The Chimera (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 2)
Chapter Sixteen: Silent Tears

A truce may have existed between them now but that didn’t mean Richard trusted the immortal Sea-Witch. Also, it wasn’t just Talya that worried him. If she had told him they were coming to Lideth then he might have been more mentally prepared. The cosmopolitan realm. So long as they followed the rules here, all creatures, living or dark, were welcome.

Well, most creatures anyway.

Fire-Demons, which were considered dangerous in most realms, were forbidden from entering. Humans too weren’t allowed in this realm which wasn’t very surprising since the human race was practically prohibited from being in any realm other than earth. Of course, there were other creatures that weren’t allowed in this realm.

“So, who exactly are we looking for?” Richard asked, carefully watching Talya’s every move.

The two of them were wandering through the marketplace of a small village in the outskirts of the kingdom of Isgrasir. Everywhere he turned, Richard saw different kinds of creatures. There were common ones like Werewolves in their human forms, Vampires, Dwarfs, and Arzyrians and Richard could see some Griffins flying in the bright orange sky.

“Come on Richard we just got here an hour ago. Can’t a girl do some shopping?” Talya replied, obviously trying to dodge the question.

She ran off to a small shop owned by a male vampire dressed in black linen clothing. He was probably in his late forties when he died. The vampire was fairly tall, and had sharp blue eyes, a thick brown mustache, and an intelligent face which was something of a benefit given his trade.

“I would like three vials of artificial blood,” she said, pulling out five small golden cubes from her pocket.

“Judging from your outfits, I say you’re from the Earth,” the man said, taking the cubes. “But three vials of blood only cost one Isgrand. What are the four for?”

“Information,” Talya replied.

“What kind of information?” the man asked, reaching for the top cabinet. He pulled the metal cabinet open and took three red vials out of it.

“I am looking for the one they call ‘the unkillable vampire’” Talya said with a smile.

The man studied her and Richard curiously.

“And what makes you think I’ve heard of such a man?” the vampire said and with that, he gave himself away.

“I never mentioned him being a man,” Talya replied, playing with her hair.

A smug grin formed across the man’s face. “As expected from a dark creature. If I may ask little girl, just how old are you?”

“A little over nine hundred,” Talya boasted.

“And what exactly are you?” he asked.

“Impatient,” Talya replied. Her tone and expressions were those of a happy child but there was a stain of malice and threat in her aura.

The man pulled out a small white cloth from the left pocket of his trousers and began wiping an empty glass vial that was in his left hand.

“Calm down little girl,” the man said. “Now, while I’ve never come across the unkillable vampire, I did hear a rumor ninety years ago.”

“What rumor?” Richard quickly asked.

“That a man was caught trying to infiltrate the Grand Castle. The man was said to have the powers of a vampire but when they tried to execute him... well... Every killing method is known creature kind failed. I hear he was beheaded more than fifty times and they even tried burning him.”

“But all failed,” said Talya. “So, what happened to this man?”

“It is said that he has been locked away in the palace dungeons. But as I said, it’s only a rumor. I'm not even sure if it was a man or woman but...”

“There is no smoke without fire, right?” Talya finished. “Come on Richard.”

Talya handed Richard two vials of blood and they continued walking through the marketplace. Just like human blood, this artificial blood did have a coppery scent and taste but there was a distinct sweet taste that accompanied it. This blood contained no life and while sustaining, it couldn’t give dark creatures the power they received from feeding on living creatures. In Lideth, the punishment for any feeding on the blood of the living was instant death.

Talya gobbled down the contents of her vial.

“So who is this ‘unkillable vampire’?” Richard asked.

“Some years back, when I was still in Drenagen, I heard some guards talking about a man who had somehow managed to survive a rather unfortunate trip to the one dark trenches.”

Richard felt a chill rise up his spine as memories of the past began to flood his mind. The dark trenches. Only once had Richard been there and he never dared return to that place.

“No ordinary vampire could have survived,” said Richard, realizing that he had stopped walking.

“Now that sounds like a statement spawned from experience,” Talya exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you have been to the trenches before?”

