Chapter Eleven

Day 5.

"You don't know? You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" Hazel exclaims incredulously. "You're three thousand years old! How do you not know?"

"I don't know many things!" Ahmose snaps back. "Being immortal does not mean I immediately know all the secrets of the universe!"

"What?! Don't say that — now nobody will want to be immortal!" Hazel spits, her tone dripping with venomous sarcasm.

"Forty seconds."

"Guys!" I hiss, my sharp tones ripping through their mini show-down. They both stop, turning to me with equally irate expressions. "This is not helping! You can yell at each other when our entire lives are not depending on the next thirty seconds!"

"Thirty-five, actually." The Sphinx corrects me, her tail flicking lazily. "Tick tock."

"Sorry Keeks." Hazel grimaces. Ahmose grudgingly agrees with her with a near-unintelligible grunt. "What was the riddle again?"

Ahmose repeat the Sphinx's riddle. "Born of sorrow, grows with age, you need a lot to be a sage. What is it?"

"What's a sage?" I ask, my brow furrowing in confusion. "The only 'sage' I know about is the herb. It is a herb, right?"

"Twenty-five."

"Yes, it's a herb. Seriously Kiara, how can you not know that?" Hazel rolls her eyes.

"Hey!"

"But," She continues, giving me a look for interrupting her. "It's also another, very old term for someone who's venerated for their intelligence and wisdom."

"A wise-man?" Ahmose frowns, and Hazel nods.

"Born of sorrow, grows with age, you need a lot to be a wise-man." I mumble, more to myself than the others. "What's born of sorrow?"

"Ten."

"Okay, they get it. They don't have much time left." Hazel snaps, glaring at the Sphinx. "You don't have to keep counting it down!"

The Sphinx stares back at her, the expression on her beautiful face terrifyingly deadly. "Nine."

"Grows with age." I murmur, meeting Ahmose's gaze. He looks as desperately thoughtful as I feel. "What grows with age?"

"Any number of things, Kiara."

"Crap."

"Eight."

Then it hits me. I gasp, throwing my hands up in the air. Ahmose stares at me wildly, taken aback by my sudden exclamation. "We're idiots!"

"Seven."

"What? Why?" He demands, growing more frantic by the second. "What is it?"

"Six."

"It's been right in front of us the whole time!" I exclaim. "Hazel gave us the answer without realising it!"

"Five."

"Don't just stand there then! Say it!" He roars.

"Four."

I whirl around to face the Sphinx, tripping over my own words in my haste to get the answer out in time. "Wisdom! The answer's wisdom! It's wisdom!"

The Sphinx abruptly stops counting down, plunging the night into thick silence. All three of us stare at her. My heart ricochets around my throat as we wait for her res-pose. She holds me in an icy regard, her glare so withering that I'm half surprised I don't explode into a shower of ice on the spot.

Finally, she sighs, lifting her head up haughtily. bitterness twists up her words.

"You are correct."

I shriek, throwing my hands up in the air triumphantly.

"I did it! I can't believe I did it!" I round on Ahmose, pointing my finger in his face. "I beat the Sphinx, without your help! Take that, Mummy-boy!"

Despite my thinly veiled insult Ahmose smiles, clearly unable to resist my excitement. "Yes you did."

"Without his help?" The Sphinx repeats. Her gaze narrows in on Ahmose dangerously. "Did you help her?"

Ahmose shrugs slightly. "You told me I was not allowed to answer the first riddle. You never said anything about me assisting her in finding the answer."

"Clever little godling." She drawls, baring her teeth. "If I wasn't so vexed at the fact that you cheated my trial, I'd almost be impressed."

"I did not cheat. I would never cheat." Ahmose replies gravely. "I just found a loophole."

"Yes. You've always been rather good at finding those, aren't you?" She says testily. Ahmose stiffens. The Sphinx smirks, laughing gaily at his expression. "Well, it looks like you have passed my trial with ease, once again. I guess congratulations are in order."

"Not just congratulations." I remind her, and she arches an eyebrow at me. "You told us that the answer to the second riddle would help us finding Ahmose's ring."

"Ah, yes." The Sphinx nods, her smirk growing even more. "You are correct. The answer will indeed aid you in your little sub-quest, should you use it accordingly."

"Well then?" I place my hands on my hips and eyeballing her. "What is the answer?"

"Why, wisdom, of course." The Sphinx replies. Though her tone is light, her expression is much more savage. "You guessed that all on your own, remember?"

"The answer is the literal answer to the riddle?" Hazel asks incredulously. The Sphinx nods. "How the hell is the word 'wisdom' supposed to help us find Mummy-boy's ring?"

"That's not my problem to decrypt, little mouse." The Sphinx shrugs. "You have all the elements you require to figure it out. The next part is out of my hands and entirely up to you."

"That's not fair!" I exclaim.

"Tell that to Ma'at when you see her. She is the one who created this curse in the first place." The Sphinx purrs, getting to her feet. Her tail sweeps between Ahmose, Hazel and I, pausing for a second to caress Ahmose. The Sphinx looks down at him with what almost looks like a fond expression. "Until the next reincarnation little godling. I shudder to think that this is the last time I'll see you."

