden goblet from the table, but didn't drink. There was

  movement in the trunk of the tree behind her, and four tall, muscular young

  men appeared, carrying trays piled high with food, which they set down in the

  center of the table before backing away silently. The men looked so alike

  that they had to be related, but it was their faces that drew the twins

  attention: there was something wrong with the planes and angles of their

  skulls. Foreheads sloped down to a ridge over their eyes, their noses were

  short and splayed, their cheekbones pronounced, and their chins receded

  sharply. The hint of yellow teeth was visible behind thin lips. The men were

  bare-chested and barefoot, wearing only leather kilts, onto which rectangular

  plates of metal had been sewn. And their chests, legs and heads were covered

  with coarse red hair.

  Sophie suddenly realized that she was staring, and deliberately turned away.

  The men looked like some breed of primitive hominid, but she knew the

  differences between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, and her father had plaster

  skulls of Australopithecus, Peking man and the great apes in his study. These

  men were none of those. And then she noticed that their eyes were blue:

  bright blue, and incredibly intelligent-looking.

  They re Torc Allta, she said, and then froze in surprise when everyone

  turned to look at her. She hadn't realized she had spoken aloud.

  Josh, who d been staring suspiciously at what might have been a chunk of fish

  he d forked out of a big bowl of stew, glanced at the backs of the four young

  men. I knew that, he said casually.

  Sophie kicked him under the table. You did not, she muttered. You were too

  busy checking out the food.

  I m hungry, he said, then leaned across to his twin. It was the red hair

  and piggy noses that gave it away, he murmured. I thought you d realized

  that.

  It would be a mistake to let them hear you say that, Nicholas Flamel

  interrupted quietly. It would also be a mistake to judge by appearances or

  to comment on what you see. In this time, in this place, different standards,

  different criteria apply. Here words can kill literally.

  Or get you killed, Scathach added. She had piled her plate high with an

  assortment of vegetables, only some of which were familiar to the twins. She

  nodded in the direction of the tree. But you are right: they are Torc Allta

  in their humani form. Probably the finest warriors of any time, she said.

  They will accompany you when you leave here, the old woman said suddenly,

  her voice surprisingly strong coming from such a frail-looking body.

  Flamel bowed. We will be honored by their presence.

  don't be, the old woman snapped. They ll not accompany you solely for your

  protection: they re to ensure that you really do leave my realm. She spread

  her long-fingered hands on the table, and Sophie noticed that her fingernails

  were each painted a different color. Strangely, the pattern was identical to

  the one she d noticed on Hekate's nails earlier. You cannot stay here, the

  woman announced abruptly. You must go.

  The twins glanced at each other; why was she being so rude?

  Scathach opened her mouth to speak, but Flamel reached over and squeezed her

  arm. That was always our intention, he said smoothly. The late-afternoon

  sunlight slanting through the trees dappled his face, turning his pale eyes

  into mirrors. When Dee attacked my shop and snatched the Codex, I realized

  that I had nowhere else to go.

  You should have gone south, the old woman said, her dress almost completely

  black now, the red threads looking like veins. You would have been more

  welcome there. I want you to leave.

  When I began to suspect that the prophecy was beginning to come about, I

  knew I had to come to you, Flamel continued, ignoring her. The twins, who

  were following the exchange closely, noticed how his eyes had flickered

  briefly in their direction.

  The old woman turned her head and looked at the twins with her butter-colored

  eyes. Her wizened face cracked in a humorless smile that showed her tiny

  yellow teeth. I have thought about this; I am convinced that the prophecy

  does not refer to humani and especially not humani children, she added with

  a hiss.

  The contempt in the woman s voice made Sophie speak out. I wish you wouldn't

  talk about us as if we weren t here, she said.

  Besides, Josh said, your daughter was going to help us. Why don't we wait

  and see what she has to say.

  The elderly woman blinked at him, and her almost-invisible eyebrows raised in

  a silent question. My daughter?

