Prometheus' Orb (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 1)
Chapter Twenty-Three: Destiny Cliff

A large demon slashed its huge claws at Ashley. She blocked them with her ice sword and landed a powerful kick in the demon’s hard abdomen, sending it flying some meters away.

Another jumped at her. Ashley dove into the air and pierced her sword through its thick scaly neck. The demon fell and was reduced to black ashes. Ashley turned to Sebastian. He looked quite relaxed, leaning against a tree and smiling at her.

Everyone on Ashley’s side was locked in battle, fighting one, two or three demons at a time. Ashley had already taken down three. The demons, despite their size and appearance, were quite weak but their numbers would keep increasing so long as the tears in the earth remained open.

Suddenly, Ashley felt something warm grab her leg and she found herself in the air, being carried by a flying demon. Before the demon could fly any further, Ashley let go of her sword. She stretched out her hand and the sword began to float in the air; it was made of water after all. Ashley controlled it and aimed it at the demon. The sword pierced through the demon’s head and it let go of her.

With a painful grunt, Ashley landed on her feet. She could see a fire blazing past the thicket behind Sebastian.

Richard, she thought. Most of the demons were fighting him and kept him from attacking Sebastian.

“Sara!” Ashley shouted.

Sara quickly killed the demon she was fighting and ran to Ashley.

“Sara, we have to get those demons away from Richard,” Ashley said.

Sara first looked at Sebastian and then at Ashley.

“I know,” Ashley said, understanding her friend’s message. “We have to get past him somehow.”

An arrow flew past Ashley and stabbed the demon that was behind her.

“Stay focused,” Adrian shouted, firing an arrow at another demon that was hovering above him.

“How do we close the cracks where the demons are coming from?” Ashley asked Adrian. Adrian ordered his teammate, Ms. Hughes, to fight with Slayer and came to Ashley.

“There are only two ways to seal demon gates,” Adrian said, breathing heavily. “Either the person who summoned them decides to or he dies... basically meaning we have only one option; we kill the man over there.”

Ashley saw more demons coming out of the earth. Killing demons was one thing but to kill Sebastian... Did Ashley really have the resolve for it?

“I have an idea,” Ashley said.

She also saw Sebastian raise an eyebrow; he could obviously hear them.

“Whatever happens... do not do anything,” she said.

The result of what Ashley was about to do greatly depend on which parts of Sebastian’s story were true. She stood in front of a demon that was charging at her. The lizard-faced demon was running on all fours and when it jumped with its mouth open, Ashley didn’t do anything.

“Ashley!” Adrian shouted but Ashley just watched.

Three rocky spikes shot out of the ground near her and pierced the demon. The demon crumbled to ashes and Ashley stared at Sebastian with a smile.

“I made a promise to her that day; that never again would I ever hurt a child.”

Ashley remembered Sebastian’s words. That was the promise he had made to his daughter; to never again hurt a child. In his eyes, Sebastian only considered Ms. Hughes, Slayer, and Richard as people he could kill. Ashley, Adrian, and Sara were still children to him.

However, just because he wasn’t planning on killing them didn’t mean he wouldn’t replace a way to restrain them.

“You really were listening, weren’t you?” Sebastian said.

Three demons surrounded Ashley. She caught one by its neck and threw it at another.

Because of the heat caused by the smoking fiery red cracks in the ground, most of the water in the ground had evaporated into the air. The air itself was getting thinner by the second and Ashley could feel her breaths becoming short.

Think... Ashley... think...

A scary thought came upon Ashley but given the circumstances, there was no other way.

She turned to Sara and said, “Sara, there is a way we can....”

Before Ashley could finish Sara was shaking her head disapprovingly.

“Sara... Sara... I know you can control it,” Ashley said.

This was unfair of Ashley but they were all running out of time.

Ashley turned to the demons coming their way and counted five of them. Her strength was fleeting and she was gasping for breaths.

She felt a hand holding hers; it was Sara.

Sara walked and stood between Ashley and the demons.

“What is she doing?” Adrian asked.

“You’ll see,” Ashley replied. “And I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet but...”

“Sara is the hunter we all know as Spencer,” Adrian interrupted.

“She’s more than that,” Ashley added.

Sara closed her eyes. Black marks began to form from her neck and they covered her entire face. Sara turned and faced Ashley. Her eyes were completely black... as if they led to some infinite dark abyss.

