“I call it your battle face. I first saw it the day you rescued me from the fire. Something happens to your face, it becomes… sharper.” She reached back and ran a finger along Scathach’s cheek. It was as if the flesh had tightened on her bones, clearly defining the skull beneath. Her freckles stood out on her pale skin like drops of blood.

“It’s my vampire heritage.” The Shadow grinned, long teeth savage in her mouth. “It happens to my clan when we are excited. Some of the blood drinkers cannot control the change and it alters them utterly, making them monsters.”

“You’re excited to be going into battle?” Joan asked quietly.

Scatty nodded, happy. “I’m excited to be rescuing our dearest friend.”

“It will not be easy. She is trapped on an island full of monsters.”

“What about them? You are the legendary Jeanne d’Arc, and I am the Shadow. What can stand against us?”

“A sphinx?” Joan suggested.

“They’re not so tough,” Scatty said lightly. “I fought the sphinx and her appalling mother before.”

“Who won?” Joan asked, biting back a smile.

“Who do you think?” Scatty began, then corrected herself. “Well, actually, I ran away…”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Sitting with their backs against the wall of the barn, legs stretched out in front of them, the twins watched Nicholas and Gilgamesh arguing outside. The Alchemyst was standing still and silent; the king was gesticulating wildly.

“What language are they speaking?” Josh asked. “Sounds almost familiar.”

“Hebrew,” Sophie said without thinking.

Josh nodded. He settled himself more comfortably against the wall. “You know, I thought…,” he began slowly, struggling to find the words through a blanket of exhaustion. “I thought it would be more…” He shrugged. “I don’t know. More spectacular.”

“You saw what I saw,” Sophie said with a tired smile. “You don’t call that spectacular?”

He shrugged again. “It was interesting. But I don’t feel any different. I thought… I don’t know, I thought that after learning one of the magics, I’d feel… stronger, maybe. And how do we even use this Water magic?” he asked, holding both hands straight out in front of him. “Do we do something with our auras and think about water? Should we practice?”

“Instinct. You’ll know what to do when the time is right.” Sophie reached out and pushed her brother’s hands down. “You can’t use your aura,” she reminded him, “it will reveal our location. This is the third of the elemental magics I’ve learned,” she said, “and you’re right, it’s not spectacular, but neither were the others. I didn’t feel any stronger or faster or anything like that when I learned Air or Fire. But I do feel…” She paused, looking for the right word. “Different.”

“Different?” He looked at his twin. “You don’t look different, except when your eyes turn silver. Then you’re scary.”