Chapter Eleven: The Foretold Evil
Toto took off into the air as Muta ran out of the enclosure and the three remaining Creations took their place behind the altar.
They heard the dark-haired man sit up slowly, a growl replacing his groan.
"Oh, no you don't," he hissed as he stood up. The enclosure seemed to get darker, as the man grew louder. "I have spent the last four millenniums to ensure that you would be born, and I will not let you walk away from me now! I don't give a care who the other boy is; I will wring his identity from you, and spend the next few centuries eating him and making you watch! If you weren't the Creation's heir, I wouldn't have even felt the punch!"
Even from behind the altar, the Creations could clearly see his large black wings open up, like a giant bat's.
"I'll find you, Haru! I've waited too long for a warm immortal bride to let you go now! You may be immune to my powers, but I will have you!" The wings beat downwards, sending a now terrible creature into the air; one that had been wearing the same clothes as the boy.
Baron watched the creature change completely into a bat before flying away, crying madly. His heart lay cold in his chest, having read about a creature that could change into a bat.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Haru was pacing the small valley, unable to keep a giggle from escaping her throat.
"Come on, Grandma; Paul can't be a vampire! He has a tan! He loves garlic!"
The Human Creation watched her granddaughter walk back and forth, her face dark and grave.
"I don't know what garlic has to do with anything concerning the undead, but he has long had a charm to protect him from the effects of the sun. Any he bites becomes under his control."
"But if that's true, how come he didn't just bite me?"
"I'm betting that he has already done it, when you were a child and didn't understand what he was doing. That's probably how he knew you were my heir; Creations are immune to his powers. That's why we are the best chance against him."
Haru kept pacing along the long soft grass, trying to figure out what her grandmother was telling her.
Come to think of it, it didn't really didn't matter how far back she remembered; he always looked like he was maybe twenty one. Even when he used to put her on his lap, and tickle her feet, when she was only three.
Her eyes widened.
"Okay, so Paul's a vampire. I'll buy that, but why did he preside over my family for all these years when he could pick any girl and have a girl vampire for a bride?"
"He became bored with undead wives, and he hated how cold they were. He let a few live; since they were warm, but they soon grew old and lost their beauty. When he heard about the sculptor that had a living statue for a bride, he decided that I would be the perfect balance between warm and immortal. He had brought you to the temple to change you into a Creation, and marry you. No one in your family would have protested, since he had bitten them all when they were young, so he has complete control over them."
Haru sighed.
"But if I become a Creation, can I and the others really take him down?"
The ancestor nodded, her eyes bright with long-known anger.
"You must. For if he succeeds with his plan with you, he will fill the earth with half-dead demons with the power of a Creation. But you must never let that happen."
Haru shuddered.
"Believe me; I would rather kill myself than let that jerk touch me."
The raven-haired woman shook her head, sighing sadly.
"That won't do any good; he'll just keep the family around until another girl with the potential is born. There have been other descendants with the potential throughout the long years, but they killed themselves before submitting to Paul's touch. The terror must end, before Paul finds his immortal bride. Child, I can tell that you're bright. You must think outside your normal boundaries, look for any weaknesses that you can use against him."
The brunette smiled.
"It looks like I've made my decision."
Her grandmother looked at her sadly.
"You realize you can never return to your mortal life, if you choose to enter the order?"
Haru smiled even bigger.
"Yes. But I can think of one very good reason to become a Creation. And he's enough."
The woman smiled, although she wasn't sure who the mysterious 'he' was, and held her palms up. They began to glow with a piercing white fire. Haru raised her hands to meet her ancestor's, but hesitated.
"In case I can't ask later, what is your name?"
Her grandmother smiled affectionately.
"Love. My husband named me Love."
Haru looked at her, and smiled.
"It suits you."
Their hands met.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Baron stopped pacing as a white light flooded the temple ruins again. Everyone looked over at the altar expectantly, Toto swiping at Muta so that he would wake up from his nap.
From the cold gray stone, a marble statue sprang up; it was a girl with her hands in front of her like feeling a wall. Her eyes were wide and surprised, as her entire body exited the altar, until she was completely free of the stone and only standing on the altar. She stayed like that a moment, before her skin glowed, and became pink and soft. The young woman stumbled a bit, sinking down onto the altar so she wouldn't fall off. She kept blinking her dark brown eyes, and smiling at her fellow Creations. The brunette towered over them, still being at human height.
"Looks like we have all the players now."
Baron stepped forward, a worried expression on his face.
"How do you feel, Haru?"
She got off the altar and stretched; not that surprised that she was still in the traditional Greek dress in her favorite shade of light blue, or that her hair had grown out enough to put into a style similar to her grandmother's. The brunette felt strange. She wasn't hungry or tired, although she should have been both. She could feel the coldness of the stone under her hands, but it didn't bother her at all.
"Actually, I feel great! So, when do we leave?"
Nefertia broke free from her silent shock.
"So, you know what's at stake?"
"Yeah. Grandma explained." She held a hand close to her face, and concentrated. A small ball of white fire came to life in her hand. Baron twitched, remembering what he had been born from. Haru noticed his nervousness and clenched her fist to douse the flame.
Toto jerked uncomfortably.
"The battleground's halfway across the world, and I was barely able to get everyone here without Haru. How are we going to do this?!"