Herein Life After

by Isabelnecessaryonabicycle

When Amara is summoned she finds out that there is a lot more going on with her captors than she ever thought. First off, they didn't want her. Second, there's another trapped with her. Third, these men have no idea what they are doing. And fourthly, there's much more at stake than any of them know.

Chapter One: The Summoning

Herein Life After

* ⭐︎ *

Synopsis

When Amara is summoned she finds out that there is a lot more going on with her captors than she ever thought.

First off, they didn't want her.

Second, there's another trapped with her.

Third, these men have no idea what they are doing.

And fourthly, there's much more at stake than any of them know.

* ⭐︎ *

Cast

Tom Sturridge as Dream / Morpheus

Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess

Niamh Walsh as Ethel Cripps

Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne

Patton Oswalt as Matthew

Asim Chaudhry as Abel

Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain

Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine

Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer

David Thewlis as John Dee

Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death

Vanesu Samunyai as Rose Walker

Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall

Eddie Karanja as Jed Walker

Stephen Fry as Gilbert

Sandra James-Young as Unity Kinkaid

Boyd Holbrook as Corinthian

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Herein Life After by Isabelnecessaryonabicycle

Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise or the comics associated with The Sandman and DC Comics. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Chapter One: The Summoning

She breathed out letting herself soak in the sun's rays, the soft fabric of the towel beneath her and the sound of the squawking seagulls and crashing waves creating a harmony. "Say it." She sighed, feeling the other woman's eyes on her. She ended up opening her eyes from behind her sunglasses to look over at the surprised confusion on her friend's face.

"Say what?" Hermione shifted on her own towel looking away. Amara cast her an obvious look, which had her friend fiddling with the fabric of her dress.

"Hermione." She rolled her eyes. "Just let it out. Go ahead." She pressed her lips together which caused her best friend sighed in defeat.

"I just thought, well, we need to talk about it." Hermione folded her arms and cast her a hesitant look. "About what happened, what's happening to you." She raised an eyebrow in confusion at what her friend was trying to talk about. "Geez, Amara!" Hermione huffed in annoyance. "The fact that you're not aging! That you haven't changed – at all."

"Yeah your right." She nodded and looked away. "We don't need to talk about this."

"Amara!" Hermione laid a hand on her shoulder. "This is serious. What's really happening to you?" She looked out at the ocean and finally let Hermione's words sink in.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Is that what you want to hear? That Amaranth has become even more freakish than before?"

"Is this why you've been pushing us away?"

"What do you think?" She scowled. "I don't want to think about it, where that train of thought leads down." She dug her nails into the palms of her hands. "That I somehow unlocked Voldemort's long-term goal and made myself immortal. That I might have to live and watch everyone I know grow old and die while I stay forever young." She clenched her teeth together. "I don't want that. Why would anyone want that?"

"Amara-"

"At least Nicolas Flamel had his bloody wife to enjoy his long life with. I've got fucking no one."

Silence greeted that statement; a sourness fell upon them as they let the situation sink in. "What if it's the Deathly Hallows?"

"Of course, it has something to do with them." She twirled the tie on her black kimono. Her mind casted itself back to the in-between where she had met Death after dying in the Forbidden Forest. The gentle smile and the comforting hands that had swept her up, embracing her as if she was a long-lost friend. "And of course, there's nothing I can do about them following me around. I can't even give them back to Death because how the hell is that meeting going to happen? What is the likelihood of that?"

Here in the darkness.

She froze for a moment, her eyes darting around in bewilderment. Where had that come from? She looked about the beach noticing nothing different in her surroundings. Bill and Fleur's cottage was overlooking them. She could see Victorie picking flowers in the distance with Fleur watching over and Dominque resting on her hip.

"Maybe we need to contact the Department of Mysteries… maybe you could throw them through the veil or something." Hermione pondered. "We could look more into the legend of the Deathly Hallows, perhaps do some research!"

Here in the darkness.

She sat up properly as the words rang out again. Was no one else hearing that? Hermione continued to mumble to herself, absentmindedly stroking her pregnant stomach. Seagulls continued to fly overhead and the tide continued to sweep onto the beach.

"Maybe we could look at the library in Grimmauld Place, the Blacks could have something in there-"

I give you a coin made from a stone.

A sudden headache struck her, pain laced through her body. Her hands immediately came up to cradle her ears as she swayed from the discomfort that those words brought.

"Perhaps we could find out more about the Peverell's see what is actually known about them. We know that the Lovegood's know quite a bit, we could go visit Luna tomorrow and ask!"

Here in the darkness.

"Maybe there's something in the Hogwarts library."

I give you a knife from under the hills.

"The Unspeakables must know a lot about that archway Sirius fell through…"

Here in the darkness.

"Perhaps Kingsley could help us!"

