Michael Scott - The Alchemyst

Sophie suddenly realized that she was staring, and deliberately turned away.The men looked like some breed of primitive hominid, but she knew thedifferences between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, and her father had plasterskulls of Australopithecus, Peking man and the great apes in his study. Thesemen were none of those. And then she noticed that their eyes were blue:bright blue, and incredibly intelligent-looking.

They re Torc Allta, she said, and then froze in surprise when everyoneturned to look at her. She hadn t realized she had spoken aloud.

Josh, who d been staring suspiciously at what might have been a chunk of fishhe d forked out of a big bowl of stew, glanced at the backs of the four youngmen. I knew that, he said casually.

Sophie kicked him under the table. You did not, she muttered. You were too busy checking out the food.

I m hungry, he said, then leaned across to his twin. It was the red hair and piggy noses that gave it away, he murmured. I thought you d realizedthat.

It would be a mistake to let them hear you say that, Nicholas Flamel interrupted quietly. It would also be a mistake to judge by appearances orto comment on what you see. In this time, in this place, different standards,different criteria apply. Here words can kill literally.

Or get you killed, Scathach added. She had piled her plate high with anassortment of vegetables, only some of which were familiar to the twins. Shenodded in the direction of the tree. But you are right: they are Torc Alltain their humani form. Probably the finest warriors of any time, she said.

They will accompany you when you leave here, the old woman said suddenly,her voice surprisingly strong coming from such a frail-looking body.

Don t be, the old woman snapped. They ll not accompany you solely for yourprotection: they re to ensure that you really do leave my realm. She spreadher long-fingered hands on the table, and Sophie noticed that her fingernailswere each painted a different color. Strangely, the pattern was identical tothe one she d noticed on Hekate s nails earlier. You cannot stay here, the woman announced abruptly. You must go.

The twins glanced at each other; why was she being so rude?

Scathach opened her mouth to speak, but Flamel reached over and squeezed herarm. That was always our intention, he said smoothly. The late-afternoonsunlight slanting through the trees dappled his face, turning his pale eyesinto mirrors. When Dee attacked my shop and snatched the Codex, I realizedthat I had nowhere else to go.

You should have gone south, the old woman said, her dress almost completelyblack now, the red threads looking like veins. You would have been more welcome there. I want you to leave.

When I began to suspect that the prophecy was beginning to come about, Iknew I had to come to you, Flamel continued, ignoring her. The twins, whowere following the exchange closely, noticed how his eyes had flickeredbriefly in their direction.

The old woman turned her head and looked at the twins with her butter-colored eyes. Her wizened face cracked in a humorless smile that showed her tinyyellow teeth. I have thought about this; I am convinced that the prophecydoes not refer to humani and especially not humani children, she added with a hiss.

The contempt in the woman s voice made Sophie speak out. I wish you wouldn ttalk about us as if we weren t here, she said.

Besides, Josh said, your daughter was going to help us. Why don t we waitand see what she has to say.

The elderly woman blinked at him, and her almost-invisible eyebrows raised ina silent question. My daughter?

Sophie saw Scathach s eyes widen in surprise or warning, but Josh pressed on.

Yes, the woman we met this afternoon. The younger woman your daughter? Ormaybe she s your granddaughter? She was going to help us.

I have neither a daughter nor a granddaughter! The old woman s dress flared black and red in long sheets of color. Her lips drew back from her teeth andshe snarled some incomprehensible words. Her hands curled into claws, and theair was suddenly filled with the citrus scent of lime. Dozens of tinyspinning balls of green light gathered in the palms of her hand.

And then Scathach slammed a double-edged dagger into the center of the table.The wood split in two with a thunderous snap that spewed splinters into theair, and the bowls of food shattered on the ground. The old woman rearedback, the green light dribbling from her fingers like liquid. It ran hissingand spitting down the branch before sinking into the wood.

The four Torc Allta were immediately behind the old woman, curved, scythelike swords in their hands, and three more of the creatures in their boar shape burst through the undergrowth and raced up the branch to assume positions behind Flamel and Scatty.

The twins froze, terrified, unsure what had just happened. Nicholas Flamel hadn t moved, he merely continued to cut and eat the apple. Scathach calmly sheathed her dagger and folded her arms. She spoke quickly to the old woman. Sophie and Josh could see Scathach s lips moving, but all they could hear was a tinny, mosquito-like buzz.

The old woman didn t respond. Her face was an expressionless mask as she stood and swept away from the table, surrounded by the Torc Allta guards. This time neither Flamel nor Scathach stood.

In the long silence that followed, Scathach stooped down to gather some of the fallen fruits and vegetables from the ground, dusted them off and popped them into the only remaining unbroken wooden bowl. She started to eat.

Josh was opening his mouth to ask the same question Sophie wanted an answer to, but she reached under the table and squeezed his arm, silencing him. She was aware that something terribly dangerous had just occurred, and that somehow Josh was involved.

I think that went well, don t you? Scathach asked eventually.

Flamel finished the apple and cleaned the edge of the black arrowhead on a leaf. It depends on how you define the word well, he said.

Scathach munched on a raw carrot. We re still alive and we re still in the Shadowrealm, she said. Could be worse. The sun is going down. Our hostess will need to sleep, and in the morning, she ll be a different person. Probably won t even remember what happened tonight.

What did you say to her? Flamel asked. I ve never mastered the Elder Tongue.

I simply reminded her of the ancient duty of hospitality and assured her that the slight to her was unintentional and made through ignorance and was, therefore, no crime under the Elder Laws.

She is fearful, Flamel murmured, glancing toward the huge tree trunk. The Torc Allta guards could be seen moving inside, while the largest of the boars had remained outside, blocking the doorway.

She is always fearful when the evening draws in. It is when she is at her most vulnerable, Scathach said.

It would be nice, Sophie interrupted, if someone told us exactly what just happened. She hated it when adults talked among themselves and ignored any children present. And that was exactly what was happening now.

Scathach smiled, and suddenly, her vampire teeth looked very long in her mouth. Your twin managed to insult one of the Elder Race and was very nearly turned into green slime for his crime.

Josh shook his head. But I didn t say anything, he protested. He looked at his twin for support as he quickly thought over his conversation with the old woman. All I said was that her daughter or granddaughter had promised to

Scathach laughed softly. There is no daughter or granddaughter. The maturewoman you saw this afternoon was Hekate. The old woman you saw this eveningis also Hekate, and in the morning, you will meet a young girl who is Hekateas well.

The Goddess with Three Faces, Flamel reminded them.

Hekate is cursed to age with the day. Maiden in the morning, matron in theafternoon, crone in the evening. She is incredibly sensitive about her age.