The Chimera (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 2)
Chapter Twenty-One: Everyone Has A Tragic Story

Ashley’s pace gradually quickened as she followed Ethan. She was feeling slightly tense and wondered where he was taking her. When she was out of his room, Ethan closed the door and both of them were quiet as they passed through the corridor. They reached the ground floor. Ethan led her to the large shiny wooden door which led to the back of the manor.

As if she hadn’t already been surprised enough, Ashley’s eyes widened marveling at the surrounding she saw. Not only was the mansion much bigger than she’d seen earlier but in front of her stood a magnificent view. Hills were covered by woods and beautiful grasslands that stretched far and wide. It was nature’s architecture at its finest. A cool and fresh breeze was sweeping through her nostrils, reminding her of the storm that was rumbling in the distance.

“Ethan,” Ashley said as they approached the woods. “What did you mean when you said your father now saw you as an opportunity?”

“Well, even after sixty-five thousand years, Magnus and Aurora still weren’t able to have a child. Despite being dead, my mother’s spell still remained unbroken. Magnus sought the help of countless sorcerers and witches but none of them could break the spell.”

“But you could,” Ashley said, her voice filled with profound realization.

They were now nearing the woods.

“I may have died but I was of my mother’s bloodline. Among the abilities I currently possess, the only power I could use at the time was those of a sorcerer. However...”

Ethan suddenly stopped walking. Whatever it was that he wanted to say he didn’t say it. For just a few seconds Ashley saw Ethan close his eyes and she could have sworn his lips were shaking. He quickly shook his head, forced a smirk across his face, and resumed his movement.

“Anyway, after five years I finally broke the spell my mother placed on Magnus. As much as I hate to say it, Magnus gave me a sense of purpose, and for the first time and I felt like I was doing something right. A year later, the entire empire of Rathzoria came together, celebrating and welcoming their prince and my half-brother, Richard Thane. I was praised throughout the kingdom and realizing that no one knew what to call me, Magnus named me Ethan.”

“An anagram for Thane,” Ashley pointed out. “Wait, you didn’t tell me that you had a different name before that.”

“The name I had before died the moment I did and I’ve sworn to never use it,” Ethan’s tone began to darken. “After Richard was born, Magnus found the perfect heir he sort all his life. I too thought I had finally found a home but eventually, Magnus saw something else in me; a weapon that could be exploited.”

“Ethan”

Ashley’s whisper was filled with compassion and sympathy. She wanted to hold his hand and maybe say some nonsense about how she was sorry all this happened to him. But Ethan wasn’t telling her this story to make her understand him or feel sorry for him. Every time he spoke, his voice never wavered and his expressions were as blank as the night around them.

“Once again, I was thrown into the same spiral of war and bloodshed, only this time it was the ocean that suffered.”

They were deep into the woods and Ashley was starting to hear crickets chirping.

Ethan drew in a deep breath and said, “I would love to go over the details but I am sure Richard already told you how events played out from this point.”

Ashley stopped walking.

“Ethan. I can’t say I fully understand where your anger towards your brother comes from. But I see now that you’ve been punishing Richard for what his— no, for what your father did to your family...” Ashley paused. “For what he did to you and for what he did to the girl you loved. Magnus’ deeds were unforgivable. But you of all people...”

The tears Ashley had been holding back all this while suddenly began flowing out of her eyes.

“Ethan. You of all people should have understood the pain someone suffers when caught in a battle that has nothing to do with them. All Richard ever wanted for you was happiness and yet, he’s had to bear the consequences of what his father did thousands of years before he was even born.”

When Ethan ignored her and continued walking she ran to him and grasped the back of his coat.

“Hasn’t Richard suffered enough?! Isn’t fifty thousand years of torment enough for you?” she asked, a lump forming in her throat and her voice cracking into childish sobs.

“Time is of no meaning to dark creatures,” Ethan answered sternly.

“Dark creatures?” The painful memories of Jacob, Claudia, and Sebastian began running through Ashley’s mind. Her eyes burned hot with tears and her grip on Ethan’s coat tightened.

“Does being a dark creature mean it’s okay for you to go through so many tragedies? Does it give you the right and excuse to cause suffering? Ethan, anyone can see that Richard curses himself every day for what he became. He blames himself for his parent’s death and Lenora’s too.”

