Recreated (11 page)

What would it have been like to lose a sister? A twin?

Do not waste your emotions on my former life. It is but a shadow of what I will become. Of what we will become.

“You can't convince me that you truly believe that thinking about your sister is a waste of emotions. You loved her.”

Her thoughts danced away from me.

Having a lioness in my brain was confusing. I could see through both her eyes and mine at the same time. It was like splitting myself in half and trying to communicate ideas via tin cans connected with string. I could see how the servant Isis saved by gifting her with the powers of a sphinx lost her mind. All at once, with the very real presence of a lioness in my head, I understood what it was to live free and wild. No deadlines, no expectations, no distractions.

I wondered if it was going to be easier for me to adapt to her way of viewing the world than for her to make sense of mine. The human perspective was irritating to her. The rules were ambiguous. There was no sense of connection to others. She felt as if we buzzed in dizzying circles like gnats on the surface of a river—aimless, accomplishing nothing of substance, and bumping haphazardly from one obstacle to the next. Never seeing beyond the small habitat where we were born, lived, and died, never sinking into the depths of the river of life, content to exist only to cause our fellow creatures discomfort.

Rest now, Lily,
she said, trying to shush my thoughts.

My mind quieted immediately and I knew that was purely thanks to her. When she decided it was time to sleep, it was time to sleep. She didn't feel guilty about it. She took advantage of quiet moments when she could. Without rest, she wouldn't have the ability to hunt effectively or feed her young or be alert when danger struck. We needed to refresh ourselves for what was to come. It was logical. It was simple. And it was possible, because of her.

As my eyes closed, I smiled, pleased at how easily she'd accepted me as just Lily. “You never told me
your
name,” I said as I yawned.

She replied so quietly, I wasn't really sure she was answering my question. But then, as I felt the weight of the word settle in my mind, I knew that what she'd said was indeed her name and that, in a way, her name now belonged to me as well. The name she'd whispered was
Tiaret.

Tia,
I thought.
How lovely.

Tia sensed something was wrong before I did. In fact, I had a difficult time rousing my mind enough to pay attention to what she was seeing.

What is happening, Lily?
she asked, petrified. Every instinct she had said we needed to bolt.

It's okay,
I whispered, sending comforting thoughts.
We're in my dream and seeing what Amon sees in the netherworld. This is where we'll eventually be.

A shadowy creature with talons and batlike wings circled Amon overhead and, with a screech, plummeted toward him. At the last moment, Amon darted up a series of rocks and leapt, sand daggers materializing in his hands as he fell, and with a slashing motion, he disabled the creature's wings and then raised the daggers high in the air. He brought them down, sinking them to the hilt in the neck of the beast.

With a feeble, final flap, the netherworld beast succumbed and a tired Amon slid from its back, found his leather pouch, and walked away, his armor dissolving into the sand. As he continued his journey, a thick bog appeared and the stench of decay assailed his nostrils. My eyes closed of their own volition, and I felt my mind sinking away from the vision, but Tia's attention was riveted.

The mate you have chosen is brave.

Mmm, he is,
I mumbled.

Your connection to him gives us an advantage. We can see the paths he wanders. I will track him more easily that way.

That's good,
I murmured, my words slurring and melting away like ice cream spilled on a hot sidewalk.

You sleep now, Lily. I will watch over him.

Okay.
My body was feeling the effects of having nearly been crushed, though I now knew the lioness tried to be as gentle as possible in the process of our merging. Bruises covered nearly every square inch of my torso. There was no way I had enough energy to stay with Amon in my dreams. I was glad that she could, though, and I hoped I would be able to replay everything she'd seen while I was asleep.

When I woke the next morning, my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth and my body felt as sore as if I'd stood all night in one of those old-school vibrating-belt machines. I wasn't sure if everything I'd experienced the day before had been one crazy dream. It certainly felt like a hallucination.

