Chapter 12
She had set a fire?
Miya had burnt down a building?
The thought made Jim freeze, as he recalled the moment with Park when he had first told him that Miya had tried to burn Tao alive. His mind raced, and he remembered how Miya had explained of a person she had saved from the wolf – and how that person had saved Miya in turn, eventually leading to the injury of Tao. The young master frowned.
"Miya," his voice was one of solid reason, "You said you weren't a thug."
The girl's voice was small, but she replied, "I'm not."
"Dear?"
"Yes?"
"Are you an arsonist then? You know, the kind of person who –"
"Burns buildings for a kick? No, Jimmy."
Jim nodded mechanically, his mind in a buzz. Miya let go of his waist and sat up straight, carefully studying the young master's face as he was lost in thought. Then very quietly she kissed his cheek.
Jim blinked, instinctively turning around. Carefully, he pursed his lips, "You have to explain, Miya. There's so much I don't understand." The girl nodded as well, her mind flying back to the buried ring, and to the boy from twenty years ago.
There was a lot she didn't understand either.
Ben's phone vibrated.
He was hesitant when he saw that it was the Chairman's call. His chest throbbed in mild panic, and the child wondered if his little ploy had been discovered. That freaked Benji Hunter out, and his first urge was to disconnect the call. However, Ben reasoned that technically, he had done no wrong.
He was about to pick up the phone, when –
BOOM!
A loud blast echoed through the sky, shattering the earth and blackening the clouds. Fire rose in the distance, its flames raging and vicious, angry as waves of it engulfed an entire building in itself. The ground shook – and tremors of it sent everyone around flying.
For Benji, what happened was like a flash of light. One moment, he was standing there, looking into his phone. The next, he had been thrown across the ground, with his body cras.h.i.+ng against the road as he fell to his face.
The explosion was dark, deafening and it lasted a mere minute. When the quiet fell over Raven High again, the school theatre was burning in flames.
The fire leapt to the clouds, coils of black smoke engulfing the air, as a dead silence haunted the ambiance of the school.
The child gasped for breath, coughing up blood and struggling to stand on his feet. Before he could though, a pair of rough hands grabbed him forcefully from the back. Ben let out a surprised shriek, scrambling at his feet when he was lifted off the ground.
The boy screamed in horror.
He saw the man grabbing him – it was one of Jimmy's guards, who seemed uninjured besides a cut on his lip. But it was the scene behind him that made Ben horrified. The building towards the south end of Raven High, the school theatre, was being consumed by the red fire, looking angry and demanding, menacing like a war G.o.d.
The child screamed again.
The guard was quick to hold Ben in his arms. Gruffly, he said to him, "Little master, we need to leave!"
Ben's breath wedged in his throat. The boy's eyes filled with tears, as he watched the school suddenly burst into motion again, as everything and everyone started to move after the short, split second of a blast and shock.
Ben and the guards had been standing a good distance away from the explosion, to not have sustained much injury. But the explosion gave them their warning sign – danger was ahead.
It had come.
Miya looked at her reflection in the mirror.
She had removed the baggy pyjamas she was in, and had instead chosen to wear a simple black jeans paired with a leather black jacket. She had left her hair untouched, braided in an unruly, wild fas.h.i.+on, so its mud shade looked awkward against the black of her clothes.
She stared at herself, from navel to face, taking in her appearance inch by inch. Then finally, she looked into her eyes.
The black in them gazed back mellowly at her, seeming distracted – bored. It seemed confused too, as if it wasn't sure of its own existence. Miya sc.r.a.ped the side of her temple lightly, wanting to gorge it out for a second. Her breath became harsh.
Quietly, she clenched her
Jimmy was waiting for her outside.
His own chest had tightened, and he stopped himself from thinking too much. He wasn't sure where Miya was taking him, but to be anywhere near Zaila's existence was painful to him. Not to mention, somewhere close by was a building burnt down by his wife.
Jim's hands sweated, as he clenched them inside his pockets. His chest was throbbing, and something seemed wrong to him in that moment. The young master usually trusted his instinct, and so he had decided to carry along with him a gun. He wasn't violent as a man, but as the weapon pressed against his chest through the inside pocket of his overcoat, he couldn't help but feel threatened.
A feeling he had only ever felt ages ago surged within him again. Once more, he wasn't sure he could protect the one he loved.
The young master almost spat at the thought, when he saw the wife walk out of the room. He quickly forced himself to calm down, ready to support her, when his eyes fell on the way she was dressed. It took him by surprise.
The girl who had seemed frail and weak only seconds ago, now looked like a proud gangster of sorts. It made Jimmy frown. Shrugging, he took her hand.
Miya gave him half a smile, and they walked out of palace Jade.
Once Jimmy had helped her into the car, he couldn't help but look back at Jade, the Hunter Manor, the blank face of his wife, his own throbbing heart. His hands clenched around the steering wheel. Turning on the ignition, he drove away.