Ashley loosened her grip and let go of Ethan’s coat when he turned and faced her. The wind was blowing his long black hair across his face and his dark, midnight-colored eyes met hers.

“Everyone has tragic stories,” he said in a smooth voice. “We dark creatures just exist long enough to carry the worst of them. Come on. Seeing this might give you, and maybe even my brother at some point, a different perspective of things.”

Ethan went ahead of her. Ashley followed Ethan through the woods. They were moving to higher ground and she began to see the lights of the manor in the distance below them.

For the next three hours, the only times Ethan spoke to Ashley was when giving her directions or telling her to watch out for some poisonous plants that grew in the woods.

They finally walked out of the trees and made it to a large clearing. Ahead of them was a cliff and Ashley could see the ocean below. Ethan pointed towards the waters— at some rocks about a mile away from the cliff— and told her that barrier of the pocket dimension was somewhere near them.

When Ashley came across a beautiful bed of flowers her heart jumped as a grand stroke of realization came upon her. The pure stream of white roses spread across the clearing like a small cloud. These were similar to the flowers in the painting she had seen of Ethan and Lenora. They weren’t just similar. Ashley saw the tree that grew the in middle of the flower bed. Even under the moonless night, its small purple leaves were almost glowing, dancing to the motion of the wind that blew.

Even Ethan was careful as he walked towards the tree. Minding her footsteps, Ashley followed behind him. Ashley’s gaze was fixed towards the tree and she only noticed that Ethan had stopped walking when he raised his right hand in front of her, halting her movement.

“We wouldn’t want to disrespect the dead now would we?” he said, gesturing his hand towards the ground.

It was soon after seeing the rock that lay a few meters away that Ashley realized she was standing in front of a grave. Engraved on the rock were marking written in ancient text.

“Is this where Lenora is...?” Ashley began to say.

“Yes,” Ethan interjected. “I am sure that you’ve already realized that this entire expanse of land was once the island where she lived.”

He knelt on one knee and stared at the tree.

"Lenorethia... The tree that Lenora was named after. This tree is over fifty thousand years old and probably the last of its kind. While it holds some of the most precious moments I shared with Lenora, it also serves as a reminder of the darkest one. Little mermaid...”

Ashley focused her attention on Ethan.

“Do you know how one becomes a dark creature?” he asked.

“They must die with the blood of a dark creature in their system,” Ashley answered. She had a disturbing feeling that she wouldn’t like where this conversation was headed.

“Well, that’s one way,” Ethan replied. “However, there is one thing that all dark creatures here on Earth have in common.”

Ethan’s gaze fell toward the headstone under the tree.

“To complete the transition into a dark creature, we all had to consume human blood. Earlier you said that Richard condemns himself, thinking it was his fault that Lenora died.”

Ashley quickly perused through her memories. “Richard once said you told him your father killed Lenora,” she commented.

A disturbing chuckle came out of Ethan’s mouth, “Memory can be an elusive thing,” he said. “Ironically, it turns out that­­ if Magnus had killed Lenora then perhaps the realms would have been spared one less monster.”

It all dawned on Ashley. Transitioning into a dark creature, consuming human blood, why Ethan had brought her to Lenora’s grave...

A creeping sensation was running through her flesh.

“What are you saying, Ethan?” she asked, her lips almost shaking.

Ethan slowly stood up and Ashley involuntarily moved backward.

“Magnus was never the one who killed Lenora, little mermaid— I did.”

An ominous silence lingered between them. For a moment, Ashley felt like everything around her, including time, froze. Her insides were turning in horror, her face changing to complement the whirlpool of emotions building up inside her. Ethan’s expressions were calm and unreadable; as if what he’d just said didn’t affect him at all. She remembered the guy she’d seen in the painting. He had a smile so beautiful it was contagious. But the one standing in front of her wasn’t him.

“You wanted to know how I became what I am,” he continued, this time turning to face the ocean. “I hope that answers your question.”

Dark clouds started appearing in the sky. Ashley had never been afraid of lightning but at that moment every clap it made terribly shook her.