Then, with a supercilious laugh, she spins away and disappears into the night.

"Well." Hazel states, staring after the mythical creature. She looks back at me. "I don't like her."

I stare back at her for a few more seconds. Then I burst into hysterical laughter.

"Oh. My. God." I manage to get out between laughs. "That just happened. I can't believe that actually just happened. We almost died. Twice."

That sets Hazel and I off even more, our laughter echoing through the night like contorted wolf howls.

"I just saw a sphinx." Hazel gasps, wiping tears from her eyes. "I just saw a sphinx and I didn't like her."

"That's because she threw you away. Literally." I hoot. Hazel cackles even harder. "You pissed off a sphinx!"

"And you beat a sphinx! Twice!" Hazel cries. "Even Mummy-boy couldn't do that!"

We both glance over at Ahmose at the same time. The look of pure confusion dusting his features has us in such complete hysterics that we actually fall to the ground.

"I don't understand this." He mutters, eying us both like we're a pair of rabid dogs getting ready to rip him apart. "I don't understand your laughter."

"Do you want to know what I don't understand Mummy-boy?" Hazel asks seriously, abruptly sobering up. "How you've been alive for over three-thousand years, yet you didn't know the answer to the riddle."

The look that Ahmose gives Hazel is so sour that I'm a little shocked that she doesn't melt into an acidic puddle on the spot. His glare bounces right off her like she's made of Teflon though, and she bursts out laughing again.

"I don't know why you're trying to incinerate me on the spot Mummy-boy, it's true!" She hoots. "You totally froze! Embarrassingly so! How does it feel, knowing you and all your three-thousand year old knowledge got bested by an eighteen-year old girl?"

"Hey!" I complain. "Why are you making that out to be an insult? I'm insulted by you making that out to be an insult!"

"You know I didn't mean it like that Keeks." Hazel waves her hand. "But all the same, it doesn't change the fact that Mummy-boy over here was acting all high-and-mighty about being able to solve these trials, and he totally froze!"

"I never acted high-and-mighty." Ahmose frowns. Hazel scoffs, giving him a disbelieving look.

"You told us that this first one was easy, reassured us that you knew the answers and we didn't have to worry about the consequences of failing." She retorts. "Not only did you not provide the answers, but we almost failed. Twice. If it wasn't for Kiara's quick thinking—"

"It wasn't my quick thinking, Hazel." I interject, unable to help myself. "If it wasn't for Ahmose, I wouldn't have solved the first riddle. He helped me without breaking the Sphinx's rules."

Her eyebrows shoot up, almost like she wasn't expecting me to defend him. "Don't be humble Keeks. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be standing here right now."

"It was only the first trial, Hazel." I reply quietly, flushing a little under her unnecessary praise.

"Exactly!" She exclaims. Ahmose and I stare at her in confusion. "It's the first trial, and you blew it out of the water! If the rest are going to be as easy as that, then you're going to solve Mummy-boy's curse in your sleep."

"They are not as easy as that." Ahmose replies bluntly, his sharp tones stopping Hazel and I short. "They were not designed to be easy. Thinking like that will only get you killed."

"Not easy? Dude, this one was just a riddle—"

"Hazel." I interrupt her, shaking my head at her. "Stop."

"What? Why?" She glances over at Ahmose. Her voice adopts a mocking tone. "Did I hurt your feelings, Mummy-boy?"

Ahmose's expression hardens. His words come out incredibly clipped. "I am going to go and get more firewood. Get some sleep."

He stalks away and is quickly swallowed up by the night.

I sigh, turning to Hazel. "What was that for?"

She arches an eyebrow at me. "What was what for?"

"That." I gesture in the direction Ahmose disappeared. "Baiting him. Being incredibly unfair and insensitive."

"I was only joking around, Keeks."

"Were you?" I ask softly. Hazel opens her mouth but no sound comes out. "What's with you, Hazel? Ever since we started on this quest to help Ahmose you've been really bitter and sour, especially towards him. Why? You're the one who pushed me towards helping him in the first place."

"I don't know what you want me to tell you, Kiara." She shrugs, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. I don't respond, merely mirroring her stance and watching her silently. For several long moments, the only sound puncturing the air is the popping and crackling of the fire. Finally, Hazel lets out a long breath, throwing her hands up in the air and throwing me an evil eye. "You're like a dog with a bone, you know that?"

"I know." I beam toothily at her, jutting my chin up in the air. "It's one of my endearingly sweet qualities."

"Who says that?" She asks incredulously. I shrug non-committedly. She sighs again. "I guess... I don't know, Kiara, I'm feeling kind of useless right now, in this whole Three Musketeers situation we have going on."

"You feel useless?" I frown. "Why?"

