6. Amon
6
AMON
I slept restlessly, tossing and turning.
Whispers kept tormenting me, while visions of white hair and lavender eyes danced in my dreams.
I sit up, looking around my chamber, the room dark save for the gentle glow of the embers from the dying fire.
Something is amiss.
I pull myself to the edge of the bed and sit quietly, tilting my head.
My heart thuds in my chest steadily but heavily.
“ Amon …”
There it is again.
It’s an echo of an echo, barely discernable, but it’s there.
I jump from the bed, spinning around. The air in the room takes on a heaviness. I was being summoned. I hadn’t felt this in a long time.
“ Amon …”
This time it’s an audible whisper, and I know for a fact I’m being summoned.
The markings over my chest begin to glow.
A blood sacrifice was being made.
The air is sucked out of the room, and I grit my teeth against the sensation of being pulled through space and time.
The air swirls and pools at my feet, creating a dark fog that envelops me.
For a moment the air is choked out of me, and as soon as it’s begun it’s over.
I look around me, recognizing the place instantly. I had been summoned to the crossroads of Delyra.
I look down, frowning at the small human female kneeling at my feet. Her lavender eyes are wide with fear, and she’s staring at me.
She’s tiny, with a head full of wild silver waves and pale peachy skin. Her lips are parted in shock, and I can’t help but notice how full they are.
I want to move, but quickly realize I can’t.
Looking around me, I also notice that my sigil is etched in the dirt.
The little female rises slowly, her eyes regarding me warily.
“What do you want, human?” I growl, searching the ground for any weakness in the circle.
The female looks to the ground, her eyes darting back and forth. I roll my eyes, bellowing at her.
“Why have you summoned me?!”
She recoils but does not step away.
After a moment, she stands a little taller, raising her chin in the air. Her face takes on a determined look.
“I have summoned you here to strike a bargain.”
I chuckle, the sound coming from low in my chest.
“Is that so, female?” I ask, lowering my head to look her in the eye. I bare my teeth and fangs at her.
“And what is so important that you felt the need to summon me? Do you realize I could kill you in mere seconds and you would be powerless to stop me?”
I reach out, slowly raking a claw across her cheek.
Her fear permeates the air around me and I revel in it.
She pauses, but holds my gaze, her brow etching into a slight frown.
It makes her nose crinkle.
She stands taller still, pulling her shoulders back.
“No, you can’t.”
The words are confident, and I smirk.
“My blood acts as a ward. You can do no harm to me.”
I throw my head back, bellowing laughter. Closing my eyes with mirth, I reach up, placing a hand against my chest before bowing to her in amusement.
Looking up at her with a fanged smile, I give her a flourish of my hand.
“Touche, my dove. What is it you wish; your bargain is mine to honor.”
She seems to deflate with relief, which only feeds my mirth. Her eyes fall to my feet before she meets my gaze again.
“I wish to trade places with the sun-touched male child promised one-thousand years ago. I will take his place as the wares of your bargain.”
I still, my eyes regarding her silently. The mirth has drained from my face.
“It can’t be done.”
She shakes her head at me. “I’m not giving you a choice.” She holds up her hand, showing me the deep cut on her palm.
“My blood grants me a bargain of my choosing. You can strike it with me, or we will both be trapped in this circle. The choice is yours.”
Anger blooms within me, and I pull myself up, clenching my fists and looking down at her.
Reaching out, I wrap a hand around her slender throat.
I could easily snap her neck here and be done with it, but then there’s the issue of the binding circle. I would be powerless to release its hold.
Her eyes widen in fear, and she wraps her hands around my forearm.
I lift her easily, pulling her closer.
“This is a dangerous game you play, minx.” I say through gritted teeth. “You want to play dirty; we can play dirty.”
I don’t notice when she reaches into her skirt to pull a small knife. But I do notice as it catches the moonlight, and I bellow another laugh.
“Your weapon is useless to you!”
Her eyes glint, and she reaches up to slash it across my forearm, instantly clasping the cut on her hand to the wound on my arm.
My entire being shifts, and I drop her.
She crumples to the ground with a cry, and I am forced to one knee.
The human tricked me.
She’s forced me into a blood bargain.
Elora
My cry pierces the air as I hit the ground with a thud. The air is knocked out of me, and for a moment I just lay there, scared to move. I gasp in a breath, assessing my body for any major injuries.
Nothing hurts, so I sit up, wrapping my hand around my throat.
I decide to stand, brushing off my skirts as I do. The demon before me huffs out heavy breaths, his head lowered between his shoulders.
I reach out hesitantly, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinches, and I jerk my hand away.
Even kneeling he’s almost as tall as I am.
With wide eyes, I take him in.
