01_-_The_Alchemyst

them to be related. A sudden thought struck him hard enough to break his
concentration: brother and sister, possibly…or could they be something else?
Surely not!
He looked back into the scrying dish and concentrated with his full will,
forcing the rat he was controlling to stand absolutely still. Dee focused on the
young man and woman, trying to decide if one was older than the other, but
the rat’s vision was too clouded and distorted for him to be sure.
But if they were the same age…that meant they were twins. That was
curious. He looked at them again and then shook his head: they were humans.
Dismissing the thought, he unleashed a single command that rippled through
every rat within a half-mile radius of the twins’ position. “Destroy them.
Destroy them utterly.”
The gathering crows took to the air, cawing raucously, as if applauding.
Josh watched openmouthed as the huge rat leapt from the roof opposite,
effortlessly bridging the six-foot space. Its mouth was wide and its teeth
were wickedly pointed. He managed a brief “Hey!” and jerked away from
the window…just as the rat hit the glass with a furry, wet thump. It slid down
to the alley one floor below, where it staggered around in stunned surprise.
Josh grabbed Sophie’s hand, and dragged her out of the kitchen and onto
the balcony. “We’ve got a problem,” he shouted. And stopped.
Below them, three huge Golems, trailing flaking dried mud, were
pushing their way through the wide-open alley door. And behind them, in a
long sinuous line, came the rats.