Michael Scott - The Sorceress

Joan looked at her husband. Although they had known one another for centuries, they had only recently married, and she realized that there was still much she didn't know about him. She pointed toward the cathedral. "What do you see?"

"I see a golden column of light shining up into the heavens."

Joan squinted out into the early-afternoon sunlight, but she saw nothing. Her eye was caught by a flash of bright red over her shoulder as Scathach also shook her head. "These columns: are they always gold?" she asked.

"Not always: they are either gold or silver. On my travels into the Far East, I saw silver spires. Once, before he lost the ability to see clearly, I believe that ancient man would have been able to identify leygates by simply looking to the skies to find the nearest gold or silver shaft of light." He turned to look at Scathach. "Can the Elders see leygates?"

Scathach shrugged. "I have no idea," she said dismissively. "I cannot, and before you ask, I've never heard of any Next Generation who was able to see them either." The young-looking woman settled a black backpack onto her shoulders, then pulled a wide black bandana down over her forehead, completely concealing all traces of her red hair. Her matching short swords were wrapped up in a rolled blanket tied across the top of the backpack. "So what do we do?"

The count looked at his watch. "This gate will activate at precisely one-forty-nine p.m., which is solar noon over Paris-that's the time the sun is at its zenith."

"I know what solar noon means," Scatty muttered.

"Walk straight up to Point Zero and stand there. Set into the cobblestones you will find a circle surrounding a miniature sunburst. The circle is divided into two parts. Make sure both of you have one foot in each section. I'll do the rest," Saint-Germain said. "Once the gate is active, I can send you on your way."

"And the gendarmes?" Joan asked, pulling on a matching backpack. She carried her sword in a thick tube that had once held a camera tripod.

"I'll take care of them, too." Francis grinned, revealing his crooked teeth. "Stay in the car until you see the police talking to me, then move. And no matter what happens, don't stop until you reach Point Zero. Then wait."

"What then?" Scatty demanded. She hated using leygates. They always made her feel seasick.

The count shrugged. "Well, if everything goes according to plan, you will instantaneously arrive on the West Coast of America."

"And if it doesn't?" Scatty asked in alarm as Saint-Germain climbed out of the car. "What happens if it doesn't go as planned: where do we end up then?"

"Who knows?" Francis threw up his hands. "The gates are solar-or lunar-powered, depending on the direction they run. I suppose there is always the possibility that if something went wrong, you could emerge in the heart of the sun or on the dark side of the moon. This line runs east to west, so it is a sun line," he added, then smiled. "You'll be fine. He drew Joan into his arms, held her tight, then kissed her lightly on both cheeks and whispered in her ear. Then he twisted around in the seat to look at the Warrior Maid. "Stay safe. Get Perenelle off the island and contact me. I'll come and get you." The count climbed out of the car, shoved both hands in the pockets of his long black leather coat and sauntered over to the nearest gendarme.

Joan turned to look at her friend. "You've got that look about you," she said.

"What look?" Scatty asked innocently, green eyes glittering.

"I call it your battle face. I first saw it the day you rescued me from the fire. Something happens to your face, it becomes… sharper." She reached back and ran a finger along Scathach's cheek. It was as if the flesh had tightened on her bones, clearly defining the skull beneath. Her freckles stood out on her pale skin like drops of blood.

"It's my vampire heritage." The Shadow grinned, long teeth savage in her mouth. "It happens to my clan when we are excited. Some of the blood drinkers cannot control the change and it alters them utterly, making them monsters."

"You're excited to be going into battle?" Joan asked quietly.

Scatty nodded, happy. "I'm excited to be rescuing our dearest friend."

"It will not be easy. She is trapped on an island full of monsters."

"What about them? You are the legendary Jeanne d'Arc, and I am the Shadow. What can stand against us?"

"A sphinx?" Joan suggested.

"They're not so tough," Scatty said lightly. "I fought the sphinx and her appalling mother before."

"Who won?" Joan asked, biting back a smile.

"Who do you think?" Scatty began, then corrected herself. "Well, actually, I ran away…" itting with their backs against the wall of the barn, legs stretched out in front of them, the twins watched Nicholas and Gilgamesh arguing outside. The Alchemyst was standing still and silent; the king was gesticulating wildly.

"What language are they speaking?" Josh asked. "Sounds almost familiar."

"Hebrew," Sophie said without thinking.

Josh nodded. He settled himself more comfortably against the wall. "You know, I thought…," he began slowly, struggling to find the words through a blanket of exhaustion. "I thought it would be more…" He shrugged. "I don't know. More spectacular."

"You saw what I saw," Sophie said with a tired smile. "You don't call that spectacular?"

He shrugged again. "It was interesting. But I don't feel any different. I thought… I don't know, I thought that after learning one of the magics, I'd feel… stronger, maybe. And how do we even use this Water magic?" he asked, holding both hands straight out in front of him. "Do we do something with our auras and think about water? Should we practice?"

"Instinct. You'll know what to do when the time is right." Sophie reached out and pushed her brother's hands down. "You can't use your aura," she reminded him, "it will reveal our location. This is the third of the elemental magics I've learned," she said, "and you're right, it's not spectacular, but neither were the others. I didn't feel any stronger or faster or anything like that when I learned Air or Fire. But I do feel…" She paused, looking for the right word. "Different."

"Different?" He looked at his twin. "You don't look different, except when your eyes turn silver. Then you're scary."

Sophie nodded. She knew what he meant; she had seen her brother's eyes turn to flat gold discs and it had been terrifying. Leaning her head back against the smooth wood, she closed her eyes. "Do you remember when you had the cast taken off your arm last year?"

Josh grunted. "Never forget it." He'd broken his arm in a bad tackle the previous summer and had spent three months in a cast.

"What did you say when the cast was cut off?"

Josh unconsciously raised his left hand, turning it in a half circle, closing his fingers into a fist. The cast had been incredibly irritating; there were so many things he just couldn't do with it, including tying his shoelaces. "I said I felt like me again."

"That's how I feel." Sophie opened her eyes and looked at her brother. "With every magic I learn, I feel more and more complete. It's as if parts of me have been missing all my life and now I'm becoming whole again, piece by piece."

Josh tried a laugh, but it came out sounding shaky. "I guess by the time you learn the last magic you won't need me anymore."

Sophie reached out and squeezed her brother's arm. "Don't be silly. You're my twin. We are the two that are one."

"The one that is all," he finished.

"I wonder what it means," Sophie whispered.

"I have a feeling we'll find out-whether we want to or not," Josh said. aint-Germain was a rock star, famous throughout Europe, and the young police officer recognized him immediately. He came forward, snapped a quick salute and then pulled off his leather glove as the count stretched out his hand. Behind the smoked glass in the car the two women-Next Generation and human immortal-watched as Francis shook the man's hand and then deftly turned him so that he was facing away from the road.