Prometheus' Orb (Legends of the Dark Creatures Book 1)
Chapter Thirteen: Goodbye Alex

Three Days Later...

A gentle cold breeze swept through the short green trees that grew near the cemetery. The clouds were getting dark... the sound of thunder echoing throughout the sky. Even darker than the clouds was the scene that lay before Ashley. Everyone was in black... men and some women were in black suits and most of the women, including Ashley, wore black dresses.

Today was the first time Ashley ever attended a funeral. Today was the first time she was asked to stand in front of everyone and give a eulogy... and a suffocating feeling came upon her whenever she thought of it; a eulogy of Alex, a eulogy of someone dear to her.

Tears were pouring uncontrollably from her eyes but she did her best not to burst into sobs. She stood under a tree next to Leah, who held her hand tightly and buried her face into the side of Ashley's dress. Ashley could hear the muffled crying of her sister. Alex would, on occasion, babysit Leah. Leah always said she never needed a babysitter and now...

Ashley cupped her mouth, knelt down, and hugged her sister and both of them let out subdued cries. Ashley felt fingers on her shoulder. She knew it was him. She ungracefully wiped her face and nose and stood up.

It was Richard. His ocean-blue eyes said it all... they were both worried and reassuring. His perfectly curved lips curled into a small smile and Ashley couldn’t help but mirror it.

Samantha, Claire, Sara, Robert, and Luke later joined them. Luke... Ashley was, of course, happy to see him but she was also surprised as well. With everything going on in his family, anyone would have understood if he didn’t show up. Luke and Robert’s eyes were a bit red but without tears. They both wore the same type of black suit. Samantha was in a black skirt with a black top to match it. Claire and Sara wore black dresses though Sara was of a much darker shade than Claire’s.

Luke walked to Ashley and gave her a warm and soft hug. As Ashley hugged Luke, she saw Adrian at a distance standing next to his father. His mother was with Ashley's mom, standing beside and comforting Mrs. Grainger, Alex’s mother. The woman’s cries got even louder as the casket slowly began to be lowered into the ground. Ms. Hughes, Ashley’s teacher of Physics, was also next to them.

Alex was being put to rest. Ashley could believe she was gone. In all honesty, she still could believe a lot of things.

“I heard she even got a scholarship...”

“The girl had a bright future...”

“How could such a nice girl meet such a cruel fate...”

“They are saying it was some kind of animal...”

Ashley could hear the whispers. Alex’s death had changed a lot in the town but Ashley too had changed. She was no longer who she once was. She was now able to adjust her sight to see in the dark, to smell and hear even from the farthest of distances. She was no longer human... she never really was one, to begin with.

“And what was she doing in the woods that night...”

Ashley could feel her teeth lengthening and sharpening. She ignored the stinging pain as her sharp claws tore through her skin when she heard those words. She just wanted to...

A hand gently grabbed her right arm.

Her teeth and claws retracted and she could feel the torn skin on her palms begin to heal as she turned to face him.

Richard. He was right next to her.

“Don’t mind them,” he whispered. His voice was so low that even a human close to him couldn’t have heard it. But Ashley could.

Richard. Ashley still didn’t know what he was but one thing was for sure; the blonde guy in front of her wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans was not human. Richard was the one who had found Alex’s body that night. He had used his inhuman sense of smell and speed and tracked down Alex. After he found the body, he returned to Ashley and Sara and told them that he had placed it somewhere it would easily be found.

That’s right... Sara

Ashley’s head jerked in Sara’s direction. The girl’s brown eyes were red and her hand was over her mouth. Sara also wasn’t what she seemed, Ashley thought. All she knew was that Sara was a Hunter, human though, and she was somehow connected to Richard. That night, three days ago, the three of them didn’t get to talk and with everything going on, they couldn’t talk for the past three days.

In Loving Memory Of

Alexis Grainger

3rd February 2001 - 28th May 2019

A Caring Daughter and Friend To All

May Her Soul Rest In Eternal Peace

That’s what was engraved on the headstone. Ashley slowly knelt down and placed a single red rose near the tombstone. Red roses were always Alex’s favorite. A picture of Alex leaned against the headstone. Pearl green eyes, a pure bright smile... Ashley remembered when it was taken. It was on the day the Storm Riders made it to the nationals. Alex was the star that day... she saved the Storm Riders by breaking the record and out-swimming all of her opponents. Alex’s record hadn’t been broken even until now. Ashley planned on breaking that record and she wanted Alex there when she did.

“I’ll miss you,” Ashley whispered, sobbing. “Goodbye Alex.”

I really think she is in a better place if you ask me...

A few days ago Ashley’s heart would have stopped after hearing that voice. A few days ago she would have trembled to death and froze in unbelief. However, that’s not what happened.

“Where are you, bastard,” Ashley said through her teeth.

