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

Chapter Fourteen: Half-Breed

Fourteen days till the Solstice...

This was a dream.

Yes...

Richard could tell...

He was underwater. But... he couldn't have been. His curse would never allow him to. It had been quite some time since he dreamt of being back home; the ocean. Richard had almost forgotten this feeling. Cold, gentle waters caressing his skin, his body transformed... able to breathe and talk under the magnificent depths. His eyes... able to catch even the smallest amount of light, making Richard see the brilliant and majestic creatures that roamed these dark waters.

Richard smiled as he moved his tail. Yes... true freedom... it was only a dream but Richard felt it and, in his own way, enjoy it.

"But this isn't real," he said to himself. He would wake up soon but he still... he wanted to enjoy for much longer.

"You always were exceptional at clinging to fantasy."

Richard's heart jumped. That voice... Richard turned to his right. He suddenly found himself standing on the cliff... the cliff were he fought... Richard's eyes widened. It was dark and all Richard could see was a silhouette but still, there was no mistaking it; it was Ethan. He sat at the edge of the cliff, his head facing the night sky.

"Atlan, Fertia, Ti, Seilt..."

Ethan was counting in an ancient language. Richard looked up and realized that there were only fourteen stars in the sky.

"Soon Richard... Soon..." Ethan said.

Darkness began to close in on him and eventually everything went black.

Richard opened his eyes. The loud crackling sound of lightning and thunder echoed throughout the woods. Even louder was the rain that fell on the roof of his villa.

He got up from the couch.

I must have dozed off he thought. Richard remembered the dream. Ethan... Perhaps that was Richard's mind's way of reminding him that only fourteen days remained until the solstice. The solstice was the only celestial event that would give Sebastian the necessary power to activate the Orb. He looked outside through the rather large glass windows. It was pouring so heavily that Richard could barely see a thing.

Everything had been quiet since the funeral. For the past ten days, Richard, Sara, and even Claudia had been helping Ashley get stronger by helping her gain control her powers. A smile formed across Richard's face. Ashley was a natural. She had already mastered in a few days techniques that usually took months or even years.

There were no sightings or incidences involving Sebastian or Jacob in the past ten days as well. Richard wondered if the two were working together.

Wouldn't be a surprise he thought.

The other problem they hadn't managed to solve was Luke's father. From what Richard gathered, Jacob was hell-bent on revenge... revenge against everyone who mistreated and ridiculed his sister Stacy. Richard felt bad. Ashley had told him all these things but he neglected to tell her anything about himself. She also kept her word and never even bothered to ask.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt if she knew Richard thought.

Regarding, Luke's father, Claudia and Sara thought it best to leave things the way they are. The man was already locked up in an asylum and according to Sara, the Hunters already knew that Jacob was the one who attacked the woman and Mr. Anderson to crash the car into the school that day. The Hunters had agreed that the asylum was the safest place for Mr. Anderson. It took a lot of convincing but eventually, Ashley also agreed. She already knew that Adrian, her boyfriend, was a Hunter but she couldn't tell him or the rest of her friends about what she was. Richard could tell that she hated lying to Adrian and her friends but this was the reality of things; Sebastian was out there and involving more people... they would eventually end up like Alex. Ashley understood this.