Gift of a Miracle

Chapter 25

'Good morning everyone... this is breaking news. Over fifty people were found dead inside Bayle's City County Hall last night... the cause of their deaths are still unexplained. The emergency services have worked tirelessly throughout the night to find any survivors to this peculiar yet unfortunate incident... however, none have yet been found. I can tell you that one of those who was found and announced dead at the scene was Deputy Mayor Lord Baddesley... the man who had changed Bayle to the City it is today. I just want to show you the scene behind me... as you can see... the dome of the City Hall has been smashed through, and the fountain area had been shattered as have the water pipes underneath the water feature and inside the Hall. Yet such demolition to the building does not explain the many deaths inside it..."

Iliana glanced over her shoulder. Rays of the early morning light filtered through the two small windows and offered a breath of warmth into the stoned room. Jung and Caitlyn sat huddled together on the floor at the other side of the room, looking down at the screen of a mobile where the sound of the news report originated from. She had barely spoken a word to either of them since Father Benjamin offered this sanctuary within the walls of the Cathedral. The other Purifiers had awoken an hour earlier and stayed outside... Iliana doubted any of them could comprehend what had happened, neither could she.

Apart from giving them somewhere to stay for the night, Father Benjamin had said and had been seen very little too. Iliana was worried about him... something was eating him mentally.

She turned her attention back on Kazuki. He laid atop of a make shift bed made of thick blankets with a thin throw-over draped upon his body. Pots of liquid honey, crushed garlic cloves, Aloe Vera and other natural medicines were still placed outside of its brown leather medical bag, which one of the other Purifiers always carried with her wherever she went. Such medicines had soothed Kazuki's wounds and had finally made him sleep after a fitful few hours. She had watched over him for most of the night, it somehow brought her a small comfort gazing at his restful face. It was as if the awful situation that had befallen them was just a nightmare. Yet, no matter how long she gazed at him... flashbacks repeatedly forced its way into her mind. She cupped her face into her hands, closed her tired eyes and took a deep breath. How could she ever overcome what she saw, what she did, what she felt?

Iliana rose up from her sitting position, she took a moment to stretch away the soreness from sitting on the hard floor for so long before walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Jung asked when she passed the couple.

"To see Mother and Father." She mumbled.

Endeavouring to get her to say more than five words last night, Jung and Caitlyn had told her what happened after Lord Baddesley took her away. Both of them had fought against the Tainted, although they Purified many... they were outnumbered and struggled to keep the quantity down whilst protecting her parents. Due to their unconsciousness, they were both unaffected by the Taints. Luckily the other Purifiers arrived when they had, and it gave Jung and Caitlyn the chance to get her parents into the chapel based within hospital for safety. Apparently, no demonic being could enter a Holy place.

Iliana was desperate to see her parents. At the corner of her eye, she caught Jung and Caitlyn share awkward glances at one another. She wrapped her hand over the metal door handle when the blonde spoke out.

"Iliana..." There was a distinct tone of uneasiness in her delicate voice. "You have barely talked to us about what happened. Please... don't bottle your emotions up inside you... talk to us. We are all suffering from it too."

Without warning, the tears that had threatened her eyes most of the night suddenly filled up and her heart ached with anguish and fury.

"It's my fault." She blurted out, sharper than she intended. "It's my fault they're all dead. I thought I was going to do something great... I thought I could save them... if I hadn't used my Gift—"

"No...!" Jung's voice interrupted hers so loudly it made her jump.

He suddenly appeared by her side, causing her to step back from his close propinquity and lowered her face so he wouldn't see her tears.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for what happened...? I'm not having that!"

"But all those people—"

"You tried to save them and you should be proud that you had the chance to. No matter what garbage came out of his damn mouth, Sam and his demonic creatures killed them... he is to blame... not you! How could you or anyone of us have known that they'd kill all those people before their souls that you Purified could return to their body's?"

A pair of soft hands took both of Iliana's and squeezed it, the silver slave bracelet immediately told her it was Caitlyn.

"We know how you feel Iliana, and we too wish we could have done things differently. But Jung is right... we cannot blame ourselves. It'll only make us weak and we have to be strong for the many others who depend on us." The blonde said softly.

She wrapped her arms around Iliana, the warmth she gave her was comforting... Iliana took a moment to allow such comfort to soothe her discouraged emotions a little longer before withdrawing from her.

Caitlyn was right, there were people who depended on them even if those people didn't realise it. Iliana had to try and remain strong... she couldn't let this define her or confine her.

She looked at them both and smiled. "Thank you."

"You know... the one thing that really bugs me... is that Mayor Sam was behind all of this. The one person I would have never guessed would be involved!" Jung remarked as the three of them relaxed within their company again.

Iliana's eyebrows shot up. "He was the Mayor of this City?"

"Yes, until his condition worsened some years ago and allowed Lord Baddesley to govern in his place. Obviously, Lord Baddesley was just the puppet." Caitlyn replied.

"Lord Baddesley called him by another... Samael. Does that name ring a bell to you in anyway?" Iliana inquired.

Caitlyn shook her head whilst Jung shrugged.

"Nah... not at all." He replied. "But I'm pretty freaked to how Sam had recovered from his condition. There were rumours he had gangrene... now how could someone recover from that?"

"Before Lord Baddesley died, he told me Samael's gangrene was fully healed by the Miracle of—" Iliana's sentence trailed off as she suddenly remembered the other Miracle.

She began to beat erratically within her chest that she could scarcely breathe. How could she have forgotten about that?

"The Miracle of Healing."

Jung's eyes almost popped out of its socket. "Holy monkeys dressed in leather... are you sure? I mean that would explain a lot...!"

"Did Lord Baddesley give you a clue on who this Miracle is?" Caitlyn inquired, sounding just as enthused.

"No, he didn't. But he also said, Samael doesn't know exactly who it is eith—"

Iliana's tongue stilled in her mouth. Her mind began to search through everything she had kept stashed towards the back of her head, whilst she paced back and forth.

"What is it?" Jung and Caitlyn questioned almost in unison.

She eventually stopped directly in front of them once again, her breathing was fast like she had just run a marathon mentally and physically.

"I think I may know who the Miracle of Healing is."

The End.