world to the other in an instant just as we did. The Witch opened the leygate
in Ojai and we ended up here, in Paris. He made it sound so matter-of-fact.
Leygates: I hate them, Scatty mumbled. In the gloomy light, her pale,
freckled skin looked green. You ever been seasick? she asked.
Josh shook his head. Never.
Sophie looked up from her spot leaning against the door. Liar! He gets
seasick in a swimming pool. She grinned, then pressed the side of her face
back against the cool wood.
Seasick, Scatty mumbled. That s exactly what it feels like. Only worse.
Sophie turned her head again to look at the Alchemyst. Do you have any idea
where we are in Paris?
Someplace old, I m guessing, Flamel said, joining her at the door. He put
the side of his head back against the door and listened.
Sophie stepped back. I m not so sure, she said hesitantly.
Why not? Josh asked. He glanced around the small untidy room. It certainly
looked as though it was part of an old building.
Sophie shook her head. I don't know it just doesn t feel that old. She
reached out and touched the wall with the palm of her hand, then immediately
jerked it back again.
What s wrong? Josh whispered.
Sophie placed her hand against the wall again. I can hear voices, songs and
what sounds like organ music.
Josh shrugged. I can t hear anything. He stopped, abruptly conscious of the
huge difference between himself and his twin. Sophie s magical potential had
been Awakened by Hekate, and she was now hypersensitive to sights and sounds,
smells, touch and taste.
I can. Sophie lifted her hand from the stone wall and the sounds in her
head faded.
You re hearing ghost sounds, Flamel explained. They re just noises
absorbed by the building, recorded into the very structure itself.
This is a church, Sophie said decisively, then frowned. It s a new
church modern, late nineteenth century, early twentieth. But it s built on a
much, much older site.
Flamel paused at the wooden door and looked over his shoulder. In the dim
overhead light, his features were suddenly sharp and angular, disturbingly
skull-like, his eyes completely in shadow. There are many churches in
Paris, he said, though there is only one, I believe, which matches that
description. He reached for the door handle.
Hang on a second, Josh said quickly. don't you think there ll be some sort
of alarm?
Oh, I doubt it, Nicholas said confidently. Who would put an alarm on a
storeroom in a church? he asked, jerking the door open.
Immediately an alarm pealed through the air, the sound echoing and reechoing
off the flagstones and walls. Red security lights strobed and flashed.
Scatty sighed and muttered something in an ancient Celtic language. Didn't
you tell me once to wait before moving, to look before stepping and to
observe everything? she demanded.
Nicholas shook his head and sighed at the stupid mistake. Getting old, I
guess, he said in the same language. But there was no time for apologies.
Let's go! he shouted over the shrieking alarm, and darted down the
corridor. Sophie and Josh followed close behind, while Scatty took up the
rear, moving slowly and grumbling with every step.
The door opened onto a short narrow stone corridor that led to another wooden
door. Without pausing, Flamel pushed through the second door and immediately
a new alarm began to shriek. He turned left into a huge open space that
smelled of old incense, floor polish and wax. Banks of lit candles shed a
golden yellow light over walls and floor and, combined with the security
lights, revealed a pair of enormous doors with the word EXIT above them.
Flamel raced toward it, his footsteps echoing.
don't touch Josh began, but Nicholas Flamel grasped the door handles and
pulled hard.
A third alarm much louder than the others went off, and a red light above the
door began to wink on and off.
Told you not to touch, Josh muttered.
I can t understand it why is it not open? Flamel asked, shouting to be
heard above the din. This church is always open. He turned and looked
around. Where is everyone? What time is it? he asked, as a thought struck
him.
How long does it take to travel from one place to another through the
leygate? Sophie asked.
It' s instantaneous.
And you re sure we re in Paris, France?
Positive.
Sophie looked at her watch and did a quick calculation. Paris is nine hours
ahead of Ojai? she asked.
Flamel nodded, suddenly understanding.
It s about four o clock in the morning; that s why the church is closed,
Sophie said.
The police will be on their way, Scatty said glumly. She reached for her
nunchaku. I hate fighting when I m not feeling well, she muttered.
What do we do now? Josh demanded, panic rising in his voice.
I could try and blast the doors apart with wind, Sophie suggested
hesitantly. She wasn't sure she had the energy to raise the wind again so
soon. She had used her new magical powers to battle the undead in Ojai, but
the effort had completely exhausted her.
I forbid it, Flamel shouted, his face painted in shades of crimson and
shadow. He turned and pointed across rows of wooden pews toward an ornate
altar picked out in a tracery of white marble. Candlelight hinted at an
intricate mosaic in glittering blues and golds in the dome over the altar.
This is a national monument; I' ll not let you destroy it.
Where are we? the twins asked together, looking around the building. Now
that their eyes had adjusted to the gloom, they realized that the building
was huge. They could distinguish columns soaring high into the shadows
overhead and were able to make out the shapes of small side altars, statues
in nooks and countless banks of candles.
This, Flamel announced proudly, is the church of Sacre -Coeur.
Sitting in the back of his limousine, Niccol Machiavelli tapped coordinates
into his laptop and watched a high-resolution map of Paris wink into
existence on the screen. Paris was an incredibly ancient city. The first