Richard was quiet and continued walking. “I don’t what to talk about it.”

“Come on Rich...”

“Just leave it alone, Talya!”

Everyone around turned to face them. Richard was breathing heavily and Talya’s eyes were suddenly filled with sorrow.

For the rest of the trip, Talya was unusually silent. The only times she spoke to Richard was when she needed help carrying the things she was buying. The herbs, animal skins, and ointments Talya was buying spelled one thing; ingredients for a spell. After lashing at her, Richard couldn’t even muster up the courage to ask her exactly what she was planning.

The first sunset was about to occur. There were two suns in this planet’s solar system. This caused many irregularities in terms of how days long it took. The red sun, which was the one about to set, was farther than the dreaded blue sun. Both these suns had no effect on dark creatures. Once a year, the two suns would shine in the sky on a day called the Day of True Light. This day marked the beginning of a new year for the people of Lideth.

Talya and Richard went into a small inn. The innkeeper was a small creature with the features of a mouse called a Dathratil. He was about half a meter tall and was dressed in gray clothes. He asked them if they wanted single or separate rooms. Talya was about to speak when Richard interrupted and said they wanted a single room.

“Up the stairs and to your left,” the innkeeper said, handing Talya the keys.

Their room was nothing but quaint. Mild lighting, a bit dusty with only a bed, a chair, a small table near the bed, and a wooden wardrobe at the end of the room next to the window.

Richard dropped the bag which contained the things Talya had bought. Talya took off her jacket and began sorting out the ingredients. Sitting on the soft bed, Richard remembered the conversation he had with Ashley two Earth days ago. The painful ache he had felt in his heart when talking about Talya that night came upon him as he watched Talya. Even after everything she’d done... Why was Richard feeling this way?

Twenty minutes passed and Talya never said a word.

Richard finally gave up and made up his mind.

“It happened fifty thousand years ago,” he said, resting his back on the bed.

“What did?” Talya asked angrily.

“I once found myself in one of the dark trenches.”

Talya stopped what she was doing and looked at Richard. She stood up and sat at the edge of the bed.

“It’s one of the few good memories I have about Ethan,” Richard continued. “Perhaps that’s why I’ve never liked talking or thinking about that day.”

“What happened?” Talya asked, her voice softer this time.

“Well, even though I had chosen Ethan to be my Guide he wasn’t very keen on the idea.”

“Wait, Ethan was your Guide. I’ve heard about the old tradition of how those born in the Rathzorian royal family would choose someone who bore the responsibility of training them and nurturing them in the ways of the world. I hear one chose a Guide at the age of five and would be around him for twenty years.”

“That’s right,” Richard replied. “The tradition died some thirty thousand years ago.”

“So Ethan...”

“At first, Ethan was only my Guide by choice. He never trained me or even talked to me in the beginning. For six months, I tried to prove myself to him but nothing would make him acknowledge me as a disciple.”

“Wasn’t Ethan answerable to your father back then? Why didn’t your father just order him to train you?”

“Like everyone else, my father was against the idea of me having Ethan as my Guide.”

“That makes sense,” Talya commented. “I mean, he had already hidden the fact that Ethan was his son from anyone. You were obviously the last person your father wanted hanging around Ethan.”

Talya was right, Richard thought. But, there were many mysteries surrounding the events of fifty thousand years ago. For example, did Ethan know that Magnus Thane was his father throughout the time he spent with them? Also, who was Ethan’s mother?”

“Anyway,” Richard said. “One day Ethan was sent on a mission. He was to deliver safely an important item to a nearby kingdom ruled by one of his father’s allies. The item needed to reach our ally in the shortest possible time and the only way that would happen was to have someone use the paths near the dark trenches.”

“Let me guess,” said Talya, half-smiling. “A dump little merkid secretly followed the Chimera on this dangerous mission.”

Richard chuckled and continued his story. “Back then Ethan wasn’t known as the Chimera but that day I would soon discover why his name was feared throughout the ocean. For three days and nights, I followed Ethan, trying my best to stay hidden. Finally, he reached the place near the trenches. Even he appeared cautious as he swam above them. I still remember the stinging cold, the lifeless silence, and most of all... I remember it.”

