Why hello! Besides needing more Zarter fanfics out there, we just need more fanfics in GENERAL for the Kane Chronicles! Why should PJO get all the love? (That was a rhetorical question. Do not answer it.)
So in this, I'm going to focus more on Carter and Zia's relationship, as opposed to the whole "action" stuff, because this is for Animal Charmer 11's contest. (And because I suck at writing action...) So if there's an unrealistic lack of fighting, I'm already aware.
Disclaimer: I do not own Carter, Sadie, Zia, and other things you may recognize from the Kane Chronicles. In fact, I stole my pen name from Carter Kane, so...
Chapter 1: An Abnormally Lucky Day
Personally, I don't think being chased by five angry magicians who want to kill you is the best way to start the day. But that's just my opinion.
"Carter! Look out!" Sadie's voice rings out from my left, and I only narrowly miss the avalanche of rocks tumbling down the cliff above me. Rounding a corner, the boulders meant to kill us actually helped, obscuring us temporarily from the view of our pursuers. Unfortunately, it can't possibly hold them for too long, so we sprint, our legs carrying our bodies as fast as we can.
"So," I manage to say, while still trying not to trip over a rock or something equally embarrassing, "Any idea where we're headed?" Quickly glancing back, it seems that the pile of stones really didn't do much, because the magicians are practically past them already.
"Ha-di!" screams Sadie, her ivory wand pointed over her shoulder. As the huge boom of the explosion echoes throughout the canyon, she grabs my arm and pulls me into a deep indent in the wall. For us, that's a miraculous stroke of luck. Who'd have thought things would be that convenient?
The shadows cast down from the towering cliffs disguise us in the darkness, and my sister and I are pressed against the jagged rocks. Neither of us moves a centimeter, standing frozen and breathing shallowly, trying not to make a sound. The voices of the people chasing after us pass by our little alcove, yelling to the others, confused as to where we could've possibly gone. Please, don't find us.
After the voices die down and disappear, Sadie and I instinctively remain in our positions for who knows how much longer, making sure it's safe to come out. It's probably been enough time by now, so I speak up, asking what I'd been wondering for a while. "Um…ha-di? Where'd you get that idea?"
In a hushed yet clearly annoyed tone, my sister retaliates, "It was the first spell I could think of! At least I did something! And it worked. For once in our lives, we got a relatively easy escape. We should appreciate it."
"Well," I reply, "We're hiding in the wall of the Grand Canyon, and we have no clue where we're supposed to be going. The magicians could've placed traps all around here, and by leaving, we'll set them off."
Why are we in Arizona again, you might ask? Yes, we're dealing with the whole crisis of Apophis rising, as well as finding other descendants of the pharaohs. But there's another problem that we still have to address, which our dad pointed out to us the last time we talked. See, Osiris is living (sort of) inside our dad, we can control Set with his secret name, and Horus and Isis can be contacted through our amulets. That leaves one of the five still missing: Nephthys.
According to Dad, finding Nephthys is crucial to our mission, for some reason or another. Neither Sadie nor I really understood the importance, but when your dad –who also happens to be hosting a god– asks you to do something, you do it. He sent us to Arizona, to where he was certain the goddess would be found: the Colorado River. She's a river goddess, so I guess it makes sense…but that explains our escapade into the Grand Canyon. Naturally, the House of Life still thinks we're crazy, so a bunch of magicians found us and chased us into this hole.
"Okay, so we stay here a while and plan. Where to?" Sadie questions. Why does she assume I'll have the answers?
"Um…turn left? Hopefully find a huge sign saying 'goddess hidden here'?" My attempt at humor is short-lived under our current circumstances. The hopelessness of our situation suddenly hits full-on, and honestly, I don't think either of us really had a clue from the start. Go to the Grand Canyon. Yeah, Dad, let us wander around this humongous place and somehow find a hidden body hosting a goddess. That's really going to work.
"I wish Bast was with us," whispered Sadie, "Why did she have to walk away seconds before the magicians attacked?"
"They were probably waiting for her to leave. Don't worry, she'll find us soon." Our conversations rarely have this tone to them, but considering we're lost in this massive canyon, there are exceptions. Plus, there's an unsaid promise between us that we never speak of these moments. Ever.
Slumping on the surface behind me, silence overwhelms us again. I don't know what Sadie's thinking about, but my thoughts are concentrated on what the heck we're supposed to do now. Disappointing my dad (and jeopardizing our entire plan to revive the old ways) would be horrible…but to tell you the truth, I'm actually not sure if I want to complete this task, because it means finding her.
Of course, we'd find Nephthys, but I'm talking about her host: Zia Rashid, the girl I really, really like. (But don't tell Sadie; she'd never let me forget it.) Her pretty amber eyes, lined in kohl, resting on her coppery-colored skin…the image is practically burned in my mind. Really, I don't like admitting that I have like…a crazy, head-over-heels kind of crush, but I guess it's true.
You know, I actually thought she might have liked me back, or she was just about to get there…and then she disintegrates in front of my eyes. It's not the most cheerful experience when you learn the girl you thought you knew turns out to be made out of clay, and the person that shabti represented is actually hidden somewhere else in the world. And the two times I saw the real Zia were not happy ones. The first, she was stalking and working against my dad. The other, she was planning on killing me.
The shabti Zia said the real one would like a date at the mall…not that that was what I implied before! Honestly! I did not mean it that way! It just…came out that way…?
