“Great,” Josh said. “That tells me everything I need to know.” He looked at his sister. “Have you ever heard …,” he began, and then stopped, seeing the expression on her face. “You have!”
Sophie shivered as the Witch of Endor’s memories flickered at the edges of her consciousness. She felt something sour at the back of her throat, and her stomach twisted in disgust. The Witch of Endor had known the Genii Cucullati—and she had loathed them. Sophie turned to her brother and explained. “Flesh eaters.”
he streets were empty, the squall having driven most people into the station or the nearby shops. Traffic on Euston Road had ground to a halt, and windshield wipers beat furiously. Horns blared, and a nearby car alarm began to howl.
“Stay with me,” Nicholas ordered, then turned and darted across the road, weaving through the stopped traffic. Sophie followed close behind. Josh paused before he stepped off the curb, and looked back at the station. The three figures had gathered together in the entrance, their heads and faces hidden by the hoods of their coats. As the water stained the parkas dark green, Josh could have sworn they briefly took on the appearance of cloaks. He shivered, and this time the chill came from more than just the icy downpour. Then he turned and darted across the road.
Head ducked against the driving rain, Nicholas led the twins between vehicles. “Hurry. If we can put enough distance between us, the smells of the traffic and the rain might wash away our scents.”
Sophie glanced over her shoulder. The hooded trio had left the shelter of the station and were closing in fast. “They’re coming after us,” she panted, voice rising in alarm.
“What do we do now?” Josh asked.
“I’ve no idea,” Flamel said grimly. He stared down the long straight road. “But if we stay here, we’re dead. Or at least I am.” His teeth flashed in a humorless smile. “Dee will still try to get you both alive, I’m sure.” Flamel glanced around, then spotted an alleyway to the left and motioned for the twins to follow him. “This way. We’ll try and lose them.”
“I wish Scatty were here,” Josh muttered, truly realizing the magnitude of their loss. “She’d be able to deal with them.”
It was dry in the narrow high-walled alleyway. Blue, green and brown plastic trash cans lined one wall, while the remains of wooden pallets and overflowing black plastic trash bags were piled against the other. The smell was foul, and a wild-haired cat sat on top of one bag, methodically shredding it with her claws. The cat didn’t even look up as Flamel and the twins ran by. A heartbeat later, however, when the three hooded figures entered the alleyway, the cat arched its back, fur bristling, and disappeared into the shadows.
“Do you have any idea where this leads?” Josh asked as they raced past a series of doors to their left, obviously the rear entrances to businesses on the main road.
“None at all,” Flamel admitted. “But as long as it takes us away from the Hooded Ones, it doesn’t matter.”
Sophie looked back. “I don’t see them,” she announced.
“Maybe we’ve lost them.” She trailed Nicholas around a corner only to run straight into him when he stopped suddenly.
Josh then rounded the corner, narrowly missing the two. “Keep going,” he gasped, dodging the pair to take the lead. And then he realized why they’d stopped: the alley ended in a tall red brick wall topped with curling razor wire.
The Alchemyst spun and put his finger to his lips. “Not a sound. They might have run past the alley altogether ….” A flurry of cold rain spattered onto the ground and carried with it a peculiar rancid smell: the foul scent of spoiled meat. “Or maybe not,” he added as the three Genii Cucullati loped silently around the corner. Nicholas pushed the twins behind him, but they immediately took up positions on either side of him. Instinctively, Sophie moved to his right and Josh to his left. “Stand back,” Flamel said.
“No,” Josh said.
“We’re not going to let you face these three alone,” Sophie added.
The Hooded Ones slowed, then spread out to block the alleyway and stopped. They stood unnaturally still, faces concealed by the overlarge hoods.
“What are they waiting for?” Josh murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. There was something about the way the figures stood, the way they held themselves: something that suggested an animal. He’d seen a National Geographic documentary in which an alligator had been waiting in a river for deer to cross. It too had stayed completely still—until it had exploded into action.
Abruptly, a sound like snapping wood cracked shockingly loudly across the quiet alleyway, followed by what seemed to be the sound of cloth tearing.
