Excerpt from Chapter 7 of Sons of the Sphinx by Cheryl Carpinello

I say nothing. I just try to take this all in. Spirits, bodies, separation, loss. Geez, I thought my world was complicated. Smack me if I ever complain again.
“Please, Rosa. Tut Khan can protect you. We need you.”
The voice goes silent. The shock waves stop. Tut stands there, his ebony eyes burning into mine. He knows I’ve talked to her. He could hear me, but not her.
Without a word uttered, I sense Tut’s plea. I remember back in my bedroom—boy, that seems like ages ago—I gave my word.
But then you didn’t know that some ghost, ba, whatever, had plans to kill you, my brain yells.
I know, but when Tut touches me, the electricity shoots through my veins, not just as her, but as me. Here I am fifteen years old. Most girls I know have had at least one boyfriend and have even gone on dates, even if it was with a group of kids. Me, the last time I held hands with a boy was in the fourth grade. We went on a trip to the zoo, and I had to hold hands with red-headed Erik as we crossed the road. It took me weeks to get the nerve to ask Caleb to the fall dance, and then he said no. How sad is that?
What if the closest I ever get to the love that Ankhesenamun is talking about is right here and now? My heart races when Tut smiles at me. I know he’s only seeing her. I mean I’m not that stupid. But I can pretend.
And if I don’t help them, there is no one else. Their spirits will be separated for eternity. That’s a long time. If I don’t help, then somehow they will be wiped from the pages of history. It will be like their love for each other never was. I told you I was a romantic.
If I never have someone love me like Tut does Hesena, then at least I’ll have felt what she felt and know that for myself. And if Tut can’t protect me…

Sons of the Sphinx by: Cheryl Carpinello

Genres: Pre-Teen/Tween/YA: Paranormal; Coming of Age; Adventure; Historical Fiction

126 Pages

Release date: October 10, 2014

Two souls
Separated by three millennium
One with a gift that is more like a curse
One on an almost impossible quest
Destinies entwined; one seeks to find herself while the other seeks his lost queen. To succeed, the pair must right the injustices 3,000 years in the past.
Only together can they fulfill The Prophecy, but in the process they must defeat the Pharaoh Horemheb.
Dishonor and death are the fate of the defeated.

Armed with what she considers her grandmother’s curse, 15-year-old Rosa agrees to help the ghost of King Tut find his lost queen Hesena. Though Hesena’s ba inhabits part of Rosa, finding the whole spirit of Hesena so that she and Tut can be together for the first time in over 3500 years proves to be a harder task than Rosa first thinks. Thrust back into Ancient Egypt with Tut, Rosa discovers that finding Hesena is not all she must do. She must keep out of the reach of the living Horemheb – who crosses mortal boundaries using Seth’s evil magic – if she is to stay alive to make it back home.

2014 Literary Classics Silver Medal Winner for PreTeen/Tween

Literary Classics 2014 Seal of Approval

Purchase Links for Sons of the Sphinx

AMAZON/NOOK/iBOOKS/SMASHWORDS