"Ouch!" The heated test tube containing the neutralized iodine solution cracked and sliced through her palm. "Lyn!" Kingsley switched off his Bunsen burner and jumped over his chair. "Gosh... You're bleeding," he said, raising his hand to get Miss Nancy's attention. "Kingsley." Her body was shivering. "I'm having a really bad feeling." He opened her hand when she tried to grip it tightly. Too much pressure was only going to worsen the wound. "What is it?" he asked. "Like… we're going to lose someone important to us." Kingsley arched his eyebrow. "Someone important?" he repeated, sparing a quick glance at Miracle. She was concentrating on figuring out the right way to turn on the burner—basically messing up the right procedures of the experiment. "You mean Miracle? I think she's getting better after yesterday's incident though—Oh, Miss Nancy," he responded to her approach. "May I have the first aid kit? My sister is injured a little." The teacher snapped her fingers to
Cold shivers ran down her spine the moment Miracle noticed the stench of rawness lingering around their house. Fine hairs behind her neck stood. She drew her index to her lips and gestured the twins to wait by the gate while she checked for the peculiarity. Leaning against the wall, she flamed her fingers in red, surfacing the metacarpal bones at the back of her palm. But her fire shrunk in an instant when she saw the wilting of the silver fronds through the broken wooden door. An uninvited numb aroused on her mark. It wasn't just the plants dying. They were bringing away the layer of protection they had on her divine breath. Miracle walked in and flicked her glance around until she saw the disaster ahead—couches no longer in their right positions, blue curtains spread wide apart with stains of blood splashed across as if they were trying to create an artistic art, and broken glass shards scattered everywhere. All of them slapped her hard. She almost had the thought of being in the
Living room. Kitchen. Backyard. The traces of him were everywhere. So many that it was hard to accept that his death was real. "Mr. Hayden..." Miracle crushed her knees to the broken floor. "I thought we could end this together. I thought I could protect everyone." A sudden feeling of defeat flooded her as she fixed her stare on the silver fronds that were no longer shimmering in pride. "And my everyone included you…" It felt like she was there when it happened. The scene of Arlyaen appearing in the house flashed before her eyes, reporting itself to her from the beginning until the end. They played like a movie, and it ended with the part where Hayden struggled to write the blood note. Miracle pursed her lips to hold back her tears, watching how cruel the evil was in ending the life of the man she was determined to protect. Slowly, within her blurriness, she saw the late man. He was in his usual three-quarter faded pants and a plain blue tee, sitting on the couch. Taking a sip of
"Weird." Lyn walked back and forth, stressing her words when she stopped in front of Miracle. "SO WEIRD!" She was so not convinced by the announcement made earlier. A night class as part of the final assignment? What could the students do? Bravery test? Some secret agents training? "Mr. Vincent never holds any night classes. He knows what will happen if he has one." Kingsley cast another spell on the repainted walls, erasing the marks of what had happened in their house. "You mean this is the first time?" Miracle asked. "It's the first time for the cycle to be happening this way," Lyn remarked. "Wait..." Miracle slapped the table as if somebody lit up a bulb in her head. "Could it be that Mr. Vincent is in danger? And the whole of night class is the evils' plan?" "It doesn't make sense." Lyn shook her head, frowning. "Then what about Miss Nancy? I mean... she can't be evil, can she? We've been with her for the past half a year." 'We've been with Melvin for the past few mo
The night was eerily darker for the class to commence. Street lights were out, again. Moon rays piercing through the heavy mass of black clouds weren't helping much in easing the creeps. They shone onto the huge metal clock hung on the main building, highlighting the motionless hour and minute hands. Flocks of suspicious bats were flying around aimlessly, letting out high-pitched squeaks. Miracle stood by the hall entrance, calming down her rising adrenaline when she saw the headcount increasing more and more despite knowing how weird it was for Stellaerio to hold a night class. "I don't see Miss Nancy," Lyn murmured, looking at all possible corners she could find. "Or Mr. Vincent." "Which means I need to check everywhere before it's too late," Miracle uttered in urge and started to retreat from the crowd. "Lyn, Kingsley. Take care of everything until I return." "Wait!" Kingsley grabbed her arm. His hazel-brown eyes which reminded her of Hayden's were no longer bright. On top of
"RUN!" Kingsley screamed, staring at the eerie bats transforming into savage creatures as they descended from up above. It was obvious the students were befuddled. They had no idea what was happening right in front of their eyes, inside their school. The number of victims lying lifelessly on the ground and the existence of the green-slimed monsters were distracting them from understanding the passed-down definition of reality. Some of them were hesitating if this was a dream, and some were too panicked to think about anything but getting out alive. Vyre led the Mynheex and chased after the weak. They snatched and gobbled the hearts like there were never going to be enough. Jumping into the scene, Miracle sucked in a deep breath and commanded, "Air, protect them just like how you protect me." A warm night wind carrying a soothing smell of wild grass brushed past, flaring up a line of blue luster around the mortals. "Ohhh! Not bad, little Xing Qian!" It wasn't from any of the My
"MELVIN!" Lyn roared and pounced on him. Expressionlessly, he cast his hand in her direction and sent her flying to the back. Contorting her face in pain, Lyn scrambled to stand back up. The blast continued to surge from behind and charge at her. She squeezed her eyes tight. It was too late to defend. But just as she thought she was going to be flung into the air again, the force halted. She turned around. Her lips trembled from trying to choke back her tears when tastes of betrayal, defeat, and loss blended together at the back of her tongue. Her steps swayed, tumbling her to the ground once more. Specks of dust rushed into her breathing channels, tickling her throat. Lyn pleaded in between her gasps, "Don't do that to her. That's Miracle, Melvin. It's Miracle… Please, let her go…” For a split second, she was certain there was a moment of Melvin reflected in his ebony eyes before he looked away. "Come on, my fallen angel," Arlyaen stressed. "It's time to go." She saw him waver
The sharp pain on her wet chest jerked her awake. Miracle darted her eyes around, only to be shocked by the clanks from her limbs tied to the stem of an oak tree. The shackles on her drained her energy every time she tried to break them apart. Red impulses flowing along the tree were weakening her cultivation. The dimly lit atmosphere laced with clamminess told her that this was somewhere she never wanted to be. "Love has always been my best friend." The cold, hard voice came through and rang in her ears before he walked into her view. "Because of love, I've never lost." His steps echoed. She tensed. Icy shudders ran down her spine when she saw the increase of claret complexities on his head. Half of them were from yesterday. From her friends who were still alive until yesterday. Miracle squeezed her eyes shut. She needed a plan. A solid one. Arlyaen shot her a wicked grin. "Love helped me kill the greatest white dragon. And now it's helping me kill the daughter of the greatest wh