Flamel'shook his head. He Can't. She s too powerful. I never studied the
sorcerous arts, but Perry did. Right now all Dee can do is contain her,
prevent her from using her powers. But in the next few days she
age and weaken. Possibly in a week, certainly within two weeks, he would be
able to use his powers against her. Still, He'll be cautious. He will keep
her trapped behind Wards and Sigils . Flamel'saw the look of confusion on
Sophie s face. Magical barriers, he explained. He'll only attack when he
is sure of victory. But first he will try to discover the extent of her
arcane knowledge. Dee s search for knowledge was always his greatest
strength and his weakness. He absently patted his pockets, looking for
something. My Perry Can'take care of herself. Remind me to tell you the
story sometime of how she faced down a pair of Greek Lamiae.
Sophie nodded, though she had no idea what Greek Lamiae were.
As Flamel'strode down the street, he found what he was looking for: a pair of
small round sunglasses. He put them on, stuck his hands in the pockets of his
leather jacket and began to whistle tunelessly, as if he hadn't a care in the
world. He glanced back over his shoulder. Well, come on.
The twins looked at each other blankly, then hurried after him.
I checked him out online, Josh muttered, looking quickly at his sister.
So That'swhat you were doing. I didn't think e-mail could be that
important.
Everything he says checks out: he s there on Wikipedia and there are nearly
two hundred thousand results for him on Google. There are over ten million
results for John Dee. Even Perenelle is there, and it mentions the book and
everything. It even says that when he died, his grave was dug up by people
searching for treasure and they found it empty no body and no treasure.
Apparently, his house is still standing in Paris.
He sure doesn't look like an immortal magician, Sophie murmured.
I m not sure I know what a magician looks like, Josh said quietly. The
only magicians I know are Penn and Teller.
I m not a magician, Flamel'said, without looking at them. I m an
alchemyst, a man of science, though perhaps not the science you would be
familiar with.
Sophie hurried to catch up. She reached out to touch his arm and slow him
down, but a spark like static electricity snapped into her fingertips.
Aaah! She jerked her hand back, fingertips tingling. Now what?
I m sorry, Flamel explained. That'san aftereffect of the well, what you
would call magic. My aura the electrical field that surrounds my body is
still charged. It s just reacting when it hits your aura. He smiled, showing
perfectly regular teeth. It also means you must have a powerful aura.
What s an aura?
Flamel'strode on a couple of steps down the sidewalk without answering, then
turned to point to a window. The word TATTOO was picked out in fluorescent
lighting. See there see how there is a glow around the words?
I see it. Sophie nodded, squinting slightly. Each letter was outlined in
buzzing yellow light.
Every human has a similar glow around their body. In the distant past,
people could see it clearly and they named it the
Greek word for breath. As humans evolved, most lost the ability to see the
aura. Some still can, of course.
Josh snorted derisively.
Flamel glanced over his shoulder. It s true. The aura has even been
photographed by a Russian couple called the Kirlians. The electrical field
surrounds every living organism.
What does it look like? Sophie asked.
Flamel tapped his finger on the shop window. Just like that: a glow around
the body. Everyone s aura is unique different colors, different strengths.
Some glow solidly, others pulse. Some appear around the edge of the body,
other auras cloak the body like an envelope. You Can'tell a lot from a
person s aura: whether they are ill or unhappy, angry or frightened, for
example.
And you can see these auras? Sophie said.
Flamel'shook his head, surprising them. No, I cannot. Perry can, sometimes.
I cannot. But I know how to channel and direct the energy. That'swhat you
were seeing earlier today: pure auric energy.
I think I d like to learn how to do that, Sophie said.
Flamel glanced at her quickly. Be careful what you wish for. Every use of
power has a cost. He held out his hand. Sophie and Josh crowded around on
the quiet side street. Flamel's hand was visibly trembling. And when Sophie
looked into his face, she noticed that his eyes were bloodshot. When you use
auric energy, you burn as many calories as if you had run a marathon. Think
of it like draining a battery. I doubt I could have lasted very much longer
against Dee back there.
Is Dee more powerful that you?
Flamel'smiled grimly. Infinitely. Shoving his hands back into the pockets
of his leather jacket, he continued down the street, Sophie and Josh now
walking on either side of him. In the distance, the Golden Gate Bridge began
to loom over the rooftops. Dee has spent the past five centuries developing
his powers; I ve spent that same time hiding mine, concentrating only on
those few little things I needed to do to keep Perenelle and myself alive.
Dee was always powerful, and I dread to think what he is capable of now. At
the bottom of the hill he paused, looking left and right, then abruptly
turned to the left and headed into California Street. There ll be time for
questions later. Right now, we have to hurry.
Have you known Dee long? Josh persisted, determined to get some answers.
Nicholas Flamel'smiled grimly. John Dee was a mature man when I accepted him
as my apprentice. I still took apprentices in those days, and so many of them
went on to make me proud. I had visions of creating the next generation of
alchemists, scientists, astronomers, astrologers and mathematicians: these
would be the men and women who would create a new world. Dee was probably the
finest student I ever had. So I suppose you could say that I ve known him for
nearly five hundred years though our encounters have been somewhat sporadic
over the past few decades.
What turned him into your enemy? Sophie asked.
Greed, jealousy and the Codex, the Book of Abraham the Mage, Flamel
answered. He s coveted that for a long time, and now he has it.
Not all of it, Josh reminded him.
No, not all of it. Flamel'smiled. He walked on, with the twins still on
either side of him. When Dee was my apprentice in Paris, he found out about
