“I may have given him too much,” Khyber admitted, leaning against the piping wearily. “I am weak. Santiago almost bested me today, Citlalli. We have not seen the last of him and his Compañia Rojo. There will be other, stronger vampyre soldiers, and they will have rifles. And it is now, with their puppet queen Maya dead, that our masters begin to stir.”
I bit my lip, the night’s chill deepening in my bones. Maya’s raven-haired head still floated in my dreams. It grinned eerily, and its trail of intestines and skin tissue made a smacking sound when it slithered over the ground.
My pack called our fight against the Vampyre Queen “The Were War,” but in reality, we had only fought a battle. Now the real confrontation loomed on the horizon.
“Who are we up against?” I asked quietly.
“The Death Gods of Xibalba.” Khyber laughed humorlessly. “Naming them will attract their attention, but let them know. There are Twelve Dark Lords, and they walk in pairs, strewing pain and curses in their wake. They are the Mayan Death Gods of Old, and once they slumbered in their nightmarish underworld. Then mortal humans woke them with their wars and bloodshed. Now they seek to end us all and rest in eternal silence. Life’s laughter threatens their kingdom.”
“Great, seven billion people ruined naptime.” I kicked a pebble. “So the obvious solution is mass genocide.”
“They have the power to remake the world, Citlalli,” Khyber said slowly. “Eve is the bridge land, where the mortal world and the Beyond collide. If the Death Gods were to take control of it, then they could destroy the veil between the living and the dead forever. Those they do not murder will be transformed to their liking. The things I saw there…”
Something I had never seen before, something that looked like fear, rippled through the impassive vampyre and left his face contorted in pain. “There is more than one way to kill the soul of the world.”
“You’ve been to Xibalba,” I whispered.
He said nothing, his face a grim shadow. We watched the reporters mount around Mami, their voices rising in a great tide that shattered the silence of the night.
“There was once a pair of hero twins who locked them away.”
I turned to see Khyber perched on the roof’s shingles. His gray-blue eyes reflected the moonlight as he spread his wings, preparing to fly.
“Wait! Where are you going?” I spluttered. “We haven’t even discussed this life bond thingie yet! When are these death gods coming? How are we supposed to fight them?”
“We must stop my brothers from releasing them. They are working with a Greater Dark Spirit named Xecotcovach. I believe both of us have unfinished business with it. It goes by Xec.”
My insides curdled. I remembered the wasting horror that had ambushed me after I had defeated Maya. It had placed this life bond curse on me. I had been so close to Rafael; so close to escaping Eve and going home.
Khyber regarded me gravely. “Do what the White Tiger bid you, girl. Find a way to get through that mist.”
I dashed to catch up to him, but he had already leaped into the air. “So that’s what they’re looking for?” I called after him desperately. “Some sort of key to the underworld lost on our side of the world?”
“Keep my soul safe for me,” he had the gall to reply. Then Khyber was gone, winging off through the wispy clouds.
The skylight door burst open. I spun around, matted black hair springing up on my forearms. A spiced woodsy scent assailed me, and then none other than Rafael barreled across the rooftop, breathless.
“Citlalli! I heard about the attack on the restaurant! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He stopped and sniffed the air. My heart withered as Rafael’s frantic gaze settled upon a single black feather caught in a vent.
“He was here.” The chill in his voice could have frozen the rooftop.
“Rafael, it’s not what you think…” I began carefully.
He rounded on me, his eyes dimming to deep molten orange. “You’re working with him.”
The accusation pierced through my sternum and lodged in my heart. I had never seen Rafael tremble with so much fury and yet sound so lost at the same time.
“Why?”
I put up my hands. “I know he’s a murderer. I know what he did to your family. But Khyber and I are linked, Raf! We’re trapped in a life bond with one another, and there’s a giant, fanged shitstorm coming our way. We have to work together to break through the Emerald Veil sealing off Jeju Island, Rafael. Otherwise none of us will be left to settle our debts. There won’t be a ‘sunshine world’ to return to.”
“Give me leave to make my own pack.”
I stopped and gapped at him. “What?”
