Kapitel 14: 14. Prologue
"Are you sure about this? Dark Shadow..."
A voice drawled out lazily. It was deep like the depth of the blue sea and silky smooth like well spun silk.
The owner of the voice was a slightly muscled teenage boy with tanned brown skin. He laid on the velvety red couch lazily and glanced at Dark Shadow who was being mesmerised by the blazing fire from the fireplace.
Light filtered through the veil-like curtains, casting long pillars of light on the carpeted floor. Otherwise, the whole red-themed room was cloaked in darkness. Apart from the maroon couch that the boy was lazing on, there were two comfortable and lavish red armchairs sitting at either sides of the couch. There were no servants in the room because this was the place where Dark Shadow and his retainers scheme and plan their next course of actions.
For now, it was just the boy and Dark Shadow.
Or so it seemed, as the boy observed the shadows with narrowed eyes. There was a sickly sweet fragrance of roses emitting from there and he wrinkled his nose in disgust but made no comment. He never liked the presence of that female succubus-like vampire but it was not his position to kick her out of this place.
This is Dark Shadow's palace.
When the boy first came to his mansion, he remembered the frosty wind that billowed at the large rocky palace carved out from two adjoining mountains that were isolated from the nearby civilian settlements. And it snowed throughout the year. Not that it mattered to him but it would have been better if there was the option of having other seasons, he thought wistfully.
He gave a small yawn before scratching his head, parting his inky black hair to reveal a pair of sharp, curvy ivory horns.
"Of course, I'm absolutely sure." Dark Shadow answered.
He was a man with a tall and imposing figure. He had sleep-deprived black eyes that took on an odd sense of insanity matched with a mess of dirty brown hair. He wore clothes that seemed as out of place but that was part of his style. Dark Shadow was not a King nor an outstanding leader so he had no need to put up his appearances. He was just the villain of the villains who was extremely crafty and power hungry. Yet, the most frightening thing was that such a man was able to curb his intimidating presence and bloodlust.
The boy mused to himself, you never know when and how you died under the hands of a dangerous man like Dark Shadow. No, he corrected himself, D.S is danger himself.
Dark Shadow held up a red hard-cover book.
"Although Astorath has failed terribly in killing Ravenna, he had enough sense to steal one of 4 cornerstone books from the Library. Once I burn a portion of this book, the foundations of the Library will further weaken."
"Such a shame." The boy sighed as he rolled around, propping himself up on the couch. "It feels like you are burning a sacred bible. All those heretics-like fans would have screamed, "blasphemy!" if they had seen you doing this."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, this isn't the 'Sherlock Holmes' series by Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, I'm holding onto the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' series by Andrew Lane."
The boy widened his molten gold eyes and groaned.
"Damn, old man, you sure are evil. By burning the younger version of Sherlock Holmes, you are effectively erasing the older version of him."
The villain shook his head, sneering at how the demon hadn't caught on his scheme.
"Oh my boy, you have much to learn. I cannot erase this character because many mortals still remembers him. What I can do is to create a cut in our dear friend's memories and made him no longer what he is."
The boy raised one of his eyebrows in confusion. "So he will no longer be Sherlock?"
"Yes. Our, or rather, your Sherlock will experience severe amnesia so much that he cannot do what he loves."
"Oh the agony of seeing my favourite character suffering!"
The boy cried out dramatically as he raised his right hand in the air and his left hand clenching his chest where his heart is situated. A shimmering tear was squeezed out from the corner of his right eye.
Suddenly, he dropped his theatrics. It was a chilling moment when his apparent sadness morphed into glee.
"Ohh... but I do like the idea of making the Guardians suffer even more."
There was a harsh ripping of the book, followed by a roar from the fire. Dark Shadow had ripped out the book in halves and randomly chose one of them to be tossed into the fire. The fire, without any hesitation, gobbled it up quickly.
There was a soft sound of wailing from the burning half as it got consumed as fast as a lightning. Similar to a burp, the fire let out a small puff of green smoke. Upon realising the danger it was in, the remaining half of the book squirmed and struggled frantically in vain. Dark Shadow leered at its futile attempts while he tightened his hold on it. As a final attempt, the book lashed out at him.
"Tch!"
Dark Shadow growled when he felt a slight pain on his cheek. A trickle of warm blood oozed from the thin cut on his cheek. When the boy saw his frustration, he sniggered. Yet deep inside, he couldn't help but be impressed by the book's mechanism.
"As expected from the cornerstone books, they have a defence mechanism installed within them. If your powers weren't that monstrous, you would have instantly died."
Then the boy observed what the man would do next, he walked towards a hanging bird cage before locking it there.
"I wonder how long the Guardians will realise that something is amiss."
"I bet they will notice it by now." The boy sat up and straightened his clothes. "Well, if there isn't anything left, I'm off now."
"I'm not done yet." Dark Shadow commanded sharply.
The boy paused at the doorway, patiently waiting for his next words. Yet, he looked quite bored as though he had predicted what he was going to say next. He might be the working for Dark Shadow but that doesn't mean he was the master of him. After all, he was once the King of Demons before he joined hands with the insane man.
"Go to the Young Sherlock Holmes's World and await the Guardians. You are free to do whatever you want with them so long as you injure them."
"Is it alright to take a few of your men? I bet you want to test out your new troops."
"Yes."
The crisp tone at the end of the short reply signalled the end of the conversation.
Seeing that there was nothing more he had to say, the boy walked off. Dark Shadow stood on the spot with his back to the fireplace as he watched his charge walked off. The dancing shadows casted on the walls from the light on him made him looked grotesque and dangerous. He contemplated for a moment before he spoke up.
"Come on, Countess. I believe you will love where I am going to take you to."
There was an evil glint in his eye as he cackled and rubbed his hands thoughtfully while heading out. A figure of a woman appeared out of the shadows before following him with an equally eager expression on her face.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein