Nicholas Flamel 1 - The Alchemyst sotinf-1

by Michael Scott

  withstanding the combined attack of the Morrigan and her birds and Bastet s

  cats. Perenelle also spotted Dee moving around behind Hekate, the sword in

  his hand glowing bright, poisonous blue, while behind them the Yggdrasill

  burned with fierce red and green flames.

  There was one other thing she could do. Something desperate and dangerous,

  and if it succeeded, it would leave her utterly exhausted and completely

  defenseless. Dee s creatures would simply be able to pick her up and carry

  her away.

  Perenelle didn't think twice.

  Crouching over the puddle of dirty water, she placed her right hand, palm up,

  in her left hand and concentrated fiercely. Perenelle s aura began to shift

  and move, flowing down her arms like drifting smoke, gathering in the palm of

  her hand, running like liquid along the creases and lines in her flesh. A

  tiny speck of silver-white light appeared in the folds of skin. It solidified

  into a perfect sphere and then it started to spin and grow, and now the ice

  white threads of her aura flowed more swiftly down her arms. Within a

  heartbeat the sphere was the size of an egg, and then Perenelle suddenly

  reversed her palm and thrust the ball of pure auric energy into the water.

  She uttered three words.

  Sophie. Wake up!

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  S ophie. Wake up!

  Sophie Newman s eyes snapped open. And then she squeezed them shut again and

  pressed her hands against her ears. The lights were so bright, so vivid, the

  sounds of battle so incredibly clear and distinct.

  Sophie. Wake up!

  The shock of hearing the voice again forced her to open her eyes and look

  around. She could hear Perenelle Flamel as clearly as if she were standing

  beside her, but there was no one there. She was lying propped against the

  rough bark of an oak tree, with Josh standing beside her, a thick branch

  clutched in both hands, desperately beating back terrifying creatures.

  Sophie slowly pushed herself to her feet, holding on to the tree for support.

  The last thing she clearly remembered was the bitter odor of rich green wood

  burning. She remembered saying Fire! and then the rest was a series of

  confused images a narrow tunnel, creatures with bird heads and cat

  skulls that might have been dreams.

  As Sophie s eyes adjusted and she looked around, she realized that they had

  not been dreams.

  They were completely surrounded by birds and cats: hundreds of them. Some of

  the cat-headed humans lurked in the long grass and attempted to creep toward

  them on all fours or on their bellies, spitting and clawing. There were

  birdmen in the branches of the tree overhead, maneuvering to get close enough

  to drop down, while others kept hopping in, jabbing at Josh with their

  evil-looking beaks.

  On the opposite side of the field, the Yggdrasill burned. The ancient wood

  snapped and cracked, plumes of white-hot sap boiling up into the pristine air

  like fireworks. But even as the burnt wood fell away, new growth appeared,

  fresh and green, in its place. Sophie was conscious of another sound too, and

  realized she was listening to the Yggdrasill. And now, with her incredibly

  sensitive hearing, she thought she could make out phrases and words, snatches

  of songs and fragments of poems within the agonized cries of the burning

  tree. In the distance, she could see Hekate desperately trying to put out the

  fires, but she was also fighting the Morrigan, the cats and the birds at the

  same time. Sophie also noticed that there were no more nathair in the skies,

  and very few of the Torc Allta remained to guard their ancient mistress.

  Closer, Sophie spotted Scatty s bright red hair. She, too, was surrounded by

  dozens of birds and cats. The Warrior was moving in what looked like an

  intricate dance, twin swords flashing, sending the creatures howling back

  from her. Scatty was trying to fight her way over to where Nicholas Flamel

  was lying facedown on the ground beneath the claws of the most terrifying

  creature Sophie had ever seen: Bastet, the Cat Goddess. With her incredibly

  sharp eyesight, the girl could make out the individual whiskers on Bastet s

  feline face, and she actually saw a droplet of saliva gather on the overlarge

  fangs and drip onto the man below.

  Flamel'saw Sophie looking in his direction. He tried to draw a breath, but it

  was difficult with the heavy creature standing on top of him. Run, he

  whispered, run.

  Sophie, I only have a few moments Perenelle s voice echoed inside the

  girl s head, shocking her to full alertness. This is what you must do. You

  must let me speak through you .

  Josh became aware that his sister was climbing to her feet, swaying slightly,

  hands pressed to her ears as if the sounds were too much, eyes squeezed

  tightly shut. He saw her lips move, as if she were talking to herself. He

  lashed out at a pair of humans with mockingbird heads as they darted forward.

  The heavy branch caught one of the creatures squarely on the beak, and it

  staggered back, dazed and stunned. The other continued to circle Josh, who

  realized that it was not coming for him it was trying to get to Sophie. He

  turned and lashed out at it, but at that moment, a tall, slender man with a

  tabby cat s head came bounding toward him. Josh tried to swing the branch,

  but he was off balance and the catman ducked under the blow. Then it leapt

  into the air, mouth gaping, claws extended. With a sour taste at the back of

  his throat, Josh admitted to himself that he and Sophie were in desperate

  trouble. He needed to get to his sister, he had to protect her and in that

  instant, he knew he was not going to make it. He closed his eyes at the last

  minute as the savage cat-headed creature slammed into his chest, expecting to

  feel the sting of its claws, to hear its squalling roar in his face but all

  he heard was a gentle purring. He blinked his eyes open and found he was

  holding a fluffy kitten in his arms.

