"We have spent our entire lives fighting for the survival of the human race," Perenelle said quietly. "We cannot stop now. We will fight to our last breaths to protect it from the Dark Elders."

"You would have paid a heavy price."

"Everything has a price," Nicholas said simply. "And some prices are worth paying." He drew in a deep breath and looked at the Elder. "You paid a heavy price for bringing the humani to life."

Prometheus nodded.

"Have you ever regretted it?"

"Not for a moment." Prometheus stared at the skull. "Not for a single moment," he said softly, and then grunted a bitter laugh. "Crystal libraries, my sister called these. She suspected that they might even have been partially responsible for the annihilation of the Archon race, and she destroyed as many as she could. Some knowledge should not be pa.s.sed on, she said. And there was one piece of advice she gave me time and again: an Elder must never, ever, touch the skulls."

"Why not?" Nicholas asked.

Prometheus ignored the question. He reached out and placed his hand on top of the Flamels'. Instantly, the room was flooded with the smell of aniseed and the skull turned a deep ruby color. "I can link to the boy, but you will need to focus on the Magician," he said almost apologetically. "Are you sure you want to do this? It will age you."

"Do it," Perenelle said, and the Alchemyst nodded.

"Then let us see what the Magician has in store for the boy," the Elder said through gritted teeth as images formed over the skull: crystal-clear pictures in vivid color.

And suddenly they were looking through Josh Newman's eyes at Virginia Dare's face.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX.

"Can't you drive any faster?" Aoife snapped. "I could push this heap quicker."

"My foot is flat to the floor," Niten said calmly, "but the vehicle is forty years old and it's only got a fifty-horsepower engine."

"Piece of junk," Aoife muttered. She looked at Sophie stretched out on the long backseat behind them. Reaching over, she pulled a blanket across the girl's shoulders. "You'd think an Elder would have a better car than this antiquated minivan," she said, turning back to Niten.

"I'm surprised Prometheus even had a car. And it's not a minivan, it's a microbus. I like it," the j.a.panese immortal said. "This is a 1964 Volkswagen Microbus. And it still has its original red and white paint job. Usually they're painted all the colors of the rainbow."

"Listen to you. Since when did you become such a car expert?" Aoife asked sarcastically.

The tiniest of smiles moved Niten's lips. "You do know that I collect cla.s.sic cars, don't you?"

Aoife looked at him in surprise. "No," she said finally. "I never knew that."

"How long have you known me, Aoife?" he asked in formal j.a.panese.

She frowned and replied in the same language. "There was a battle, I seem to recall."

"We met at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, I remember."

"I thought you were Scathach," he reminded her.

Aoife smiled and nodded again.

"But the moment we started to fight, I knew you were not the girl I had fought before. You had a different style."

"And I defeated you," she reminded him.

"You did," he agreed. "Just the once." He turned the big steering wheel, maneuvering the van onto the narrow two-lane highway. "So you've known me-what?-for more than four hundred years... and yet, what do you really know about me?"

Aoife stared at the slender black-suited man and shook her head. "Not a lot," she admitted.

"And why is that?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"Because you were never interested," Niten said gently. "You are the most self-obsessed, selfish person I know."

The warrior blinked in surprise. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"This is not a criticism," he continued, "merely an observation."

They drove in silence for a long time before Aoife said, "So, after four hundred years, why are you telling me this now?"

"I am just curious," Niten said. His dark brown eyes drifted to the rearview mirror, and he tilted it so that he could look at Sophie. "You don't know this girl. You only met her yesterday, and I got the impression that you either did not like her or were afraid of her."

"I am afraid of no one," Aoife said automatically.

Niten bowed. "You are fearless in battle," Niten agreed diplomatically. "So why are we now driving her toward a confrontation with a dangerous and powerful adversary?"

Aoife stared straight ahead, and when she finally answered, her voice sounded lost and distant. "She is looking for her twin," she whispered.

"And is that the only reason?" he probed gently.

"She asked for my help, Niten," Aoife said quietly. "Do you know who the last person was to ask me for help?"

Niten shook his head, though he suspected he knew the answer.

"My twin, Scathach," she murmured. "And I refused." She turned to look at Sophie again. "I don't want to make that mistake twice."

"Aoife, this girl is not your twin."

"But she asked for my help, old friend. It's been a long time since anyone asked me for anything. I have a..." She paused, hunting for the right word. "I have a duty."

"Ah, duty. That I understand." The j.a.panese immortal turned right onto Sh.o.r.eline Highway, heading for San Francisco. "It is duty and responsibility that separates humankind from the beasts... and the Elders," he added. "No offense."

"None taken."

They continued in silence for many miles, and then, much later, Aoife said, "So, tell me about this car collection of yours. I mean, are we talking real cars or just models?"

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN.

"He looks so young," Virginia Dare said, staring into Josh's unblinking red eyes.

