Chapter 3: The Depth Of Darkness

Amon awoke to the sound of screaming.

He threw his blankets to the side, running to the door. He tore it open and slid down the rail of the stairs, landing on the smooth and polished redwood floorboards heavily. Glancing around he saw a few Ques’ti poking their heads out from under the pews, a confused and frustrated look upon their faces.

He scratched his chest absentmindedly, the smooth fabric of his nightshirt soft under his skin. He waited for a moment, looking about once more, a feeling of dread slowly falling upon him.

He walked to the door, reaching for the door handle slowly. It creaked loudly as he pulled it towards him. A line of bright daylight slid down his face, a stark contrast to the tinted light trough the stain glass windows. Stepping outside he looked about, his eyes finally falling on Agares.

He was disguised, rather poorly, as a man in a blood red suit. His long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail and his horns were concealed from the normal human eye. But to all that had been cursed to eternity in the underworld, he could not hide his true form.

In his hands was the jaw of Amon’s childhood friend, the one returned to death just last night.

“No….” Amon looked on in horror as Agares dragged the frantic woman toward the church, past him and into the back corridor, closing the front door with one hand.

“Amon? Amon! Help! He’s- He’s a monster! Don’t you see-” The back door clicked shut, cutting her sentence short. Amon, in his state of horror, walked to the door, opening it slowly.

Agares looked at him peculiarly, now back in his natural form, holding Sarah against the wall with one hand. “Why, good morning Amon. It’s a nice day today to-”

“Stow it Agares. Let her go.” Amon cut him short, his frustration at an unusually low level with this kind of stunt.

“-to-” Agares paused, a questioning look in his eyes, “Your not excruciatingly frustrated at me for dragging your friend in here after you spent most of your energy returning her back to life and planning to kill her?”

Sarah squealed, her mouth covered by Agares’ hand. A tear rolled down her cheek as she looked desperately at Amon.

“Let her go Agares, she has nothing to do with you or me.”

“Oh but she does. See, I have a plan.” He hissed a sigh slowly through his teeth.

“A plan?” Amon faltered, and Agares took the opportunity to tighten his grip on Sarah. “Stop it Agares!”

“Ah yelling… music to my ears. Oh, and desperation! Something I haven’t heard in this house since my master…” He broke his temporary link to his memories, an evil smile on his face. “If you want her free, come get me.”

He held his hand out, collecting a spiraling mass of black energy in his palm and sending it toward Amon.

Amon dodged, though barely, collecting his own weapon in hand. A soft, slow sizzle echoed throughout the room as his energy ball gave way, disappearing in his hand and a searing pain shot through his chest.

Amon yelled, buckling in pain. “That's what happens when you use too much energy at once when you don’t have much in the first place. Long nights up will do that to you.” Agares smirked, explaining the workings of their energy to Sarah as he tightened his grip once more.

She whimpered softly.

“Let her GO!” Amon yelled, lunging for Agares, his nails suddenly long and sharp, two short horns appearing from his forehead.

Agares dodged, a pleased look upon his face. “I’ve always gone far too easy on you haven’t I? If a death of a friend is all you need to accept a fraction of demonhood I wonder what other things will do.” He placed a hand on Amon’s chest, throwing him back where he stood before.

Immediately he lunged again, gathering as much energy as he could onto his hands. He closed his eyes, feeling his hand go through flesh.

There was a sharp intake of air as Amon opened his eyes. Sarah stood pinned between the wall and his body, his hand in her stomach. Shock and horror flooded his system as his horns disappeared and his nails returned to normal. He fell backwards, his hand slippery on the smooth floor.

Sarah slid down the wall, leaving a bloody line above her. “A-Amon?” she whispered hoarsely, fear and shock plastered onto her face.

“I-” Amon paused, lifting his bloodstained hand to eye level. Staring at it as if it weren’t his own.

“That worked better than expected.” Agares commented, walking calmly around Amon toward the door.

“Sarah…” Gathering his thoughts together Amon crawled slowly toward her. He quickly took off his nightshirt, exposing a large amount of scars, and bunching it against her back to help stop bleeding. “Hold on Sarah.” He collected energy on his hand quickly. She whimpered as Amon placed it on her wound, expecting more damage.

Instead the wound slowly healed, a small sizzle resonating over the air. A pool of blood now covered the section of floor; only her skin seemed to be healing.

Amon turned around slowly as the room darkened. “This isn’t good.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him slowly, reaching around and attempting to heal the damage to her organs. He intensified the energy around his hands, ignoring the searing pain across his chest.

“Don’t go…” He looked behind him. A dark mass was gathering several feet away, an escort to the underworld undoubtedly. He raised the power more, feeling Sarah’s body go cold.

“Master!” A Ques’ti yelled from behind him, “Stop master! If you keep it up you’ll die!”

The pain centered on his heart, causing him to lock his jaws together to withstand it. As Amon increased the energy once more the Ques’ti behind him whistled, calling others to help him.

They grabbed his arms from around Sarah and pulled him away, ignoring his adamant protest and squirming. Sarah fell forward without anything to prop-up against, the life now missing from her eyes. The now solid dark mass turned around, revealing a tall figure clad in a black cloak. His white hair was short and wild, and his glowing green eyes seemed almost benevolent.

He walked forward opening his cloak to lightly grab Sarah and hold her under his arm.

As he walked back toward the far wall he spotted the now silent Amon, watching him carefully. “I’m sorry for your loss, though it is my job to take her.” He mentioned, turning from him as if he wasn’t there and vanishing in a cloud of black smoke.

Amon sat there for a moment, staring into empty space. Velios soon appeared, floating just in front of him. “Masteer are you alright?”

Amon looked at him, a blank stare on his face. There was a moment of silence before Amon grabbed his chest, screaming in pain. He doubled over, muffling his cries with his knee.

My… heart. He whimpered, keeping his jaws closed so he wouldn’t yell. It hurts so much…

Amon fell over, unconscious, as Agares entered the room once more. Seeing him sprawled on the floor Agares frowned, turning back toward the door without a pause.

Velios watched him leave then grabbed Amon’s arm, lifting him up and through the floor to his bed. “Masteer shouldn’t be so…. Reckless.”