01_-_The_Alchemyst

“Are they really wereboars? I mean, men who change into boars?”
Sophie asked. She was conscious that her twin hadn’t spoken since Scathach
had entered the room. He was staring at her, eyes wide in horror, mouth
drawn into a thin line. She knew that expression well: he was scared, and she
guessed that he was thinking about all the vampire novels he’d read and
movies he’d seen.
“No, not really,” Scatty said. “I know Nicholas has told you that before
the humani claimed the earth, this world belonged to other creatures, other
races. But even amongst the Elder Race, the Torc clans were special. They
could transform from beast shape to man shape and back again.” Scatty sat on
the edge of the low bed and stretched her legs straight out in front of her.
“When the earliest humani first appeared, the Torc clans taught them how to
work wood and stone and how to create fire. The humani worshipped the
Torc clans as gods—why do you think so many of the earliest gods have
animal shapes? Think of the cave paintings of creatures that are neither man
nor beast but something in between. You must have seen statues of the
Egyptian gods Sobek, Bastet and Anubis: humani bodies, but with animal
heads. Think of the dances where humani pretend to be animals: they are just
memories of the time when the Torc clans lived side by side with the
humani.”
“Therianthropes,” Sophie said absently.
Scatty looked at her blankly.
“Figures that are made from animal and human shapes mixed together,”
Josh explained. “I told you that our parents are archaeologists,” he added.
Then he looked quickly at the red-haired woman. “Do you drink blood?” he
asked suddenly.
“Josh!” Sophie whispered.
“No, I don’t drink blood,” Scathach said quietly. “Not now. Not ever.”
“But a vampire—”
Scathach surged to her feet and two steps brought her directly in front of
Josh. She was not quite as tall as he was, but in that moment, she seemed