pretending 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 a
tiny 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 like
only yesterday, she added. I am glad the ruse was successful.
Unfortunately, you have probably revealed your ultimate destination to the
Morrigan and Dee. They will know who sent the Ghost Wind, and I am sure they
are aware that I have an enclave here.
I know that. And I apologize for drawing them down on you.
Hekate'shrugged, a slight movement of her shoulders that sent a rainbow of
light 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 move
against me. Not alone not even with the Morrigan s assistance. He would need
at least two or more of the Dark Elders to stand against me and even then he
would 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 his
T-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 bubbling
from 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 of
the 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 she
glanced over her shoulder at Scathach, who immediately pulled the bowstring
taut. You think that can harm
The arrow was dipped in the blood of a Titan, Scathach said quietly, her
voice carrying on the still air. One of your parents, if I remember
correctly? 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 split
second, 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 older
woman muttered a word and the Torc Allta stepped back from the Alchemyst and
trotted into the undergrowth, where they immediately disappeared, though
everyone 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, which
he was sure was going to leave a stain.
Do not produce the Codex or any portion of it in my presence nor in the
presence of any being of the Elder Race. We have an
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 when
Abraham the Mage set down the first words of power in the Book. I saw him
trap 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 was
nothing humorous in it. That eldritch magic is so strong that most of my
people cannot even bear to look upon the letters. Those who came after the
original Elder Race, though still of our blood and here she gestured toward
Scathach can look upon the Codex, though even they cannot touch it. The ape
descendents the humani can. It was Abraham s ultimate joke. He married one of
the first humani, and I believe he wanted to ensure that only his children
could handle the book.
We re the ape descendents, Josh said, his voice unconsciously dropping to
little more than a whisper.
The humani the human race, Sophie said, then fell silent as Flamel
continued 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 and
dropped 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 curling
strands of time, and he prophesied that there would come a day when the Codex
and all the knowledge it contained would be needed.
Scatty stepped away from the SUV and approached Flamel. She was still holding
the bow loosely by her side, and she noted how Hekate's butter-colored eyes
watched her closely.
The Book of the Mage was always assigned a guardian, Scathach explained to
Flamel. Some, history recalls as the greatest heroes of myth, while others
were less well known, like yourself, and a few remained completely
anonymous.
And if I a human was chosen to caretake this precious Codex, because your
people cannot even look upon it, much less touch it, then it is obvious that
another human must have been chosen to find it, Flamel'said. Dee.
Hekate nodded. A dangerous enemy, Dr. John Dee.
Flamel nodded. He could feel the cool, dry pages against his skin beneath his
T-shirt. Although he had possessed the Codex for more than half a millennium,
he knew he had barely even begun to scratch the surface of its secrets. He
still had no real idea just how old it was. He kept pushing the date of its
creation back further and further. When the Book first came to him in the
fourteenth century, he believed it to be five hundred years old. Later, when
he started to do his research, he thought it might be eight hundred years
old, then a thousand years, then two thousand years old. A century ago, in
light of the new discoveries coming out of the tombs of Egypt, he had
reassessed the age of the Book at five thousand years. And now, here was
Hekate, who was ten thousand and more years old, saying she had been around
when the mysterious Abraham the Mage had composed the Book. But if the Elder
Race the gods of mythology and legend could neither handle nor look upon the
