Machiavelli, but the Italian shook his head and pointed to Dee. Dr. Dee?
Josh asked.
Dee broke open the low door and jerked it out of its frame. Soft stone
crumbled and flaked away around it. If I am correct and I almost always am,
the Magician added, then this will lead us into the Catacombs of Paris. Dee
leaned the door against the wall and then stepped through the opening.
Josh ducked to follow him. I ve never heard of them.
Few people outside Paris have, Machiavelli said, and yet, along with the
sewers, they are one of the marvels of this city. Over a hundred seventy
miles of mysterious and labyrinthine tunnels. The catacombs were once
limestone quarries. And now they are filled
Josh stepped through the opening, straightened up and looked around.
with bones.
The boy felt something twist in the pit of his stomach and he swallowed hard,
a sour and bitter taste at the back of his throat. Directly ahead, as far as
he could see in the gloomy tunnel, the walls, the curved ceiling and even the
floor were composed of polished human bones.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
N icholas had just levered up the manhole cover when Joan s phone rang, the
high-pitched warbling scale making them all jump with fright. The Alchemyst
dropped the cover back into place with a clang, dancing back before it fell
on his toes.
It s Francis, Joan told them, flipping open the phone. She spoke to
Saint-Germain in rapid-fire French and then snapped the cell closed. He s on
his way, she said. He said that on no account are we to go down into the
catacombs without him.
But we can t wait, Sophie protested.
Sophie s right. We should Nicholas started to say.
We wait, Joan said firmly in the voice that had once commanded armies. She
placed her tiny foot on the manhole cover.
They ll get away, Sophie said desperately.
Francis said he knows where they re going, Joan said very softly. She
turned to look at the Alchemyst. He said you do too. Do you? she demanded.
Nicholas took a deep breath and then nodded grimly. The early-morning light
washed all the life from his face, leaving it the color of faded parchment.
The circles beneath his eyes were bruise dark and baggy. I believe so.
Where? Sophie asked. She tried to stay calm. She d always been better at
controlling her temper than her brother was, but right now she was close to
throwing back her head and screaming in frustration. If the Alchemyst knew
where Josh was going, why weren t they heading there now?
Dee is taking Josh to have his powers Awakened, Flamel said slowly,
obviously choosing his words with care.
Sophie frowned, confused. Is that so bad? isn't that what we wanted?
Yes, it s what we wanted, but not how we wanted it. Although his face was
expressionless, there was pain in his eyes. Much depends on who or
what Awakens a person s powers. It is a dangerous process. It can even be
deadly.
Sophie slowly turned to look at him. And yet you were willing to allow
Hekate to Awaken both Josh and me. Her brother had been right all along:
Flamel had put them both in danger. She could see that now.
It was necessary for your own protection. There were dangers, yes, but
neither of you was in any danger from the Goddess herself.
What sort of dangers?
Most of the Elders were never generous toward what they called humani. Very
few of them were prepared to give without attaching some sort of conditions,
Flamel explained. The greatest gift the Elders can bestow is that of
immortality. Humans want to live forever. Both Dee and Machiavelli are in
service to their Dark Elders who gifted them with immortality.
In service? Sophie asked, looking from the Alchemyst to Joan.
They are servants, Joan said gently, some would say slaves. It is the
price of their immortality and powers.
Joan s phone rang again with the same ring tone and she flipped it open.
Fran ois?
Sophie, Flamel continued quietly, the gift of immortality can be withdrawn
from a person at any time, and if that happens then all of their unnatural
years will catch up with them in a matter of moments. Some Elders enslave the
humani they Awaken, turn them into little better than zombies.
But Hekate didn't make me immortal when she Awakened me, Sophie argued.
Unlike the Witch of Endor, Hekate had no interest in humani for countless
generations. She always remained neutral in the wars between those of us who
defend humanity and the Dark Elders. A bitter smile twisted his thin lips.
Perhaps if she had chosen a side, she would still be alive today.
Sophie looked into the Alchemyst s pale eyes. She was thinking that if Flamel
had not gone into Hekate s Shadowrealm, the Elder would still be alive.
You re saying Josh is in danger, she said finally.
Terrible danger.
Sophie s gaze never left Flamel s face. Josh was in danger not because of Dee
or Machiavelli, but because Nicholas Flamel has placed the two of them in
this terrible situation. He was protecting them, he said, and once she had
believed that without question. But now now she didn't know what to think.
Come. Joan snapped her phone shut, caught Sophie s hand and dragged her
down the alleyway toward the street. Francis is on the way.
Flamel took one final look at the manhole cover, then tucked Clarent under
his coat and hurried after them.
Joan led them out of the narrow side street onto the Avenue du President
Wilson, then quickly turned left onto Rue Debrousse and headed back toward
the river. The air was filled with the sounds of countless police and
ambulance sirens, and in the skies overhead police helicopters buzzed low
over the city. The streets were almost completely empty, and no one paid any
attention to three people running for shelter.
Sophie shivered; the whole scene was so surreal. It was like something she d
see in a war documentary on the Discovery Channel.
At the bottom of the Rue Debrousse, they found Saint-Germain waiting in a
nondescript black BMW badly in need of washing. The front and rear passenger
doors were open slightly, and the tinted driver s window hummed down as they
approached. Saint-Germain was grinning delightedly. Nicholas, you should
come home more often; the city is in chaos. It s all terribly exciting. I ve
not had so much fun in centuries.
Joan slid in beside her husband, while Nicholas and Sophie climbed into the
back. Saint-Germain gunned the engine, but Nicholas leaned forward and
squeezed his shoulder.
Not so fast. We don't need to draw any attention to ourselves, he warned.
But with the panic on the streets, we shouldn't be driving slowly, either,
Saint-Germain pointed out. He eased the car away from the curb and set off
down the Avenue de New York. He drove with one hand on the steering wheel,
the other draped over the seat as he kept twisting around to talk to the
Alchemyst.
Completely numb, Sophie slumped against the window, staring out at the river
flashing by on her left. In the distance, on the opposite side of the Seine,
she could make out the now familiar shape of the Eiffel Tower rising over the
rooftops. She was exhausted and her head was spinning. She was confused about