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,

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