“Amon and I didn’t”—I waved my hands in the air, flustered—“dally.”
“Irrelevant. We knew one such as you would exist, and the diviners and seers able to understand the whisperings wrote what they gleaned from the stars, which wasn’t much. The stars are very fickle when it comes to sharing their secrets, even with gods.”
A little shiver ran through me. I’d likely never look the same way at the stars again. Now I could only picture them as gossiping busybodies with a billion eyes who wagged their silver tongues, whispering riddles to anyone who would listen. All my life they’d been looking over my shoulder. The feeling was unsettling. “Okay, then you’re saying that I’m somehow destined to do this, assuming that you all are right.”
“A rudimentary, yet not inaccurate declaration.”
“Fantastic. Well, then let’s shuffle off this mortal coil and do what needs to be done. There’s no point in bemoaning my poor little woebegone human end. Apparently, a destiny has been written in the stars for millennia. Let’s just hope it’s mine. Otherwise, we’re all in for a world of hurt. Me especially.” I was babbling to cover my fear and, when I was done, ended up wandering the room in a trancelike state, running my hands over the statues as if they were bald-headed Buddhas I was rubbing for luck, while Isis taught Dr. Hassan the spell and gave him instructions.
All too quickly she seemed to wrap everything up. My thoughts were a jumbled mess and seemed as audible to me as a buzz saw on wood. I bit my lip as Isis turned her stormy eyes on me, afraid she could read the trepidation in my heart. If she did, she said nothing but held out her arms as her wings stretched to their full length.
Dr. Hassan had been stuffing various things into his bag, the most prominent of which was an oiled black bow that protruded from the opening. It was obvious that there were many other heavy items now contained in it than there had once been. He could barely get it over his shoulder. Dr. Hassan stepped into the circle of her arms and the two of them reached out, pulling me in with them.
“It might help if you closed your eyes,” Isis advised as her heavy wings began to beat. With that understated warning, my stomach lurched as we rose into the air and shot toward the ceiling. I screamed as we slammed into the rock, but we passed through it as if it were merely a dark cloud and rose into the sky. I continued to look until the sting of the wind and the brightness of her form became unbearable.
Isis was an angel. A terrifying, brilliant streak of lightning that crossed the sky with a crack of thunder so loud, the heavens quaked. Like a fleeting ghostly comet, fiery, dazzling, and evanescent, we passed cities and farms, deserts and mountains. It was all I could do to hold on to her tightly and wonder what was to become of me.
My stomach lurched again as we dropped down, down, down, and my breath was knocked out of me when she shifted me like a rag doll in her arms as she positioned us to set foot upon the ground. With a few more heavy beats of her wings, our toes made little furrows in the dirt until our shoes found purchase on a grassy knoll. Sand stirred around us, peppering our skin with little stinging prickles, until Isis finally tucked her shimmering wings behind her.
“We are here,” she pronounced.
“Here, where?” I asked as I brushed dust from my arms and shook out my dress. When I slid my hands into my hair, I grimaced. It was wild, tangled, and needed a serious shampoo and conditioning or, at the very least, a hairbrush. I threw the mess over my shoulder and looked around. There was nothing but sparse trees, circling birds, and the sounds of insects for miles.
“In the mortal world, this is a part of what you would call Africa, though you would never be able to find this exact location again should you seek it. We are on the sacred grounds of the sphinx. The place where you will find your heart.”
“Don’t I already have one?”
“You need a second heart. Remember, a sphinx is dual-hearted.”
“Okay, so I need to find a heart, then?”
“Oh, you do not find it. She finds you.”
“Right. She finds me.” Nervously, I shuffled my sandaled foot in a patch of grass. “So, who is looking for me, exactly?”
“No one yet. First, the vizier must speak the words of the spell. As its power settles over you, she will scent your intention and come for you.”
“Scent me?” The whole conversation just took an uncomfortable turn. “If the flight hadn’t already made me feel anxious, then your cryptic explanation surely did.”
