“Don’t believe him, Heesu.” My voice trembled as Heesu’s uncertain eyes swung to mine. I saw again her disappointment when she had discovered that I had betrayed Ankor. I wasn’t the flesh-and-blood sister she had grown up with. I was a stranger. What reason did she have to protect me?
I lifted my chin proudly. “The Yeouiju spoke to me, Heesu. It could see me. All of me. It saw that I lacked the conviction that you have. If the Dragon’s Pearl can see so keenly into all of our souls, then how did our father ever hide his desire for power? How could he cover up what he did to his last opponent, the shadow imugi?” I turned to Mun Mu and squared my shoulders, struggling to pretend that his heat wasn’t shriveling my skin. “I don’t know what object of heavenly power you caught during your Chuseok, Abeoji…but it wasn’t a Yeouiju. I doubt it was heavenly at all.”
Insolent imugi! The Dragon King’s voice lashed through my mind like the crack of a whip, and I flinched. Yet barely visible within the fire dragon’s fist was a scepter engraved with an unknown black jewel in the shape of a claw.
Heesu finally moved—to step in front of me. “The Lady of Eve would never approve of this, Appa.”
Mun Mu cocked his head so his fiery mane oozed down his rubicund scales like lava. You do not need some overly large ghost cat’s permission, daughter. What power does the White Tiger have in the mortal world? You are the Celestial Dragon! The spirit world used to be a formidable force, but in the new age of technological advances and science, it is useless. Progress is the path for a prosperous future, Hee-ya. That is what makes our people strong; the old spirit ways made us weak. Light the beacon of progress for the world. Yong Enterprises will be your kingdom. The fire dragon hunkered down so he could look us in the eye. And all who marvel at the wonders you create will be your subjects.
Heesu bowed her head. “Fine, Appa,” she said softly. “I will break the rules like you. I will serve my needs. And I choose”—her nut-brown eyes snapped up, rimmed with lustrous gold—“not to keep the Yeouiju’s power all to myself. I will share it. For better or for worse.”
Before the Dragon King could blink, Heesu whipped up the Dragon’s Pearl. It began to glow with white-hot candlelight, creating a doorway. Its flames streaked out like fingers, tangling around Mun Mu’s mane and illuminating his black hematite claws. Then it yanked him through.
The Dragon King vanished in a hiss of smoke.
Slowly, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Heesu.”
She wiped her eyes and then hastily dropped the Dragon’s Pearl into her pocket as if it were a poisonous snake. “You would have done the same for me, Raina.”
It was a question, and I inclined my head in humility. “Yes, of course I would have.” I shot a nervous glance around, still unable to believe that Heesu had made a dragon that large vanish into thin air. “Um, so where did you send him?”
Heesu bit her lip. “Somewhere in Eve, I think. Appa clearly hasn’t been spending enough time there.”
I grinned, and Heesu shot me a look. “He’s still our father, Raina.”
“I know. My mother is no saint, either.”
A slow smile spread across her shadowed face. “We will get to the truth about the Celestial Dragons, Raina. But first, we have our sisters and a brother to save.”
“And the whole of South Korea,” I added.
Heesu laughed, throwing up her head to the moon as emerald scales rippled down her face. “Fly with me, sister. It is the New Age, and the Vampyre Court has a Celestial Dragon to meet.”
My heart hammered faster as Donovan’s turquoise eyes floated tauntingly in my head. Mun Mu had nothing but scorn for Eve. However, I feared it. And I had failed to claim the all-powerful Dragon’s Pearl to drive away my dread.
I would have to be enough. It was time to face the spirit world again.
Chapter 51: The Sea Castle
~Citlalli~
A fire wolf, a black turtle, and a vampyre prince stole across the horse pastures of Jeju-do, vaulting over rickety fences and resting behind the cover of stone grandfathers. The grassy fields rippled in a sharp slant toward the beach. We had left the Forgotten Isle behind and landed on the largest island of South Korea. Finally, we saw its crown: Seongsan Ilchulbong jutted up like a green sea castle on the coast. It was the first butte to behold morning when it cast its rosy hues across the vast Jeju Island.
It was also the stronghold of our enemy.
Since the Emerald Veil had lifted, we huddled in the forest during the day for Khyber’s sake. Eve whispered, but the curtain had fallen between our two worlds once more. Una and I kept watch on the silent grassy peak, but its staircase remained empty. No one arrived to visit the popular tourist site. Knees shifting in the dirt, I sharpened my golden eye upon the gray fishing village sprawled out amongst the foothills. Not a whisper of smoke or a flicker of light appeared in the ghost town. Jeju Island had rejoined the rest of the world, buts its people had simply…vanished.