He had asked Miya to leave it be, to rest up and recover first. That they would go wherever she wanted once she was alright. But the girl's simple reply had sealed the deal.
"I might not have the courage to do this again, Jimmy," she had said.
In his haste, he had asked her to get ready.
For despite everything, he knew he needed an answer. There was a possibility she was involved with his mother, she was involved with that green man, and Sheng was at her heels too. Without an answer, he would mess it all up again.
Just like he had, all those years ago.
Swallowing, he turned the car in the direction of the Millennial Graveyard.
All the while, she didn't say a word.
Jim was lost in his own muddle of thoughts, when he noticed that Miya was sweating again. It was fairly cold outside, so he frowned, then almost freaked out when she gasped.
"Miya?" his panicked, "What's wrong?"
She shrugged harshly.
"It's the drug… It doesn't wear off for three months. Don't worry, I'm alright."
Jim's brows furrowed. What?
"The doctor, Mr. Kern said that you'd be fine by tonight," he pointed out.
"I am fine, Jimmy."
"But you're –"
"The medicine reduces the intensity of the effect. The visions will go away after some time. They're mere, sudden flashes now. I'm better already, husband."
"But I –"
And then, Jim shut up. His face flushed and his heart hammered, his ears almost burnt from the blush.
Husband!
She said –
And then, he frowned again.
"Don't distract me with husband, d.a.m.n it."
His complain was indignant, yet dignified. It made Miya chuckle. She breathed heavily, and then smiled.
The visions weren't killing her anymore. But the thought of where she was headed was enough to numb her sense.
Was it the right choice?
Telling Jimmy…
And how much would she endanger, by telling him? If that person, the one whom Kaali worked for found out, she'd be chased to the end of the Earth. What then?
And did Jimmy really deserve to be part of a story that wasn't his own? He was a good man. Why should he, of all people, suffer because he married her?
Her mind once again ran back to that fairy boy from years ago.
Jimmy Hunter…
Miya took in a deep breath, and then closed her eyes. The dark took over her senses in an instant, and she relaxed.
"Jimmy?" She didn't let go of the darkness that spread before her. In that moment, it felt comforting and familiar. It reeked of home.
"Yes?"
"Let me recite a letter to you."
"What?"
"Someone wrote it to me six years ago."
Jim frowned again, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes. She lay relaxed in her seat, with eyes tightly shut. Her face seemed paler, but it held no expression. She was lost, once again, in a world solely hers.
"Who wrote it?" Jim asked.
"The girl we're visiting. The castle I set fire to… it's her grave, Jimmy."
A cold chill cut through Jimmy's veins, and his hands almost froze on the steering wheel. He swallowed, horrified.
"Should I?"
He didn't respond. The wife took that as a yes.
"The letter," she said dazedly, "Went like this. She didn't know how to write, Jimmy. She made KaSu write it. And so –"
That caught Jimmy's attention. The hammer of his chest increased, he slowed down the car and listened.
" – Sung did. The letter started with a h.e.l.lo," her voice lowered, as the girl was completely lost in her thoughts, "And it said – "Miya. My partner, don't be mad. I've been told a shadow never leaves the intimacy of the body. Why the f*** then would you leave? They're bound by fate. We're bound by fate. Don't you believe in destiny anymore? Come back. I've always thought I'd die in battlefield, fighting some nameless monster. Now I know I won't! This is a good way to go, Miya. It's f***ing different! Just, free me when I'm gone. In flames? That's warm. Burn our castle down, maybe?
Come back!
You have to be here. I'm naming you G.o.dmother.
And no matter what, choose our child. I want him to see you first. Not KaSu. To see what –"
Miya abruptly stopped.
Her breath became harsher, and her eyes snapped open. She sat up in the seat, removing the seat belt and running a hasty hand through her hair.
Jim had frozen in his seat.
He reached out a hand to caress her shoulder, but the girl s.h.i.+rked it away. Then holding her head in her hands, she quivered.
"Y-You're g-G.o.dmother to a child? Who is this woman, Miya?"
The tremble in her body intensified again. Jim unfastened his belt, and stopped the car, quickly parking it to the side. He rushed to her door and flung it open.
She was still holding her head and shuddering. Jim was about to pat the small of her back, when suddenly, she let go.
Miya looked up at Jim, her face haunted and terrified, paler than ever. Her lips seemed charred and all blood had left her body. Rashly, she put a hand to the corner of her eyes.
What Jim matched next swept the floor from his feet.
Her eyes…
Slowly, Miya detached the contacts. The black in them gave way. What was left was the sinister green. The calm of the forest. The torment of the sea.
They were the most beautiful eyes Jim had ever seen.
She looked like the devil's incarnate. Her lips curled, her expression misplaced. Her voice was simply h.e.l.l.
"Some of us, Jimmy," she said, almost to herself "have been doomed from the start."