01_-_The_Alchemyst

him. She was aware that something terribly dangerous had just occurred, and
that somehow Josh was involved.
“I think that went well, don’t you?” Scathach asked eventually.
Flamel finished the apple and cleaned the edge of the black arrowhead
on a leaf. “It depends on how you define the word well,” he said.
Scathach munched on a raw carrot. “We’re still alive and we’re still in
the Shadowrealm,” she said. “Could be worse. The sun is going down. Our
hostess will need to sleep, and in the morning, she’ll be a different person.
Probably won’t even remember what happened tonight.”
“What did you say to her?” Flamel asked. “I’ve never mastered the
Elder Tongue.”
“I simply reminded her of the ancient duty of hospitality and assured her
that the slight to her was unintentional and made through ignorance and was,
therefore, no crime under the Elder Laws.”
“She is fearful…,” Flamel murmured, glancing toward the huge tree
trunk. The Torc Allta guards could be seen moving inside, while the largest
of the boars had remained outside, blocking the doorway.
“She is always fearful when the evening draws in. It is when she is at
her most vulnerable,” Scathach said.
“It would be nice,” Sophie interrupted, “if someone told us exactly what
just happened.” She hated it when adults talked among themselves and
ignored any children present. And that was exactly what was happening now.
Scathach smiled, and suddenly, her vampire teeth looked very long in
her mouth. “Your twin managed to insult one of the Elder Race and was very
nearly turned into green slime for his crime.”
Josh shook his head. “But I didn’t say anything…,” he protested. He
looked at his twin for support as he quickly thought over his conversation
with the old woman. “All I said was that her daughter or granddaughter had
promised to help us.”
Scathach laughed softly. “There is no daughter or granddaughter. The
mature woman you saw this afternoon was Hekate. The old woman you saw