  Sophie! He turned around and stopped in awe.

  Sophie s aura had flared pure silver around her body. It was so dense in

  places that it even reflected the sunlight, making it appear like a medieval

  suit of armor. Silver sparks crackled through her hair and dripped from her

  fingers like liquid.

  Sophie? Josh whispered, elated. His sister was fine.

  And then Sophie slowly turned her head to look at Josh, and he experienced

  the shocking, sickening realization that she did not recognize him.

  The birdman that had been moving in to attack the girl suddenly darted

  forward, beak stabbing at her eyes. Sophie snapped her fingers: tiny droplets

  of silver spun away from her hands to splash against the creature. Instantly,

  it folded and twisted in on itself and became a disorientated hermit thrush.

  Sophie walked past her brother and stepped toward Bastet.

  No farther, little girl, Bastet commanded, raising a clawed hand.

  Sophie s eyes opened wide and she smiled, and Josh suddenly found that, for

  the first time in his life, he was frightened of his own sister. He knew that

  this wasn't his Sophie; this terrifying creature could not be his twin.

  When the girl s
poke, her voice was a harsh croak. You have no idea what I

  can do to you.

  Bastet s huge feline eyes blinked in surprise. You can do nothing to me,

  little girl.

  I am no girl. You may be ancient, but you have never encountered anything

  like me. I possess the raw power that can nullify your magic. I can use it to

  return the birds and cats to their natural forms. Sophie s head titled to

  one side, a gesture Josh knew well; his sister did it when she was listening

  intently to someone. Then she stretched out her hands toward the Dark Elder.

  What do you think would happen if I were to reach out and touch you?

  Bastet hissed a command, and a trio of huge catmen raced toward the girl.

  Sophie flung out her arm, and a long, whip-like, snaking coil of silver

  energy flowed from her hand. It touched each of the cats, crackling across

  their haunches and shoulders, and they immediately came to stumbling halts,

  rolling and twisting on the ground as they transformed into ordinary everyday

  cats, two shorthairs and a ragged-looking Persian. The cats bounded to their

  feet and streaked off, howling piteously.

  Sophie spun the whip above her head, scattering drops of liquid silver in

  every direction. Let me give you a taste of what I can do . The silver whip

  cracked and snapped as she approached.

  Scatty suddenly found that three of her adversaries had transformed into an

  American robin, a house finch, and a song sparrow, while the exotic-looking

  catman directly in front of her warped into a confused Siamese.

  Sophie cracked the silver whip again and again, beating away their attackers,

  droplets of silver splashing everywhere, and more and more of the cat-and

  birdmen returned to their natural forms. Get away from Nicholas, she said,

  her lips not moving in synch with her words, or we will find out what your

  true shape is, Bastet, who is also Mafdet, Sekhmet and Menhit.

  Bastet slowly stepped away from Flamel and raised herself to her full

  towering height. Her slit-pupiled eyes were wide, her mouth tightly closed.

  It has been a long time since anyone has called me by those names. Who are

  you certainly no modern humani girl?

  Sophie s mouth moved, the words taking a moment or two to follow. Beware

  this girl, Bastet. She is your doom.

  Bastet s fur was bristling and her bare arms dimpled with goose bumps. Then

  she slowly backed away, turned and raced toward the burning Yggdrasill. For

  the first time in millennia, she was frightened.

  Nicholas dragged himself to his feet and staggered toward Sophie, Josh and

  Scatty. He stepped up to Sophie. Perenelle? he whispered.

  Sophie turned her head to him, eyes blank and unseeing. Her mouth worked, and

  then, as in a badly dubbed movie, the words came. I m in San Francisco, held

  in the basement of Enoch Enterprises. I m safe and well. Take

  the children south, Nicholas. There was a long moment of silence; then, when

  she spoke again, the words came quicker than Sophie s lips could move, and

  the girl s silver aura began to fade and her eyes started to close. Take

  them to the Witch.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  D r. John Dee was becoming frantic. Everything was falling apart, and now

  there was every possibility that he was going to have to take an active part

  in the battle.

  Flamel, Scatty and the twins had managed to escape from the interior of the

  Yggdrasill and were now fighting on the opposite side of the field, no more

  than two hundred yards away, but he couldn t get to them it would mean

  crossing a battlefield. The last of the Torc Allta, both in their human and

  boar form, fought running battles with the cat-and birdmen. The nathair had

  already been defeated. Initially, the winged serpents had brought chaos and

  confusion to the cats and birds, but they were lumbering and awkward on the

  ground, and most had been killed once they d landed. The massive army of Torc

  Allta had thinned considerably, and he guessed that within the hour, there

  would be no more wereboars left in North America.

