The Eventide Child (10 page)

This is a creature of old magic. They will die. You will die.

The light of their torches illuminated the hidden colossus.

The faint light allowed her a clear view of the beast, and of the corpses surrounding it, staring silently at them. The Sphinx was as wide as a man was tall. Its form towering high above them. She was startled to see the large humanoid face staring upon her, her eyes drinking in the wild sight of the creature that bore the head of a human. From her position she could see clearly that it possessed the body of a wild cat with a pair of feathered wings upon its back. Truly it was a thing of wonder to behold. It was silent and unmoving, staring upon their group.

“What is it?” she hissed in desperation, a soldier giving a small grunt. “Why isn’t it doing anything?” Her hand never left the hilt of her blade as she readied herself to face her certain end. The creature continued to peer curiously at them. It showed no sign of aggression, but Alexandra knew not how much she could trust such a beast.

“It ... can’t be,” Titus, finally whispered back. “A Sphinx? A Gods forsaken Sphinx.”

The sound of his voice did little to comfort her, the creature’s presence clearly disturbing the hardened soldier. The massive beast stepped forward and Alexandra felt the very ground beneath her tremble. As it approached, each large step drew it closer until its majestic form poised directly above the sarcophagus of the once Emperor.

“They sacrificed the soldiers to conjure this monster,” Samar mused beside her, still holding his dagger tight. There was a look of awe upon his face as he watched the Sphinx. She held no such feelings of admiration for the magical beast that lumbered above them, hot breath washing over them.

“What does it want?” she asked, her eyes still fixated upon Samar. Between Titus’ fear and Samar’s admiration of this being of old magic, she opted to go to Samar.

“If we cannot solve its riddle, it will kill us all!” he announced as he stuffed his dagger back into its sheath. He clapped his hands and gave a haughty laugh, wringing those leathery palms of his together now as he paced back and forth between Alexandra and the line of soldiers. What riddle? She could not recall hearing anything spoken, nor reading any inscription to give some great insight. The behemoth stood erect, staring upon them as the lips began to move and words she could not understand spilled forth.

“What do you want?” a Legionnaire cried out, pushing forward. “By sacred right these grounds are our—”

She watched in horror as a massive paw lashed out with lightning speed, the soldier unable to resist as it flattened his body against the floor, claws rending through his flesh before he was thrown into the air and the beast caught it within its jaw. She could hear the crunching as it chewed, grinding bone and metal alike as blood dripped to the floor in a gruesome show of force. Bones, armor, and spear were promptly spat from her mouth. The Legionnaires closed ranks once again, filling the gap now made by their fallen comrade.

Titus gave a roar, lifting his spear up “REAADY!”

“They will all die, cousin. You cannot fight a Sphinx!” Samar implored her, tugging at her sleeve.

She pushed forward at that, grabbing Titus’ spear as she jerked it down quickly. “Belay that order!” she barked, forcing Titus to stand down. “Do you not see it will simply slaughter you like sheep?” She gestured toward the Sphinx as it stood there silently, a pile of blood and gore at its feet. They had all seen how quickly the last man died, what made them fool enough to think they could overwhelm it? This was a battle that one could not fight with brawn, and unfortunately it seemed that was all the Legion was capable of.

“Just ... let me try,” Alexandra sighed, unsure what to say to convince the men. They were ready to so foolishly throw their lives away on a pointless battle, the least she could do was try to fight this one on her own. Titus eventually relented, opening a gap in the line to allow her to step through. There were murmurs behind her but she was too occupied to hear what the men were saying. There was no point in looking back, she focused instead, upon the colossal creature.

It seemed to be thinking, a claw tapping against the hard stone beneath them before her mouth opened and a voice echoed. “You who would seek the treasure of Kings,” the Sphinx announced, surprising Alexandra as it spoke in her tongue. “You will answer our riddle, or you will perish, child.” The voice was clear, echoing through the hollow chamber and ringing in her ears. Such a booming and commanding tone. She stood, not but a young girl once again staring up at the mighty giant.