Rafael stared fumingly up at the stars, his face a hardened stone. “The newcomers. I want half of them to come with me and run in my pack. Otherwise I will tell the Were Council that you’re a Triad.”
Wolf howled in protest while Demon hissed death threats. “You wouldn’t,” I whispered, ignoring their tails brushing against my throat. “Xiang would use that as an excuse to depose me and take over South Korea’s Were tribe, Rafael. You know he would, on the basis of restoring stability to the region!”
“Or he would put someone better in charge.” Rafael’s jaw locked, and his gaze burned holes in the sky. “My pack will hunt down the remaining vampyre princes through any means necessary, not collude with them and listen to their whispers about waking ‘greater evils.’ They are our enemy, Citlalli. If you will not give the order, then I will.”
I remained paralyzed. How the Death Gods must want to end us, indeed. I couldn’t even halt the bickering of a dozen werewolves; how could I unite the Were Nation to heed Khyber’s warning?
“You can keep your new pet Siwoo,” Rafael reported as he stalked toward the door. “His scent must be pretty awful if he hides it beneath that much cologne all the time. Not much of a wolf if you ask me.”
The door swung shut behind him, but his words continued to flap back and forth in my head.
Not much of a wolf at all.
Beware, Citlalli. Una’s warning bubbled up from the depths of my mind, from where I’d tried to hide that god-awful spirit walk. None can pass unless They wish it.
“Oh hell no,” I swore. I dug my phone out of my clutch and dialed Hyeon Bin.
“This is very important,” I told the half-asleep monk. “Where and how did you find Ko Siwoo and his family?”
Chapter 19: Strong Wing and Fierce Breath
~Raina~
I counted my steps as our small caravan wound its way up the switchbacks to the summit of Gyeryong San, the “Chicken Dragon” Mountain. Our group had arrived at the entrance of a Buddhist temple at three in the morning to start the trail. We had long left the steeple-shaped pagodas and colorful bibimbap restaurants behind. The Korean fir trees cast strange shadows with their giant purple cones, and the air smelled of fresh pine. At this rate, we would reach the top by sunrise.
Sun Bin had complained early on, whining that it would be much faster to fly. Mun Mu had glared at her until her groans were reduced to mutters.
“The path to begin the Trials of Wisdom must be completed in humility or not at all. You are not a full dragon, girl,” he’d stressed spitefully. “Nor, it seems, do you bear the heart of one.”
That had shut us all up. But even now, as we plodded up the trail step by step, I remembered the glorious feeling of flying. I recalled the delirious thrill of plummeting, terrorized by the knowledge that I was unable to stop before the wind stripped me of all senses.
My mind drifted toward a memory of tattered black wings beating against the face of the moon, and my cheeks burned with shame. Why was I wasting my time with thoughts of flying alongside an undead creature who obviously wanted nothing to do with me? After the horrors we had endured together in the Vampyre Queen’s palace, upon our reunion all Khyber had done was give me a polite nod? Even after my lips had brushed his…
I felt a sudden pull in my gut, as if an invisible cord
were yanking me forward. I padded past Sun Bin and Heesu, ducked around Ankor, and overtook my father. He watched proudly as I entered the glade ahead alone.
Cherry trees. I had never seen them grow so high in the mountains. Their bark cast a pale gleam in the predawn. Silvery whorls twisted up their trunks to their thin, swaying branches encased in frost.
I put my hand on the trunk of the first cherry tree and exhaled a light morning dew. As it drifted from tree to tree, the ice thawed, earthy moss crawled up the pale bark, and the branches exploded in hundreds of fluttering pink cherry blossoms.
Heesu entered the enchanted glen next. She laughed and twirled me around, which added a warm summer breeze to my spring. Cherry petals began to chase us, flowing up and around our torsos in merry pink rivers.
Sun Bin gave a few dry claps. Ankor swept through the glade like a silent shadow, his lip curling at the blizzard of petals swirling in time with us. I caught a glimpse of Mun Mu as Heesu and I danced, and his eyes glowed like twin hearths.
Then I spotted the golden orbs of spirits peeking at me between the cherry tree trunks, and I gasped. My carefree spirit shut down, my palms clenched into fists at my sides, and I began to shake. The grove plunged into nighttime stillness once more.
