"Wait a minute," Kendra said. "Before any of this, won't you have to get to Shoreless Isle? You'll have to go back in time from there, right?"
The Sphinx grinned. "One of the benefits of a long life. Mr. Lich and I are perhaps the only living men who have visited Shoreless Isle. The Translocator will take me directly there, along with the Chronometer and the Sands of Sanctity."
Kendra sipped some pear juice. "The five artifacts are also actual keys?"
The Sphinx nodded. "They are actual keys to the great door of Zzyzx. But they all serve dual purposes. Access to the great gateway would be impossible without them."
"I get the purpose behind the Chronometer, and the Translocator, and the Sands of Sanctity," Kendra said. "What else does the immortality artifact do?"
The Sphinx held up a finger. "I believe it is an item of practicality. The Font of Immortality enables a mortal to live long enough to solve this gigantic puzzle."
A realization struck Kendra. "And it lets you live long enough to go back in time far enough to get inside the chamber."
"Or to live long enough to wait for it to open again," the Sphinx added. "Kendra, if this were a job interview, I would hire you immediately."
"I'd have to turn you down," Kendra said. "What about the Oculus?"
"In many ways the Oculus is the most important item," the Sphinx said. "It helps locate the other items. And it will help me track down the Eternals."
Kendra had been hoping he might not know about them. She decided to play dumb. "Eternals?"
"Five mortals who must be killed before Zzyzx can be opened," the Sphinx explained. "I have already found and eliminated two of them."
"You have!"
"I found one before I had the Oculus. I eliminated another recently. Without the Oculus, finding them all would be nearly impossible."
"So once the Eternals are dead ..."
"Once the title eternal no longer applies to them, and once I have access to the chamber and have scrubbed the air of disease, I must only wait for the morning after a full moon to insert the keys and set the gateway ajar. Then I will negotiate with Gorgrog the Demon King. If he will not heed my terms, I will not fully open the door. He wants out. He will eventually agree. And a new age will dawn."
"And the name of that age will be The End of the World."
Smiling sadly, the Sphinx shook his head. "No, but it will be the end of prisons, and the end of inequality."
"Honestly, I hope you're right. Because I don't see how anyone will stop you. I'd take just about anything over the end of everything."
"Relax, Kendra. I have the minutia figured out. All you need do now is wait. Have you any other questions?"
Kendra plucked a grape and popped it in her mouth. "My brain is fried. I can't think of anything."
"Have you eaten your fill?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Then the hour has arrived for you to become acquainted with your new accommodations. I will try to put you someplace where you may cross paths with your brother. I'm afraid the comforts are few, but unless I am mistaken, your stay will be brief." The Sphinx clapped his hands, and four armed guards came out onto the balcony.
"Don't do this," Kendra sobbed, surprised at the sudden surge of emotion. "You can still stop all of this. You should be protecting these artifacts, not using them."
"Be still," the Sphinx said. "I cannot be swayed. Do not waste your energy. I am fortified by the power of certainty."
A guard helped Kendra to her feet. "I hope somebody stops you," she said.
The Sphinx poured himself some pear juice. He took a sip, swallowed, and then spoke gently but firmly. "Hope for something else."
Chapter 13 A Promise Kept
Seth rested on his cot, staring at the web of cracks in the dim ceiling, listening to the constant dripping, wondering about the time. In the dungeon, there was no sunrise, no sunset, no way to keep his internal clock calibrated. Bracken, however, seemed to know innately when it was day or night. Some time ago they had separated to sleep. Seth had slept. Later he had wakened. And he now had no idea if it was time to get up or the middle of the night.
He had not slept well in the dungeon. For days he had dozed in odd stretches, more an irregular series of naps than any normal slumber.
At the moment, if he knew it was morning, he felt awake enough to get up. He could also probably fall back to sleep if he tried. He considered calling Bracken with the
coin, but decided he should wait rather than risk rousing the unicorn for a trivial concern.
The door to his cell opened without warning. He heard no footsteps approach, no key rattle in the lock. By the time he sat up, the door had banged shut.
"On your feet," a harsh voice called through the peephole in a loud whisper. "Have a look."
Seth jumped out of bed and hurried to the door. He pushed against it but it wouldn't budge. Beside the door sat a canvas sack. Seth pressed his face to the peephole, looking up and down the hall as best he could. Dim and silent, the only movement in the corridor came from shadows jittering in the wavering torchlight.
Returning to his cot, Seth retrieved his coin from under one of the legs. Running a finger clockwise along the edge caused it to start glowing. Coin in hand, Seth returned to the sack. He could hardly believe his eyes when he looked inside and beheld a copper teapot shaped like a cat and a narrow, segmented platinum cylinder set with precious stones. Along with a handwritten note and a cube of walrus butter, the shabby sack contained the Translocator and the Sands of Sanctity!
This had to be a trick. Still, he grabbed the note and started reading hastily.
Take these artifacts and escape from Living Mirage at once. Just twist the center of the Translocator and think of home. An attempt to rescue you has failed, and these were the only artifacts I managed to pilfer. Time is short. Leave immediately. Take nobody. Thanks to your time in the dungeon, you can help lead rescues later. Everything depends on you leaving immediately with these items.
I am the last spy the Knights have within the Society. I will contact you soon. Do not delay. The note was unsigned.
Why was the Translocator here? Something must have gone terribly wrong. Could this be a trap? What kind of trap would grant him access to anywhere he wanted to go? What kind of trap would give away two of the artifacts essential for the Society to accomplish their objectives?
He popped the walrus butter in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Maybe the artifacts were fake. But what would be the point of that? They sure looked authentic.