Nicholas Flamel 1 - The Alchemyst

book, then what was Abraham, its creator? Was he of the Elder Race, a humani

or something else, one of the many other mythical races that walked the earth

in those first days?

Why are you here? Hekate asked. I knew the Codex had been taken as soon as

it left your presence, but I cannot help you recover it.

I have come to you for another reason, Flamel continued, stepping away from

the car and lowering his voice, forcing Hekate to lean close to listen to

him. When Dee attacked me, stole the Book and snatched Perry, two humani

came to our aid. A young man and his sister. He paused and then added,

Twins.

Twins? she said, her voice as flat and expressionless as her face.

Twins. Look at them: tell me what you see.

Hekate's eyes flickered toward the car. A boy and a girl, dressed in the

T-shirts and denim that are the shabby uniform of this age. That is all I

see.

Look closer, Flamel'said. And remember the prophecy, he added.

I know the prophecy. Do not presume to teach me my own history! Hekate's

eyes flared and, for an instant, changed color, becoming dark and ugly.

Humani? Impossible. Striding past Flamel, she peered into the interior of

the car, looking first at Sophie, and then at Josh.

The twins noticed simultaneously that the pupils of her eyes were long and

narrow, like a cat s, and that behind the thin line of her lips, her teeth

were pointed, like tiny needles.

Silver and gold, Hekate whispered abruptly, glancing at the Alchemyst, her

accent thickening, small pointed tongue darting at her thin lips. She turned

back to the twins. Step out of the vehicle.

They looked at Flamel, and when he nodded, both climbed out. Sophie went

around the car to stand next to her brother.

Hekate reached out first toward Sophie, who hesitated momentarily before she

stretched out her hand. The goddess took Sophie s left palm in her right hand

and turned it over, then she reached for Josh s hand. He placed his hand in

hers without hesitation, trying to act nonchalant, as if stretching out to

touch a ten-thousand-year-old goddess were something he did every day. He

thought her skin felt surprisingly rough and coarse.

Hekate'spoke a single word in a language that predated the arrival of the

earliest human civilization.

Oranges, Josh whispered, suddenly smelling and then tasting the fruit.

No, it s ice cream, Sophie said, freshly churned vanilla ice cream. She

turned to look at her brother and discovered that he was staring at her in

wonder.

A silver glow had appeared around Sophie. Like a thin second skin, it hovered

just above the surface of her flesh, winking in and out of existence. When

she blinked, her eyes turned to flat reflective mirrors.

The glow that covered Josh was a warm golden hue. It was concentrated mainly

around his head and hands, throbbing and pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.

The irises of his eyes were like golden coins.

But although the twins could see the glow that hovered around each other and

their own bodies, they felt no different. There were only the smells in the

air oranges and vanilla ice cream.

Without a word, Hekate pulled away from the twins, and immediately the glow

faded. Striding back to Flamel, she caught him by the arm and moved him

farther down the path, out of earshot of the twins and Scatty.

Do you have any idea what that was all about? Sophie asked the Warrior.

There was a distinct tremble in her voice, and she could still taste vanilla

ice cream in her mouth and smell it on the air.

The goddess was checking your auras, Scathach said.

That was the golden glow around Josh? Sophie asked, looking at her brother.

Yours was silver, Josh said immediately.

Scathach picked up a flat pebble and tossed it into the bushes. It hit

something solid, which immediately lumbered away through the undergrowth.

Most auras are a mixture of colors. Very, very, very few people have pure

colors.

Like ours? Sophie asked.

Like yours, Scatty said glumly. Last person I knew to have a pure silver

aura was the woman you know as Joan of Arc.

What about the gold aura? Josh said.

Even rarer, Scatty said. The last person I can recall having that color

was She frowned, remembering. The boy king, Tutankhamen.

Was that why he was buried with so much gold?

One of the reasons, Scathach agreed.

don't tell me you knew King Tut, Josh teased.

Never met him, Scathach said, though I did train dear Joan and fought by

her side at Orl ans. I told her not to go to Paris, she added very softly,

pain in her eyes.

My aura is rarer than yours, Josh deliberately teased his sister to break

the somber mood. He looked at the Warrior Maid. But what exactly does it

mean to have pure-colored auras?

When Scathach turned to look at him, her face was expressionless. It means

you have extraordinary powers. All of the great magicians and sorcerers of

the past, the heroic leaders, the inspired artists, have had pure-color or

single-color auras.

The twins looked at one another, suddenly uncertain. This was just a little

too weird, and there was something in Scathach s lack of expression that was

frightening. Sophie s eyes suddenly widened in shock. I just realized that

both of those people, Joan of Arc and Tutankhamen, died young.

Very young, Josh said, sobering, recalling his history. They both died

when they were nineteen.

Yes, they did, didn't they? Scathach agreed, turning away to look at

Nicholas Flamel and the Goddess with Three Faces.

Humani, Hekate'snarled. Humani with silver and gold auras. She sounded

both puzzled and angry.

It has happened before, Flamel'said mildly.

You think I don't know that?

They were standing at the edge of a bubbling brook that cut through the trees

and fed into an octagonal pond dappled with white water lilies. Huge red and

albino koi moved through the perfectly clear water.

I ve never come across the two auras together, and never in twins. They

possess enormous untapped power, Flamel'said urgently. Do I have to remind

you of the Codex? The two that are one and the one that is all the very