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

Ten Years Later...

Richard stood barefooted on the balcony of his two-floored villa. A cool wind brushed his face and slapped against the green leaves of the trees that grew around his house. The sky lit up with a fiery orange color as the sun slowly descended toward the horizon. Richard lifted the half-filled glass of red wine from the white table and he bestowed his lips upon the glass' brim. Taking a sip of the sweet liquid, Richard stared at the glittering ocean waters in the distance.

Almost a year has passed now, he thought. It was surreal. Ethan— his greatest enemy— had been defeated. The past year had been the most peaceful Richard ever experienced and now... he was finally ready to live a normal life.

He almost laughed at that thought. Normal. As if he of all creatures could be described as such.

With a smile, he placed the glass back on the table and jumped off the balcony. Landing softly on his feet, he put his hands in the pocket of his white slacks and began walking along a wet grassy clearing, heading towards the beach. Dry leaves and branches cracked underneath his feet when he entered the woods. The chirping sounds of birds and other critters echoed around him. Large fully-grown oak and maple trees engrossed these woods, their black shade absorbing most of the light. Humans rarely wondered here; making it a perfect place for him to live.

Richard made it out of the trees and his bare feet later felt the warm caress of the beach sand. A sharp stinging sensation sliced through his eyes when he gazed at the glowing red sun. He instinctively ran his left hand over the silver ring on his right middle finger. The ring had a trident engraved on it. It was once a gift from his father but now it was the only thing that kept him from turning into ash under the light of the sun.

The rhythmic percussion of waves on the sand was music to Richard’s ears. He stopped moving, outstretched his arms, and closed his eyes— enjoying his thoughts. He bent his head and looked into the water, staring at a distorted reflection of himself. No one would ever guess that he was over fifty thousand years old. To any human, Richard looked like an average teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes.

But he wasn’t. Ethan had made sure that all those years ago. Since the day he was cursed, Richard never aged. For thousands of years, he had walked among the living, growing fond of some, and developing a hatred for others. One thing remained a constant; he always outlived them. There was no one left alive for him to call a friend— allies maybe but not friends

“Wherever you go. Every time you think of moving on... Your friends, happiness, love... I will be there to take it away.”

Like sharp daggers, Ethan’s fifty-thousand-year-old words pierced through his mind. He had said them the day he cursed Richard and they felt as real as they had back then. Ethan had given his word that Richard would always be alone, and Ethan never broke his promises. He had taken away Richard’s parents-- taken away everything from him.

But defeating Ethan wasn’t just about avenging his parents. For Richard, it meant that he could finally be free of the painful shackles Ethan ensnared him by.

His freedom, however, wasn’t perfect.

Richard fell down on his knee and moved his right hand towards a small, frothy white wave approaching him. The water touched his skin. It was cold at first, and then-- as if thousands of little needles were puncturing his skin-- it began to sting until finally... it started to burn. Richard bit his lower lip and hastily pulled out his hand out of the water. The red burn mark healed instantly and Richard rubbed his hand against his white T-shirt.

This was part of his curse. It wasn’t enough for Ethan to turn him into a monster. He had also made sure that Richard never returned to his real home; the ocean. Over the years, Richard had sought the help of witches, and sorcerers, and had even visited the high elves of Argamon. But none of them were powerful enough to break Ethan’s spell. A part of him hoped that by defeating Ethan the curse would automatically be broken. It was because of that small glimmer of hope that Richard frequently came down near the ocean and place his hands into its waters.

But after a year, he was starting to wonder if he would ever return home. Besides, even if he did, a dark creature like him would never find a place among his people.

“You always knew how to punish people who crossed your path, Ethan,” Richard bitterly said to himself.

He sighed and continued strolling along the beach.

When the red in the sky started morphing into magenta, Richard decided to head back to his house in the woods.

However, before he even moved, something caught his eye.

The scene was almost picturesque; like nature painted it just for him to adore. She stood far across the sparkling waters, on top of a rocky cliff. Richard narrowed his eyes, adjusting his sight to clearly see her. The girl kept staring at the foamy waves crashing against the rocks below her. She kept swaying her head— left and right gracefully— as if a sweet melody was playing in her ears. Richard could have sent a probing thought in her direction and found exactly what was on her mind. But Richard never used his power unless it was absolutely necessary. Most humans had fragile minds that could easily be manipulated; bent to his very own will and desire.

Richard punched away those dark thoughts and tore his eyes away from the girl’s direction. As lost as he was in the darkness, he refused to be a slave to it.

