Prometheus' Orb (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 1)

Ashley was getting restless. Her eyes kept diverting away from her assignment, which she hardly attempted. She kept spinning her pen in her hand, biting her knuckles in anticipation.

Sitting right next to her was Sara. The two sat underneath a tree on the school grounds. Her friend was unimaginably calm. She had already solved fifteen out of the twenty questions in the assignment and her eyes were totally focused on what she was doing.

Ashley’s eyes found themselves staring at the blue sky. Three days ago, Richard had told her that he would tell her everything about himself and also someone else... Ethan. Richard and Ethan... could Mom’s stories have been true? Ashley thought. Was Richard the same guy Ashley had heard of in her mother’s stories? He had already told her that he was fifty thousand years old.

At this point, nothing should have really surprised Ashley but this...

Sara tapped Ashley’s shoulder. Ashley turned and looked into her friend’s eyes. Sara was worried about her.

“I am fine Sara, really,” Ashley said. “It’s just that a lot has happened over the past few weeks.”

“There you are, guys.”

Sara was about to make some hand signs but was interrupted when they heard Claire’s voice. Claire’s red hair matched her white top and dark blue jeans beautifully. Standing next to Claire was Samantha, who wore a smile as bright as her red T-shirt and the white jeans she was wearing.

Claire and Samantha sat near Ashley and they all started catching up. Ashley felt a lump form in her throat. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her friends. Most of the past days were spent training with Richard and Sara, getting a clear sense of who she was and what she was going to do next. Throughout the conversation, Samantha and Claire didn’t even bring up the fact that Ashley had been ditching them.

“Guys I...”

“So how ’bout we all go swimming by the beach after school,” Samantha interrupted.

“That’s a great idea,′ Claire added.

Ashley lost her words. Claire and Samantha were angry with her. They didn’t want to show it but they were. Ashley’s lips curled into a small sad smile. She wanted to tell them everything that was going on but every time she thought about it, images of Alex kept flooding her mind. Ashley remembered what Jacob said. He said he killed Alex because he blamed her for what he became. According to him, if it wasn’t for Alex hitting him with her car, vampire blood wouldn’t have found its way into his system.

Though Jacob had said all this Ashley knew deep inside that Jacob must have killed Alex because of her close ties to her... but then again... perhaps this is what Jacob wanted; for Ashley to feel guilty... for her to...

Alex’s head was throbbing and felt heavy. Jacob was still out there and her being around Samantha and Claire would only put them in danger. Sara was a different matter. She was a hunter and knew how to defend herself.

And so was Adrian...

Ashley couldn’t take it anymore.

“Ashley, what’s wrong?” Samantha asked.

Ashley didn’t say anything when she got up and headed for the school building. Her eyes were stinging and becoming watery and her body was shaking. She entered the hallway and made her way to the girl’s bathroom.

No one was inside...

Ashley let out her emotions and wept. She pressed one of her hands against her chest and another was on her mouth to muffle her cries.

It hurts... it hurts so much...it was all my fault... Maybe Stacy should have killed me that day she thought. Maybe then Jacob would still be alive... maybe Alex would still be...

Ashley found herself on her knees.

She heard some footsteps approaching. Ashley got up, into the mirror, and wiped away any trace of her sorrow.

If only her problems would disappear as easily she thought.

Two girls entered the bathroom. It was Britney and Mila; Alex’s younger sister.

“Hi Captain,” Mila exclaimed, her pearl-green eyes lighting up with happiness. Those eyes... those eyes reminded Ashley of Alex. Mila was just like her late sister; determined, strong, trustworthy, and caring. When everyone was deciding on who would become the new Captain of the Storm Riders, Mila was the first to suggest Ashley’s name.

“M-Mila hey,” Ashley replied softly. “Britney, we’ve missed you.”

“Thanks, Captain and thank you for the flowers you’ve been sending,” Britney replied. Britney had been in the hospital for almost three weeks now.

“You are a Storm Rider Britney and my friend... It was my pleasure,” Ashley said, hugging the blonde girl.

“Are we having practice this afternoon?” Britney asked.