“They’re changing,” Sophie breathed.
Beneath the green coats, muscles rippled and spasmed, arching the creatures’ spines, pushing their heads forward. Arms visibly lengthened, and the hands that poked out of the overlong sleeves were now thickly furred and tipped with ragged curling black claws.
“Wolves?” Josh asked shakily.
“More bear than wolf,” Nicholas answered quietly, looking around the alleyway, eyes narrowed. “And more wolverine than bear,” he added as the vaguest hint of vanilla touched the air.
“And no threat to us,” Sophie announced, suddenly standing straighter. Raising her right hand, she pressed the thumb of her left hand against the gold circle burned into the flesh of her wrist.
“No,” Nicholas snapped, reaching out to push the girl’s hand down. “I’ve told you; you cannot use your powers in this city. Your auras are too distinctive.”
Sophie shook her head indignantly. “I know what these things are,” she said firmly. Then a tremor crept into her voice. “I know what they do. You can’t expect us just to stand here while these things eat you. Let me take care of them—I can cook them to a crisp.” Her anger quickly turned to excitement at the prospect, and she smiled. For an instant her bright blue eyes winked silver and her face became hard and sharp, making her look far older than her fifteen years.
The Alchemyst’s smile was grim. “You could do that. And I doubt we’d get a mile down the road before something much more lethal than these creatures caught up with us. You have no idea what walks these streets, Sophie. I’ll take care of it,” he insisted. “I’m not entirely defenseless.”
“They’re going to attack,” Josh said urgently, interpreting the creatures’ body language, watching how they moved into an assault pattern. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he found himself wondering how he knew this. “If you’re going to do something, you need to do it now.”
The Genii Cucullati had spread out, each taking up a position before Flamel and the twins. The creatures were hunched over, their backs arched, parkas stretched across broad chests, bulging shoulders and muscular arms. In the shadow of their hoods, blue-black eyes glowed over jagged teeth. They spoke to each other in what sounded like yips and growls.
Nicholas pushed up the sleeves of his leather jacket, revealing the silver link bracelet and the two frayed multicolored friendship bracelets he wore around his right wrist. Twisting off one of the simple string bracelets, he rolled it between the palms of his hands, brought it to his lips and blew on it.
Sophie and Josh watched as he tossed the little ball onto the ground in front of the Hooded Ones. They saw the colored strands fall into a muddy puddle directly in front of the largest of the creatures and braced themselves for an explosion. Even the terrifying creatures scrambled back from the tiny pool, claws slipping on the pavement.
And nothing happened.
The sound that came from the largest creature might have been a laugh.
“I say we fight,” Josh said defiantly, though he was shaken by the Alchemyst’s failure. He’d seen Flamel throw spears of pure energy, he’d watched him create a forest out of a wooden floor—he’d been expecting something spectacular. Josh glanced over at his sister and knew that she was thinking exactly the same thing he was. In Flamel’s aging and weakened state, his powers were fading. Josh nodded slightly and s
aw Sophie tip her head in return, then flex her fingers. “Nicholas, you saw what we did to the gargoyles,” Josh continued, sure of his sister’s and his own powers. “Together, Sophie and I can stand against anyone … and anything.”
“The line between confidence and arrogance is very fine, Josh,” Flamel said quietly. “And the line between arrogance and stupidity even finer. Sophie,” he added, without looking at her, “if you use your power, you condemn us to death.”
Josh shook his head. He was disgusted at Flamel’s obvious weakness. Stepping away from the older man he shrugged off his backpack and tugged it open. Sticking up out of one side of the backpack was a thick cardboard tube, usually used to carry posters and rolled maps. Ripping off the white plastic cap, he reached in, grabbed the bubble-wrapped object inside and pulled it out.
“Nicholas …?” Sophie began.
“Patience,” Flamel whispered, “patience …”
The largest of the Hooded Ones dropped to all fours and took a step forward, filthy long-nailed claws clicking on the pavement. “You have been given to me,” the beast said in a voice that was surprisingly high-pitched—almost childlike.
