Michael Scott - The Alchemyst

This, Nicholas Flamel said, a note of genuine awe in his voice, is the Elder known as Hekate. He pronounced the name slowly, HEH-ca-tay.

The Goddess with Three Faces, Scatty added bitterly.

S tay in the car, Nicholas Flamel directed, opening the door and steppingoutside onto the short-cropped grass.

Scatty folded her arms over her chest and glared out through the crackedwindshield. Fine by me.

Flamel ignored her jibe and slammed the door before she could say anythingelse. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to compose himself as he steppedtoward the tall, elegant woman surrounded by the tall leafless trunks ofsequoia trees.

The undergrowth rustled and one of the enormous Torc Allta appeared directlyin front of the Alchemyst, its massive head level with his chest. Flamelstopped and bowed to the creature, greeting it in a language that had notbeen designed for human tongues. Abruptly, the boars were everywhere, ten ofthem, eyes bright and intelligent, the coarse red hair on their backs andshoulders bristling in the late-afternoon light, long strings of ropey salivadribbling from their ornately carved tusks.

Flamel took care to bow to each one in turn. I did not think there were anyof the Torc Allta clan left in the Americas, he said to no one in particular, dropping back into English.

Hekate smiled, the merest movement of her lips. Ah, Nicholas, you of allpeople should know that when we are gone, when the Elder Race is no more,when even the humani have gone from this earth, then the Allta clans willreclaim it for themselves. Remember, this world belonged to the Were clansfirst. Hekate spoke in a deep, almost masculine voice, touched with anaccent that had all the hissing sibilants of Greece and the liquid consonantsof Persia.

Nicholas bowed again. I understand that the clans are strong in Europe theTorc Madra particularly, and I hear that there are Torc Tiogar in Indiaagain, and two new clans of Torc Leon in Africa. All thanks to you.

Hekate smiled, her teeth tiny and straight in her mouth. The clans still worship me as a goddess. I do what I can for them. The unseen, unfelt windtouched her robe, swirling it around her body, so that it ran with green andgold threads. But I doubt you have come all this way to talk to me about mychildren.

I have not. Flamel glanced back at the battered and scarred SUV. Josh andSophie were staring intently at him, eyes wide in wonder, while Scathach sface was just visible in the backseat. She had her eyes closed and waspretending to be asleep. Flamel knew the Warrior had no need of sleep. I want to thank you for the Ghost Wind you sent us.

Now it was Hekate s turn to bow. Her right hand moved and opened, revealing atiny cell phone cupped in her palm. Such useful devices. I can remember a time when we entrusted our messages to the winds or trained birds. Seems likeonly yesterday, she added. I am glad the ruse was successful.Unfortunately, you have probably revealed your ultimate destination to theMorrigan and Dee. They will know who sent the Ghost Wind, and I am sure theyare aware that I have an enclave here.

Hekate shrugged, a slight movement of her shoulders that sent a rainbow oflight down her robe. Dee fears me. He will bluster and posture, threaten me,possibly even try a few minor spells and incantations, but he will not moveagainst me. Not alone not even with the Morrigan s assistance. He would needat least two or more of the Dark Elders to stand against me and even then hewould not be assured of success.

But he is arrogant. And now he has the Codex.

But not all of it, you said on the phone.

No, not all of it. Nicholas Flamel drew the two pages from under hisT-shirt and went to hand them to Hekate. But the woman abruptly backed away,throwing up her hand to shield her eyes, a sound like hissing steam bubblingfrom her lips. In an instant the boars were around Flamel, crowding him,mouths open, tusks huge and deadly against his skin.

Sophie drew breath to scream and Josh shouted and then Scathach was out ofthe SUV, an arrow notched to her bow, leveled at Hekate. Call them off, she shouted.

The Torc Allta didn t even glance in her direction.

Hekate deliberately turned her back on Flamel and folded her arms, then sheglanced over her shoulder at Scathach, who immediately pulled the bowstringtaut. You think that can harm me? the goddess laughed.

The arrow was dipped in the blood of a Titan, Scathach said quietly, hervoice carrying on the still air. One of your parents, if I remembercorrectly? And one of the few ways left to slay you, I do believe.

The twins watched as the Elder s eyes turned cold and became, for a splitsecond, gold mirrors, reflecting the scene before her. Put the pages away,Hekate commanded the Alchemyst.

Flamel immediately tucked the two pages back under his T-shirt. The olderwoman muttered a word and the Torc Allta stepped back from the Alchemyst andtrotted into the undergrowth, where they immediately disappeared, thougheveryone knew they were still there. Hekate then turned to face Flamel again.

They would not have harmed you without a command from me.

I m sure, Nicholas said shakily. He glanced down at his jeans and boots.They were covered with dribbles and strings of white Torc Allta saliva, whichhe was sure was going to leave a stain.

Do not produce the Codex or any portion of it in my presence nor in thepresence of any being of the Elder Race. We have an aversion to it, she said, choosing the word carefully.

It doesn t affect me, Scathach said, loosening her bow.

You are not one of the First Generation of the Elder Race, Hekate reminded her. Like the Morrigan, you are of the Next Generation. But I was there whenAbraham the Mage set down the first words of power in the Book. I saw himtrap the Magic of First Working, the oldest magic, in its sheets.

I apologize, Flamel said quickly. I did not know.

There is no reason you should have known. Hekate smiled, but there wasnothing humorous in it. That eldritch magic is so strong that most of mypeople cannot even bear to look upon the letters. Those who came after theoriginal Elder Race, though still of our blood and here she gestured towardScathach can look upon the Codex, though even they cannot touch it. The apedescendents the humani can. It was Abraham s ultimate joke. He married one ofthe first humani, and I believe he wanted to ensure that only his childrencould handle the book.

We re the ape descendents, Josh said, his voice unconsciously dropping tolittle more than a whisper.

The humani the human race, Sophie said, then fell silent as Flamelcontinued talking.

Is that why the Book was given into my keeping?

You are not the first of the humani to to care for the Codex, Hekate said carefully. It should never have been created in the first place, she snapped, threads of red and green running like live wires on her robe. I advocated that every single page should be separated from the others anddropped into the nearest volcano, and Abraham along with it.

Why wasn t it destroyed? Nicholas asked.

Because Abraham had the gift of Sight. He could actually see the curlingstrands of time, and he prophesied that there would come a day when the Codexand all the knowledge it contained would be needed.

Scatty stepped away from the SUV and approached Flamel. She was still holdingthe bow loosely by her side, and she noted how Hekate s butter-colored eyeswatched her closely.

The Book of the Mage was always assigned a guardian, Scathach explained toFlamel. Some, history recalls as the greatest heroes of myth, while otherswere less well known, like yourself, and a few remained completelyanonymous.

And if I a human was chosen to caretake this precious Codex, because yourpeople cannot even look upon it, much less touch it, then it is obvious thatanother human must have been chosen to find it, Flamel said. Dee.