feet, toenails black and pointed like claws, then up a heavy white kiltlike
skirt studded with stones and precious jewels, and a chest crisscrossed with
wide straps etched with Egyptian characters and finally reached the head.
Although he knew what he was going to see, Dee couldn t prevent the gasp of
shock from escaping his lips as he looked at Bastet. The body was that of a
woman, but the head that brushed the arched ceiling belonged to a cat, sleek
and furred, with huge yellow slit-pupiled eyes, a long pointed snout and high
triangular ears. The mouth opened and Dee s cold light ran across gleaming
yellow teeth. This was the creature that had been worshipped for generations
throughout the land of Egypt.
Dee licked dry lips as he bowed deeply. Your niece, the Morrigan, sends her
regards and has asked me to relay the message that it is time to take your
revenge on the three-faced one.
Bastet surged forward and wrapped razor-tipped claws in the folds of Dee s
expensive suit coat, punching holes in the silk. Precisely tell me precisely
what my niece said, she demanded.
I ve told you, Dee said, looking up into the terrifying face. Bastet s
breath smelled of rotten meat. He tossed the blue-white ball of light into
the air, where it hung, suspended and whirling, then he carefully removed
Bastet s claws from his jacket. The coat was a shredded ruin.
The Morrigan wants you to join her in an attack on Hekate's Shadowrealm,
Dee said simply.
Then it is time, Bastet announced triumphantly.
The ancient magician nodded, shadows racing and dancing on the walls with the
movement. It is time, he agreed, time for the Elder Race to return and
reclaim this earth.
Bastet howled, the sound high-pitched and terrifying, and then the darkness
behind her boiled and shifted as thousands of cats of every breed, of all
shapes and sizes, poured into the cellar and gathered around her in an
ever-widening circle. It is time to hunt, she announced, time to feed.
The cats threw back their heads and mewled and howled. Dee found the din
utterly terrifying: it sounded like countless lost babies crying.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
S cathach was waiting by the enormous open doors when Sophie and Josh
returned to the tree. The pterosaur hopped along behind them, and the other
two circled low in the sky over their heads, the downdraft of their wings
setting eddies of dust circling and dancing around them. Although nothing was
said, the twins knew they were being gently but firmly herded back toward the
house.
In the gloom, Scathach s face was unnaturally pale, her cropped red hair
black in the shadows. Although her lips were set in a grim line, her voice,
when she spoke, was carefully neutral. Do you really want me to tell you
just how stupidly dangerous that was?
Josh opened his mouth to reply, but Sophie caught his arm, silencing him. We
just wanted to go home, she said simply, tiredly. She already knew what the
Warrior was going to say.
You cannot, Scathach said, and turned away.
The twins hesitated at the door, then turned to look back at the pterosaur.
It tilted its snakelike head and regarded them with a huge slit-pupiled eye,
and its voice echoed flatly in their heads. don't worry too much about
Scathach; her bark is much worse than her bite. The creature opened its
mouth to show hundreds of triangular teeth in what might have been a smile.
I do believe she was worried about you, it added, then turned away, ran in
a series of short hops and took to the air with a crack of wings.
don't say a word, Sophie warned her brother. Josh s quips and comments were
always getting him into trouble. Whereas Sophie had the ability to see
something and keep her mouth shut, her brother always had to make a comment
or observation.
You re not the boss of me, Josh snapped, but his voice was shaky. Josh had
a fear of snakes going back to the time he d gone camping with their father
and had fallen into a rattlesnake nest. Luckily, the deadly serpent had just
fed and had chosen to ignore him, giving him the seconds he d needed to
scramble away. He d had nightmares about snakes for weeks after that, and
still did occasionally, when he was particularly stressed usually at exam
time. The huge, serpentlike pterosaurs belonged to his darkest nightmares,
so powerfully that the skin on his chest had actually pulsed. When that
long-toothed face had leaned toward him, he d been sure he was going to
faint. Even now, he could feel the icy sweat trickling along the length of
his spine.
Sophie and Josh followed Scathach through Hekate's house. The twins were
aware now of movement in the shadows, floorboards creaking underfoot, wooden
walls popping and cracking as if the house were moving, shifting, growing.
They were also conscious that the voices, the screams and shouts of earlier,
had fallen silent.
Scathach led them to an empty circular room where Nicholas Flamel was
waiting. He stood facing away from them, hands clasped tightly against the
small of his back, and stared out into the shadowed night. The only light in
the room came from the huge moon now starting to dip toward the horizon. One
side of the room was bathed in harsh silver-white light, the other was in
darkness. Scatty crossed the room to stand beside the Alchemyst. She folded
her arms across her chest and turned to the twins, her face an expressionless
mask.