“You needn’t feel distressed. If she deems you worthy, she will gift you her heart.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then she will devour you.”
“Oh. Is that all? Yeah. No reason at all to feel distressed.” I lifted my fingertips to my mouth to nibble nervously on my nails. They still hadn’t returned to their meticulously manicured shape since my last adventure with Amon.
Seeing my sorry state, Dr. Hassan intervened. “The next step is the spell, then, is it not?”
“Yes. Once the spell is pronounced over her head, she will become both the huntress and the hunted. You will wait for her here. If she survives, you will bestow upon her the weapons taken from the Room of Riddles. Remember, Wasret is a sphinx, but not all sphinxes are Wasret. Even if she is not the one the stars spoke of, she might still be able to save the one she loves. But if she does not return—”
“Then we are all lost,” Oscar finished.
“Yes,” Isis replied quietly. Her stormy eyes shifted to me.
“How will we know if she is the one foretold of?” Dr. Hassan asked.
The goddess smiled. “Time will tell. May luck be with you, Lily. For your sake, I wish you success.”
I could only nod in return as I tried to squelch the grimace that crossed my face in place of a smile. Isis shook out her wings, but just before taking off said, “Oh. I almost forgot.”
Stretching her wing around her body, she blinked rapidly, her beautiful eyes filling with tears, which she then caught with the edge of her wing. The motion seemed purposeful and not at all emotional. When she was done, she grabbed hold of a glistening feather and yanked, pulling it out and whispering an enchantment over it.
“Hold on to this,” she said, before handing it to me, “while the vizier pronounces the incantation. I’ve made a little improvement over the last time the spell was used. The tears will protect you from any creature I am able to command, but once they are used up, you’ll have my shield no longer and will need to depend upon your own strength. Use the tears sparingly. As for the rest…” She smiled. “I’m saving it for a surprise.”
She then turned to Dr. Hassan. “I assume you will be fully able to instruct her in the ways of the sphinx. Let us pray that her mind proves steady.”
“I will do my best, Goddess.”
“See that you do.”
With that, Isis raised her arms to the east, where the sun was just peeking over the horizon, and her entire body filled with light. I felt a stiff breeze stir the grass around us as her form rose into the sky. Though I shaded my eyes to watch her, her path aligned with the sun, and soon I could no longer tell the difference between them. She was gone.
I twirled the gleaming feather she’d left behind between my fingers. “There are a whole lot of ifs before I get to Amon, aren’t there?” I asked.
“Yes. This journey does seem somewhat complicated, doesn’t it?”
“You can say that again.”
Dr. Hassan cleared his throat. “Shall we begin?”
“I suppose we should. There’s some terrible beast of an unknown description out there waiting to hunt me.” Oscar made a sound as he ran his palm over his neck. He was worried. “Hey,” I said. “Despite my obvious levels of discomfort, I volunteered. Remember? I want to do this. I’ll be okay. Especially if you’re the one training me.”
He gave me a doubtful look but dutifully picked up his notebook and began the spell. As he chanted, he walked in a circle around me:
“Here on the Sacred G
rounds of the Sphinx we offer a petition.
Lilliana Young comes by day after walking in the footsteps of the gods.
Her feats are mighty and have been recorded in the annals of the cosmos.
She is the Hunted and approaches armed with strength and purity,
Seeking the Huntress who awaits with tooth and claw bared,
The one who Dances in Blood and Takes Hearts for Food…”
This wasn’t sounding too good. Why couldn’t Egyptian spells talk about puppies and chocolate and unicorns? Every spell I’d encountered since I met Amon had to do with blood and mummies and death. Granted, I was technically in love with a mummy, so some of that was to be expected, but why couldn’t any of my Egyptian Indiana Jones adventures be fun? Something I could write about in a college essay.
Dr. Hassan droned on and I managed to refocus my attention.
“The one who will be her escort to the beyond,
Now is the time for your paths to cross.
