I m not sure what I can do , Scathach began, and then Sophie leaned over
and hit the windshield wiper switch. The heavy blades activated and simply
swept the bird off the hood in a flurry of feathers and a shrill croak of
surprise. The red-haired warrior grinned. Well, there is that, of course.
Now the rest of the birds had reached the SUV. They settled on the vehicle in
a great blanket. First dozens, then hundreds gathered on the roof, the hood,
the doors, clutching every available opening. If one fell off or lost its
grip, dozens more fought for its place. The noise inside the car was
incredible as thousands of birds pecked and tapped at the metal, the glass,
the doors. They tore into the rubber molding around the windows, ripped into
the spare tire on the back of the SUV, tearing it to shreds. There were so
many on the hood, pressed up against the windshield, that Josh couldn t see
where he was going. He took his foot off the accelerator and the car
immediately started to slow.
Drive! Flamel'shouted. If you stop, we are truly lost.
But I Can't see!
Flamel leaned through the seats and stretched out his right hand. Sophie
suddenly saw the small circular tattoo on the underside of his wrist. A cross
ran through the circle, the arms of the cross extending over the edges of the
circle. For a single instant it glowed and then the Alchemyst snapped his
fingers. A tiny ball of hissing, sizzling flame appeared on his fingertips.
Close your eyes, he commanded. Without waiting to see if they obeyed, he
flicked it toward the glass.
Even through their closed lids, the twins could see the searing light that
lit up the interior of the car.
Now drive, Nicholas Flamel commanded.
When the twins opened their eyes, most of the crows were gone from the hood,
and those few that remained looked dazed and shocked.
That'snot going to hold them for long, Scatty said. She looked up as a
razor-sharp beak punched a hole straight through the metal roof. She snapped
out the nunchaku. She held one stick in her hand, while the other, attached
to the short chain, shot out with explosive force and cracked against the
beak embedded in the roof. There was a startled shriek and the beak slightly
bent disappeared.
Sophie turned her head to peer in her side mirror. It was dangling off the
car, barely held on by a shred of metal and some wire. She could see more
birds thousands of them flying in to replace those that had been swept away,
and she knew then that they were not going to make it. There were simply too
many of them.
Listen, Nicholas Flamel'said suddenly.
I don't hear anything, Josh said grimly.
Sophie was just about to agree with him when she heard the sound. And she
suddenly felt the hairs on her arms prickle and rise. Low and lonely, the
noise hovered just at the edge of her hearing. It was like a breeze, one
moment sounding soft and gentle, the next louder, almost angry. A peculiar
odor wafted into the car.
What is that smell? Josh asked.
Smells like spicy oranges, Sophie said, breathing deeply.
Pomegranates, Nicholas Flamel'said.
And then the wind came.
It howled across the bay, warm and exotic, smelling of cardamom and
rosewater, lime and tarragon, and then it raced along the length of the
Golden Gate Bridge, plucking the birds off the struts, lifting them off the
cars, pulling them out of the air. Finally the pomegranate-scented wind
reached the SUV. One moment the car was surrounded by birds; the next, they
were gone, and the car was filled with the scents of the desert, of dry air
and warm sand.
Sophie hit a button and the scarred and pitted window jerked down. She craned
her neck out the SUV, breathing in the richly scented air. The huge flock of
birds was being pulled high into the sky, borne aloft on the breeze. When one
escaped one of the big Dire-Crows, Sophie thought it was quickly caught by a
tendril of the warm breeze and pushed back into the rest of the flock. From
underneath, the mass of birds looked like a dirty cloud and then the cloud
dispersed as the birds scattered, leaving the sky blue and clear again.
Sophie looked back along the length of the bridge. The Golden Gate was
completely impassable; cars were pointed in every direction, and there had
been dozens of minor accidents, which blocked the lanes and of course,
effectively prevented anyone from following them, she realized. Every vehicle
was spattered and splotched with white bird droppings. She looked at her
brother and saw with a shock that there was a tiny smear of blood on his
bottom lip. She pulled a tissue from her pocket. You re cut! she said
urgently, licking the edge of the tissue and dabbing at her twin s face.
Josh pushed her hand away. Stop. That'sdisgusting. He touched his lip with
his little finger. I must have bit it. I didn't even feel it. He took the
tissue from his sister s hand and rubbed his chin. It s nothing. Then he
smiled quickly. Did you see the mess the birds left back there? Sophie
nodded. He made a disgusted face. Now,
Sophie leaned back against the seat, relieved that her brother was fine. When
she d seen the blood she d been truly frightened. A thought struck her and
she turned around to look at Flamel. Did you call up the wind?
He smiled and shook his head. No, I ve no control over the elements. That
skill rests solely with the Elders and a very few rare humans.
Sophie looked at Scatty, but the Warrior shook her head. Beyond my very
limited abilities.
But you
Flamel handed Sophie back her phone. I just phoned in a request, he said,
and smiled.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Josh eased his foot off the accelerator and turned the battered and scarred
SUV down a long narrow track that was barely wide enough to accommodate the
car. They had spent the last thirty minutes driving north out of San
Francisco, listening to the increasingly hysterical radio reports as a
succession of experts gave their opinions about the bird attack on the
bridge. Global warming was the most commonly cited theory: the sun s
