Chapter Five

Chapter Five

The Sphinx

The trip hadn't been a fun one for Jeff. It felt like it lasted forever to him. He had taken plenty of long drives in his life, all the trips to and from Michigan and such, but on this particular day the four-hour trip to Montauk to a lot out of him.

They had parked at the very end of Montauk just outside the beach and were going to walk back a bit to the entrance to the village. From what Trevor said they were going to have be sneaky, it was a very small village and they would stand out very easy. But Trevor did have a disguise of sorts, a pair of wizards robes, they were both black but Trevor's had red lining, and Jeff's had purple lining.

It was a lot heavier then Jeff had expected them to be but when walking they only seemed twice as heavy. They had walked for about a half a mile when they turned in to the field, through the bushes, which weren't as thick as he had expected them to be. It was clear grassland for about fifty feet after which was a forest, and just outside the forest there it stood.

He had heard of sphinxes in stories and movies but never believed them to really exist. It s body was a little larger then lions he had seen at zoos, its golden brown body contrasted highly with the darkly tanned skin of its head. Its head had dirty blonde hair.

They approached it cautiously, with Trevor leading the way. "Let me handle this" he said. Jeff stood behind him ready to run for his life.

As they approached, the Sphinx raised it head and roared mightily. When he finished he looked Trevor dead in the eye and said, "If you wish to pass you must answer this riddle. Turn and leave, or be prepared for what will happen if your wrong."

Jeff would have been quite content to leave but Trevor ask the Sphinx to continue. It stood on all fours and said slowly

When you sleep

I kill

But no one what happened

I may look like a cloak

But wrap me around you

And its forever night

Trevor sat for a moment going over in his head for moment, but not long enough for Jeff and said, "I believe that would be..A Lethifold?" Jeff was prepared to sprint.

The Sphinx bowed its head and said, "That is correct. You may pass"

Jeff had never been so relieved in his whole life, he was sure the sphinx was going to tear him to pieces. He couldn't believe that Trevor knew the answer so easily. The walked passed the Sphinx, Jeff did so very cautiously, as if the sphinx would change its mind.

"The entrance to the village is a portkey. And if I remember correctly its in the form of…of, ah yes there it is" Trevor almost jumped forward and pointed out a tin can laying on the ground.

Jeff walked over as Trevor continued "On the count of three we touch it and should be it us just outside of the town so we wont be noticed. One two …"

And just before the touched the can, he appeared before them. It was the same man from before in the odd coat, Trevor looked thoroughly confused as she stumbled back a few steps finally tripping over a branch on the ground. Jeff stood half scared out of his mind half confused, and before either could say anything, the man disappeared again.

"That..that was Tripp" Trevor said clearly still confused as Jeff helped him up.

"Well now what? I'm guessing he is not gonna be in the village." Jeff looked anxious as Jeff got back to his feet

Still dusting himself off he said, "You're probably right, I didn't see him use the portkey so I'm guessing he Disapparated, but where?" He straightened out his shirt and continued "Well I guess we should head back to your apartment."

Jeff did not like this idea in the slightest "I have a better idea" against his better judgment he continued, " lets use the portkey, and check out the village, maybe there is something useful…"

"NO!" Trevor interrupted "uh no we should not bother to go in there and get caught if he is not there. Remember most likely if they were to find us muggles there they would use the memory charm on us and that would basically be the end of my life. I would be lost in America. No we should definitely leave.

Jeff was left slightly confused by this. It had sounded more like an excuse to not use the portkey then a legitimate reason all of a sudden. He did not want to go all the way back already though. "Why don't we go in to town and get something to eat its been a long day and I'm starving?" Trevor agreed and they headed back to the car.

As they started to walk something came over Jeff. Something he had never experienced in his life. It was alike a nightmare only worse. Images he couldn't stand. Everything that had ever upset him was being replayed in his mind. All the fights with his father, being dumped by his ex, funerals he had been to, people he cared about in pain and someone kept saying over and over, "You're my pet, I control you!" He keeled over this images were pushing him over the edge and just as suddenly as it hit him, it stopped. He fell over more hurt then he could ever imagine being, but not physically, it was all in his mind. Trevor bent over and tried to help him up but Jeff just pushed him away. "NO! I am not your pet!!"

