Blue Crescent

Prologue

You must not let the stone touch evil at all costs.

"I always will," I answered as my inner wolf spoke through a mind link.

My name is Maddison—though my mother named me Amara when I was born 500 years ago. I was running for my life one stormy night, holding the necklace I had sworn to protect. Fearing it might slip from my hand, I wore it around my neck. Humans seemed to hide as I passed by. Even the stray cats and dogs on the streets shattered in terror like I was the worst being alive—or shall I say, creature. I flew into the air and landed on towers and skyscrapers—anything to keep them away from me.

I exhausted every ounce of my strength to escape from the blood-thirsty vampires chasing me. Sometimes I wondered why I was being born if I was only to live in this world alone and despised. As I was running as fast as I could, my thoughts wandered back to the past and how I came to this point in my life.

I have been walking on this earth for countless centuries, and my journey was extremely debilitating. That feeling when you'd finally face your eternal rest with a smile but ended up opening your eyes only to gasp for air again and again, screaming at the top of your lungs, and begging for anyone to come and save you from the eternal cycle of life and death. Immortality was once a gift for me—A gift that was wasted for hundreds of years by claiming blood for power, pride, and honor which eventually became a curse.

All creatures don't mix in my world—werewolves, vampires, witches, and the least of all—humans. You see? Any creature without power is called human. That's how cruel the world is. Everything that matters is power, power, and nothing but power. How sickening!

For some reason, these creatures hate and kill each other. The urge to surpass each other's competence for glory among the supernatural beings was like a huge arena of conquest where humans were made as spectators; spectators who could do nothing but praise or criticize.

In the supernatural world, one may kill anything alive except humans. Regardless of any reason, claiming human blood is a heinous crime. Ah, this world is complicated—more complicated than the will to live or die. Yet if there's a creature that is feared the most, that would be no other being but me. I am a crossbreed—the combination of them all and the only one of my kind. My mother is human, and my father is a werewolf—an exiled werewolf. How I became dangerously powerful is unknown, but one thing is for sure: The world I lived in wanted me dead. They desperately wanted my blood.

I could still remember the day the tables turned as if my yearnings were answered. I was ready to give up immortality, but my mind was in a turbulent chaos. Part of me was clinging to this power that any creature would die for, but half of me just wanted to let go and vanish from this earth.

"Damn!" I exclaimed.

Realizing there was no way out brought my thoughts back to my senses.

I turned around to see the red-eyed vampires drooling like dogs. I closed my eyes and concentrated.

"Expedire," I said softly.

The stone hanging on the necklace emitted a purplish-white light as lightning began to strike, and thunder roared into the air. The wind blustered and howled, making my long tangerine red curls fly elsewhere. My eyes changed from natural gray to white as the forces of nature strengthened.

Suddenly, Orpheus appeared in the midst of us and stepped forward towards me while the sloppy vampires struggled to control their lust for my blood. He cleared his throat and smiled devilishly before fixing his Fedora.

"Hello Amara."

I scoffed.

"I see that you've changed your taste in accessories, Orpheus. From ancient top hats to . . . that?" I pointed at his hat with my lips. "I must admit your obsession with fashion is . . . extraordinary."

"Thank you, my dear," he said, taking his hat off and putting it back on.

“Don’t mention it,” I answered with a smirk.

"You must be a fan of Tom and Jerry for your love of this chasing game, aren't you? You're that mouse, and I am the cat. Meow!" He laughed

"Oh, now you know Tom and Jerry too?"

"Must be that weird TV in this human world I guess. Anyway, it's a pity that your life has to end at this very moment. Your mother—may she rest in peace—must be cursing at you right now for being such a miserable being who wasted her soul to nothing."

“Really? Could it be you who's miserable, Orpheus? Striving to be the best among all of the creatures but still ends up unnoticed and unappreciated. Ahhh, no wonder you've been dying to steal my power for your sake, you piece of jerk. How pathetic."

"Is that so?"

"Try harder."

"Hmmm . . . Let's see who the real pathetic jerk is once I have your power, Amara? You see? I have always known your deepest and darkest secret, my dear. Well, everybody knows you're the daughter of the most powerful witch who used to be a nobody, but . . ."

He closed his eyes and sighed before a smirk tugged at his lips. "Does the world know who you really are? Do they know what you really are, Amara?"

I laughed, clapping my hands slowly. "Brilliant! What wonderful speech you have for a greeting, Orpheus."

"Thank you, my dear.”

"Well, we used to be good friends after all, don't we? Besides, friends compliment each other."

"Of course. So, shall we resume the Tom and Jerry game, my dear?"

"More than ready," I said before transforming into my wolf form.

Come and get me, Orpheus.

“This is going to be fun, my dear.”

Instantly, I ran into the night at a lightspeed as Orpheus and the vampires followed me. The towers became our racing ground of speed as the vampires threw their sharp daggers at me, but I was great at dodging them.

Throw. Dodge. Throw. Dodge. The cycle continued.

As the hunt went on, I suddenly felt something pierced through my flesh.

"Ahhh!"

I cried in pain and stumbled on the ground when a dagger finally stabbed me in the hind leg.

"Commutatio," I chanted.

I immediately changed into my vampire form and pulled the blade out. The wound healed instantly as soon as the weapon was removed. Unwilling to watch my life end in an inglorious way, I took off into the sky and landed on the tallest skyscraper of the city.

"I admire your determination, Orpheus. But sorry. You can't beat m—"

In a blink of an eye, Orpheus stood in front of me. Truth be told, nothing could ever describe how I felt. It was as if my power had been stripped off from me, and I felt weak for the first time. I have never been vulnerable like this in my entire life. Everything was just strange. The feeling of immortality being gone was unexplainable that I couldn't contain my fears.

