Nicholas Flamel 1 - The Alchemyst

hilts of the swords that were lying across her lap. If the cats or birds

broke into the house and found the corridor, they would have to get past her

to find Hekate and the Warrior would make them pay dearly.

Hekate had given Flamel a short staff made of a branch of the Yggdrasill, and

now, holding it in both hands, he took up a position directly outside the

door to the chamber where the goddess was working with the twins. If any of

the invaders did manage to get past Scathach, they would then face him.

Scatty would fight with her swords, hands and feet, but his weapons were

potentially even more destructive. He held up his hand and the narrow space

grew heavy with the smell of mint as his aura flickered and sparked into

green life around him. Though he was still powerful, every use of magic

weakened him and drew on his life force. Scatty was right; he had started to

age. He could feel tiny aches and vague pains where there had been none

before. Even his eyesight was no longer as sharp as it had been only the day

before. If he was forced to use his powers, it would speed the aging process,

but he was determined to give Hekate all the time she needed. He turned to

look over his shoulder, trying to penetrate the gloom. What was happening in

there?

We will start with the elder, Hekate announced.

Sophie could feel her brother drawing a breath to protest, but she squeezed

his fingers so tightly that she could actually feel his bones grinding

together. He kicked her ankle in response.

It is traditional, the goddess continued. Sophie She paused, then said,

What is your family name, your parents names?

Newman and my mother s name is Sara, my father is Richard. It felt odd

calling her parents anything other than Mom and Dad.

The green light in the chamber brightened and they could see Hekate outlined

against the glowing walls. Although her face was in darkness, her eyes

reflected the green light like chips of polished glass. She reached out and

placed the palm of her hand against Sophie s forehead. Sophie, daughter of

Sara and Richard, of Clan Newman, of the race humani

She began in English, but then drifted into a lyrically beautiful language

that predated humanity. As she spoke, Sophie s aura began to glow, a misty

silver light outlining her body. A cool breeze wafted across her skin and she

was suddenly conscious that she was no longer hearing Hekate. She could see

the goddess s mouth moving, but she could not make out the words over the

sounds of her own body the breath hissing in and out of her nose, the rush of

blood in her ears, the solid beat of her heart in her chest. There was a

pressure on her temples, as if her brain were expanding inside her skull, and

an ache ran the length of her spine and spread outward into all her bones.

Then the room began to lighten. Hekate looking older now was standing

outlined in shifting streams of sparkling lights. Sophie suddenly realized

that she was seeing the goddess s aura. She watched as the lights twisted and

curled around Hekate's arm and flowed down into her fingers, and then, with a

tingling shock, Sophie could actually feel it penetrating her skull. For an

instant she was dizzy, disorientated, and then, through the buzzing in her

ears, Hekate's words abruptly started to make sense. I Awaken this terrible

power within you . The goddess moved her hands over Sophie s face, her touch

like ice and fire. These are the senses the humani have abandoned, Hekate

continued. She pressed her thumbs lightly against Sophie s eyes.

To see with acuity

Sophie s vision bloomed, and the darkened chamber came to blazing light,

every shadow picked out in exquisite detail. She could see each thread and

stitch on Hekate's robe, could pick out individual hairs on her head and

follow the map of tiny wrinkles that were visibly growing at the corners of

her eyes.

To hear with clarity

It was as if cotton had been pulled from Sophie s ears. Suddenly, she could

hear. It was like the difference between listening to music on her iPod

headphones and then to the same track on her bedroom stereo. Every sound in

the room magnified and intensified: the wheezing of her brother s breath

through his nostrils, the tiny shifting creaks of the huge tree above them,

the scritch-scratching of invisible creatures moving through the roots.

Tilting her head slightly, she could even hear the distant sounds of battle:

the screeching of birds, the roars of cats and the bellowing of boars.

To taste with purity

Hekate's fingers brushed Sophie s lips and suddenly the girl was conscious

that her tongue was tingling. She licked her lips, finding traces of the

fruit she had eaten earlier and discovering that she could actually taste the

air it was rich and earthy and even distinguish the water droplets in the

atmosphere.

To touch with sensitivity

Sophie s skin came alive. The fabrics against her skin the soft cotton of her

T-shirt, the stiff denim of her jeans, the gold chain with her birth sign

around her neck, her warm cotton socks all left different and distinct

impressions on her flesh.

To smell with intensity

Sophie actually rocked backward with the sudden eye-watering explosion of

scents that invaded her: the spicy otherworldly odors of Hekate, the cloying

earthiness of her surroundings, her brother s twenty-four-hour deodorant,

which was plainly not working, the supposedly unscented gel in his hair, the

mint of the toothpaste she had used earlier.

Sophie s aura began to glow, silver mist rising off her skin like fog off a

lake. It surrounded her body in a pale oval. She closed her eyes and threw

her head back. Colors, smells and sounds were rushing at her: and they were

brighter, stronger, louder than any she had ever experienced before. The

effect from her heightened senses was almost painful no, it was painful. It

hurt. Her head throbbed, her bones ached, even her skin itched everything was

just too much. Sophie s head tilted back, and then, almost of their own

accord, her arms shot out to either side and she rose four inches off the

dirt floor.

Sophie? Josh whispered, unable to keep the terror from his voice. Sophie

His sister, wrapped in an undulating silver glow, was floating in the air

directly before him. The light from her body was so strong that it painted

the circular chamber in shades of silver and black. It was like a scene from

a terrifying horror movie.

don't touch her, Hekate commanded sternly. Her body is attempting to

assimilate the wash of sensations. This is the most dangerous time.

Josh s mouth went dry and his tongue was suddenly too big for it.