"Jeff, what are you talking about, of course your not, it's me Trevor what's wrong, what happened??" He inched in towards Jeff slowly.

"Wha?? Oh I don't know, something came over me I..I…" and with that he passed out.

***

When he came to, he was lying in his bed in his apartment. The pain was fading but he still the effects of whatever it was that had come over him. He was getting to be depressed. Well really he had been for some time now but now it was sinking back to those all to familiar lows. In fact in his 22 years on Earth, he had 2 great wonderful years of bliss, and 19 in the depths of hell, as he liked to say. Anytime something went right for him, something went wrong to the nth degree.

Trevor walked in to the room with a glass in hand "Hey, your awake, wasn't sure you were going to wake up"

"What are you talking about, what time is it?" Jeff slowly sat up; he looked out the window and saw that it was nighttime.

"Oh about a quarter past 9, on SUNDAY! You were out for a good day and a half, Your lucky I'm good with directions. After you passed out put you in the car, drove us back her, used your keys to get in and put you in bed, at first I thought I was something more serious when I went to put you in the car but then you started snoring."

Jeff had always had trouble sleeping, so on any other occasion finding out that he slept over a full day would have been wonderful news but today it wasn't such great news.

"So what happened back there?" Trevor sat on the chair next to bed and leaned forward curiously and sympathetically.

Jeff explained it all, all the images and the pain that came with it. "Imagine reliving every sinlge bad event in your life in the same instance and throw in some imaginary ones. And oh yea someone telling you, your there pet, there puppet."

"I take it you have some issues with control in your life?" Trevor was on the edge of his seat.

"No, no issue really. I just don't have any control, that's all." Jeff slouched back in bed.

Trevor sat back in his seat "I know that feeling well, most of my life was lived liked that. First my parents controlled me. Then when they were killed in car wreck the state took me into an orphanage. Spent my whole young life in there till I was a teenager. When I finally left the orphanage, I took the first job I could get and stay with it till I met my first wizard."

Jeff closed his eyes for a moment then opened them staring at the ceiling. It was covered with magazine clippings of bands, and random other stuff he liked. A lot of people thought it was silly but he had gotten the idea from a good friend of his and he decided to steal it so now most of the ceiling to his room is covered. He wished he could talk to that friend right now. She lived far away but they talked often and mostly because she lived so far away they hadn't grown apart when he found the book.

In fact she knew more about the book then anyone else. But she didn't know he believed it was. He wanted to give her call but decided to wait till Trevor had left. She'd be able to help.

Trevor continued. " Ya know after I got involved with the Ministry, I met this Auror, he knew nothing about what I was doing, he had come into the building I was working security in, he was tracking down some Death Eaters who were in the area." Trevor had this mischievous smile on his face " I had fallen asleep at my desk in the lobby of the building and apparently he had been standing there a few minutes watching me sleep. Suddenly he screams 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' and then goes on a bout a his business"

Jeff laughed for a bit "Thought you could use a laugh" Trevor chuckled and handed Jeff his drink, and took a sip from his own drink and sighed.

"So what do you think it was that happened to me? I mean I don't think that could have been a natural occurrence do you?" He took a big swig from his glass, Jeff smiled, Trevor had poured the good stuff.

"No I don't imagine it was, but I don't know what could do that either. I don't know to much about spells so its pos…." just then there was a tapping at the window, there was an owl sitting on the ledge.

Trevor went over and let it in and it dropped an envelope into his hands and flew around the room once and flew back out the window. He opened the note slowly and read it; His face went as pale as a ghost.

"What is it?"

Stuttering and stumbling as he walked towards the door of the room "I've…I've got, uh, got to go, I'll be back some …" he trailed of the end of his sentence something resembling tomorrow, left the room and apartment. As Jeff well worn out laid back in bed and stared at the ceiling.