I give you the blood from out of my vein.

"Or maybe we should be more discrete about it, it doesn't look like anyone's noticed yet. It could bring even more attention to you, which we don't need at this time."

Here in the darkness.

"We could talk to Professor Dumbledore's portrait at Hogwarts, he could know something. He must have known a lot about the Deathly Hallows after trying to find them in his youth."

I give you a song I stole from the dirt.

"I know you've refused to see him in the past, but this is an important issue. Maybe once we've found the answer you can finally get back together with Ginny. She's been hounding Ron and I about why you didn't rekindle your relationship after the battle, and I think it would be good for you to have a healthy relationship again."

Here in the darkness.

"Or maybe there's someone else that you've noticed? A couple of people at the Ministry have asked me if your free, I could set you up! If not me then Molly will surely step in soon and you know how that's gone in the past. She still hasn't accepted that Charlie is asexual, she really wants grandkids from all of her children. You don't know how much pressure Ron and I were under as soon as we got married."

I give you a feather pulled from an angel's wing.

"So, what do you think? There's a couple of people in the Ministry who I think would be a good fit for you."

Here in the darkness.

"And about the other thing? Is there anything I haven't thought of?"

For you to lift into the heavens.

"Amara…?"

Here in the darkness.

Here in the darkness.

Here in the darkness.

Here in the darkness.

"Amara, what's wrong?"

I summon you with poison.

"What happened? Amara?"

Here in the darkness.

"Amara? AMARA?"

I summon you with pain.

"Fleur! Bill!"

Here in the darkness.

"Come quickly! Something's wrong with Amara!"

I open the way.

"Hermione?"

Here in the darkness.

"Amara?"

I open the gates.

"What is this?"

"What's happening?"

Here in the darkness.

"Amara! Please, stop this!"

I summon you in the names of the old lords.

"What's going on Bill?"

Here in the darkness.

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like this!"

Namtar

"What can we do?"

"What's wrong with auntie Mara?"

Here in the darkness.

"Stay back Victorie!"

"When did it start? What set it off?"

Allatu

"I don't know! I don't know…"

Here in the darkness.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Morax

"I was talking, we were discussing something and I just-"

Here in the darkness.

"Merlin's bollocks!"

Maborym calls you.

"Amara. Can you 'ear us?"

Here in the darkness.

"Talk to us, Amara. Tell us what's wrong."

"We just want to help!"

Horvendile calls you.

"I'm going to get Ron."

Here in the darkness.

"What can Ron do?"

"I don't know… Maybe he can reach her."

We summon you together.

"Amara?"

Here in the darkness.

"AMARA!"

"AMARA?"

"AMARANTH!"

Come!

The words pounded through her skull, a pull on her naval dragged her away. Darkness overtook her vision and the brief glimpse of colour before her world plunged into the obscurity of the unconscious world as her head hit a stone floor.

* ⭐︎ *

When next she awoke, there was a chill in the air. Immediately she could tell she was unclothed and lying on curved glass. She held herself still trying to get the measure of her situation. Her sense of smell told her the air was damp and musty, as if she was someplace underground. She opened her eyes a peak to find herself in a sphere of glass, flicking her eyes to the floor she noticed a circle of runes underneath her. Her sense of hearing let her know that she wasn't alone in the room, there was a few heavy breathers in the room.

They'd stripped her, whoever her captors were. She had to hold back the shiver of disgust, even Voldemort and his Death Eaters hadn't done that. What had these people done to her? What did they want with her? The only thing they hadn't been able to take was the mokeskin pouch which was tied around her neck with a piece of leather. At least that enchantment against thieves was still with her.

The opening of iron gates made her freeze as footsteps thudded on stone ground towards her. "You can go." An elderly man spoke up dismissively. Two pairs of lighter feet started walking away and the iron door creaked closed behind them. A heavy sigh sounded from behind her, and she felt the eyes staring down at her. "Are you awake?" Her eyes opened fully to see a dank cellar surrounding her, a stone wall and pillars stood in her eyeline. "Are you listening?" Silence rang through the room before a frustrated breath blew out of the old man's lips and footsteps started circling the sphere she was trapped inside of. "Who are you?" The man asked as he stopped, he flinched backwards as he saw her eyes wide open and glaring up at him. "Death?" He paused and tried to find the answer in her face. "Desire? Destiny? Despair?" Her eyes flickered over to the young man stood next to the old man. "Which of the Endless are you?" Her lips twitched upwards in amusement as they swung back to the man. "I captured you according to the laws of magic." He frowned down at her.

