by Bonnie Lamer
Eventually, the air around Eliana begins to settle. The final grains of sand move to the side. Now, she is standing on the precipice of the hole she dug and peering down at what she found. Tentatively, the rest of us move closer, eager to see what she has uncovered but not wanting to disturb her sand piles.
Honestly, I expected something bigger. My imagination is probably skewed by the size of the pyramids, not to mention the temple of Isis we discovered. Compared to those buildings, this one is tiny. But, it is still a decent sized temple, I suppose. It could probably hold fifty or so people.
“Are you teleporting us down there?” Jenna asks, glancing over the edge. The temple is a good thirty feet down.
“That would be best,” Kallen says. “We do not want to disturb the sand.”
Nodding, I say, “I agree.”
Before I can make a move to start teleporting everyone, Josh asks, “What about traps? Any idea what we can expect to run into?”
I groan aloud. “I forgot about ancient Egyptian traps.” All of their sacred buildings were equipped with them.
Eliana shrugs. “Other than leading us here, Ra hasn’t communicated anything about the place.”
“Helpful,” Sam mutters under his breath. I appreciate his muttering. It saves me the trouble.
“The best we can do is proceed with caution, then,” I say, trying to sound encouraging.
“Why don’t you and I go first,” Eliana suggests. “Kallen can keep an eye on things up here until we figure out how to get inside. Just in case there is more unwanted company.”
“I doubt there is a chance of running into more gun runners,” Josh points out, knowing full well that she could detect any incoming danger of that sort. He’s not fooled. She’s just trying to keep him safe.
“It should only take a minute to figure out how to get in,” I tell him, giving Kallen a pleading glance. I can’t blame Eliana for wanting to protect Josh and her friends whenever she can. When Kallen doesn’t look convinced, either, I add, “If there is a trap, it would be silly for all of us to get caught in it. If you stay here, you could rescue us.” I add my best convincing smile to my words.
My smile must work. Still not liking the idea of staying behind, Kallen reluctantly agrees to it. After all, the non-magical people would have a much more difficult time rescuing us if we needed it. “As soon as you have the temple open, you are coming back for us, correct?”
“Of course,” I say, trying to sound as honest as I can. It really depends on what we find.
Kallen narrows his eyes. “I will not hesitate to slide down the sand if you do not come back.”
He would, too, which would be dangerous. With a grimace, I nod in acknowledgement. “Got it.”
Her voice full of excitement, Jenna urges, “Hurry back, please!”
After giving Josh an appeasing kiss on the cheek, which does not appease him at all, Eliana holds her hand out to me. I grab it and teleport us to the front of the temple. Actually, a few feet away from the front of the temple just in case there is some sort of trap at the door. Cautiously, we take a few steps forward, scanning the area for any sign of a trip switch or anything of the sort.
“Boo!”
My heart stops for a moment, and in unison, Eliana and I turn and glare up at Sam. He is laughing until Josh punches him hard in the arm. Kallen gives Josh a satisfied grin. He likes how he deals with his friend since it is exactly what Kallen would have done to Kegan in the same situation. Sam is not as appreciative of the gesture. He rubs his arm and glares at Josh.
Getting back to what we’re doing, Eliana and I inch closer. The building before us is square with a flat roof. There are three steps leading up to the door, which is the only opening. There are no windows. The bricks that make up the temple look ready to crumble, but I suspect that there was magic involved in their creation. This building has withstood thousands of years of whatever the desert threw at it, and it will continue to stand for thousands more.
We make it to the door without incident only to find there is no handle. I feel around looking for a switch or lever to open it, but find nothing. “Any suggestions?” I ask.
Instead of responding, Eliana steps to the door. She reaches out and places a hand on it. A soft, greenish glow begins to emanate outward from where she is touching. Soon, the entire door is glowing. The glow turns to a brilliant flash of light, and when our retinas have recovered, we find that the door has disappeared completely.
