01_-_The_Alchemyst

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Sophie and Josh followed Scathach through Hekate’s house. There
were reminders everywhere that they were inside a tree: everything—floors,
walls and ceilings—was wooden, and in places, little buds and shoots of
green leaves dappled the walls, as if the wood was still growing.
With her hand resting lightly on her brother’s shoulder, Sophie looked
around. The house seemed to be composed of a series of circular rooms that
flowed, almost imperceptibly, into one another. She caught glimpses as she
and Josh passed them; almost all the rooms were bare, and most of them had
tall red-barked trees growing through the center of the floor. One room, off to
the side and much larger than the rest, had a large oval-shaped pool in the
middle of the floor. Startlingly large white-flowered water lilies clustered in
the center of the pool, giving it the appearance of a huge unblinking eye.
Another room was filled entirely with wooden wind chimes dangling from
the branches of its red tree. Each set of chimes was a different size and
shape, some etched and carved with symbols, others unadorned. They hung
still and quiet until Sophie looked into the room, and then they slowly,
melodically began to rattle together. It sounded like distant whispers. Sophie
squeezed Josh’s shoulder, trying to attract his attention, but he was staring
straight ahead, forehead creased in concentration.
“Where is everyone?” Josh finally asked.
“There is only Hekate,” Scathach said. “Those of the Elder Race are
solitary creatures.”
“Are there many still alive?” Sophie wondered aloud.
Scathach paused by an open door and turned to look back over her
shoulder. “More than you might think. The majority of them want nothing to
do with the humani and rarely venture from their individual Shadowrealms.