Page 19 of The Princess and the Demon

“Oh great demon, hear my plea. I call thee up by the power of this circle and by thine own secret name…”

I swallow thickly, my entire body beginning to tremble.

“Amon.” I whisper.

I pull the small knife from my skirt and run the blade across my palm, hissing at the sharp pain.

Blood trickles into the dirt, and I pale.

The candle flames flicker in the still night air, and my eyes widen.

I continue.

“Appear now, that I may not be afraid as I stand within this circle of Earth and fire.”

I go silent, waiting for something to happen.

Anything.

The only sounds are the drip, drip, drip of my blood hitting the dirt, and the hammering of my heart in my ears.

I take a deep breath, attempting to calm my nerves.

The candle flames begin to flicker, and my eyes dart around as granules of dirt start to swirl slowly.

Suddenly the air leaves the space all at once, and I gasp as the candle flames are extinguished entirely.

A fog manifests before me, clearing a moment later.

My eyes widen as I follow clawed feet up the towering body of the tallest man I’d ever seen in my life.

6

AMON

Islept 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.

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