by K T Durham
“On the fourth day, just after I had awoken, Soo-Min saw me in the kitchen and gasped like she had seen a ghost, dropping the laundered clothes she had been holding. ‘Why, you look different!’ she exclaimed, touching my face. She pushed me towards the bathroom, where there was a small mirror cabinet. I stared at my reflection. I no longer looked like a human manatee. My eyes were turning blue again, my hair silky and silver, and my cheekbones had come back. My arms were no longer flippers but muscular and sinewy, and my skin was now a beautiful brown, smooth and taut. I was slowly beginning to take on my human form again.
“Being with Soo-Min had released me from my curse.
“When Grandma Han returned and saw me that evening, she laughed and quipped to her granddaughter, ‘See, I told you so! He is magical! He will surely bring us good luck!’ Her words were a self-fulfilling prophecy. The following day, Grandma Han and her league of divers harvested the most abalone they had ever caught in three years. Suddenly, I was heralded as a bringer of good fortune. How fickle humans are!
“My powers were returning. The previous night, when Soo-Min and her grandmother were sound asleep, I snuck into the backyard and transformed into my fox form, and for the rest of the night I roamed the woods and mountains, and returned to the house just before dawn. I could have left the village that night. But I did not want to leave Soo-Min.
“On the seventh day, she dropped the news at breakfast. ‘My husband is expecting me back in Seoul in three days,’ she said monotonously. She had barely eaten.
“‘Please stay with me!’ I wanted to plead. But I just nodded. Her lower lip quivered as she said, ‘When I married him … I didn’t know he was going to be like this.’ She began to cry quietly. ‘He started drinking, and he became mean, and meaner every day. I can barely recognize him as the man I fell in love with. I don’t want my child growing up in fear.’
“My heart ached. ‘What is it that you wish?’ I asked, and I’m not sure why I did. Though I am a Guardian, I am not a wish-granter. I just desperately wanted to see her smile again.
“She did smile, though faintly. ‘Graille, I know you are magical,’ she said quietly, and I went very still. ‘I know you can’t talk about it. But if you really could grant me a wish …’ She paused, and her voice trembled as tears filled her eyes. ‘When my child is born, I want the best for him. I want him to know that I love him so much. I wish that whatever happens, he would understand that I did it out of love for him. I wish that I could watch him grow up and get married, have children, and be the best person he could be.’
“That’s more than one wish, I thought. But then again, what parent would wish upon only one good thing for their beloved child?
“I nodded. ‘You’re calling your baby by the masculine pronoun,’ I observed.
“She chuckled a little. ‘I can’t explain it, but I get this feeling I’m carrying a boy.’
“I looked into her eyes. ‘I promise I will repay your kindness in the best way I can.’
“She shook her head and smiled. ‘You don’t owe me anything,’ she admonished. ‘We ought to help out one another. Kindness shouldn’t be the exception.’
“But oh, it is, I wanted to tell her. But I kept silent.
“‘Will you be all right?’ she asked, knowing that once she left the village I would be leaving shortly, too. I told her I would be all right. She squeezed my hand. ‘When I come back to visit grandmother next time, I will come look for you on the beach again,’ she promised. By that time, my transformation was complete. ‘So handsome!’ Grandma Han had exclaimed that morning, looking at me with approval before leaving for another day of work at the seaside.
“I laughed. ‘Yes. Even if you don’t, I will come look for you.’
“‘You better!’ she declared, her hand fluttering to her belly.
“The next morning, as we were saying our farewells in front of the windswept cottage, I embraced her. ‘I will forever be grateful that I met you,’ I whispered into her ear, and she beamed and blushed a little. As she waved good-bye, looking lovely in her blue dress billowing in the salty breeze, I wished I could tell her how much she meant to me. I watched her disappear in the distance, and for a long time I gazed out towards the horizon, half hoping she would turn back. And that was the last time we saw each other.
