The Warlock (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #5) Read Online Free Page B

of her surroundings.”
    Sophie studied the faces. “Everyone is looking at the fire,” she said quietly.
    “Just so,” Niten agreed. “And so must we, if we are to blend in. Turn and look.”
    “But Josh …”
    “Josh is gone.”
    Sophie started to shake her head.
    “Turn and look,” Niten insisted. “If you are arrested, then you will be in no position to assist your brother.”
    The girl turned and glanced back toward the fire. Niten was right, but standing still and not chasing after her twin felt
wrong
. Every second they delayed meant that Josh was slipping further and further away from her. The image of the burning building fragmented and disappeared as her eyes filled with tears. Blinking hard, she rubbed them away with the heels of her hands, leaving sooty black streaks across her cheeks. The smell of burning rubber and the acrid tang of oil and scorched metal mingled with other noxious odors and drifted over the gathering crowd, making everyone back away. Niten and Sophie flowed with them.
    Josh is gone
.
    Sophie tried to make sense of the words but it was almost impossible. He had left her. Minutes ago he had been close enough to touch, and yet when she’d tried to help him, he’d turned away from her with a look of horror and disgust on his face and followed Dee and Virginia Dare.
    Josh is gone
.
    A feeling of absolute despair washed over her; her stomach churned and her throat ached. Her twin, her little brother, had done what he had sworn he would never do: he had left her. The tears came then, deep wracking sobs that shuddered through her body, leaving her breathless.
    “You will attract attention,” Niten said softly. He stepped closer to Sophie and gently rested the fingers of his left hand on her right forearm. Instantly the girl was enveloped in the spicy, woody odor of rich green tea, and a sense of calm washed over her. “I need you to be courageous, Sophie. The strong survive, but the courageous triumph.”
    The girl drew in a deep breath and looked into Niten’s brown eyes. She was suddenly and shockingly aware that they were swimming with unshed tears. The Swordsman blinked and the blue-tinged liquid rolled down his cheeks.
    “You are not the only one who lost someone you loved today,” Niten continued softly. “I’ve known Aoife for over four hundred years. She was …” He paused and his face softened. “She was infuriating and outrageous, demanding, selfish and arrogant … and very, very dear to me.” Blue-green smoke twisted from the burning building and swirled through the crowd.
    Sophie watched the spectators turn away from the smoke,coughing as it caught in their throats. Most people started to cry as the smoke and ash stung their eyes. Niten’s tears went unnoticed.
    “You loved her,” Sophie whispered.
    His head moved in the tiniest nod. “And in her fashion, she loved me, though she would never admit it.” The Swordsman’s fingers tightened on the girl’s arm, and when he spoke, it was in the precise and elegant Japanese of his youth. “But she is not dead,” he said fiercely. “Even the Archon will find it impossible to kill Aoife of the Shadows. Two centuries ago, she single-handedly fought her way through the Jigoku Shadowrealm when I was kidnapped by servants of the Shinigami, the Death God. She found me. I will find her.” He paused and added, “Just as you will find and rescue your brother.”
    Sophie nodded. She would find Josh, and she would rescue him, no matter what. “Yes, yes I will. What do I have to do?” she asked, unaware that she had replied in perfect Japanese.
    “Follow me,” Niten said, and eased through the rapidly dispersing crowd, hurrying down Telegraph Hill Boulevard toward Lombard Street.
    Sophie ran after him, staying as close behind as she could. She didn’t want to lose him in the crowd. Niten moved effortlessly around the tourists and onlookers, not even touching them. “Where are we going?” She had to shout to be heard