01_-_The_Alchemyst

looked around quickly, expecting to see Golems or rats, or even the Morrigan
lurking in the shadows.
“I am alone,” Dee said pleasantly, smiling politely.
Josh’s mind was racing. He needed to get to Flamel, he needed to warn
him that Dee was in Ojai. He wondered what would happen if he simply got
up and ran. Would Dee try to stop him with magic in front of all these
people? Josh looked over at the three old men again, and it dawned on him
that they probably wouldn’t even notice if Dee changed him into an elephant
right in the middle of downtown Ojai.
“Do you know how long I’ve been chasing Nicholas Flamel, or Nick
Fleming, or any of the hundreds of other aliases he’s used?” Dee continued
quietly, conversationally. He leaned back and trailed his fingers through the
water. “At least five hundred years. And he’s always given me the slip. He’s
tricky and dangerous that way. In 1666, when I was closing in on him in
London, he set a fire that nearly burned the city to the ground.”
“He told us you caused the Great Fire,” Josh blurted. Despite his fear,
he was curious. And now he suddenly remembered one of the first pieces of
advice Flamel had given them: “Nothing is as it seems. Question everything.”
Josh found himself wondering if that advice also applied to the Alchemyst
himself. The sun had set, and there was a definite chill in the evening air.
Josh shivered. The three old men shuffled away, none of them even glancing
in his direction, leaving him alone with the magician. Strangely, he didn’t
feel threatened by the man’s presence.
Dee’s thin lips flickered in a smile. “Flamel never tells anyone
everything,” he said. “I used to say that half of everything he said was a lie,
and the other half wasn’t entirely truthful either.”
“Nicholas says you’re working with the Dark Elders. Once you have the
complete Codex, you will bring them back into this world.”
“Correct in every detail,” Dee said, surprising him. “Though no doubt
Nicholas has twisted the story somewhat. I am working with the Elders,” he
continued, “and yes, I am looking for the last two pages from the Book of