talking excitedly together. The air was filled with sirens, and there were
police everywhere. And then Nicholas realized that Nidhogg s rampage through
the city had probably hit the news and people were being warned to stay off
the streets. He wondered what excuse the authorities would make to explain
the chaos.
Sophie pushed her way blindly down the street, following the gossamer threads
that Josh s, Dee s and Machiavelli s auras had left in the air behind them.
She kept bumping into people and apologizing, but she never took her eyes off
the sparkles of light. And then she noticed that as the sun rose higher in
the heavens, it was becoming harder and harder to make out the pinpoints of
colored light. She realized she was running out of time.
Joan of Arc caught up with the Alchemyst. Can she really see the afterimages
left by their auras? she asked in archaic French.
She can, Nicholas replied in the same language. The girl is
extraordinarily powerfuclass="underline" she has no idea of the extent of her powers.
Have you any clue where we re going? Joan asked, looking around. She
thought they were somewhere in the vicinity of the Palais de Tokyo, but she d
been concentrating on the marks on the road left by the police car and hadn't
been paying too much attention to their whereabouts.
None, Nicholas said, frowning. I m just wondering why we seem to be
heading into the back streets. I would have thought that Machiavelli would
want to take the boy into custody.
Nicholas, they want the boy for themselves, or rather, the Elders do. What
does the prophecy say? The two that are one, the one that is all. One to
save the world, one to destroy it. The boy is a prize. Without moving her
head, her eyes flickered toward Sophie. And the girl, too.
I know that.
Joan rested her hand lightly on the Alchemyst s arm. You know that we must
never allow both of them to fall into Dee s hands.
Flamel s face hardened into a mask. I know that, too.
What will you do?
Whatever is necessary, he said grimly.
Joan pulled out a black cell phone. I m calling Francis; I ll let him know
we re OK. She looked around for a landmark. Maybe he ll know where we are.
Sophie turned into a narrow alleyway, barely wide enough for two people to
pass side by side. In the gloom, she could see the threads and speckled light
more clearly now. She even caught ghostly flashes of her brother s outline.
She felt her spirits lift; maybe they were going to catch up with him.
Then, abruptly, the auras vanished.
She stopped, confused and frightened. What had happened? Looking back down
the alley, she could see the traces of their auras in the air, gold and
yellow Josh and Dee, side by side Machiavelli s gray following along behind.
They reached the center of the alleyway and stopped, and she could distinctly
see the outline of her brother s body picked out in gold standing almost
directly in front of her. Squinting, concentrating hard, she attempted to
bring his aura into focus .
He was looking down, mouth open.
Sophie stepped back. Directly under her feet was a large manhole cover, with
the letters IDC pressed into the metal. Tiny speckles of the three auras were
streaked across the cover, outlining each letter in a different color.
Sophie? Nicholas began.
She felt a rush of excitement: relief that she hadn't lost him. They ve gone
down, she said.
Down? he asked, turning a sickly pale color. His voice dropped to little
more than a whisper. Are you sure?
Positive, she said, alarmed at the expression on his face. Why, what s
wrong? What s down there? Sewers?
Sewers and worse. The Alchemyst suddenly looked very old and tired. Below
us are the legendary Catacombs of Paris, he whispered.
Joan crouched down and pointed to where the mud around the edge of the
manhole cover was disturbed. This was opened very recently. She looked up,
her expression grim. You re right; they ve taken him down into the Empire of
the Dead.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
O h, stop that! Perenelle bashed the spider Elder on the top of the head
with the flat side of the spear in her hand. The ancient symbol of power
blazed white-hot and the spider darted back into the cell, the top of its
skull sizzling, gray smoke curling upward.
That hurt! Areop-Enap snapped, more irritated than wounded. You re always
hurting me. You nearly killed me the last time I saw you.
And let me remind you that the last time we met, your followers attempted to
sacrifice me to activate an extinct volcano. Naturally, I was a little
upset.
You brought down an entire mountain on top of me, Areop-Enap said in a
peculiar lisp caused by its overlong fangs. You could have killed me.
It was only a small mountain, Perenelle reminded the creature. She thought
Areop-Enap was female but couldn't be entirely sure. you've survived worse.
All of Areop-Enap s eyes were on the spear in Perenelle s hand. Can you at
least tell me where I am?
On Alcatraz. Or rather, below Alcatraz, an island in the San Francisco Bay
on the West Coast of the Americas.
The New World? Areop-Enap asked.
Yes, the New World, Perenelle said, smiling. The reclusive spider Elder
often hibernated for centuries and missed huge chunks of human history.
What are you doing here? Areop-Enap asked.
I am a prisoner like you. She stepped back. If I lower the spear, are you
going to do something stupid?
Like what?
Like jump at me.
All the hairs on Areop-Enap s legs rose and fell in unison. Truce? the
spider Elder suggested.
Perenelle nodded. Truce, she agreed. It seems we have a common enemy.
Areop-Enap moved to the door of the cell. Do you know how I got here?
I was rather hoping you would be able to tell me that, Perenelle said.
Keeping several wary eyes on the glowing spear, the spider took a tentative
step out into the corridor. The last place I remember was Igup Island. It s
part of Polynesia, it added.
Micronesia, Perenelle said. The name changed more than one hundred and
fifty years ago. Just how long have you been asleep, Old Spider? she asked,
calling the creature by its common name.
I m not sure when did we last meet and have our little misunderstanding? In
humani years, Sorceress, it added.
When Nicholas and I were on Pohnpei investigating the ruins of Nan Madol,
Perenelle said immediately. She had an almost perfect memory. That was about
two hundred years ago, she added.
I probably took a nap sometime about then, Areop-Enap said, stepping out
into the corridor. Behind it, the cell came alive with millions of spiders.
I remember waking from a very nice nap, it said slowly. I saw the Magician
Dee but he was not alone. There was someone else something else with him.
Instructing him.
Who? Perenelle asked urgently. Try and remember, Old Spider, this is
important.
Areop-Enap closed each of its eyes as it tried to recall what had happened.
Something is preventing me, it said, all its eyes opening simultaneously.
Something powerful. Whoever was with him was protected by an extraordinarily
powerful magical shield. Areop-Enap looked up and down the corridor. That