“With a heavy heart, I said farewell to Grandma Han, and I left the house and returned to my home on Hallasan. I transformed back to my fox form, and since then I have not walked the soil in my human form again.
“You see, Ellanor, what started out as a curse became a blessing in disguise. This one human gave me hope and reminded me once again of the beauty that Freya created. Amid all the dross, Soo-Min was like a bright star that shone into my darkened, shrivelled heart. She took me in with open arms when everyone else shunned me. If there is one human in this world that can do that for another, then Gaya is still worth fighting for. Freya created too much that is good and beautiful for Her not to win out in the end.
“For the past eight years, I have watched Soo-Min from afar. What I have seen grieves me. A year after she gave birth to her son, she left her husband and fled to China, where she spent a very hard year. She believed it was best to leave Seoul first and return for Jong-Min later. But alas, life often does not go according to plan.
“Eventually, she went to London. For a long time, things were very difficult for her in that city where she did not speak the language. But she worked hard to make a life for herself there, hoping that she could bring over Jong-Min. But by the time she was settled down with a job and a second husband who truly loved and treasured her, Jong-Min was 4 years old, and she had come to fear that the son she’d left behind in Korea would not want her for a mother. She has suffered, my Soo-Min. I wish nothing but happiness for her.
“I think of her often, because the memory of her sustains me, even in this dark place where despair and decay reign. I resolved to repay my debt to her. And so here we are.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Pinnacle
A long silence ensued.
“You made Jong-Min dream of me, didn’t you?” Elly asked softly.
Graille nodded. “I am forbidden from directly intervening in human affairs, so I went about it another way. Still, the other Guardians would not be happy with my round-about meddling.” He smiled wryly. “There are consequences. But I do not regret it, if it means Soo-Min could be reunited with her son.”
She bit her lip. “Did you think she had returned to Jejudo when Gutz impersonated her?”
Graille’s voice was quiet. “I was walking down Hallasan as the sun was setting on a cool autumn day. Then I heard Soo-Min’s voice in the distance, calling my name, and I glimpsed her in that blue dress among the trees on a far hill.” He paused, and his eyes were sad. “I was so happy, Ellanor. It had been eight years since I last saw her. I had never thought that I could miss a human as I missed Soo-Min. Even when she led me to the petrified forest, the one place on this island from which I had always kept away, I did not even pause to consider that it could be a trap, such was my folly. My first thought was that Soo-Min should not be going into this accursed forest.” He shook his head. “I should have realized immediately that Soo-Min, being a human, would not have been able to see this forest.”
“That’s why you came into this petrified forest,” Elly said in wonder. “You thought she was in danger. You wanted to protect her.”
Graille nodded. “Once I entered this forest, I sensed nothing but evil here. But once I realized it was a trap, it was too late. Gutz had cast the black spell on me the moment I stepped foot into this place, and the spell transported me to this cave, in which I have been held captive for the past year. But before Gutz left, laughing at my predicament, I managed to penetrate the dark recesses of that goblin’s putrid mind for a split second, to see how I might be freed. I glimpsed the red eye bathed in the light of the ful
l moon from a great height, and that was all I saw before Gutz sensed me looking in and pushed me out. And so here I am.”
Elly was silent as she processed all that she had heard. Graille had gotten entrapped because of his devotion to Soo-Min, the mother of Jong-Min. That is why Jong-Min had been seeing Elly in his dreams; Graille needed Elly’s help to reunite mother and son, before Jong-Min got sent away to an orphanage.
She prayed that Mr Lee, the lawyer in Seoul, would make contact with Charlie Cobble and Soo-Min if he hadn’t already done so. She wondered how Jong-Min would react upon hearing that his birth mother was alive. Would he be happy, confused, angry, sad, resentful, scared … all at the same time?
Suddenly, Graille raised his head. “The full moon will soon be waxing.”
Elly gasped and jumped up with a yelp. Time had passed by stealthily. “What do I need to do?” she cried, stricken. “You could have given me more time to prepare!”