“What riddle?” She cried up at the Sphinx, its face one devoid of expression as it mulled over the possibilities. As its lips curled into a smile, Alexandra stepped back, unnerved. Feeling a chill run up her spine, the large beast shifted its weight anxiously before lowering itself down, akin to a predator waiting to pounce.

“There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first.” It spoke, that rumbling voice causing the hairs on her body to stand up, her mind was already racing before it finished its riddle. Who are the two sisters?”

Alexandra muttered the words beneath her breath time and time again, thinking as she shifted her own weight around nervously. Time wasn’t a factor, it seemed, as the beast gave a sigh.

“I know it! It’s the moon!” A Legionnaire cried out.

“You damned fools, stay quiet!” Alexandra shouted in reply as the Sphinx wasted no time. She felt a rush of wind pass, a strange warmth in its wake as the Sphinx’s paw thrust past her head and impaled the Legionnaire through the torso with one of its mighty claws. Warm liquid dripped down and splashed her armor and head. She need not look, she knew it was blood. Anger boiled inside her as she clenched her fists tight, glaring at the Sphinx as the sickening cracking, crunching noise filled her ears “T-that wasn’t part of the arrangement!”

“Was it not?” the Sphinx replied, spitting the last of the man’s armor onto the growing pile. “He answered incorrectly. We did say if you answered the riddle incorrectly, you would perish.” It growled. She could feel its piercing eyes upon her again, the creature raking its claws across the stone below. “You should be glad he was all we killed, child. Next time, everyone will perish.”

The guards silently murmured behind her once again as she stood there, muttering possibilities like a woman possessed. She tried to think of every possible answer, pushing herself to think of the right one. Her mother offered no help, that voice in her head evidently opted to remain silent. This was a battle she really had to win on her own.

Alexandra paced nervously back and forth, the rumbling of the Sphinx’s chest ever present in her ears. The Sphinx grew more and more impatient before suddenly she froze in place.

“Enough games!” the creature cried, its paws hoisting into the air. “You do not know the answer, you shall all perish!” Its fierce cry came, echoing in her eyes and the chamber. Once again the world seemed to move in slow motion, staring as those paws came down in her direction.

“Wait! Night and day! The answer is night and day!” Alexandra cried at the top of her lungs, eyes squeezed tight as she held her hand up. “The answer is night and day, isn’t it?” she demanded as the limbs froze just an inch away from her face. There was nothing but silence, the guards not making a single sound. Had she died? Was this death? It didn’t feel much different than being alive, honestly, but she decided that she had to be certain as one eye half-opened. Large black claws and brown fur was all she could see, but they slowly retracted as her eyes opened completely. The Sphinx wore a look of bewilderment on its face. Years had passed since its creation and none had been able to grasp the riddle. For in the classical Greek language, the word for night and day are feminine. She could see the Sphinx as it trembled and quaked. The flesh of the magical beast tore and ripped as beams of light escaped from the lines left in its flesh. A howl unlike anything she could imagine bellowed out as the body began to burn away, embers drifting into the air as the entirety of its being began to burn away. A look of sadness overtook it as the process continued rapidly, a final scream of a roar parting its lips and echoing through the cavern before its head burst into a fantastical display of sparkling light, only for the light to drift away.

Magic sustained the Sphinx. When the riddle was solved, the creature died. A pity.

It killed two innocent men. Hardly a pity, mother,
she responded to her mother in kind. She watched the majestic being of magic as it faded. “That was ... incredible,” Titus said.

She hadn't noticed until she turned around to face him that the legionnaires had fallen to their knees, staring in wonder at her as if they had witnessed a miracle. “I just ... solved a riddle.” Confusion marked her voice at the sudden display of fealty and reverence. Even Titus took a step away from her. Until that moment their quest had been nothing more than something based on hope and the promise of riches.

