Percy Jackson and the Triwizard Tournament [Book 4]

132) Riddles Suck

Harry and I walked in silence. Neither of us made a move to talk, which I was perfectly fine with. I was stuck on the thought of what Krum had done — and Harry had confirmed that he'd used an Unforgivable Curse.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. Harry used the compass spell to get us heading in the right direction, and I didn't mind following him.

At least, I didn't mind following him until we ran into the Sphinx. It had the body of a larger than average lion, and the head of a woman. She turned her almond eyes towards us as we approached.

Sphinxes didn't terrify me. If Oedipus, the king of Alabama level incest, could outsmart her, then so could I.

She didn't seem to be readying for attack, instead pacing along a path in the maze, blocking our way.

All of a sudden, she spoke in a deep, hoarse voice, "You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."

"So... will you move then?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," she said, smiling slyly. I got the impression that Oedipus was smarter than I had thought. "Not unless you can answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess — I let you pass. Answer wrongly — I attack. Remain silent — I will let you walk away from me unscathed."

Harry stared at the Sphinx for a long moment, then finally asked, "Can I hear the riddle?"

The Sphinx sat down and started reciting the riddle:

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,
The middle of the middle and end of end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

"Fuck me," I mumbled. "Oedipus, the mother fucker, is officially smarter than me."

"Could I have it again... more slowly?" Harry asked.

The Sphinx smiled and repeated it to Harry.

"I think the first part is —" I started.

"No!" The Sphinx hissed, the hair on her back standing straight up. "You cannot help him! You will get your own!"

Harry frowned, but I gave him a nod, and he continued. He asked for more repeats of the riddle, and occasionally made sounds like Er. He eventually came to the conclusion of the first part being spy, like I had.

Finally, Harry have the Sphinx his answer, "A spider!" The Sphinx jumped up and smiled, letting him pass. He stopped to wait on me from behind her.

"No," The Sphinx shook her head. "You must leave. He cannot have help."

"I'm not gonna help him, I'm just going to —"

"Leave," the Sphinx ordered.

"It's all right, dude," I said. "Just hug the right wall, I'll meet up with you. I've got this. I'm a riddle master."

Harry nodded slowly, and reluctantly walked down the path, taking the next right and disappearing from view.

"I don't like demigods," The Sphinx said. "There was Oedipus — he was annoying, and he was only a legacy. And all these Athena kids — oh, they solve my riddles so easily. I'm thinking of switching to something else soon — but no matter, I still have a riddle for you."

"I think I'd prefer a fight," I said.

The Sphinx shook her head, then started reciting another riddle:

"My first is in orange, but not in fault.
My second is in score, but not in salt.
My third is in chore, but not in the air.
My fourth is in share, but not in those who are strong.
My fifth is in wrong, but not in right.
My whole is that of from which you were born, upon which your father's life is sworn. What am I?"

I frowned. Most of the things didn't seem to be connected to each clue, and there were five of them? And what about that of from which the person was born? And their father.

"Upon which your father's life is sworn?" I muttered. "Who's dad is sworn on anything? Like, whoopee, Apollo is sworn on the sun, and on Daphne, but she was gross, so we don't care about her."

I paused. Upon which your father's life is sworn. Maybe it wasn't a riddle that was meant for everyone. Maybe it was a riddle meant just for me.

My dad is Poseidon. He was sworn on the sea. I was born at the beach, so the whole could be that.

"My first is in orange, but not in fault," I muttered. "In orange, but not in fault... O, R, N, G, E? Gods, I hope I'm spelling orange right. Is score a C or a K? It's a C, isn't it.... And... C, O, R, E, are in score but not salt." I counted up the letters in my head, and it didn't take me very long to figure out which ones made up the word I was looking for.

"O from orange, C from score, E from chore, A from share, and Nfrom wrong," I muttered. "It's the ocean. You're the ocean."

The Sphinx sighed, stood, and let me pass, "It was bad enough when it was Athena children solving my riddles, but now it's others as well. That other boy wasn't even a demigod." She looked at me, frowning ever so slightly. "I don't want to do riddles any longer. Any ideas?"

"Trivia?" I shrugged. "With time, anyone can solve a riddle, but not everyone knows what the capital of Bulgaria is?"

"Hmmm," the Sphinx sounded please. "Now, what is the capital of Bulgaria?"

"I'm not sure," I shrugged. "I doubt too many people know that. Can I go know? Harry's probably fighting a chihuahua or something. I know a little something about fighting those, it's terrible."

"Yes, you may leave," the Sphinx said, and I started on my way. Just as I was about to turn the corner, she called, "Oh, and Mr. Jackson, I'll see you soon."

Please don't judge my riddle too harshly. It's the first one I've ever made, and will probably be the last. Also, WOW! Great googly moogly! Percy Jackson and the Mirror of Erised has reached 100,000 reads! That's amazing. You guys are amazing! It's crazy how fast you guys have read this. It's crazy how much of you guys enjoy this. Thank you guys for reading my stories this far. Thanks for sticking through it. You guys are great.

I hope you guys have had an amazing awesome super fun Monday, and I'll see you on Wednesday CT. Love ya!

PS. Thank you all. I love you so much you cutie patooties.