Michael Scott - The Alchemyst

Dee came dangerously close to capturing us in Paris in 1763, Flamel continued, and again in 1835, when we were in Rome working as booksellers,as it happens. That was always my favorite occupation, he added. He fell silent as they approached a group of Japanese tourists listening intently totheir guide, who was standing beneath a bright yellow umbrella. When theywere out of earshot, he continued, the events of more than a century and ahalf earlier obviously still fresh and bitter in his memory.

We fled to Ireland, thinking he would never find us on that island at theedge of Europe. But he pursued us. He had managed to master the control of Wights then, and brought two over with him: the Disease Wight and the HungerWight, no doubt intending to set them on our trail. At some point he lostcontrol of the creatures. Hunger and disease ravaged that poor land: amillion people died in Ireland s Great Famine in the 1840s. Nicholas Flamel s face hardened into a mask. I doubt if Dee even paused to thinkabout it. He always had nothing but contempt for humankind.

Sophie glanced at her brother again. She could tell by the expression on hisface that he was concentrating hard, trying to keep up with the deluge ofinformation. She knew he would want to go online and check out some of thedetails. But he never caught you, she said to Flamel.

Not until today. He shrugged and smiled sadly. It was inevitable, Isuppose. Throughout the twentieth century, he kept getting closer. He wasbecoming more powerful, his organization was melding ancient magic and moderntechnology. Perry and I hid out in Newfoundland for a long time until heloosed Dire Wolves on us, and then we drifted from city to city, starting onthe East Coast in New York in 1901 and gradually moving westward. I supposeit was only a matter of time before he caught up with us, he added.

Cameras, videos, phones and the Internet make it so much harder to remainhidden nowadays.

This book this Codex he was looking for, Josh began.

The Book of Abraham the Mage, Flamel clarified.

What s so special about it?

Nicholas Flamel stopped in the middle of the sidewalk so suddenly that thetwins walked right past him. They turned and looked back. The ratherordinary-looking man spread his arms wide, as if he were about to take a bow.

Look at me. Look at me! I am older than America. That is what is so specialabout the book. Flamel lowered his voice and continued urgently. But youknow something the secret of life eternal is probably the least of the secrets in the Codex.

Sophie found herself slipping her hand into her brother s. He squeezedlightly and she knew, without his saying a word, that he was as frightened asshe was.

With the Codex, Dee can set about changing the world.

Changing it? Sophie s voice was a raw whisper, and abruptly, the May airfelt chilly.

Changing it how? Josh demanded.

Remaking it, Flamel said softly. Dee and the Dark Elders he serves will remake this world as it was in the unimaginably ancient past. And the onlyplace for humans in it will be as slaves. Or food.

A lthough there were other ways he could have used to communicate, Dr. JohnDee preferred this century s method of choice: the cell phone. Settling backinto the cool leather interior of the limousine, he flipped open the phone,pointed it to where Perenelle Flamel was slumped unconscious between twodripping Golems and took a quick picture.

Madame Perenelle Flamel. His prisoner. Now, that was certainly something forthe photo album.

Dee keyed in a number and hit Send, then he tilted his head, looking at thegraceful woman across from him. Capturing Perenelle had been an extraordinarystroke of good fortune, but he knew he d only managed it because she d usedup so much energy destroying his Golem. He stroked his small triangularbeard. He was going to have to make more Golems soon. He looked at the twoopposite: in the brief time they had been outside in the early-afternoon sun,they had started to crack and melt. The big one on Perenelle s left wasdripping black river mud across the leather seat.

Perhaps he would choose something other than Golems next time. The brutishcreatures worked fine in damper climates, but were especially unsuited to aWest Coast summer. He wondered if he still had the recipe to create a ghoul.

It was Perenelle who presented him with a problem, however a serious problem:he simply wasn t sure how powerful she was.

Dee had always been rather in awe of the tall, elegant Frenchwoman. When he dfirst apprenticed himself to Nicholas Flamel, the Alchemyst, he d made themistake of underestimating her. He d quickly found that Perenelle Flamel wasat least as powerful as her husband in fact, there were some areas in whichshe was even more powerful. Those traits that made Flamel such a brilliantalchemyst his attention to detail, his knowledge of ancient languages, hisinfinite patience made him a poor sorcerer and a terrible necromancer. Hesimply lacked the imaginative spark of pure visualization that was needed forthat work. Perenelle, on the other hand, was one of the most powerfulsorceresses he had ever encountered.

Dee pulled off one of his gray leather gloves and dropped it onto the seatbeside him. Leaning toward Perenelle, he dipped his finger in the puddle ofmud dripping from one of the Golems and traced a curling symbol on the backof the woman s left hand. Then he painted a mirror image of the symbol on herright hand. He dipped his hand in the sticky black mud again and wasinscribing three wavy lines on her forehead when she suddenly opened herbright green eyes. Dee abruptly sat back in his seat.

Madame Perenelle, I cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to see you again.

Perry opened her mouth to speak, but no words would form. She tried to move,but not only were the Golems gripping her arms tightly, her muscles refusedto obey.

Ah, you must excuse me, but I ve taken the liberty of placing you under awarding spell. A simple spell, but it will suffice until I can organizesomething more permanent. Dee smiled, but there was nothing humorous in hisexpression. His cell phone trilled, playing the theme from The X-Files, and

You got the photo? Dee asked. Yes, I thought that would amuse you: thelegendary Perenelle Flamel in our hands. Oh, I m quite sure Nicholas willcome after her. And we ll be ready. This time he will not escape.

Perenelle could clearly hear the cackle of laughter on the other end.

Yes, of course. Dee reached into an inside pocket and took out thecopper-bound book. We have the Codex. Finally. He began to turn the thickrough-edged pages as he spoke. His voice fell, and it was unclear whether hewas talking to the caller or to himself. Ten thousand years of arcaneknowledge in one place

Then his voice trailed away. The phone dropped from his hand and bouncedacross the floor of the car.

At the back of the book, two pages were missing, roughly torn out.

Dee closed his eyes and then licked his lips with a quick flicking movementof his tiny tongue. The boy, he rasped, the boy, when I pulled it from hishand. He opened his eyes and began to scan the preceding pages carefully.

Maybe they re not important, he murmured, lips moving as he followed theshifting, moving words. He concentrated on the bright illuminated letters atthe top of every page, which gave a clue to what followed. Then he stoppedabruptly, clutching the book in trembling fingers. When he raised his head,his eyes were blazing. I m missing the Final Summoning! he howled. Yellow sparks danced around his head, and the rear window behind him bloomed aspiderweb of white cracks. Tendrils of yellow-white power dripped from histeeth like saliva. Go back! he roared to the driver. Go back now. No,stop, cancel that order. Flamel s no fool. They ll be long gone. He snatched the phone off the floor and, avoiding Perenelle s eyes, took a moment tocompose himself. He drew in a deep shuddering breath and visibly calmedhimself, then dialed. We have a slight problem, he said crisply into thephone, voice calm and unemotional. We seem to be missing a couple of pagesfrom the back of the book. Nothing important, I m sure. Perhaps you would dome a courtesy, he said very casually. You might convey to the Morrigan thatI am in need of her services.