"What does a man know about magic?" Her head twitched to the side, both males startled at the sound of words leaving her lips. It was as if they didn't really expect her to talk back to them. Her eyes trailed the elders form and she quickly leaped to her feet, cold glass underneath her soles. "You are very clearly an amateur. Your ritual was plagiarised at best and the offerings half-hearted." She declared, pushing her magical essence outwards to get a feel of the wards surrounding her. "You clearly have no idea who I am, so your rituals have never worked as you intended." Her words appeared to hit the prideful man.

"Are you Death? "He persisted. "Can you return my son Randall, who died in the Gampoli Campaign?" Hurt flashed across both males. "If you give him back to me, alive and well, I'll release you. Is that in your power, woman?"

"It's funny what men will do when they want something. When they don't appreciate what they already have." She sighed and with a flick of her hand she did some of the only wandless magic she had practiced off by heart. Clothing fell over her form, covering it from the views of both males. Tasselled shorts and a black kimono with a black bralette underneath. Her feet continued to be bare. "You think death is to be feared, something that you can run away from or something you want to have power over." Eagerness lit the old man's eyes as if he thought he'd finally captured who he wanted.

"How did you do that?"

"Magic." She answered simply. "There are many things you do not understand, and never will." Her eyes ran over the surface of her cage and the almost invisible barrier surrounding it.

"So, then, what can you give me?" He sneered at her. "If I let you go, if I promise to give you back your belongings. What, power? Wealth? Immortality? Hmm…" He started bargaining. "If you're a god these things are nothing to you."

"Has that ever worked?" She smirked at him, his eye twitched giving the answer away.

"Is there nothing you can offer me?" He tried again.

"My watch." He stared at her confused. "I shall watch you wither, and die slowly and painfully. I foresee it will be in this very room, only feet away from where you now stand." He took a shaky step backwards, staring at her with wide terrified eyes. Her lips twitched with amusement, delighting in causing a fraction of the fear she herself felt at that moment. "I will watch as your life crumbles into nothingness, I will enjoy seeing what awaits you in the hereafter with the knowledge of what you planned to do."

"If that is all you have to say. I'll enjoy the gifts you have already given me." He held up the resurrection ring between his fingers. Of course, it had followed her, no doubt the others had as well.

"I warn you not to steal from Death."

"Are you Death?"

"No." She watched his face fall. "But those are gifts from Death, gifted to my ancestors and I won their allegiance. They do not work properly unless you are of Peverell blood, even stealing them does not guarantee their loyalty."

"They are objects."

"Oh, to be so simple minded." She shook her head and her eyes swung around the room catching another glass sphere dangling from the ceiling with a naked male watching them with dark eyes. His entrapment even had a moat surrounding it. "I have their devotion, you shall see come nightfall that they will begin to return to me. Their loyalty is absolute. I have tried to run from them for many years but their fealty is eternal, until I find and give them back to their true Master."

"They will obey me."

"You don't even know what they do. The curses that will befall you from having taken them."

"Curses?"

"One of them has a long and bloody history, the owners always being killed over it." She watched the frown fall across his face. "The other has the owners take their own lives because of what they have seen through possessing it." The boy glanced over at his father, fear written in his expression. "And the last… was always inherited, passed down through generations because my family always knew they could not hide forever from Death, that they would greet Death like an old friend." She let silence hung in the air for a moment. "I wonder… how Death will greet you."

The old man's door clenched together as he turned around and stomped off back towards the gate. The boy pausing for a moment, his wide eyes looking again at the clothes she'd summoned with magic before following his father out.

She waited for a time, listening to their steps on the stairs until there were no observers in the room. Then she slowly turned her head in the other captive's direction. Her eyes scanned the pale figure who was sitting and staring at her with endless deep dark eyes.

"Hello there."

* ⭐︎ *

Author's Note: Hey everyone, it's definitely been a while since I posted anything (like a year or two?). Doing a PGCE meant doing a lot of writing and I just didn't want to write anything because of that, and then the second placement sent me into a deep depression (which I now have prescribed medicine) and made me unable to finish the PGCE. And this time my depression had me not doing the things I enjoyed, like art and writing. But when The Sandman came out on Netflix I finally felt inspired enough to start writing again. So, I really hope you enjoy this new story, I'm so thankful that this story won't be as long as my others and that I only have one season to work with. Though that said I'll probably do a book two when the second season is released.

I've decided with all the stories I have going on that I'm going to be updating once a week and alternating which story gets a new chapter. So, updates for any stories are going to be on Mondays, this means there's less pressure on me to finish chapters for every story giving me the time to make me happy to post them. The update schedule will be on my profile page for you to see what stories will be updated which week.

Lastly, I just wanted to let everyone know that I've made a Ko-fi page, where you can support me for £3 if you want to. Ko-fi is an easy way to help me out and its sort of like giving me a tip (or paying for a coffee, hence the name). The link is in my profile if you'd like to donate, you don't have to but I'd really appreciate it.