"He's fifteen and a half," Dee said absently. "You could help me here," he added. He was standing in the middle of his living room, attempting to push the heavy sofas out of the way to clear a s.p.a.ce in the center of the floor.

"I don't push furniture," Virginia said, still staring at Josh. "These red eyes are creepy. I've only seen them a couple of times before."

"The boy was Awakened by Mars Ultor..."

Virginia Dare's head snapped up. "The Avenger is still alive?" she gasped.

Dee's smile was cruel. "Sort of. As you know, there is always a connection between an Elder and the humani he or she Awakens. Sometimes-though not always-the same Elder will offer the humani immortality."

Virginia nodded. "That's what happened to me. My Elder Awakened me when I was a child and then, fifteen years later, made me immortal."

"One day you're going to tell me who that Elder was," Dee grunted, trying to move an enormous black leather lounger. "Why did I buy this?" he muttered.

"Is he asleep?" she asked, waving her hand in front of Josh's eyes. They remained open and unblinking.

"He's in a dream state. He's aware enough to walk and talk and drive, but he's only semiconscious. No doubt he believes all of this is a dream."

"Like hypnosis?"

"Just like hypnosis," Dee agreed. He finally managed to get the chair up against a wall and collapsed into it. "I'm getting too old for this," he wheezed.

"Doctor," Virginia said quietly, "you need to see this."

The tone in the woman's voice brought Dee quickly across the room. Josh was sitting on a stool at the kitchen table. The four swords and the Codex were on the gla.s.s tabletop before him, where Dee had left them. When the boy had rested his hands on the table, all of the swords had immediately started to glow, throbbing gently like beating hearts. There was the sudden odor of oranges, and abruptly the gla.s.s surface turned into a sheet of solid gold.

Virginia tapped the gold with her fingernail. "Now, that's impressive."

"The boy is powerful indeed," Dee said. "I've never seen a pure Gold before."

Gossamer threads of Josh's gold aura drifted across the table like smoke, curling around the stone swords. Crackling sparks leapt from blade to blade. Particles of ice sparkled across Excalibur and red-black smoke drifted off Clarent; gritty brown sand formed on Joyeuse's blade, and Durendal's surface rippled as if a chill breeze were blowing across it. Then the heavy copper cover of the Codex flapped open and the pages began to riffle as if blown by a strong breeze. Dee carefully reached out and lifted the book off the table. "He is so strong," the Magician said, "it seems almost a shame to have to kill him."

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT.

Josh.

Wake up.

Josh. Wake up.

Josh.

And Josh woke up, hearing Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel's voices ringing in his head.

He remembered lying down on the uncomfortable couch in Prometheus's guesthouse; then there was a dream... a long, boring dream.

Or was it a dream?

He was sitting on a high stool in a modern-looking apartment, with Dr. John Dee and the almost-familiar-looking young woman from his dream watching him.

"You're awake!" Dee said, sounding surprised.

Confusion gave way to fear, which quickly turned to anger. "What have you done to me?" Instinctively, Josh s.n.a.t.c.hed Clarent from the table and slid off the stool, holding the sword in both hands. Instantly, he felt its familiar heat flow up his body, and his aura started to harden into gold-plated armor around his flesh. He looked around quickly, trying to get his bearings. "Where am I? Where's my sister? What have you done with Sophie?"

Keeping the Codex pressed close to his chest, Dee stepped right up to the tip of the outstretched blade. "Do you remember the dream, Josh? The dream of the long drive?"

Josh took a step backward and nodded.

Dee stepped forward. "That was no dream."

"What did you do-put a spell on me?" he said, horrified by the thought.

Dee shrugged. "I don't like the word spell-it's so old-fashioned. Technically, I asked Mars Ultor to call you. You are connected to him; you will remain connected to him for the rest of your life."

"Where am I?" Josh asked, though he already had an inkling of the answer.

"You know where you are: in San Francisco, just below Coit Tower, in the offices of Enoch Enterprises, my company."

Clarent was shivering in Josh's grip. Golden gloves had formed around his hands and forearms, but the metal around his palms and fingertips where he held the sword was stained rust-red.

"So thank you for coming," Dee continued, smiling as if nothing were out of the ordinary. He half turned. "This is my a.s.sociate, Miss Virginia Dare."

The woman nodded but didn't smile. Josh noticed that she had a wooden stick-a flute?-in her hand.

"Miss Dare is, like myself, an immortal." Dee turned quickly to Josh. "Would you like that, do you think? Would you want to become immortal?"

Josh blinked in surprise. Listening to Nicholas, then Scathach and Aoife talking about it, he'd vaguely wondered what it would be like to live forever, but he'd never actually thought about it seriously. "I'm not sure," he said.

"I can't make you immortal, nor can Virginia, but we know Elders who could grant you that gift," Dee continued. "In fact, Mars would probably make you immortal if you asked."

Completely confused now by the bizarre situation, Josh looked from the Magician to the woman. "I'm not sure I..."