By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 18

Both the brother and sister duo sat down on the floor with the plates in hand and the sandwiches on them which were smelling heavenly..

Lukas bit into one of the sandwiches and the mayonnaise and mustard sauce dripped from his fingers and his mouth simultaneously and he moaned like he was having the best food in the world in all probability. Rhea was looking at him as if he was a doofus and then bit into her own sandwich. True, she thought, she was quite skilled at cooking these things and now she needed to start cooking the better preparations as well.

But then something happened and both of them dropped their sandwiches and ran down to the basement jumping in one after another and pulling the chord of the switch which lighted up the place.

They could hear a sound of groaning and creaking at the end of the floor and it felt that something was brewing underneath and trying to get out.

“It was not wise to come down empty-handed like this Rhea,” whispered Lukas as he started searching for something which would be helpful in protecting them.

“I don’t think you thought of that before coming down here,” Rhea whispered back to her brother.

Lukas knew that it was pointless arguing with his sister since she was not going to listen to reason. He now only hoped that whatever was there did not hurt him or Rhea because he had no idea until now how to fight magical creatures. And just like that the sounds stopped.

They both again looked at each other. It was weird and creepy feeling. They could not understand the reason for the wake of this thing and then the sudden subsiding of this thing.

“Should we go up and finish that sandwich or should we wait her and see what happens?” asked Rhea, as she looked at Lukas who was still intently looking at that particular place itself.

“I think we should wait for some time Rhea, after all this is not a place where we have our complete knowledge or control, who knows what are the reasons for all these things happening and we need to be extremely careful about whatever we are doing at this point of time. Why don’t you do one thing? You go up and finish your food and when you are done bring it back to me!! How does that sound?” asked Lukas as Rhea looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

“Why on earth would you think that I would leave you here at all with these dangerous things lying all around you and that too at the point of time when you have no idea how to deal with any of it?” was her question. And even though Lukas did not want her to be in the harm’s way the question was a logical one and legitimate as well.

“I don’t want anything happening to you Rhea, that is the reason I am asking you to go. It might be possible that whatever is after this sound actually wants me and not you? Ever thought about that?”

“Yes, actually that was the first thought that came in my mind that you are going to be in danger if I let you go alone or leave you here…then why do you want me to do that Brother?” asked Rhea, who was still looking at him in a confused manner.

“Because Rhea, you know this very well as I do that you and I both need to know everything that is possible about these things that are happening around us. It is not possible for that to happen if we do not take risks and that means going places where we would have never stepped in the first place and also doing things which we would never even dream of doing. SO I am not requesting you any more Rhea, this is a command from your Alpha. Get upstairs and finish your food and do not come back until I call you to do so. Is that clear?” prompted Lukas making Rhea flinch backwards at the tone of his voice.

But then she glared at him and said,” Well then have it your way. Don’t call me back again, EVEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR…..”

And she stomped the rest of the way to go upstairs.

Lukas smiled at her way of departure when suddenly a voice spoke out.

“She is quite a thing, isn’t she?”

Lukas jumped out of his skin almost at the voice and looked around him but could find no one physically present which scared him nonetheless. It was not that he was scared of anything but when you could see the assailant who was after you things could get a bit tricky.

“Who said that?” asked Lukas, as he kept on looking around but could find no one.

“Well I would have told that but there is something which is keeping me from telling you or letting you know all the things that you were supposed to know by now. This is your first task Lukas, find me out, search for me, seek me and you will receive all that you need to know,” said the voice and Lukas could distinguish it to be female this time.

“If I do not know who are you or anything about you then how am I even supposed to seek you out?” asked Lukas still searching for the source of voice but he could not even find a wisp of smoke out in the basement.

“True, but you have to figure that out for yourself. I can give you a hint for the purpose, all those who have not been able to answer my riddles have been never been seen by the human kind again,” said The voice before there was complete silence once more.

“Hello….helllo….Mss. Riddle…please say something more…what kind of joke is this?” asked Lukas loudly as he heard a thud from behind. It was Rhea with his half-eaten sandwich.