Sun Bin shrugged at Ankor, as if to say, what did we expect? Not a word was spoken, and we completed the hike in silence. I stared hard at the dirt trail and struggled to quit shaking. The wretched tremors resurfaced every time I thought I caught a glimpse of otherworldly eyes watching me from the wood.
We reached the summit just as the sun began to break across the rugged mountain chain. Oozing like honey from an overturned pot, the sunlight pooled down lonely peaks and emblazed even the deepest valleys with stunning shades of pastel lilac and gold. I tugged my windbreaker tighter as the wind chaffed my face. It was then that I saw Her.
A majestic white tiger dropped from Her perch above a cave and approached us, illuminated by a halo of pink fire.
Our party of five dragons stopped to kneel before the Lady of Eve. I heard Her voice rumble through my mind:
–Rise. The veil between Eve and the mortal world will not be thin for much longer–
“Algesseumnida.” Mun Mu bowed and rose to his feet. To my shock, he approached the White Tiger and placed a hand on Her shoulder. “You look well, old friend.”
The White Tiger’s tail twitched, but Her chest rumbled in a velvety purr.
–The ages have not been kind to me since I failed my human test and Moon Bear did not, rising to become Ungnyeo, goddess of our people– She glanced toward a solitary birch tree rising from the crest of the mountain.
I cocked my head. I’d thought that the famous competition between the bear and tiger had happened to the White Tiger’s mother, the previous ruler of Eve. However, although this young White Tiger was still “daughter,” it appeared on some level that the Elder Life Spirit was a reincarnation of Her late mother.
The White Tiger continued:
–However, I have been tasked to watch over our home in a different way: by guarding its spirit. This is a duty all Were-souled bear, be it a blessing or a curse–
Mun Mu backed up to bow low. “Lady of Eve, I present to you the future Celestial Dragons. They shall shine like stars for our Were brethren to follow, hold council with the Elder Life Spirits, defend against the Dark, and ensure the seasons remain balanced for the age to come. Speak true: Do you find them worthy?”
The White Tiger’s azure eyes radiated with sapphire fire as She gazed upon each of our prostrate forms in turn.
–I do not–
My heart hit the bottom of my stomach like a stone. A low growl, like the receding of the ocean, picked up in the White Tiger’s chest. She wasn’t the calm and collected Lady of Eve at that moment, but a feral animalistic spirit stalking Her prey.
–To be one of the great Celestial Dragons who have power over the skies above and the earth below, they must wield a yeouiju. No three-toed dragon can hold the Dragon’s Pearl without strewing curses across the earth. Tell me. Where is their fourth claw?–
Mun Mu pressed deeper into the earth. “Lady of Eve, have pity: they are imugi still. But let them undertake the sacred Trials of Wisdom, and I promise that they will fly during Chuseok, Night of Falling Dreams, and know the Dragon’s Pearl from any of the other stars that fall that night.”
A hushed silence stole over the mountaintop. Even the sunlight wavered beneath the wind. Finally, the White Tiger blinked once at us, satisfied.
–Very well. But know this: Many False Yeouiju will fall on the blessed Chuseok night, but only one true Dragon’s Pearl. Its bearer shall be responsible for setting the fortunes for the age and leading us against the darkness to come. One of the imugi I see before me will have amassed the wisdom to catch it. The Four Trials shall eliminate the unworthy, one by one. Are these terms acceptable–
Mun Mu broke his flat reptilian stare with a smile. “They are indeed.”
–Rise–
I shakily rose, brushing pebbles from my knees. The White Tiger inclined Her head.
–Eldest of Clan Yong, approach–
Sun Bin glanced at her fraternal twin. Ankor frowned and stared off into the blossoming sunrise. Eager, the tall Korean girl strode forth to stand before the White Tiger, golden light rippling in her black hair like fire.
To our surprise, a slender, battle-hardened North Korean woman dressed in camouflage emerged from the cave, holding a prayer wheel. Her strange amber eyes darted up to meet my own, and I smelled the scent of cat, fierce and proud.
