01_-_The_Alchemyst

“We will start with the elder,” Hekate announced.
Sophie could feel her brother drawing a breath to protest, but she
squeezed his fingers so tightly that she could actually feel his bones grinding
together. He kicked her ankle in response.
“It is traditional,” the goddess continued. “Sophie…” She paused, then
said, “What is your family name, your parents’ names?”
“Newman…and my mother’s name is Sara, my father is Richard.” It felt
odd calling her parents anything other than Mom and Dad.
The green light in the chamber brightened and they could see Hekate
outlined against the glowing walls. Although her face was in darkness, her
eyes reflected the green light like chips of polished glass. She reached out
and placed the palm of her hand against Sophie’s forehead. “Sophie, daughter
of Sara and Richard, of Clan Newman, of the race humani…”
She began in English, but then drifted into a lyrically beautiful language
that predated humanity. As she spoke, Sophie’s aura began to glow, a misty
silver light outlining her body. A cool breeze wafted across her skin and she
was suddenly conscious that she was no longer hearing Hekate. She could
see the goddess’s mouth moving, but she could not make out the words over
the sounds of her own body—the breath hissing in and out of her nose, the
rush of blood in her ears, the solid beat of her heart in her chest. There was a
pressure on her temples, as if her brain were expanding inside her skull, and
an ache ran the length of her spine and spread outward into all her bones.
Then the room began to lighten. Hekate—looking older now—was
standing outlined in shifting streams of sparkling lights. Sophie suddenly
realized that she was seeing the goddess’s aura. She watched as the lights
twisted and curled around Hekate’s arm and flowed down into her fingers,
and then, with a tingling shock, Sophie could actually feel it penetrating her
skull. For an instant she was dizzy, disorientated, and then, through the
buzzing in her ears, Hekate’s words abruptly started to make sense. “…I
Awaken this terrible power within you….” The goddess moved her hands
over Sophie’s face, her touch like ice and fire. “These are the senses the