Read Online The Sorceress by Michael Scott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Scott
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was lost in thoughts that occasionally turned her pupils silver. Josh pushed himself out of his seat and crouched on the floor behind the glass partition. “Is that where you’re taking us?” Josh asked, nodding toward the car yard.
“For the moment.” Palamedes’ teeth flashed in the gloomy interior of the car. “It might not look like much, but this is probably the safest place in London.”
Josh looked around. The redbrick houses on either side of the narrow road were dilapidated beyond repair, and the whole area was shabby and run-down. Most of the doors and windows had been boarded over, and some had even been bricked up. Every pane of glass was broken. The rusted hulk of a burnt-out car squatted on concrete blocks by the side of the road, and nothing moved on the streets. “I’m surprised this area hasn’t been redeveloped or anything.”
“It will be, eventually,” Palamedes said ruefully. “But the present owner is prepared to sit on the land and let it appreciate in value.”
“What will happen when he sells it?” Josh asked.
Palamedes grinned. “I’ll never sell it.” His thick right index finger moved, pointing straight ahead. “There used to be a car factory here, and there was full employment in these streets. When the factory closed in the 1970s, the houses began to empty as people died off or moved away looking for work. I started buying up the properties then.”
“How many do you own?” Josh asked, impressed.
“All of them for about a mile in every direction. A couple hundred houses.”
“A couple hundred! But that must have cost you a fortune.”
“I’ve lived on this earth since before the time of Arthur. I’ve made and lost several fortunes. My wealth is incalculable … the hardest part is hiding it from the taxman!”
Josh blinked in surprise; he never imagined an immortal having problems with the government. Then he realized that in these times of computers and other surveillance technology, it must be increasingly difficult to remain in hiding from the authorities. “Do people live here?” he asked. “I don’t see anyone ….”
“You won’t. The
people
”—he used the word carefully—“who live in my houses only come out at night.”
“Vampires,” Josh murmured.
“Not vampires,” Palamedes said quickly. “I have no time for the blood drinkers.”
“What then?”
“Larvae and lemurs … the undead and the not-dead.”
“And what are they?” Josh asked. He was guessing that larvae did not mean insect young and that lemurs were not the long-tailed primates he’d seen in zoos.
“They are …” Palamedes hesitated, then smiled. “Nocturnal spirits.”
“Are they friendly?”
“They are loyal.”
“So why are we waiting?” Josh asked. It was clear that Palamedes wasn’t going to tell him anything else. “What are you looking for?”
“Something out of the ordinary.”
“So what do we do?”
“We wait. We watch. Have a little patience.” He glanced back at Josh. “By now much of the immortal world knows that the Alchemyst has discovered the legendary twins.”
Josh was surprised by how direct the knight was being with him. “You didn’t seem too sure about that earlier. Do you think we are?” he asked quickly. He needed to find out what Palamedes knew about the twins and, more importantly, about the Alchemyst.
But Palamedes ignored the question. “It doesn’t matter if you are the legendary twins or not. What matters is that Flamel believes it. More importantly, Dee believes it also. Because of that, an extraordinary series of events has been put in motion: Bastet is abroad again, the Morrigan is back on this earth, the Disir brought the Nidhogg to Paris. Three Shadowrealms have been destroyed. That hasn’t happened in millennia.”
“Three? I thought it was just Hekate’s realm that was destroyed.” Scathach had spoken of other Shadowrealms, but Josh had no idea just how many existed.
Palamedes sighed, clearly
“For the moment.” Palamedes’ teeth flashed in the gloomy interior of the car. “It might not look like much, but this is probably the safest place in London.”
Josh looked around. The redbrick houses on either side of the narrow road were dilapidated beyond repair, and the whole area was shabby and run-down. Most of the doors and windows had been boarded over, and some had even been bricked up. Every pane of glass was broken. The rusted hulk of a burnt-out car squatted on concrete blocks by the side of the road, and nothing moved on the streets. “I’m surprised this area hasn’t been redeveloped or anything.”
“It will be, eventually,” Palamedes said ruefully. “But the present owner is prepared to sit on the land and let it appreciate in value.”
“What will happen when he sells it?” Josh asked.
Palamedes grinned. “I’ll never sell it.” His thick right index finger moved, pointing straight ahead. “There used to be a car factory here, and there was full employment in these streets. When the factory closed in the 1970s, the houses began to empty as people died off or moved away looking for work. I started buying up the properties then.”
“How many do you own?” Josh asked, impressed.
“All of them for about a mile in every direction. A couple hundred houses.”
“A couple hundred! But that must have cost you a fortune.”
“I’ve lived on this earth since before the time of Arthur. I’ve made and lost several fortunes. My wealth is incalculable … the hardest part is hiding it from the taxman!”
Josh blinked in surprise; he never imagined an immortal having problems with the government. Then he realized that in these times of computers and other surveillance technology, it must be increasingly difficult to remain in hiding from the authorities. “Do people live here?” he asked. “I don’t see anyone ….”
“You won’t. The
people
”—he used the word carefully—“who live in my houses only come out at night.”
“Vampires,” Josh murmured.
“Not vampires,” Palamedes said quickly. “I have no time for the blood drinkers.”
“What then?”
“Larvae and lemurs … the undead and the not-dead.”
“And what are they?” Josh asked. He was guessing that larvae did not mean insect young and that lemurs were not the long-tailed primates he’d seen in zoos.
“They are …” Palamedes hesitated, then smiled. “Nocturnal spirits.”
“Are they friendly?”
“They are loyal.”
“So why are we waiting?” Josh asked. It was clear that Palamedes wasn’t going to tell him anything else. “What are you looking for?”
“Something out of the ordinary.”
“So what do we do?”
“We wait. We watch. Have a little patience.” He glanced back at Josh. “By now much of the immortal world knows that the Alchemyst has discovered the legendary twins.”
Josh was surprised by how direct the knight was being with him. “You didn’t seem too sure about that earlier. Do you think we are?” he asked quickly. He needed to find out what Palamedes knew about the twins and, more importantly, about the Alchemyst.
But Palamedes ignored the question. “It doesn’t matter if you are the legendary twins or not. What matters is that Flamel believes it. More importantly, Dee believes it also. Because of that, an extraordinary series of events has been put in motion: Bastet is abroad again, the Morrigan is back on this earth, the Disir brought the Nidhogg to Paris. Three Shadowrealms have been destroyed. That hasn’t happened in millennia.”
“Three? I thought it was just Hekate’s realm that was destroyed.” Scathach had spoken of other Shadowrealms, but Josh had no idea just how many existed.
Palamedes sighed, clearly
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