“I won’t be able to make it,” Ashley said in an apologetic voice. “But if Mila can handle being the Captain for the day I don’t see why not.”

“R-R-Really Ashley,” Mila said. She was the new Vice Captain and this would give her an opportunity to learn what it meant to be one.

“I don’t know,” Mila continued.

Ashley placed her hands on the small girl’s shoulders.

“Hey... I know you can do it,” Ashley said.

“Me too,” Britney added.

“Alright, I won’t let you down Captain,” said Mila.

Ashley patted Mila’s head. In her heart, Ashley knew that what Mila was really saying was, ′I won’t let you down... Alex’. Mila was a grade below Ashley and she was one of the most hardworking and dedicated people Ashley knew. If anyone could handle the Storm Riders, it was Mila Grainger.

“See you around,” Ashley said as she left the bathroom.

She was just about to make a turn to the corridor when she bumped into Adrian. She felt like she hadn’t seen him for ages.

Adrian smiled. Ashley bit her lip inside as a pang of guilt surged through her body. All those times she had been angry with him... when she thought Adrian couldn’t be trusted... when she didn’t answer his calls or talk to him. Throughout that time, Adrian was protecting the town... protecting his friends, his family... protecting her.

Ashley wrapped her hands around Adrian’s waist and rested her head on his chest.

“H-How have you been Ashley,” Adrian asked in a soft voice.

Her hug tightened and tears formed in her eyes again.

“I know he’s your boyfriend and that you care about him... But Adrian will always be a Hunter first. If he finds out you’re a mermaid...”

Those were Richard’s words. Ashley knew she could trust Adrian. She wanted to tell him everything that had happened to her but...

She looked into his dark eyes.

“Adrian I...”

Ashley, it’s time...

It was Richard’s voice, only it wasn’t coming from anywhere close. She could sense that Richard was in the natatorium.

Ashley looked at Adrian. She gritted her teeth and said, “I have to go... talk to you later?”

“Sure,” Adrian said, forcing a smile on his face.

Adrian simply walked away without saying anything else. Ashley wanted to... she tried to run to him... She...

Ashley couldn’t take it. All it took was a few steps and she grabbed Adrian’s hand. Adrian had just turned to face her when she kissed him.

Ashley slowly pulled away from the kiss and said, “I promise I will explain everything, Adrian... I promise.”

This time a genuine smile was on Adrian’s face. He knew she was telling the truth.

“And I will be here waiting, Ashley,” Adrian said. “It seems we both have our own little secrets to share.”

“You have no idea,” Ashley teasingly said.

“See ya around,” Adrian finally said and he left.

Ashley used her speed and dashed to the natatorium. She made it and immediately lowered her senses when the pungent smell of chlorine swept through her nose.

Richard, Claudia, Sara, and Shira were waiting for her.

Though Shira had her sword sheathed behind her back, she wasn’t in her armor like the first time they met. Claudia was wearing an awesome long black coat, a blue shirt, and black jeans. Sara had surprisingly already changed into her Hunters’ gear; all black leather and a sword sheathed on her back like Shira.

Ashley walked to Richard who wore a tight black T-shirt, blue jeans, and black leather boots.

Ashley and Richard simply stared at each other. She knew he had heard what she said to Adrian.

“I trust your decision, Ashley,” Richard finally said.

Ashley was taken aback. She was prepared to explain herself and defend her decision and now she didn’t know what to say.

All Ashley said was, “Thanks Richy,” and the two couldn’t help but laugh. Richard said he’d only been in Arzyria for a day but back on Earth, three days had passed.

“Alright,” Shira said, her resonant voice echoing throughout the swimming area. She held both Richard’s and Ashley’s hands. After a blue light filled her eyes, Ashley found herself standing inside Richard’s villa in the woods. Shira teleported and later appeared with Claudia and Sara.

So, Shira can only teleport with things she touches, huh, Ashley realized.

Everyone was staring at her and Ashley just had to break the silence.

“Alright, so it turns out that I am a half-breed,” she said.

“Richard told us everything,” Claudia commented.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Richard said.

Everyone, except Sara and Shira, sat on the couches in the living room. Ashley sat next to Richard.