But then I felt her. Tia was…purring. There was no other way to describe it. It was a juddering sound that produced a contented hum in my mind. Her presence was a soothing weight I could feel in my chest, almost as if a house cat were cuddled up next to me.

I soon figured out the reason why she was so happy. She was content sleeping, yes, but there was something more. Something she was replaying in her mind. Images flashed, as real as if I'd been witness to them, of the dreamscape she'd been in when Amon fell asleep. “What? What did you do?” They hadn't had much time before the connection was dissolved upon his waking, but the moments they did have together were…startling.

“You…you kissed him?” I exclaimed in shock.

To be perfectly accurate,
he
kissed
me.
A rather pleasant thing, actually.

“Why? Why would you do that? Didn't you tell him it was you?”

I thought such a revelation might best come from you. The young man suffers enough as it is without us adding to his worry. Besides, I was curious. And once he learned we could make physical contact, he was so happy. I didn't wish to do anything to dispel his good humor.

While I stood rooted in place, my mouth opening and closing as I tried to figure out what to do, Tia sleepily yawned. Her mind was open to me completely. I sensed she felt no shame or guilt regarding what had happened either. Unable to continue the conversation with the snoozing cat taking up space in my brain, I used our connection to replay it all.

In the dream I saw Amon's sleeping body the same as always, but when he fell asleep, another version of him appeared. His real form was battered and bruised but his dream self was whole, strong, and just as handsome as I remembered.

His hazel eyes sparkled as he looked at me, and when he said my name in an almost reverent whisper, stretching out his fingers to mine, I could see his pulse quicken. He swallowed and took a step closer.

“How can this be?” he asked as I wrapped my hand in his, an expression of awe cross his face.

I was about to answer when I realized I couldn't. Tia had. I heard my voice sounding cold and distant. “It must be the power of the sphinx that grants us the ability to see one another and touch.”

“I didn't know this was possible.”

“Nor did I,” my voice said.

Amon slid his hands up my arms carefully, tentatively, as if touching me might break the spell.

My head tilted. Tia enjoyed the sensation of Amon's touch but her heart didn't leap as mine did just upon seeing his face. I felt the pull of my lips as Tia offered Amon a half smile. “That is enjoyable,” she said.

I laughed through a sob and pressed my fingers to my lips. Though what she'd said was strange, Amon didn't seem to care. He blinked and I noticed an intense expression in his eyes that made them just a shade darker.

“You don't know how much I missed you,” he said, sliding his hand up my neck to cup my cheek. Amon closed the distance between our bodies, and there was a brief moment when Tia stiffened, but the moment quickly passed. I felt the hum of Tia's contentment as he stroked my—no, our—cheek with his thumb, and little tingles of sunshine from his touch both soothed and warmed our skin.

“I don't know if I'm hallucinating or if some blessed miracle of the gods caused this to be, but I don't care.”

And he kissed me. The press of his mouth against mine actually made me gasp. I was utterly transfixed, and seeing it through Tia's memory was thrilling and yet upsetting. That he had kissed her and hadn't known it wasn't me stirred niggling feelings of jealousy, but seeing Amon and being with him in body if not in spirit was a gift. I felt his embrace as surely as if he held my heart in his hands.

The kiss became more passionate as Amon drew me close, fitting us together so tightly, it seemed as if nothing could tear us apart.

But something did.

Jerking his head up, he spat out a word I didn't understand, and that was when I heard the screech of an animal nearby. Amon disappeared from my arms and the battered version of himself woke. Hurriedly, he got to his feet and spun around in a circle. “Lily?” he called. “Lily!”

The ground shook as a monster, all tooth and fangs, emerged from a chasm. Tia watched until morning, but he didn't sleep again. I wondered exactly how this dream connection worked. The lioness was no longer awake herself, and yet I could not see any vision of Amon.
The connection must only work when
I
sleep,
I thought,
and then only if I'm able to dream.