“I am Baek Bo Ra of the weretiger clan,” she announced. “Listen well, imugi. As there are four animal spirits guiding the prayer wheel, so shall you undergo Four Trials of Wisdom. Eldest imugi, spin the wheel to behold the first test.”
Sun Bin accepted the prayer wheel. Its bells tinkled and its golden streamer flapped around in the wind. Painted upon each one of the prayer wheel’s faces was a different animal: a monkey, a jackdaw, a tiger, and a snake. Then Sun Bin spun the wheel, and their faces blurred together until I couldn’t distinguish one from the other.
“Hana!” Bo Ra cried, her voice harsh and guttural. The prayer wheel jerked to a halt. The jackdaw’s face lay upright.
“Crap,” Ankor muttered.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“Good job, Sun Bin. Time to pack our bags and kiss our summer break goodbye.” The Autumn Dragon rolled his eyes and dug his hands into his pockets.
I glanced back in amazement at Sun Bin and the two tigers, just in time to hear Bo Ra say: “Let it be known. The First Trial of Wisdom shall be held where the Jackdaw flies high for many miles along the greatest wall in the world. Collect a token of his favor, and you will have completed the first test.”
“Crap,” Heesu echoed her brother.
Sun Bin shot a grin over her shoulder. “Yep. We’re going to China.”
Chapter 20: The Great Wall of China
~Raina~
Pagodas surrounded by a vast sea of sand glowed rosy red under the early morning sunrise. I stood atop the battlements of Jiayu Pass, blinking sleep from my eyes. My gaze traveled to the snow-capped peaks that awaited us to the east, and I tried to process that I was in China.
Over the years when I had visited Papi in New Mexico, it had felt like embracing a reassuring warm blanket. Returning to South Korea still rocked me until I turned on the Korean side of my brain that understood subway rides and grabbing afternoon spicy fish cakes from street vendors. China felt like another world completely. It was as if I had woken up on the face of the moon.
From the mountain foothills, the Great Wall peeked out at me like a swishing dragon trail. I grinned and snapped a picture for Mami and Citlalli.
“Good morning, unni!” Heesu bustled up holding two bowls of golden rice noodles. “Did you see the visitors that arrived? They have camels!”
We leaned over. Sure enough, four mop-headed camels lounged in the shady sands below, chewing da
tes.
A hand pushed me from behind. I just caught my bowl before it rained rice noodles on the camels.
“There you two are!” Sun Bin exclaimed unapologetically, pinching the backs of our necks with her fingers. She grinned, peering down between our heads. “Don’t worry, Raina. We can get you a camel to ride the Wall if you’re too scared.”
I shrugged her off and gulped down my noodles, just in case the Winter Dragon had any ideas about taking them. “What is the First Guardian going to have us do, anyway?”
From out of the sky, a white-breasted jackdaw with eyes like silver coins spiraled down. He cocked his head at me and then hopped close. I sighed and held out the bowl. As he devoured my remaining breakfast, the morning sunlight hit him and his wings deepened to black-blue.
“Krrch! I am your first guardian. You may call me Hana,” the spirit bird greeted between slurps of noodle. “Komaweoyo, little water imugi. It was a long flight from Beijing.”
“We could have stayed in Beijing instead of the middle of nowhere?” Sun Bin exclaimed.
The Jackdaw cackled. “‘Nowhere’ will become ‘somewhere’ very soon, impatient air imugi. Now, where is the fourth of Mun Mu’s hatchlings, the ore dragon?”
“Someone go get Ankor. The first Trial of Wisdom is about to start,” Sun Bin said, throwing a bored glance at Heesu. “By someone, I mean you.”
“Oh, I’m here. Those birds are making such a racket, I’m surprised they didn’t wake up an army of undead Mongol invaders,” Ankor complained, slouching up the last of the stairs to the battlement.
I stretched my ears. Sure enough, a small cloud arose in a flurry of flapping feathers from a stunted pine tree. The jackdaws circled us above, screeching and clawing at one another over a dead snake.
The Jackdaw twittered. “I never go anywhere without my flock. Neither shall you. My spies will watch you every step of your journey along the Great Wall and report back to me.”
Sun Bin snorted. “If they can keep up.”
Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) Page 13
