Scatty strode across the small room, glanced out into the hall, to make sure
Sophie and Josh were still in the kitchen, and then pulled Flamel into the
room and pushed the door closed.
You re up to something, aren't you? she demanded. This is about more than
just the loss of the Codex. You could have taken Dee and his minions on your
own.
don't be so sure. It s been a long time since I fought, Scathach, Flamel
said gently. The only alchemy I do now is to brew a little of the
philosopher s stone potion to keep Perenelle and myself young. Occasionally,
I'll make a little gold or the odd jewel when we need some money.
Scatty coughed a short humorless laugh, and spun back to her packing. She had
changed into a pair of black combat pants, steel-toed Magnum boots and a
black T-shirt, over which she wore a black vest covered in pockets and
zippers. She pushed a second pair of trousers into her backpack, found one
sock and went looking for its match under her bed.
Nicholas Flamel, she said, her voice muffled by the blankets, you are the
most powerful alchemyst in the known world. Remember, I stood beside you when
we fought the demon Fomor, and you were the one who rescued me from the
dungeons of An Chaor-Thanach and not the other way around. She came out from
under the bed with the missing sock. When the Rusalka were terrorizing St.
Petersburg, you alone turned them back, and when Black Annis raged across
Manitoba, I watched you defeat her. You alone faced down the Night Hag and
her Undead army. you've spent more than half a millennium reading and
studying the Codex, no one is more familiar with the stories and legends it
holds Scatty stopped suddenly and gasped, green eyes widening. That'swhat
this is about, she said. This is to do with the legend .
Flamel reached out and pressed his forefinger to Scatty s lips, preventing
her from saying another word. His smile was enigmatic. Do you trust me? he
asked her eventually.
Her response was immediate. Without question.
Then trust me. I want you to protect the twins. And train them, he added.
Train them! Do you know what you re asking?
Flamel nodded. I want you to prepare them for what is to come.
And what is that? Scathach asked.
I have no idea Flamel'smiled except that it is going to be bad.
We re fine, Mom, honestly, we re fine. Sophie Newman tilted the cell phone
slightly so that her brother could listen in. Yes, Perry Fleming was feeling
sick. Something she ate, probably. She s fine now. Sophie could feel the
beads of sweat gathering in the small hairs at the back of her neck. She was
uncomfortable lying to her mother even though her mother was so wrapped up in
her work that she never bothered to check.
Josh and Sophie s parents were archaeologists. They were known worldwide for
their discoveries, which had helped reshape modern archaeology. They were
among the first in their field to discover the existence of the new species
of small hominids that were now commonly called Hobbits in Indonesia. Josh
always said that their parents lived five million years in the past and were
only happy when they were up to their ankles in mud. The twins knew that they
were loved unconditionally, but they also knew that their parents simply
didn't understand them or much else about modern life.
Mr. Fleming is taking Perry out to their house in the desert and they ve
asked us if we d like to go with them for a little break. We said we had to
ask you first, of course. Yes, we spoke to Aunt Agnes; she said so long as it
was OK with you. Say yes, Mom, please.
She turned to her brother and crossed her fingers. He crossed his too; they
had talked long and hard about what to say to their aunt and their mother
before they made the calls, but they weren t entirely sure what they were
going to do if their mother said they couldn t go.
Sophie uncrossed her fingers and gave her brother a thumbs-up. Yes, I ve got
time off from the coffee shop. No, we won t be a bother. Yes, Mom. Yes. Love
to you, and tell Dad we love him too. Sophie listened, then moved the phone
away from her mouth. Dad found a dozen
near-perfect condition, she reported. Josh looked blank. A very rare
Cambrian crustacean, she explained.
Her brother nodded. Tell Dad That'sgreat. We ll keep in touch, he called
out.
Love you, Sophie said, cutting the conversation short, then hung up. I
hate lying to her, she said immediately.
I know. But you couldn t really tell her the truth, now, could you?
Sophie shrugged. I guess not.
Josh turned back to the sink. His laptop was perched precariously on the
draining board next to his cell phone. He was using the cell to go online
because, shockingly, there was no phone line or Internet connection in the
dojo.
Scatty lived above the dojo in a small two-room apartment with a kitchen at
one end of the hall and a bedroom with a tiny bathroom at the other. A little
balcony connected the two rooms and looked down directly onto the dojo below.
The twins were standing in the kitchen while Flamel brought Scatty up to date
on the events of the past hour in her bedroom at the other end of the hall.
What do you think of her? Josh asked casually, concentrating on his laptop.
He d managed to get online, but the connection speed was crawlingly slow. He
called up Altavista and typed in a dozen versions of
finally got a hit with the correct spelling. Here she is: twenty-seven
thousand hits for Scathach, the shadow or the shadowy one, he said, then
added offhandedly, I think she s cool.
Sophie picked up on the too-casual tone immediately. She smiled broadly and
her eyebrows shot up. Who? Oh, you mean the two-thousand-year-old warrior
maid. don't you think she might be a little too old for you?
A wash of color rose from beneath the neck of Josh s T-shirt, painting his
cheeks bright red. Let me try Google, he muttered, fingers rattling across
the keyboard. Forty-six thousand hits for Scathach, he said. Looks like
she s real too. Let s see what Wiki has to say about her, he went on, and
then realized that Sophie wasn't even looking at him. He turned to her and
discovered that she was staring fixedly through the window.
There was a rat standing on the rooftop of the building across the alley,
staring at them. As they watched, it was joined by a second and then a third.
They re here, Sophie whispered.
Dee concentrated on keeping his lunch down.
Looking through the rat s eyes was a nauseating experience. Because of their
tiny brain, it required a huge effort of will to keep the creature
