I don't like driving fast. She glanced sidelong at the Alchemyst, and
whatever expression she saw on his face made her push her foot to the floor.
The small engine howled and the car lurched forward. What is it? she
demanded.
Nicholas chewed his bottom lip. I ve just thought of a potential problem,
he admitted finally.
What sort of problem? Joan and Sophie asked simultaneously.
A serious problem.
Bigger than Nidhogg? Joan jerked the stick shift and slammed the car into
top gear. Sophie couldn't see that it made any difference; she still felt she
could be walking faster. She pounded the back of the seat, frantic with
worry. They needed to get to her brother.
I gave Josh the two missing pages from the Codex, Flamel said. He twisted
around in the seat to look at Sophie. Do you think your brother has them
with him?
Probably, she said immediately, and then nodded. Yes, I m sure he does.
The last time we talked he was wearing the bag under his shirt.
So how did Josh end up guarding the pages of the Codex? Joan asked. I
thought you never let the book out of your sight.
I gave them to him.
You gave them? she asked, surprised. Why?
Nicholas turned away and looked out at the street, now littered with the
evidence of Nidhogg s passing. When he looked back at Joan, his face was set
in a grim mask. I figured that since he was the only person amongst us who
was neither immortal, Elder nor Awakened, he would not be involved in any of
the conflicts we d face, nor would he be a target: he s just a humani. I
thought the pages would be safe with him.
Something about the statement bothered Sophie, but she couldn't put her
finger on it. Josh wouldn't give the pages to Dee, she announced
confidently.
Nicholas twisted around to face the girl again, and the look in his pale eyes
was terrifying. Oh, believe me: Dee always gets what he wants, he said
bitterly, and what he cannot have he destroys.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
the brake but left the car in gear, and it jerked forward and cut out. They
were in a parking lot on the banks of the river Seine, close to where he d
anticipated Nidhogg would appear. For a moment, the only sound was the engine
ticking softly, and then Dee let out his breath in a long sigh. You are the
worst driver I ve ever come across.
I got us here, didn't I? You do know that explaining all this is going to be
very difficult, Machiavelli added, moving off the subject of his terrible
driving. He had mastered the most arcane and difficult arts, had manipulated
society and politics for half a millennium, was fluent in a dozen languages,
could program in five different computer languages and was one of the world s
experts on quantum physics. And he still couldn't drive a car. It was
embarrassing. Rolling down the driver s window, he allowed cold air to wash
into the vehicle. I can impose a press blackout, of course, claiming it s a
national security issue, but this is getting too public and way too messy.
He sighed. Video of Nidhogg is probably on the Internet right now.
People will dismiss it as a prank, Dee said confidently. I thought we were
in trouble when Bigfoot was caught on camera. But that was quickly rejected
as a hoax. If I ve learned anything over the years, it is that the humani are
masters at ignoring what is right in front of their noses. They ve
disregarded our existence for centuries, dismissing the Elders and their
times as little more than myth and legend, despite all the evidence.
Besides, he added smugly, absently stroking his short beard, everything is
coming together. We have most of the book; once we get the two missing pages,
we will bring back the Dark Elders and return this world to its proper
state. He waved a hand airily. You ll not have to worry about minor issues
like the press.
You seem to be forgetting that we have some other problems, like the
Alchemyst and Perenelle. They are not so minor.
Dee pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and waved it in the air. Oh,
I ve taken care of that. I made a call.
Machiavelli glanced sidelong at the Magician but said nothing. In his
experience, people often spoke merely to fill a silence in a conversation,
and he knew that Dee was a man who liked to hear the sound of his own voice.
John Dee stared through the dirty windshield toward the Seine. A couple of
miles downriver, just around the bend, the huge Gothic cathedral of Notre
Dame de Paris would be slowly taking shape in the early dawn light. I first
met Nicholas and Perenelle in this city almost five hundred years ago. I was
their student you didn't know that, did you? That s not in your legendary
files. Oh, don't look so surprised, he said, laughing at Machiavelli s
stunned expression. I ve known about your files for decades. And my copies
are even more up-to-date, he added. But yes, I studied with the legendary
Alchemyst, here in this very city. I knew within a very short time that
Perenelle was more powerful more dangerous than her husband. Have you ever
met her? he asked suddenly.
Yes, Machiavelli said shakily. He was astounded that the Elders or was it
just Dee? knew about his secret files. Yes. I met her just the once. We
fought; she won, he said shortly. She made quite an impression.
She is an extraordinary woman; quite remarkable. Even in her own time, her
reputation was formidable. What she would have achieved if only she d chosen
to side with us. I don't know what she sees in the Alchemyst.
You never did understand the human capacity for love, did you? Machiavelli
asked softly.
I understand that Nicholas survives and thrives because of the Sorceress. To
destroy Nicholas, all we have to do is kill Perenelle. My master and I have
always known that, but we thought that if we could capture both of them,
their accumulated knowledge was worth the risk of leaving them alive.
And now?
It is no longer worth the risk. Tonight, he added, very softly, I finally
did something that I should have done a long time ago. He sounded almost