Ashley’s lips slowly parted and in a low voice, she asked, “I don’t—” Ashley stammered and swallowed. “I don’t understand. Why did you kill Lenora? And why punish Richard?”

Ashley flinched when Ethan turned to face her. She couldn’t believe what her eyes saw clearly. Curled across his face was a disconcerting smirk. He looked at her as if she was nothing but a naïve girl. His eyes could have as well been laughing at her. All they told her was that Ethan did what he did because he could.

“You look pale, little mermaid,” he said, rubbing his hand against his nape.

“Don’t you feel anything?” Ashley asked, her eyes narrowing and her head shaking.

Ethan was quiet for a while.

“Hmm...” He looked at the ocean. “The sun is almost rising. Perhaps it’s time I told you one other interesting story. When I created this pocket dimension I placed upon it a rather... deadly spell.”

“What spell?”

“There is a powerful magic circle that covers this entire pocket dimension. As soon as the sun rises this circle is activated and any human within it is reduced to ashes within seconds. I guess we have about six minutes until the sun’s fully risen.”

With both her hands, Ashley grabbed Ethan by his collar.

“Is that why you brought me here?” she said through her teeth. “You knew that Robert was in that house.”

“And now we’ve been presented with an opportunity. Merfolk generally are much faster than vampires and seeing that we’ve covered about twenty to twenty-two kilometers, I’d say that the average mermaid would make it to the manor in five minutes; a minute less than we have till sunrise.”

Ashley let go of Ethan. Her face was burning with anger and contempt. “What do you want from me?”

“I already told you once,” Ethan smirked. “I want you to realize your potential.”

Asking Ethan to cancel his magic circle would have been a waste of time. Ashley clenched her fist and took off into the woods. Everything was blurring as she ran. She leaped into the air and began bouncing off the tree branches. Not knowing how much time she had left Ashley found herself running faster than she ever had. The image of Ethan’s annoying half-smile kept appearing in her mind. After he’d defeated Vladimir, Ethan had made Ashley open a portal. Just like now, he was obviously trying to test her. But for what?

Ashley shook her head and focused on the task at hand. A subtle warmth hit her back and never in her life had Ashley ever been so against seeing the sun rising. A pink-to-reddish glow began to appear in the sky. She didn’t have much time.

In mid-air, she raised her hand, grabbed a branch, and propelled herself so high in the air that she could see the manor.

Ashley’s feet touched the branch of a tall tree. She leaped again, and finally, the sores of her shoes felt the grass near the manor. The sun was almost fully up now.

Dashing into the manor, Ashley stopped when a rush of air blew past her and she saw a large creature fly out of the main entrance. It was a demon and someone was on its back... Robert.

“Robert!” she yelled as she chased after it.

When the demon had passed through the barrier it stopped and dropped Robert on the ground, probably ready to devour him. Ashley also made it past the barrier. There was no water around to fight the demon with so Ashley had to rely on her strength.

“No, wait!” Robert shouted in a choked voice just before Ashley attacked. He was breathing heavily and blisters had appeared around his hands. “Alzreel saved me.”

“Alzreel, you mean this demon?” she asked, still in a defensive stance.

“Ash... you have to... back in there...”

The sun had fully risen now and Ashley slowly walked to Robert, keeping an eye on the creature he was calling Alzreel. She bent down to him and held him by the shoulder. God, he was trembling. His skin was red and burning but nothing too fatal. He must have been in a lot of pain, Ashley thought.

“You’re gonna be okay, Robert,” Ashley said, her breathing slowing down.

“No—” he said, grabbing her leather jacket. “I wasn’t— I wasn’t alone. I don’t— we got separated.

“What are you talking about? You got separated from who?”

Robert turned towards what now just appeared to be just a cliff and the next words that came out his mouth stopped Ashley’s heart.

“Ashley,” he said. “Samantha is still in there.”

...

LOTDC INFO:

The concept of Pocket Dimensions is relatively simple. They are realms within other realms. By manipulating the magic of the portals, powerful magic users are able to literally able to slice off a part of a realm and place it in another. How huge that ‘slice’ is dependent on how powerful the magic user is. After the dimension has been ‘created’, the magic user can then choose which words to use when entering said dimension. There are many other complicated things concerning pocket dimensions but that knowledge is beyond the scope of this book :-)