Chapter 1 – My Turn

BLAZE’S lips curled into a devious smile while staring at the Mediterranean-style mansion in front of him. All the lights were on. From where he was standing, he could hear the loud music inside. There must have been a celebration going on. He would bet all his properties that everyone close to Sylvia had been invited to this revelry except him. She was giving him no choice but to invite himself in. Sylvia seemed to be having the greatest time of her life after all the chaos she had brought to him.

“You are still as silly as ever, Sylvia. Do you think you can hide from me forever?” Blaze muttered as he stepped towards the iron gate. Two human guards immediately blocked his path.

“Do you have an invitation card, sir?” one of them asked.

There was a cold, sinister flicker in Blaze’s eyes when he spoke. “I don’t have any. But I do know the owner of this mansion. She’s my good old friend. If you tell her my name, I’m sure she would rush over here to welcome me.”

“We are sorry, sir, but we cannot do that. We cannot open the gate for you if you do not have an invitation card.”

“I don’t mind. I can open it myself,” he said and stared at the gate. In a blink of an eye, the tall gates opened automatically.

The guards gasped. “H-how could this happen—“

Blaze looked straight in their eyes. “If you want to live longer, do not make a noise and just let me in.”

In an instant, the humans’ expressions became blank. Their brown eyes turned black as they lowered their heads and stepped aside. He tapped their shoulders before he entered the gate. “Excellent choice. Thank you, gentlemen.”

Patience was never his strongest virtue. If Blaze were the same person as before, he would not waste time going through the gates and having a chitchat with these humans. He would blast the gates open instead. But there was no need for a bloodbath tonight since death was too easy as a punishment for Sylvia’s betrayal.

When Blaze motioned his hand, the tall and wide mahogany door immediately opened for him. He walked straight ahead, aware that there were several curious eyes chasing his every move the second he stepped in, but he was too busy to care. He continued scanning the area until his eyes landed on the woman he had been searching for almost three decades now.

Sylvia was a few meters away from Blaze. She was looking at him wide-eyed as if she had seen a ghost. Her face became as white as paper. She had aged quite a bit. She had gray hairs now, but her face still had the power to corrupt people regardless of their species.

“And now, let us welcome our lovely birthday girl, Mikaela Dela Cerna!” the overly enthusiastic male host of the party announced.

The loud music mellowed down as a woman in her early twenties slowly walked down the stairway which diverted Blaze’s attention. She moved with natural grace. The birthday celebrant had the face the same as her mother, but for some reason, he found hers more endearing.

Her face looked extremely fragile and innocent; her body was a different matter, though. Her long black gown hugged her sinful curves so well. Her gown was the same color of her eyes and hair. They were as dark as the night which complimented her glowing, pale skin. The corner of his mouth turned up when their gazes met.

Now Blaze knew why Sylvia was in a panic. He just caught her weakness. Even if he was not looking at Sylvia, he could sense her walking towards him. He only broke eye contact with her daughter when she was finally in front of him.

“W-what are you doing here?”

“And hello to you, too, Sylvia.” He smirked. “It feels great to finally see you walking towards me. You were quite an expert in the game of tag. Who would have thought you would fake your death just to make me stop searching for you?”

When the crowd clapped as they sang a birthday song, Blaze glanced at them and used compulsion to control their minds.

Fear crossed Sylvia’s eyes as she stared at everyone who stopped moving and chatting. Her hands trembled when she spoke. “W-what did you do to them?”

Blaze just shrugged. “They are being too loud. I just kept them quiet for a while. We hadn’t seen each other for twenty-eight years. It would be a shame if I would let anyone disturb us as we catch up to each other.” When he inched closer, she took a step backward. “Come on, Sylvia. Why are you looking at me like that? Today is your daughter’s birthday party. Of course, as your dear best friend, I should not miss this important occasion. Anyway, long time no see, Sylvia. You look fine to me, so let’s skip the ‘how are you’ part. You look more than fine actually. Your life seems perfect,” Blaze pressed on as he casually glanced around the spacious living room inside Sylvia’s dream house.

The hollowness in his chest was back as his eyes landed at the huge family portrait of the Dela Cernas on the other side of the wall. They were the epitome of a happy family. Sylvia had achieved all of her goals after becoming human. She had the time of her life going to places she had dreamt of, met tons of people; fell in and out of love countless times until she finally met the human who swept her off her feet while he remained miserable until now.

