Shawn stared at her for a few seconds, then snapped out of his thoughts. He rushed to her side and knelt beside her.
"Mirabel! Mirabel!" He shouted and brought out his phone as he shook Mirabel to wake up.
Hudson and Miles heard his voice and came running.
"Don't call an ambulance. Hazel will bite," Hudson said, trying to catch his breath.
"But she could die," Shawn said angrily.
"She's Hazel's daughter. Mirabel has never been taken to a hospital by her mother. Miles, call Hazel."
Miles brought out his phone while Shawn stared at Mirabel, worried and defeated.
---
At Hazel's room, she lay there, not sleeping. She seemed to be fine, but she stared at the ceiling with her hands placed together on her stomach upon the blankets, which covered her up to her chest. The black veins beneath her skin had reduced. Her face was now close to being normal, and she was looking a little bit healthier but obviously hadn't recovered her strength. Her stare at the ceiling was as if she was in another place. Her face was sad – not tired or weak this time. As if she had failed in life, she didn't blink once. She just stared at empty space, sorrowful, silent, no sighing.
Then Miles's call broke the silence.
She jolted back to reality and checked her phone, which was on a small drawer close to her bed. She raised it, checked the caller, rolled her eyes, and picked it up.
"Hello, why the hell—" Hazel was saying, but she was interrupted. Seconds later, her eyes widened in shock. "You better get my daughter to my house this instant, or I'll kill you!" She shouted with whatever strength she had left and hung up.
She sat upright anxiously, and Mr. Paul ran in.
"Are you okay?" He went ahead to sit beside her.
"It's Mirabel. My blood is taking over her body. She went under the sun, and now the sun that has never hurt her is against her." Tears ran down her cheeks. "Miles is there too, and he's going to bring her to me, but I'm worried he might not."
Mr. Paul wiped her tears and comforted her. "Miles might know you as his stepmother, but Mirabel is special to him too. He's not going to hurt her."
---
Miles, Hudson, Shawn, and Mirabel were already in the car. Miles drove. Hudson sat at the front passenger seat. Shawn sat at the back with Mirabel lying on his lap. He looked anxious, constantly checking on her.
"Is she really a vampire?" Shawn asked curiously.
"Of course not. She can enter my mansion without struggling. She miraculously didn't inherit her mother's genes," Hudson replied.
"Then why is her body peeling like a vampire's body will peel under the sun?" Shawn inquired.
"Only her mother would know," Hudson said, and Shawn exhaled.
---
At the mansion, Lillian stood at her window with her arms folded. She looked out, completely lost in her thoughts. She thought of her high school days with no expression on her face.
Flashback.
Lillian was walking in the empty, elegant hallway when she met Angela on the way. Angela stopped walking and smirked, but Lillian didn't stop. She just kept walking. When she almost walked past her, Angela held Lillian's hand.
"You know, I got invited to Mirabel's birthday party yesterday, and I happened to be in her room. Then I stumbled upon a very interesting diary. It belonged to Mirabel, and I must say she's very talented. Even her diary is like a novel that I got lost in it." Angela looked at Lillian mischievously.
"Why would a senior stop me to say that?" Lillian tried to loosen her grip, but Angela held on tight. "I don't care about—"
"Dear Diary, I saw Lillian with Charlotte today. Lillian looked tensed. Dear Diary, I saw Lillian manipulating Charlotte because she knew she was desperate." Angela said some of the important things she saw in Mirabel's diary. Lillian, who was focused on getting rid of Mirabel's grip, stopped and stared at Angela with fear.
Angela smirked and let her go. "I wish I had evidence that you used Charlotte and destroyed her life, but it's not like I care about her or anything. I know you're hiding something very, very bad that could bring you down in a flash – apart from you being from a poor family – but I don't want to know about it."
"It's Charlotte's fault. I didn't use her, and I'm not hiding anything," Lillian said, trying to keep her words steady.
"Shh. Deny or whatever. All I want to say is that you're not like us here. You're not like me. You can't manipulate me. The top you're willing to lose everything for – you can't get there before me. So get this into your desperate skull. Watch your step, or you'll get hurt. Fly too high, and you'll regret it." Angela walked off with satisfaction as Lillian watched her go in anger.
Lillian sucked in her breath, her anger visible. Then her phone rang. She saw the name – her personal editor – and picked it up.
"Mrs. Smith, I thought we both need rest from stories and stuff. Aren't you having a good vacation over—" Lillian seemed to be interrupted by the person on the other line.
Moments later, Lillian's face turned pale with anxiety as her hands fidgeted. She cut the call and started browsing frantically on her phone. Then she stopped, seeing something. She read through it and stared at empty space.
Angela Nolan, the heir to Nole's Group of Company, is the genius writer behind one of the greatest stories of this 21st century? I can't believe she didn't stop writing. I can't believe she wrote that story anonymously. Lillian thought, breathing heavily, her legs weak. She sat on the floor without saying another word.
---
Meanwhile, Shawn, Miles, and Hudson had arrived at Hazel's house. Miles decided to take Mirabel in. As they were about to enter the house, Shawn was thrown violently into the air.
Miles and Hudson looked back worriedly. "Are you okay?" they asked in unison.
"Just take Mirabel in. I'll be fine." Shawn groaned in pain, and they did as he said. Why would a vampire surround her house with wolfsbane?
As they walked into the house, they met Hazel and Paul.
"Get your hands off my daughter!" Hazel shouted angrily as Paul walked toward them to get Mirabel. "Take her to my room," Hazel ordered, and Paul took Mirabel away.
Hazel turned to leave. "You don't look so good," Hudson pointed out.
"So? Why do you care?!" Hazel shouted at them.
"Okay, but what's wrong with my sister?" Miles asked, worry obvious in his voice.
She scoffed. "Your sister?" Hazel cleared her throat. "She's fine. She just has a skin disease called psoriasis, and she'll be fine in a day or two. So now, get out!" Hazel shouted at them.
Hudson signaled to Miles. "Let's go."
Miles reluctantly walked out with Hudson.
"So what happened?" Shawn asked, already okay.
"She said Mirabel will be fine in a day or two. She also said it's a skin disease."
Shawn looked at them as if he suspected something but didn't know what exactly. He followed them into the car, and they drove off.
---
At the mansion, the rest of the werewolves were still at the dining table.
"I can't believe a rich man like me, who also has a mansion, is eating elevenses at another rich man's mansion," Gandulf chuckled.
"That's the kind of circumstance you found yourself in. You had no choice," Herakim Healer said, and Gandulf sighed.
Suddenly, Herakim closed his eyes as if trying to see with them closed. He found himself in a very dark place beyond human thinking. He looked around – no one, nothing – then a box appeared.
On it was written: The Abominations of the Earth. It was closed before, but now something unseen opened it, and dark gas oozed out.
Herakim opened his eyes in fear.
"The Pandora's box has been opened. We are in trouble – most especially, Lillian is in trouble."
"Pandora's what now?" Tyler asked.
"It's a box that contains all the evil spirits of this world, and it's now been let out. They will lurk around looking for the Savior so they can devour her. There's only one thing left inside the box – it's called Hope – and it's now sealed again." Herakim replied.
---
End of Chapter 26
---
The evil spirits are loose – and they're going to hunt Lillian. Drop a Power Stone and add to library – Chapter 27 is coming fast.