A sudden gust of wind kicked up. At my side, Una gave a small gasp of delight, closing her eyes to relish the touch of fresh air.
“How long was I gone?” she asked.
I counted the months backwards in my head. “It’s autumn now, Una. If I were you, I would start preparing my answer for when people start asking about how you spent your summer. Turning into a giant turtle and snoozing in the belly of a volcano is going to sound pretty boring.”
She exhaled a small chuckle. “I advise you do the same. What happened to you, Citlalli? Fred said they were calling you ‘One-Eyed Wolf,’ but now…”
I flexed the skin of my scabbed fingers while the lacerations carpeting my neck burned. “Yeah, these are fresh. Guess I can’t enter a beauty pageant anytime soon.”
She put a comforting hand on my scarred one. “How did you find me?”
“Fred.” I saw her flinch at her captor’s name, and my heart thumped with anger. “When it became clear that the vampyres meant to imprison you indefinitely, that filthy vermin finally came clean. But not before he tricked Raina’s half-brother, Yong Ankor, into believing the False Yeouiju is the key to healing his broken soul.”
Her hand slipped absently down her neck. “So Raina discovered the other part of her family. Do not be so hard on this Ankor, Citlalli. Given enough time, the kumiho can make one believe almost…anything.”
I glanced sharply at her wistful face. “Is Fred trustworthy?”
Una cocked her head. “Why waste time worrying about the trust of a dead man?”
I sighed in relief. “Well. Aren’t you the wise old turtle?”
She groaned. “There will be many more turtle jokes, won’t there?”
“You have my word,” I vowed.
The swish of wings broke the silence, and Una and I whirled around. Khyber landed between us, his skin mottled and flaking from the sun.
“I investigated the village,” he said in a low voice. “All of the villagers were taken There. To Eve. Their bodies do not stir.”
“Then we must follow,” Una said. “Jeju-do has returned to the waking world. If its people do not….”
Anxious, I gazed up at the gloomy skies. Sunset was thankfully falling fast. “The White Tiger said She could come when the mist fell.”
“My brothers will know this as well,” Khyber said grimly. “We need to infiltrate their base first…to see what She will be walking into.”
Una extended her hands. “Quickly, then. We must stay together. I will open a door to Eve. Follow my spirit.”
My skin shivered under Khyber’s cool touch. Sinking to the earth in a triangle, we closed our eyes and quieted our minds. One by one, we slipped under.
***
I woke in Eve to find a conquistador with permanently stained crimson teeth leering at me.
“Hi, little birdie,” he wheezed, cocking his head to an impossible angle. “Enjoying nap time?”
Heart hammering, I realized we were surrounded. A pair of Santiago’s soldiers aimed rifles in Una’s
face nearby.
Khyber recovered first. Covering the gun barrel with one hand and not even flinching when a bullet tore through him, the Crown Prince leaped into the air and flew away without a second glance.
Bastard, I thought glumly, watching his tattered black wings soar up toward the ghostly hill of Seongsan Ilchulbong.
The patrolling party’s captain waved his undead men to stand down. “Do not worry about the Prince of Sorrow. Our masters have his soul. He will not be a problem for much longer.”
“These two are much prettier anyway,” his second agreed, regaling my face with his overpowering carcass breath. “Do you think they are survivors from the wreck?”
“Survivors?” I simpered, trying unsuccessfully to hide my burned hands. The captain watched me suspiciously. “What kind of insane tour is this? I come all the way from America to see the great Sunrise Peak, and I am attacked first by a crazy winged mutant, and now by a cannibalistic gang of helmet heads? I want a full refund!” I demanded of Una.
She raised an eyebrow. “You signed the tour waiver.”
“Enough!” the captain growled. “Prince Santiago will dig the truth out of you, one way or another. Now march.”
We were prodded across a moonlit pasture down to the beach. Horses still grazed in the meadow, but when they lifted their heads, their eyes glowed blue and their ribcages split through their skin. My gaze drifted to the upcoming drop-off. It appeared that Santiago’s soldiers meant to walk us straight off it.
Yet to my surprise, down below stretched a thin ribbon of black beach. An old fishing shack sagged inside the shelter of the cove. Along its pier, a line of elderly women in wet suits stood solemnly.
The haenyeo from Raina’s dream, I realized. And along the coastline—throngs of shivering villagers, hauling up treasures and sorting them into different chests. An eerie gray fog hung over the sheltered cove, and I recognized the miserable presence of those starving weather demons. Haetae patrolled the prisoners as well. It may have been my imagination, but I thought the freakish green light corrupting their eyes had begun to dim, as if on the verge of going out.
