Nicholas Flamel 2 - The Magician

My master is all-powerful, Dee snapped.

I look forward to learning the identity of this mysterious Elder.

When all this is over, maybe I ll introduce you, Dee said. He nodded down

the alleyway. And that could be very soon.

The runestones hissed and sizzled on the ground.

They were irregular pieces of flat black stone, each etched with a series of

angular lines, squares and slashes. Now the lines were glowing red, crimson

smoke coiling into the still predawn air.

One of the Disir used the tip of her sword to move three of the runestones

together. A second nudged a stone out of the way with the steel toe of her

boot and then dragged another into place. The third found a single runestone

at the edge of the pile and eased it into position at the end of the string

of letters with her sword.

Nidhogg, the Disir whispered, calling the nightmare whose name they had

spelled out in the ancient stones.

Nidhogg, Machiavelli said very quietly. He looked over Dee s shoulder to

where Dagon sat staring straight ahead, apparently disinterested in what was

happening to his left. I know what the legends say about it, but Dagon, what

exactly is it?

My people called it the Devourer of Corpses, the driver said, voice sticky

and bubbling. It was already here before my race claimed the seas, and we

were amongst the first to arrive on this planet.

Dee quickly swiveled in the seat to look at the driver. What are you?

Dagon ignored the question. Nidhogg was so dangerous that a council of the

Elder Race created a terrible Shadowrealm, Niflheim, the World of Darkness,

to contain it, and then they used the unbreakable roots of the Yggdrasill to

wrap around the creature, chaining it for eternity.

Machiavelli kept his eyes fixed on the red-black smoke coiling from the

runestones. He thought he saw the outline of a shape beginning to form. Why

didn't the Elders kill it?

Nidhogg was a weapon, Dagon said.

What did the Elders need a weapon for? Machiavelli wondered aloud. Their

powers were almost limitless. They had no enemies.

Although he sat with his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel, Dagon s

shoulders shifted and his head turned almost completely around so that he was

facing Dee and Machiavelli. The Elders were not the first upon this earth,

he said simply. There were others. He pronounced the word slowly and

carefully. The Elders used Nidhogg and some of the other primordial

creatures as weapons in the Great War to completely destroy them.

A stunned Machiavelli looked at Dee, who looked equally shocked by the

revelation.

Dagon s mouth opened in what might have been a smile, revealing his

tooth-filled maw. You should probably know that the last time a group of

Disir used Nidhogg, they lost control of the creature. It ate all of them. In

the three days it took to recapture it and chain it in Yggdrasill s roots, it

completely destroyed the Anasazi people in what is now New Mexico. It is said

that Nidhogg feasted off ten thousand humani and still hungered for more.

Can these Disir control it? Dee demanded.

Dagon shrugged. Thirteen of the finest Disir warriors couldn't control it in

New Mexico .

Maybe we should Dee began.

Machiavelli suddenly stiffened. Too late, he whispered. It s here.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I m going to bed. Sophie Newman paused by the kitchen door, a glass of

water in her hand, and looked back to where Josh was still sitting at the

table. Francis is going to teach me some specific fire spells in the

morning. He promised to show me the fireworks trick.

Great, we ll never have to buy fireworks again for the Fourth of July.

Sophie smiled tiredly. don't stay up too long, it s nearly dawn.

Josh shoved another piece of toast into his mouth. I m still on Pacific

time, he said, his voice muffled. But I ll be up in a few minutes. Scatty

wants to continue my sword training tomorrow. I m really looking forward to

it.

Liar, liar.

He grunted. Well, you've got your magic to protect you all I have is a stone

sword.

The bitterness was clearly audible in his voice, and Sophie forced herself

not to comment. She was getting tired of her brother s constant whining. She

had never asked to be Awakened; she hadn't wanted to know the Witch s magic

or Saint-Germain s, either. But it had happened and she was dealing with it,

and Josh would just have to get over it. Good night, she said. She closed

the door behind her, leaving Josh alone in the kitchen.

When he finished the last of the toast, he gathered up his plate and glass

and carried them both to the sink. He ran hot water over the plate, then set

it to drip dry in the wire dish rack beside the deep ceramic sink. Refilling

his glass from the jug of filtered water, he crossed to the kitchen door,

pulled it open and stepped out into the tiny garden. Although it was almost

dawn, he didn't feel the least bit tired, but then again, he reminded

himself, he had slept for most of the day. Over the high wall, he couldn't

see much of the Parisian skyline except for the warm orange glow from the

streetlights. He looked up, but there were no stars visible in the heavens.

Sitting on the step, he breathed deeply. The air was cool and damp, just like

San Francisco s, though it lacked the familiar salt tang that he loved; it

was tainted instead with unfamiliar smells, few of which were pleasant. He

felt a sneeze gathering at the back of his nose and sniffed hard, eyes

watering. There was the stench of overflowing trash cans and rotting fruit,

and he detected a nastier, fouler stink that was vaguely familiar. Closing

his mouth, he breathed deeply through his nose, trying to identify it: what

was it? It was something he d smelled very recently .

Snake.

Josh leapt to his feet. There weren t snakes in Paris, were there? Deep in

his chest, Josh felt his heart begin to beat faster. He was terrified of

snakes, a bone-chilling fear that he could trace back to when he d been about

ten. He d been camping with his father in Wupatki National Monument in