01_-_The_Alchemyst

In a flash Excalibur’s black stone blade had appeared at her throat, blue
light fizzing and sparking down the blade. The serpent hilt came to life and
hissed at her.
“Please”—Dee smiled, a chilling twist of his lips—“I’ve been
responsible for the death of one Elder today. I’ve no wish to add a second to
my total.” As he spoke, he watched Bastet, who was moving around behind
him. “The Morrigan has the power to Awaken the boy,” he said quickly. “She
possesses the knowledge and power of her two sisters. If we can Awaken the
boy and turn him to our side, we have gained ourselves an extraordinarily
powerful ally. Remember the prophecy: ‘the two that are one, the one that is
all.’ One to save the world, one to destroy it.”
“And which one is the boy?” Bastet asked.
“Whatever we make him,” Dee said, eyes darting from the Morrigan to
Bastet and back to the Crow Goddess.
Abruptly, Bastet was beside him, her huge claw around his throat. She
lifted him slightly, forcing him to rise on his toes and look into her chilling
eyes. For a single heartbeat, he thought about swinging the sword around, but
he knew that the Cat Goddess was faster, so much faster than he would ever
be. She’d see the twitch of his shoulders and simply snap his head clean off.
Bastet glared at her niece. “Is it true? Are Macha and the Badb dead?”
“Yes.” The Morrigan glared at Dee. “But I did not kill them. They died
willingly, and live inside me still.” For a moment her eyes blazed yellow,
then red, then solid black, the colors of the three ancient goddesses.
Dee was tempted to ask how they had gotten inside her, then decided
that he really didn’t want to know the answer and now probably wasn’t a
good time to ask anyway.
“Could you Awaken the boy?” Bastet demanded.
“Yes.”
“Then do it, Niece,” the Cat Goddess ordered. She turned her attention
back to Dee. Pressing her thumb under his chin, she pushed his head back.
“And if you ever raise a weapon to one of the Elder Race again, I will see