Book 1 - The Lycan's Curse

The course of fate

Aliyah stood up from the couch to greet Blaze, who was descending the stairs, zipping up his black leather jacket but still leaving his chest exposed.

"Marco told me in my vision that he's taking my mother to Mexico," Aliyah said, her voice steady. "To Kassandra's coven."

Blaze paused, his expression turning serious as he froze mid-step, eyes widening.

"Kassandra?" Blaze whispered, his voice low. Aliyah quickly shared the rest of her vision with him, and his shock deepened.

"She'll gonna come here? She's still alive?"

"You know Kassandra?" Aliyah asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. Blaze nodded slowly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"She was my mother's best friend... one of the ancient witches," Blaze muttered.

"Wait, what?" Aliyah's eyes widened as she sat back down on the couch, stunned. "My mother never told me about any of this that one of the original witches is still alive. "

Blaze let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, Kassandra and others like her used the spell of immortality through the feather of a Phoenix's wings. Phoenixes were among the first mystical creatures to roam the Earth, and the rivalry between witches led to the creation of many supernatural beings we know today."

Aliyah's brows furrowed further. "So... the Phoenixes weren't created by witches?"

Blaze shook his head. "No, not exactly. We were created from the celestial fire of heaven, just like other celestial beings. The Phoenix represents purity and rebirth, but during the Great Battle of Heaven, chaos destroyed countless celestial creatures. The Phoenixes escaped through the gates of heaven and descended to Earth as beings of radiant fire and light."

"And then?" Aliyah prompted, intrigued.

Blaze continued, "At the time, Phoenixes didn't have human forms. The ancient witches captured five of us and studied them. They discovered that they were immortal creature because they kept being reborn, again and again, after every death from exhaustion. This happened because they were too far from the Celestial Fire that originally gave them energy. Using this discovery, the witches created vampires-demonic immortal beings meant to bring chaos to the mortal plane and counter the werewolves created by their rivals. Eventually, the rival witches freed us from captivity, and Kassandra was one of them."

Aliyah's eyes widened in awe. "So how did Phoenixes become human?"

Blaze smiled faintly. "Through countless cycles of death and rebirth, they slowly awakened. Their consciousness evolved, and through fire and ash, they were reborn as humans. That's how we got our human appearance. But we retained our Phoenix abilities and the power to shift into our original Phoenix form. Unfortunately, our enemies found out about this, and they abducted me when I was a child. They used my blood to create Draconian creatures-reptilian beings that also wield the power of fire, created from my celestial blood."

He sighed. "I was locked in a cage until Amadeus, or Eddie as he's known now, found me. He was already a vampire then, but he saved me for no reason"

Aliyah blinked. "Well, I don't usually like history, but that was an amazing story."

Before Blaze could respond, Eddie suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"I want to hear the rest of that story," Eddie said, smirking as Blaze chuckled.

"Can you stop using your vampiric speed all the time?" Blaze asked with a grin.

Eddie smirked back. "You forgot to mention that you married one of your sisters."

Aliyah gasped in shock. "Excuse me?!"

Blaze rolled his eyes in frustration. "Did I have a choice? We couldn't create new lifeforms from other creatures out there!"

Eddie laughed, shaking his head. "Our friendship has had its fair share of betrayals, arguments, and reconciliations, but every time we fought, our bond of friendship only grew stronger."

Blaze glanced at Eddie. There was a proud glint in Eddie's eyes as he gazed at his ancient idiotic best friend.

"Wow... I'm speechless," Aliyah said, smiling.

"Feels like it all happened just yesterday," Blaze sighed, the weight of the past heavy in his voice.

"I've been trying to track you for ages but never imagined I'd just find you here," Eddie said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Wait, are you crying?" Blaze asked in disbelief as he saw Eddie wiping his eyes.

"Yes, you idiot," Eddie chuckled.

Aliyah gasped as she saw Alastair in her vision, pacing like a gust of wind in the darkness, into the house of the lycans.

"He's going to kill his imprint tonight. We need to stop him!" Aliyah said, trembling in fear. Eddie and Blaze exchanged weary looks.

"He doesn't know what he's doing, he's already lost his mind," Blaze said in disbelief. Eddie raised his brows.

"The vision of Aliyah is always subjective, right? It changes every second, minute, or hour," Eddie said calmly. "It's true that he was thinking about it, but it's just a glimpse of his fate, not the reality itself yet... but possibilities," Eddie continued.

"I know, and it might happen if the course of fate isn't changed directly," Blaze retorted.

"Right," Aliyah agreed. "It can always change, but it will become reality if we let it happen."

Aliyah delved deeper into her vision and saw Alastair drinking whiskey.

"Your vision is quite intriguing. You can see the present and glimpses of what might happen soon. Have you ever tried looking into the past as well?" Eddie prompted, and Aliyah's eyes widened with possibilities.

"I haven't tried yet," Aliyah replied.

"Then try," Eddie said.

"You can teach her right away. You're an expert at that," Blaze prompted.

"Right. Think of a person and picture them. Then command your vision to see that person's past," Eddie instructed, and Aliyah did it right away. She thought of Giuseppe and saw how a blonde woman manipulated and used him, and how she tortured him. Aliyah gasped as she lost her balance, but Eddie caught her suddenly.

"Aliyah, calm down," Eddie said sharply, looking into her wide, horrified eyes. He pressed his index finger to her forehead. Eddie suddenly appeared inside her mind, shaking her shoulders as if they were in another realm.

"Aliyah, wake up!" Eddie shook her still, and she finally came back from the horror she had just witnessed. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Aliyah glanced at Eddie anxiously. Without a word, Blaze beckoned her for a hug.

"I saw what she saw, and it was very disturbing," Eddie said. "I'll teach you more later if you want," Eddie said, kissing Aliyah's forehead. "I'm sorry, honey," Eddie said apologetically.