The Offering
The stairs felt steeper under the weight of everything he didn’t want to face. He didn’t know what to do. Standing in the massive foyer, Ben examined the long haul up the three flights of stairs to the attic—the highest point he knew of without getting on the roof. He hadn’t visited in a while because the room itself was unsettling. The cramped space was always too dark, despite the lights that hung from the ceiling.
“I’ve cracked. This is it. I’ve lost it.”
His trembling hands were sweaty and cold.
The idea of being insane bothered him more than all of it being real. Without looking at the hole in the floor, he rushed up the stairs toward his room on the second floor. Denial was his only shield from what was happening to him.
He slammed his bedroom door shut and rested upon it for a moment, catching what breath he could. The click of the lock calmed him enough that he finally abandoned the false safety behind the door and went over to his cluttered desk. Pulling out the chair, he sat down in front of the computer monitor and hit the power switch. While the PC whirled to life, he picked up the phone and dialed his mother’s cell number.
Pulling the receiver up to his ear, he waited with little patience for only a few moments before giving up. The silence on the other end was louder than any scream.
He tried twice more before throwing the phone. The plastic shattered like teeth against the wall and rained down onto the carpet. The phone was broken, and he didn’t feel any better. Smart.
“Where the hell are you?”
The computer beeped on with confidence, grabbing Ben’s attention. Using the mouse, he clicked on the little earth icon to pull up the Internet. Four windows opened up at once, but each one had the same bad news. No connection. His heart sank.
He had lost complete contact with the outside world. The crushing realization that he was alone came down on him all at once. He was just a kid. What was he supposed to do? He knew crying wasn’t the best decision for someone his age, but it was becoming an option.
Scared and alone, he sat at his desk, weighing his options. Going backwards wasn’t possible, and if there was any hope of getting out of this, forward seemed to be his only choice.
Opening the desk drawer, he pulled out a small medallion with a three legged crow on it. Of all the things he had, this was the only thing he really cared about. The weight in his hand brought memories of his grandfather and how he had wanted to see Ben become a man. They had been friends when Ben was growing up and losing him had been devastating.
As he sat there looking down at the symbol engraved on it, he thought about what Grandpa Jack would have done in that situation. How he would act if faced with something so big. He would have marched forward with courage like he did in the war.
Placing the round memento in his pocket, Ben stood up with a bit more courage than before. He grabbed a four-inch pocket knife from the top drawer. It snapped open, fitting with perfect ease against the contour of his palm and fingers. He closed it and put it in his pocket. With his memento, and a weapon, he left.
The attic was strange with all of its abandoned nostalgic treasures stored away. There were so many relics from his life as he passed through the room on his way to the back where the small light bulb’s illumination couldn’t reach.
Like the past itself, these items were hidden from the present in order to keep the previous life's memories at bay. His family had given up on these things in order to move forward with their lives. Pictures and trinkets filled up box after box, creating a museum of wasted sentiment for Ben to maneuver through.
A constant cold breeze hit him in the face as he got closer to the back. The air was different the further he got from the door. There was fresh air coming from somewhere in the darkness while the rest of the attic seemed stale and sour. The dread crept up behind him as he moved.
While moving in the darkness, something sticky touched his arm. His hand was covered in webbing. Ben swung his arm, trying to bring down as much webbing as he could. It clung to his skin and clothes. Spiders were probably crawling on him now.
He knew he had found the corner because there was a static darkness before him. It was unlike anything he had seen before. It shimmered like oil, almost liquid in how it moved.
“This has to be it.”
“What was the word again? Something with an S. Sira Sirat…”
“Shirak.” The words left his lips as the magic came over him.
At that moment, the shadows opened and a small light the size of a coin appeared in the blackness. He didn’t know why, but instead of the knife, he took the coin from his pocket and clenched it tight. He stepped through the small gap, trying not to trip and fall and found himself standing in golden sand.
Its beautiful reflective gleam helped him see as he walked through the cramped passage. The walls began to turn from hard gray stone to brilliant specks of crystal that caught the light. Ben came to a large cavern with a high ceiling. Behind him, the attic entrance had disappeared; leaving only the thick void he had just fumbled through.
The tall ceiling was rough and craggy with veins of crystal running across it. Specks of light reflected off the minerals in the rock, creating a starry night across the cave’s ceiling. The golden sand on the floor settled under his feet as he stepped further into the glistening grotto.
