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The next thing Nick knew, he was standing between some hills which overlooked a harbor. Travel by god, cool!
Nick took in the view. He thought by now he should be used to strangeness, what with the Siren, his dad, Heph, a talking statue and three Cyclopes. Yet, that didn’t stop him from flinching when he saw what curled over one hill: some wack creature bearing a woman’s head on a lion’s body. As Nick looked closer, he saw she had eagle’s wings and a serpent’s head on her tail.
“Excuse me,” said Nick, taking a few steps forward. “Uh, wassup?”
“You are not afraid?” asked the creature, ruffling her wings to create a fairly strong breeze.
“Should I be?”
“Oh yes,” she said, extending a tawny paw. “For you cannot enter Thebes without getting past me.”
“O . . . kay,” said Nick. Was he going to have to fight her when he didn’t know how?
“You do not know me?” she asked, looking kind of hurt.
“Sorry, I—"
“I am the Sphinx,” she said, “one who asks a riddle. If you answer, you may proceed; if not, I shall have you for lunch.”
“That’s some choice,” said Nick. “But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Egypt?”
The Sphinx looked disgusted.
“That is merely a replica. It is not, as I am, alive.”
“I can see that,” said Nick, wishing he were in Cairo.
“Are you ready?” she asked. “I should tell you that just this week, I’ve eaten a dozen men.”
“You must be full.”
“In fact,” she went on, “Oedipus was the only one who ever answered correctly.”
Nick started to feel some hope.
“And you allowed him to go?”
“I had to. Of course, since he’d killed his father and went on to marry his mother, he ended up blinding himself.”
“Sweet,” said Nick, though he didn’t feel it.
“Well, here is,” said the Sphinx. “My riddle.” She crossed her paws over the hill. “What has spawned all manner of monsters—including me, and one you’ll fall in love with—has a hundred heads, two-hundred vipers for legs, and lies between a cone and an island?”
“Oh boy,” said Nick. Just his luck—this Sphinx could be on Jeopardy. “Could I have a clue?” he asked.
“No,” she answered, rolling her black-rimmed eyes.
“How much time do I have?”
“Forever,” she said, “though I hope you don’t take that long. I hate it when there’s a line.”
“Hmm,” said Nick, taking off his helmet. Okay, whatever it was must be like Lady Gaga: all those little monsters. And it was a monster too—what with its heads and snakes—but the part that really got him was “lying between a cone and island.” He really had no idea: what kind of cone exactly? All he could think of was ice cream. As far as islands, hadn’t Ya-Ya told him that Greece was made up of them? Somehow, none of this helped.
“Hmm,” said Nick, desperately trying to stall.
“Give up?” asked the Sphinx. “I won’t judge, just eat you.”
“Wait.”
What had his dad told him when they were all in the kitchen? Something about Mt. Etna—but where was it again? Nick thought of the boot-shaped sign that hung outside Mike’s Pizza. Oh yeah, Sicily. But was that really an island? Nick tried to picture Mike’s map: he could see Italy, with Sicily right below. That was it! Sicily must be an island, since there was only one Italy.
“Well?” asked the Sphinx, flexing her hard black nails.
“Okay,” he said. “So, this thing spawned you—it must be your mom or dad. It’s hideous, and part of it . . . uh . . . if it lies between a cone and an island . . . it must be pretty big. Like it’s stretched out beneath those two things?”
“Get to the point,” said the Sphinx. “I’m immortal, but now I wish I wasn’t.”
“Well, since I can’t phone a friend, I’m going with Typhoon. Yeah, Typhoon.”
“YOU LOSE!” roared the Sphinx. She tensed her feline muscles in preparation to pounce.
“Wait! That wasn’t my final answer. It’s not Typhoon, it’s Typhon. TYPHON!” Nick yelled. He held up his shield and even unsheathed his sword.
“No!” shrieked the Sphinx, the snake’s head on her tail hissing. “Like Oedipus, you have killed me. You men are all alike!”
Nick watched in amazement as she lifted her paws from the cliff, went flying over the others, and threw herself in the sea!
“Whoa,” Nick exhaled.
Why would anyone do that?
