“I’m not going to even ask you why you store things in the fridge and the oven,” Dare muttered. “Are these what I think they are?” she asked.

“What do you think they are?” he asked.

“Dangerous. Powerful. Deadly.”

“That they are.” The Magician carefully unwrapped the object in red silk, slowly peeling back the wafer-thin cloth. “I was thinking earlier that I’ve been a fool.”

Virginia Dare squeezed her lips tightly shut and resisted the temptation to comment.

“Why did I spend centuries working for the Elders, doing their errands like a servant or a trained dog?”

“Because they made you immortal?” Virginia reminded him.

“Others have become immortal without an Elder,” Dee pointed out. “The Flamels, Saint-Germain and Shakespeare, too. Maybe if I had searched for the secret of immortality, I would have found it myself.”

“Maybe you would have died before you’d found it,” Virginia suggested.

“I gave the Elders centuries of service…”

“I know, I know, I know. I’m becoming bored with this self-pitying nonsense,” Dare snapped, deliberately goading him. She knew the Magician well enough to know that he hated to be interrupted. If Dee had a failing, it was that he loved the sound of his own voice. “Tell me what you intend to do.”

“First, I am going to summon Coatlicue from her prison and set her loose into the Shadowrealms,” he said, burnt fingers fumbling with the red silk.

Dare watched him closely but made no attempt to help him.

“The Elders will be forced to draw most of their forces on earth back into the Shadowrealms to battle the Mother of All the Gods. They will not care what happens here. In the meantime, Machiavelli should have released the monsters on Alcatraz into the city.”

Dare blinked in surprise but knew better than to interrupt him now.

The red silk fell away, revealing a simple stone sword. The hilt was unadorned and the gray blade polished so that it looked like metal. Dee looked over at Virginia, his eyes sparkling. “Do you recognize it?” he asked.

“One of the swords of power,” she breathed. “Which one?”

“Durendal,” he whispered.

“The indestructible.” Dare stepped closer to look at the ancient weapon. “You’ve always been fascinated with these toys, haven’t you, Doctor?”

“A one-handed man once read my fortune; he told me that my destiny lay entwined with the swords.”

“I thought it would look more impressive,” Virginia said.

The Magician pulled at the thick string knotted tightly around the green-leather-wrapped object. “San Francisco will quickly fall to the beasts,” he continued, ignoring her comment. “The humani armies will not be able to stand against the monsters. The fear factor alone gives us a tremendous advantage. And there are similar caches of creatures in all the major cities around the globe. The world will dissolve into chaos in a matter of days.”