I didn't sleep well that night, and by the sound of it, neither did Dad. I heard him grunting and tossing and turning through the thin walls of the bunkhouse.

Despite his lack of sleep, my dad rose early with the other men and set out for the mission again, as Leda's dad told me as the men threw saddles on the griffins. Apparently they hadn't completed it yesterday.

As soon as the party left, leaving the island mostly deserted except for the animals and a few children running around, I met Leda at the fountain and together we made the trek up to Aunty S.'s place.

We paused at the dark cave, peering inside. "Aunty S.?" I called out.

"Just a moment, Jared, dear," her voice called out. Her body came out of the shadows, the pale, beautiful face of the Sphinx, with her small eyes blinking against the bright morning sun.

When she saw Leda, Aunty S.'s eyes got small and she hissed, which is pretty easy to do when you're part cat. Her lips pulled back to reveal teeth as sharp as nails. Her claws shot out of her lion paws and her tail bushed up like a bottle brush. "What are you doing here?" Aunty S. spat.

Leda glared right back at the Sphinx. "I'm here with Jared."

"You are not welcome here!" the cat-woman screeched.

"Actually, if I remember correctly, to enter your cave, I have to solve a riddle." I was surprised at Leda's boldness; she stunk at riddles.

"Fine!" Aunty S. said. "Riddle me this: If I have one, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have one. What is it?"

I knew this one. I had read it in a book somewhere... Maybe The Sphinx's Greatest Riddles: Trick the Trickster Herself?

Leda thought long and hard for a while. Then, she answered confidently, "A secret."

Aunty S. snarled, pulling her lips back and revealing those teeth. For a moment, I was afraid the Sphinx might attack Leda, but then Aunty S. just said, "Very well then. I shall not allow you in my home, but I will grant you the pleasure of speaking to me out here."

"Yeah," Leda muttered. "Such a pleasure."

I smacked her arm and sent an apologetic look at Aunty S., but I think it seemed more like a I'm-so-so-sorry-for-my-friend's-stupidity-please-don't-eat-me look.

Aunty S. sat down on her hind legs. Following her example, I lowered Leda on the ground next to me. We were silent for a while, so I started to speak. "So, Aunty S., we're here for more information about-"

"The book, yes. Yes, I know. I figured with a mind as sharp and hungry for knowledge as yours, you'd be here to visit me at first light."

"First off," Leda said, "does this book have a name? And secondly, why doesn't Jared have to answer a riddle?"

The cat-lady shook her head. "The book of which we speak is from thousands of legends, many lost and never heard of. It is simply referred to as 'the Book'. It does not have a title, for the Book cannot be labeled. And to answer your second question: who I allow in my company is my business. Jared has proven himself learned enough to answer my riddles on many occasions, unlike you."

Leda's face turned so red I thought that maybe someone had put a teapot in her head. "Look here, fuzz face-"

"Anyway," I said quickly, "can you tell us more about the Book, Aunty S.?"

The cat shrugged- well, as close as a cat-lady can get to shrugging. "I have already told you all I know, young Jared. As I said, this book is a mere legend as far as any living soul on this earth knows. If the book you have found in your library is indeed the Book, you must protect it at all costs."

"Protect it?" Leda asked. "Why?"

Aunty S. roared. "You foolish child! Do you not understand the power contained in those pages? In the wrong hands, the Book can be very dangerous! If-"

"Alright!" Leda yelled. "I get it! Geez, lady, I'm not deaf- at least, I wasn't before I came here."

Suddenly, Aunty S. stiffened, like a deer caught in headlights. She turned her head towards the darkness of her cave. "I must go." She stood and started walking away."

"Whoa, hold up!" I called, but Aunty S. was gone.

~~~~~

"Well that was a waste of time!" Leda stormed as we made our way to the fountain. "That no-good, over-grown fuzzball."

"Calm down," I told her. "She didn't have any more information on the Book. That's not her fault."

"So, now you're standing up for the thing!" she yelled.

I didn't make any reply. It wouldn't matter what I'd say because Leda would just turn it against me and make me look like the bad guy. 

Girls!

~~~~~

My dad and the rest of the mission team returned again that night. They all seemed very troubled, and they weren't every chatty over dinner. Even my dad, usually the loudest and most boastful over their success, ate his meal in silence and quickly left the mess hall without a word to anyone.

The mission party's sullen mood was rubbing off and everyone else, and everyone seemed to be nervous about something.

"What's going on, do you think?" Leda asked me as we headed off the to bunkhouses.

"I don't know. Your dad told me that they hadn't completed their mission when they went yesterday. Maybe they still haven't finished it."

"Spending two full days one one mission and not completing it?" she asked. "Not likely."

I shrugged. "You never know."

~~~~~

I woke to the sound of my dad's bedroom door closing. By the sound of it, he was trying the be quiet, but my dad was a large guy who didn't have a whole lot of skill in the stealth department.

I figured he was just going to the bathroom, but ten minutes passed, then fifteen, then twenty, and he didn't return. Worried something had gone wrong, I rose from my bed, pulled on a jacket, and exited the bunkhouse.

It was a cold night, and it was really, really dark. There was no moon tonight, and it was cloudy, which blocked out any sort of light that may have come from the stars above. It was so dark I fell over a small rock five yards from the bunkhouse.

I couldn't see any sign of Dad, and I couldn't hear him blundering around. I decided to check the bathroom. Maybe he had fallen asleep or something. Heading in the general direction of the bathrooms, I felt my way around in the inky blackness, inching my way forward with my hands and feet.

Someone was in the bathroom, and as I got closer, I nearly lost my dinner. It smelt like a pack of dead skunks who had been living off Taco Bell. And, believe it or not, as I hid in the darkness, a dark, shadowy form of a girl exited the reeking bathroom.

I decided to head back to my room, thinking that Dad was probably off doing some late-night work-outs or something, but I couldn't remember where I had come from, and I certainly couldn't see it.

I walked around in the dark for a while, hoping I would be able to find a building to lead me back to my bed, but the only thing I felt was pain when I ran smack-dab into a large tree.

I fell back on my butt as the world blurred before my eyes. Pain exploded all over my forehead and my eyes started to water. After the world stopped spinning, I got to my feet, more disoriented than ever. I could feel the tree in front of me, but I couldn't tell if I was facing it from inside the forest or outside. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face; everything was shadows.

I turned around in circles, looking for a way out. In hindsight, probably not the best idea. I just disoriented myself even more, but in my defense, there are some creepy things that come out at night on that island; I was scared.

Suddenly, I saw something: a small glowing ball of a blue-ish light. It took me a while to figure out what it was because my head was still spinning, but after squinting at it for a while, I realized it was a will-o'-the-wisp. Another one appeared just a little way behind its buddy, identical in shape and size, but this one was orange. Another appeared behind the orange one, and another, and another until a small glowing trail and gas balls had appeared.

Now, remember what I said earlier about wisps being tricksters? Well, that's true- mostly. Wisps are very entertained by human's pain and epic fails. However, sisps can be very helpful when you're truly in danger. Like I said, they're rumored to lead you to your fate. Whether that fate is good or not, you can never tell with wisps. They just seem to call to you- hypnotize you to follow them. Now, call me an idiot, but I did just that.