window, staring out into the night, an unopened leather-bound book in her
hands. As he got closer to them, their heads pivoted, and he noticed that
their eye colors matched their nail polish. Thank you for coming, he said,
speaking Latin, which, along with Greek, was the one language most of the
Elders were familiar with.
The girls looked at him blankly.
Machiavelli glanced at Dagon, who had stepped into the room and closed the
door behind him. He pulled off his glasses, revealing his bulbous eyes, and
spoke quickly in a language no human throat or tongue could shape.
The women ignored him.
Dr. John Dee sighed dramatically. He dropped into a high-backed leather
armchair and clapped his small hands together with a sharp crack. Enough of
this nonsense, he said in English. You re here for Scathach. Now, do you
want her or not?
The girl sitting at the piano stared at the Magician. If he noticed that her
head was now twisted at an impossible angle, he didn't react. Where is she?
Her English was perfect.
Close by, Machiavelli said, moving slowly around the room.
The three girls directed their attention to him, heads turning to track him,
like owls following a mouse.
What is she doing?
She is protecting the Alchemyst Flamel, Saint-Germain and two humani,
Machiavelli said. We only want the humani and Flamel. Scathach is yours. He
paused and then added, You can have Saint-Germain, too, if you want him.
He s no use to us.
The Shadow. We just want the Shadow, the woman sitting at the piano said.
Her indigo-tipped fingers moved across the keys, the sound delicate and
beautiful.
Machiavelli crossed to a side table and poured coffee from a tall silver pot.
He looked at Dee and raised his eyebrows and the pot at the same time. The
Magician shook his head. You should know that Scathach is still powerful,
Machiavelli continued, speaking now to the woman seated at the piano. The
pupils of her indigo eyes were narrow and horizontal. She knocked out a unit
of highly trained police officers yesterday morning.
Humani, the Disir almost spat. No humani can stand against the Shadow.
But we are not humani, the woman standing at the window said.
We are the Disir, finished the woman sitting across from Dee. We are the
Shieldmaidens, the Choosers of the Dead, the Warriors of
Yes, yes, yes, Dee said impatiently. We know who you are: Valkyries.
Probably the greatest warriors the world has ever seen according to
yourselves, anyway. We want to know if you can defeat the Shadow.
The Disir with indigo eyes swiveled her body away from the piano and flowed
smoothly to her feet. She stalked across the carpet to stand before Dee. Her
two sisters were suddenly by her side, and the temperature in the room
abruptly plummeted.
It would be a mistake to mock us, Dr. Dee, one said.
Dee sighed. Can you defeat the Shadow? he asked again. Because if you
cannot, then I m sure that there are others who would be only too delighted
to try. He held up his cell phone. I can call upon Amazons, Samurai and
Bogatyrs.
The temperature in the room continued to fall as Dee spoke, and his breath
plumed white in the air, ice crystals forming on his eyebrows and beard.
Enough of this trickery! Dee snapped his fingers and his aura flashed
briefly yellow. The room grew warm, then hot, heavy with the stink of rotten
eggs.
There is no need for these lesser warriors. The Disir will slay the Shadow,
the girl standing to Dee s right said.
How? Dee snapped.
We have what those other warriors have not.
You re talking in riddles, Dee said impatiently.
Tell him, Machiavelli said.
The Disir with the palest eyes turned her head in his direction and then
looked back at Dee. Long fingers flickered toward his face. You destroyed
the Yggdrasill and released our pet creature, which had been long trapped in
the roots of the World Tree.
Something flickered behind Dee s eyes and a muscle twitched at the corner of
his mouth. Nidhogg? He looked at Machiavelli. You knew about this?
Machiavelli nodded. Of course.
The Disir with indigo eyes stepped up to Dee and looked down into his face.
Yes, you freed Nidhogg, the Devourer of Corpses. Still leaning toward Dee,
she swiveled her head to look at Machiavelli. Her sisters also turned in his
direction. Take us to where the Shadow and the others are hiding, then leave
us. Once we have loosed Nidhogg, Scathach is doomed.
Can you control the creature? Machiavelli asked curiously.
Once it feeds off the Shadow, consumes first her memories and then her flesh
and bones, it will need to sleep. After a feast like Scathach, it will
probably sleep for a couple of centuries. We will recapture it then.
Niccol Machiavelli nodded. We didn't discuss your fee.
The three Disir smiled, and even Machiavelli, who had seen horrors, recoiled
from the expressions on their faces. There is no fee, the Disir with indigo
eyes said. This we will do to restore the honor of our clan and avenge our
fallen family. Scathach the Shadow destroyed many of our sisters.
Machiavelli nodded. I understand. When will you attack?
At dawn.
Why not now? Dee demanded.
We are creatures of the twilight. In that no-time between night and day, we
are at our strongest, one said.
That is when we are invincible, her sister added.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I guess I must still be on American time, Josh said.
Why? Scathach asked. They were standing in the fully equipped gym in the
basement of Saint-Germain s house. One wall was mirrored, and it reflected
the young man and the vampire, surrounded by the latest exercise equipment.
Josh glanced up at the clock on the wall. It s three a.m . I should be
exhausted, but I m still totally awake. It could be because it s only six at
night back home.
Scathach nodded. That s one of the reasons. Another is because you are
around people like Nicholas and Saint-Germain, and especially your sister and
Joan. Although your powers have not been Awakened, you are in the company of
some of the most powerful auras on the planet. Your own aura is picking up a
little of their power, and it is energizing you. But just because you don't
feel tired, that doesn t mean you should not rest, she added. Drink plenty
of water too. Your aura is burning through a lot of liquids. You need to keep
hydrated.
A door opened and Joan stepped into the gym. While Scathach was dressed in
black, Joan was wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt over loose white
trousers and white sneakers. Like Scathach, however, she was carrying a
sword. I wondered if you needed an assistant, she said, almost shyly.
I thought you d gone to bed, Scathach said.
I don't sleep much these days. And when I do, my dreams are troubled. I
dream of fire. She smiled sadly. isn't it a wonderful irony: I m married to
a Master of Fire, yet I m terrified by dreams of fire.
Where is Francis?
In his office, working. He ll be there for hours. I m not sure if he ever
sleeps anymore. Now, she said, looking at Josh and changing the subject,
how are you getting on?
I m still learning how to hold the sword, Josh muttered, sounding vaguely