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
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
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.