“Um, I hope that comes back,” I mutter. We need to lock the place back up when we leave. It would be rude to do otherwise. Not to mention seriously piss off the Phoenix if she found her temple without a door and her ashes missing.
“I think it does,” Eliana says, but she’s just as surprised as I am. We wait a minute to make sure nothing comes flying out of the temple. When nothing does, she says, “I think it’s safe.”
“I’ll get the others,” I say with a nod and teleport back to the top of the huge hole in the sand. I hold my hands out, and Kallen, Josh, Jenna and Sam eagerly grab my arms. In a blink, we are all standing in front of the now door-less temple.
“You broke it?” Sam exclaims.
“It disappeared when Eliana touched it. She’s pretty sure it’ll come back, though,” I assure him. I really hope she’s right.
“Do we go right in?” Jenna asks nervously. “Or do we throw a rock or something in first just to be safe?”
“I like the rock idea,” Josh replies.
“How about a magical one,” Kallen suggests since no one wants to go digging around through the sand looking for a rock. He creates a decent size stone in his hand. “Care to do the honors?” he asks Jenna.
In awe that he created a stone out of nothing, Jenna reaches for it. Once it is firmly in her hand, she turns back to the door and tosses it through. Nothing happens. We wait a few seconds in case there is a delayed reaction. Still, nothing happens. Either this place is not filled with traps, or it is just trying to lure us inside before trying to kill us. I suspect the latter.
“Does that mean it’s safe?” Jenna asks.
“One way to find out,” Eliana says with a sigh. She takes a step over the threshold. Fortunately, she does not burst into flames or anything equally as horrible.
The rest of us huddle in after her. Inside, we find ourselves in a narrow hall just barely wide enough for us to fit side by side in twos. The sun illuminates only a few feet in, so we can’t see where the hall leads. Stating the obvious, I say quietly, “We need light.” I’m not sure why I’m whispering. I doubt there is anyone else here. Then again, some traps could be noise activated.
Josh reaches out and grabs a torch from the wall. “Eliana, will you please help us out with that?” In an instant, the end of the torch is aflame. “Thanks,” he says with a smile. Holding the torch in front of him, he begins to walk forward.
“Maybe any traps that are here won’t go off because Ra is with us,” Jenna suggests hopefully.
“Could be,” Eliana replies. I don’t hear much hope in her voice, though. Not very reassuring. Still, she reaches out and catches Josh’s shoulder to stop his forward progress. “If that is the case, I should go first.”
“It is likely that the Phoenix would have wanted the place warded against everyone. Including its maker,” Josh insists.
“I was afraid someone would say that,” I grumble, believing he may be right. If the ashes of the Phoenix do carry her essence, she wouldn’t want anyone to have control over them. Including the person storing them for her.
“Then how do you explain us getting inside?” Jenna counters.
As if to answer her question, the door that disappeared a moment ago reappears. Firmly in place and sealed shut. Turns out there’s no handle on this side, either. I really hope that Eliana’s touching trick works again when we want to leave.
“Perhaps getting in was not what we needed to worry about,” Kallen says quietly, voicing the fear echoing around in my head.
�
��Let’s keep going,” Josh urges. “We can worry about the door after we find what we came for.” If there are any clues to find. Reaching out, Josh grabs another torch from the wall. He lights it with the one Eliana set aflame, and he hands it to Kallen. When Eliana cocks a brow in his direction, he shrugs and says, “I figured you would want your hands free.”
“Good point,” Eliana acknowledges. Squaring her shoulders, she begins to move forward.
Now that we can see more of the temple, we discover that the entry hall is only about ten feet long. At the end, we can go either left or right. I hate choices like that. I am always positive I am going to pick the one that lands us in a lake of lava as opposed to bringing us to the gold room or something equally as lucky. In this case, the ashes room. I never would have predicted that I would find ashes more valuable than gold. Then again, I never would have predicted most things that have happened to me. Fortune teller I am not.