Both are worthy.
Both are ennobled of the gods.
Both have accomplished deeds to prove their valor.
Huntress let your soul come forth and be not driven away.
Hunted, clothe yourself in your companion’s power and do not fear her embrace.
Merge your yesterdays. Share your tomorrows.
Two fighting souls dwelling in one body.
Neither will be forgotten.
Today they are bound.
Today they are washed clean.
Today they die and are reborn.”
Wait. Did he say die?
“Breathe together. Hunt together. Battle together.
Silent one, find your inner voice.
Sightless one, find your true vision.
Come find your match, O you warden of the plain!”
When Dr. Hassan finished the last line, his voice echoed with power. I could actually feel the spell settling upon me like a tangible thing. As it found its place in my heart, it sank. Like a heavy stone in a lake, the weight of it caused ripples of aftershocks that ran across my skin and shot outward as if I were the epicenter of an invisible earthquake.
The feather I held in my hand jumped free as if it had a will of its own and floated in front of me. Then the wind found it and, alarmed, I reached out to grab it, but it eluded me. It only took a moment for me to realize it was moving purposefully. It gathered speed and whipped around my body faster and faster until I felt a sharp pain in my back. Tears stung my eyes, my vision tinged with red. I spun around.
“Where is it?” I asked Oscar. “Where did the feather go?”
“It…um…disappeared,” he answered.
“Disappeared? What do you mean it disappeared?”
“The feather of Isis was absorbed into your back.”
“Into my…” I stood frozen for a moment waiting for the fallout. My back throbbed along with my pulse. Suddenly desperate, I whipped in a circle, reaching around to my back and trying to peer over my shoulder, but my fingertips didn’t find anything. Again I wondered why I had to go and do something as dumb as falling for a mummy.
In a normal relationship, I’d only have to loan the guy some cash, give him a ride, or help him do his homework when he got into trouble. With Amon I had to fly around with goddesses, fend off amorous deities, and be hunted by über-beasties. Still, in my heart I knew I would risk anything for him. The chance to be with Amon again was worth every sacrifice I was being asked to make.
As I lifted my hand from my shoulder blade, my gaze narrowed on my fingertips. The swirls and lines on the pads snapped into sharp focus and I could see the pumping of my blood in the tiny veins just beneath the surface. “What is this?” I whispered, suddenly ultra-aware that my senses had been heightened by the spell. The call of birds startled me. I felt the weight of a termite colony more than a mile away and smelled a river full of wild creatures. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.
Something was out there.
Something powerful.
Something dangerous.
I could taste the metallic bite of it as I ran my tongue across my teeth. Turning to Dr. Hassan, I flexed the muscles of my back and shoulders, warming them, for what purpose I did not yet know. “What am I supposed to do now?”
Even though I’d asked the question, a newly awakened desire was already tugging on me with invisible strings. There was something, someone, I needed to find, and it wasn’t Amon.
Oscar gave me a hesitant smile. “You must go, Lily. I will wait for you here as long as I am able.”
“Yes,” I responded, though my voice seemed entirely unlike my own and my thoughts felt muddled.
“Follow your instincts,” he said finally. When I reached down to take a bag, he shook his head. “You are not meant to take anything with you. Even water. You are to be tested.”
I swallowed, already thirsty at the idea that I’d be wandering the African savanna without any supplies. Despite my determination, tears filled my eyes. It was by sheer will alone that I didn’t allow the tears to fall. Amon needed me. I could do this.
Lifting my face to the sun, I inhaled deeply both to steady myself and to try to get a sense of the direction I needed to go. The light was rosy behind my closed eyelids and as I opened myself to the sounds and scents around me, something caught my attention, a distinct thud like the beat of a distant drum.
“Lily?” I heard Oscar say.
“Yes?” I replied, chin raised with eyes still tightly shut.
“It’s time to run.”