“So I guess I should tell you everything,” he said, crossing his fingers together. This wasn’t easy for him.

“Only Shira and Claudia know this. I am over fifty thousand years old. My story begins in the great underwater kingdom of Rathzoria. My father, Magnus Thane, together with my mother, Aurelia Eleanor, ruled Rathzoria.”

Rathzoria. Ashley was sure that her mother mentioned it in her stories.

“But there was someone else who lived in our kingdom... Ethan.”

Ashley’s heart jumped after hearing that name.

“Ethan... All I knew back then was Ethan was a wanderer that had decided to settle in our kingdom... with the permission of my father of course. No one knew where he came from and he never aged a single day for as long as I knew him...”

“Why did your father keep someone he knew so little of,” Claudia asked. Claudia was ten thousand years old but this was probably the first time she ever heard Richard’s story.

“Power...” Richard said. “Even though we all knew nothing about him, one thing that couldn’t be questioned was Ethan's immense power. My father would send him into battle after battle and he would always come back victorious.”

“It must have been difficult for his comrades to trust him,” Shira stated.

Richard’s face fell and he said, “Whether faced by a thousand or tens of thousands... Ethan always fought his battles alone and never lost. It took a while for most in the kingdom to realize this... Ethan was immortal.”

Ashley held Richard’s shaking hands. He was about to tell the most painful part of his story.

“But back then,” Richard continued. “Ethan was probably the kindest and most loving person I knew. When I was five I chose him to be my Guide; he was supposed to teach me everything I needed to learn about the world, both above and below the ocean. But, Ethan was different. Unlike...”

“Unlike most merfolk,” Ashley interrupted. “It is said that Ethan was born without a tail.”

“How did you...?” Richard asked.

“My mother always told me the same story every Halloween. She said she learned from my dad, who I now know was a merman.”

“It’s true Ashley...” Richard said. ” I remember mistaking him for a human the first time I met him. Ethan never could transform into his merform and together with his abilities, everyone in the kingdom feared and ridiculed him.”

“But not you,” Shira said.

“I adored Ethan,” Richard replied. “and though it seemed everyone was against him he always did his best to help. He taught me everything I know but one day changed everything...”

“What happened?” Ashley asked. Even Sara moved closer and sat next to Claudia.

“I was twenty-five and nearing the completion of my training when it happened. A few months before this day Ethan had been sent into a fierce battle and when he returned, he changed. He became more secretive than usual and would leave the ocean for days without a word to me or anyone. Naturally, no one paid much attention to this but I knew something was up. So one day I secretly followed him. He led me to an island and that’s when I found out the truth of why Ethan had suddenly changed so much... he had fallen in love with a human.”

Ashley’s mouth almost dropped. She was shaken to her core. This part was never in the stories her mother told her.

Everyone in the room also wore surprised faces.

“The Chimera...” Claudia said. “The Destroyer... Devil’s Incarnate... The Bringer of Death... was once in love?”

“And believe me, when I say that I had never seen him happier than when he was with her. I hid and watched and when Ethan returned to the ocean I confronted him. Any interaction between humans and merfolk was strictly prohibited by my father and growing up I was taught to hate humans. I was surprised to find out that Lenora was the first human that Ethan had ever met...”

“Lenora... you mean the girl he fell in love with,” Ashley said.

“Yes and I told him that all I ever wanted was for him to be happy and if Lenora was his happiness then I would do everything to help them. Now, I had already overheard Ethan and Lenora talking about how they wanted to spend their lives together.”

“But wasn’t Ethan immortal?” Claudia asked. “Did he plan on making Lenora into a dark creature like himself? Living in darkness... I would call that selfishness, not love.”

“Ethan knew that all too well,” Richard answered. “But back then, even he wasn’t fully aware of his power and I wouldn’t say he was a dark creature... yet. There was another way though... The Vial of Eternal Youth... It was a special vial that contained an even more special and powerful elixir... Only royals were allowed to drink from the vial and one drop of its contents meant you would live for over a hundred years without aging. In all honesty, even I never knew how old my parents were. One rule was that you should never drink all of the elixir otherwise you would never age, forever. I was the one who proposed that Ethan should steal the vial and that way Lenora would never have to live as a dark creature... she would still be human; but one that would never age. So we made a plan. Ethan cast a simple spell that made me gravely ill. The whole kingdom was in panic and Ethan was supposed to use that opportunity to steal the vial.”