In a blink’s length of time, Sara was standing right in front of Ashley. Ashley swallowed as she stared into Sara’s analyzing black eyes. The girl then lifted her hand, held Ashley by her neck, and brought her close until their foreheads touched.

Ashley held Sara’s cheek and said, “I knew you could do it... Look out!”

The demons were now close but in one incredibly fast and sharp movement, Sara was standing behind them with her sword resting on her shoulders.

Ashley stared in awe as each demon’s head fell to the ground. Five demons in one attack; so this was Sara’s Blood Seeker form. Not only did it give her incredible speed but her strength seemed to have increased tenfold.

Sara’s new form turned the tables. She was slashing demon after demon as if they were nothing. All was going well until Ashley heard Sebastian speak.

“Finally!” he exclaimed.

There was no time to think or react when Sebastian made his move. A huge boulder flew in Ashley’s direction. She couldn’t dodge so she used her hands as a shield and the impact flung her at a tree. She slowly opened her eyes only to see a large rock coming out of the ground, aiming for Adrian and Sara. She gathered what little strength she had left and dashed at them.

She managed to push Adrian out of harm’s way but the rock hit her. Sara too was hit but at least in her form, she’d only be knocked unconscious.

Ashley was on the ground when Sebastian walked past her and picked up the glowing green orb near her.

“You have my respect, Ashley Morgan,” he said.

Sebastian moved his hand and rocks bound Ashley’s hands and legs. A distance away from her were Adrian and Sara. Perhaps she had pushed Adrian too hard because both he and Sara were lying unconscious on the ground. She could also hear the faint grunts of Ms. Hughes and Slayer deep in the woods away from her. They were fighting the demons that had swarmed over them.

“Richard...”

It came out as a whisper but that was all was needed because Richard was standing right in front of Ashley. He was still in his Fire-Demon form but this time only caressing warmth emanated from his body. Sebastian looked behind and saw dozens of demons turning into ash.

“Ashley...”

Ashley’s heart jumped when she heard Richard’s deep voice.

“Ashley,” he continued. “Leave this to me.”

With that said Richard charged at Sebastian. Sebastian used his feet to shoot three big rocks out of the ground but Richard punched through them and caught Sebastian by his hand. Painful screams came from Sebastian as his hand burnt. Some demons attacked Richard but the blast of fire that came from his hand reduced them into cinders.

Sebastian ran past the thicket and to the cliff.

Richard went after him.

Gathering her strength, Ashley curled her hands into a fist and broke free from the rocks that bound her. She used her fists to crush the rocks around her legs and she ran to Sara and Adrian.

“Go,” Adrian said, in a low voice. “Do what you have to do Ashley...”

“Adrian I know this isn’t the time but I am sorry...”

“Just go, Ashley...” With an aching heart, Ashley walked away from Adrian. He wasn’t just telling me to head to where Richard was. To go away from his life... that’s what it sounded like.

She ran past the thicket and found Sebastian and Richard locked in a battle. Earth and Fire were flying everywhere. Richard clearly had the upper hand because Sebastian was only defending.

The Orb had already been activated. Ashley had to make sure it didn’t replace its way into the flaming portal that was spiraling in the ocean.

Sebastian controlled some rocks to cover his hands like gloves. He landed a punch on Richard’s face but Richard didn’t seem to be affected. Richard’s claws pierced through Sebastian’s chest and he threw him towards the edge of the cliff.

Sebastian rose to his feet and tried throwing the Orb into the water but Richard, with a speed too quick for Ashley’s eyes to follow, grabbed Sebastian’s hand. Sebastian was clearly in pain but he was smiling.

“You fell for it, Richard Thane!” he shouted.

Sebastian then plunged his foot into the earth and the ground on which Richard stood collapsed.

“Richard!” Ashley shouted when she saw Richard fall over the cliff.

She tried running to him but Sebastian’s burnt hand grabbed her.

“Richard’s curse will finally be his end,” Sebastian said as Ashley tried struggling out of his hand.

“Now Ashley...”

Sebastian faced the ocean and looked at the Orb in his hand.

“It’s time to bring back my...”

Sebastian swallowed back his words. His eyes opened wide and even Ashley felt her heart rise to her throat.

