SCARLETT (Kiss From The Darkness)
Chapter 5

I was still shocked by the appearance of that man who still remembered me. I convinced myself that I had already done some compulsion on him before I ran away from his house. Is my current supernatural power starting to wane due to that night's attack? Or does the man who is currently staring at me have the power to ward off my compulsions? What creature is he really?

I'm sure he's a human being, because I can hear his heartbeat I can see the veins that are constantly pulsing in his neck. I also smelled the scent of human-typical blood that stimulated the predatory system in my vampire radar. But why isn't my compulsion working so well on her? This question disturbs my mind. This time I faced a complicated problem. There's another vampire in town who's deliberately openly preying on humans and I still don't know who did it.

The second problem is I have to find the hunter who attacked me and I want to see the face behind that mask. The third problem was the man who was currently looking at me as if he did not blink.

"I don't remember ever seeing you." I said as I sauntered towards the door and I grabbed Erick by the arm to get him out of the place and avoid the man.

"Omong empty!" Grunts and blocks our steps. "You pretended you didn't know me when you almost died if I didn't find you!" He moved his face towards me.

"Listen, I'm very busy and I don't want to play around with you. You'd better leave before you regret what you did!" Threaten me with raised eyebrows to intimidate him.

"The ungrateful!" His grunts.

Erick punched him, making the man stagger back while holding his jaw. He stepped forward to reply.

But I immediately stepped up and stood between the two of them. Not to protect Erick but rather to protect the man from Erick's blow. That man is no match for Erick. Because I feel indebted to the man so there's no harm if I'm currently protecting him from Erick's blow.

"Stop!" My sizzle with eyes glared at Erick.

Erick threw his face away and was fed up because he felt I was defending the human. Actually I don't want to provoke attention in a place like this. I don't want to waste my energy on erasing the memories of the humans who will be watching our fights. For vampires like us, it doesn't take much energy to eliminate the man who now challenges us with his sharp eyes. But I uphold morals and I value their lives as well as the life of the man even though I am currently irritated not to be upset with him. Why did he appear at such a crucial moment like this. And Erick and I had to move immediately to find the mastermind behind the murder that took a lot of casualties in the city.

I saw Erick staring intently at the man's eyes. I know exactly what he's gonna do. He's gonna manipulate the man's memory. I doubt if Erick will make it. I just didn't make it.

"You'll forget what you saw and did just now. You'll even forget that you've met us." Erick said in a low tone to enter the man's suggestion.

I looked back at the man and was shocked when the man punched Erick in the face.

"What did you do to me, motherfucker? Who do you think you are?" Now I saw the man was really an emotion. The anger appeared in his eagle-like eyes.

Erick held onto his left cheek from the man's incline. I saw that he was overcome with anger. During his time as a vampire, he was never bullied by humans who were considered the weakest creatures in the universe. At this moment he even got a lump on his cheek that came from a strong-witted human.

"YOU!!!" Erick immediately lunged towards the man but I stopped him. It was fortunate that I was moving much faster than him, otherwise, maybe that man had moved in at this time.

"STOP!!!" I'm firm. The two of them were silent stiffly watching me put on a firm face.

"You don't know who I am!" Erick hissed towards the man.

"Erick, enough!" My threat.

He was silent at my threat.

"Well! You guys look so romantic." Said the man in a mocking tone.

Had he not been that handsome I would have punched him in the face.

He grunts and laughs at my words. Damnit. Why should I meet a man like this.

"You speak as if I wanted to repay you for me, Miss." His grunts.

I rolled my eyeballs hearing it. Damnit. I almost lost my patience.

"Tell me how much money I have to pay for your services to save me. Then go and don't bother me!" My orders are firm.

"You think everything in the world you can pay for with money?" He asked by raising one of his eyebrows and advancing his face to within a centimeter of my face. I could see the color of her brown irises and the fine strokes on her face. She looks sexier with such a menacing style. I took that thought out of my mind.

"Then what do I have to do to be free of you, asshole?" I'm just impatient.

"There's a lot I have to ask you. Why are you recovering so fast?" There was a threatening tone implied in his voice.

"Don't you dare speak in such a tone to her!" Threaten Erick to the man.

The man laughed at Erick's words as if he was facing a pair of mischievous teenagers.

"I wonder what you really are." He whispered in my ear. His way of talking was as if hinting at me he knew that I was not human.

I gasped at her words. I also felt Erick gasp beside me even though I wasn't looking at him.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Answer me like I really don't know.

"Don't lie to me. I can see the tension in your eyes." He was still whispering but this time it was not in my ear but right in front of my face and he smiled revealing his teeth lined up neatly. "I didn't hear your heartbeat last night, but I could feel you breathing. I saw your wound so badly when I first found you in the forest, but after last night being in my room, it only left a small coin-sized scar. Your skin is so cold unlike human skin in general. You don't have a shadow in the mirror." This time he stood firm yet his eyes looked at me sharply with full of threat.

Goddamn bum. Turns out he put a cctv in the bathroom and he was really watching me. He already knows the truth about me. This is not a good thing. I grit my jaw. I racked my brain to find a way out of this difficult situation. Why is my brain not following my orders. I don't see any way out of the situation I'm in, I can't even use my compulsions on this guy.

"Roll!" There was a voice coming from the side of the Cafe who called out to the man. He turned towards the voice and waved his hand.

Yes, now I remember, that man was named Roland. back then he introduced himself to me when I was still a "captive" in his room.

"Look, if you want to cooperate with me, then I'll keep your identity a secret. If not ... " He sounded threatening with a slanted smile aimed at intimidating me.

It seems like this time the number of my enemies increased. Not only the hunter but the handsome creature as if to make me his enemy.

"All right." I agreed to his request.

Erick snorted in disbelief at my decision. But I will prove to him that what I do is the best choice for us. I will do everything I can to protect myself and my friends who are like my own family. If I am not acting with caution at this time, then not only am I threatened but Leda and Erick are also threatened. They are both like brothers to me. I have to protect them.