Chapter 6

That night, the sea was furious. Howling gales induced attacks of the waves, challenging level of the land. Fallen leaves spiraled at a hurried pace. Bins set at each junction of the streets toppled over and scattered the trashes along the roads, adding another degree to the existing messiness.

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

Upon reaching their doorstep, sudden appearance of a foreign look drew a huge question mark on the twins' faces. Bringing a mortal into their house, it wasn’t a smart choice. True, their house was indeed a place to stay. But at the same time, it was a hideout spot for dragons to complete their missions in this world.

A spot meant to be kept away from humans.

Standing with legs apart, Kingsley folded his arms across his chest. Scent of freshness disclosing bits of Lux on him drifted along the air.

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

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

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

Hayden lowered his head, brushing past the bath towel draped on Kingley’s shoulders. "It's only until he's conscious."

"But dad!" Something about the boy was triggering his sense of alertness.

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

"Dad—"

Lyn stopped her brother from arguing any further and used part of her strength to push him aside. "Don't," tipping on her toes, she whispered by his ears, "don't anger dad."

Miracle caught a glimpse of Kingsley's blue eyes flashed at his sister for a second as she walked past them. Sharp and rich, unlike Hayden's. His muscles tensed from being refrained, liquid of either sweat, shower or mixture of both was drooling down his temple.

Kingsley was insecure, and it was spiking when he saw the healing wound on the stranger’s chest. No mortals have ever survived after being attacked by Mynheex. But there was this boy right under his nose, of unidentified identity, barging into their safety zone.

"Just bear with it for a few days." Miracle heard Lyn's echo as she reached the top of the stairs.

The room was dark. Miracle tapped the wall next to the door and pressed the switch. An instant warmth of dim orange light flooded 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 set of bed laid at the corner. Specks of dust arose from the mattress as she dropped him down, almost losing her own balance.

He was undeniably dirty. Stained broken nails, clothes ripped off at the spots where they were stitched multiple times, hands and legs were covered with dirt and his hair was messed up in a way his parents wouldn't recognize. Watching his mess destroying the whiteness of the bedsheet, Miracle regretted for not making the option of cleaning him first.

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

Sighing, she walked to the shared bathroom and took out a piece of unwanted cloth clipped at the towel holder. It was better to clean him up a little, at least it wouldn't waste too much of their detergent washing the bedsheet. Grabbing a plastic basin at the bottom corner of the sink, Miracle turned the tap to different directions, checking for the right temperature. As she looked into the mirror, reflection of her mark was perfectly displayed, reminding her the neglected ache she had.

She ran her fingers across the bump. Redness was there. "Breath of immortality," she uttered, engrossing deeper into her mirrored image. "Why are you so surprised, Miracle? A stain in the colour, a drop in the lifespan. I know it well enough, don't I...?"

And slowly, rather than herself, it was her Master surfacing, playing back the scene they had back 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 because they trusted us wholeheartedly. But now…”

"They no longer believe in us."

Nodding, he cupped her face and traced the scales beneath the smoothness of her skin. "Our breath of immortalities fades every time we use our powers in their world, making it easy for the evils to 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 them the truth about everything?”

Felynx held her stare. “You must never, never do that, Xue Er. The last generation who believed in us was way too far compared to now. Even if you do expose your identity, the current mortals wouldn’t understand. They’d only doubt. And their doubts kill…” 

Overflowing of water in the basin snapped Miracle awake from her lost thoughts. She shut the tap immediately, watching the liquid flowing rapidly to the floor, splashing onto her feet. Supporting it with her waist, she tilted the basin at an angle, pouring away the amount which was too much for a basic wipe.

As she stepped into the room, her attention was instantly shifted to the bed when clicking of teeth reached her ears. The boy was shivering. Casements behind the pale blue curtains weren't shut fully, bringing along a weird sensation of chill into the room. She quickly grabbed over the thick cotton blanket and placed it wide open on him, squeezing the sides behind his back. It wrapped him up whole, 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 to you. A nightmare which I pray hard will never repeat."

And like a mom, she gently stretched his limbs apart, wiping the mud, the stains, as if any harder force applied was going to hurt him. Soft tenderness of his new skin flinched her fingers the second she brushed across. White light was still in there, glowing under his skin as it repaired the broken bones of his ribcage and rejoined the networks of his blood circulation.

It was healing. The weak beats of the boy's heart were stabilized.

Miracle released a puff of relieve.

But she cringed the next moment she held back his soggy fringe. The odd, rotten stench was so strong that it intimidated her from getting any closer. She stopped her breath and rushed to the casement, plopping out her head for a moment of freshness. You got this, Miracle, she comforted.

It was then she came to realize 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..." muttering, she felt the weight of her eyelids narrowing her sight.

She was about to give in when something not-so-important-but-still-important flashed at the back of her mind. The 7 o'clock 'date' with Rex! Shooting right up, her seat tumbled over the ground as one of its leg got stuck onto the tangled carpet strings. She stumbled, sending a quick glimpse beyond the window. Scatters of the dazzling stars, sharp glares of the moon. They were good signs to conclude the sky wasn't looking young.

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

***

Semi-awakened by the morning rays shone through the only translucent curtains in the house, she wrinkled her brows, ruffling the table for something she could use to block the light. Lingering of the unpleasant smell in the atmosphere triggered the door to her consciousness. Nearing footsteps knocking against the floor outside the room doubled the reaction. Miracle twitched, hearing the annoyance disturbing her sleep.

"Miracle!"

She jerked awake. There was a loud bang on the door. But it wasn't on the one she was in.

Staying still for a second, she scanned her eyes around and they fall hard on the boy, rekindling the happenings took place yesterday. Immediately, she sped over. Colours were returning to his face. But he looked so dead to the point that made Miracle wondered if he was even still alive.

"MIRACLE!" The banging continued. Lyn had yet to know the door she was banging on was holding nobody in. "Fast! We're going to be late!"

"Mira—" Screeches of the door on her right stopped her intention from making the third yell.

"Lyn." The girl in her call stepped out. "I got it."

"Miracle?" Her index pointed to the room. "You were in there the whole night?" Lyn questioned.

"I lost track of the time," she said simply and brushed past to make herself ready for school. "Wait for me downstairs. Will be ready in 5 minutes."