  Sophie saw Scathach s eyes widen in surprise or warning, but Josh pressed on.

  Yes, the woman we met this afternoon. The younger woman your daughter? Or

  maybe she s your granddaughter? She was going to help us.

  I have neither a daughter nor a granddaughter! The old woman s dress flared

  black and red in long sheets of color. Her lips drew back from her teeth and

  she snarled some incomprehensible words. Her hands curled into claws, and the

  air was suddenly filled with the citrus scent of lime. Dozens of tiny

  spinning balls of green light gathered in the palms of her hand.

  And then Scathach slammed a double-edged dagger into the center of the table.

  The wood split in two with a thunderous snap that spewed splinters into the

  air, and the bowls of food shattered on the ground. The old woman reared

  back, the green light dribbling from her fingers like liquid. It ran hissing

  and spitting down the branch before sinking into the wood.

  The four Torc Allta were immediately behind the old woman, curved, scythelike

  swords in their hands, and three more of the creatures in their boar shape

  burst through the undergrowth and raced up the branch to assume positions

  behind Flamel and Scatty.

  The twins froze, terrified, unsure what had just happened. Nicholas Flamel

  hadn't moved, he merely continued to cut and eat the apple. Scathach calmly

  sheathed her dagger and folded her arms. She spoke quickly to the old woman.

  Sophie and Josh could see Scathach s lips moving, but all they could hear was

  a tinny, mosquito-like buzz.

  The old woman didn't respond. Her face was an expressionless mask as she

  stood and swept away from the table, surrounded by the Torc Allta guards.

  This time neither Flamel nor Scathach stood.

  In the long silence that followed, Scathach stooped down to gather some of

  the fallen fruits and vegetables from the ground, dusted them off and popped

  them into the only remaining unbroken wooden bowl. She started to eat.

  Josh was opening his mouth to ask the same question Sophie wanted an answer

  to
, but she reached under the table and squeezed his arm, silencing him. She

  was aware that something terribly dangerous had just occurred, and that

  somehow Josh was involved.

  I think that went well, don't you? Scathach asked eventually.

  Flamel finished the apple and cleaned the edge of the black arrowhead on a

  leaf. It depends on how you define the word well, he said.

  Scathach munched on a raw carrot. We re still alive and we re still in the

  Shadowrealm, she said. Could be worse. The sun is going down. Our hostess

  will need to sleep, and in the morning, sHe'll be a different person.

  Probably won t even remember what happened tonight.

  What did you say to her? Flamel asked. I ve never mastered the Elder

  Tongue.

  I simply reminded her of the ancient duty of hospitality and assured her

  that the slight to her was unintentional and made through ignorance and was,

  therefore, no crime under the Elder Laws.

  She is fearful , Flamel murmured, glancing toward the huge tree trunk. The

  Torc Allta guards could be seen moving inside, while the largest of the boars

  had remained outside, blocking the doorway.

  She is always fearful when the evening draws in. It is when she is at her

  most vulnerable, Scathach said.

  It would be nice, Sophie interrupted, if someone told us exactly what just

  happened. She hated it when adults talked among themselves and ignored any

  children present. And that was exactly what was happening now.

  Scathach smiled, and suddenly, her vampire teeth looked very long in her

  mouth. Your twin managed to insult one of the Elder Race and was very nearly

  turned into green slime for his crime.

  Josh shook his head. But I didn't say anything , he protested. He looked at

  his twin for support as he quickly thought over his conversation with the old

  woman. All I said was that her daughter or granddaughter had promised to

  help us.

  Scathach laughed softly. There is no daughter or granddaughter. The mature

  woman you saw this afternoon was Hekate. The old woman you saw this evening

  is also Hekate, and in the morning, you will meet a young girl who is Hekate

  as well.

  The Goddess with Three Faces, Flamel reminded them.

  Hekate is cursed to age with the day. Maiden in the morning, matron in the

  afternoon, crone in the evening. She is incredibly sensitive about her age.