Tia had not lied when she'd said that Amon had been the one to instigate the kiss, and I found it interesting that I no longer felt jealous. Of course I wished it had been me and not Tia he was kissing, but being with Amon in any way was wonderful. A miracle. And Tia was the reason it was possible. I couldn't resent her for that, or for liking the kiss. What girl wouldn't enjoy being kissed by a gorgeous sun god like Amon?

Feeling grateful for her warm presence, I murmured, “You sleep. I'll find breakfast.”

I didn't feel Tia stirring until I was halfway back to the place where Isis had left us. I hoped Dr. Hassan was still there, and kept up a steady pace despite the ache in my body that was surprisingly less than it had been when I'd fallen asleep the night before.

We heal faster together
was the first thing she said to me after halting my run and luxuriously stretching my arms and back, arching it like a cat before I was able to regain control of my limbs.

“Wh-what was that?” I stuttered as I tried to find my stride once again.

Did you not comprehend my meaning the first time?

“I heard you. I just don't understand why I suddenly felt the need to stop and stretch when my muscles have been warm and loose from running.”

Oh. That.

“Yes. That. Are you taking over my mind?”

I assure you that your mind is just as intact and within your control as it ever was.

“Then how did you do that?”

I didn't. You did.

“No. It wasn't a conscious thought.”

It was. We thought it.

“What do you mean, we? I didn't think it. You did.”

Perhaps it began that way. But your mind agreed and accepted. Do not be overly concerned. It is a good sign. It means we are becoming one. Our minds wanted us to stretch. Therefore, we did.

“Maybe to you it's a good sign. To me it feels like I'm being possessed.”

On the contrary. You were feeling secure. Relaxed. You were content with me. Your mind was free and at peace as you ran. That is how running feels for me. It was only natural that you felt more in tune with me during such an act, and your body responded to my mind smoothly and easily.

As harmonious as my run had been before, it now felt disjointed. Like I was in a three-legged race and couldn't find my stride. To distract myself, I said, “I'm not mad. About Amon, I mean.”

I know.

“Just…wake me up next time that happens, okay?”

I will try, Lily.

“Thanks.” As I ran, I began to wonder what other things had changed about me now that I was a sphinx.

What is it?
Tia asked.

“It's just that, well, I kind of thought becoming a sphinx would mean I would, you know—”

Look like a monster?

“No. Yes. I guess in a way.”

The images you have of a sphinx in your mind are largely inaccurate, though I must admit I would have preferred to keep my fangs and my claws.

“Claws would have been a nightmare for my manicurist. So other than having you in my head, what about me is different?”

Heightened senses, for one. This began when the spell was enacted, though it became permanent when I accepted you.

“Hold on. You…accepted me?”

Yes. All the lionesses were aware of the spell the moment it was cast. We gathered in the clearing to assess our compatibility. Each cat was given the choice to cast off her form and merge her consciousness with you, but I was the one who could hear your thoughts the clearest. My sisters bowed to my claim and I began the hunt to assess your worthiness.

“So even then you might have killed me?”

If I deemed you undeserving, then yes.

“What were you judging, exactly?”

Many things. Your quick thinking. Your level of courage in the face of death. Your determination. But most of all, your heart.

“You could sense all of that?”

Yes. Your heart is a good one. The strength that centers it is love. There is no ambition or greed in you. From my perspective, the only thing holding you back is the limitation you put upon yourself. You cage your desires and your passions and willingly live in captivity. You know what you want but are afraid to reach for it. That you were able to come this far speaks to the depth of feeling in your heart. When I discovered these things about you, I thought I might be able to help you embrace that side of yourself and unlock the things you keep most hidden. This is why I accepted you and gave up what I was to help you become your most powerful self.

I didn't know what to say. Having Tia with me was like having a guardian angel who understood everything. Who accepted my strengths and weaknesses and was willing to stick with me and loan a supporting hand regardless of whatever trouble I found myself in. And I was about to find myself in a mess of trouble.