“H-how did you find me? And how could you enter this house? This is protected by a spell!”

Blaze had already guessed that. That damn protection was the reason why he was not able to trace her sooner. He had always believed that Sylvia was alive somewhere. Monsters don’t die easily, after all. “Did you really think a mere spell from a low-level mage could stop someone like me? Besides, is this how you are going to treat a friend you hadn’t seen for so long? That hurts, Sylvia. Try to think of something more welcoming.”

“Blaze…”

He waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t, he finally snapped. There was suddenly a chilly sensation in the air. Sylvia’s eyes widened with anxiety as she fixed her shawl and embraced herself. She was shivering. “That’s it? You weren’t going to say anything? You just ran and hid after taking two lives away from me that night, Sylvia. Or have you forgotten about it already?” Her tears began falling, but she remained quiet.

Blaze lifted his hand. In an instant, the windows cracked along with the goddamn family portrait. Seconds later, they all broke. Sylvia almost jumped at the sound of the glass shattering.

“Answer me, damn it!”

“I know it’s my fault and I’m sorry, Blaze.”

Blaze let out a hollow laugh. Sylvia did not even bother to explain as if his family’s death was not worth mentioning.

“I’m so sorry,” Sylvia repeated in a broken voice.

“It’s too late for that.”

Blaze walked towards the center of the living room where the birthday celebrant stood beside her huge rainbow-colored cake. This human was lucky. She had been walking on sunshine all her life while his own child did not even get to celebrate her seventh birthday.

“No! Spare my daughter, please! Stay away from her! She’s innocent!” Sylvia cried out. When she was about to run to him, he stopped her with his hand which made her body unable to move. She watched helplessly as Blaze’s fingers grazed Mikaela’s soft and smooth cheek. Her skin was as delicate and as smooth as a baby’s. The sensation that ran through him surprised him as he looked into her eyes. She was looking at his direction, and if she were not frozen, he could get drowned in the depths of her eyes.

Mikaela’s lavender blood scent was like a potent drug, it engulfed his senses. It was strange, all blood scents for him were the same, but hers was different. He was suddenly tempted to bury his fangs deep in her skin to see if her blood would taste just as delicious, but he controlled himself. He had a lot of chances to have more of her body, more of her blood. His gaze dropped to her lips which reminded him of Cupid’s perfect bow.

He swallowed. “Your daughter is in danger, Sylvia. I heard that she was such a good girl. And in a world filled with monsters like us, she could get eaten alive.”

“Please have mercy!” She wept, and the sound of it filled the entire room. But those crocodile tears had no effect on him anymore. “My family have nothing to do with this, Blaze!”

“And so was my family, Sylvia. While my entire life stopped the day you killed my family, yours continued. And now that you got caught, you are asking for mercy? For something that you deprived me of? How dare you!” he roared as fury flashed in his eyes. This time, the lights exploded one by one which had Sylvia screaming once more. “My daughter had always been a good girl, too. You know that. But you did not spare her and my wife from your dirty little game. You’ve had your fun. Now, it’s my turn to play.”

“Please p-punish me instead—“

“And you think you alone will suffice? How foolish.”

“Blaze, please! Don’t do this to me!”

“I will be around from now on so remember not to let your guard down. Do everything you can to protect your sweet Mikaela. Make sure not to leave any opening. And lastly, tell your precious daughter to be wary of strangers. Because once I catch her, I swear I will ruin her, Sylvia. I would not stop until I make you and every person you love pay tenfold.” Blaze’s finger grazed the side of Mikaela’s mouth before he leaned closer. “Happy birthday, little one. See you again soon,” he whispered before he snapped his finger.

Just like that and everyone began moving again. Sylvia dropped on the floor as the guests wondered why the place was filled with darkness. They immediately took out their mobile phones to use as flashlight. Some were panicking while some even screamed when they saw the broken lights and windows. Blaze had watched as Sylvia continued to weep while both her husband and daughter ran to her side.

“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you on the floor? And why are you crying? What’s going on?” Mikaela asked.

He was surprised to hear her sweet voice. Sylvia did not respond. She just looked at Blaze’s direction. He smirked and waved at her before he vanished.

When he appeared in his mansion, he stared at his hands. He could still remember Mikaela’s blood scent, her softness, and warmth underneath his palms. His green eyes glowed when he smiled for the first time in twenty-eight years.