Nicholas Flamel 1 - The Alchemyst

One by one the skeletal animals were climbing to their feet. Two huge wolves,

one little more than bones, the other merely shriveled flesh, loomed out of

the fog.

This way. Here! This way. The Witch s voice sounded flatly across the

street, and a rectangle of light from an open door lit up the night. With

Scatty supporting Flamel and Josh half carrying his twin, they raced across

the street toward the shop. The Witch of Endor was standing in the doorway,

looking blindly into the night, an old-fashioned oil lantern held high.

we've got to get you out of here. She pulled the door closed and pushed the

bolts home. That won t hold them long, she muttered.

You said you said you have no powers left, Sophie muttered.

I don't. Dora flashed a quick grin, revealing perfect white teeth. But

this place has. She led them through the shop and into a tiny back room. Do

you know what makes Ojai so special? she asked.

Something thumped against the door and all the glassware in the shop rattled

and tinkled.

It is built on an intersection of ley lines.

Josh opened his mouth and was actually forming the word ley when his sister

spoke. Lines of energy that crisscross the globe, Sophie whispered in his

ear.

How do you know that?

I don't know; I guess the Witch taught me. Many of the most famous buildings

and ancient sites across the world are built where the ley lines meet.

Exactly, Dora said, sounding pleased. Couldn t have put it better myself.

The little storeroom was bare except for a long rectangle propped up against

the wall, covered in yellowed back issues of the Ojai Valley Times.

More blows shook the shop window, the sound of bone against glass setting

them on edge.

Dora swept the papers to the ground to reveal a mirror. It stood seven feet

tall, four feet wide, the glass dirty, speckled and warped, the images it

showed slightly distorted and blurred. And do you know what drew me to Ojai

in the first place? she asked. Seven great ley lines meet here. They form a

leygate.

Here? Flamel whispered. He knew about ley lines and had heard about the

leygates used by the ancients to travel across the world in an instant. He

hadn't thought any still existed.

Dora tapped the ground with her foot. Right here. And do you know how you

use a leygate?

Flamel'shook his head.

Dora reached for Sophie. Give me your hand, child. The Witch took Sophie s

hand and put it on the glass. You use a mirror.

The mirror immediately came to blazing life, the glass flaring silver and

then clearing. When they looked into the glass, it no longer showed their

reflections, but rather the image of a bare, cellarlike room.

Where? Flamel asked.

Paris, Dora said.

France. He smiled. Home. And without hesitation, he stepped right through

the glass. Now they could see him within the mirror. He turned and waved them

through.

I hate leygates, Scatty muttered. Make me nauseous. She hopped through

the gate, and rolled to her feet beside Flamel. When she turned back to face

the twins, she did look as if she was about to throw up.

The skeletal bear lumbered straight through the shop door, ripping it off its

hinges. The wolves and the cougars followed. Glassware tumbled, mirrors

cracked, ornaments shattered as the beasts lumbered about.

A bruised and cut Dee raced into the shop, pushing the skeletal beasts aside.

A cougar snapped at him and he smacked it on the snout. If it had had eyes,

it would have blinked in surprise.

Trapped, he called gleefully. Trapped and nowhere to go!

But when he stepped into the storeroom, he knew they had escaped him once

more. It took him a single heartbeat to take in the tall mirror, the two

figures in the glass staring out, the old woman standing next to the girl,

pressing her hand to its surface. The boy stood alone, holding on to the

frame. Dee instantly knew what it was. A leygate, he whispered in awe.

Mirrors always acted as the gates. Somewhere at the other end of the ley line

was another mirror linking them.

The old woman caught the girl and shoved her through the mirror. Sophie

tumbled to the ground at Flamel's feet, then crouched to turn and look back.

Her mouth moved, but there was no sound. Josh.

Josh, Dee commanded, staring at the boy, stay where you are.

The boy turned to the glass. Already the image in the mirror had blurred.

I ve told you the truth about Flamel, Dee said urgently. All he had to do

was to keep the boy distracted for another moment or two and the mirror would

lose its power. Stay with me. I can Awaken you. Make you powerful. You can

help change the world, Josh. Change it for the better!

I don't know . The offer was tempting, so tempting. But he knew if he sided

with Dee, he would lose his sister altogether. Or would he? If Dee Awakened

him, then they would be alike again. Maybe this was a way he could reconnect

with his twin.

Look, Dee said triumphantly, pointing to the fading image in the glass,

they ve left you, deserted you again, because you are not one of them.

You re no longer important.

The mirror flared silver and Sophie stepped back through the glass. Josh?

Hurry, she said urgently, not looking at Dee.

I , he began. You came back for me.

Of course I did! You re my brother. I'll never abandon you. Then, catching

his hand, wrapping her fingers around his, she pulled him into the glass.

And Dora pushed the mirror, sending it shattering to the floor. Whoops. She

turned to face Dee and pulled off her dark glasses to reveal the mirrors of

her eyes. You should go now. you've got about three seconds.

Dee didn't quite make it out of the shop before it exploded.

CHAPTER FORTY

MOVIE COMPANY CAUSES MAYHEM IN SCENIC OJAI

The latest in a long line of horror movies from Enoch Studios caused traffic