It was hot. Too hot.
We’d been in the desert for two days. Tewy was limp against my neck, making things worse, but I couldn’t bring myself to move him. He struggled more than the rest of us. Poor little monkey.
“Nikon, do we have any water to spare? I think Tewy could use some,” I said.
“Yes.” The sand rustled, as he came over to me. “Come here, Tewy.”
My monkey bolted from my shoulder, probably hearing what he was about to get.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Certainly. I was hoping to make things last until we got to Sirya, but at the rate we’re going, we’re going to have to stop in Itpy.”
“Is that safe?” Zoe asked from off to my right. Kaius was close too. Where one was, the other could be found.
She brought up a good question, though. We’d left Itpy on foul terms. I couldn’t imagine it was any better now.
“We’ll be careful,” Nikon replied. “I’ll go into town and get supplies, while the rest of you wait nearby.”
“I don’t think you’re the best choice to go in,” Kaius said as we continued walking. “You’re more recognizable with your nose.”
“And I don’t have anything to hide it with,” Nikon grumbled.
That was right—his nose had been broken a couple of times. I hadn’t realized he’d disguised it before, but it made sense.
“Besides,” Kaius continued, “I’d rather you stayed with Zoe and Cassandra. With warriors after us, we might need the help out here. You’re the best fighter we have. I’d feel better if you stayed with the women. I’ll go into town.”
I wanted to protest and say I’d go, but I’d be the most likely to be caught. I was familiar with the part of Itpy we’d lived in, but hadn’t been in the entire city. I likely would have gotten lost, not to mention bumped into something if I couldn’t use my cane.
“I should go,” Zoe chimed in. “I’m the least likely to be recognized or stopped, since I don’t look threatening. And don’t you give me that look, Kaius. I’m the best one for this job. I’ve done more dangerous things for the rebellion before. I can handle this.”
“She’s right, though I don’t like it.” I didn’t want my friend to end up recaptured by the warriors, but if she was… Well, she wouldn’t be for long. Either that, or I’d end up in jail with her. “We can make arrangements when we’re closer, but if you don’t come back, we’ll have to go in after you,” I said.
“All the more reason to not get caught,” she replied.
“I don’t like this,” Kaius said.
“That makes two of us,” Nikon added.
I huffed. “It’s hard to let someone else be the hero, but Zoe’s really the best option. I believe she can do this. Don’t you two?”
“She can,” Nikon conceded. “But it’s not without peril, no matter how stealthy you are. And if you happen to be caught, Zoe, it’s doubtful we’ll be successful in rescuing you a second time.”
The sand slopped over my feet, the grains heated from the pressing sun.
“I understand,” she said.
I did as well, though I didn’t like it. I scowled. What if something happened to her? I couldn't stand something happening to her.
The steps around me came to a sudden halt. The snick of a sword being drawn.
I gripped my cane and asked, “What happened?”
“They’re afraid of me,” a familiar, deep female voice said.
The sphinx. She’d found me. Claws of panic sliced through me. The scalding heat of the day was nothing, compared to them. I would either answer her question correctly or die.
“I have a life, but none of my own. I bleed when torn. When I awake, I never die, until the very last one. You take me away, and I’m left with none.”
“Don’t answer,” Nikon said. “I’ll fight her off.”
“Such a little man, to take on a great beast,” the sphinx taunted.
Someone pulled me back—must have been Kaius because I didn’t recognize their grip. The hands that kept me from moving stayed on my shoulders, as the voices in front of me continued.
The slice of a metal weapon being drawn came from farther off than I wanted. Nikon said, “You can’t have Cassandra.”
But she could. There wasn’t a thing we could do to stop her. She was huge, fast, and strong. My breathing went ragged. How had I put myself in this situation? Put my friends here? At least I could manage to get them out alive if I didn’t make it. But my parents and the rebellion… They needed me.
I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to think. There was an inkling of an idea, but if I got it wrong, all would go down the death river.
“If she has the answer, it’s a simple task to give it to me. I’ve given her more than ample time to think on it. I’ve been more than fair.” While the sphinx’s words were true, it didn’t make me like the situation any more.
I wanted to run screaming, but it would do no good. I wracked my mind for an answer and cursed myself for it not being there, though I might have an inkling. I should have spent more time on it, though, and remembered that the sphinx would find me in the desert.
“Why do you want an answer? Can’t you simply leave us alone?” Zoe called out.
The deep, throaty laugh sent a zip of cold through me, even in the broiling desert. “And ruin my plan? I think not,” the sphinx said.
Her plan that meant my ruin. A rustle of movement headed toward me—fast.
Nikon yelled, “Don’t go near her.”
As the scuffle came closer, I ignored the grip on me and twisted my cane apart. My friends were in danger because of me.
I pulled free, surprised when Kaius let me go, and marched forward, waving my sticks about so I wouldn’t fall unheeded into the fight.
Three steps in, Nikon yelled, “Keep back, Cassandra.”
I wanted to call back to him but didn’t dare give the impression it was the reply and get myself killed.
“There’s a simple way to stop your death,” the sphinx taunted. “Tell me the answer, and I’ll let you live.”
Could she read minds? There was a chance she could, as it felt as if she responded to my thoughts. A low laugh from her confirmed my fears.
I had to do something. Standing here doing nothing would not help Nikon, Tewy, Zoe, and Kaius.
“Is that what it will take, to get you to give any sort of reply?” she asked. “Attacking your friends? So be it.”
A deafening growl rent the air.
My friends and I were doomed.