Was this even possible? Richard... He was right in front of them. He was standing... No... he was flying. Two large wings of pure fire projected out of his back. An armor made entirely of flames covered his boy and a flaming sword was in his hands.

“K... Kadan...” Sebastian said. “The Flame Warrior... A Fire-Demon’s ultimate form...”

“Correction,” Richard said in a resonating voice. “This is just one of them.”

Sebastian projected multiple rocks at Richard but they all crumbled when they crashed into his armor of fire.

“Sebastian,” Richard said, raising his fiery sword. “Today... you rue the day you betrayed the Ten.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you demon,” Sebastian growled. “Betrayed! You are the one who betrayed us!”

Sebastian raised his hands. Sands and rocks shot out of the ground, aiming for Richard.

“And for that, I am truly sorry,” Richard said.

It was all over in a blink of an eye. After just one move, Richard stood in front of Sebastian and his sword had pierced through the Earth Merman’s heart.

Sebastian fell to his knees.

The Orb dropped out of his hand and rolled towards Ashley. Ashley picked it up.

Richard’s flame armor and sword vanished. He too fell to his knees. If not for the part of his jeans remaining intact, Richard would’ve been practically naked. The Kadan or Flame Warrior form Richard had assumed must have required a lot of power because Richard looked like he couldn’t move a muscle.

Was it over?

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from Sebastian. “It-it’s not... IT’S NOT OVER YET!!!!!!!”

After his loud declaration, Sebastian hit his fist into the earth and a rock the shape of a pole came out of the ground below Ashley. It flung the Orb out of her hands and into the air.

Richard tried to move but couldn’t.

The Orb was now a great distance away from the cliff.

“I can’t use that form, Ashley,” Richard said, breathing hard. “I can’t reach the Orb.”

Ashley walked to Richard and held his hand. The two watched in despair as the glowing green light slowly made its way into the sky and began to fall near the flaming portal in the ocean.

Was this it? Ashley thought. After everything... her struggles, her losses, her pain... Was the prophecy going to be fulfilled? Was this her destiny? To become the one whose blood awakened the Chimera.

Ashley tightly held Richard’s hand.

“Richard...”

“Ashley, look...”

It happened in an instant but even at that distance, Ashley saw everything.

The Orb was just about to touch the water an electric blue light appeared next to it and as quickly as it came it vanished.

Both Ashley and Richard turned behind when they heard loud electric crackling. A blue light filled the area and Shira appeared before them; holding a glowing green object in her hand. It was Prometheus’ Orb.

“Not everything is set in stone, Ashley,” Shira said. Dressed in fine Arzyrian light-weight armor, Shira held the Orb in front of Ashley.

Sighs of profound relief came from Richard and Ashley.

“How can I ever repay you?” Richard said.

“You can start by putting on some clothes,” Shira replied.

“So...” Sebastian’s voice was faint. He lay on the ground, staring at the starry sky. The flaming portal in the ocean closed and the spiraling waters settled. “So you’ve made your decision, Arzyrian,” Sebastian said.

Shira didn’t reply. Blood was flowing out of Sebastian’s mouth and chest. His wounds weren’t healing. He was going to die soon Ashley thought.

“Ashley,” Sebastian called.

He was desperately trying to reach for a small stone pebble near him. Ashley walked to him, picked up the stone, bent down on her two knees, and placed the stone in his right hand.

Sebastian curled his hand into a fist and close his eyes. When he opened his hand, the stone had turned into a sculpture of a beautiful seahorse. Sebastian stretched his hand and offered the sculpture to Ashley.

“I always enjoyed making these for my little Serena. Whenever she was sad she would always smile after seeing them... yes... just like the smile you have now.”

Tears were flowing out of Ashley’s eyes.

“Oh... don’t worry child,” Sebastian said, caressing Ashley’s cheek.

“I am so...”

“Don’t apologize when you haven’t done anything wrong,” Sebastian interrupted. “You all fought honorably... including you, Fire-Demon. Ashley, tell me something... do you think I am a bad person?”

It took a while for Ashley to gather her words.

“I think... no... what I know is that deep down in your heart, you believed you were doing the right thing,” Ashley said. “What you did wasn’t for yourself and I replace that honorable.”

Sebastian let out a painful chuckle. “Ah,” he sighed. “That’s something my master would say as well.”