They were mercenaries at best, but now in their eyes she could see something different. It was hard to tell if they had ever believed she was something special prior to that point or if it was only the call of adventure that had pulled them to Titus. Now, however, the Legionnaires stared at her as if they had just seen a miracle. It was unnerving.

You did more than that, girl.

“You never told us.” Titus growled, his hands curled into fists now. “Cass died, and you never told us! Those men died and you did nothing!” His shouts caused her to step back as her lips turned from a smile to a confused frown. Even Samar stood tall, a look of astonishment on his face.

“T-told you want?” she demanded, staggering back.

Humans will always fear what they cannot understand. They will always kill what they fear.

She had never seen Titus look so furious as he marched toward her, clutching his shield and spear. From his look, she actually thought that he meant to kill her. There was rage in his eyes that she couldn’t understand.

“What did I do?” she asked as she retreated away, moving closer to her ancestor’s sarcophagus.

“When that Sphinx went to kill you, you lifted your hand and a magical energy came up and stopped it. A
dark
energy.”

His fury made her reach for her blade, clutching the hilt as she continued to step away from his advance.

“All this time, you could have saved them!” he yelled again. He drew his arm back, and everything seemed to stop for her once again.

“Titus, stop it!”

The figure of her mother stood beside her again, her arms held regally behind her back. “He is inconsequential,” she advised. “Yet full of rage. Unpredictable. This goes beyond a failure to save anyone. He fears what you will accomplish.” The voice was loud, as if it were actually speaking though none could hear it save her. Existence seemed to slow to a pause once more as she turned to look upon the mysterious figure, then back to Titus.

Alexandra was doing her best to make sense of what happened, shaking her head a little. It was a confusing sensation but it was not unlike that which she had experienced previously. She could see her mother. Hear her as more than just a whisper in her mind.

“Perception is a fickle thing. Time has not stopped, child,” the woman reminded her, as if reading her very thoughts.

Alexandra took notice of the fact that Titus was still advancing, albeit at an incredibly reduced pace.

“What will you do? Will you dispatch of him, ending a possible quarrelsome rebellion? Will he strike first and kill you?”

“There has to be another option,” Alexandra said. She didn’t want to kill anybody, though her fingers curled around her blade.

“The world is not so kind,” the woman replied quickly, disdain seeping from her voice as she turned to face Alexandra. “The choice is yours.” She vanished and time suddenly accelerating back to normal.

I don’t want to die!

The blade left its sheath as she parried Titus’ initial thrust, just as Cass had taught her to do.

“Titus! Stop this!” She tried to reason with the man as he lifted his shield to protect himself, his spear thrusting toward her once more as she narrowly dodged the blow.

“You’ll destroy us all!” His voice was full with a fervor and religious zeal, the other legionnaires standing and watching as the two continued to clash.

Her blade parried the tip of his spear again, pushing it aside as she shifted her footing “I don’t want to destroy anybody, Titus,” Her voice called in reply even as she evaded yet another attack “Use sense!”

She struggled against her very destiny itself, defying the will of her mother as she dared not strike at Titus. She parried and evaded, attempting to avoid his ire as sweat soon began to drop from their body. Titus was beyond reasoning, however.

“You were born of darkness, Alexandra! You are darkness, Alexandra, The kind of darkness that will swallow the entire world whole!” He shouted in reply, lunging at her once again as the blade of his spear grazed her shoulder. His eyes showed nothing short of a conviction to kill her. She hadn’t been fast enough that time and pain shot through her body as blood collected on the ground.

It was in the moment that he wounded her and she cried out that Titus finally hesitated, eyes fixated upon the young girl as the blade toppled free of her hand. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to destroy anything.

Her hands flew up, not reaching for the sword. Titus had halted but she dared not chance it. Dark energy bolted from the tips of her fingers, catching the spear the energy ripped and twisted down the entire length of the weapon. The shaft shattering as the momentum of the energy carried up along his arm. Titus let out an agonized scream, the bone in his arm breaking with a sickening snap. She panted, breathing hard while Titus fell crumpled to the side disarmed, but alive.