“It?” Talya asked.

Richard could still feel his lips trembling slightly as he spoke. “It came out of nowhere. Whatever it was, it had multiple black tentacles. When it grabbed me my body froze. I couldn’t even speak. Merfolk can easily read auras but believe me when I say that that creature had none. All I remember sensing that day was its intense bloodlust. It dragged me down into the trench and before long, all that covered me was a darkness so thick you could almost touch it. Down there I...”

“Richard, Richard, Richard!”

When Richard gained consciousness of what was happening, red cracks of fire had formed all over his skin. This was what happened whenever he was about to succumb to negative emotions. He took a long deep breath and calmed himself. The flames around his body subsided.

“Must have been some experience down that trench,” Talya said, holding Richard’s hand. Her touch was warm and soft, just like all those years ago.

“You don’t have to tell me everything that happened in there,” she added. “So, I’m guessing Ethan came to your rescue.”

“All I remember was someone holding my hand before blacking out and when I came to... I was out of the dark trench. I could hear the fighting that took place in that abyss and the piercing shrieks of the monster.”

“You didn’t run?” asked Talya.

“How could I... I knew who was down there and even though the chances of him surviving were slim I had to have faith in him. After hours everything thing went quiet and later Ethan emerged victorious. The injuries on his body seemed almost irreparable but they soon started healing. We both took refuge in some nearby caves and there, for the first time, Ethan spoke to me. ‘Noon, at the summit of Fire Mountain, don’t be early and don’t be late,’ he said before falling into a deep sleep. The next day both he and I completed our father’s mission and when we came back, Ethan quenched my father’s wrath towards me by saying that as his disciple, this was a perfect learning experience for me.”

It was strange Richard thought. Every time he thought of all the precious moments he spent with Ethan it was almost hard for Richard to imagine that the guy he once loved and respected would turn out to be the monster he was planning to destroy.

“So there you have it, Talya,” Richard said, leaning over to his side. Talya lay just behind him and Richard could feel her warm breath against his neck.

“Tell me, Richard,” Talya said. “Nine hundred years ago. If things had played out differently, what would your answer have been?”

Richard felt his muscles tense and he shut his eyes in agony. The day before he left Talya she had asked him to forget about his revenge. She had told him to stay with her even if it meant them living out the rest of their lives on land. Back then, all those words did was stir up some painful memories and Richard couldn’t bring himself to tell Talya.

She at least deserves to know, he thought.

“Exactly thirty-nine thousand three and fifty-five years ago, a girl once asked me a similar question, Talya. Her name was Vanessa. She was a vampire who’d recently just been turned. Vanessa was the most free-spirited creature I’d ever come across. Even though her own village and family tried to kill her, Vanessa bore no ill will toward them. She always smiled, always laughed, always cried, never killed...”

Talya suddenly grabbed Richard’s shoulder and made him face her.

“Is there any point to your story? So your ex-girlfriend was a saint, big deal,” she said, expressions of jealousy flooding her face.

Richard sighed happily. “While I did fall for her immediately after we met and though she followed me almost everywhere I went, I soon discovered it was a case of unrequited love on my part.”

“Geez, I wonder how that feels,” Talya said sarcastically. She could really be a child when she wanted to, Richard thought.

“I spent over two years adventuring with Vanessa. One day we were talking and I told her about my real identity and about my relationship with the Chimera. She was more amazed than shocked and attacked me with a multitude of questions. But the more I talked about Ethan the more fascinated of him she became and almost every day she would ask me to just let go of my hatred and move on.”

“Some weeks later, rumors of the Chimera being in a certain human village began to spread and”

“Stop... I know where this is going,” Talya said. “She did it, didn’t she? Vanessa made the same mistake I did. Even I had the thought. If you weren’t going to forgive your brother, then perhaps I could plead with him to let you live in peace.”

Richard run his hand through Talya’s hair. “You both meant well, I know.”

“So what happened to her?”

