01_-_The_Alchemyst

properly?”
“Gran, I’ve looked like this for two and a half thousand years.”
“So you’re saying I’m going blind now, eh?” the old woman asked, then
burst into surprisingly deep laughter. “Give your old Gran a hug.”
Scathach carefully hugged the old woman and kissed her cheek. “It’s
good to see you, Gran. You’re looking well.”
“I’m looking old. Do I look old?”
“Not a day over ten thousand.” Scatty smiled.
The Witch pinched Scathach’s cheek. “The last person who mocked me
was a tax inspector. I turned him into a paperweight,” she said. “I still have it
here somewhere.”
Flamel coughed discreetly. “Madame Endor…”
“Call me Dora,” the old woman snapped.
“Dora. Are you aware what happened in Hekate’s Shadowrealm earlier
today?” He had never met the Witch before—he knew her only by reputation
—but he knew she needed to be treated with the utmost caution. She was the
legendary Elder who had left Danu Talis to live with and teach the humani
centuries before the island sank beneath the waves. It was believed that she
had created the first humani alphabet in ancient Sumeria.
“Get me a chair,” Dora said to no one in particular. Sophie pulled up the
chair she’d been sitting on and Scatty eased her grandmother into it. The old
woman leaned forward, both hands resting on the top of her white cane. “I
know what happened. I’m sure every Elder on this continent felt her death.”
She saw their looks of shocked surprise. “You didn’t know?” She turned her
head sideways and stared into a mirror, directly facing Scatty. “Hekate is
dead and her Shadowrealm is no more. I understand an Elder, one of the Next
Generation and an immortal human were responsible for her death. Hekate
will need to be avenged. Not now, and maybe not soon: but she was family,
and I owe her that. See to it.” Scatty bowed.
The Witch of Endor had delivered the death sentence calmly, and
Flamel suddenly realized that this woman was even more dangerous than he