Sebastian then faced the edge of the cliff. “This place,” he said. “This cliff... My master was defeated here... I have been defeated here and I am sure that you Ashley have had your fair share of experiences on this cliff.”

“It was where I met my little sister, Leah and it was also where I almost died...”

Ashley looked at Richard and said, “It was also where we met Richard.”

“I see,” Sebastian said. “Well, a special place like this deserves a name don’t you think... I mean your destiny and adventures started from here...”

“Destiny,” Ashley said. “I love it... Destiny Cliff.”

“Destiny Cliff... It sounds right,” Sebastian said.

Ashley held Sebastian’s hand but this time it felt harder.

She looked closely at him and saw his skin turning into pure rock crystals.

“When element masters die,” Richard said, walking towards them. “They transform into the element they command.”

“Tell me something Fire-Demon,” Sebastian said. “The demons that had attacked that kingdom nine hundred years ago... was that your doing?”

“It might as well have been,” Richard replied. “When you declined my proposal Talya, a sea witch who wanted Ethan dead more than anyone, went behind my back and summoned the demons. It was already too late when I found out. I still needed her to create the ten and as soon as the dagger was created, I had her sent to Drenegen."

“I see,” Sebastian said.

Ashley saw Sebastian’s legs turning into a rock, slowly getting swallowed into the ground below.

“It isn’t painful,” Sebastian said. “And though I know that only darkness awaits me on the other side... some part of me still hopes that I will be in the same place as my wife and daughter.”

Ashley had never contemplated what lay beyond death but she still managed to say, “I know you will. And when you see Serena again tell her that there is a mermaid-human half-breed who thinks her father is the coolest and most noble earth merman to ever walk the earth.”

A beautiful smile formed across Sebastian’s face. Ashley bent her head down to him and kissed his forehead. She was about to pull away when Sebastian projected a thought into Ashley’s mind. It was a sentence and Ashley was only able to make out the pronunciation; Haro Thirek Milarka.

“My last gift to a living person,” Sebastian said. “Thank you, Ashley Morgan...”

His voice became lower as his body merged with the earth below him. “I only wish I could have seen my master, just for... one... last time...” With those last words, Sebastian’s body turned into stone and sunk into the earth. Ashley looked behind her.

The holes in the ground began to restore themselves. It looked as if a battle hadn’t even occurred here. All the demons had also disappeared and the tears in the earth had closed.

“Shira,” Richard said. “That Orb is drawing power from the Solstice in Arzyria... until the Solstice is over I suggested taking it to any one of the hidden realms.”

“I think it will be better if I damp it into a forbidden realm but I would be lucky to make it out alive,” Shira said. “I know the right place to take it.”

“Thank you, Shira,” Richard said.

“Shira,” Ashley said before Shira left. “I followed your advice... I trusted my instincts.”

“Well, my apprentice,” Shira replied. “It seems your heart is in the right place.”

“Will I be receiving more training anytime soon?” Ashley asked.

“I hope so,” Shira replied.

Shira teleported and Ashley was left alone with Richard on the cliff. The two of them walked toward the edge of the cliff and stared at the raging waves below.

“Richard... did we win?”

“I see this is the first time you’ve tasted victory after a life-threatening battle,” Richard replied.

“And I hope it will be the last... I hope that after this... there will be no more battles,” Ashley said.

“I don’t know,” Richard replied with a yawn.

“I mean with you being on the swim team and all... Battles are inevitable when it comes to you, Ashley Morgan.”

Ashley laughed and said, “And one more thing... you reek of smoke Mr. Fire Warrior and you definitely need to put on some clothes.”

It was true but this was the first time Ashley had seen Richard shirtless and she couldn’t help but admire his well-built muscles and body.

“What?”

Ashley quickly turned away.

“N-Nothing,” she said, blushing and hiding a smile from Richard.

“Oh and... I finally did it. I saw my tail,” Ashley said.

“Is that so?” “Yes and...”

Ashley was playing with the ring on her right index finger. “I did it even with this ring on.”

“Well suppression rings only prevent involuntary transformations,” Richard said. “And your clothes are intact even after the transformation... I see the enchantment in the ring works.”

“You mean... if I had transformed without my ring then...”

“Then... um.. Well, let’s just say that I would be the only one almost naked right now.”

