My heart raced as I tried to suppress the scream building up inside me.
Then a voice spoke in my mind, and it was unlike Tia’s or Amun-Ra’s. It was a voice full of power, one that terrified me and left a chill reverberating through my bones. I knew then who it was.
We meet at last. I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time. My servant got a taste, and the scent of you has been tickling my nostrils ever since. You don’t know how happy I am that you’ve begun this journey. You’re so much more…interesting now than you used to be.
When I couldn’t speak out loud, I communicated with him using my mind. What do you want? And why am I here? I asked.
Do you mean to unmake us? Tia demanded.
I heard a laugh and the harsh din caused my body to shiver.
Unmake you? No. Well, perhaps not yet. Before I can capitalize on unmaking anyone, the impossible triangle must be fully formed. You’re nearly there.
What are you saying? I challenged, not wanting to understand but also knowing I needed to.
All will be revealed in time, young ones. Perhaps you should focus on your current priorities. Speaking of which, I hope you enjoy your visit with the Devourer. She’s a greedy hostess, he said, almost fondly, but I’ll make sure she welcomes you appropriately when you enter her home.
The wisp of an ice-cold breeze tickled my cheek and I suddenly got the impression that I’d been touched. My skin crawled.
It would appear as if my mind-numbing…confinement has finally proven interesting. Watching your dreams will offer me a most pleasant diversion until such time that my release is assured.
What? How is that possible? I demanded.
Fortunately for me, your new powers coupled with your bond of love with the carrier of the Eye of Horus made my eavesdropping on and, I’ll admit, appropriating, your dreams, a reality. Destiny draws us closer, my dear. He paused and chuckled. Come now, don’t fret. This is a good thing…for me, he added. I look forward to meeting you again. Next time, I hope to introduce myself more…fully.
Next time? I thought.
Goodbye, Sphinx. Laughter echoed around me. Though I knew it was happening more in my head than in the space I was in, I turned in circles, pressing my hands to my ears, imploring it to stop.
A knock at my door jolted me awake. I sat up suddenly, pressing my hand against my racing heart and then my flushed cheeks. “Just a moment!” I called out as I padded to the door to open it a crack. The servant girl was back. Had it really been several hours? I rubbed my hands across my face, trying to wake myself up from the terrible dream that I desperately hoped was just a bad nightmare. “What time is it?” I asked her.
“It is nearly dawn. You must finish the bathing ritual and then be on your way. If you do not arrive at the pier by sunset, you will miss your opportunity.”
“Okay. Let’s get this show on the road, then,” I said nervously.
She lowered her eyebrows in puzzlement but asked no questions.
The only things I took with me to the bathing room were the weapons we’d been given and the leather shoulder harness. As I walked, it struck me again just how totally unprepared I was. I had no food. No canteen for water. No backpack full of supplies. My phone had been left with Dr. Hassan. I knew next to nothing about where I was headed or how I was going to get there. If I didn’t have Tia with me, I was sure I would have freaked out and run screaming all the way back to New York. I was in way, way over my head.
Tia tried to reassure me. The only way out sometimes is to move forward. The path is not always clear, but your instinct will guide you.
I don’t have instinct. Not like you do, anyway, I said.
We have instinct, she corrected. We can hunt when we hunger. We will find water when we thirst. We will save your young man. And we will stop the Unmaker.
I wish I were as confident as you are.
A lioness cannot indulge in doubts. She must kill or be killed. Hunt or be hunted. Hesitation makes us weak. It is a human trait.
And if we make a mistake? If we die?
If we die, we leave this world knowing we tried. There is honor in