“I ran as fast as I could to the village but when I arrived half the buildings were on fire and Vanessa lay on the ground with a hole in her chest. I recognized the wound. It was the same one my mother had when I found her lying beneath Ethan’s feet. It’s the way Ethan always kills those closest to me. He covers his right hand with his Fire Demon flames and pulls out their hearts. The villagers who had survived told me that Vanessa was fighting a boy dressed in red leather.”

“She actually put up a fight against the Chimera?”

“Vanessa was always a pacifist but Ethan has a way of drawing out the darkness in people. According to the villagers, the Chimera and Vanessa were without any regard for the collateral damage they caused. The Vanessa I knew would have taken the battle somewhere else. Anyway, I left the village and her body. Even after that incident, I repeated the same mistake of caring too much about someone; forgetting the promise Ethan had made to always take them away from me.”

“Richard I...”

Talya was about to say something when both she and Richard sensed someone watching them from the building across. They quickly run to the window and only caught a glimpse of a blur jumping from the roof across them. Whoever or whatever that was masked their presence and Richard saw no sense in trying to follow them.

Richard and Talya both sighed.

“And there goes the mood,” Talya said. “I guess I’ll get back to my potion.”

“Potion? What for?” Richard asked.

“We’ll need it in order to break into the palace dungeons?”

“You mean to set free this ‘unkillable vampire’” Richard stated. “What does he have to do with replaceing a way to bring Deimos into the physical realm?”

“If my hunch is correct, everything. Light these candles for me.”

A small flame shot out of Richard’s fingers and he lit up three red candles. Talya was seated on the floor, grinding and mixing some herbs together when she suddenly asked, “Richard, when you said that Ethan has a way of bringing out the darkness in people... you were also thinking about how he got to me weren’t you? Don’t deny it, Richard. I am not trying to reprimand you or anything but I wanted to talk about Ashley.”

“What about her?” Richard asked.

“She is a half-breed... conceived out of the union between a merman and a human and she is the only one of her kind. Ethan has already taken an interest in her and from what you told me when we just arrived here, Ethan himself came to her rescue after the Dark Trinity attack you guys. For better or worse, Ashley and Ethan’s paths will keep crossing. The day she met you her life span was already reduced by maybe a quarter and now Ethan... Just how long do you think you can manage to keep her from yielding to the darkness?”

“Where is this coming from, Talya? And why are you suddenly interested in Ashley’s well-being.”

Talya looked straight into Richard’s eyes.

“I am only going to offer you this once Richard. The same offer I gave you nine hundred years ago. Let’s leave all this behind. With my magic and your power, we can go to a realm where even Ethan can’t replace us.”

It was the same offer she had made nine hundred years ago but her words burnt with an intensity hotter than Richard’s flames. For a moment Richard found himself actually considering it. He couldn’t deny that he still had feelings for Talya but even if he accepted, where would they go? Ethan always had a way of replaceing Richard no matter where he went. And what about Ashley? Was he really considering abandoning her and her friends?

“Talya I...”

Richard’s eyes narrowed and his mouth curved into a frown when he heard the outburst of laughter coming from Talya.

“I c-can’t believe you were really considering it,” she said, still laughing hysterically. “I mean, even you know that no amount of magic can protect us from the Chimera. Well, it’s great to know that you still care about me.”

Richard gritted his teeth together. “I am going to bed. Just tell me when you’re done making that potion.”

Talya was still laughing. “A-alright Richard. We’ll infiltrate Castle Luriand aka the Grand Castle immediately after the blue sun goes down. We’ve been here for almost two hours meaning that ten hours have passed back on earth. By the time we are done here five days would have passed on earth.”

Still able to hear Talya’s infuriating muffled chuckles, Richard covered his entire body with a blanket and shut his eyes.

However, if he hadn’t, maybe he would have seen it. If he hadn’t fallen asleep some minutes later maybe he would have felt Talya gently holding his hand and perhaps he would have also seen the tears flowing from her eyes. If Richard had noticed all these things then he would have had a better understanding of all the events that would unfold on earth when he and Talya returned.

...

Silent tears speak the loudest pain, as the saying goes.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter guys.