“Do we split up?” Jenna asks.
Shaking his head, Kallen replies, “That would not be wise. Any traps are going to be magical. Best that we keep our power to resist them concentrated.” Suddenly, I feel like laundry soap or floor cleaner. Concentrated for better results.
I do agree with him, though. Kallen didn’t need to add ‘because traps made by ancient gods are super powerful’ to back up his words. That’s just a given. Whatever we are about to face is going to suck. Majorly suck. I can feel it in my bones. My bones are rarely wrong even if my mind sucks at predicting things.
Proving me right, a giant blade swings from the ceiling. Jenna lets out a shriek as it comes straight for her. There is nowhere for her to move, so Sam valiantly steps in front of her to protect her from it. I appreciate his bravery and potential sacrificing of his own life, but the blade is stopped by both my and Kallen’s magic before it comes close to doing anyone harm. No one is getting sliced in half by an ancient Egyptian blade on our watch. Not right this minute, at least. The day is still young, though. Best not to get too cocky.
The blade was not the only thing that stopped. I believe it takes a moment for Sam’s heart to start beating again. He was positive he was a goner. Considering how sharp the blade looks, he would have been. With a shaky voice, he says, “Neat trick, thanks.”
“So much for Ra’s presence keeping us safe from traps,” Jenna says wryly. She gives Eliana a guilty look. “Sorry.”
Eliana shrugs. “It’s true. Apparently, Josh was right. I really can’t blame her. The Phoenix wanted this place to be safe for her ashes.”
Turning to Sam, Jenna wraps her arms around him. “You stood in front of the blade for me.”
Sam shrugs off her gratitude, but he hugs her back tightly. Staring up at the thing that almost killed him, he says, “Honestly, I think it would have gone right through me and kept going.” It does look awfully sharp for a thousands of years old blade. Maybe the Phoenix takes the time to sharpen it whenever she’s in town. Or magic keeps it sharp. Yeah, probably that.
“Not that holding this blade in place isn’t fun,” I begin, “but which way do you want to go now?” Standing in one spot for too long in here is making me nervous. The floor beneath us might give out or something.
Glancing up at the blade Kallen and I are still holding, Josh says sheepishly, “Oh, sorry.” He turns to Eliana. “Are you feeling a pull in either direction?”
“Left,” she replies, beginning to walk that way. She lets out a loud ‘oomph’ when she runs into a brick wall that wasn’t there a minute ago.
“That must be the right way if the temple is trying to keep us out,” I say, moving closer to the wall. I reach a hand out and pull it back when I get a sharp zap running up my arm. “Ow!” Annoyed, I pull magic, ready to zap it back. Yes, I can be childish that way, but that hurt.
Kallen puts a staying hand on my arm. “Retaliation is probably not the answer here.”
Scowling up at him, I demand, “When did you become the Dalai Lama?” Behind me, Sam snickers, but Kallen is completely lost by the reference.
Ignoring my Cowan snark instead of asking for an explanation, Kallen replies, “There is writing on the wall now. I believe they are hieroglyphics.”
“He’s right,” Eliana says in surprise. I’m surprised too since the wall was blank a moment ago. Eliana moves closer to the wall again to study the writing. Learning from my mistake, she is careful not to touch it. After a moment, she says, “It’s a riddle of some sort.”
Trying to keep the impatience out of his voice, Josh asks, “What does it say?”
Taking her time to make sure she is deciphering the hieroglyphics correctly, Eliana slowly reads,
“To pass through this wall:
She will come with a voice that lures but breath that repels.
She will come with eyes that reflect the grass but ears that hear the sky.
She will come with hooved feet but reptilian legs.
She will come with the shadow of a mammoth but the stature of one who strikes fear in those with magic.
She will come with skin of scales but hair of silk.
She will come with a scent sweeter than all in the universe but will reek to heaven.
She will come with the need to call upon the earth but will bend the laws of natural order.
She will come with two hearts of mortality but the souls of the eternal.”
