Free The Sorceress by Michael Scott

tired of explanations. “Most of the Shadowrealms are linked or intersect with one another through a single gate. If anything happens to the Shadowrealm, the gate collapses. But the Yggdrasill, the World Tree, stretched up from Hekate’s realm into Asgard and down deep into Niflheim, the World of Darkness. All three winked out of existence when Dee destroyed the tree, and I know that the gates to another half dozen have collapsed, effectively sealing off that world and its inhabitants. Dee added afew enemies to the long list of people—both human and inhuman—who hate and fear him already.”
    “What will happen to him?” Josh asked. Despite all he’d been told about the Magician, he found he still had a niggling admiration for him … which was more than he had for the French Alchemyst at the moment.
    “Nothing. Dee is protected by powerful masters. He is completely focused on bringing the Elders back to this earth by any means possible.”
    Josh still didn’t get that. “But why?” he asked.
    “Because he is that most dangerous of foes: he is absolutely confident that what he is doing is right.”
    There was a flash of movement out of the corner of Josh’s eye and he turned to see a huge dun-colored dog loping down the center of the street, running on the white line. It looked like a cross between an Irish wolfhound and a Borzoi, a Russian wolfhound. It raced past the taxi, right up to the gates of the car yard, then padded back and forth, sniffing the ground.
    “Flamel’s arrival has stirred up many ancient things,” Palamedes continued, watching the dog intently. “I saw creatures today I thought had left this earth entirely, monsters that gave birth to humani’s darkest legends. You should also know that Dee has posted a huge bounty on your heads. My spies tell me he wants you and your sister taken alive. Interestingly, he no longer wants Flamel alive; he will accept proof of his death. That is a major change. Elders, Next Generation, immortals and their humani servants are all converging on London. Just keeping the rabble from each other’s throatsis going to be a huge job; I’ve no idea how Dee is going to do it.” Palamedes suddenly turned the engine back on, inching the car forward. “We’re clear,” he announced.
    “How do you know?”
    Palamedes pointed to where the dog sat before the gates, facing them. He hit a button on the dashboard and the gates started to slide open.
    “The dog,” Josh answered his own question. “Except it’s not really a dog, is it?”
    Palamedes grinned. “That’s no dog.”

ll the hair on Areop-Enap’s enormous body suddenly stood on end, individual strands quivering. “Madame Perenelle,” it said. “I am going to suggest something that may seem shocking.”
    Perenelle turned toward the Elder. Behind it, incalculable numbers of spiders scattered across the enormous wall of web the ancient creature had created. “It’s hard to shock me.”
    “Do you trust me?” Areop-Enap asked.
    “I do,” Perenelle said without hesitation. Once, she would have considered the Old Spider an outright enemy, but now she knew where its allegiances lay—with the humans. And it had proven itself in the battle with the Morrigan and her flocks. “What do you want to do?”
    “Be still and do not panic,” Areop-Enap said with a toothy smile. “This is for your own good.” Abruptly, a thick blanket of web fell across the Sorceress, enveloping her fromhead to foot. A wave of spiders flowed up off the ground over the woman, quickly sheathing her in silk, cinching the cloak tight to her body with sticky threads. “Trust me,” Areop-Enap said again.
    Perenelle remained perfectly still, although her every instinct was to fight against the web, to tear it apart, to allow her aura to bloom and crisp it to blackened dust. She kept her mouth clamped tightly shut. She had fought monsters and seen creatures from the darkest edges of mankind’s legends, but she still found the