Of Seraphs and Apparitions
Chapter 17- Of The Oasis
Carmen was freezing as Sill escaped her necklace and the chains that bound her snapped. She hit the ground and Sill gave her Amon's coat. Carmen was in tears, until she looked up and saw Amon as his fangs pierced the rough flesh of the man who had taken advantage of her. Before he did so, they were BOTH Amon, which confused her. But as he bit the man transformed back to that piece of crap he was. Rage built in Carmen's young heart, and she clenched a fist. Sill glowed, feeling Carmen's energy within herself. Carmen stumbled as she slowly stood up, taking a step forward.
The man shot Amon back, sending him hard into a tree. Zane cawed overheard, Amon getting up. He stretched, the disturbing sound of bones in his back, neck and arms, cracking viciously through his flesh. The man grimaced inwardly, his eyes becoming an abyss of black. An abyss Amon planned on ripping out with his fingernails and squeezing in his fist. Amon grinned, as did the man. He turned, feeling a tug on his arm. Carmen stood there, staring at him with a darkness that unsettled him. Her eyes flashed to Amon as she decked the man in the face. He stumbled back, but grabbed her by the hair and jerked her to the ground, kicking her side hard. The area reddened. Carmen got up, ramming her foot right inbetween his legs. He roared, and lifted her up by the neck. Before he could punish her, Amon was there behind him, a long branch from a tree in hand. He shoved the branch right through the man, and it exited via his abdomen. Carmen was dropped. The man casually turned, looking down at the thick branch jutting out from his stomach."...Huh." He smirked, and ripped it out, dark, thick blood spilling to the ground. He went at Amon with it and the two dodged each others rage filled attacks.
Carmen and Sill looked at each other. Carmen's fingers stroked the crystal around her neck and she closed her eyes tightly, bringing herself away from the battle and finding herself in the desert. She winced as hot sand whipped her sensitive skin. She tredged her bare feet through the scorching sands, and held onto her necklace. She had to hurry and find her next guardian. She had to save Amon. She could still feel that man inside of her, violating her. She was unfocused and the sands beat harder against her skin. She couldn't open her eyes to see what was going on. She gripped the crystal. She tried her hardest to clear her head. She wanted to stop to concentrate but the sand was so hot against her feet, she couldn't bare to stand in one spot for more than a second. She cried out as she stumbled, her hands and knees slamming against the flaming sands. She collapsed into it all together, embracing the pain that burrowed into her with intense heat. She cried out again and again, unable to move. She was running out of time, the sands of the hourglass burying her. She whimpered as she struggled to move, crawling through the sand as best she could. Her mind was everywhere and nowhere all at once. She felt like she had been struggling for an eternity, when she spotted a pool of water through the vicious sands. She stumbled upward through the sand that buried her, and slid through, falling into a wave of heat that caused her to cry loudly in pain. She collapsed into the mirage, and a man lifted her up. "I'm sorry, it was cruel of me to trick you like that."
He was handsome, his features soft yet powerful. His eyes were turqoise and shimmering. His hair was long and dark like Amon's, although longer. His skin was tanned, and his body was hard and toned. Carmen smiled, and hugged him. "Will you help me save Amon?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Always at your service, Lady Carmen. But might I have a name?"
"...Um...Zeke!" She said, and grabbed his hand. The two dissapeared back to the real world. Amon and the man were still deep in combat. Carmen was unable to see who was winning. She jumped up and rooted for Amon, and clapped when Amon landed a deep plunge with his fist into the man's skull. She grimaced when the man got Amon by the leg and sent him spiralling up in the trees. Amon's wings opened up to save himself, and he felt the pain Desiree had felt when her wings had been torn apart. Branches would tear through his wings, and a pile of feathers would descend down the trees. Carmen gasped. Zeke entered the battlefield, and a whip appeared in his hands. He grinned, viciously, and cracked the whip. A sand serpent emerged from the ground and wrapped around the man, biting into his neck. The man's eyes bled profusely until they escaped his sockets completely, hitting the ground. His body began to rot, his skin decomposing and fall apart. The serpent burrowed back into the ground, and the man's ashes sparkled and blew away. Zeke wiped his hands and stretched, raising a brow. That was damn quick. He looked at Carmen, who was busy trying to figure out how to get Amon out of the trees. Sill glowed, and Amon would float to the ground. Zeke bent beside him, inducing sleep. Amon passed out, and Carmen began treating his wings. "Poor Amon!" She cried, patching him up and trying to place the feathers back where they belonged. It really didn't work that way, to her dismay. Zane circled them, and Amon's wings healed. Sill looked at Zeke, and Carmen collapsed, out cold, beside Amon. Sill fetched a blanket from town, and put it over the two. Carmen was already beggining to look a little ill. Amon stirred as he slept.
He was lost in a dream. He could almost hear Carmen's voice as she asked the question, "Do dead people dream?" He had not had a real answer, because he had never dreamed before, until now, when he felt clouds of fog close around him. He batted them away, refusing to be shielded from what lay ahead of him. He could feel Desiree's prescense in his dream, and reached out to her, called out to her.
Sill looked down at Amon as he called out to Desiree. "They are both dreaming. I wonder if they are strong enough to find each other...before he wakes up." She contemplated.
[ Chapter 17 brought to you by Adrianna!]