You could have been killed, Flamel'said very softly, without turning
around. Or worse.
You Can't keep us here, Josh said quickly, his voice sounding too loud in
the silence. We re not your prisoners.
The Alchemyst glanced over his shoulder. He was wearing his tiny round
glasses and, in the gloom, his eyes were hidden behind the silver circles.
No, you re not, he said very quietly, his French accent suddenly
pronounced. You are the prisoners of circumstance, of coincidence and
chance if you believe in such things.
I don't, Scathach muttered.
Neither do I, Nicholas said, turning around. He took off his glasses and
squeezed the bridge of his nose. There were dark circles under his pale eyes,
and his lips were pinched in a thin line. We are all prisoners of a sort
here prisoners of circumstance and events. Nearly seven hundred years ago, I
bought a battered secondhand book written in an incomprehensible language.
That day I too became a prisoner, trapped as securely as if I were behind
bars. Two months ago, Josh, you should never have asked me for a job, and
you, Sophie, should never have started working in The Coffee Cup. But you
did, and because you made those decisions you are both standing here with me
tonight. He paused and glanced at Scathach. Of course, there is a school of
thought that suggests that you were fated to take the jobs, to meet Perenelle
and me and to come on this adventure.
Scathach nodded. Destiny, she said.
You re saying that we have no free will, Sophie asked, that all this was
meant to happen? S
he shook her head. I don't, for one minute, believe
that. The very idea went against everything she believed; the idea that the
future could be foretold was simply ludicrous.
Neither do I, Josh said defiantly.
And yet, Flamel'said very softly, what if I were to tell you that the Book
of the Mage a book written more than ten thousand years ago speaks of you?
That'simpossible, Josh blurted, terrified by the implications.
Ha! Nicholas Flamel'spread his arms wide. And is this not impossible?
Tonight you encountered the nathair, the winged guardians of Hekate's realm.
You heard their voices in your heads. Are they not impossible? And the Torc
Allta are they not equally impossible? These are creatures that have no right
to exist outside of myth.
And what about us? Scathach asked. Nicholas is nearly seven hundred years
old, and I am so old I have seen empires rise and fall. Are we not equally
impossible?
Neither Josh nor Sophie could deny that.
Nicholas stepped forward and put a hand on Josh s and Sophie s shoulders. He
was no taller than they were and looked directly into their eyes. You must
accept that you are trapped in this impossible world. If you leave, you will
bring destruction onto your family and friends, and in all probability, you
will bring about your own deaths.
Besides, Scathach added bitterly, if you re mentioned in the Book, then
The twins looked from Scatty to Flamel. He nodded. It s true. The book is
full of prophecies some of which have certainly come true, others which may
yet come to pass. But it does specifically mention the two that are one.
And you believe ? Sophie whispered.
Yes, I believe you may be the prophecy. In fact, I am convinced of it.
Scathach stepped forward to stand beside Flamel. Which means that you are
suddenly much more important not only to us, but also to Dee and the Dark
Elders.
Why? Josh licked dry lips. Why are we so important?
The Alchemyst glanced at Scatty for support. She nodded. Tell them. They
need to know.
The twins looked from Scatty back to the Alchemyst. There was a sense that
what he was about to tell them was of immense importance. Sophie slipped her
hand into her brother s, and he squeezed her fingers tightly.
The Codex prophesies that the two that are one will come either to save or
to destroy the world.
What do you mean, either save or destroy? Josh demanded. It s got to be
one or the other, right?
The word used in the Codex is similar to an ancient Babylonian symbol that
can mean either thing, Flamel explained. Actually, I ve always suspected
that it means that one of you has the potential to save the world, while the
other has the power to destroy it.
Sophie nudged her brother in the ribs. That would be you.
Flamel'stepped back from the twins. In a couple of hours, when Hekate
arises, I will ask her to Awaken your magical potential. I believe she will
do it; I hope and pray that she does, he added fervently. Then we will
leave.
But where are we going? Josh asked at the same time that Sophie said, Will
Hekate not allow us to stay here?
I m hoping some of the other Elders or immortal humans might be persuaded to
help train you. And no, we cannot stay here. Dee and the Morrigan have
contacted one of the most fearsome of the Elders: Bastet.
The Egyptian cat goddess? Sophie asked.
Flamel blinked in surprise. I m impressed.
Our parents are archaeologists, remember? While other children were being
read bedtime stories, our parents told us myths and legends.
