The god looked over Josh s head. Who will mentor the boy?
I will, Dee and Machiavelli said simultaneously.
Josh turned to look at the two immortals, surprised by their response. Of the
two, he thought he would prefer to be mentored by Machiavelli.
Magician, he is yours, Mars said after a moment s consideration. I can
read your intent and your motives clearly. You intend to use the boy to bring
back the Elders; I have no doubt of that. But you , he added, his head
swiveling to look at Machiavelli. I cannot read your aura; I do not know
what you want. Perhaps because you have not yet decided.
Rocks snapped and creaked as the god stood. He was at least seven feet tall,
his helmeted head almost brushing the ceiling. Kneel, he said to Josh, who
folded to his knees. Mars tugged his huge sword free from the floor and spun
it until it was directly in front of the boy s face. Josh went crosseyed
looking at the blade. It was so close that he could see where the edge was
chipped and pitted and was able to make out the faintest trace of a spiraling
pattern down the center of the sword.
What are your clan name and your parents names?
Josh s mouth was so dry he could barely speak. The clan name? Oh, the family
name is Newman. My father is Richard and my mother is Sara. He had a sudden
memory of Hekate asking Sophie the same questions. It had been only a couple
of days ago, and yet it felt like a lifetime.
The timbre of the god s voice changed, becoming stronger, loud enough for
Josh to feel the vibrations in his bones. Josh, son of Richard and Sara of
the Clan Newman, of the race humani, I will grant you an Awakening. You have
acknowledged that this is no gift and there will be a price to pay. If you do
not pay it, I will destroy you and everything you hold dear.
I ll pay, Josh said thickly, blood thundering in his head, adrenaline
coursing through his body.
I know you will. The huge sword moved, first touching Josh s right
shoulder, then his left before moving back to his right. The faintest outline
of his aura winked into existence around his body. Wisps of gold smoke
started to curl off his blond hair, and the scent of citrus grew stronger.
Hence-forth you will see with acuity .
Josh s bright blue eyes turned into solid gold discs. Immediately, tears
gathered and ran down his face. They were the color and texture of liquid
gold.
You will hear with clarity .
Smoke coiled from the boy s ears.
You will taste with purity .
Josh opened his mouth and coughed. A puff of saffron-colored mist appeared,
and tiny amber sparks danced between his tongue and teeth.
You will touch with sensitivity .
The boy brought his hands up to his face. They were glowing so brightly that
they were almost transparent. Sparks leapt and curled between each finger,
and his badly chewed fingernails were polished mirrors.
You will smell with intensity .
Josh s head was almost completely enveloped in golden smoke now. It trickled
from his nostrils, making it look as if he were breathing fire. His aura had
thickened, solidified around his shoulders and across his chest, becoming
shiny and reflective.
The god s sword moved again, tapping lightly against the boy s shoulders.
Truly, yours is one of the most powerful auras I have ever encountered,
Mars said quietly. There is something else I can give you a gift and this I
give freely. You may find it of use in the days to come. Stretching out his
left hand, he rested it on top of the boy s head. Instantly, Josh s aura
burst into incandescent light. Streamers and globes of yellow fire curled
from his body and bounced around the room. Phobos and Deimos were caught by
the blast of light and heat, and it sent them squealing and scrambling behind
the stone plinth, but not before their pale skin had reddened and the tips of
their snow white hair had darkened and crisped. The searing light drove Dee
to his knees, gloved hands pressed against his eyes. He rolled over, burying
his face in his hands as spheres of fire bounced off the floor and ceiling,
spattering against the walls, leaving scorch marks on the polished bone.
Only Machiavelli had escaped the full force of the explosion of light. He d
turned away and ducked out of the room in the last instant before Mars had
touched the boy. Curling up in a ball, he hid in the deep shadows outside the
door while streamers of yellow light ricocheted off the walls and hissing
balls of solid energy blazed out into the corridor. He blinked hard, trying
to clear the streaked afterimages seared onto his retinas. Machiavelli had
seen Awakenings before, but never anything this dramatic. What was Mars doing
to the boy, what gift was he giving him?
Then, through his blurring vision, he saw a vague silvery shape materialize
at the other end of the corridor.
And the scent of vanilla filled the catacombs.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
P erched on top of the water tower on Alcatraz, surrounded by huge
Dire-Crows, the Morrigan sang softly to herself. It was a song first heard by
the most primitive of ancient men, now imprinted deep into humankind s DNA.
It was slow and gentle, lost and plaintive, beautiful and utterly terrifying.
It was the Song of the Morrigan: a cry designed to inspire fear and terror.
And on battlefields across the world and down through time, it was often the
last sound a human heard in this life.