Richard stood up, walked towards the window, and stared at the trees that surrounded his villa.

“Everything was supposed to go according to the plan but when Ethan’s spell wore off, I woke up only to find the entire kingdom in chaos. Rathzoria was under attack... half the kingdom was in ruins... I swam to the great hall of the castle and...”

Everyone stood up. They could see them... tears... tears were flowing out of Richard’s eyes. He was trying his best not to appear weak but...

“Richard you don’t have to continue,” Ashley said.

“When I made it to the great hall,” Richard said, ignoring Ashley. “I saw him... it wasn’t an army that had attacked Rathzoria, it was Ethan... Only it wasn’t the Ethan I knew... My mother lay dead on the floor with a hole in her chest. Ethan had torn out her heart with his bare hands. He did the same thing to my father. But before my father died, Ethan made him a promise... That I would never know peace, happiness or love for as long as I lived and I would be the last of the line of Thane... My anger got the better of me and I charged at Ethan without thinking but...”

Richard faced the ceiling.

“But I was too weak to fight the monster he had become.”

“A Fire Demon,” Ashley said.

Maybe it was her mind playing with her but Ashley thought she heard Richard chuckling as he said, “No Ashley...”

Ashley realized that the air in the room was becoming warmer. No... wait... This was... She turned to Richard. Even though he was still staring outside Ashley could see his reflection on the window. His eyes were orange and as bright as the flames that were beginning to emanate from his body. Awakening her powers had given Ashley the ability to sense people’s aura and right now Richard’s was as dark as it was scary.

“Richard!” Shira shouted.

Sara had already drawn her Black Sword and looked like she wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

Richard began to calm down.

“Ashley,” Richard said softly. “A Fire Demon is what Ethan turned me into... And though it’s true that Ethan is a Fire Demon... It is also true that he is also a Vampire like Claudia, a Werewolf, an Air Merman, a Water Elemental like you, an Earth Merman like Sebastian, a Kitsune, a Warlock, a Tormentor whose blood can be used to make the Black Sword that Sara wields and his body has the invulnerability of a Dragon. Ethan isn’t just a Fire Demon Ashley... he is a Chimera... Actually, he is the only being to earn the name, The Chimera.”

Everyone was quiet. Ashley could see it in Richard’s eyes. Anger, hatred, pain... As a child, Ashley was always excited when her mother told her the story of Richard and Ethan. Ethan was her favorite character and Richard was the hero who would one day defeat him. However, the story did not include the pain Richard had to go through.

“A creature made up of ten of earth’s most powerful creatures...” Shira said. “I knew The Chimera was powerful but I never realized...”

“It took me millennia just to find out what Ethan really is,” Richard said. “And it was only nine hundred years ago that I discovered a way of defeating him.”

“How?” Ashley asked.

Richard’s face fell. His aura was all over the place. Powerful creatures like Richard had the ability to adjust or hide their auras but Richard was just too emotional to do that now and Ashley could sense it... Shame... Richard had done something he was ashamed of.

“Richard... How did you defeat Ethan?” Ashley asked again, softer this time.

Richard didn’t answer.

Ashley was about to move towards him when Claudia walked to her and held her shoulder.

“I will tell her Richard,” Claudia said.

Richard simply nodded.

Claudia looked at Ashley.

“Ashley... Ethan is a being made of ten others,” Claudia said. “In order to defeat him... Ten living creatures had to be sacrificed.”

Ashley’s eyes widened and she found herself shaking.

“D-Don-Don’t tell me that Richard... he killed...”

Her voice was shaking. Richard couldn’t... he wouldn’t...

She was still in denial when Richard finally said,

“Ashley... there was no other way.”

***

Richard and Ethan’s story is not over yet. Find out how Richard defeated The Chimera in the next chapter of Legends Of The Dark Creatures and also find out what happened to Lenora.

Thanks so much, guys for reading this far... Hope you enjoy the rest of the story.