private jet from L.A. to San Francisco earlier, though there were a thousand
questions Dee wanted to ask the older man. Over the years he had come to
recognize that the servants of the Dark Elders like himself did not like to
be questioned.
They had reached the entrance to Hekate's Shadowrealm close to two o clock,
and were in time to see the first of the Morrigan s creatures arriving. The
birds swooped in from the north and east in long, dark flocks, the only sound
the snapping of their wings, and settled in the trees in Mill Valley,
gathering so thickly that some of the branches cracked beneath the strain.
Over the next few hours, the cats arrived.
They poured out of the darkness in a never-ending stream of fur, and then
stopped all facing the hidden opening to the Shadowrealm. Dee looked out his
car window: he couldn t see the ground. It was covered, as far as he could
see in every direction, with cats.
Finally, just as the eastern horizon began to pale with salmon-colored light,
Senuhet lifted a small black statue from a bag he wore around his neck and
placed it on the dashboard. It was a beautifully carved Egyptian cat no
bigger than his little finger. It is time, he said softly.
The eyes of the black statue glowed red.
She is coming, Senuhet said.
Why didn't we attack earlier, when Hekate'slept? Dee asked. Despite several
hundred years of study about the Dark Elders, he realized that, in truth, he
knew very little. But that gave him some comfort, because he realized that
they knew equally little about humans.
Senuhet waved his hand, gesturing to the gathered birds and cats. We needed
our allies, he said shortly.
Dee nodded. He guessed that Bastet was even now moving through the various
Shadowrealms that bordered the human world. The Elder Race s aversion to iron
meant that certain modern conveniences like cars and planes were off limits
to them. His thin lips curled in a humorless smile; that was why they needed
people like him and Senuhet to act as their agents.
He felt, rather than saw, the birds move in the trees: half a million maybe
more heads turned to the west. He followed their gaze, looking toward the
darkest spot in the sky. At first, he could see nothing, but then a shape
appeared high in the heavens, noticeable only because it blotted out the
stars. The Morrigan was coming.
Dee knew that at the heart of every legend there is a grain of truth. Looking
up into the night sky, watching the pale-faced creature appear out of the
west, her feathered cloak spread behind her like enormous wings, Dee believed
he knew where the legends of the Nosferatu vampires originated. Over the
course of his long life, he had met vampires real ones and none of them were
as terrifying as the Crow Goddess.
The Morrigan settled to the ground directly in front of the Hummer, cats
scattering at the last moment as she folded her cloak and landed. In the
gloom, only the white oval of her face was visible; her eyes were as black as
night, looking like holes burned in paper.
Then the cats growled, a low rumbling that trembled through the very air, and
Bastet stepped out of the shadows. The Cat Goddess was wearing the white
cotton robes of an Egyptian princess and holding a spear that was as tall as
she was. She strode through the sea of cats, which parted before her and
closed in behind. Towering over the Morrigan, she bowed deeply to the Crow
Goddess. Niece, is it time? she purred.
It is, the Morrigan replied, returning the bow. Shrugging back her cloak,
she revealed a longbow strapped across her shoulders. She unslung the bow and
notched an arrow from the quiver at her hip.
Then, turning as one, the two Dark Elders raced toward the seemingly
impenetrable hedge and leapt through.
The cats and birds flowed after them.
Now it begins, Senuhet said gleefully, gathering his weapons two curved
Egyptian bronze swords and climbing out of the car.
Or ends, Dee thought, but he kept his fears to himself.
FRIDAY,
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
trio of tiny winged creatures that looked astonishingly like dragons whirl
and dance through the first shafts of dawn sunlight. Josh glanced at her,
then looked quickly away. I don't want you to do this, he said quickly.
Sophie laid her hand on her brother s arm. Why not? she said. She moved in
front of her twin, forcing him to look at her. Over his left shoulder, in
front of the entrance to the incredible Yggdrasill, she could see Flamel,
Scatty and Hekate watching them. All around, thousands of Torc Allta, both in
their human and wereboar forms, were scurrying about, preparing for battle.
The boars wore plates of leather armor across their haunches and backs, and
the human Torc Allta were carrying bronze spears and swords. Huge flocks of
nathair swooped across the skies and the bushes, and tall grasses were alive
with unseen crawling, slithering, scuttling creatures. Guards were taking up
positions all around the Yggdrasill, clambering out onto the huge branches,
standing guard with bows and spears in every window.
Sophie looked into her brother s bright blue eyes. She could see herself
reflected there, and she abruptly realized that his eyes were magnified
behind unshed tears. She reached for him, but he caught her hand and squeezed
her fingers gently. I don't want anything to happen to you, he said simply.
Sophie nodded, unwilling to trust herself to speak. She felt exactly the same
way about her twin.
Three of the enormous pterosaur-like nathair flew overhead, the downdraft of
their wings sending plumes of dust along the ground below. Neither Sophie nor
Josh looked up.
Nicholas said that there are risks, Josh continued, but Hekate'said that
it s dangerous, possibly even deadly. I don't want you to go through with
this Awakening in case something goes wrong, he finished quickly.
We have to do it. Nicholas said
I m not entirely sure I trust him, Josh interrupted. I have a feeling he s