Voices came from the thicket that surrounded the cliff and Sara, Ms. Hughes together with some other masked Hunters, stepped out. All the Hunters except for Sara had weapons in their hands, looking like they could attack any moment.

“Where is Adrian?” Ashley asked, her voice shaking.

“Adrian’s alright,” Ms. Hughes answered. “He had to take care of some personal business elsewhere. Richard Thane, Ashley Morgan...”

“I know what you’re going to say,” Richard said. “But at least let Ashley stay. Supernatural or not, Ashley will do anything to protect this town.”

“Be that as it may,” Ms. Hughes said. “The decision of whether Ashley is allowed to stay will be made by the Grandmasters. However, you Richard have twenty-four hours to leave this town; that decision is final.”

“And I will gladly oblige as soon as I am sure, Ashley is allowed to stay,” Richard replied.

Sara walked to Ashley and held her hand. “Up to now, you Sara have been deceiving us,” Ms Hughes said. “The Grandmasters will also decide what to do with you.”

Someone else was missing.

“Where’s Slayer?” Ashley asked. Ms. Hughes’ face fell.

“He fought honorably as a Hunter until the very end,” she said and her pursed lips transformed into a smile. ” Almost as honorably as your vampire friend... Claudia. She was defeated by my captain, Adrian, and our very own Grandmaster, Silvia Drathvia.”

Ashley suppressed the cry that almost came from her mouth. Not now, she thought to herself as she curled her hands into a fist.

Ms. Hughes began to speak.

“Before he died, Slayer... I mean, Max said something; that if your name ever found its way in the Book of Condemned Souls he himself would haunt every single Hunter that exists.”

“I am not a threat to the Hunters or any human,” Ashley said in a low voice. “I love this town and like Richard said; I will do anything to keep it safe.”

Ms. Hughes didn’t respond and she left.

Ashley held Sara’s hand.

“I am sure Spencer would be proud of you,” she said.

Spencer was a vampire Sara once knew and from the story, she’d told them earlier that day; she may have loved him.

Sara hugged Ashley and walked to Richard. She waved a few hand signs.

“And I am glad we are allies, Sara,” Richard said.

Sara smiled and made some more signs with her hands. Richard’s eyes widened.

"Haven’t you figured it out... We are friends now.”

That’s what Sara had told Richard through her hand signs. Sara left Richard and Ashley.

“Why don’t I walk you home?” Richard offered.

“Not looking like that,” Ashley retorted with a laugh. “Why don’t we go by your villa first...? I am sure Samantha, Luke, Robert, and Claire are there.”

Ashley then looked at the beautiful starry sky. The glowing moon seemed much bigger, she thought.

We’ve done it, Ashley thought as a cool and gentle ocean breeze touched her face. It was really finally over. Ashley was now, by all rights, a fully developed water mermaid. She was also human, making her the only half-breed of her kind.

The end of that battle marked the beginning of many other adventures and trials, but as long as she had her friends and family, Ashley knew she’d overcome anything thrown at her.

“You coming?” Richard called.

“Let’s go home,” Ashley said.

∞∞∞

It was around midnight when Ashley reached her place. Richard had walked her all the way to her home. He had changed into a black hooded jacket and plain blue jeans. They had just left Samantha by her house and had a really tough time coming up with lies to calm her parents.

Robert, Luke, and Claire were also safe but Luke and Robert said they would go see Adrian. Once again it was just Ashley and Richard, alone; walking down a lonely dark street.

“So here we are Ashley,” Richard said.

“Yes,” Ashley replied in a low voice. “Richard, can the Hunters really make you leave this place?”

“Not really,” Richard answered. “I mean... could go all Fire-Warrior on them and show them whose boss.”

He then laughed and said, “But I have really come to like the people here, and as long as I am here you too will be a target.”

Ashley understood what Richard was trying to say. He was doing this for her. Fire-Demon all not, Richard was a good person. Every day, he lived with the guilt of all the wrongs he’d done in his past... a past of fifty thousand years. Those gorgeous blue eyes of his; who knew the many things they had seen. Richard was a living testament to Earth’s history... a history most humans knew nothing about.

“Richard... Vampires, werewolves, merfolk, and even other supernatural creatures... it seems all these creatures are aware of each other’s existence. Why does it seem like only humans are being kept in the dark? A majority of them anyway.” Richard sighed.

