01_-_The_Alchemyst

person—the creature—he had come to meet preferred the hours of darkness
and had no need of lights.
The car turned into the circular drive in front of the main entrance,
where the headlights picked up a trio of people standing on the bottom step.
When the car finally crunched to a halt on the white gravel, a figure stepped
up to the door and pulled it open. It was impossible to make out any details
in the gloom, but the voice that came out of the darkness was male, and spoke
to him in heavily accented English. “Dr. Dee, I presume. I am Senuhet.
Please, come in. We’ve been expecting you.” Then the figure turned away
and strode up the steps.
Dee climbed out of the car, brushed off his expensive suit and,
conscious that his heart was fluttering, followed Senuhet into the mansion.
The other two figures fell into step on either side of him. Although no one
said anything, Dee knew they were guards. And he wasn’t entirely sure they
were human.
The magician recognized the heavy, cloying scent as soon as he stepped
into the house: it was frankincense, the rare and incredibly expensive
aromatic gum from the Middle East, used in ancient times in Egypt and
Greece and as far to the east as China. Dee felt his eyes water and his nose
twitch. Those of the Elder Race were particularly fond of frankincense, but it
gave him a headache.
As the three shadowy figures led Dee into the great hallway, he caught a
glimpse of Senuhet: a small, slender man, bald and olive skinned. He looked
as if he was of Middle Eastern origin, from Egypt or Yemen. Senuhet pushed
closed the heavy front door, spoke two words—“Stay here”—and then
disappeared into the darkness, leaving Dee in the company of the two silent
guards.
Dee looked around. Even in the shadowy half-light, he could see that the
hallway was bare. There was no furniture on the tiled floor, there were no
pictures or mirrors on the walls, no curtains on the windows. He knew that
there were houses like this scattered across the world, homes to those few
Dark Elders who liked to walk in the world of men, usually creating
mischief. Though they were extraordinarily skilled and dangerous, their