𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐬 were standing on the subway, holding onto railing to prevent them from slipping. Chiron had given Aureliano one hundred and fifty dollars for the journey, although secretly Dionysius had given a lot of extra money to his daughter. The seven stood and watched as people scrolled on their phones and talked to each other. Time to time, an adult came up to one or two of them to ask if their parents were with them.
"Yes, they are just socializing with others," Avani spoke up. Lillia didn't want to say anything to the stranger. Avani remembered that Avani would always do the public speaking in the relationship, and somehow she still remembered. Lillia admired that.
"Thanks," Lillia said after a moment of silence.
"You're welcome, Lils." At this moment, everything got awkward for the two again. Meanwhile, Aureliano sat next to Baek. She handed her a sour gummy pack.
"Thanks," Baek replied happily.
"Of course, it's..." Aureliano's eyes widened and her voice quietly trailed off. Baek turned to where Aureliano was looking and noticed a creature. She couldn't figure out what it was, neither with Aureliano.
Amets and Gavin hid Izara while Avani and Lillia held onto their blades in their pocket. The seven needed a distraction to defeat this...thing.
Except Amets figured out who it was. It was a sphinx.
"What's a sphinx?" Izara said. Gavin and Amets quietly shushed her as Avani ran up to a speaker to announce something.
"Attention, everyone, at the next stop, get the fuck out of this bus thing before you actually die!" Avani announced as Aureliano pulled the fire alarm. Water infested the subway as finally, the destination for many had arrived. Everyone rushed out except the seven. The sphinx stood up tall and looked around.
"Hello?" Baek called, the sphinx directing its attention to the daughter of Aurora.
"A riddle." That was all that escaped from the sphinx's mouth, which confused the children.
"It's the sphinx's method. She'll give you a riddle to solve, and if you get it incorrect, she'll eat all of us," Amets explained. Gavin's face dropped.
"A riddle? That's easy," Aureliano challenged. The sphinx looked directly at Aureliano.
"Okay, I shall announce it, then. This hears without ears, speaks without a mouth, and has no body. It does come alive better in certain areas. What is it?" Lillia's eyes widened.
"You sure this is easy?" Izara whispered to Aureliano, who rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, nothing scary, just if we don't get this right we'll all fucking die!" Lillia worried.
"Don't worry, I got this," Baek expressed, walking over to Amets. "When I was back home, my parents used to-"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it, you were spoiled and your daddy got everything you wanted for you, huh? I assume he also gave you a riddle book among the other 50,000 presents you received?" Avani said sarcastically.
"Can you shut the-"
"Guys, just focus on the goddamn riddle before this sphinx devours us like it's her last meal!" Aureliano shouted. "So sorry, miss. Just give us a few." The blond girl got everyone to huddle in a circle.
"Alright, how are we gonna do this?" Gavin questioned.
"Simple, Baek and I will solve it. If we don't get it right, then we kill it," Amets planned.
"But fast, before the subway gets us to our destination!" Lillia reminded. The seven nodded and let Baek and Amets think.
"Okay, it clearly cannot be a living being if it does not have a mouth, body, or ears."
"It comes alive with the wind. Oh, maybe sound waves?" Baek said.
"But sound waves don't hear. And they always travel, not just in big, open areas," Amets explained.
"But what does?" The two thought for a moment as Lillia observed the destinations on the map.
"Guys, can you please hurry? We only have two stops left," Lillia called. It did look like the sphinx was getting impatient.
"Okay, okay, we got the answer," Baek said a minute later. The two walked up to the sphinx.
"What is your answer, children?" The sphinx spoke. Baek shivered a little due to the frightening appearance of the sphinx.
"It's an echo." Amets announced.
"An echo heard what you say, and repeats it all without a mouth and ears. It's easier to hear in open spaces, such as gymnasiums," Baek explained. There was a moment of silence as the subway stopped. The door opened, letting passengers in. The sphinx started to walk out, but stopped halfway into the door. As the door started to close, it didn't detect anyone and killed the sphinx immediately. Aureliano and Gavin's eyes widened, staring at the half of the sphinx remaining. Guess there's a price to pay for seeing through the mist.