Graille stood up on all fours. “Listen to me very carefully, Ellanor. You must put to use all that you have learned. Once the full moon shines upon this cave, you will see the lock in the form of a lidless, slitted red eye. And you must pierce it.”
That didn’t sound too bad. From where she was standing, the lock would be within her reach. She breathed a sigh of relief and unsheathed her dagger. “Well, I think I can manage that—”
“No, you need to listen,” Graille said firmly. “You must pierce the eye from the tip of that pinnacle there. This is the only way the lock can be undone.”
Elly swivelled around. The absurdly tall, rocky pinnacle stood there like a skeletal finger, mocking her. It was about two hundred meters from the cave. She felt her knees buckle. “No, no … I can’t do that! I can’t. I’m not good enough an archer,” she moaned.
“Yes, you can, Ellanor. You can do it. For all our sakes. Now, go.”
“But I can’t use magic here!” she protested, her gaze glued to the pinnacle. “I can’t possibly fly over to that pinnacle. I can’t teleport over. If I try to swim across, that monster might try to attack me again!”
Graille shook his head. “Razunok has been wounded and skulking in its cave. If you reach the top quickly, Razunok might not get to you in time.” He paused. “The water is as cold as ice, Ellanor. You may well freeze to death if you attempt to swim in it.”
“Then what should I do?” she cried, gazing at the pinnacle for an answer.
Graille looked at her sharply. “Think, Ellanor! You must rely on your wits.”
She fell silent, then screwed up her face in concentration and looked around. The water looked deceptively calm, inviting even. How she longed for a bath, to cleanse herself of the filth and weariness. But Graille was right; she shouldn’t get back into the water again. Then how in the world was she going to reach that pinnacle without flying or swimming there? She sure couldn’t walk on water.
Walking on water …
Walking over the water …
She gasped. Mr Huerin’s rope! She reached around and felt for the quiver. Her heart leapt when she felt the serpine still tightly secured there.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, Horace had once said to her. She hadn’t quite understood the meaning of that human idiom until now. With magic, a Royan could be infinitely useful. But without magic, a Royan was like a bladeless sword. If she had not acted on her instincts, she wouldn’t have retrieved her weapons from her Royan right before she entered the petrified forest. She shuddered at the thought of having absolutely nothing with which to defend herself. Without the dagger and her bow and arrow, she most certainly would have been killed by the warflings or by Razunok in the water.
She untied the serpine from the quiver and held it in her hands. It was shiny and white, much like Mr Huerin’s shiny, white clothes. Didn’t Mr Heurin say it would cling to absolutely anything? His words echoed in her mind. “This serpine is a creature that behaves like a rope. It’s been my companion for many years. But I think you should have it, now that you have become quite the little adventurer.”
Thank goodness for Mr Huerin!
She uncoiled the serpine and squealed in surprise when it slid across her hands. It was definitely serpentine, very much like a long white snake! The serpine was so long that it took her a while to find one of the ends, which was hooked and wriggling. She looked closer and gulped; could this be the creature’s mouth?
If it was a living creature, would it understand her instructions? She took the plunge. “I need you to get to that rocky pinnacle. Can you help me?” she asked softly in Yahana.
Almost instantly, the serpine seemed to give a little shudder, and then it uncoiled feverishly, slithering over her arms and hands at such high speed that her arms burned with the friction, and then it shot out like a laser beam and wrapped itself around and around the pinnacle. She grasped the serpine with both hands, feeling it tug her forward.
“Amazing,” she marvelled, open-mouthed. The serpine gave a quiver and an impatient tug, as if to say, Get a move on; I don’t have all day!
She looked towards the rocky pinnacle, then looked back at the petrified trees behind her. “Let’s cling to that rock over there, shall we?” she said, pointing to a large jagged rock between two trees. The serpine complied and shot out of her hands, coiling itself round and round the rock until it became so taut that Elly was afraid it might snap. Then it became still. She tugged on the taut rope and was pleased to find that it seemed very strong. Maybe she really could pull this off …
“Good thinking, Ellanor,” Graille said approvingly, startling her. “Now, you only have ten minutes before the full moon waxes.”
