Michael Scott - The Alchemyst

Behind the bear, the skeleton of a saber-toothed tiger appeared. And then acougar, and another bear smaller this time, and not quite as decomposed.

A word from me stops them, Dee s voice boomed. I want the pages of theCodex.

No, Flamel said grimly. Where is he? Where is he hiding?

Where s my brother? Sophie called desperately, and then screamed as a deadhand wrapped itself in her hair. Scathach chopped it off at the wrist, but itstill hung tangled in her hair like a bizarre hair clip. What have you donewith my brother?

You brother is considering his options. Yours is not the only side in thisbattle. And now, since I have the boy, all I need are the pages.

Never.

The bear and the tiger charged through the crowd of bodies, brushing themaside, trampling them in their eagerness to get to the trio. Thesaber-toothed tiger reached them first. Its gleaming skeletal head wasmassive, and the two downward-jutting teeth were at least eight inches long.Flamel placed himself between Sophie and the creature.

Hand over the pages, Nicholas, or I will loose these undead beasts on thetown.

Nicholas frantically hunted through his memory for a spell that would stopthe creature. He bitterly regretted now not studying more magic. He snappedhis fingers and a tiny bubble of light popped onto the ground in front of thetiger.

Is that all you can manage, Nicholas? My, you re weakening.

The bubble burst and spread across the ground in a cool emerald stain.

He s close enough to see us, Nicholas said. All I need is one glimpse ofhim.

The skeletal tiger s massive right front paw stepped into the green light.And stuck. It attempted to lift its leg, but thick strands of sticky greenthreads connected it to the road. And now its left paw stepped into the lightand stuck.

Not quite so weak, eh, Dee? Flamel shouted.

But the press of bodies behind the saber-toothed tiger kept pushing itforward. Suddenly, its bony legs snapped off, sending the huge beast lungingforward. Flamel managed to throw up his arms before the monster collapsed ontop of him, jaw gaping, teeth wide and savage.

Good-bye, Nicholas Flamel, Dee called. I ll just take the pages from yourbody.

No, Sophie whispered. No, it was not going to end like this. She had beenAwakened, and the Witch of Endor had imbued her with all her knowledge. Therehad to be something she could do. Sophie opened her mouth and screamed, heraura blazing with silver incandescence.

J osh awoke, his sister s scream ringing in his ears.

It took him several seconds before he realized where he was: sitting on the edge of the fountain in Libbey Park, while all around him thick, foul-smelling banks of fog shifted and twisted and crawled with half-glimpsed skeletons and mummified bodies clothed in rags.

Sophie!

He had to get to his sister. To his right, in the middle of the gray-black fog, green light sparkled and silver flared, briefly illuminating the mist from within, casting monstrous shadows. Sophie was there; Flamel and Scathach, too, fighting these monsters. He should be with them.

He came shakily to his feet and discovered Dr. John Dee standing directly in front of him.

Dee was outlined in a sickly yellow aura. It sparked and spat and hissed like burning fat and gave off the rancid odor of rotten eggs. The man had his back to him. He was leaning both forearms against the low stone wall next to the drinking fountain Josh had used earlier. Dee was staring intently at the events taking place in the street, concentrating so hard he was shaking with the effort of controlling the seemingly endless line of skeletons and mummified humans shuffling past. Now that he was on his feet, Josh noticed that there were other creatures in the fog too. He could see the remains of bears and tigers, mountain cats and wolves.

He heard Flamel shout and Sophie scream, and his first thought was to rush at Dee. But he doubted he d even get close. What could he do against this powerful magician? He wasn t like his twin: he had no powers.

But that didn t mean he was useless.

Sophie s scream sent out a shock wave of icy air that shattered the saber-toothed tiger to powder and knocked back the nearest skeletons. The huge bear crashed to the ground, crushing a dozen skeletons beneath its bulk. The blast of air had also cleared away a patch of fog, and for the first time, Sophie realized the enormity of what they were facing. There weren t dozens or even hundreds, there were thousands of the Old West s dead marching down the street toward them. Dotted through the mass were the bony remains of the animals that had hunted in the surrounding mountains for centuries. She didn t know what else she could do. The final use of magic exhausted her, and she slumped against Scathach, who caught her in her left arm while holding one sword in her right hand.

Flamel climbed tiredly to his feet. Using magic had drained his reserves of energy as well, and even in the past few minutes he had aged. The lines around his eyes were deeper, his hair thinner. Scathach knew he could not survive much longer.

Give him the pages, Nicholas, she urged.

He shook his head stubbornly. I will not. I cannot. I ve spent my lifeprotecting the Book.

He who retreats lives longer, she reminded him.

He shook his head. Flamel was bent over, breathing in great heaving gulps ofair. His skin was deathly pale, with two spots of unnaturally bright red onhis cheeks. This is the exception, Scathach. If I give him the pages, thenI ve condemned all of us Perry, too, and the entire world to destruction. He straightened and turned to face the creatures for what they all knew would bethe last time. Could you get Sophie away from here?

Scathach shook her head. I cannot fight them and carry her.

Could you get away on your own?

I could fight my way out, she said carefully.

Then go, Scatty. Escape. Get to the other Elders, contact the immortalhumans, tell them what happened here, start fighting the Dark Elders beforeit is too late.

I ll not leave you and Sophie here, Scathach said firmly. We re in this together to the end. Whatever that may be.

It s time to die, Nicholas Flamel, Dee called out of the gloom. I ll make sure to tell Perenelle about this moment in every little detail.

A rustle ran through the mass of skeletal human and animal bodies, and then,as one, they surged forward.

And a monster came out of the fog.

Huge and black, howling savagely, with two huge yellow-white eyes and dozensof smaller eyes blazing, it drove straight through the Libbey Park fountain,crushing it to powder, shattering the ornamental vases, and bore down on Dr.John Dee.

The necromancer managed to fling himself to one side before the black Hummercrashed into the wall, pounding it to dust. It stuck nose-down against theremains of the wall, back wheels caught in the air, engine screaming. Thedoor opened and Josh climbed out and carefully lowered himself to the ground.He was holding his chest where the seat belt had cut into it.

Ojai Avenue was littered with the remains of the long dead. Without Dee tocontrol them, they were just so many bones.

Josh staggered into the street and picked his way through the bones andscraps of cloth. Something crunched beneath his feet, but he didn t even lookdown.

Suddenly, the dead were gone.

Sophie didn t know what had happened. There had been a tremendous roar, ascream of tortured metal and a crunch of stone and then silence. And in the

silence, the dead had fallen down like windblown grass. What had Dee summoned now?

A shape moved in the twisting fog.

Flamel gathered the last of his energy into a solid sphere of green glass. Sophie straightened and tried to muster the dregs of her energy. Scathach flexed her fingers. She d once been told that she d die in an exotic location; she wondered if Ojai in Ventura County qualified as exotic enough.