The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

more dwellings set onto the sides of the Yggdrasill. Far below, where it was gloomy with early night, the trunk sparkled with thousands of lights.
    “Careful!” Scathach caught Joan’s belt as she leaned out farther. “We didn’t come all this way to have you fall off the edge.”
    Joan pointed. “There are people flying.”
    The Shadow nodded. “I noticed that. They’re strapped into gliders. I imagine this is the perfect environment for gliding, with thermals rising up from below.”
    “And did you notice also that they all look human?” Joan added. She lowered her voice and slipped into the provincial accent of eastern France, the first language she and the Shadow had spoken together. “There are no dog-headed monsters here.”
    “I noticed,” Scathach replied in the same language. “I’m not surprised, though; Hekate was always considered one of the great benefactors of humankind.”
    Still smiling, pointing at the gliders, Joan continued. “You also noticed that Huitzilopochtli was dressed in full armor.”
    “I saw that. And you saw the troops mustering on the branches below us?” Scathach asked.
    “I did not.” Joan wandered back over to the edge of the limb and peered down. Fifty feet below, on an equally wide branch, men and women were assembling in ranks. She assessed them with a soldier’s eye. “That looks like a whole company . . . two hundred and fifty, maybe three hundred men and women,” she said quietly. “They’re all armed with simple weapons: plain armor, round shields, spears and bows.” There was a crackle of leather and wood and a swarm of gliders detached from the sides of the Yggdrasill to drop down and join the rest of the soldiers. “Hmmm . . . and all the fliers are women and girls.”
    “Lighter than men,” Scathach said.
    “Their uniforms match the undersides of their gliders. Blue and white,” Joan noted.
    The Shadow nodded. “Camouflage. Anyone on the ground looking up is not going to easily spot them against the sky.”
    Joan examined the aerial troops more closely as they landed. Some had short throwing spears, but all had two or more quivers of arrows and at least one spare bow. Joan knew from years of battle that the spare was in case a string broke. The soldier would simply drop his bow and grab the backup. “I see no banners,” she said quietly.
    “Probably because they’re not going to need them,” Scathach said. “A banner is only useful on the battlefield to distinguish friend from foe. When you were fighting the English, the weapons and armor were very similar, but your men knew to flock to your white banner. A banner in a fight like this will only get in the way. I bet whoever they are fighting will be radically different—different race, different color, different species.” She smiled at her friend. “These rules are a lot simpler. Anyone who doesn’t look like you is your enemy.”
    “So they’re preparing for battle,” Joan murmured, almost to herself.
    “I think they’re already prepared.” Scathach’s green eyes danced. “We’ve arrived just in time for the war.”
    Joan of Arc pinched her friend’s arm. “You don’t have to look quite so happy about it!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
    OSIRIS AND VIRGINIA Dare came to their feet as Sophie and Josh approached. The twins were dressed in fresh jeans and T-shirts. Josh had tied a cream-colored Giants sweatshirt around his waist, and Sophie was wearing a black cardigan over her white T-shirt.
    Virginia nodded to Sophie and smiled at Josh. “You’re looking none the worse for your adventures.” She glanced sideways at Osiris. “You must be very proud of your children. They’ve been through a lot in the last few days. It would have destroyed lesser people.”
    “Isis and I have always been very proud of the twins,” Osiris answered evenly.
    “This has been a really long day,” Sophie said, acknowledging the adults. She felt a yawn swelling her chest and swallowed hard. “I’m exhausted.”
    “I’m famished,” Josh said.
    Sophie rolled her eyes at her twin. “You’re always hungry.”
    He grinned. “I’m a growing boy. I’ve got a healthy appetite.”
    Even as he was speaking a door slid open and a series of tiny bells pinged. Everyone turned as Isis appeared. She had changed into a simple white linen robe similar to those worn by the queens of ancient Egypt. There was a narrow gold band wrapped around her head, and matching gold bracelets encircled her