“No pressure at all,” she muttered sarcastically. With a deep breath, she leapt up on the serpine and was delighted to find that it had the tautness of a tightrope. “Here we go,” she said under her breath and darted across the serpine. She dared not look down at the water, all the while praying that Razunok wouldn’t suddenly emerge and attack her again.
Ninety meters … seventy … fifty … twenty … five …
“Yes!” she yelled triumphantly, pumping her fist into the air as she leapt off the serpine and grabbed onto the slippery surface of the pinnacle. She had no time to lose. “Go, go, go,” she muttered, scrambling up on all fours, her heart hammering madly. Up and up she climbed, and she was dismayed to find that the pinnacle was even taller and more jagged than it had looked from a distance. “Ow!” she cried as the sharp edges of the rock cut into her hands until they were bleeding and tears from the pain were streaming down her cheeks.
Finally, when she reached the top, she was even more dismayed to find that there was little room to gain firm footing. The pinnacle was all sharp, jagged edges, and she had to position herself very carefully. She groaned. How was she going to stay well balanced whilst taking aim with her bow and arrow? She stared down at the cuts on her hands; would she even be able to take aim properly with these wounds?
From this great height, she looked out into the vast darkness and had the odd sensation that she was staring out from some lone summit into a quiet, breezeless ocean. She could only see the light of the fire at the mouth of the cave and hear the gushing waterfalls. But there was not a single ripple of wind against her face, and the darkness was so dense that even her elven eyes had difficulty making out Graille’s exact location. Where was he?
Her hands shook as she took a deep breath. She had to calm down. A marksman should not be in her state. She crouched and readjusted herself until she was in a more comfortable position. Then she narrowed her eyes and whipped out an arrow from her quiver, taking aim as she looked right at the cave. Then she saw two blue dots and knew that Graille was looking straight at her.
Was this what she had been gearing up for? All that brutal training amounted to this moment of reckoning?
Then she froze when she heard the splashing of water, growing louder and more erratic
. The pinnacle seemed to shudder. She stared down into darkness, and then she saw it.
Dozens of red tentacles were flailing about.
“No!” she cried. She couldn’t afford to be distracted! Oh, if only Aron were here, he was sure to hit the bull’s eye –
“Arrggh!” she screamed as she felt one of the disgusting slippery tentacles wrap itself around her right ankle and tug, and she lost her balance. “Get away from me!” she screeched, and in one swift movement, she stabbed the arrow into the fleshy tentacle. There was a terrible cry from below, and then, still holding tightly to the arrow, she used her other hand to plunge the dagger deep into the existing wound, cleanly severing the tentacle. Black blood spurted all over her. Razunok, its ugly bulbous head still bleeding from its old wound, let out a screeching cry that would have shattered all the glass in the world.
Elly cried out and covered both ears with her hands. The lumpy flesh of the severed tentacle lay twitching pathetically upon the jagged rock at her feet. Quickly, she pulled out the arrow, squirting more black blood. With a grunt of disgust, she kicked the twitching lump down into the water.
“Ellanor!” bellowed Graille, his voice piercing her heart. She looked up and gasped.
A silver beam was shining upon the cave, and she saw a flaming red dot right at the centre – the eye. The memory of the lidless, blood-red eyes of the Beast hit her like a punch in the stomach, and she trembled.
The Vierran’s deep voice resounded in her head, repeating the words he’d whispered to her during training. You are the hunter. The predator. You are the only thing the prey fears.
Yes, every prey fears its predator. Her target, whatever it might be, was her prey.
This was it. The pain from the cuts on her hands had become numb. She locked on the red eye that stared back at her, mocking her. Her hand strayed to the mustard seed at her neck as she whispered a silent prayer to Freya. Then she drew a deep breath, held it, and took aim. The arrow sprung forth with a resounding thwang.
