Dee was about to tell him that both swords had been in Paris the previous day but decided not to say anything to irritate the creature. A terrifyingly nasty plan was beginning to form at the back of his mind, something so incomprehensible that he was almost afraid to focus on the idea-just in case Cernunnos really could read his thoughts. Taking up a position to the left of the creature, he held Excalibur in his right hand and folded his arms across his chest. The glowing blue blade painted the left-hand side of his face in chill color. “I believe it was here, in England,” Dee said. “When Arthur fought his nephew Mordred on Salisbury Plain. Mordred used Clarent to kill Arthur,” he added.

“I killed Arthur,” Cernunnos said softly. “Mordred too. And he was Arthur’s son, not his nephew.” The Horned God’s head turned back to the fire. “You are a magician; I presume you can douse these flames?”

“Of course.” A new smell permeated the already foul air: the rotten-egg stink of brimstone. “Can you not cross through the fire?” he asked, deliberately testing the limits of the Horned God’s powers.

“The flames are laced with metal,” Cernunnos said shortly.

Dee nodded. He knew from experience that some metals-especially iron-were poisonous to Elders. And to Archons, too, he’d just discovered. He wondered if the two races were related in any way; he had always assumed that while they were similar, they were separate, like Elders and humani.

“I can kill the fire,” Dee answered confidently.

The Archon leaned forward, its ripe forest odor suddenly strong as it stared hard into the fire and beyond. Dee followed the direction of its gaze and found it was staring at the boy, Josh. “You can have the twins, Magician, and your pages. I claim the three immortal humani and the Gabriel Hounds for my own.”

“Agreed,” Dee said immediately.

“And Clarent. I claim the Sword of Fire.”

“Of course you can have it,” Dee said without hesitation. He deliberately allowed his aura to blossom yellow and stinking around him, knowing it would blanket his thoughts. He had no intention of giving Cernunnos the sword. Dee had spent centuries searching for Excalibur’s twin blade and was not prepared to see it disappear into some distant Shadow-realm with the Horned God. His outrageous plan suddenly came together. “I would be honored to present the sword to you myself.”

“I would allow that,” the Archon said, a touch of arrogance in its voice.