01_-_The_Alchemyst

his lips, he rose stiffly to his feet and turned to face one of the few of the
Dark Elders who genuinely terrified him.
“Morrigan.”
The ancient Irish had called her the Crow Goddess, and she was
worshipped and feared throughout the Celtic kingdoms as the Goddess of
Death and Destruction. Once there had been three sisters: Badb, Macha and
the Morrigan, but the others had disappeared over the years—Dee had his
own suspicions about what had happened to them—and the Morrigan now
reigned supreme.
She stood taller than Dee, though most people stood taller than the
doctor, and was dressed from head to foot in black leather. Her jerkin was
studded with shining silver bolts, giving it the appearance of a medieval
breastplate, and her leather gloves had rectangular silver studs sewn onto the
back of the fingers. The gloves had no fingertips, allowing the Morrigan’s
long, spearlike black nails to show. She wore a heavy leather belt studded
with small circular shields around her waist. Draped over her shoulders,
with its full hood pulled around her face and sweeping to the ground behind
her, was a cloak made entirely of ravens’ feathers.
In the shadow of the hood, the Morrigan’s face seemed even paler than
usual. Her eyes were jet-black, with no white showing; even her lips were
black. The tips of her overlong incisors were just visible against her lower
lip.
“This is yours, I believe.” The Morrigan’s voice was a harsh whisper,
her voice ragged and torn, like a bird’s caw.
Perenelle Flamel came forward, moving slowly and carefully. Two
enormous ravens were perched on her shoulders, and both held their razorsharp
beaks dangerously close to her eyes. She had barely scrambled out of
the burning car, desperately weakened by her use of magic, when she’d been
attacked by the birds.
“Let me see it,” the Morrigan commanded eagerly.
Dee reached into his coat and produced the metal-bound Codex.
Surprisingly, the Crow Goddess did not reach for it.