“Who are you talking to? And did it work?” asked Rhea, as she came forward excitedly chattering like a squirrel who has seen a lot of nuts.

“I thought that you were not coming back Rhea? What made you change your mind suddenly?” asked Lukas who was looking at her with mirth in his eyes and then took the plate from his hand.

“Yeah!! You told me to bring your sandwich back after I finished mine and then I had said that I won’t come if you called but you did not so I came,” said his sister whose odd logic made no sense to him ever whatsoever but he could say that to her.

“Great!! Work here is done…let’s go up,” said Lukas as he bit in his sandwich.

“Brother, at least tell me what happened here!!! Who is going to help you out otherwise if not me?” prompted Rhea, as Lukas’s mouth was full of the bite that he had taken from the sandwich. He nodded his head as if trying to say that he will once they go up and they can have a proper conversation and Rhea glared at him as if it was the worst kind of crime that he could ever commit.

Finally when they both were up Lukas washed both their plates in the sink and dried them up and kept them in the rack.

“Are you going to tell me what the matter is or you have decided to take a vow of silence and wallow in your own thoughts which are most of the times wrong?” asked Rhea, and this time her voice was rising in its pitch making it terrible to hear since all the wolves had sensitive hearing.

“What makes you think that I am wallowing in my own sorrow? I mean seriously, I have not told you yet Rhea does not mean that I am going to say that to you but there is another thing which we have tio discuss. But first, your question, I have no idea who the hell was in our basement but the voice was female and she kept on talking in a weird manner and I could not deduce anything from whatever she spoke. But she gave me one clue, rather two, that I have to go on a quest and seek out the answers for all my questions,” said Lukas, as Rhea, looked at him with bursting excitement.

“What else? Why did you stop Brother? What is the other clue?” asked Rhea as she came closer.

“Well she said that no man who has not been able to answer her riddles has been seen alive again by humans or rather mankind,” said Lukas, as he put his hands on his lips in a way of thinking.

Rhea burst out laughing and her brother looked at her in astonishment as if she had gone crazy but he knew that she was younger to him and moreover a teenager whose behavior could not be understood by the adults in any way.

“Go ahead, what else? Anything more? Or she said this much only?” asked Rhea, once she stopped laughing manically.

“No no you tell me first, what was so funny in what I told you just now? There are things which you might not understand Rhea, but that does not mean that you are going to belittle every single thing that I share with you. If you keep on going in this way then I must tell you that you are not going to be the part of any adult conversation any more,” said Lukas, with a ring of finality in his voice.

“And who are you going to discuss this with? Your Beta Charlie? Who wanted to dessert the child you had brought from the steps of the church in order to keep your promise to Nina? You would have this conversation with Nina who is busy with her new baby? Or your pack who still are scared of you because of what you are and what powers you might behaving which they have no idea about? Tell me who is your next supernatural buddy and I shall leave you in peace,” said Rhea in a serious tone and that was more than enough to elicit enough sense of reason in Lukas who understood that he really did not have anyone with whom he could go and discuss these things with and he fell completely silent.

“What??? No one? Seriously Lukas!!! You are the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack so everyone should be lapping up at your words, is it not? The most powerful werewolf in the history of all times!!!” Rhea spat out in a condescending manner.

“Rhea!!! What are you saying?” shouted Lukas, as he dropped the washcloth in the sink.

“I am saying this that I know who spoke to you. I mean not specifically who, but which creature spoke to you. There is only one creature who was created to be female and who can speak only in riddles, it was the curse she has been bearing for her eternal existence. She is a sphinx,” said Rhea, scowling at Lukas.

“Well can I say that I am sorry for being an ass and behaving the way I did a little earlier?” asked Lukas, after a few moments of silence.

“Yes, you can definitely say that Brother. But trust me, you suck at apologies!!” said Rhea, as her face broke into a grin.

Both of them then sat down in order to discuss what were the things that they needed to know in order to track down a sphinx.