He turned around and began walking. He would have loved to meet the girl but a lesson the past millennia taught him was that no good in his life ever came from getting close to humans. This was why he preferred small quiet coastal towns like this one. Ravenhill. It was but a partition of the much larger city of Salem and was sparsely populated.

This is how he liked things. The fewer humans he interacted with the better it was— for them.

Hardly taking another step, Richard felt a gentle wind blow, coming from the girl’s direction. The wind carried with it a sweet rosy aroma— the girl’s scent— but tainted in it was another familiar fragrance. Richard licked his tongue against the tips of his teeth, imagining a sweet coppery taste. Another burst of air blew past him and this time all the images appearing in his mind turned red. His body involuntarily turned towards the girl on the cliff.

A feral instinct suddenly took over him. Though Richard despised what he was, he couldn’t deny the amazing abilities his nature granted him. His nostrils flared as he focused on the wind blowing from the girl’s direction. Everything in the corners of his eyes blurred when he dashed into the woods. He followed the girl’s scent and within seconds, he reached the part of the woods near the cliff.

Never had he felt a need to feed like this before; it was intoxicating— controlling his body. His heart pounded hard and his skin crawled. With unnatural stealth, Richard quietly walked through a green thicket and found a small clearing. The ground mostly rocked, with a fair amount of plant growth. The girl stood in front of him. She hadn’t noticed him arrive. Her smooth, fair skin glowed lightly in the setting sun’s light. She had short dark silky hair, wore blue knee-length jeans, and a pale, thin-laced, red bareback top that revealed the veins along her neck. She was gently wiping off the thick red stains that trickled down from her palm with a white cloth.

That’s what was calling him.

He regained a small part of his consciousness and his body stopped moving. This side of himself was supposed to have been under control. Never feed on humans he reminded himself. It was a vow he’d made; one he’d kept for the past few centuries. That’s right, he thought. He wasn’t going to be the monster Ethan intended him to be.

Richard was about to take a step forward when all his faculties quickly returned to him. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he took in quick silent breaths. As if realizing it for the first time, Richard recognized where he was. The burning hunger inside must have really clouded his mind. He’d returned to the one place in this town that haunted his memories. This cliff... It was on this cliff that Richard fought and defeated Ethan but it was also a place that reminded him of how truly monstrous he was. Bits of grass may have grown over now but it couldn’t hide the marks of red blood Richard was seeing in his mind— blood that he spilled on this very ground.

He couldn’t afford to stay here. The girl still had her eyes fixed away from him— a good thing— and Richard could leave without ever being detected.

He threw one last glance at her and felt the corners of his mouth rise. Taking one quiet deep breath, he began to walk away.

“You know it’s rude to sneak up on people,” the girl suddenly said just as he turned towards the woods.

Richard froze. His bloodlust may have subsided— and was under control— but the wound on the girl’s palm was still open, and the red blood flowing was pulling him like a magnet. He faced the girl whose arms were now crossed over her chest.

Richard managed to force out a nervous chuckle.

“Well, it is also not wise to let people sneak up on you,” Richard said, regretting the words that came out of his mouth. Now he probably appeared creepier to her.

Surprisingly, the girl laughed— her pink lips curving into a beautiful smile.

“So it’s my fault now?” she asked, raising her hands towards herself. She flinched a little, gritting her teeth in pain as the wound on her palm opened up— streaks of scarlet liquid flowing out.

Almost shutting his eyes, Richard turned away slightly.

“I’m sorry,” the girl softly said. “Are you squeamish?”

Understatement of the millennia, Richard thought, breathing heavily.

“Only around blood,” he replied, his voice shaking.

After a few seconds, the girl said, “I have covered the wound. You can look at me now.”

The dry metallic scent of blood still penetrated Richard’s nostrils but he slowly turned his head. The cloth she had earlier was now wrapped around her palm. She hid her right hand behind her back so that Richard couldn’t see it.

Richard controlled his breathing.

“How did you hurt yourself?” he asked.

“Fell in the woods and my palm hit a sharp rock,” she replied. “The woods can be a dangerous place.”

“Ironic, coming from someone who lets people sneak up on her.” Richard tried throwing a joke.

“So you were sneaking up on me,” she fired back, tilting her head.

Soft laughter came out of the two of them. The hunger Richard had felt earlier now turned into warm happiness— one he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

“I’m Richard,” he said.

The girl turned and faced the vast waters.

“Ashley,” she said.

