The Kid drew in a deep breath. “I thought I could take Perenelle Flamel on my own; now I know I can’t. If you have any special European magic or spells, then it’s time to bring them.” Billy the Kid laughed, but there was nothing humorous in the sound. “We’re only going to get one chance to kill this Sorceress; if we fail, then we won’t be leaving the Rock alive.”

Niccolò Machiavelli found himself nodding in agreement. He wondered if the American knew that the Morrigan had also gone missing. But what the Kid could not know was that at the precise moment the aura had been pulsing out from the island, a similar energy had blinked to life in North London. Machiavelli quickly skimmed the e-mails he’d received; they were all reporting on what had to be an incredibly powerful aura bursting to life.

… more powerful than any I have ever encountered, before…

… comparable to an Elder’s aura…

… reports of auras spontaneously flaring on Hampstead Heath and Camden Road and in Highgate Cemetery…

Interestingly, two e-mails reported the distinctive odor of mint.

Flamel’s signature.

Machiavelli shook his head in admiration. The Alchemyst must have connected with Perenelle. Scrying was relatively simple, and while it usually worked best over short distances, the Flamels had married in 1350, and they had lived together for more than 650 years. The connection between them was very strong, and it stood to reason that they should be able to make that connection over thousands of miles. But scrying should not have activated Flamel’s and Perenelle’s auras in such a dramatic way. Unless… unless Perenelle had been in danger and the Alchemyst had fed her aura with his own. Machiavelli frowned. But Nicholas was weakening; that process should have-would have-killed him.

The twins!

Niccolò Machiavelli shook his head in disgust. He must be getting slow in his old age, he thought. It had to be connected to the twins. He had seen them work together at Notre Dame to defeat the gargoyles. They must have given Flamel some of their strength, and he, in turn, had somehow managed to connect to Alcatraz and Perenelle. That was why the aura’s signature was so strong.

“Why did you contact me?” Machiavelli wondered aloud.

“You weren’t my first call,” the Kid admitted. “But I can’t get in touch with my master. I thought I should warn you… and I hoped that maybe you had some way of defeating this Perenelle Flamel. Have you ever met her?”