the square below, the five humans were standing in a circle as the crushing
stone statues closed in.
Then let us finish it, Machiavelli said through gritted teeth. But
remember, we need the children alive. He broke off as something slender and
silver arced through the air before his face. It s an arrow, he began in
wonder, and then stopped and grunted as the arrow plunged deep into his
thigh. His entire leg from hip to toe went dead. He staggered back and fell
onto the cathedral roof, hands pressed against his leg. Surprisingly, there
was no blood, but the pain was excruciating.
On the ground far below, at least half the creatures suddenly froze or
toppled over. They crashed to the ground, and those behind tumbled over them.
Rock shattered, weathered stone exploding to dust. But still the rest of the
creatures pressed on, closing in.
Another dozen silver arrows arced up from below. They pinged and shattered
harmlessly against the brickwork.
Machiavelli! Dee howled.
I can t The pain in his leg was indescribable, and tears rolled down his
cheeks. I can t concentrate .
Then I ll finish it myself.
The boy and girl, Machiavelli said weakly. We need them alive .
Not necessarily. I am a necromancer. I can reanimate their corpses.
No! Machiavelli screamed.
Dee ignored him. Focusing his extraordinary will, the Magician issued the
gargoyles a single command. Kill them. Kill them all.
The creatures surged forward.
Again, Joan! Flamel shouted. Fire again!
I cannot. The tiny Frenchwoman was gray with exhaustion. The arrows are
shaped from my aura. I have nothing left.
The gargoyles pressed in, closer and closer, stone grinding and scraping as
they shuffled on. Their range of movement was limited; some had claws and
teeth, others horns or barbed tails, but they would simply crush the humans.
Josh picked up a small round grotesque that was so weathered it was little
more than a squat lump of stone and heaved it back into the mass of
creatures. It struck a gargoyle, and both shattered. He winced with the
sound, but he also realized that they could be destroyed. Pressing his hands
against his ears, he squinted at the broken creature, his Awakened sight
taking in every detail. The stone creatures were invulnerable to steel and
magic but then he noted that the stone was weathered and fragile. What
destroyed stone?
There was a flash of memory except it wasn't his memory of an ancient city,
walls crumbling, pulverized to dust
I ve got an idea, he shouted.
Make it a good one, Saint-Germain called. Is it magic?
It s basic chemistry. Josh looked at Saint-Germain. Francis, how hot can
you make your fire?
Very hot.
Sophie, how cold a wind can you create?
Very cold, she said, nodding. She suddenly knew what her brother was
suggesting: she d done the same experiment in chemistry class.
Do it now, Josh shouted.
A carved dragon with a chipped bat s wing lurched forward. Saint-Germain
unleashed the full force of his Fire magic against the creature s head,
bathing it in flame, baking it cherry red. And then Sophie let loose a puff
of arctic air.
The dragon s head cracked and exploded into dust.
Hot and cold, Josh shouted, hot and cold.
Expansion and contraction, Nicholas said with a shaky laugh. He looked up
to where Dee s head was just visible over the edge of the roof. One of the
basic principles of alchemy.
Saint-Germain bathed a boar galloping toward them in scalding heat, and
Sophie washed icy air over it. Its legs snapped off.
Hotter! Josh shouted. It needs to be hotter. And yours need to be colder,
he said to his sister.
I ll try, she whispered. Her eyes were already leaden with exhaustion. I
don't know how much more I can do. She looked at her brother. Help me, she
said. Let me draw on your strength.
Josh stood behind Sophie and placed both hands on her shoulders. Silver and
gold auras sparked alight, mixing, entwining. Realizing what they were doing,
Joan immediately gripped her husband s shoulders and both their auras red and
silver crackled around them. When Saint-Germain shot a plume of fire over the
approaching gargoyles, it was white-hot, strong enough to start melting the
stones even before subarctic freezing winds and icy fog rolled from Sophie s
hands. Saint-Germain turned in a slow circle, and Sophie followed him. First
stone cracked, ancient brick exploded, and rock melted beneath the intense
heat, but when the icy winds followed, the effect was dramatic. The hot stone
statues exploded and split apart, shattering into gritty, stinging dust. The
first row fell, and then the next and the next, until a wall of shattered and
cracked stone built up in a circle around the trapped humans.
And when Saint-Germain and Joan slumped, Sophie and Josh continued, blasting
icy air over the few remaining creatures. Because the gargoyles had spent
centuries as water spouts, the stone was soft and porous. Using her brother s
energy to boost her powers, Sophie froze the moisture trapped within the
stone and the creatures shattered.
The two that are one, Nicholas Flamel whispered, crouching exhausted on the
cobblestones. He looked at Sophie and Josh, their auras blazing wildly about
them, silver and gold intermixed, traces of ancient armor visible against
their skin. Their power was incredible and seemingly inexhaustible. He knew
that power like this could control, reshape or even destroy the world.
And as the last monstrous gargoyle exploded to dust and the twins auras
faded away, the Alchemyst found himself wondering for the first time if
Awakening them had been the correct decision.
On top of Notre Dame, Dee and Machiavelli watched as Flamel and the others
picked their way through the smoking piles of masonry, heading in the
direction of the bridge.
We are in so much trouble, Machiavelli said through gritted teeth. The
arrow had disappeared from his thigh, but his leg was still numb.
We? Dee said lightly. This, all this, is entirely your fault, Niccol . Or
at least, that s what my report will say. And you know what will happen then,