“Dee is very generous,” Flamel said evenly. “Though I am surprised that the Genii Cucullati would deign to work for a humani.”
The creature took another clicking step closer. “Dee is no ordinary humani. The immortal Magician is dangerous, but he’s protected by a master infinitely more so.”
“Perhaps you should fear me,” Flamel suggested with a thin smile. “I am older than Dee, and I have no master to protect me—nor have I ever needed one!”
The creature laughed and then, without warning, leapt for Flamel’s throat.
A stone sword hissed through the air, slicing cleanly through the parka hood, cutting away a huge chunk of green cloth. The creature yelped and twisted its entire body in midair, curling away from the returning blade, which slashed across the front of the coat, chopping through buttons and destroying the zipper.
Josh Newman stepped directly in front of Nicholas Flamel. He was holding the stone sword he’d pulled from the cardboard tube in both hands. “I don’t know who you are, or what you are,” he said tightly, voice trembling with adrenaline and the effort of holding the weapon steady. “But I’m guessing that you know what this is?”
The beast backed away, blue-black eyes fixed on the gray blade. Its concealing hood was gone, cut to ribbons, the remnants hanging around its shoulders, revealing its head. There was nothing even vaguely human about the planes and angles of its face, Josh noted, but it was extraordinarily beautiful. He’d been expecting a monster, but the head was surprisingly small, with huge dark eyes sunk deep behind a narrow brow ridge, cheekbones high and sharp. The nose was straight, nostrils flaring. The mouth was a horizontal slash that now hung slightly open to reveal misshapen yellowed and blackened teeth.
Josh’s eyes flickered left and right at the other creatures. They too were focused on the stone sword. “This is Clarent,” he said quietly. “I fought the Nidhogg in Paris with this weapon,” he continued. “And I’ve seen what it does to your kind.” He moved the sword slightly and felt it tingle, the hilt growing warm in his hands.
“Dee did not tell us that,” the creature said in its childlike voice. It looked over Josh’s shoulder to the Alchemyst. “It is true?”
“Yes,” Flamel said.
“Nidhogg.” The creature almost spat the word. “And what happened to the legendary Devourer of Corpses?”
“Nidhogg is dead,” Flamel said shortly. “Destroyed by Clarent.” He stepped forward and put his left hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Josh killed it.”
“Killed by a humani?” it said incredulously.
“Dee has used you, betrayed you. He didn’t tell you we had the sword. What else has he not told you about: did he mention the fate of the Disir in Paris? Did he tell you about the Sleeping God?”
The three creatures slipped back into their own language, yipping and growling among themselves; then the largest turned to regard Josh again. A black tongue danced in the air. “These things are of little consequence. I see before me a frightened humani boy. I can hear his muscles straining as he struggles to hold the sword steady. I can taste his fear on the air.”
“And yet, despite the fear you can smell, he still attacked you,” Flamel said quietly. “What does that suggest?”
The creature’s shoulders moved in an awkward shrug. “That he’s either a fool or a hero.”
“And you and your kind have always been vulnerable to both,” Flamel said.
“True, but there are no more heroes left in the world. None to attack us. Humani no longer believe in our kind. That makes us invisible … and invulnerable.”
Josh grunted as he brought the tip of the sword up. “Not to Clarent.”
The creature tilted its head and then nodded. “Not to the Coward’s Blade, that is true. But there are three of us and we are fast, so fast,” it added with a grin that exposed its jagged teeth. “I think we can take you, boy; cut the sword from your hands before you even know it’s—”
Instincts Josh didn’t know he possessed warned him that the creature was going to attack the moment it stopped speaking. Then it would all be over. Without thinking, he jabbed straight out in a thrust Joan of Arc had taught him. The blade hummed as the point stabbed at the monster’s exposed throat. Josh knew that all he needed to do was to scratch the horror with the sword: a single cut had all but destroyed Nidhogg.
Laughing, the creature danced back out of range. “Too slow, humani, too slow. I saw your knuckles strain and whiten the moment before you thrust.”
