The last of the sun's sweltering rays frolicked across the sandy horizon, gleaming off the glass and limestone of the distant city. The car's darkened windows did little against the blinding late afternoon sunbeams. Outside the airconditioned sedan two frenzied women argued, they had been pointing fingers at each other and yelling for the past 10 minutes. Within the car sat two teenagers, both sitting with their arms crossed doing their best to ignore the scene their relatives were playing out.
"You'd think they'd be too exhausted to stand out there in this heat fighting," the young woman sighed picking dirt out from underneath her fingernails.
The blonde young man beside her chuckled, "maybe they've become delusional due to dehydration."
Glaring at her companion, she slumped farther down in her seat until she couldn't see the people outside, "I swear if I don't get food soon my stomach is going to eat itself." Pulling her knees up to her chest in the seat, the girl lightly smacked her forehead against her kneecaps. "Why can't they argue inside? Or better yet, wait until we get home."
"I've never known a girl to be so preoccupied with food."
"Shut up, Marik." The young lady spun to face him, her back against the door and the fading light. "I haven't eaten since breakfast and neither have you," she dug into a black knapsack withdrawing a thick battered sketch book. "Besides, the only other girl you know is your sister."
"You are my favorite though," a wide toothy grin stretched across his tanned face. He cocked his head sideways watching her open the sketch book and pull a mechanical pencil from her deep violet ponytail. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm going to draw, now stop moving before I stab you with this," she shook the pencil at him, the lead pieces rattling. Inspecting her friend with an artist's eyes, the purple haired girl started a rough outline of the handsome male. Marik slowly inched over, trying to see the image being brought to life. "If you get any closer, you'll cast a shadow on my paper and then I will stab you."
Maneuvering to see at a different angle, the blonde tried in vain to see the girl's artwork. He sighed returning to his side of the back seat, "just as long as you don't eat me."
"Tempting," she replied not looking up from her paper, "but you're too boney to be a satisfying meal."
"Do you know what they're arguing about?" Marik asked casually staring out the front window at his sister and his friend's mom.
Bright jade eyes glanced up at him, "something about that one tablet that's super special to your family." His head jerked over to her, lavender irises locking on hers with such intensity that she ignored her sketch of him. Darkness flickered in his eyes as uneasiness tickled her spine. "Are you ok?"
He blinked, and the shadows were gone, "you mean other than starving to death?"
Crossing her legs, she sat the drawing pad in her lap and thoughtfully chewed on her bottom lip, "do you still plan to leave?"
"Yes," his eyes were still on her, watching her fidget. "You don't have to stay here, you could come with me."
She exhaled blowing violet strands from her vision, "do you even know where Pegasus hid the God cards? What if possessing a Millennium item isn't enough and trying to use one kills you?"
He scowled twisting around to push his back against the car door, "do you really think me so weak?" Glancing from the half-sketched image of himself to her downcast eyes, Marik crossed his legs, mimicking the girl before him.
"You know that's not what I meant," she frowned looking up at him.
"And you know that I can't stand it here!" He gestured to the landscape his voice rising, "I'm sick of this life! Sick of being a tomb keeper, sick of being forced to live like a hermit, sick of listening to stories about some supposedly great Pharaoh who lived 5,000 years ago! I'm sick and tired of being a nobody, of having nothing!"
Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose, "I know," she paused, "I'm sure there are very few people who actually want to live in a hole in the sand." Shaking her head, she continued, "you want to be free, I get it, what I don't get is exactly what you are hoping to achieve."
"I can't tell you until I know you're on my side," he folded his arm across his chest.
"I am on your side," her reply was almost a whisper, "but that doesn't mean I want to run away and try to conquer the world." She looked away from him, doodling on the edge of the sketch, "why does it have to be now?"
Marik reached forward and grabbed his best friend's hands, pulling her towards him until their knees touched. "You have been my oasis ever since you got here, but you don't know what its like to be trapped here. Someday you'll be free to travel the world and pick a career, I don't have that option. I am imprisoned by my ancestry." He squeezed her fingers, "I'm suffocating, Ky."
Without breaking their link, Ky leaned sideways her left shoulder pushing against the plush back of the bench seat. "But, why now? You've been talking about leaving for years, why so urgent now?"
"Because the Pharaoh has shown himself; it won't be long until my sister gives him the Egyptian Gods." Fire burned in his eyes, "why is he entitled to such power? It has been my family who has safeguarded his secret, and my family who was betrayed. Have we not proved our worth?"