“Humans... humans have shaped history in a lot of ways. There is an old legend... even older than I am. It is about how, once upon a time, the earth was dominated by them but their thirst for power was exceeded by none. It is said that merfolk, vampires, and many other creatures were as a result of human efforts to better themselves. However, something happened... something that forced the gods themselves to almost wipe out the human race. But the great Rygeen, Marina Thalassa, interceded on the humans’ behalf. She asked only that their memory of everything about the supernatural world and the creatures they’d created be taken away from them... well at least that’s what I was told by my father.”

“What’s a Rygeen?” Ashley asked.

“It translates to protector in my language,” Richard replied. “I don’t know much about what they did. All I know is that Marina Thalassa was the last protector Earth had... and she was also a Sea-Witch.”

Ashley had many questions but so little time to ask them.

Richard held her shoulders.

“I am not going away forever, Ashley,” he said. “I promise I will come back... to you. I don’t remember most of what happened when I was in my Fire-Demon form. But, I heard your voice, Ashley. For the first time, I used that form to fight for someone other than myself. Thank you for believing in me.”

Ashley’s palms rested on Richard’s cheeks. She pulled him closer. She was sure she only wanted to kiss his cheek but her lips suddenly felt his. Her lips parted slightly and Richard kissed her back.

They slowly pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes.

“I... um... I have to...” Ashley stammered.

“Yeah, why don’t you um...”

“My mom’s probably waiting so...”

“Sure, Ashley... I still have less than a day to leave so...”

Ashley walked near her home and looked back. Richard had a wide smile across his face and after waving at her he vanished into the dark of the night.

The window of her room on the first floor was still open. In one leap and at incredible speed, Ashley jumped through the window and landed silently in the middle of her room.

She let her body fall on the bed and stretched out her hands. She was as exhausted as she was thrilled. Her hands touched her lips and replayed what had just happened. She grabbed the pillow on her bed, hugged it tightly, and almost bit through it. It was just a kiss she told herself as she buried her face into the pillow.

She turned and faced the ceiling. Adjusting her sight to see in the dark was now a second sense to Ashley. Even with the lights off, she could see everything in the room; the couch near her bed, her study table, and chair in a corner of the room, and her wardrobe right in front of her.

An exhausted sigh came out of her mouth and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t wait to tell Leah everything that had happened. Maybe she’d tell her mom too. That’s when she recalled the file Jacob had given her before he died; she forgot it back at Richard’s place in the woods.

Mom has been trying to replace Dad all this time, she thought. Perhaps she should know the truth.

Ashley’s eyes were getting heavier and her breaths were slowing down.

With her eyes still closed, she remembered the thought she had brushed off back at the cliff. She remembered how a very small side of her wanted to see what would have happened if Prometheus’ Orb had made it into the portal.

“Careful what you wish for.”

Ashley sprung out of the bed and stood near her wardrobe. That voice... She looked at the couch near her bed. Someone was sitting there. Her hand involuntarily reached for the switch on the wall.

He had smooth, light-brown skin and appeared to be almost Ashley’s age. His body was soaking wet and water was dripping off his dark red leather coat, jeans, and boots. He wore no shirt underneath his coat and this revealed his lean, razor-sharp physique. Ashley also saw a large scar on his chest.

He sat with his legs crossed and his dark eyes stared intensely at Ashley. Long shiny black hair stretched all the way up to his neck.

“Who are you?” Ashley demanded.

The guy gracefully stood up and pulled out a dagger from a pocket inside his leather coat.

Ashley’s mouth dropped and her lips were trembling when she saw the dagger’s hilt.

Five crystals on each side... Ten in total... The Ten... Ethren stones...

“You have been trying to prevent my return and I replace it quite offensive that you don’t recognize me,” the guy said.

The name was heavy on Ashley’s lips but she somehow forced it out.

“E-Ethan...”

His speed was so fast that Ashley couldn’t react. Ethan grabbed her by the neck.

"...in your eyes, Lord Ethan would just appear like someone of your own age but trust me; he is more ancient than you can ever imagine.”

Ashley now understood what Sebastian meant when he said those words. She tried to struggle out of his hand but it wouldn’t even barge.

Ethan then looked into her eyes and said, “Now, be a dear and don’t move.”

It was a command that Ashley’s body involuntarily obeyed. Compulsion... Even with her suppression ring on her finger, Ashley succumbed to Ethan’s Compulsion.