  But he could not afford to wait that long. He had to get to Flamel now. He

  had to retrieve the pages of the Codex as soon as possible.

  From his hiding place behind a clump of bushes, Dee watched the Elders.

  Hekate was standing in the doorway to her tree home, surrounded by the last

  of her personal Torc Allta guard. While the boars fought the cats and birds,

  Hekate alone faced down the combined forces of the Morrigan and Bastet.

  The three ignored the half-human animals fighting around them. To the casual

  observer it would have seemed as if the three Elders were simply staring at

  one another. Dee, however, noted the purple-gray clouds that gathered only

  above the Yggdrasill; he saw how the delicate white and gold flowers strewn

  around the huge tree withered and died, turning to black paste in an instant;

  he had seen the unsightly sheen of fungus that appeared on the smoothly

  polished stone path. Dee smiled; surely it would not be long now. How much

  longer could Hekate'stand against the two Elders, aunt and niece?

  But the goddess showed no sign of weakening.

  And then she struck back.

  Although the air, now stinking from the burning tree, was still, Dee watched

  as an invisible, unfelt breeze whipped the Morrigan s cloak about her

  shoulders and buffeted the huge Bastet, making her tilt her head and lean

  forward into the wind. The patterns on Hekate's metallic dress whirled with

  blinding rapidity, the colors blurred and distorted.

  With growing alarm, he saw a dark shadow flowing across the withering grass

  and then watched as a swarm of tiny black flies settled on Bastet s fur,

  crawling into her ears and up her nose. The Cat Goddess howled and staggered

  back, rubbing furiously at her face. She fell to the ground, rolling over and

  over in the long grass, attempting to free herself from the insects. More and

  more kept coming, and they were joined by fire ants and recluse spiders,

  which crawled out of the grass and swarmed over her body. Crouched on all

  fours, she threw back her head and screamed in agony, then turned and ran

  across the field, rolling and crawling in the grass, splashing through a

  little pool, trying to clean the insects from her body. She was more than

  halfway across the field before the thick, swirling cloud left her. She

  rubbed furiously at her face and arms, leaving long scratches on her skin,

  before climbing to her feet and striding back toward the Yggdrasill. And then

  the swarm of flies, thicker now, re-formed in the air before her.

  In that moment, Dee considered that perhaps just perhaps Hekate could win.

  Splitting Bastet and the Morrigan had been a master stroke; ensuring that

  Bastet could not get back was simply genius.

  Realizing that she could not return to the Yggdrasill, Bastet hissed her

  rage, then turned and raced over to where Flamel, Scatty and the twins were

  trying to defend themselves. Dee saw her leap an incredible distance and

  bring the Alchemyst to the ground. That gave him some satisfaction, at least,

  and he allowed himself a slight smile, which quickly faded he was still

  trapped on this side of the field. H
ow was he going to get past Hekate?

  Even though the Yggdrasill was burning furiously, with whole sections

  blazing, burning leaves and blackened strips of branches spiraling down,

  sticky streamers of sap exploding from collapsing branches, Hekate's powers

  seemed undiminished. Dee ground his teeth in frustration; all his research

  indicated that Hekate had brought the tree to life by imbuing it with a

  little of her own life force. In turn, as it grew, it renewed and replenished

  her powers. Burning the tree had been his idea. He had imagined that as it

  burned, she would weaken. But on the contrary: setting the tree alight had

  only served to enrage the goddess, and her anger had made her all the more

  deadly. When Dee saw Hekate's lips twitch in what might have been a smile and

  the Morrigan stagger and then step back, he began to realize that here, in

  her own Shadowrealm, the Goddess with Three Faces was simply too strong for

  them.

  Dee knew then that he would have to act.

  Keeping to the shadows of the trees and tall grasses, he moved around the

  trunk of the enormous Yggdrasill. He was forced to crouch down and hide as a

  Torc Allta in its boar shape crashed through the undergrowth directly in

  front of him with at least a dozen cat-people and twice that number of

  birdmen clinging to him.

  Dee came out of the undergrowth on the opposite side of the tree from where

  Hekate and the Morrigan fought. To his right, he could see that something was

  happening with Flamel's group; birds and cats were scattering in every

  direction and then he realized that he was seeing ordinary birds and everyday

  cats fleeing, not the half-human creatures. The Morrigan s and Bastet s

  transformation spells were failing: was Hekate that powerful? He had to end

  this now.

  Dr. John Dee lifted the short-bladed sword in his hand. Dirty blue light

  coiled down its length, and for an instant the ancient stone blade hummed as

  an invisible breeze moved across the edge. The twisting snakes carved into

  its hilt came to twisting, hissing life.

  Gripping the hilt tightly, Dee pressed the point of the blade against the

  gnarled bark of the ancient tree and pushed.

  Excalibur slid smoothly into the wood, sinking right up to the hilt without