01_-_The_Alchemyst

Sophie’s eyes were wide and terrified. “They had no faces.”
“Like masks?”
“No, Josh, not masks. Their faces were smooth—no eyes, no nose, no
mouth, just smooth skin.”
The image that formed in his head was deeply disturbing, and he
deliberately changed the subject. “Do you feel…different?” He chose the
word carefully.
Sophie took a moment to consider. What was wrong with Josh, why was
he so concerned? “Different? How?”
“Do you remember Hekate Awakening your powers?”
“I do.”
“What did it feel like?” he asked hesitantly.
For a moment Sophie’s eyes flickered with cold silver light. “It was as
if someone had flipped a switch in my head, Josh. I felt alive. For the first
time in my life I felt alive.”
Josh felt a sudden inexplicable pang of jealousy. From the corner of his
eye, he spotted Flamel and Scatty leaving the diner, arms piled high with
bags. “And how do you feel now?”
“Hungry,” she said. “Extremely hungry.”
They ate in silence: breakfast burritos, eggs, sausage, grits and rolls,
washed down with soda. Scatty had fruit and water.
Josh finally wiped his mouth with a napkin and brushed bread crumbs
off his jeans. It was the first proper meal he’d had since lunchtime the day
before. “I feel human again.” He glanced sideways at Scatty. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Scatty assured him. “Believe me—I’ve never wanted to
be human, though there are, I believe, some advantages,” she added
enigmatically.