The Morrigan drew her black feathered cloak about her and gazed out across
the fog-locked bay toward the city. She could feel the heat of the mass of
humani, could see the seething glow of almost a million auras within San
Fancisco itself. And every aura was wrapped around a humani, each one rich
with fears and worries, filled with succulent, tasty emotions. She pressed
her hands together and brought the tips of her fingers to her thin black
lips. Her ancestors had fed off humankind, had drunk their memories, savored
their emotions like fine wines. Soon oh, so very soon, she would be free to
do it again.
But before that she had a banquet to enjoy.
Earlier, she d received a call from Dee. Finally, he and his Elders had been
forced to agree that it was now too dangerous to allow both Nicholas and
Perenelle to survive; he had given her permission to slay the Sorceress.
The Morrigan had an eyrie high in the San Bernardino Mountains. She would
carry Perenelle there and over the next few days drain every last one of the
woman s memories and emotions. The Sorceress had lived for almost seven
hundred years; she had traveled across the globe and into Shadowrealms, had
seen wonders and experienced terrors. And the woman had an extraordinary
memory; she would have remembered everything, every emotion, every thought
and fear. And the Morrigan would relish them all. When she was finished, the
legendary Perenelle Flamel would be little more than a mindless babe. The
Crow Goddess threw back her head and opened her mouth wide, her long incisors
white and stark against her dark lips, her tongue tiny and black. Soon.
The Morrigan knew that the So
rceress was in the tunnels beneath the water
tower. The only other entrance was through a tunnel that was accessible only
at low tide. And although the tide would not turn for hours, the rocks and
cliff face around the cave mouth were covered with razor-billed crows.
Then the Morrigan s nostrils flared.
Over the salt and iodine smell of the sea, the metallic stink of rusted metal
and rotting stone and the musty scent of countless birds, she suddenly
smelled something else something that didn't belong, not in this place, not
in this age. Something ancient and bitter.
The wind shifted, and the fog curled with it. Beads of salty moisture
suddenly glistened on a thread of silver hanging in the air before her. The
Morrigan blinked her jet-black eyes. Another thread wavered in the air, and
then another and another, crisscrossed in a series of circles. They looked
like webs.
They were webs.
She was coming to her feet when a monstrous spider erupted from the shaft
below her and landed squarely on the side of the water tower, its huge barbed
feet biting into the metal. It scuttled toward the Crow Goddess.
The mass of birds ringing the water tower spiraled skyward, screaming
raucously and were instantly trapped in the enormous web floating overhead.
They fell back on top of their dark mistress, entangling her in a writhing
mass of feathers and sticky web. The Morrigan slashed her way free with
razor-tipped nails, gathered her cloak about her and was about to take to the
air when the spider climbed over the top of the water tower and drove her
back, pinning her down with a huge barbed foot.
Perenelle Flamel, astride the spider s back, a blazing spear in her hand,
leaned forward and smiled at the Morrigan. You were looking for me, I
believe.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
S ophie ran.
She was no longer afraid; she didn't feel sick or weak anymore. She just had
to get to her brother. Josh was directly ahead of her, in a room at the end
of the tunnel. She could see the golden glow of his aura lighting up the
darkness, smell the mouthwatering scent of oranges.
Pushing past Nicholas, Joan and Saint-Germain, ignoring their cries to stop,
Sophie raced for the glowing arched doorway. She had always been a good
runner and held track records for the hundred-meter in most of the schools
she d attended, but now she practically flew down the corridor. And with
every step, her aura fueled by anger and determination grew around her,
sparking, crackling and metallic. Her enhanced senses flared, her pupils
shrinking to dots and then expanding to silver discs, and instantly the
shadows vanished and she could see the gloomy catacomb in all its shocking
detail. Her nostrils were assaulted with a variety of smells snake and
sulfur, rot and mold but stronger than all the others was the orange scent of
her brother s aura.
And she knew she was too late: he had been Awakened.
Ignoring the man crouching on the ground outside the chamber, Sophie raced
through the doorway and her aura instantly hardened to a metallic shell as
blazing arcs of gold fire bounced off the walls to spatter against her. She
staggered, battered by the energy. Gripping the edge of the door, she held on
to prevent herself from being pushed back out into the corridor.
Josh, she said, awed by the sight before her.
Josh was kneeling on the ground before what could only be Mars. The huge
Elder was holding a broadsword aloft in his left hand, the point touching the
ceiling, while his right was clamped onto her brother s head. Josh s aura was
blazing like wildfire, cocooning him in golden light. Yellow fire spun around
him, throwing off spheres and whips of energy. They splashed against the
walls and ceilings, cutting away chunks of time-yellowed bone to reveal the
white beneath.
Josh! Sophie screamed.
The god slowly turned his head and fixed her with glowing red eyes. Leave,
Mars commanded.
Sophie shook her head. Not without my twin, she said through gritted teeth.