It was Jacob she was talking to.

"Oh, I am very close darling.”

By instinct, Ashley released a small burst of power. She didn’t know how but whatever she did... it made her senses sharper. She pictured energy flowing in her veins and leaking out of the surface of her body. Once she released, the energy spread throughout the area, and just much like the way echolocation worked, Ashley’s power found her target.

Jacob was close alright but he wasn’t in the crowd. Ashley moved her head toward the thick trees that grew in the distance.

There

After making sure no one was looking, Ashley dashed at her target. At her speed, any human watching her would have seen her vanish. The wind blew vigorously against her teary face as she charged for him.

She caught him by surprise.

Jacob’s eyes widened when Ashley grabbed him by his shirt and took him deep into the woods.

After running for a few more seconds, Ashley stopped and threw Jacob’s now weightless body... sending him flying against a tree. Jacob’s bones shattered when his back crashed into the tree.

Jacob landed face-down on the ground.

Her breathing was vicious and her claws and fangs had fully lengthened. Jacob’s body lay there... dead. She was sure of it. No human could have survived that but when she saw Jacob his fingers move, she remembered what Richard had said.

“Alex was killed by a vampire... the same one you had seen in the woods the day that car crashed into the cafeteria.”

Jacob coughed and laughed as he slowly leaned against the tree, using it as a support to lift himself up. At first, he struggled to even move his hands, let alone his body. He looked like a broken doll; his back bent, his head facing the ground and his hands dangling like chains.

“I knew you had changed, Morgan,” he said, flashing his razor-sharp canines. “But I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Ashley charged at him again.

Jacob smirked and delivered one blow in Ashley’s stomach. Ashley felt her insides turn and she found herself flying and landing a few meters away from him.

Her entire body shook as she stood up. With her hand still on her abdomen, Ashley saw Jacob disappear... no... he was...

She never saw the attack coming. It felt like a rock had hit the side of her face. Jacob connected punch after punch until Ashley’s face felt watery, covered in blood... her own blood. She could see it on Jacob’s fist and feel it streaming from her nose and mouth.

Jacob then held her in the air by her neck and she felt her entire weight pulling on her.

“Why?” Ashley asked in a choked voice.

Jacob raised an eyebrow.

“Huh?” he said. “Why?”

Jacob’s grip on Ashley’s neck tightened.

Her ears were ringing, her vision was blurring and her head was throbbing.

Jacob let Ashley go.

Ashley landed on her feet but her legs gave out and she found herself lying on the ground. She leaned her back against a tree and just sat there, staring at the guy wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. His hair was as shaggy as it was the last time she saw him.

“Luke’s dad,” Ashley said. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

Jacob smirked.

“Deputy Sheriff Anderson,” he said with a sigh. “He was the one you know... the one who was so hell-bent on putting my sister away. He did finally get his wish though and now... I hope after everything, he is the one who ends up in the loony bin.”

“So all this... is about getting revenge for Stacy?” Ashley asked. Her wounds had already healed but she waited for the right moment to attack.

“Revenge... No Morgan... This is far much more than that. You know, I never once believed my little sister’s words. She warned us... warned the entire town about you. Of all people, I should have been there for her but believing in the supernatural isn’t something that happens overnight... well... in my case it was.”

Jacob picked up a small hard stone. He looked at Ashley and without warning he threw it at her, aiming for her head. Ashley simply moved her head to her right and the stone shot through the tree she leaned against. She looked at the hole in the tree. The stone had gone through it like a bullet fired from a gun.

“Vampire,” Jacob said as if making a grand declaration. “Do you know how one becomes a vampire Ashley? You have to die with vampire blood in your body. When Stacy killed me that night everything went dark. Then, I found myself on a bed and next to me was someone I least expected... Our dear friend Coley or should I call her by her real name... Claudia.”

A chill ran down Ashley’s spine.

“Coley is a...”

“She’s a ten-thousand-year-old vampire that nearly sucked dry half of Europe in the late 1600s. And let’s be on the same page, her name is Claudia. It turns out that the night before I was hit by a car... I would have died if it wasn’t for Claudia. She fed me her blood and healed me completely. She did, however, erase my memory of the incident. Yes, Ashley, compulsion is real. But when I died, all the memories came flooding back. Claudia fed me human blood to complete the transition and for almost a month, I lived in the shadows under her constant care.”

“What happened?” Ashley asked. “How did you become this... a killer...”

“Grand stroke of reality I guess,” Jacob replied and he sat on a rock. “You know, before my sister escaped from the hospital that night, I visited her and do you know what she told me... She said that I would soon become that which I feared the most. Growing up, vampires always scared the hell out of me...”

“I remember...” Ashley interrupted, a small smile involuntarily forming on her face. “Every Halloween, Stacy always wore a vampire consume just for the fun of scaring you.”