To his left was a large conical fire that almost touched the ceiling. Its powerful heat was enough to singe the hair off any man’s face, something inside the flame grabbed his attention. With his arm up to shield his face, he approached the intense blaze to investigate the four black dots in the center. There, within an impossible reach, and glowing red hot, were four egg-shaped stones.
“Curious being, the Phoenix,” said a voice to Ben’s immediate left. He jerked around and there, on a ledge at eye level, was a creature with its head tucked under a wing of iridescent feathers. It revealed its feline head as it stretched with its front paws out and its back legs up. Thin, fine grooves were left in the stone where the creature’s claws scraped it with razor sharpness. Ben took a cautious step back, keeping the fire between them.
“A-are you the Sphinx?” Ben asked, with a noticeable stutter in his voice.
He didn’t need an answer. The creature before him was a beautiful mixture of cat, human, and bird, taking all the best qualities of each. Its regal presence was seen most in how well groomed it was. Pristine feathers. Glossy fur. It radiated a regal, unnatural grace. That creature could only be the Sphinx.
“The bird lives its life, born from the flame, and then when it’s time to give birth, it returns to the flame to incubate its young. They are truly amazing and can be quite tasty if you can catch them between each transformation,” the Sphinx said, flashing a toothy grin. It got up and started moving around in catlike fashion. It scratched the fur on its neck against the sharp edge of the wall and purred a bit as it did.
Ben stepped to the side as the Sphinx moved closer. Ben stumbled backwards and pulled his knife with the grace of a startled dog.
“Stay back.”
Ben knew that if he could keep the flame between them, he might have a chance at escape if it decided to eat him. It wasn’t the best plan, but he couldn’t think with his heart beating in his ears. Every instinct screamed: Run!
A blade? How boring. Put it away. I can only eat if the riddle isn’t solved. You can wield your little knife then. Would you like to hear the riddle?” it asked with that same devious grin. “You don’t seem very bright, so I’m going to offer you another deal. Bring me a worthy offering, and I’ll reward you.”
The Sphinx glared into the fire at the eggs.
“Um, what’s… your name?” Ben asked, trying to lighten the mood as he tried to unlock the blade so he could close it. His hands were shaking, but he finally managed it.
“Name? Hmmm.” The creature paused with a distant look on its face. It was obvious that most visitors didn’t entertain such candor with the being.
“I…I’m not sure; it’s been so long since I’ve had visitors and even longer since anyone’s asked that, if ever. I seem to have forgotten if I ever even had one to start with. Either way, it’s not important to the matter at hand. Now, my proposal?”
“I don’t know if I should,” Ben said.
“Take some time to think. To consider,” the Sphinx said, before curling up in a ball to sleep. It lifted its head once more and said, “I have eternity, but do hurry. Hunger doesn’t go away on its own.”
Feeling a bit more comfortable with the creature resting, Ben wandered around the lair a bit. The cold breeze that had led him there was coming from the entrance of the cave where the phoenix had laid its eggs.
He looked out across a massive range of sierras that stretched on past the horizon. The tall mountain peaks were jagged, like the bent teeth of a busted saw blade, and the ground below was obscured by a blanket of thick clouds. Ben, taken aback by the scene, felt his chest tighten at the sheer height. With an immense sense of awe and a small helping of fear, he stood there watching as creatures with immeasurable wing spans flew across the sky out in the distance.
“How is this possible?” Ben asked.
“How is anything possible?” the Sphinx replied, appearing next to him. It preened, as if reveling in its ambiguous response.
The amazing creatures were unlike anything Ben had ever imagined. They were reminiscent of dragons, but with almost no neck and a leathery hide where scales should have been. Their mouths were beaks, ending in sharp points that glistened in the sun every time they shifted in flight. The grace they exhibited was unlike any bird, as they flipped and turned so quickly it was almost too hard to keep up with them. Ben stood there for a moment in silence and watched as the large winged animals soared through the air competing in mock battles, fighting and releasing before any real damage could be done. They were living swords, slicing and jutting through the air as though it were a simple task anyone could complete.
“I’ve never seen anything like these creatures,” Ben said.
The Sphinx looked up at him with a smug smile and asked, “But you’ve seen something like me before?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’ve seen Sphinx statues before and other creatures in books, but never anything quite like this,” Ben said, squinting against the sun. Suddenly, one of the creatures took a dive and soared down, landing on a plateau below. He watched as little specks that could only be people approached and bound it with rope. It put up little fight as they captured and restrained it.
“What’s that down there?” he asked, pointing. On the plateau were large pointed buildings that were barely visible through the low-hanging clouds. It was an entire city masked by the thick haze that clung to the mountains. The people scrambled to subdue the creature as Ben and the Sphinx watched. They heard a loud screech as the beast was forced into submission.
