The Magician | Page 3

of Endor s shop in Ojai,
California. His sister, Sophie, Scathach and the man he now knew to be
Nicholas Flamel had been in the mirror looking out at him. And the next thing
he knew, Sophie had stepped out of the glass, taken his hand and pulled him
through it. He d squeezed his eyes shut and felt something icy touch his skin
and raise the small hairs on the back of his neck. When he d opened his eyes
again, he was standing in what looked like a tiny storage room. Pots of
paint, stacked ladders, broken pieces of pottery and bundled paint-spattered
cloths were piled around a large, rather ordinary-looking grimy mirror fixed
to the stone wall. A single low-wattage lightbulb shed a dim yellow glow over
the room. What happened? he asked, his voice cracking. He swallowed hard
and tried again. What happened? Where are we?
We re in Paris, Nicholas Flamel said delightedly, rubbing his dusty hands
against his black jeans. The city of my birth.
Paris? Josh whispered. He was going to say Impossible, but he was
beginning to understand that that word had no meaning anymore. How? he
asked aloud. Sophie? He looked to his twin sister, but she had pressed her
ear against the room s only door and was listening intently. She waved him
away. He turned to Scathach, but the red-haired warrior just shook her head,
both hands covering her mouth. She looked as if she was about to throw up.
Josh finally turned to the legendary Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel. How did we
get here? he asked.
This planet is crisscrossed with invisible lines of power sometimes called
ley lines or cursus, Flamel explained. He crossed his index fingers. Where
two or more lines intersect a gateway exists. Gates are incredibly rare now,
but in ancient times the Elder Race used them to travel from one side of the
world to the other in an instant just as we did. The Witch opened the leygate
in Ojai and we ended up here, in Paris. He made it sound so matter-of-fact.
Leygates: I hate them, Scatty mumbled. In the gloomy light, her pale,
freckled skin looked green. You ever been seasick? she asked.
Josh shook his head. Never.
Sophie looked up from her spot leaning against the door. Liar! He gets
seasick in a swimming pool. She grinned, then pressed the side of her face
back against the cool wood.
Seasick, Scatty mumbled. That s exactly what it feels like. Only worse.
Sophie turned her head again to look at the Alchemyst. Do you have any idea
where we are in Paris?
Someplace old, I m guessing, Flamel said, joining her at the door. He put
the side of his head back against the door and listened.
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Sophie stepped back. I m not so sure, she said hesitantly.
Why not? Josh asked. He glanced around the small untidy room. It certainly
looked as though it was part of an old building.
Sophie shook her head. I don t know it just doesn t feel that old. She
reached out and touched the wall with the palm of her hand, then immediately
jerked it back again.
What s wrong? Josh whispered.
Sophie placed her hand against the wall again. I can hear voices, songs and
what sounds like organ music.
Josh shrugged. I can t hear anything. He stopped, abruptly conscious of the
huge difference between himself and his twin. Sophie s magical potential had
been Awakened by Hekate, and she was now hypersensitive to sights and sounds,
smells, touch and taste.
I can. Sophie lifted her hand from the stone wall and the sounds in her
head faded.
You re hearing ghost sounds, Flamel explained. They re just noises
absorbed by the building, recorded into the very structure itself.
This is a church, Sophie said decisively, then frowned. It s a new
church modern, late nineteenth century, early twentieth. But it s built on a
much, much older site.
Flamel paused at the wooden door and looked over his shoulder. In the dim
overhead light, his features were suddenly sharp and angular, disturbingly
skull-like, his eyes completely in shadow. There are many churches in
Paris, he said, though there is only one, I believe, which matches that
description. He reached for the door handle.
Hang on a second, Josh said quickly. Don t you think there ll be some sort
of alarm?
Oh, I doubt it, Nicholas said confidently. Who would put an alarm on a
storeroom in a church? he asked, jerking the door open.
Immediately an alarm pealed through the air, the sound echoing and reechoing
off the flagstones and walls. Red security lights strobed and flashed.
Scatty sighed and muttered something in an ancient Celtic language. Didn t
you tell me once to wait before moving, to look before stepping and to
observe everything? she demanded.
Nicholas shook his head and sighed at the stupid mistake. Getting old, I
guess, he said in the same language. But there was no time for apologies.
Let s go! he shouted over the shrieking alarm, and darted down the
corridor. Sophie and Josh followed close behind, while Scatty took up the
rear, moving slowly and grumbling with every