But after all "Zia" and I went through…does it even matter? I mean, Zia is amazingly pretty, but I'm not shallow like that. Her determined, focused personality and straightforwardness added to everything…is she actually like that? Besides, will she remember me, and how I was? Did I ever get to know her? Did she ever get to know me?
Argh. Clutching my forehead in frustration, the questions pounding at my skull are really starting to hurt. Why couldn't I forget about Zia for a little while? Is that too much to ask for? Exasperated, I move from my position, breaking the quiet, "I'm going to take a look outside."
My sister nods, barely visible in the dark. "Alright. I'll join you in a moment. I kind of have…a headache."
Walking to the edge of our hiding place, I stick my head out, the sky colored with the sun that had just risen. Being up this early isn't my "cup of tea," but Bast had other plans. Something about avoiding crowds and sneaking in before the attractions opened up…I don't think I was fully awake when she explained it. Stepping out fully from the darkness, hoping there really isn't some trap set up, the coast looks pretty clear. As I'm about to tell her it's safe to come out, Sadie says, "Carter. Come back in here. I found something."
What? How could she see anything in there? Returning to the darkness, the question is about to escape my mouth already when suddenly, a faint blue light shines through the black. Walking closer, it's evidently coming from the back wall of the indent.
"Look," whispers Sadie, "Hieroglyphics." Upon closer inspection, I see that she's right; the light is emitted from a bunch of squiggly lines inscribed in the stone.
"What do they say?" Unfortunately, my sister got all the hieroglyphic reading genes. I, on the other hand, have more of a specialty for combat magic, so I have to ask her for translations. And despite whatever she may tell you, I am not jealous. Honest.
Sadie steps closer to the glowing figures. "Here lies the passageway to the hiding place," she begins, trailing off, before suddenly snapping alert with an idea (obviously). Underneath the hieroglyphics, she presses her finger against the wall and "draws" lines. If I haven't mentioned this before, she's a little bit crazy…and her ideas have been known to cause explosions and other catastrophes.
Under her breath, she murmurs, "Wepe." Um, what? As if sensing my confusion, she faces me and says one word: open.
Out of nowhere, the ground beneath us starts rumbling and shaking. Sadie reaches out and grabs on to me, keeping herself from falling. The wall where the hieroglyphics were drawn splits into two, and the sections collapse sideways, revealing a…cave, sort of. Rock still hangs over head, at least a foot above my head, but there's a path below the stone arch, wide enough for a person to walk through. Everything is visible because of a faint, unnatural blue glow radiating from an unknown source.
Of course, as soon as the shaking stops, Sadie is about to walk into the opened pathway, but I hold out a hand to stop her. "Wait. Doesn't this seem suspicious? The place we decide to hide happens to have a secret passage that you can open?"
I can tell she's rolling her eyes at me, even if my concerns are probably right. "Carter, I was drawn here by some force, and I just know that it'll be fine." When she says she "knows" something, that's usually bad news. "Didn't Egyptians believe in fate and destiny and such?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, there was-"
"Shut up. You don't always have to spew out random knowledge about ancient times. A simple 'yes' works, honestly. But really, don't you have that feeling too?"
Strangely enough, at my sister's question, a part of my brain goes everything will be fine, you idiot, and you're supposed to go there. Last time I had two voices in my head arguing with each other, it turned out to be a god trapped inside of me. But…my gut tells me that I have to go in there. It's not a matter of safety; it's a compulsion, something I need to do.
And so, I find my feet basically carrying the rest of my body into the strange blue light, walking down the passageway. Behind me, I'm pretty sure I hear Sadie say something that probably means "idiot" in British, before her footsteps join mine. The corridor continues in a straight line, and weirdly, the more we walk, the more excited I feel. I think I just might know what's at the end of this tunnel…
The path abruptly ends at a circular room, and Sadie rams into me as I stop at the entrance. "You're so weird sometimes, Carter. What's up with you? And-" Now she knows why I stopped.
The ceiling is mile-high above us, and the light brown surface is covered with hundreds –if not thousands– of hieroglyphics and pictures, decorating everything with painted colors. They seem to be in lines, swirling around each other and up to the top, stunning and breathtaking. I've seen way too many Egyptian ruins and all that stuff in my life (as you should all know), and I have never seen something like this. Granted, this has to have been made recently, probably by magicians, considering the vibrancy of the paint and the amazing condition it's in.
Oh, and did I mention the glowing blue sarcophagus in the middle? Yeah, that's probably important to point out.
"Come on," I say to my sister, "Let's go check it out."
"Finally, he says something normal." Ignoring my sister's comment, we walk up to the coffin, the carvings on the sides intricate and elaborate. The feeling in my gut gets stronger, and it's really starting to scare me.
Sadie grabs the side, trying to lift the top up. "Help me. It's heavy…oh, but then again, you won't be much help, will you?" She just can't miss an opportunity to make fun of me, huh?
I grip the lid of the sarcophagus next to her, and with a firm shove, we manage to successfully raise it up all the way. Looking down, it contains a person, one with an extraordinarily familiar face, eyes closed with no expression.
The moment I've been waiting for. The moment I've been dreading.
As the girl's eyelids flutter open, I breathe out one word: Zia.
For all AVPM fans out there: yes, the title is very Hufflepuff-like. I apologize; I had no other ideas.
I hope you liked it! CC always accepted, and flames are too, if you're really THAT unhappy with it. I'll be trying hard to get the next three chapters out to qualify for the contest, as this is a multi-chapter fanfic. Please tell me what you think!