Читать онлайн «The Alchemyst»
Автор Майкл Скотт
Michael Scott
THURSDAY,
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
FRIDAY,
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Michael Scott
The Alchemyst
iamque opus exegi
I am legend.
Death has no claim over me, illness cannot touch me. Look at me now and itwould be hard to put an age upon me, and yet I was born in the Year of Our Lord 1330, more than six hundred and seventy years ago.
I have been many things in my time: a physician and a cook, a bookseller anda soldier, a teacher of languages and chemistry, both an officer of the lawand a thief.
But before all these I was an alchemyst. I was the Alchemyst.
I was acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of all, sought after by kingsand princes, by emperors and even the Pope himself. I could turn ordinarymetal into gold, I could change common stones into precious jewels. More thanthis: I discovered the secret of Life Eternal hidden deep in a book ofancient magic.
Now my wife, Perenelle, has been kidnapped and the book stolen.
Without the book, she and I will age. Within the full cycle of the moon, wewill wither and die. And if we die, then the evil we have so long foughtagainst will triumph. The Elder Race will reclaim this Earth again, and theywill wipe humanity from the face of this planet.
But I will not go down without a fight.
For I am the immortal Nicholas Flamel.
From the Day Booke of Nicholas Flamel, AlchemystWrit this day, Thursday, 31st May, inSan Francisco, my adopted city
THURSDAY,
31st May
CHAPTER ONE
OK answer me this: why would anyone want to wear an overcoat in SanFrancisco in the middle of summer? Sophie Newman pressed her fingers againstthe Bluetooth earpiece as she spoke.
On the other side of the continent, her fashion-conscious friend Elleinquired matter-of-factly, What sort of coat?
Wiping her hands on the cloth tucked into her apron strings, Sophie moved outfrom behind the counter of the empty coffee shop and stepped up to thewindow, watching men emerge from the car across the street. Heavy black woolovercoats. They re even wearing black gloves and hats. And sunglasses. She pressed her face against the glass. Even for this city, that s just a littletoo weird.
Maybe they re undertakers? Elle suggested, her voice popping and clickingon the cell phone. Sophie could hear something loud and dismal playing in thebackground Lacrimosa maybe, or Amorphis. Elle had never quite got over herGoth phase.
Maybe, Sophie answered, sounding unconvinced. She d been chatting on thephone with her friend when, a few moments earlier, she d spotted theunusual-looking car. It was long and sleek and looked as if it belonged in anold black-and-white movie. As it drove past the window, sunlight reflectedoff the blacked-out windows, briefly illuminating the interior of the coffeeshop in warm yellow-gold light, blinding Sophie. Blinking away the blackspots dancing before her eyes, she watched as the car turned at the bottom ofthe hill and slowly returned. Without signaling, it pulled over directly infront of The Small Book Shop, right across the street.
