HETAR

Out of boredom, I stared at the white rose in the gla.s.s flower vase in front of me. As the time pa.s.sed by, its color turned to light pink slowly until it"s radiant red.

"Perfect," I muttered followed with a smile.

I touched its petals which reminded me of Scarlette and her power. Unlike mine, she has the ability to produce, remove, and control heat or fire - plain but powerful.

"Asher?!" Aunt Wart called me.

I frowned as I laid down on the sofa. "Give me a break, Aunt," my sight still on the flower.

"Come on." She sat on the small table in front of me, covering the beautiful flower out of my sight. "I need to go back to Hetarnia. My sister has something to tell me personally. Watch out and take care of her, okay?" After that, she disappeared.

So, I"m alone here . . . tsk! Boredom strikes again!

~*~

I spent my time all day in sensing if there"s danger or none around her house. Luckily, there was none.

I looked at my black wrist.w.a.tch when it vibrated. Oh . . . it"s 7:00 PM already.

I stood up and went to the kitchen. Gladly, I cooked curry for my dinner.

Uh . . . eating alone looks like . . . it makes me an unhappy creature. I just sighed in my own thought. Silly.

And then, Scarlette"s face flashed in my mind. A smirk formed on my lips.

I brought out two transparent containers from the cabinet and filled it with rice and curry. After that, I got out with those in my hands. I ran towards my cla.s.smate-slash-neighbor-slash-friend"s house.

When I accidentally pushed the gate a bit, I frowned because it was opened.

Tsk. Why she didn"t lock it? Isn"t she afraid for her safety?

I just entered quietly.

Hey! Don"t get me wrong. I didn"t have any bad things to do with her . . . just to be clear.

My hand suspended in the air when I saw the key inserted in the keyhole of the doork.n.o.b.

What the h.e.l.l?! Is she really out of her mind?!

I opened the door and removed the key before locking it.

"Scarlette?" I called her out but no one responded. "Scarlette?"

No one was in the living room so I decided to go to the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was no one there, too. I just put down the containers on the long wooden table.

"Scarlette?" I called again but this time, it"s louder.

No one responded again. Tsk! Where is she?! Wait . . . what ifーNO! IT CAN"T BE!

I ran to the direction of her room. With my clenching fist, I repeatedly knocked on the door.

When no one responded for the nth time, I used my special hearing to hear her heartbeat. Gladly, I sensed her heartbeat inside the room. I knocked again.

"TOK! TOK! TOK!"

All of sudden, her heartbeat became fast, which made my forehead creased.

She"s awake already and maybe, I made her nervous and afraid.

"TOK! TOK! TOK!" I knocked again.

I guess, surprising her like this is a bad idea.

The speed of her heartbeat doubled.

For sure, she"ll curse me for doing this.

I twisted the doork.n.o.b and opened it. My eyes widened when I saw her state.

Tears continuously running down on her cheeks while trembling. She kept on saying "Dad."

Automatically, I remembered what her Mom told me when the last time I visited in Hetarnia.

"Be careful of knocks. She"s afraid of it."

"Why?"

"Knocks remind her of her father"s death when she"s still young."

She"s sitting on the cold floor while hugging her knees beside her study table.

d.a.m.n it! This is all my fault!

"Dad . . . "

I kneeled beside her and gave her a hug. She didn"t refuse.

"Dad . . . "

"Shush. Calm down. It"s just me - Asher," I whispered.

At first, I thought, she would push, curse, and shout at me but she didn"t. Instead, she hugged me back as she cried more.

"I"m scared."

"Shush . . . don"t be. I"m here."

"I"m scared. What if . . . the one who knocked on the door before Dad died come back? And this time . . . " She sobbed. " . . . for my death."

"Shush . . . that would never happen. I a.s.sure you."

After she composed herself, she stood up. She wiped her tears with her palms.

"Sorry," she uttered.

I stood up, too. "No, I should be the one who"s sorry." I sighed. "Sorry for trespa.s.sing and scaring you. I"m sorry."

Her eyebrows met as she asked, "How did you know that I"m scared of knocks?"

Gladly, I prepared myself for this kind of question. "Your Aunt told me," I replied.

"Then, why did you still knock?"

"Because I forgot. Sorry."

"Apology accepted but please, never do it again." She smiled.

I nodded my head in response as I returned her smile. "By the way, I brought something for dinner," I said. " I bet, you haven"t eaten yet . . . and cook to," I flashed my playful smile on my lips. "And . . . that"s because . . . " I took a step forward. " . . . you slept all day, Sleepyhead."

"You"re right. Come on. Let"s eat it up!" And she walked out.

I chuckled when I caught a glimpse of her blushing face.

Scarlette is shy, huh?

~*~

After eating, we washed the dishes. And she thanked me after that.

"Thanks for comforting me earlier," she said.

"You"re welcome, Partner." I smiled too but it also faded when I heard a footstep near to us. To be specific, in front of the gate.

I felt a strange presence but it also disappeared when I looked at the direction of the gate.

"Hey, are you okay?" Scarlette asked.

"Yes." I returned my sight to her. "I"m just wondering if Mom is already home," I lied.

"Oh . . . where did she go?"

"A date maybe," I joked. "I don"t know." I lied again. "Hey. Be sure to lock your door and the gate," I reminded her.

She laughed a bit. "Yes, Boss!"

After I got out from the gate, I felt that presence again.

d.a.m.n it! I must be alert.

~*~

SOMEONE"S POINT OF VIEW

I frowned when Dad threw the empty wine gla.s.s to the wall beside me.

And yeah, like the chandelier that he ruined, it"s expensive!

"Dad, was that your "good evening" greeting to me?" I asked, still frowning.

He clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth. "Report to me, NOW!" His voice echoed in the whole room.

"Greet me first."

I pouted my lips when he threw the metal tray on the table beside of his throne. Gladly, I caught it with my right hand.

"Okay! Fine!" I mentally rolled my eyes. "Her friend named Asher is a demiG.o.d and the woman in 40"s is a G.o.ddess. I don"t know what her name is."

"d.a.m.n it!" he cursed. "Did she know that her friend is a demiG.o.d?"

"No." I took a deep breath. "Are you planning an attack?"

His forehead wrinkled. "And why did you say so?"

I smirked. "That Asher is alone right now. The G.o.ddess returned to Hetarnia."

"That"s good to hear."

~*~

ASHER"S POINT OF VIEW

Uh, Aunt Wart, come back now. I can"t handle this kind of thing alone. I can"t handle it yet. Not yet.

It"s 12:00 midnight already but here I was. Instead of being asleep, sitting on the sofa while the lights were off. If somebody would see me, he or she would think that I was a brokenhearted person.

But, hey, I was not widely awake because of that. The reason was . . . because I was watching out for Scarlette"s safety.

A few minutes later, a strange presence appeared behind me followed by another . . . followed by another . . . followed by another . . . and followed by another. All in all, they"re five. When compared to the presence that I felt earlier, these were weaker.

I stood up and faced them.

Through the moonlight that pa.s.sed through the gla.s.s windows, I saw what they looked. They"re wearing black cloaks. They have pure black eyes, b.l.o.o.d.y red faces, and dirty white teeth which were sharp.

One thing"s for sure - they are from the Underworld.