Ethan raised his hand and began to silently chant in a foreign language.

“...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.”

“How?” Ashley managed to say.

Ethan frowned when Ashley interrupted whatever he was doing.

“How am I here you mean,” he said.

A dark smirk formed across his face and he said, “Half-breed, that is something even I would like to know. You’re free to move now but you will listen and be obedient to everything I say.”

Ashley tried to walk and found that she now could. “Now tell me everything,” Ethan said. “Everything that happened tonight and please... don’t you dare miss any single detail.”

Like a servant obeying her master, Ashley began to speak. She told Ethan everything.

“I see,” Ethan said. “Sebastian... that fool was indeed loyal till his very end. There was no spark of emotion in anything Ethan said; like he didn’t care that someone had given up his own life just so he’d return.

“What now? What are you going to do to me?” she asked.

Ethan appeared to be lost in thought but he finally said, “You really ask a lot of questions, don’t you? If I were you I would be more worried about just one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“Half-breed, I am a creature of the dark... I can only enter a human dwelling if and only if I am invited in by a person who lives there which begs the question... who invited me in?”

It was like being hit by a billion bolts of lightning... Power surged through Ashley. She pushed Ethan aside and she burst out of the room.

Ashley immediately stopped when she reached the stairs.

Her body froze as she stared in horror at the figure that lay at the end of the stairs below. It was her mother. There was a dark purple mark on her neck, which was in an unnatural position.

Ashley slowly walked down the stairs. When she reached her mother’s body she simply stretched out her hand and closed her mother’s open eyes and gently twisted her neck so as to bring it into a natural resting position.

By instinct, Ashley started moving her head to her right. Ashley couldn’t see the rest body that was behind the brown sofa in the living room but she recognized the little hand she saw.

Leah...

She heard footsteps behind her and stood up. Her claws and teeth had lengthened digging into her skin. She ignored the pain. There was no changing what had happened. It was her fault that her mother and sister were killed by the monster walking down the stairs behind her.

However...

She moved faster than ever, grabbing the dagger in Ethan’s hand before he could even react. She struck his bare chest and but the dagger couldn’t pierce his skin.

Again and again, she tried to stab his heart.

Ethan caught her hand and said, “There it is... I knew it... You have a fire in you, half-breed. That rage... one day you will be of great use to me.”

Ashley stopped struggling and her eyes opened wide when Ethan sighed and said, “Part of me now wishes this was all real.”

She looked below her. Her mother’s body had vanished and when she turned to face the living room, the small hand she had seen earlier was no longer there.

This was an illusion.

Ashley opened her eyes and found herself in her room, sleeping on her bed.

Raindrops were landing on her window and thunder was rumbling harshly in the sky.

She raised her upper body and opened the window when she saw him.

Ethan being awakened wasn’t an illusion. Ashley heightened her hearing and heard her sister and mother sleeping in their rooms. They were still alive.

A cold wind was blowing at her. Ethan was in the rain, floating in the air. Ashley knelt on her bed and simply looked at him. All the fear she had in Ethan’s illusion had now turned into an even stronger emotion; rage.

Ethan flew near her window and said, “I have said all that I need to say, half-breed.”

“I haven’t,” Ashley replied in a cold, emotionless voice. “What you made see in that illusion... Ethan... Richard may have only put you into an eternal sleep when he defeated you but I swear; the ending that I will bring to you will be permanent.”

Ethan simply smirked and looked at the lightning-lit sky. “I commend your bravery, half-breed,” he said. “Why don’t we just watch and see what fate has planned for us? Though considering the circumstances, I can’t say that it has been on your side.”

Ethan began to float away from Ashley.

He, however, stopped and said something else.

“Oh and as for Richard... When my little brother chivalrously comes to see you, do pass my regards to him.”

Ethan disappeared into the darkness.

His brother...

Ashley moved to the side of her bed and picked her phone from the nightstand.

She opened her messaging app and sent a text to Richard which said:

Your brother sends his greetings.

Seconds later, Ashley’s phone rang and displayed Richard’s line. Ashley turned off her phone and fell to her bed.

It was all set in stone I guess, Ashley thought as an ache rose in her chest.

My destiny has been fulfilled.

...

Our young heroes fought bravely but for now, fate was not on their side.

But this story is far from over.