“Eh, those sorcerers are at it again. It's tragic, but it doesn’t bother me much. Those damn wyverns are bothersome and often defecate on my perch here,” the Sphinx said.
“The sorcerers have tried on more than one occasion to get up here to me, but they always fail. I guess you could call them collectors, or even preservers, but I call them trophy hunters. Granted, they don’t kill all the creatures they trap, but that glorified prison isn’t much better, if you ask me.”
“They want to capture you?” Ben asked.
“Something like that. Now, don’t bother yourself with Leng, or those incessant necromancers. They’re just a bunch of overly self-important wizards trying to figure out the secrets of the universe. They should know that anything worth knowing can only be learned from a good riddle. Speaking of, there is the matter of my empty stomach at hand and that is a much more pressing issue.”
The Sphinx turned and made its way back inside the cave. Ben stayed behind, watching as the other wyverns circled. They flew around as if aware that their friend was being pulled into a building, clawing and screaming for its life. His chest tightened. He couldn’t watch anymore.
Ben knew it was the riddle or the eggs. The Sphinx had made it clear what it wanted. It didn’t care about the eggs. Not until they were ready. That’s why it waited up there.
Even though the eggs were surrounded by fire, Ben’s only option was to come up with a way to get one to the sphinx. Shuffling around the room looking for answers, Ben almost tripped over something buried in the sand. There, below him, was a bleached white skull covered by the sparkling granules. Curious, he dusted it off and saw that it was accompanied by even more remains just beneath the surface. It became obvious that these must have been the leftovers from the creature’s kills. Digging the bones out gave Ben an idea.
It was either offer an egg, or fight with his knife. The decision was made for him.
Bending over, Ben grabbed large handfuls of the golden sand, but the granules rushed from his palms almost as fast as he could scoop them up. After thinking for a second, Ben removed his shirt, set it on the ground, and started covering it with sand. Once full, he picked it up and dumped the sand over the fire. Its flames were reduced, but not doused. He continued the process, working as fast as he could. As he smothered the blaze, a loud screech emitted from it as though it were a living entity. The molten sand was working.
Thinking fast, he rushed over and grabbed a bone from one of the Sphinx’s unfortunate victims. After dumping even more sand over the fire, he used the bone to push one of the eggs out of the flames, just in time for the fire to erupt anew. The heat seared his hand before he could pull away.
“Ah,” he yelled, yanking his hand back on instinct.
“Oh, how fortunate for you. The flames of the Phoenix are far less forgiving than the heat they put off,” the Sphinx said. It approached with a bounce in its step that portrayed the creature’s amusement in Ben’s misfortune.
“How about that riddle now?”
“You said if I fed you, you would reward me,” Ben said.
“Did I? I’m not sure I remember that,” it said with a mischievous grin.
“Of course, I can’t believe I trusted you,” Ben said.
“You know how to ruin someone’s fun, don’t you?” the Sphinx said.
With a wave of its paw, it procured a key from thin air and held it in Ben’s face.
“Do you want it?” it asked.
“A key? That’s it? After everything?” Ben asked.
The Sphinx blinked, bemused by the boy’s lack of wonder.
“A key can be very useful for someone in your position. Don’t turn your nose up to a gift.”
“This isn’t a gift. I worked for it,” Ben said, stepping forward.
With a snide look, he handed it to Ben, making sure to reach out to his injured hand. Ben looked at the golden object for a moment with suspicion in his eyes.
His skin burned as he grabbed the key. The prize in his hand hadn’t lived up to his expectations. He hadn’t expected to feel this hollow.
“You look disappointed,” the Sphinx said.
“I didn’t know what to expect, I guess. I’m gonna leave now. Our business is done,” Ben said, taking a backwards step toward the hole he had come through.
“Very well, off with you,” the Sphinx said, waving his paw in an irritated manner. “Come back if you want that riddle.”
Ben put the key in the pocket of his jeans and took off for the exit, not missing a stride. The catlike face betrayed its own curiosity as it wandered over to the egg and with a swipe, cracked open the fragile shell.The wet, sloppy slurping sounds of its tongue lapping at the liquid contents filled the chamber as Ben left. He needed to leave before his stomach turned.
In a way, he felt bad for what he had done. He’d eaten eggs before, but a phoenix wasn’t the same thing as a chicken. Something in him twisted. If this was step one, what would step ten look like?
Terra Incognita — reading order