The Magician | Page 5

asked. He found himself wondering, yet again,
at the full extent of his sister s senses.
Each one, she said.
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We must not be captured by the police, Flamel interjected sharply. We ve
neither passports nor alibis. We ve got to get out of here!
How? the twins asked simultaneously.
Flamel shook his head. There has to be another entrance , he began, and
then stopped, nostrils flaring.
Josh watched uneasily as both Sophie and Scatty suddenly reacted to something
he could not smell. What what is it? he demanded, and then he suddenly
caught the faintest whiff of something musky and rank. It was the sort of
smell he d come to associate with a zoo.
Trouble, Scathach said grimly, putting away her nunchaku and drawing her
swords. Big trouble.
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CHAPTER THREE
W hat? Josh demanded, looking around. The smell was stronger now, stale and
bitter, and almost familiar .
Snake, Sophie said, breathing deeply. It s a snake.
Josh felt his stomach lurch. Snake. Why did it have to be snakes? He was
terrified of snakes though he d never admit it to anyone, especially not his
sister. Snakes , he began, but his voice sounded high-pitched and
strangled. He coughed and tried again. Where? he asked, looking around
desperately, imagining them everywhere, sliding out from under the pews,
curling down the pillars, dropping down from the light fixtures.
Sophie shook her head and frowned. I don t hear any . I m just smelling
them. Her nostrils flared as she drew a deep breath. No, there s just
one .
Oh, you re smelling a snake, all right but one that walks on two legs,
Scatty snapped. You re smelling the rank odor of Niccol Machiavelli.
Flamel knelt on the floor in front of the massive main doors and ran his
hands over the locks. Wisps of green smoke curled from his fingers.
Machiavelli! he spat. Dee didn t waste any time contacting his allies, I
see.
You can tell who it is from the smell? Josh asked, still surprised and a
little confused.
Every person has a distinctive magical odor, Scatty explained, standing
with her back to the Alchemyst, protecting him. You two smell of vanilla ice
cream and oranges, Nicholas smells of mint
And Dee smelled of rotten eggs , Sophie added.
Sulfur, Josh said.
Which was once known as brimstone, Scatty said. Very appropriate for Dr.
Dee. Her head was moving from side to side as she paid particular attention
to the deep shadows behind the statues. Well, Machiavelli smells of snakes.
Appropriate too.
Who is he? Josh asked. He felt as if he should know the name, almost as if
he d heard it before. A friends of Dee s?
Machiavelli is an immortal allied to the Dark Elders, Scatty explained,
and no friend to Dee, though they are on the same side. Machiavelli is older
than the Magician, infinitely more dangerous and certainly more cunning. I
should have killed him when I had the chance, she said bitterly. For the
past five hundred years he has been at the heart of European politics, the
puppet master working in the shadows. The last I heard, he had been appointed
the head of the DGSE, the Direction G n rale de la S curit Ext rieure.
Is that like a bank? Josh asked.
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Scatty s lips curled in a tiny smile that exposed her overlong vampire
incisors. It means the General Board of External Security. It is the French
secret service.
The secret service! Oh, that s just great, Josh said sarcastically.
The smell is getting stronger, Sophie said, her Awakened senses acutely
aware of the odor. Concentrating hard, she allowed a little of her power to
trickle into her aura, which bloomed into a ghostly shadow around her.
Crackles of lustrous silver threads sparkled in her blond hair, and her eyes
turned to reflective silver coins.
Almost unconsciously, Josh stepped away from his sister. He d seen her like
this before, and she d scared him.
That means he s close by. He s working some magic, Scatty said.
Nicholas ?
I just need another minute. Flamel s fingertips glowed emerald green,
smoking as they traced a pattern around the lock. A solid click sounded from
within, but when the Alchemyst tried the handle, the door didn t move. Maybe
more than a minute.
Too late, Josh whispered, raising an arm and pointing. Something s here.
At the opposite end of the great basilica, the banks of candles had gone out.
It was as if an unfelt breeze was sweeping down the aisles, snuffing out the
flickering circular night-lights and thicker candles as it passed, leaving
curls of gray-white smoke hanging on the air. Abruptly, the smell of candle
wax grew stronger, much, much stronger, almost obliterating the odor of
serpent.
I can t see anything , Josh began.
It s here! Sophie shouted.
The creature that flowed up off the cold flagstones was only marginally
human. Standing taller than a man, broad and grotesque, it was a gelatinous
white shape with only the vaguest hint of a head set directly onto broad
shoulders. There were no visible features. As they watched, two huge arms
separated from the trunk of the body with a squelch and grew