Michael Scott - The Alchemyst

Then Bastet s cat-people appeared. They moved slowly, stealthily, somestanding on two feet, but most moving on all fours. Here, Scatty knew, was the basis of the great cat legends of Africa and India. Unlike the birds, thecat-people were deadly fighters: they were lightning fast, and their clawswere capable of inflicting terrible damage. Scathach sneezed; she was alsoallergic to cats.

The strange army came to a halt, perhaps awed by the incrediblebuilding-sized tree or just confused by the sight of a single warriorstanding framed in the open doors. They milled about; then, as if driven by asingle command, they surged forward in a long ragged line.

The Warrior twisted her head from side to side and rolled her shoulders, andthen her two short swords appeared in her hands. She raised them above herhead in an X.

It was the signal the Torc Allta and the nathair had been waiting for.Seemingly from nowhere, hundreds of the terrifying lizards hurtled out of thesky, with the sun at their backs, and swooped over the advancing army. Theyflew in great sweeping circles, their huge wings raising enormous plumes ofgritty dust that blinded and confused the birds and cats. Then the TorcAllta, who had been lying concealed in the tall grass and behind the twistingroots of the Yggdrasill, rose in the middle of the attackers. As Scattyhurried back into the depths of the house, she realized how closely thenoises of the battle resembled feeding time at the San Francisco Zoo.

We re running out of time, Scathach yelled to Flamel as she raced into thecorridor.

How many? Nicholas asked grimly.

Too many, Scatty replied. She paused briefly and then added, The Torc Allta and nathair will not be able to hold them for long.

And the Morrigan and Bastet?

I didn t see them. But you can be sure they re coming, and when they doShe left the sentence unfinished. With Hekate busy Awakening the twins,nothing would be able to stand against the two Dark Elders.

They ll come, he said grimly.

Scatty stepped closer to Flamel. They had known each other for over threehundred years, and although she was his senior by nearly two millennia, shehad come to regard him as the father she no longer remembered. Take the twins and flee. I ll hold them here. I ll buy you as much time as possible.

The Alchemyst reached out and placed his hand on the Warrior s shoulder andsqueezed. A tiny pop of energy snapped between them and they both brieflyglowed. When he spoke, he unconsciously reverted to the French language ofhis youth. No, we ll not do that. When we leave here, we go together. Weneed the twins, Scatty not just you and me, but the entire world. I believethat only they will be able to stand against the Dark Elders and keep themfrom achieving their ultimate aim and reclaiming the earth.

Scatty looked over his shoulder into the gloomy chamber. You re asking a lotof them. When are you going to tell them the whole truth? she asked.

In time, he began.

Time is something you do not have, Scatty murmured. You ve started to age.I can see it in your face, around your eyes, and there s more gray in yourhair.

Flamel nodded. I know. The immortality spell is breaking down. Perenelle andI will begin to age a year for every day we go without the formulation forimmortality. We will be dead by the end of the month. But by then it will notmatter. If the Dark Elders succeed, the world of the humani will have alreadyceased to exist.

Let s make sure that doesn t happen. Scatty turned her back on Flamel, thensank to the ground, back straight, her legs folded, feet turned high on herthighs in a full lotus position, arms outstretched, palms wrapped around thehilts of the swords that were lying across her lap. If the cats or birdsbroke into the house and found the corridor, they would have to get past herto find Hekate and the Warrior would make them pay dearly.

Hekate had given Flamel a short staff made of a branch of the Yggdrasill, andnow, holding it in both hands, he took up a position directly outside thedoor to the chamber where the goddess was working with the twins. If any ofthe invaders did manage to get past Scathach, they would then face him.Scatty would fight with her swords, hands and feet, but his weapons werepotentially even more destructive. He held up his hand and the narrow spacegrew heavy with the smell of mint as his aura flickered and sparked intogreen life around him. Though he was still powerful, every use of magicweakened him and drew on his life force. Scatty was right; he had started toage. He could feel tiny aches and vague pains where there had been nonebefore. Even his eyesight was no longer as sharp as it had been only the daybefore. If he was forced to use his powers, it would speed the aging process,but he was determined to give Hekate all the time she needed. He turned tolook over his shoulder, trying to penetrate the gloom. What was happening inthere?

We will start with the elder, Hekate announced.

Sophie could feel her brother drawing a breath to protest, but she squeezedhis fingers so tightly that she could actually feel his bones grindingtogether. He kicked her ankle in response.

It is traditional, the goddess continued. Sophie She paused, then said,

What is your family name, your parents names?

Newman and my mother s name is Sara, my father is Richard. It felt odd calling her parents anything other than Mom and Dad.

The green light in the chamber brightened and they could see Hekate outlinedagainst the glowing walls. Although her face was in darkness, her eyesreflected the green light like chips of polished glass. She reached out andplaced the palm of her hand against Sophie s forehead. Sophie, daughter ofSara and Richard, of Clan Newman, of the race humani

She began in English, but then drifted into a lyrically beautiful languagethat predated humanity. As she spoke, Sophie s aura began to glow, a mistysilver light outlining her body. A cool breeze wafted across her skin and shewas suddenly conscious that she was no longer hearing Hekate. She could seethe goddess s mouth moving, but she could not make out the words over thesounds of her own body the breath hissing in and out of her nose, the rush of blood in her ears, the solid beat of her heart in her chest. There was apressure on her temples, as if her brain were expanding inside her skull, andan ache ran the length of her spine and spread outward into all her bones.

Then the room began to lighten. Hekate looking older now was standingoutlined in shifting streams of sparkling lights. Sophie suddenly realizedthat she was seeing the goddess s aura. She watched as the lights twisted andcurled around Hekate s arm and flowed down into her fingers, and then, with atingling shock, Sophie could actually feel it penetrating her skull. For aninstant she was dizzy, disorientated, and then, through the buzzing in herears, Hekate s words abruptly started to make sense. I Awaken this terrible power within you. The goddess moved her hands over Sophie s face, her touchlike ice and fire. These are the senses the humani have abandoned, Hekate continued. She pressed her thumbs lightly against Sophie s eyes.

To see with acuity

Sophie s vision bloomed, and the darkened chamber came to blazing light,every shadow picked out in exquisite detail. She could see each thread andstitch on Hekate s robe, could pick out individual hairs on her head andfollow the map of tiny wrinkles that were visibly growing at the corners ofher eyes.

To hear with clarity

It was as if cotton had been pulled from Sophie s ears. Suddenly, she couldhear. It was like the difference between listening to music on her iPodheadphones and then to the same track on her bedroom stereo. Every sound inthe room magnified and intensified: the wheezing of her brother s breaththrough his nostrils, the tiny shifting creaks of the huge tree above them,the scritch-scratching of invisible creatures moving through the roots.Tilting her head slightly, she could even hear the distant sounds of battle:the screeching of birds, the roars of cats and the bellowing of boars.