Chapter 6

The sea was furious. Howling gales induced attacks of the waves, challenging the level of the land. Fallen leaves were strewn about at a hurried pace. Bins placed at each junction of the streets toppled over and scattered the trashes along the roads, further worsening the existing mess.

The choice Hayden and Miracle were about to make seemed to have angered nature.

When the twins saw a stranger at their doorstep, their expressions darkened, especially when they caught sight of the brutal condition of his chest. No explanation was needed. It was clear that the person had been attacked by Mynheex. What worried them was not the attack but the fact that he was still alive.

On top of that, bringing a mortal into their house wasn't a smart choice. True, their house was indeed a place to stay. But at the same time, it was a hideout for dragons to complete their missions in this world.

A place meant to be kept away from humans.

Standing with legs apart, Kingsley folded his arms across his chest. A bath towel drooped from his shoulders; he smelled fresh.

"Miracle, send him to the empty room upstairs," Hayden instructed.

Kingsley stepped forward to block. "Dad. We can't do this. It's disobeying the rules."

"Dad, we can't keep him here," Lyn stressed, adding seriousness to the problem her brother was stating.

"It's only until he regains consciousness."

"But dad!"

"I've made my point clear enough, Lyn." Hayden gave a slight push to Miracle. "Bring him to the room," he repeated, sending a glare only Kingsley could understand when he still refused to make way.

"Dad—"

Lyn stopped her brother from arguing any further. "Don't." Standing on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear, "Don't anger dad."

Walking past them, Miracle saw Kingsley's blue eyes flashing at his sister for a second. Sharp and rich, similar to Hayden's. His muscles tensed. Liquid of either sweat, water or a mixture of both was streaming down his face. 

Kingsley was uneasy, and the insecurity in him spiked when he flicked a glance at the healing wound on the young man's chest. No mortal had ever survived a Mynheex attack. But there was this person, whose identity was unknown, barging into their safety zone right under his nose. 

As soon as Miracle reached the top of the stairs, she heard Lyn saying: "Just bear with it for a few days." 

The room was dark. Miracle groped around the wall next to the door, searching for the switch. Soon, an instant warmth of dim orange light flooded across the space. She twitched her face, freeing strands of her hair stuck underneath the boy's arm draped over her. She pulled him to the bed in the corner. Specks of dust arose from the mattress as she dropped him down, almost losing her own balance.

He was undeniably dirty—stained nails, clothes ripped off at the spots stitched multiple times, hands and legs covered in dirt, and hair disheveled in a way his parents wouldn't recognize. Watching his mess destroying the whiteness of the bedsheet, Miracle regretted that she didn't clean him up first. 

"Where did he get all these mucks from?" she mumbled.

Sighing, she walked to the shared bathroom and took the cloth hung at the towel holder. Grabbing a plastic basin at the bottom corner of the sink, Miracle turned the tap in different directions, checking for the right temperature. As she looked at the mirror, the reflection of her mark reminded her of the neglected ache from earlier. 

She ran her fingers across the bump. Redness was there.

"Breath of immortality," she uttered, staring deeper into her mirrored image. "Why are you so surprised, Miracle? A stain in the color, a drop in the lifespan. I know it well enough, don't I?"

And slowly, instead of herself, it was her Master surfacing, harking her back to the scene they had in Long Sheng Jie…

"The evils are evolving. They've eaten too many hearts and pearls that mortality breaths no longer hurt them, unlike us." Felynx slumped his shoulders, and Miracle saw fear in his amethyst eyes. "Those days, the only reason we could protect them without harming our divine breaths was that they worshipped us. But now…"

"They no longer believe in our existence."

Nodding, he cupped her face and traced the scales beneath the smoothness of her skin. "Our breath of immortality fades every time we use our powers in their world. It's because of this that the evils can easily track us down. But the worst is still when our identities are forced to be revealed because of mortals' suspicions."

"Why can't we tell the mortals the truth about everything?"

Felynx held her stare. "You must never, never do that, Xue Er. It has been a long while since the mortals last believed in us. Even if you exposed your identity, the current mortals wouldn't understand. They will only doubt. And their doubts kill…"

When the water overflowed and splashed onto her feet, Miracle snapped awake from her lost thoughts. She immediately shut off the tap. Supporting the basin with her waist, she tilted it at an angle and poured away the amount which was too much for a basic wipe.

The moment she stepped into the room, she heard the boy chattering his teeth. He was shivering. She moved her eyes to the casement behind the pale blue curtains. They weren't shut fully, and a weird sensation of chill was spreading across the room. Miracle quickly grabbed the thick cotton blanket and wrapped it around him, revealing nothing but his face.

"I hope you'll never remember what happened today, little one," she murmured, wetting his purplish lips with the cloth. "Let this be a nightmare for you. A nightmare I pray hard it'll never repeat."

Like a mom, she gently stretched out his limbs and began wiping for fear that she would hurt him if she was too rough. Her fingers flinched the second she brushed across his new skin. The white light was still in there, glowing under his skin as it repaired his broken ribcage and rejoined the networks of his blood circulation.

It was healing. His heartbeats were stabilized.

Miracle released a puff of relief.

But she cringed the moment she touched his soggy fringe. The odd, rotten stench was so strong that it intimidated her from getting any closer. She held her breath and rushed to the casement, poking out her head for a moment of freshness.

"You got this, Miracle," she muttered.

Only then did it occur to her that his hair probably wasn't the only source. Rather, the entire of him. His clothes looked like they hadn't been washed for years.

Too tired to carry on, she pulled out the stool and yawned, pillowing her head with her arm on the table. "I'll continue later..." Her eyelids drooped. 

She was about to call it a night when something not-so-important-but-still-important flashed at the back of her mind.

The 7 o'clock meet-up with Rex!

As she jerked up, her seat tumbled over. One of its legs was stuck in the tangled carpet strings.

She stumbled, sending a quick glance outside the window. The strong glare of the moon accompanied by the dazzling stars dispelled her sudden agitation.

'He probably wouldn't be there anymore by now,' Miracle thought, and there went her efforts at staying awake.

***

Half-awakened by the morning rays shining through the only translucent curtains in the house, she frowned and scrabbled at the table for something she could use to block the light. Lingering of the unpleasant smell triggered the door to her consciousness. Approaching footsteps knocking against the floor outside doubled the reaction. Miracle twitched, hearing the annoyance disturbing her sleep.

"Miracle!"

She jolted to a loud thump from the next room. Staying still for a second, she darted her eyes around. They fell on the boy. She pursed her lips, recalling what had happened yesterday. 

When the blurry scenes turned clear in her head, she immediately sped over to him. Colors were gradually returning to his face. But he looked so dead to the point Miracle wondered if he was even still alive.

Lyn continued calling: "MIRACLE! Fast! We're going to be late!" 

She had yet to know the door she was knocking on was holding nobody in.

"Mira—" Screeches from her right stopped her from continuing her shout. 

"Lyn, I got it."

"Miracle?" She pointed at the room. "You were in there the whole night?"

"I lost track of the time," she said simply, brushing past Lyn to get ready for school. "Wait for me downstairs. Will be done in five minutes."