Disclaimer: The Kane Chronicles belong to Rick Riordan, not me!


C

A

R

T

E

R

Breakfast was finally over. I knew something was troubling Zia even if she refused to tell me what it was. As soon as I set down my fork I grabbed her by her arm and excused her from the table, dragging her into my bedroom. Wait. She'd never been in there before. I blushed, but reminded myself that that was not the time. Whatever was bothering Zia came first. So I took a deep breath, fixed my eyes on hers, and asked, "Will you please tell me what the problem is?"

She looked so beautiful, even when she was mad. "Excuse me? I don't have to tell you anything," Zia retorted hotly, eyeing my room. [Sadie, just be quiet. I know it's messy.] "Besides, I can figure things out myself. If I decide that it is a problem, then I will tell you. And if I conclude that it isn't, we can just all forget about it."

There was one catch in her statement. It depended on what Zia's definition of a "problem" was. A fly in the room could mean a huge problem to her. Or perhaps burglars or assassins who are trying to kill her. You never know. That was the problem. If Zia decided that her dream showed the future of the world ending wasn't a problem? Then she wouldn't tell me, and we would all forget about it until the day the world ended and she exclaimed, "Now that's what my dream meant!" I was not going to agree to her self-made decision.

"No, Zia," I argued, "You should tell me. Please? I can help you figure out whether what your dream meant was a warning."

"You've watched too many horror movies, Carter," She replied, "Like that Mummy movie for instance. Didn't the girl have dreams...or visions, about her past life or something? The one with Imhotep?"

I rolled my eyes. "Imhotep was that high priest."

Zia nodded with agreement. "Also an architect."

"Some say he was a magician," I added.

"Designed the first step pyramid," Zia listed, then frowned and critiqued, "The movie got his background all wrong. I still can't believe it was so popular."

I sighed, wondering why we were now discussing a movie about mummies. "That's why it's a movie with a lot of historical inaccuracies."

"And that's why it's a movie," Sadie finished, opening the door. Both Zia and I jumped and spun around to see my sister and Anubis walk in. I didn't remember inviting him. "Anyway, what were you two talking about?" I can't believe she had completed our sentence so perfectly without knowing what we were talking about.

"Zia's dream," I answered instantly while Zia replied at the same time, "The Mummy. That movie, not just any mummy."

Sadie held up a hand in a very teacher-like way. "One at a time, children, please. If you talk together I won't be able to here the actual speaker." Anubis chuckled beside her, and instantly her cheeks reddened. I scowled at her.

"Last time I recall I was having a private conversation with Zia here. And I did not expect a certain sister of mine to come barging in."

"Last time I recall you said nothing about a private conversation, so it seems to me that it is perfectly all right for a certain sister of yours to come barging in."

"With her boyfriend," I fumed, pointing at Anubis with a glare in my eyes.

She blushed again. "And you find it perfectly fine for your girlfriend to be in the same room as you? I was just making sure you two weren't doing anything stupid." At this, both Zia and I couldn't take it any more.

"Sadie..." Zia growled.

"Don't tell me you're going to blow up the room?" Anubis questioned, looking back and force between Sadie and Zia, who both looked like they were about to get into a serious fight. "I really hope I won't have to arrange two funerals in one day."

Sadie rounded on him. "People die daily everyday, Death Boy. You of all people should know that." Anubis smirked a little, then took her arm.

"Come on, we should leave those two some privacy." With that he pulled her away.

Zia turned to me, her eyes filled with embarrassment. "I'm going out, too. See you later, Carter?" That rhymed. Huh. She giggled at the realization before following Sadie and Anubis. Only then did I realize I had completely forgotten to ask her about the dream again.


A/n: this is sort of a sequel for "I'm In Love With a God", but for Animal Charmer 11's contest. I hope you like it! ^_^