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.
I will destroy you: not even your Elder master will be able to protect you
from my wrath.
don't you dare threaten me! Dee said, his voice an ugly snarl. And I don't
need my Elder to protect me.
Fear me, Magician, for you have made an enemy of me.
Do you know what I do to those who frighten me? Dee demanded, his accent
thickening. I destroy them! The room suddenly filled with the stench of
sulfur, and then the bone walls began to run and melt like soft ice cream.
Flamel is not the only alchemist who knows the secret of transmutation, he
said as the ceiling turned soft and liquid, long strands dripping down to the
floor, covering Mars in sticky fluid. Then it began to rain bone in huge
yellow drops.
Destroy him! Mars howled. Phobos and Deimos leapt from the plinth onto the
Elder s back, teeth and claws extended, huge eyes fixed on Dee.
The Magician spoke a single word of power and snapped his fingers: the liquid
bone instantly hardened.
Niccol Machiavelli appeared in the doorway. He folded his arms and looked
into the chamber. In the center of the room, caught as he tried to rise from
the floor, the two satyrs on his back, was Mars Ultor, frozen in bone.
So the catacombs of Paris have yet another mysterious bone statue, the
Italian said mildly. Dee turned away. First you kill Hekate and now Mars,
Machiavelli continued. And I thought you were supposed to be on our side.
You do realize, he called after Dee, that we are both dead men. We ve
failed to capture Flamel and the twins. Our masters will not forgive us.
We ve not failed yet, Dee called back. He was almost at the end of the
corridor. I know where this tunnel comes out. I know how we can capture
them. He stopped and looked back, and when he spoke, the words came slowly,
almost reluctantly. But Niccol we will need to work together. We will need
to combine our powers.
What do you intend to do? Machiavelli asked.
Together, we can loose the Guardians of the City.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
T he Morrigan managed to struggle to her feet, but a spiderweb as thick as
her arm wrapped around her waist and twisted between her legs, entangling
them, and she fell. She started to slide over the side of the water tower
when a second and then a third web caught her, curling around her body,
wrapping it from neck to toes in a thick mummylike shell. Perenelle leapt off
Areop-Enap s back and crouched beside the Crow Goddess. The head of her spear
vibrated with energy, and red and white smoke coiled into the damp night air.
You probably feel like screaming right now, Perenelle said with a wry
smile. Go ahead.
The Morrigan obliged. Her jaws unhinged, black lips parted to reveal her
savage teeth and she howled.
The nerve-shattering cry echoed across the island. Every unbroken pane of
glass on Alcatraz shattered into powder, and the entire water tower swayed.
Across the bay, the city came awake as business, house and car alarms along
the waterfront burst into cacophonous life. Every dog within a hundred-mile
radius of the island started yowling piteously.
But the scream also brought the rest of the huge flock of gathered birds
surging into the night sky in a thunderous explosion of flapping wings and
raucous cries. Most were immediately entangled and brought down by a thick
cloud of spiderwebs hanging in the air between the desolate buildings, draped
across every open window, spun from pole to pole. The moment the ensnared
birds hit the ground, spiders of every shape and size swarmed over them,
cocooning them in thick silver webs. Within moments, the island fell silent
again.
A handful of Dire-Crows escaped. Six of the huge birds swooped low over the
island, avoiding the festoons and nets of sticky web. The birds curled out
over San Francisco Bay toward the bridge, soared high and then swung back to
attack. Now they were above the entangling spiderwebs. They circled over the
water tower. Twelve pitch-black eyes fixed on Perenelle, and razor beaks and
dagger-tipped claws opened as they dropped silently toward the woman.
Crouched over the Morrigan, Perenelle caught the flickering hint of movement
reflected in her adversary s black eyes. The Sorceress brought the spearhead
to blazing life with a single word and spun it in her hand, leaving a red
triangle burning in the foggy air. The savage birds flew through the red
fire and changed.
Six perfect eggs dropped out of the sky and were plucked out of midair by
strands of gossamer-thin spiderweb. Breakfast, Areop-Enap said delightedly,
clambering down the side of the tower.
Perenelle sat down beside the struggling Crow Goddess. Resting the spear on
her knees, she looked out across the bay in the direction of the city she
called home.
What will you do now, Sorceress? the Morrigan demanded.
I have no idea, Perenelle said truthfully. It seems Alcatraz is mine. She
sounded almost bemused by the idea. Well, mine and Areop-Enap s.
Unless you've managed to master the art of flight, you are trapped here,
the Morrigan snarled. This is Dee s property. No tourists come here now;
there are no sightseers, no fishing boats. You are still as much a prisoner
as when you were in your cell. And the sphinx patrols the corridors below.
She ll be coming for you.
The Sorceress smiled. She can try. She twirled the spear. It hummed in the
air. I wonder what this would turn her into: baby girl, lion cub or bird
egg.
You know that Dee will return and in force. He ll want his army of
monsters.
I ll be waiting for him, too, the Sorceress promised.
You cannot win, the Morrigan spat.
People have been telling Nicholas and me that for centuries. And yet, we re
still here.
What will you do with me? the Crow Goddess asked eventually. Unless you
kill me, you know I ll never rest until you are dead.
Perenelle smiled. She brought the spearhead close to her lips and blew gently