“This is our decision.” It was Dee’s Elder master speaking, the male-female voices blending together into one slightly discordant voice. “The Magician will follow the Alchemyst and the twins to England. Your instructions are explicit: destroy Flamel, capture the twins and retrieve the two missing pages. Use whatever means necessary to achieve this objective; we have associates in England who are indebted to us. We will call in those debts. And Doctor… if you fail us this time, then we will temporarily remove the gift of immortality and allow your humani body to age to its very limit… and then, at the moment before your death, we will make you immortal again.” There was a rasp that might have been a chuckle or an indrawn breath. “Think about how that will feel: your brilliant mind trapped in an ancient and feeble body, unable to see or hear clearly, unable to walk or move, in constant pain from a score of ailments. You will be forever ancient and yet undying. Fail us and this will be your destiny. We will trap you in this aged fleshy shell for an eternity.”

Dee nodded, swallowed hard and then said with as much confidence as he could muster, “I will not fail you.”

“And you, Niccolò…” Machiavelli’s Elder master spoke. “You will travel to the Americas. The Sorceress is loose on Alcatraz. Do whatever you must to secure the island.”

“But I have no contacts in San Francisco,” Machiavelli protested quickly, “no allies. Europe has always been my domain.”

“We have agents all across the Americas. Even now they are moving westward to await your arrival. We will instruct one to guide and assist you. On Alcatraz, you will find an army of sorts sleeping in the cells, creatures the humani will recognize from their darkest nightmares and foulest myths. It was not our intention to use this army so soon, but events are moving quickly now, much faster than we anticipated. Soon it will be the Time of Litha, the summer solstice. At midsummer, the twins’ auras will be at their strongest and the barriers between this world and the myriad Shadowrealms at their weakest. It is our intention to reclaim the world of the humani on that day.”

Even Machiavelli was unable to keep his face expressionless. He looked at Dee and found that the Magician too was wide-eyed with shock. Both men had worked for the Dark Elders for centuries and had always known that they intended to return to the world they had once ruled. Still, it was startling to discover that after years of waiting and planning, it was about to happen in just over three weeks’ time.