The Ankh of Anubis... Trials of Fate Book III

CHAPTER 8: WELCOME TO ROMANIA. WANT SOME CANDY?

"Are they here?"

I was at a train station. It was crowded. A number of people were getting into a train about to leave, but some people just arriving weren't in a hurry.

I turned and saw a boy my age beside me. He wore a sleeveless blue hoodie and a weird nose-mask over his mouth. His arms were folded, his eyes searching for something or someone in the area.

He turned to his friend and shook his head.

"Ugh," the friend's back was turned to me, so I didn't see him until he turned.

And when he did I froze.

I don't know why I froze. Maybe his green eyes reminded me of those of Anubis. Maybe with his black hoodie and camo trousers, he stood out with an air of mystery about him. Maybe the black nose mask he wore made him look dangerous. Whatever the case, my heart did a backflip, like I was in danger. If I hadn't checked myself I'd have summoned my sword.

"Seth promised they'd be travelling down this route," the boy said, his voice tinged with a bit of hoarseness, "If he's wrong we'd be wasting our time here."

He sat down. The other boy turned to him and shook his head.

"You have a lot of faith in the god," the boy in the black hoodie removed his nose mask, "All I want is to end the boy. We corner him, I end him, you hold his friends off, we escape. The whole thing shouldn't take more than a minute."

The boy in blue said his first words, "He will come."

The boy in black looked up at him, "How do you know?"

The boy in blue stared straight ahead, looking right at me.

"Instinct."

...................................................

I woke up to the sound of sword-fighting.

As I tried to make sense of my surroundings, I realised I was in a hospital bed.

The air smelt of soap and medicine, and the TV was on. Some kids were acting a play where one actor raised a sword and said, "Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield
To one of woman born!"

"Ugh," I groaned. Just my luck to wake up listening to some Shakespearean nonsense. It felt like I was back in Mr. Lester's class all over again.

I looked beside me to see Natalia, who was watching the play with keen interest. Her right eye was bruised up pretty bad, and her arms were covered in scorch marks and bruises. A couple of bandages were on the back of her head, and some of her hair looked burnt.

Not gonna lie, she did not look good.

"To think his stupid jacket could've helped me," she muttered.

For a second I didn't know what she was talking about, but then I remembered. Horus, the god of sky, Prince of the gods and firstborn of Isis, had given her a jacket earlier this year. Apparently the jacket was practically impenetrable as long as the attack wasn't coming from a god, so for all I knew she would've had a better chance with it.

"Sorry," I said.

She gave me a dirty look and turned away.

I was about to talk when Stan came into the room looking like I'd never even torched him by accident a few minutes ago.

"Hey, they're finally awake," he smiled, but there was an uneasiness in his eyes. He turned to the side and pleaded, "My Lord, you don't have to-"

"FIFTEEN CASUALTIES!" Horus boomed as he barged into the room, "Fifteen people injured! If I hadn't interfered you two would've blown the entire street apart, and those fifteen would've been dead!"