And at that instant Josh knew they had lost. The Genii Cucullati were just too fast.
But over his left shoulder, he heard Flamel chuckle.
Josh stared directly at the creature. He knew that the last thing he could do was turn around, but he wondered what had amused the Alchemyst. He looked closely at the Hooded One. But nothing had changed … except that when the monster had darted out of range, it had landed in the puddle of dirty water.
“Has fear driven you mad, Alchemyst?” the creature demanded.
“You must know the Elder Iris, the daughter of Electra?” Flamel asked conversationally, and stepped around Josh. The Alchemyst’s narrow face had turned hard and expressionless, lips a thin line, pale eyes closed to little more than slits.
The creature’s blue-black eyes widened in horror. It looked down.
The dirty water curling around the creature’s feet had suddenly bloomed with a rainbow of colors bleeding out of the ragged strands of Flamel’s woven bracelet. The Genii Cucullati attempted to leap back, but its two front paws were stuck fast in the puddle. “Release me, humani,” it screeched, its childlike voice filled with terror. The creature frantically tried to push itself free. Digging in with its claws, it tried to get traction, but the tip of one of its rear legs touched the edge of the pool and it howled once more. It yanked its paw back and a curling claw ripped off, stuck at the edge of the water. The creature barked and its two companions darted forward to grab hold of it, attempting to pull it away from the swirling colored liquid.
“Decades ago,” Flamel continued, “Perenelle and I rescued Iris from her sisters and in return, she gave me these bracelets. I watched her weave them out of her own rainbow-hued aura. She told me that one day they would bring a little color into my life.”
Twisting swirls of color began to creep up the Genii Cucullati’s leg. Black nails turned green, then red, then filthy purple fur changed to shimmering violet.
“You will die for this,” the creature snarled, its voice even higher, bright blue eyes wide with terror.
“I’ll die someday,” Flamel agreed, “but not today, and not by your hand.”
“Just you wait till I tell Mother!”
“You do that.”
There was a pop, like a bubble bursting, and abruptly the rainbow colors raced up the monster’s body, bathing it in light. Whe
re the two others held it, the color spread to the claws and washed up over their skins, turning the green parkas into spectacular multicolored coats. Like oil on water, the colors shifted in mesmerizing patterns, forming new bizarre shades and incandescent hues. The creatures managed a single terrified howl of terror, but their cry was cut short and they slumped onto the sidewalk in a heap. As they lay unmoving on the ground, the riot of colors quickly flowed out of their flesh, returning their coats to their former drab green, and then their bodies started to change, bones cracking, muscles and sinews re-forming. By the time the color had seeped back into the pool, the creatures had resumed their semblance of humanity.
Rain spattered along the length of the alleyway, and the surface of the multicolored puddle danced and shattered with the drops. For a single instant a perfect miniature rainbow appeared over it before fading away, leaving the puddle its previous muddy brown.
Flamel stooped to pluck the remains of the friendship bracelet from the street. The entwined threads were now off-white, leached of all color. He straightened and looked back over his shoulder at the twins. Flamel smiled. “I’m not quite as helpless as I look. Never underestimate your enemy,” he advised. “But this victory is yours, Josh. You saved us. Again. It’s becoming quite a habit: Ojai, Paris and now here.”
“I didn’t think—” Josh began.
“You never think,” Sophie interrupted, squeezing his arm.
“You acted,” Flamel said. “That was enough. Come; let’s get out of here before they’re discovered.”
“Aren’t they dead?” Sophie asked, stepping around the creatures.
Josh quickly wrapped Clarent in the bubble wrap and shoved it back into the cardboard tube. Then he pushed the tube into his backpack and heaved the bag onto his shoulders. “What happened?” he asked. “That colored water. What was that?”
“A gift from an Elder,” Flamel explained, hurrying down the alleyway. “Iris is called the goddess of the rainbow because of her multicolored aura. She also has access to the Shadowrealm waters of the river Styx,” he finished triumphantly.