01_-_The_Alchemyst

powers were extremely limited because of the proliferation of iron in the
modern world, which served to dull their magical energies. In the way that
lead was poisonous to humans, iron, the metal of mankind, was deadly to the
Elder Race. Dee knew, even without looking, that there would not be a scrap
of that particular metal in this house. Everything would be made of gold or
silver, even down to the door handles and the taps in the bathrooms.
The Dark Elders valued their privacy; their preference was for quiet,
out-of-the-way places—small islands, patches of desert, countries like
Switzerland, portions of the former Soviet Union, the arctic reaches of
Canada, Himalayan temples and the Brazilian jungle. When they chose to live
in cities like this one, their houses were secured behind walls and wire, the
grounds patrolled by armed guards and dogs. And if anyone was lucky or
foolish enough to actually reach the house, they would encounter older,
darker and more lethal guards.
“This way.”
Dee was pleased that he’d managed to control his fright at the sound of
Senuhet’s voice; he hadn’t heard the man return. Would they go up or down?
he wondered. In his experience those of the Elder Race fell into two neat
categories: those who preferred to sleep on roofs and those who preferred
basements. The Morrigan was a creature of attics and roofs.
Senuhet stepped into a puddle of light and Dee noted now that his eyes
were painted with black kohl, the top lid completely blackened, two
horizontal lines running from the corners of his eyes to his ears. Three
vertical white lines were painted on his chin, beneath his lips. He led Dee to
a concealed door directly under the broad staircase and opened it with a
password in the language that the boy king Tutankhamen would have spoken.
Dee followed the figure into a pitch-black corridor and stopped when the
door clicked shut behind them. He heard the man moving ahead of him, then
his footsteps clicking on stairs.
Down. Dee should have guessed that the Dark Elder the Morrigan had
sent him to see would be a creature of basements and tunnels. “I’ll need
light,” he said aloud. “I don’t want to fall down the stairs in the dark and
break my neck.” His voiced echoed slightly in the confined space.