side of a boulder were enough to both quench his thirst and clean his wound. The area was very desolate and dry.
Though the sight of his bare chest was distracting, I was more absorbed by the expression on his face. He was exhausted and hurting, and not just physically. I wondered if he missed me as much as I did him.
“Amon?” I whispered involuntarily.
In my dream he froze and looked around, eyes shining with an iridescent green light in the darkness. Though he’d never been able to hear me before, I still tried. One day he might. After a moment, the tenseness in Amon’s shoulders relaxed, and he settled down with his back against a rock and closed his eyes. His bare chest rose and fell in a rhythm that slowed as the minutes passed and then something changed.
As his body continued to sleep, a gentle pressure wrapped around me.
“Lily?” I heard his familiar voice and squelched a sob.
“Amon? Can you hear me?” I asked the ethereal darkness.
“Yes. I can hear you, Nehabet.”
“Is this real?”
He didn’t answer right away but then eventually said, “I wish it were not.”
“What’s happening to you?” I asked desperately. “Why are you suffering? I thought you were in the afterlife. I thought you were at peace. Why are you tormented night after night?”
“I am no longer under the protection of the gods. I have relinquished my station.”
“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”
“It means that I would rather suffer than continue to do their bidding.”
“But if you don’t save the world, who will?”
“They will find another to replace me.”
“I still don’t understand. Are they punishing you?”
I felt his sigh as much as I heard it. “They did not choose this for me. I am the one who decided to walk this path.”
“It’s a pretty difficult path, Amon. Can’t your brothers help you?”
“We are separated. There is nothing they can do for me now.”
“I hate seeing you like this.”
“I know. I am sorry for causing you pain. I didn’t think our connection would be this strong.” He paused for a moment before adding, “You are in pain, too, Young Lily.”
Bitterly, I said in a shaky voice, “Not like you.”
“No. Not like me. But you are hurting nonetheless. It is my fault. My loneliness has caused this.”
“Your desire for human connection didn’t cause this. The gods did. They don’t understand. Everyone needs to be loved. It’s completely natural.”
He laughed sardonically. “I was human, Lily, once. But I am something altogether different now. I gave my humanity up for the greater good.”
Thunder boomed in the sky above Amon’s still form, roiling clouds shifting like a churning ocean. Lightning struck and his body jerked awake. I felt the loss of his presence, as if a warm blanket had been ripped away from me. As the ground shook, he staggered tiredly to his feet and summoned his armor made of sand to strap onto his form. Amon lifted his face to the wind as he closed his eyes and said, “I love you, Lily. But it is time for you to wake up.”
He raced into the darkness to face whatever beast awaited him as his words echoed in my mind. “I love you, too,” I whispered, even though I knew he could no longer hear me.
I felt a nudge on my shoulder as someone said, “Wake up, miss. We’ve landed.”
The flight attendant gave me a strange look before moving on. I scrubbed my palms over my eyes, hoping my conversation with Amon had taken place only in my mind and I hadn’t been talking in my sleep.
Making my way to the baggage claim, I couldn’t have missed the gray-haired woman waving a handmade sign back and forth that said LILYPAD, my nana’s pet name for me.
“Hey, Nana.” I smiled as she dropped her sign and wrapped her arms around me. She was a robust woman, a rancher’s wife, and her arms were strong and solid. As she squeezed me tightly, I felt the tension in my shoulders melt like a pat of butter in a cast-iron skillet.
“I missed you, Lilypad. It’s been too long.”
“I missed you, too.”
Gripping my shoulders, she stepped away and gave me one of her scrutinizing looks. “Hmm. You’re too skinny. Well, we’ll take care of that.” Smiling, she put her arm around me and we turned to watch the rotating baggage carousel. “I can’t tell you how happy you made me when you asked to stay with me this summer.”