“Yeah... but you see, being a vampire isn’t something I feared the most....”

Jacob’s face fell, looking almost remorseful. For a moment, Ashley saw the same sweet guy she once knew.

“Anyway, it turns out my sister’s prediction or vision was right... And then I thought of all the things she said you would bring to this world.”

“If that’s the case then why not just kill me,” Ashley retorted. “Why Alex?”

“Oh... remember how I told you that I was hit by a car the night before I died... guess who was behind the wheel that day.”

It took a while for the word to come out of Ashley’s mouth.

“Alex...” she said, almost whispering.

“Bingo Morgan! She did try to save me though but when Claudia stepped in, she compelled Alex to forget as well... but you see, if it wasn’t for Alex, I wouldn’t have had vampire blood in my body and I would have died just like any normal person should. So yeah... you could say I kind of blame her...”

“But to kill her...”

“An eye for an eye Morgan,” Jacob said.

“So it really was you...”

Both Ashley and Jacob turned to where the voice came from. It was Coley... no, Claudia. Her eyes were blood-red, her fangs extended and sharp. Jacob just sat there as if the vampire that had just arrived was not a threat to him.

“Get up Ashley,” Claudia ordered.

Ashley stood up.

Another person appeared.

“You okay...”

“I am fine Richard,” Ashley replied, smiling.

Finally, it was Sara who arrived. This time her face wasn’t concealed and she had a wooden stake in her hand. Ashley wondered where she had been keeping it all this time.

Jacob rose to his feet with a smirk across his face.

“So the band’s all here,” he said.

“Give it up Jacob,” Claudia said. “Even you know can’t escape or win.”

“Oh I know,” Jacob replied. “Which is why...”

“Ashy...”

No one saw where she came from. It was Leah. The small girl in a black dress walked until she stood in between Ashley and Jacob. Leah was holding a small knife in her hand and Ashley froze when Leah raised the knife and pointed it towards her neck.

“No! Jacob stop!” Ashley shouted. Ashley recognized the knife. It was the one Stacy used when she tried to kill her and it was the one Stacy had used to kill Jacob.

Claudia and Richard tried to intervene.

“I wonder if any of you are fast enough to get her,” Jacob said.

Ashley didn’t know what to do. Her lips were shaking and so was her body. Tears kept falling from her eyes and all she did was hope Richard could do something.

“Ashy... everything will be okay,” Leah said.

“Leah...”

Ashley felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Richard’s. She had never seen him like this. His eyes were cold and scary, glowing orange and fixed on Jacob.

“Your arrogance and pride will be your downfall,” Richard angrily said. “Using a child like this...”

“And how many have you slaughtered throughout your existence demon,” Jacob replied.

“Demon... yes... which is why you shouldn’t have underestimated my power...”

Everything happened so fast that Ashley’s eyes couldn’t follow. With incredible speed, Richard had already grabbed the knife from Leah and plunged it into Jacob’s neck. Jacob managed to land a quick blow at Richard and he escaped, disappearing into the woods. Richard would have followed him but he chose to stay.

Ashley let out a gasp and ran towards her sister. Everyone gathered around Leah. She had fainted and was sleeping peacefully on the small dead leaves. The worst was over.

“I can make her forget,” Claudia offered.

“No,” Ashley said, forcing a small smile on her face. “Not her Claudia...”

“You can still call me Coley you know,” Claudia said, her brown eyes gleaming with relief.

“Claudia sounds way cooler,” Ashley said, still sobbing.

“And what about you Hunter,” Claudia said, looking in the direction of Sara.

Sara gave her a reassuring smile. Claudia was on their side and Sara knew it. Apparently, it was taboo for a Hunter to ever associate themselves with the supernatural but Sara was willing to do whatever it took to protect her friends.

“Richard,” Ashley said in a low voice. “I’m not going to ask about your past...” She then stared at Claudia. “I am not going to ask about any of your pasts. I don’t know exactly what it is I have found myself caught up in but I know I need to become stronger. You guys... all of you guys are clearly strong and experienced and...” Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Done,” Richard said. He looked at Claudia and Sara and they all nodded in agreement.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, shaking the ground a bit.

“Here,” Richard said, handing Ashley a silver ring with a small dark blue crystal on it.

“What is it?” Ashley asked, bewilderment flooding her voice.

“A Suppression Ring... It’s been a long time since I saw one of those,” Claudia said.

“Suppression Ring?” Ashley asked.

Richard placed the ring in Ashley’s hand and said, “When you come for training tomorrow I will tell you what it is.”

He slowly began to walk away.

“Wait... I don’t know where you live,” Ashley shouted.

“Consider finding that out your first test,” Richard said and he vanished from their sight.

Ashley looked at her little sister. She was still asleep.

I will become strong, She thought, gently stroking her sister’s hair. I will protect you no matter what.

***

Another step closer to the final battle

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