Recreated (8 page)

“The Sons of Egypt were given a choice. They could depart for the afterlife and await their kin, or they could return for admittedly brief periods of time to serve the gods. They chose the latter.”

“I don't think they really understood what it was you were asking of them.”

“Do you, Lily? Do you understand what is being asked of you? Or are you willing to change the very fiber of your being in order to save those you love?” I squirmed a bit under her gaze but kept my chin raised in an effort of defiance. “I can see your heart, young one, just as I could see theirs. They were worthy of the gift. Whether you call it a blessing or a curse is immaterial. They were willing, and we found a use for them.”

“Just like you used your handmaid?”

Anger shot through Isis's features but the signs of it quickly disappeared. “You know not of what you speak. Baniti was dying. It was painful. When I made her a sphinx, I meant it to be a gift for a beloved handmaid.”

“What…what happened to her?” I asked.

“Baniti couldn't come to accept her new life. She didn't have the heart for it. You see, a sphinx is dual-hearted in nature. Her mind fragmented, and she could not reconcile the woman she'd been with the creature she needed to embrace. The stories of a sphinx devouring men are true, though it wasn't because they couldn't solve her riddle. Hunters chased her, cornered her in caves.

“She was nearly wild, feral; any humanity remaining was eclipsed by the beast. Her only option was to lash out. And when she smelled blood, her other half took over. She was horrified by what she was and eventually sought her own end, though death, except under very rare circumstances, was no longer an option. Finally, unable to care for her on my own, I approached the council, confessed what I had done, and awaited their decision. They granted what she sought. Her own death.”

“Then why keep the rite at all? Why not eradicate all evidence that it had ever been done?”

“Because,” she answered simply, “the stars said we'd need it.”

“What are you saying?” Dr. Hassan asked. “The stars knew about Lily?”

“Not about Lily, no, but we dare not question what the stars have seen. That might mean Lily is the reason. It might mean something else or someone else. It might mean nothing. The things the stars whisper are not always clear. But whatever the case, the gods opted not to erase all evidence of the spell, just in case the stars were right.”

“Yeah. Well.” I kicked a pebble with my golden sandal. “All that matters to me is saving Amon. I don't appreciate that all these little rituals of yours take so long.”

“Ah, Lily. How little your mortal eyes see. If we were to forsake the rituals, we would be sending you unprepared toward a certain doom. Each step you take is necessary. Every hurdle makes you stronger. Tempered steel is not easily broken. You must believe we are giving you your best chance. Remember that even in the netherworld, there are certain rules and limitations.”

“Like the one that says you aren't allowed to go and intervene.”

“Correct. Try not to worry much; if the Devourer had him in her clutches, we would know. And even so, the process of draining him is not a quick thing. She would take her time. Because of this, I want you to understand the importance of what you are undertaking. This spell is not an easy one. You will be tested, and even if you are successful, you will need some time to acclimate to your new self. You must be firm of mind. Fix your gaze on your goal. And above all else, you must open your heart. Otherwise you may lose yourself, much like my handmaid, Baniti.”

“And you're sure this is the only way to save him?”

“It is the only way I know.”

Swallowing, I nodded. “Then let's see if we can do something to help him.”

The wings of the goddess fluttered and she smiled. “Vizier, are you ready to receive the spell?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I have one question before we get started, though.”

“And what is that?”

“Why Wasret? Shouldn't the rite be named for your handmaid, Baniti, instead?”

“What do you know of Wasret?” Isis asked.

“I know she was a goddess of Egypt with most of her worshippers centered at Thebes. I know she was charged to protect your young son, Horus, and that she's rumored to be Amun-Ra's first wife.”

“Hmm. It's interesting how the truths get mixed together until they become almost unrecognizable. The reference to my son was indeed Baniti. She was his nursemaid as a boy. He considered her a second mother and was nearly inconsolable at her death. The reason Thebes is a part of the story is because that is the city where she was born and it is the city where I honored her death, creating a temple guarded by sphinx statues. But these references are for Baniti, not Wasret.

“You see, Wasret, the person rumored to be Amun-Ra's first wife, the person for whom this rite remained on earth, is a person who hadn't even been born at the time her name was inscribed on the wall. It is the name the stars have whispered to us over the eons.”

“Then the inscriptions we've discovered that speak of Wasret are about two different people,” Dr. Hassan murmured.

Isis admired a sparkling ring around her finger as she inquired of Dr. Hassan, “You found two versions of the sphinx carved upon these walls, did you not?”

“Yes. We did,” he admitted.

“They do not represent two different types of sphinx but two different individuals. One was Baniti, born and died thousands of years ago, and the other, Wasret, stands next to you now. Assuming, of course, that Lily is indeed the one we've been waiting for.”

I held up a hand. “Wait a second. You're saying
I
am, or could be, Wasret? The goddess woman Dr. Hassan described?”

“That is exactly what I am saying.”

“So have you suspected this about me all this time? Known who I am and what I was supposed to do?”

“Like I said, we've known that there would come a time when the spell might be needed. We just didn't know when until the circumstances presented themselves. Until the moment Amon entered the netherworld, we did not expect you to be anything other than a mortal dalliance.”

“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 Grounds 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.