The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

time.
    Under normal circumstances, no prison would have been able to hold Aten. He was incalculably powerful and, as the Lord of Danu Talis, had studied in the great libraries all across the world and into the Shadowrealms. He had the largest collection of Archon and Ancient lore in existence and had conducted experiments that would have appalled his subjects and frightened even his closest friends.
    Under normal circumstances, he would have shattered the bars, turned the lava to a velvet carpet and strode to freedom.
    But these were not normal circumstances, and in truth, he had allowed it to happen. When Anubis, his brother, had come for him with the anpu guards, Aten could have destroyed them all, reducing them to dust motes. But he had not. He had surrendered and allowed himself to be taken and chained.
    The bracelets on his wrists and ankles and the chain wrapped around his waist were composed of iron surrounding a mercury core. Most Elders were allergic to iron, and those who had undergone the Change were especially susceptible to it. And the Change had been working on him for a long time now. Unlike his brother and mother, who had become beastlike, Aten retained mostly human features but they had altered subtly: his skull, nose and jaw had elongated, his lips had thickened and his yellow eyes now had a pronounced slant.
    Aten could feel the poison leeching into his skin, and it took all his strength and aura to try to counteract the fire coursing through his body. But his strength would not last much longer, and then the iron would overwhelm him. He would die in absolute agony. A smile curled his thick lips. Of course, he would probably be cast into the volcano before then.
    A massive door clanged.
    On the other side of the lava pool, a rectangle of white light appeared. Two irregular shapes moved into the doorway and stepped to one side, and then three huge anpu appeared. Aten stepped up to the bars, taking care not to touch them, and squinted across the dancing waves of heat shimmering off the red-black lava. His pupils went from circles to horizontal lines.
    The anpu took up their positions and maneuvered the long narrow stone walkway out across the lava. It locked into position with a shudder that vibrated through the prison cell, and two figures set out across the narrow bridge: one a short man in the leather apron of a jailer, the other taller, wrapped in a white robe and wearing a straw hat.
    Aten recognized the jailer, Dagon, first. He belonged to one of the water races from a nearby Shadowrealm. He wore large leather and crystal goggles to protect his bulbous eyes from the heat. When he spoke, two rows of tiny ragged teeth were visible behind thin lips.
    “Visitor for you, Lord Aten. Five minutes,” he said, then stepped away and turned to walk back across the bridge, leaving the second character alone at the cell.
    “I am surprised you were able to bribe Dagon,” Aten said lightly. “The Fish Folk are considered incorruptible.”
    “I did not bribe him,” Marethyu said. “I told him his future.”
    “At least he has one.” Aten smiled without opening his lips.
    “I told him that in ten thousand years’ time, he would find himself in a river battling an undefeatable warrior, and that he should say my name and she would free him.”
    “And he believed you?” Aten asked, surprised.
    “I am Death. I have no need to lie.”
    “And did you tell the anpu their futures too?”
    “They have none,” Marethyu said shortly. “But no, I did not.” The curve of a metal hook appeared beneath his white cloak. “It was far easier to ensorcel them. They are primitive creatures, and the spell will leave no trace.”
    “Are you here to free me?” Aten asked.
    “I can if you wish,” Marethyu said.
    “But it is not part of your plan, is it?”
    “No, it is not. But I can still free you if that is what you want.”
    Aten ignored the question. “Tell me what is happening,” he said.
    “As soon as the humans of Danu Talis heard that you had been taken, they began to gather outside the prison and the Temple of the Sun. There have been some disturbances. There will be more,” he promised. “You are well loved.”
    “I should have done more for them,” Aten muttered.
    “You did enough. Your imprisonment has angered your subjects and your friends. Hekate has sent the People of the Tree to free you. They are led by Huitzilopochtli. They are not many, it is true, but they are enough, and it will