The Alchemyst nodded. Even as we speak, Bastet and the Morrigan are
gathering their forces for an all-out attack on Hekate's Shadowrealm. I
suspected that they would try and attack during the hours of darkness, when
Hekate is sleeping, but so far there is no sign of them, and it will be dawn
soon. I m sure they know that they will only get one chance, and they need
all their forces in place before they attack. At the moment, they believe we
are still ignorant of their intentions; more importantly, they do not know
that we are aware of Bastet s involvement. But we will be ready for them.
How do we know? Sophie asked.
Perenelle told me, Flamel'said, and waved away the next obvious question.
She is a resourceful woman, she enlisted a disembodied spirit to pass on a
message to me.
A disembodied spirit? Sophie said. You mean like a ghost? She realized
that now it was quite easy to believe in ghosts.
Just so, Flamel'said.
What will happen if they attack here? I mean, what kind of attack are we
talking about? Josh asked.
Flamel looked at Scatty. I was not alive the last time beings of the Elder
Races warred with one another.
I was, Scatty said glumly. The vast majority of humani will not even know
anything is happening. She shrugged. But the release of magical energies in
the Shadowrealms will certainly have an effect on the climate and local
geology: there may be earthquakes, a tornado or two, hurricanes and rain,
lots of rain. And I really hate the rain, she added. One of the reasons I
left Hibernia.
There must be something we can do, Sophie said. We have to warn people.
And what form would that warning take? Flamel asked. That there is about
to be a magical battle that may cause earthquakes and flooding? Not something
you can phone in to your local news or weather station, is it?
We have to
No, we don't, the Alchemyst said firmly. We have to get you and the pages
from the Book away from here.
What about Hekate? Josh asked. Will she be able to defend herself?
Against Dee and the Morrigan, yes. But with Bastet as their ally, I simply
don't know, Scatty answered. I don't know how powerful the goddess is.
More powerful than you can imagine.
They all turned toward the door, where a girl who looked no older than eleven
stood blinking and yawning widely. She rubbed a hand against her bright
yellow eyes and stared at them, then smiled, her teeth startlingly white
against her jet-black skin. She was wearing a short togalike robe of the same
iridescent material that the crone Hekate had worn, but this time the dress
was streaked with golds and greens. Her ice-white hair curled down to her
shoulders.
The Alchemyst bowed. Good morning. I did not think you rose before the
dawn.
How could I sleep with all this activity? Hekate demanded. The house
awakened me.
The house , Josh began.
The house, Hekate'said flatly, is alive.
There were a dozen comments Josh could have made, but remembering the green
slime from the previous night, he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.
I understand that the Morrigan and my Elder sister Bastet are planning an
assault on my Shadowrealm, the girl said grimly.
Nicholas glanced quickly at Scathach, who shifted her shoulders slightly in a
shrug. She had no idea how Hekate knew.
I am sure you understand that everything that happens in this house, every
&
nbsp; word said or whispered or even thought, Hekate added, glancing sidelong at
Josh, I hear. The girl smiled and, in that instant, looked like the older
versions of herself. The smiled curled her lips, but did not light up her
eyes. She walked into the room, and Sophie noticed that as she moved, the
house reacted to her presence. Where she had stood in the doorway, green
shoots had sprouted, and the lintel and doorsill had blossomed tiny green
flowers. The Goddess with Three Faces stopped before Nicholas Flamel and
looked up into his troubled eyes. I would have preferred that you not come
here. I would have preferred that you not bring trouble into my life. I would
have preferred not to go to battle with my sister and my niece. And I would
most certainly have preferred not to be forced to choose sides.
Scathach folded her arms across her chest and regarded the goddess grimly.
You never did like to choose sides, Hekate no wonder you have three faces.
Sophie was watching Hekate as Scathach spoke, and for an instant she glimpsed
something dark and immeasurably old behind the girl s eyes. I have survived
the millennia because I heeded my own counsel, Hekate'snapped. But I have
chosen sides when the struggle was worth it.
And now, Nicholas Flamel'said very softly, I think it is time to choose
again. Only you can decide, however: is this a worthy struggle?
Hekate ignored the question and spun around to face Sophie and Josh. Her tiny
hand moved in the air and immediately the auras around the twins flared to
silver and golden light. She tilted her head to one side, looking at them,
watching the silver bubbles crawling along the cocoon that enveloped Sophie,
and following the tracery of golden veins that moved up and down Josh s aura.
You may be right, she said eventually, these may indeed be the ones spoken
of in the cursed Codex. It has been many centuries since I ve encountered
auras so pure. They possess incredible untapped potential.
Flamel nodded. If I had the time, I would take them to be properly trained,
gradually Awaken their dormant powers but events have conspired against me,
and time is that one precious commodity I do not have. It is within your
power to unlock their potential. You can do something in an instant that it
would normally take years to do.
Hekate glanced over her shoulder at the Alchemyst. And there are good