Vengeance

27

Robin's Nest in West Crutto Heights is suburbia for those who can afford to buy sections of the city. The influence that dwells here could save the city or burn it to the ground. With gates and armed guards posted at each entrance, its the safest place in Metro City.

Marcus's extensive salary affords him a lavish mansion with a design that harkens back to Ancient Greece. Situated on a swell of land, the home is surrounded by acres of perfectly manicured grass broken by pockets of maintained flowers and a white fence encasing the backyard. Seraphim briefly wonders how much spilled blood it took to build it.

This is what the lives he's taken and ruined is worth. Seraphim's stomach tightens to the point of pain and the world around her turns into a blur of color and motion. This is where he lives, she is a breath away. She glances down at her hands to find them trembling. Why? Why must her body betray her when she is so close?

Seraphim forces deep, even exhales. With each one she releases a fragment of the panic that has gripped her. Each breath is a moment and every five an eternity, but in time her panic dissolves and she is left in control once again.

It's after nine and the only light on in the house is on the second floor, in what Seraphim presumes to be the master bedroom. She strolls up the stone driveway past the parked Porsche SUV. Mounted on the side of the garage is the breaker box. She holds a heated finger against the leg of the lock. Her touch slices through it. She yanks it off and throws it on the ground where it scorches several blades of grass. Seraphim pries the door open and skims a heated hand over the collection of wires and switches. The heat overwhelms them and sparks leap off. Seraphim turns her head away until the last of them erupt.

She leaves it ajar and walks between the garage door an the front of the SUV. With the security system disabled she is able to pick the front door's lock and steps inside, letting the door falls her without so much as a gasp. Marcus broke into her life and stole from her her family, her home, her life, and now she is going to do the same to him.

Her boots mute their meeting with the expensive wood flooring. The reddish flooring compliments the deep burgundy walls. Beside the door is a Chinese vase with carefully arranged artificial flowers emerging from the top. Off to one side is a dining table with a glass table, surrounded by six chairs and pressed against the wall is a mighty cabinet with costly hand painted dish ware on display through the glass. Mounted on the other wall is a painting of a park in springtime populated by Victorian lords and ladies. The living room on the other side of the staircase is an image from a home decorating magazine complete with the armchair matching the couch, a mounted widescreen TV, a bookcase, and a decorative suit of armor. Seraphim curls her lip at the display of wealth.

She's going to enjoy burning it all to the ground.

Seraphim caresses the decorative wooden orb, capping the railing. Flames bloom in her wake. She ascends the first step, trailing two fingers along the railing. The flames produced by her fingers follow her as she climbs the stairs. They quiver and shake devouring the polished wood before leaping onto the stairs, chasing after her. They spread rapidly, surrounding her in seconds. Seraphim extends her arms, allowing the flames to reach up and coil around her. She relishes in the heat. The produced plumes of smoke, like the fire, has no effect on her. She inhales them as easily as open air.

Seraphim pauses at the top of the stairs and turns to watch the flames ravage them and living room.

She retreats through the first door she encounters. In the distance, over the roar of the flames, she can hear the children's frantic cries. Only a moment later they burst out of their rooms. Seraphim watches them through the cracked door. Alyssa tumbles out of the room screaming frantically for her children. She gathers them up in her arms and naturally they head for the stairs.