“It is here,” came the voices of the six spoken as one.
And it was. Flame and fire, so close as to touch. The glare hurt my eyes, after all, they'd never seen daylight, but not so much as I needed to turn away. So I didn't.
“Is it not beautiful, everything you ever hoped for?”
But I could not reply to my sweet angel for it was so much more.
* * *
I watched the sun as it rose into view to ignite the horizon in colour. The world burned before my eyes. An Arctic landscape glowed ruby, not white, nor gold. The thing I'd dreamt of for so long, the way I'd always wished to depart my non-life, had now welcomed me to it: the sun; that ruby sun; that globe of molten blood.
A vampire sun graced a blooded sky, and there in a world turned ruby, I realised that, perhaps, it wasn't quite the end after all.
Chapter Thirty-One
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Epilogue
Nobody heard Merryweather's screams, his pleading, his pitiful tears. Hours of expecting the end took their toll on the man whose only crime was to love too much. The dandy wept as daylight fractured the night, he poured away in inconsolable sadness.
Blood-red, the sun rose and bathed everything in an ocean of death; the light tickled Merryweather's skin, and he realised the truth.
Nobody saw Sir Walter Merryweather's bindings fall to the floor. Nobody saw him stagger away into a ruby dawn. Nobody heard his voice as it turned from despair to manic laughter.
To be continued in book two
The Eternals: Hunter Hunted
About the Author
Richard M. Ankers was born a dreamer. From an early age, if Richard was not out in the fresh air playing sports, he was lost inside a good book or secretly writing his own. A lover of everything from Marvel comics to classic Fantasy and Science Fiction, he allowed his mind to wander to these fantastical places and never quite came back. Heavily influenced by authors ranging from Michael Moorcock and Gene Wolfe to such wonders as Haruki Murakami and Margaret Atwood, Richard enjoyed being entertained, whisked away to places unknown. Every book had something to offer, snippets of the unimaginable, twists of fate and spectacular universes and Richard soaked them up like a sponge. These were the makings of his mind.
Born and bred in rural Yorkshire, England, Richard squirreled his words away in shyness without showing them to anyone until plucking up the courage to place them online to be read and judged. Fortunately, that went better than he could ever have dreamed and hence decisions were made. Richard resigned his position as a Company Director and gave up everything he was to become the writer and person he wished to be. People have said it a brave decision but, in truth, it was the only decision he could ever have made. There would never be enough hours, minutes and seconds remaining in Richard’s lifetime to uncover all the words and worlds he had to unleash. Work began in earnest, and The Eternals came to life.
Three years in the making, The Eternals Trilogy was born from a vision of moonlight waltzes and a dying sun. Our distant future was to end and those who thought themselves immortal would be proved less so. This is the time and place that Jean is born to and wishes he wasn’t.
When Richard is not tapping out stories on his laptop, or adding poetry and writing to his own website, richardankers.com, which he nearly always is, you’ll find him running and taking in the scenery. Running has offered a sense of peace and relaxation only ever matched by writing. A lover of the great outdoors, he is lucky enough to have visited many of the world’s most beautiful countries such as Norway and Switzerland both of which he could happily have never left. If he could sit with a view of the mountains with a river flowing by and birdsong, a quite corner set aside in which to write with a view of the former, you’d probably never see Richard again.
Words and the stories formed from them have brought Richard much joy over his lifetime. Now, it is his turn to hopefully return the favour to others. Modern life is a hectic place and time is precious. Richard hopes those stolen moments with his words can bring some relief from the tedium as the authors he has read have done for him. There are few things that could make him happier.
Richard is a passionate believer in the natural world. Our Earth is a delicate place and everybody should do their bit to look after it. There is so much beauty to be seen if only people opened their eyes. He hopes that more and more are doing so these days, and prays that it’s not too late for those to come. He is also a strong advocate of never letting anyone tell you, you’re not good enough. If you want to do something with a passion you cannot explain, you should. Life is too short for regrets and everybody is good at something. As long as that person is happy and content, nothing else really matters. So, good luck with your own futures and Richard thanks you for being a part of his.
Richard.
Dear reader,
Thank you for taking time to read The Eternals. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
The Eternals Page 27