"Are you kidding? Kiara, the Sphinx literally just threw me away because I wasn't supposed to help. Twice." She replies, laughing humourlessly. "I'm not helpful for any of this. It feels like it's your destiny or something to help Ahmose. You're the one he turns to for help, you're the only one who's allowed to help him pass the trials, and you're the one Isis basically named her chosen one. He barely even acknowledges that I exist. And me? I'm just the archaeologist nerd who who forced her best friend to let her tag along because it's probably the most excitement she'll ever experience for the rest of her life."

"Hazel." My expression softens. "That is so far from the truth."

"Kiara." She gives me a dead look. "The Sphinx threw my useless butt away."

"Yeah, because of the stupidly specific rules for the Sphinx's trial. What makes you think the other two are going to be the same?" I ask. She shrugs listlessly, avoiding my gaze. "Hazel, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. You were the one who convinced me to help in the first place, and you were the one who got us to Egypt. I don't know why Ahmose always turns to me, or why Isis and Nefretiri chose me, but I do know that I wouldn't be able to be here without you, or survive any of these trials without you in my corner. You're the one keeping me sane. You and your bitterly sarcastic disposition." I grin, punching her shoulder. She cracks a smile. "So cheer up, buttercup. This poor me, rock-bottom thing is super unlike you, and it's totally raining on the whole fact that we just beat a freaking sphinx! We need to celebrate rather than stare into the flames woefully! What do you say?"

"You are a disgusting amount of sunshine stuffed into a tiny human body, you know that?" She tells me, wrinkling her nose up in disgust.

"I'm 5"7!" I retort. "I'm not tiny; I'm taller than you!"

"There is still an unnatural amount sunshine in your body. Seriously, how are you this happy all the time? I feel like I need to constantly wear sunglasses around you." She continues. This time I properly shove her. Hazel cackles, leaning her head on my shoulder. "In all seriousness though Keeks, I love the over-excessive sunshine. It perfectly balances out my—"

"Complete lack of affection?" I finish for her. She laughs.

"Yeah. That."

I grin, resting my head on top of hers. "We're like the perfect angel and devil combo that sit on a person's shoulders."

"Poor Ahmose." She comments. I smile a little, before sobering up.

"You have to stop giving him a hard time, Hazel." I say, my gaze unwittingly flickering up to where he'd disappeared off into the night. "He doesn't want any of this. It's not his fault Ma'at cursed him."

"Are you sure?" She asks. I start, staring at her, and she holds her hands up in the air. "Look Keeks, I'm not trying to condemn the guy or automatically assume that he's lying to us. But he hasn't exactly told us why he was cursed in the first place, and he's being incredibly cryptic when it comes to the past. I wouldn't be lying if I said that didn't worry me a little."

"He told me why he was cursed." I tell her quietly, and her head jerks up in surprise. "He said it was because he loved the daughter of the pharoah, and the pharoah cursed him because of that."

"And you believe that?" She asks incredulously. "Kiara, that's literally the most generic reason in the world for someone to be cursed."

"I do." I reply. Hazel scoffs.

"Why? You've known the dude for all of," She checks her watch. "Six days, Kiara. Six."

"Because I have this gut feeling that he wouldn't lie to me. Ever." I tell her honestly. "Even if I have only known him for six days, it feels like I've known him my whole life. I trust him completely. I don't know how to explain it."

She sighs, giving me a dubious look. "If you say so, Kiara. Personally, I still don't trust him. I think there's more to his story that he's not telling us."

"If there is, I'm sure he has a good reason for it." I reply lightly. She rolls her eyes. "Either way, he's stuck with us for another ninety-four days, so if he is hiding something, the truth will come out eventually."

"Or we die." She deadpans. I laugh.

"We're not going to die, Hazel."

"We're on a curse-breaking mission with a mummy, facing what I'm sure will be several creatures that should only exist in myth." She retorts dryly. "Yes, we're totally safe from the possibility of imminent death."

I shake my head, biting back a smile. "Go to sleep, Hazel."

"Sleep? Who needs sleep?" Hazel scoffs, just as a massive yawn rips through her. I quirk an eyebrow at her, and she smiles sheepishly. "Oh, shut up. You need sleep too though, Chosen-One."

"I know." I shrug a little. "I think I'll stay up until Ahmose returns, though. Just to be safe."

"Aw, do you think you're all brave now you beat a sphinx?" She teases. "Are you going to be our first line of defense when the coyotes come a-howling for American blood?"

I shiver involuntarily, casting a furtive eye around the camp at her words. Not coyotes. "Maybe."

"Kiara, you won't last a minute." Hazel tells me wryly. "We'll be fine. Ahmose won't have gone very far. Besides, he's a freaking mummy; I'm like ninety-percent sure he'll at least have super hearing alongside that wacky hair-growing trick he has. He'll hear it if anything comes near us. But you won't if you're basically dead from lack of sleep. So come on."

I hesitate, biting my lip as I glance out at the darkness again. But then remaining adrenaline I was running on fizzles out like a flame, rendering me to a state close to collapsing into a heap on the floor. So, after a couple more seconds of internal deliberation, I allow Hazel's argument to persuade me and crawl into the blissful comfort of my sleeping bag.