01_-_The_Alchemyst

It was the signal the Torc Allta and the nathair had been waiting for.
Seemingly from nowhere, hundreds of the terrifying lizards hurtled out of the
sky, with the sun at their backs, and swooped over the advancing army. They
flew in great sweeping circles, their huge wings raising enormous plumes of
gritty dust that blinded and confused the birds and cats. Then the Torc Allta,
who had been lying concealed in the tall grass and behind the twisting roots
of the Yggdrasill, rose in the middle of the attackers. As Scatty hurried back
into the depths of the house, she realized how closely the noises of the battle
resembled feeding time at the San Francisco Zoo.
“We’re running out of time,” Scathach yelled to Flamel as she raced into
the corridor.
“How many?” Nicholas asked grimly.
“Too many,” Scatty replied. She paused briefly and then added, “The
Torc Allta and nathair will not be able to hold them for long.”
“And the Morrigan and Bastet?”
“I didn’t see them. But you can be sure they’re coming, and when they
do…” She left the sentence unfinished. With Hekate busy Awakening the
twins, nothing would be able to stand against the two Dark Elders.
“They’ll come,” he said grimly.
Scatty stepped closer to Flamel. They had known each other for over
three hundred years, and although she was his senior by nearly two millennia,
she had come to regard him as the father she no longer remembered. “Take
the twins and flee. I’ll hold them here. I’ll buy you as much time as
possible.”
The Alchemyst reached out and placed his hand on the Warrior’s
shoulder and squeezed. A tiny pop of energy snapped between them and they
both briefly glowed. When he spoke, he unconsciously reverted to the French
language of his youth. “No, we’ll not do that. When we leave here, we go
together. We need the twins, Scatty—not just you and me, but the entire
world. I believe that only they will be able to stand against the Dark Elders
and keep them from achieving their ultimate aim and reclaiming the earth.”