The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #6) by Michael Scott

to the Dark Elders. However, I spoke to Barbarossa …”
    “The emperor or the pirate?”
    “The emperor,” the Elder clarified. “He’s in Chicago, but will come in on the first flight in the morning. If there areflights. He’s already put the word out to immortals and Elders living on the East Coast. He’ll bring as many as he can.”
    “They’ll be too late,” Perenelle said. “We need them here now.”
    “He did say that the immortal Zenobia and the Elder Pyrgomache are on the way here. They’re coming in on a Greyhound bus.”
    “Not in this fog, they aren’t,” Perenelle said. “And I don’t trust Zenobia. Never did.”
    “I spoke to Khutulun,” Niten said. “She breeds horses in Kentucky.”
    The Flamels shook their heads simultaneously. “Who is she?” Nicholas asked.
    Niten smiled. “Probably the most famous warrior you’ve never heard of. She was the niece of Kublai Khan, and so directly related to Genghis Khan. She was trained first by Scathach and then later by Aoife. Aoife called her Shining Moon and said she was the daughter she always wanted. Khutulun said she’d leave within the hour.”
    “She’s driving?” Perenelle asked.
    “Khutulun does not fly.”
    “Even if she doesn’t stop to sleep, that’s at least a two-day drive across country,” Perenelle said. “It’ll be all over by the time she arrives.”
    “She knows that. She said she would avenge us.”
    “That’s very comforting.”
    “She was going to stop off in Wyoming and pick up the Elders Ynaguinid and Macanduc.”
    Prometheus nodded. “Tremendous warriors,” he said. “The bravest of the brave.”
    “… who are in Wyoming,” Perenelle said. “Which is no use to us.”
    “Davy Crockett’s driving down from Seattle,” Niten said. “But that is at least a day away. Even with the way he drives.”
    Nicholas finished his coffee and carefully replaced the empty cup in the cardboard holder. “So what you are saying is that a lot of help is coming, but none of it is going to arrive in time.”
    The Elder and the immortal nodded simultaneously.
    “Meanwhile,” Perenelle added, “we already know several Dark Elders live in and around the city. Eris lives just down the road in Haight-Ashbury….”
    Prometheus waved his hand dismissively. “We can ignore her. She’s been quiet for centuries. Nowadays she spends her time crocheting.”
    “Is this the same Eris who caused the Trojan War because she didn’t get a wedding invitation?” Perenelle asked in disbelief. “Do you think she’ll sit quietly by and crochet while the rest of her foul clan invade the city?”
    “Probably not,” Prometheus agreed.
    “So it’s just us,” Nicholas said.
    “I’ve said it before. The island is the key,” Niten said.
    “I’m concerned about Odin and Hel,” the Alchemyst continued. “And Mars, too. When I saw them, Hel was wounded and they were barely holding their own. And I’m particularly worried about Black Hawk. He has completely disappeared. I fear we’ve lost him to the Nereids.”
    “We need to take the battle to the heart of the enemy,” Niten said decisively. “We must regain the initiative. If we delay, the Dark Elders will arrive and we will be forced to fight on two fronts. And that is a battle we cannot win. We need to get to Alcatraz.”
    “How?” Prometheus asked. “Nothing will venture out into the bay in this fog.”
    Nicholas looked at Perenelle. “Do you remember when we were on the Isle of Man and Dee turned up with his trained ghouls? Remember how we got away?”
    Perenelle grinned. “I remember the look on the Magician’s face.” Her smile faded. “But, Nicholas, we were a lot younger then, and a lot—a whole lot—stronger.”
    “Okay, so we’ll burn up a little aura.” He shrugged. “We have nothing to lose.”
    Perenelle leaned in to quickly kiss her husband’s cheek. “True.”
    “How did you get off the island?” Niten asked.
    “We walked.”
    “On