"Looks like someone wants to say goodbye. Or shall I say . . . something wants to say goodbye," he said, showing me the necklace in his hand.

My eyes widened in disbelief. My body was shaking, and my heartbeat was racing. It was as if my whole being was struck with terror, trying to figure out how he got the instrument of my immortality and power. He must have caught it or whatsoever when I was clueless, or I might have been too dumb to believe that it was still with me—Oh! Why was I ever so damn foolish! Ugh! How I hated him to the core.

"How ridiculous," I said. "Give it back to me, Orpheus."

"Since when does immortality belong to you, Amara? As far as I know, returning something can only be done if it's yours. Does this even belong to you to begin with, my dear?"

"Give it to me, or die," I said through clenched teeth.

"Ha ha ha! Really? We both know you are powerless without the stone, don't we? Have you forgotten that without me, you are nothing? Just one spell my dear, and you shall vanish into nothingness where you are supposed to be. Does the word invisible ring a bell, Amara?

Slowly, I fell on my knees and my body froze. I felt a throbbing pain in my head and heard a high-pitched ringing in my ears. The pain was immensely torturous that all I could think of was smashing my head against a wall. I raised my head and saw Orpheus and his vampires . . . smiling.

"Stop," I pleaded, but he didn't respond.

Instead, he continued to watch me agonizing in pain.

"Stop! Please stop!" I screamed, earning a scornful smile. I could tell he was feasting at my suffering, but I felt relieved when he lessened the pain he gave me.

"But why? The game hasn't started yet. I would have been subtle to you if you hadn't betrayed me. You wouldn't be begging for your life like a dying puppy," he said as he walked closer towards me.

He bent forward and looked at me closely. "Ah, what beautiful eyes you have, Amara. Your eyes resemble the clearest waters of the earth; piercing your soul and revealing your innermost being. They aren't yours, are they? How surprising to see your soul untouched by its magic," he said before straightening his body and walking around me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Oh, I already have what I wanted, my dear. Oh wait! There's more." He grinned.

"Cut the f*****g chase, just tell me what you want!"

"Ah . . . Déjà vu is the word. History repeats itself indeed. Remember the first time you asked the same question? Well, well my dear, you got the same answer. It always has been . . . Michael."

'What?" I was astonished to realize who the real creature in front of me was. "A-Adriel?"

"Ah, finally. Hearing my gorgeous name slipping from your tongue is like wine made into perfection. I apologize for using Orpheus's body."

His face and body suddenly changed into Adriel's form before my terrorized eyes.

"He was such a kind soul for setting me free. You see? You should have not stolen the spell book in the first place and let someone catch you red-handed," he continued.

It seemed like the earth conformed with Adriel's revelation as the sound of thunder and lightning roared louder around us. His power radiated through my soul, freezing my spirit that I couldn't speak as he pleased.

"No! Ask anything. Just don't touch him."

"You should have kept your side of the bargain when I granted your wish, my dear. Do you really think you could outsmart me? I am Adriel. I am the king of darkness. I have existed long before everyone else existed. Ah, I could still recall the look on your father's face when he was begging for mercy. Although, there's something amusing in you . . . your eyes. I seemed to be looking at him through you. It makes me feel like killing you is killing him again and again."

"Shut up! Just give me the necklace, and . . . I'll give you Michael when I'm ready."

An evil smile tugged on his lips as he looked at me.

"When you're ready? Hmmm . . . When would that be, my dear? It's been 300 years since our deal was made, but you've been hiding from me when you finally got what you wanted. How treacherous you have been, haven't you?" He paused for a moment. "Well, to show you my gratitude for bringing me back to life, I shall give you the best present. How does eternal death sounds like, huh? After all, I know you're tired of this 'dying and living again' stuff. If you're anxious about the welfare of your beloved Michael . . . No, no, no, don't fret about him. I will let him live as you wish . . . as a special slave, so to speak."

"No. Adriel. I beg you. Please . . . don't." I held my tears from falling.

His eyes widened in surprise.

"Ah, you must have had a change of heart then. That human must really be something for changing the monster that you are into the softest loser that you've become. He must be ridiculously interesting."

"I'll say it for the last time, Adriel. Don't touch him."

"My dear, let the boy surrender, and I shall let you live.”

"Adriel, plea—"

"Retardo!"

The stone released a blinding swirl of light and surrounded him. However, its pure light turned into a whirlwind of dark clouds, and a violent fire surged under his feet as his eyes turned black.

I felt my body rising into the air, choking in my own hands. I looked into his evil eyes, begging him to spare my life, but my attempts were to no avail. His vampires dragged and held me into the air.

"Excessus!" he said, extending his hand towards my bewildered face.

Before I knew it, I was thrown by a powerful blow that made my froze, and the last thing I saw was my body falling like a feather and a candle blowing off in the darkness. With an outstretched hand, my eyes were locked on my mother's most precious gift stolen by the hands of the devil.

My bones crushed as it hit the ground, and suddenly, I felt nothing. My wolf's gentle and enchanting voice was gone. My existence was gone. My hopes were gone. My immortality was gone. Tears flowed from my eyes and for a split second, I found myself in a flashback of my life. Could death be real this time?

Adriel appeared, standing at my feet in his human form. He smiled with delight as he moved my body with his foot. He probably wanted to make sure that I was dead. My eyes were open, but my soul was gone.

Unexpectedly, the necklace was snatched from his hand by an invisible entity in the form of a mighty rushing wind. Everything went so fast he didn't even feel it taken away from his hold. He looked around but found his slaves instead. Seething with anger, he looked at me as his vampires landed on the ground and grinned.

"Showtime."