The Magician

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

J osh wearily pushed open the door to the kitchen and stepped into the long

low room. Sophie turned away from the sink and watched her brother slump into

a chair, drop the stone sword onto the floor, lay his arms on the table and

rest his head on them.

How was it? Sophie asked.

I can barely move, he mumbled. My shoulders ache, my back aches, my arms

ache, my head aches, I have blisters on my hands and I can barely close my

fingers. He showed her his raw palms. I never realized just holding a sword

would be so hard.

But did you learn anything?

I learned how to hold it.

Sophie slid a plateful of toast across the table and Josh immediately

straightened up, grabbed a piece and shoved it in his mouth. At least you

can still eat, she said. Catching hold of his right hand, she turned it over

to look at his palm. Ouch! she said in sympathy. The skin at the base of

his thumb was red, bubbling up in a painful-looking water blister.

Told you, he said through a mouthful of toast. I need a Band-Aid.

Let me try something. Sophie quickly rubbed her hands together, then

pressed the thumb of her left hand against her right wrist. Closing her eyes,

she concentrated and her little finger popped alight, burning with a cool

blue flame.

Josh stopped chewing and stared.

Before he could object, Sophie ran her finger over his blistered flesh. He

attempted to pull away, but she held his wrist with surprising strength. When

she finally let it go, he jerked his hand back.

What do you think you re , he began, looking at his hand. Then he

discovered that the blister had vanished, leaving only the faint hint of a

circle on his skin.

Francis told me that fire can heal. Sophie held up her right hand. Wisps of

gray smoke curled off her fingers; then they snapped alight. When she closed

her hand into a fist, the fire extinguished.

I thought Josh swallowed hard and tried again I didn't know you d even

started to learn about fire.

Started and finished.

Finished?

All done. She brushed her hands together; sparks flew.

Chewing his toast, Josh looked at his sister critically. When she d first

been Awakened and when she d learned the Magic of Air, he d seen the

differences in her immediately, especially around her face and eyes. He d

even noted the new subtle shading of her eye color. He couldn't see any

changes this time. She looked the same as before but she wasn't. And the Fire

magic distanced her even further from him. You don't seem any different, he

said.

I don't feel any different either. Except warmer, she added. I don't feel

cold.

So this was his sister now, Josh thought. She looked just like any other

teenager he knew. And yet she was unlike anyone else on the planet: she could

control two of the elemental magics.

Maybe that was the scariest part of all this: the immortal humans people like

Flamel and Perenelle, Joan, flamboyant Saint-Germain and even Dee: they all

looked so ordinary. They were the type of people you would pass in the street

and not give a second glance to. Scathach, with her red hair and grass green

eyes, was always going to attract attention. But she wasn't human.

Did it did it hurt? he asked, curious.

Not at all. She smiled. It was almost disappointing. Francis sort of

washed my hands with fire oh, and I got this, she said, holding up her right

arm and allowing her sleeve to fall back to reveal the design burned into her

flesh.

Josh leaned forward to look closely at Sophie s arm. It s a tattoo, he

said, envy clearly audible in his voice. The twins had always talked about

getting tattoos together. Mom is going to freak when she sees that. Then he

added, Where did you get it? And why?

It s not ink, it was burned on with fire, Sophie explained, twisting her

wrist to show off the design.

Josh suddenly caught her hand and pointed at the red dot surrounded by the

gold circle on the underside of her wrist. I ve seen something like that

before, he said slowly, and frowned, trying to remember.

His twin nodded. It took me a while, but then I remembered that Nicholas has

something like it on his wrist, Sophie said. A circle with a cross through

it.

That s right. Josh closed his eyes. He d first noted the small tattoo on

Flamel s wrist when he d started working for him in the bookshop, and though

he d wondered why it was in such an unusual place, he d never asked about it.

He opened his eyes again and looked at the tattoo, and he suddenly realized

that Sophie was branded by magic, marked as someone who could control the

elements. And he didn't like it. What do you need it for?

When I want to use fire, I press on the center of the circle and focus my

aura. Saint-Germain called it a shortcut, a trigger for my power.

I wonder what Flamel needs a trigger for, Josh wondered aloud.

The kettle pinged and Sophie turned back to the sink. She had asked herself

the same question. Maybe we can ask him when he wakes up.

Any more toast? Josh asked. I m starving.

You re always starving.

Yeah, well, the sword training made me hungry.

Sophie stuck a fork through a slice of bread and held it out in front of her.

Watch this, she said. She pressed on the underside of her wrist and her

index finger burst into flame. Frowning hard, concentrating, she focused the

wavering flame into a thin blue fire and then ran it over the bread, gently

toasting it. Do you want this done on both sides?

Josh watched with a mixture of fascination and horror. He knew from science

class that bread toasted around 310 degrees Fahrenheit.