The Chimera (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 2)

Richard arrived at the docks and walked towards a large warehouse. Sara had sent him a text telling him to meet her there.

He pulled open the rusty door of the warehouse and went inside. The entire place was illuminated by the moon’s light. Large wooden crates and some old vehicles and machinery were inside the building.

Sara’s aura was almost always calm, yet incredibly alert. She was right above Richard; sitting on a metal beam. Richard leaped into the air and landed next to Sara. Sara was in her Hunter’s uniform; a black leather outfit, black boots, and her black sword sheathed across her back.

She dropped her hood and removed the mask that covered the lower part of her face.

“So what are we doing up here, Sara?” Richard asked.

Sara raised and placed a finger over her lips. She was quiet for almost two minutes but suddenly she pointed below.

Richard looked down and saw an animal coming inside. It was a wolf. The black furry animal walked towards the center of the warehouse and stood there. This was no ordinary wolf Richard thought. He cautiously tried to read its aura but got no reading from it. To get no reading meant that the wolf was shielding its aura but to do that against Richard... something wasn’t right.

“Ah, there you are!” A voice suddenly exclaimed from behind the large wooden crates.

A man wearing very bright white robes with exquisite gold linings stepped out and stared at the wolf.

A black cloud of smoke suddenly emanated out of the wolf and what was once a four-legged animal was now a middle-aged man with very long white hair, a wrinkled face and he was formally dressed in a black suit.

“Vladimir Drathvir, as I live and breathe... oh wait, I’m already dead,” the man in white robes said. Unlike his comrade, this man looked fairly young... maybe in his late twenties. He had an intelligent-looking face and wore a smile as bright as his clothes.

“Arius... What business does the self-proclaimed god of the sky have with an old man like me?”

“Oh come on, Lord of the Shadows, how long has it been? Forty? No... fifty thousand years? Can’t an old friend miss his favorite bud?” Arius said.

Vladimir and Arius; these names sounded familiar. Realization surged through Richard’s body when he remembered where he had seen them. In the Book of Condemned Souls, only two other creatures were considered more dangerous than Richard. Arius was the name ranked second in the book while Vladimir Drathvir was the name at the top of the list. Richard had never even heard of these people before seeing them in the book but if the Hunters deemed them that dangerous then they must have been formidable.

“Aww... Arius, you hurt my feelings, I thought I was your favorite.”

This voice Richard recognized.

A woman wearing a beautiful dark dress suddenly materialized before them. Edorina Bludreign. She was one of the first witches Richard once sought in hopes of breaking the spell Ethan had placed on him; the spell that prevented him from returning to the ocean. Edorina was human but she kept herself young using very dark and powerful magic. She was almost as old as Richard and probably as powerful as he was. Edorina was ranked number four in the Book of Condemned Souls.

“The Dark Trinity meets once more,” the man called Vladimir said. “So, I ask again... why call us here Arius?”

“Haven’t you heard the rumors?” Arius said.

“Ethan,” Edorina declared.

What is this?! Richard thought. Sara held his hand and buried her face in his chest. This aura... so dark, and vile... even Richard was finding it a bit difficult to move and breathe. The metal bars in the building started to bend and the windows of the warehouse shattered to pieces. This was Vladimir’s aura.

“You mean to tell me that I was disturbed because of a rumor you heard!!!”

“Calm yourself, Vladimir,” Arius said. “Sheesh... it’s no wonder one of your very own descendants decided to form a legion of hunters to stop you. But from what I hear, they won’t be a problem anymore... at least for a while.”

“What are you talking about?”

Everything around the warehouse calmed down and so did Vladimir.

“Well, it appears that the Hunters have been annihilated,” Arius said. “I was soaring through the skies of London when I heard a little voice calling for help. Being the kind and generous creature I am, I descended from above to help the unfortunate soul. She was in an alley, and judging by how she was dressed... she was a Hunter. From the look of things, she had received the Tormentor’s Touch. She was delirious and wasn’t going to survive but I clearly remember his last words ‘Why... Why does a monster like that exist in our world...? Our swords couldn’t even scratch his clothes... I was sure he was a Vampire at first but... Air, fire, earth, water; I saw him control all these... how is that possible...’ The poor Hunter then died. This intrigued me so I decided to go to the Hunters' secret headquarters. There I found death. All the Grandmasters, except for Grandmaster Silvia Drathvir, were already dead.”

Richard heard loud laughter coming from Vladimir.

“Fifty thousand years!” Vladimir shouted. “Fifty thousand years ago, rumors of the Chimera began to spread across the world like wildfire. I believe our friend Edorina, the dark mistress of sorcery, turned to the dark somewhere around those years. But Arius... You and I had already lived for twenty thousand years by then. The Chimera... I remember running into a human who had escaped from his clutches. When the human realized who I was he begged me to kill him. I remember the fear and despair in his eyes. It was a sensation that even I couldn’t bring upon my prey. I have destroyed kingdoms, and civilizations... But my greatest satisfaction will come when I rip out that Chimera’s heart and feast upon his blood.”