“I admit, I don’t know enough about other realms to know if this creature exists, but it doesn’t seem possible,” Josh remarks when Eliana is finished reading. Taking out his phone, he begins taking pictures of the wall. Good idea considering none of us has a photographic memory, and the writing could disappear as quickly as it appeared.
“Because it is not one creature.” All eyes turn to Kallen, and he continues, “I am not sure what the Phoenix wants, but I believe she is talking about different beings…”
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence. A force so powerful that not even those of us with magic are able to fight it pushes us against the walls of the temple. Flames surround us, licking at us, ready to taste our flesh. The heat is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Even the Demon inferno felt mild compared to this. We struggle against the magic holding us captive, but it is no use. We are pinned in place and no amount of magic Kallen or I throw at it makes a difference. Eliana attempts to use her power, as well, but she is no more successful than we are. This trap was not created by Ra. This one must have been created by the Phoenix, and she seems to really hate company. Especially the uninvited kind.
Suddenly, a voice whispers through our minds, singing neural synapses as it goes. If we survive, we are all going to have migraines. “You have overstepped, Ra. Even you do not have the right to come here. It is only our ancient friendship which prevents me from killing these mortals you brought to my sacred sanctuary.”
Eliana’s mouth opens, but the voice that passes her lips is not her own. It is deep and rich, and very masculine with an underlying threat. It is like velvet wrapped around lava. Soft, smooth and dangerous. “You have broken your oath to the universe, my dearest one. I have come to help you find your way.”
“You speak to me of breaking oaths? You left this world, leaving these mortals to find their own way, and they found nothing but destruction and pain.”
Eliana shakes her head, and Ra’s voice says, “They have found much more than that. There is more good in this universe than there is evil.”
The Phoenix’s voice is growing agitated. “The balance has shifted.”
“Perfect balance will never be maintained. It is impossible. The slightest shift can unbalance the scales. But the weight of one good deed outweighs a hundred evil ones. For this reason, the odds will always be against evil.”
“You have always been a fool, my love.” Ouch. The Phoenix sounds like she really means that.
Ra is not offended. “I have been called worse,” he offers. “Tell me what I can do to change your current path.”
“You are fond of riddles, so I have given y
ou one. Only, you must let the mortals figure it out on their own. If they are capable.” I try hard not to be offended. It doesn’t work. In a message meant for the rest of us before she departs, the Phoenix warns, “Do not return without her.”
The last echo of the Phoenix’s voice is accompanied by a sharp increase in the heat of the inferno around us. Just as I fear our skin is going to melt off, the magic holding us becomes a fierce pressure against our bodies. It is no longer just holding us in place, it is crushing us. How the hell are we supposed to return with some magical creature if this trap kills us first? I continue to struggle against it, but my magic is still useless. I can’t even turn my head to see how Kallen is faring. Great, I’m going to die without even a final look at my husband.
Fortunately, the Phoenix has other plans. That is, if I consider a massive amount of pain fortunate. With a final twist of magic, we are literally shoved through the wall of the temple like it’s jelly. The magic propels us back to the top of the hole and drops us on our backs in the hot sand. We can only watch in awe as the mountains of sand Eliana so carefully dug out are pulled back to the temple, all of its walls still intact despite our burrowing through one of them, and burying it once more.
My entire body aches as I lie here. But, I’m still alive, so I’ll take the massive amount of pain as a win. Besides, I don’t think anything is actually broken. I move my arms and legs a little bit just to be certain I can. I notice I am not the only one doing this. Kallen reaches out and winds his fingers with mine and squeezes.
“Well, that sucked,” Sam gasps through a mouthful of sand.
Yes. Yes, it did.
10 Chapter
“King of The Understatement,” Josh grumbles to his friend from where he is lying next to Eliana.
“I would just like to say, I don’t like the magical adventures you have with these guys,” Sam announces, pushing himself to a sitting position and pointing at Kallen and me.