She wasn't going to abandon her brother; she d never do that.
He is no longer your twin, Mars said mildly. You are different now.
He will always be my twin, she said simply.
Pushing into the room, she sent a wave of ice-cold silver fog rolling out
from her body to wash over her brother and the Elder. It hissed and sizzled
where it touched Josh s aura, dirty white smoke curling up to gather at the
ceiling. It frosted over Mars s hard skin, and ice crystals sparkled in the
amber light.
The god slowly lowered his sword. Have you any idea who I am? he asked, his
voice soft, almost gentle. If you did, you would fear me.
You are Mars Ultor, Sophie said slowly, the Witch of Endor s knowledge
informing her. And before the Romans worshipped you, the Greeks knew you as
Ares, and before that the Babylonians called you Nergal.
Who are you? The Elder s hand dropped away from Josh s head, and instantly,
the boy s aura winked out and the fires died.
Josh swayed and Sophie swooped in to catch him before he hit the ground. The
moment she touched him, her own aura disappeared, leaving her defenseless.
But she d gone beyond fear now; she felt nothing, only relief that she d been
reunited with her twin. Crouching on the ground, cradling her brother in her
arms, Sophie looked up at the towering war god. And before you were Nergal,
you were the champion of the humankind: you were Huitzilopochtli. You led the
human slaves to safety when Danu Talis sank beneath the waves.
The god staggered away. The backs of his knees hit the plinth and he sat down
suddenly, the massive stone cracking beneath his great weight. How do you
know this? he asked, and what sounded like fear rattled in his voice.
Because you walked with the Witch of Endor. She straightened, hauling her
brother to his feet. His eyes were open but had rolled back in his head,
leaving only the whites showing. The Witch of Endor gave me all her
memories, Sophie said. I know what you did and why she cursed you.
Stretching out her hand, she touched the god s stone-hard skin with her
fingertip. A spark snapped. I know why she did this to your aura.
Draping her brother s arm over her shoulder, she turned her back on the war
god. Flamel, Saint-Germain and Joan had arrived and had gathered in the
doorway. Joan s sword was loosely pointed at Dee, who was lying unmoving on
the floor. No one spoke.
If you have the Witch s knowledge within you, Mars said urgently, almost
pleadingly, then you know her incantations and cantrips. You know how to
lift this curse.
Nicholas hurried forward to lift Josh from Sophie s arms, but she refused to
let her brother go. Glancing over her shoulder at the god, she said very
softly, Yes, I know how to lift it.
Then do it, Mars commanded. Do it and I will give you everything you want.
I can give you anything!
Sophie thought for a moment. Can you take away my Awakened senses? Can you
make me and my brother normal again?
There was a long moment of silence before the god spoke again. No.
I cannot
do that.
Then there is nothing you can do for us. Sophie turned away and, with
Saint-Germain s assistance, helped Josh out into the corridor. Joan ducked
out, leaving only Flamel standing in the doorway.
Wait! The god s voice rose and the entire chamber trembled with the sound.
Phobos and Deimos slunk out from behind the cracked plinth, chattering
noisily. You will reverse this curse, or , the god began.
Nicholas stepped forward. Or what?
None of you will leave these catacombs alive, Mars barked. I will not
permit it. And I am Mars Ultor! The god s hidden eyes blazed bloodred and he
took a step forward, swinging the huge sword before him. Who are you to deny
me?
I am Nicholas Flamel. And you, he added, are an Elder who made the mistake
of believing that you were a god. He snapped his fingers and dust motes of
glittering emerald drifted to the bone floor. They raced across the smoothly
polished surface, leaving tiny threads of green in the aged yellow. I am the
Alchemyst and let me introduce you to the greatest secret of alchemy:
transmutation. And then he turned back to the corridor and disappeared into
the shadows.
No! Mars took a step forward and instantly sank up to his ankle in the
floor, which had suddenly turned soft and gelatinous. The god took another
shuddering step and then lost his footing as the ground melted beneath his
weight. He crashed forward, hitting the floor hard enough to send splashes of
jellylike bone onto the walls. His sword bit a huge chunk out of the wall
where, a moment earlier, Flamel had been standing. Mars struggled to regain
his footing, but the floor was a shifting quagmire of sticky semiliquid bone.
Rising to his hands and knees, Mars thrust his head forward to glare at Dee,
who was slowly crawling out of the liquid toward the door. This is your
doing, Magician! he howled savagely, the entire chamber vibrating with his
rage. Bone dust and chips of ancient stone rained down. I hold you
responsible.
Dee staggered to his feet and leaned against the doorframe, shaking glutinous
jelly off his hands, brushing it off his ruined trousers.
Bring me the girl and the boy, Mars snarled, and I may forgive you. Bring
me the twins. Or else.
Or else what? Dee asked mildly.
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