Sara was shaking uncontrollably and Richard too was doing everything he could to keep a level head. Vladimir and Arius were over seventy thousand years old. Just now, Vladimir had mentioned that even he had never heard about Ethan until fifty thousand years ago. This meant that Ethan was just about as old as Richard.

“Ethan was the reason we came together and formed the Dark Trinity,” Edorina commented. “But even with our might, it seems the Chimera eluded us for over fifty thousand years. He was always on the move... continent after continent, realm after realm.”

“Or, he just wasn’t interested in creatures like us,” Arius laughed.

“I am Vladimir Drathvir,” Vladimir said. “I am the oldest and most powerful creature on this wretched planet and what? You mean to say the Chimera looks down on someone like me?”

“So Arius,” Edorina said. “Why bring us here instead of London?”

“Well,” Arius stated.

Both Richard and Sara jumped from the metal beam and dodged a gust of air aimed at them. They landed on the floor of the warehouse.

“If it isn’t the Fire Demon himself... How have you been Richard Thane?” Edorina greeted.

“I have been observing Richard for a very long time now,” Arius said, walking towards Richard. “And I have noticed a pattern. It seems that wherever Richard goes, word of the Chimera begins to surface. So I thought of following him. He has been quite a bit of time in this town.”

“So who are you?” Vladimir asked. “How are you affiliated with the Chimera and why do you have a Hunter as a companion?”

Sara had drawn her black sword but her hand shook even as she gripped the sword.

“Wait, you don’t know Richard?” Edorina said looking at Vladimir. “He is the third name in the Book of Condemned Souls.”

In a blink of an eye, Vladimir had already moved from his position and was now holding Richard’s neck. Richard didn’t try to struggle but instead, he looked straight into Vladimir’s bloody eyes. Sara swung her sword at Vladimir but it shattered into pieces when a gale of air blew at it.

“Now, now,” Arius said, lowering his hands. The god of the sky... Arius was probably an Air Element Master. “Let’s not resort to violence.”

“I asked you a question boy,” said Vladimir, tightening his grip on Richard’s neck.

Richard was about to act when suddenly he felt someone touch his shoulder and everything went black. When he opened his eyes he was in the woods. Next to him was Sara. He quickly turned back and a flame covered his hand when he saw Talya.

“Is that how you treat your saviors these days?” Talya asked. “You know, you can learn one or two things about manners from your brother.”

Sara was breathing heavily and her lips were trembling. She sat on the ground underneath a tree and stared at her broken sword. Tears were flowing out of her eyes. Even though she had lied to them, Sara must have cared about all the Hunters. She joined them when someone dear to her died and now, she probably was thinking about what she was going to do.

“Talya,” Richard said in a cold voice. “When you said someone was coming...”

“Surely you don’t think I meant the Dark Trinity?” Talya interrupted. “Even I thought they were just a myth.”

Talya was now hiding her aura which meant that she had gotten a handle on her powers.

“Just now,” Richard said. “Why did you save me? I thought you hated me.”

“Of course, I do, Richard,” Talya replied and she walked closer to him. “But I also love you... I always have. All I wanted was to be with you and now that I can be... Your heart has been taken by someone else.”

“Talya... What is it that you want?”

Richard noticed a smudge of blood on the collar of Talya’s coat. It was human blood.

“Oh don’t worry, the human was alive when I left her,” Talya said. “I am trying to turn over a new leaf... so no killing... for now. But you sensed Vladimir and Arius’ power didn’t you? Those two... perhaps they are powerful enough to kill Ethan. So why don’t we just let them?”

“Because they have no concern over life,” Richard said. “They have completely given themselves to the darkness and I can’t have that in this town. Who knows how many they might kill or have already killed...”

“And since when did you care about life,” Talya asked. “I see the half-breed girl has made you soft. Let’s just see how long that will last.”

“What do you mean?” Richard asked.

Talya smiled and disappeared into the dark woods.

Richard walked over to Sara and sat next to her. He held Sara’s shaking hand.

Richard sighed and said, “You know up to this time, I remember what you said to me on the first day we met. Before we battled Ethan, I remember telling you that Ethan was probably the most powerful creature you would ever face and you told me that there would always be powerful foes but the reason you fight isn’t to defeat them or to test your strength... you fight to protect those you care about and for those people, or creatures, you would fight even when there is no chance of winning.”

Sara’s body stopped shaking and she turned to look at Richard.

She made a few hand signs that said:

“Back then, I asked who you were trying to protect but you had no answer... I see that now you do.”

“What are you talking about?” Richard said, chuckling.

Sara smiled and nodded her head.

Vengeance was the only reason Richard ever wanted to defeat Ethan. Talya was right; he never cared about anyone but himself. Those who got hurt... those who died, so long as Ethan was defeated in the end, that was fine for Richard. Back then Richard always thought he had nothing to lose but now... he had a home. He looked at Sara, who was still just smiling. He had friends... no... he had a family now.

He stood up and so did Sara.

“Let’s not disturb the rest of our friends tonight,” Richard said.

Sara nodded and began walking. Richard followed her and as they walked together only one thought resided in his mind; he was going protect his family.

...

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