The purple haired girl nodded, "many times over the way I see it."
"I should have the Gods," he squeezed her hands, "it is time the world had a new Pharaoh, and the old one pay for his crimes against my family."
"Just," she hesitated, watching his light amethyst eyes darken, "just tell me how you plan on getting the God cards."
"They're hidden in one of the Pharaoh's shrines, when Pegasus realized he couldn't control their power he took the Gods to their resting place and left them. We just have to explore a bit."
"Ok, I can get onboard with that." Some of the light returned to his eyes, "next question: how are we getting out of Egypt?"
His grin was wicked as he pulled a long golden object from his pocket, "I use this, and we fly first class."
"So, you plan on mind controlling people the whole time?" Her green eyes unconvinced. "Last question: won't she see you stealing the cards?" She pointed to Marik's sister still arguing outside.
"Nope, I won't be touching the cards." He smirked, "you will."
Ky gaped at the man in front of her, "you want me to steal them?" She squeaked. "How can you be so sure she won't see me doing it?"
"I plan to distract her," he twirled the rod in his hand, the other still holding his friend's. "As soon as you get them, we'll go. We'll be gone so quick she won't have time to react." The setting sun hit Marik's golden hair, splashing twilight across the back seat. "There is one more reason," he successfully grabbed her attention from his illuminated locks with a mischievous grin. "I overheard your mom asking if you could stay with us while she's in Dubai. Even though it's the beginning of summer vacation she doesn't have the heart to take you with her for three months since you finally made friends."
Ky's jaw dropped, "no way. Are you serious? She's actually going to let me stay? And Ishizu said it was ok?" Marik's triumphant smile answered her questions. "That is so cool!" She squealed in delight, "not that I wouldn't mind visiting Dubai, they have some of the best food I've ever tasted, but for three months? This is so cool!"
"So, what do you say?" His serious expression locked on her jade irises.
Leaning back as far as she could without her hand leaving his, she exclaimed, "I'M TOO HUNGRY TO DECIDE, SOMEBODY FEED ME!"
As if on que, the driver and front passenger side doors opened. Seemingly done arguing, the two women slid inside the cool vehicle, sweat glistening across their foreheads.
"Honestly, Kyvren," her mother chastised looking in the rearview mirror, "can't you be more ladylike?"
Rolling her eyes, the girl wined, "all manners go out the window WHEN YOU'RE STARVING TO DEATH." Kyvren let go of Marik's hand and dramatically waved at her friend, "if you don't believe me, look at Marik! He's all skin and bones!"
The car rumbled to life and her mom pulled away from the shrine before responding, "Marik has always been skin and bones. Its part of being a teenage boy."
Ishizu chuckled, "I'm sorry our conversation took longer than expected. At least you got to stay inside the air conditioning."
"What I don't get," Kyvren stated as she sat properly and fastened her seatbelt, "is why you guys had to come all the way out here."
Gravel and sand crunched under the tires as the sedan pulled onto the roadway. "I had forgotten some things from the other day when I was transcribing, I ended up needing them," her mother replied.
"Well, next time you forget something can Marik and I stay home or in the city? It was insanely boring waiting for you two to stop bickering."
"We were not..." her mother stopped seeing both teens in the rearview with eyebrows raised. The older woman sighed, "what do you want for dinner?" Several stomachs growled in response.
Looking over at her companion, chills skittered up her spine. The darkness in his eyes had returned. It seemed to be happening more and more these days, especially after Ishizu had relented and started letting Marik come over instead of Kyvren always going over there.
The grave keeper's life did not agree with Marik and he seemed willing to go to any lengths to avoid such a fate. She was terrified of the shadows that followed him, but he was her best friend and the truest she'd ever had. Since moving to Cairo from New York four years ago, she had made very few friends at the private school she attended. It was Marik who introduced her to magic. Marik who told her she was pretty when the kids at school made fun of her for not looking like them. And Marik who let her cry herself to sleep on his shoulder from missing her dad who stayed in America. As much as she hated how her mom drug her halfway around the world, she would be forever grateful to her mother for finding the Ishtars and reaching out to them. A family who rarely communicated with the outside world, bonded over a love of Egyptian history and mythology.
Continuing to watch him from the corner of her eye, she could no longer tell if the blackness growing in his eyes was due to night falling, or something different all together.