In an instant, every nerve in my body snapped to attention. Angling just my head toward him, I gave a small nod and then I was running. I staggered for just a moment when my legs got tangled up in the billows of my dress, but then I caught hold of the hem mid-leap and pulled the material up, tucking it firmly into my belt.
Air filled my lungs, and I inhaled and exhaled in deep gusts, my legs and arms pumping in a steady rhythm. Soon Oscar was just a speck on the horizon, and I was surprised to find I was able to jump and balance as well as a deer. Even though I’d never considered myself particularly athletic and had never run at any speed faster than a jog, my fast pace didn’t wind me. I was bursting with energy and relished the feel of my warmed muscles and the dust that coated my sandaled feet.
My hair streamed behind me, the breeze whipping through it like a horse’s mane, and though I was human, and fragile, and very much in danger, I can honestly say I’d never felt more alive. My limbs hummed and all my worries fell by the wayside as I traversed the terrain. I was a creature with nothing to prove and no one to answer to. I was free.
I didn’t stop for hours. But when I finally tired, I instinctively headed toward the distant river. In one section, there was a small drop that created a stream of water where I could easily drink. I crept into the undergrowth by the river, exhaling in hot pants as I peered through the sparse trees and high grasses looking for danger. The cover was thick and I was well hidden, but I waited and watched until I was sure that no one and nothing larger than a squirrel was near before venturing out.
At first, I cupped my hands in the cascading stream and poured the droplets into my mouth, but I found it vastly unsatisfying. I looked both ways and, still seeing nothing, plunged my whole face into the trickling stream, opening my mouth and taking in water in big gulps.
A part of my mind nagged me about the bugs, worms, and diseases of various kinds, but that Lily, the New York City girl, was no longer in charge. I was thirsty. I needed to drink. The river was full of water. I liked the simplicity of it. There was no doubt. No hesitancy. There was only need and the fulfilling of need. The pesky echo of myself was a girl distracted by too many thoughts, and as I drank, I allowed all of my worries and niggling fears to slip into the river and float away.
Satiated at last, I stepped back and plucked at the bodice of my wet dress. The water felt cool and refreshing on my hot skin, and I tossed my heavy hair behind me, irritated by the weight of it on my shoulders. I h
eard a noise and crouched down, barely noticing that my golden sandals were now mud-stained and the edges of my dress and bare legs were filthy.
A trio of small rodents had come to the water to drink and my belly rumbled. I wondered how long I would be expected to wander the savanna. Would I have to catch my own food, kill and cook it? How would I even start a fire? Perhaps there was some edible vegetation or maybe some kind of fruit.
I stayed by the river, hidden for several more hours. There was no way to explain it, but it felt like the right place to be. After an hour of vainly attempting to catch a fish for a meal, I finally gave up and resigned myself to spending the night not only alone in the middle of the wilderness, but also hungry.
After digging a small crevice in the rocks near the river, I lay down in my little earthen womb, stared up at the stars, and listened to the creatures of the night until the steady sounds of the insects lulled me to sleep.
“Lily! Lily? Can you hear me?”
The urgency in his voice dragged my dreaming self to consciousness, though my exhaustion kept trying to tow me back down to oblivion. “Amon?” I whispered groggily. “How are we able to do this again?”
“Lily? Good, you can hear me. We can only communicate like this when we are both in the dream world.”
I cracked open my dream-self’s eyes by sheer determination alone and saw Amon’s form sleeping with his head resting on his arm. A large purple bruise decorated the exposed side of his face and the light from a fire danced over his skin. I longed to run my hand up his arm and press a light kiss to his temple and even attempted to reach out to him, but it was no use. Our dream selves couldn’t touch. The mental effort exhausted me, and I was about to slip back into my happy dream world when I heard Amon speak again.
“You must try to stay awake and listen, Young Lily. I know you’re tired, but this is important. You cannot do this. Do you understand me? I will not permit you to endanger yourself for me. Not for any reason.”
Amon’s intensity dispersed the darkness that offered sweet respite. I sputtered, “But Isis said—”
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