I don’t really know what I was expecting, but he’s more man than I thought he would be.
His skin is a ruddy blue-grey, and two black goat horns twist on either side of his head. Straight black hair falls into his face. His brow is furrowed over eyes black as night.
Weren’t they amber before?
I watch as the cut on his arm pulls closed, as though nothing had happened.
I glance down at the knife laying in the dirt at my feet.
Taking in a shaky breath, I lean down to pick it up. Facing the demon once more, I take a step towards him.
“Now, Amon, I would like to make a bargain.”
The words come out unsteady, and I clear my throat.
He raises his head to look at me, his black eyes boring into me.
It’s unsettling, and I shiver.
“I am at your disposal.” He says through gritted teeth.
This is actually going to work.
I can’t believe it.
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes before speaking.
“You will take me in leu of the child. You will relinquish your claim. In return, you will grant another thousand years of peace to my people.”
The words feel like stones in my heart, and I almost want to take them back as soon as they leave my lips.
Amon lowers his head further, sinking into himself.
The ground starts to shake, and I glance behind me to see a group of riders approaching.
Fast.
I can hear yelling as they grow nearer, and I know one of them is my brother.
I can tell by the armor.
I turn to Amon, and just as my brother dismounts his still moving horse, the demon reaches out, wrapping a clawed hand around my upper arm.
In an instant the air is sucked away from me. I feel choked, and the ground tilts beneath me. I panic, seeking purchase, but Amon grabs me and pulls me against him.
As soon as its begun it’s over, and I crumple to hard stone.
Gasping, I clutch at my throat, gulping in air.
Amon still kneels in front of me, but we aren’t in Delyra anymore.
He stands slowly, his head still bowed, his eyes closed.
When he opens them again, they’re not black anymore.
They are amber.
He regards me silently, his expression stoic. The only thing that belies his anger is the ticking of his jaw.
I stand slowly, smoothing my skirts and glancing around me. The room is large, with a large bed and an even larger fireplace.
A stone table sits between the two, and I watch as Amon turns and walks to it. He reaches out and splays a hand over the surface, and a scroll appears. I gasp, watching as he pulls a chair and gestures for me to come sit.
I don’t move right away, but a warning glance from him makes me move my feet.
Swallowing thickly, I sit in the offered chair, rubbing my palms against my skirts nervously.
Amon summons a pen out of thin air, and reaches out a hand, requesting mine.
I offer him my unwounded hand, and he shoots me a glare.
“The other one.” He growls.
I place my wounded hand in his, watching with wide eyes as he turns it palm-side up.
He dips the pen into the wound on my hand, and I jerk, hissing.
Tightening his grip, he dips the pen into the wound again. This time, fresh blood wells and he dips the pen again.
I watch with wide eyes as he places the pen to the parchment, gasping as words begin to appear.
They glisten like water on the page, and I watch, mesmerized.
“Sign.”
Amon’s voice breaks my gaze and I look up at him.
I take the pen, looking back down at the scroll. The words might as well be Greek to me. I attempt to speak, but the words come out as a whisper.
“W-what does it say?” I ask.
Amon walks to a small dresser on the other side of the room, pulling small items from a drawer.
“It states that you are now mine, bonded to me by blood, and that I relinquish my claim on the child.”
He stands, his gaze fixed on the wall before him as he continues.
“You will remain here with me for one-thousand years, or your death, whichever comes sooner.”
The finality of his statement sends a shiver through me, and I let out a shaky breath.
This was it. This right here is what I signed up for. Figuratively, and…
Literally.
I touch the pen to the parchment, scrolling my name with my own blood.
It glistens, and I look up to see Amon raise his hand dismissively towards the table.
His name scrolls underneath mine, and I gasp, backing away slightly.
He raises a hand as he walks towards me, pulling it into a closed fist. The scroll rolls shut, rolling slightly on the table.
It’s done.
The contract was signed.
I was now his prisoner.
Amon reaches out, pulling another chair over to sit it by mine. He walks behind me, grasping the back of my chair and scooting it out and closer to the empty chair.
Sitting, he reaches out, taking my wounded hand in his. I frown when he pulls out a bandage, wrapping it around my palm gingerly.
Silence impregnates the space between us, and I glance up at him a couple of times. His brow is etched with a deep frown, his jaw ticking.
I take in his features, his strong jaw, his sharp nose…. his lips.
He ties off the bandage before sitting back to regard me silently for a moment.
I look at the ground sheepishly, holding my hand to my chest.
Standing, he pushes his chair to the table slowly before approaching me.
His nearness makes me shiver, and I shrink into myself as he leans down, his face mere inches from mine. He sneers at me, his fangs glinting in the firelight.
“Congratulations, Princess.”