There was silence. “You must be new here,” Ashley said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

“What gave me away?” Richard asked.

“Let’s just say there is something in the eyes of people who know or have heard of me.”

Richard walked towards Ashley and stood next to her. He could hear her heartbeat. It was calm and steady-- she wasn’t afraid of him. Richard had the ability to sense people’s feelings and Ashley’s aura was warm and gentle, almost as if she was glad to meet someone who knew nothing about her.

Richard had to admit that the feeling was mutual.

“So what brings you here?” Ashley asked. “To this cliff, I mean..?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that I once swore never to return to this place?”

Ashley bent toward the ground, picked up a pebble, and tossed it to the ocean. “What changed?” she asked.

“I guess we can’t escape our past,” he replied.

“But we can try right?”

Ashley’s tone darkened a little. She quickly looked over her left shoulder and it was then that Richard noticed it. Tattooed in black on the back of her shoulder was a creature with three heads— a lion, a dragon, and a fox with two horns. Its two front legs were those of a lion and the ones behind were that of a fox and dragon. Two large bat-like wings protruded from its scaly back and it had a long tail with small sharp spikes. It was a chimera and at the sight of it, Richard’s face tightened into angry lines.

“Please don’t tell me you have a thing against tattoos too,” Ashley frowned.

“No,” Richard quickly said, shaking his head. “It just reminds me of something.” Of someone. “The calligraphy of this tattoo is quite extraordinary though I wonder what inspired you to choose a chimera.”

Ashley laughed softly, let out a sigh, and said, “Would you believe me if I told you I have no idea where or how I even got it?”

“How’s that possible?”

“Ashley!” a girl’s voice suddenly called out from the woods.

“That’s my best friend,” Ashley said, throwing her eyes toward the thicket that grew behind them.

“Ashley!”

This time a male voice called.

“And that would be my boyfriend.”

Ashley was beautiful and anyone would be a fool to think she hadn’t caught the attention of a number of guys. But for some reason Richard found himself realizing that even after living for millennia, his heart was still no stranger to jealousy.

“I guess I better get going,” Richard said, quickly turning to walk back into the woods. The urge he’d felt earlier returned and was now beckoning him to indulge himself.

“Why don’t you come with us?” Ashley asked, stopping him in his tracks. “We’re heading over to the beach and I’m sure my friends would like to meet you.”

“Perhaps another time?” Richard responded, forcing a smile. He bit his tongue when he felt his fingers growing into sharp claws— tearing through his palms. He felt two more human presences appear in the woods. That’s five human hearts pumping rich blood through their bodies.

“Well, I hope to see you around, Richard. It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Richard said.

Immediately after Ashley left, Richard took off in the opposite direction. His vision was blurring and he could feel his canines extending. Richard bumped into a tree, his face scratching against the rough bark— grazing away some skin. He found himself rolling on the ground. He quickly got up and leaped into the air, grabbed a tree branch, and propelled himself forward. He had to get to his villa.

His bare feet dug through the dirt until he finally felt the cold stairs of his house. Richard burst through the door and ran straight to the basement. In the basement was a white refrigerator. He opened it. Chilly air kissed his skin as he gazed at what his body was craving; blood. He pulled out a blood bag. His sharp teeth tore through the plastic until the red, cold coppery-tasting liquid flowed down his throat. Richard drank every last drop and sat on the ground. Everything was becoming clearer now; his breathing was normal and his thirst was quenched. A warm feeling touched the parts of his skin that had been bruised and Richard felt skin forming to cover the wounds.

He licked a smudge of blood from his lips and threw the empty blood bag across the room. This was the worst part of his curse; the passionate thirst for human blood. Steaming with life, the blood of the living was the elixir that sustained all dark creatures, and Ethan made sure that Richard became the very worst of them.

But for a moment he had forgotten what he was, hadn’t he? Richard wondered. Was it because of him being around Ashley? Those few minutes were the first time in a long time that he talked to a living person without worrying about ripping open their throats.

You almost fed on her, a voice in the darkest corners of his mind pointed out.

But the fact was that he didn’t. When he smelled her blood he had stalked her like a predator does its prey. But he tamed the demon inside him. He overcame the urge.

Richard wanted more of what he felt when around Ashley. As bad an idea as it was, Richard wanted to be around her now.

His head eventually found the hard surface of the wooden floor. An exhausted breath came out of his mouth, as he slowly closed his eyes.

“Ashley... who are you?” he whispered into the darkness.

But in the dark depths of his mind, the question that echoed was...

What are you?