Wow this is so long it must make up for my long hiatus. Anyway... guys it's summer and I have nothing to do but sit here and write so don't forget to check out the poll and vote for what stories you'd like to see from me next!

Chapter 13

House of Ib

A note from Eve Rutter: So sorry guys if I gave you a heart attack last chapter. I was typing this up on my phone and you know how autocorrect is. When I said I was dying I meant to say I was flying. So once again, sorry, and on with the tale.

"So this is the Du'at?" a clearly unimpressed Colton noted upon gaining his footing. "I would have expected something, I don't know, more."

"What zombies and skeletons?" Claudia sarcastically responded. "Let's be real."

I had to agree with my boyfriend though, "Naw, he's right. This isn't what I pictured either." Stone walls chiseled out a cave and the only way we could go was in. Clicking the flashlight app on my phone, I dived into the unknown before anyone could stop me.

"Eve wait," I heard Colton echo from behind me. Slowing down only enough for my companions to catch up, I continued down the path. "This isn't a race you know."

"We don't have a lot of time," I reminded him without malice. "Luce said as much and my gut says we have even less time than she'd like us to believe."

I noticed Colton's lip being crushed from the corner of my eye, so I stopped in my tracks. If Colton was uneasy about anything… "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's nothing Eve let's just keep going."

"You're a horrible liar," Claudia and I noted harmoniously. With an amused look passing between us, she spoke again before I could. "You're the Osirian. Whatever qualms you feel, whatever strikes fear in your heart IS legitimate and we need to know."

Colton seemed annoyed by our pestering when he responded, "Really guys, it doesn't matter. It's nothing Egyptian that's bothering me."

"But there is something." If Colton thought he could get off the block that easily he was truly a fool. (And I didn't want to be dating a fool.) Deciding to change my tactic from pushy girlfriend to sweet tease I let out the slightest (and fakest) giggle. "Come on Cole. Just tell me."

Claudia looked horrified, and Colton legitimately took a step back before responding, "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend."

Anywhere else that would have obviously been a joke, but I almost wondered if Colton was being serious and honestly wondered if this, if I, was just a trick of the Du'at. Throwing my hands up in surrender, I laughed a bit more honestly. "You've got me, and I won't try that again. Come on Colton though. You know you can tell us anything."

"It's just you Eve," he finally snapped. "I don't like how little trust you have for Luce. We're here, in the fr**k*ng land of the dead because she told us to find a coffin for her trapped lover. We're risking a lot on faith that you don't share."

Stepping closer to Colton I could barely make out his worried eyes in the pale light. "You've known from the beginning I don't trust Luce, but you trust Luce so that's enough. Even if you weren't my destined protector who would know if I was in danger I'd trust Luce because I trust you. I mean I hope it's obvious I trust you because I jumped into a pit on your gut feeling."

"Anyone know where they keep the barf bags on this love ship?" Claudia's tone was one of teasing, but she did actually look a little sick. "If you two are done being all mushy and gushy can we continue into this never ending cave and figure out how the heck to get to the chamber of the sarcophagus."

Thanking the gods that it was so dark no one could see my blush, I put some well-needed distance between Colton and I by heading to the other side of my sister. Claudia was right; Colton and I could deal with our unresolved sexual tension later. For now, we really just needed to find this coffin and get out of Dodge.

Claudia knew the most about this strange new world, so I directed my question towards her despite my crossing to the other side of the increasingly widening cave. "So the Du'at has many levels, right? So all we really have to do is figure out what takes us to the next level and do it. Hopefully, if we do that enough times we'll get to where Raet hid the casket."

Claudia nodded, "That doesn't sound like too bad of a plan except for the fact that we don't know how to get to the next level."

"Now I make no promises," Colton interrupted glee apparent in his voice. "But I think these words might have something to do with it."

I turned to see Colton fingering some writing on the wall, but the universe was not kind. "Only problem is that's not English. I'm pretty sure it's ancient Egyptian. Now I don't know about here in England but that's certainly not part of our American curriculum."

Claudia sighed, "It's not taught in school here either." Well crap.

"Then why do you look so happy," Colton, who was much closer to Claudia than I noted.

Unable to withhold her joy the girl bounced on the balls of her feet as she replied, "See you will learn with time big sister that it's good to do some learning outside of the classroom. For example, had I never taken the time to become fluent in Ancient Egyptian we'd all die in this forsaken cavern. Lucky for us I did take the time to learn Egyptian. I might be a bit rusty, but I'm pretty sure that writing is telling about the conception of a man."

"Why would they put the sex talk on a cave wall in the Du'at?" I heard Colton mutter.

Claudia didn't seem amused, "It's not the sex talk you got, don't be ridiculous. In Egyptian lore they believed the first part of your soul to form was your Ib, or your heart. It came as a single drop of blood from your mother. Now I'm not 100% sure, but I'd venture a guess about how we get from level to level. The Du'at is where you go when you die, and as you die it's your soul that passes through. Maybe to get through the Du'at you have to do something related to each part of the soul."

"That's a nice theory," I admitted, "But it still doesn't tell us exactly what to do."

"I think she has a point, Eve," Colton responded to my surprise. "See that stalactite growing from the bottom of the cave, there's no stalagmite to go with it. Everywhere else they're in pairs, only that stalactite is alone."

"Actually, the ones growing from the ground are stalagmites and the ones on the ceiling stalactites. You can remember because the ones coming from the ground have a g in them and the ones coming from the ceiling have a c in them."

"You would be the only person in the world who actually knows the difference between the two," I teased my sister. "But with all your knowledge is it possible for it to just be a natural occurrence for there to be a stalagmite without a stalactite over it?"

"I mean it's possible," she responded stepping closer to assess the yard long structure. "But since the water dripping from stalactites forms these I can't imagine it could have ever gotten this big without an equally large stalactite above it."

Colton seemed proud when he spoke again, "So I was right. This 'stalagmite' is here for a reason. And it's sharp too. "

Oh. So that was where they were going? I really didn't think I was going to like these trials. "You said the ib was formed out of blood, right." Claudia nodded confirming that my gruesome deduction was correct. "Then my guess is we have to spill a drop of blood to get to the next level." Pricking my finger on the cold stone, I cursed. For some strange reason (maybe because we were in the land of the dead) that little prick hurt much more than when you're at the doctor.

"Looks like we all have to give up some blood," Colton noted when nothing happened. "That or we're wrong."

"Let's go with all giving up some blood first," Claudia suggested following my lead. Reluctantly, Colton did the same as the second his finger dripped onto the stone I felt myself being sucked through the ground and on to our next task.