The captain’s second-in-command had unfortunately taken a liking to me. He licked my ear with his clammy tongue.
“What’s the matter, birdie?” he hissed. “Didn’t plan on going swimming this vacation?”
The captain glowered in his direction. “We will hold them prisoner for Prince Santiago.”
The second pouted. “Ah, come on, captain. We’re all so sick of this gloomy beach, and the old women divers are no fun. Put these two to work so we can find the pearl sooner.”
The captain hesitated and then dragged Una and me close. “You hear that?” he growled. “You’re looking for a pearl. A shiny white one. Now get to it.”
We were shoved in line with the rest of the villagers. All of us shambled down the rickety staircase to the beach: Ground Zero of the vampyres’ operation. One of the Red Company pushed me down the last few steps, and I landed on the gravely shore with a thud. Swiftly, I took in my bearings, my eye traveling from the bygone fishing nets and broken shells down to the jawed sea cave that loomed in the walls of Seongsan Ilchulbong. Then I was pushed into the somber sea.
Standing on tiptoe, I spotted Una making her way toward the haenyeo. She would be able to figure out how close the vampyres were to finding the False Pearl. I relaxed, but then a wave bulled me over. I fell, scraping my shin on the limpet-encrusted reef.
The irritating second-in-command made little fluttering wing motions on shore. “What’s the matter, birdie?” he cried in a singsong voice. “Little chick can’t swim?”
No, I couldn’t next to Raina, but I sure as hell would figure out how to doggy-paddle. Sparing the conquistador a nasty glance, I splashed further out to sea. I managed to float over the next wave without getting wrecked. The ocean floor dropped, and so did my stomach. There, gleaming amongst rubbery strands of kelp and anemones, were strings of precious stones, necklaces of topaz, and emerald rings, all winking at me.
Suddenly, the low, eerie notes of a flute washed over the cove. Finding a rock to perch on, I squinted through the fog. To my horror, I realized that none other than Prince Donovan stood on the pier, playing the haunting melody on a tarnished, algae-encrusted flute. He finished his song with a flourish and raised his arms for attention. All eyes, undead and prisoner, gazed in his direction.
“Sons and Daughters of the Vampyre Court, you have toiled long and hard for this eve!” Donovan cried. “For tonight, we shall bring a brother back to us!”
From her place beside the bobbing haenyeo, Una shot me a troubled look. My heart pounded rapidly, and it had nothing to do with the relentless cold. Where was Khyber?
“Tonight”—Donovan paused to shake a finger at his rapt audience—“we find the key to eternal night.”
A flutter of activity rose on the pier behind him. Guards pushed and jabbed a group of prisoners out of the fishing hut. They tore the sacks off their heads, one by one. I bit back a cry. There, lined up like fish on the chopping block, were the faces of my family. Yu Li and Rafael stared grimly; Namkyu and Iseul struggled against their bonds, and Moon looked faint, a fresh wound glistening on her neck.
Sun Bin was nowhere to be seen. Since she was the Winter Dragon, the leeches probably had her under lock and key somewhere. Also, I realized with increasing dread, there was no sign of Taeyang.
Or Bae. My heart became a colder place.
“What we find tonight”—Donovan’s voice dropped to a whisper; I paddled closer to hear—“will not only bring the Vampyre Court back to the East. We will assume our rightful place over the world.”
Hundreds of soldiers began to cheer and wolf-whistle, poking their mangy heads out from sponge-holed rocks and sea stacks. The haetae shook their heads furiously and pawed the sand, as if struggling to drive demons from their heads.
“And our new masters”—Donovan’s voice rose to a victorious crow above the roar of approval—“shall rain down punishment upon every shifter, every ghost, and on every mortal who dared defy us! The spirit world is ours, Children of Death! And now the waking world shall be as well!”
“DEATH AFTER LIFE! DEATH AFTER LIFE!” the vampyre soldiers chanted, in some monstrous rendition of a pastoral hymn. Donovan played humorously along on his flute, making way for two large Spooks with hollow red eyes to drag forth a final, unwilling captive. They threw him at Donovan’s feet. The skin-winged vampyre tipped up the prisoner’s chin with his flute and smiled. A Korean boy glared back.
“Ankor.” The name escaped my chapped lips and was instantly lost amongst the vampyre frenzy. Yu Li and Rafael tensed as the closest conquistadors began running their fingers and tongues over Namkyu, Iseul, and Moon.
I’m here!
Many amongst my pack were too weary to hear me; their Weres were focused on fending off the unwanted advances from the vampyres. However, Yu Li’s ear twitched in my direction.
Yu! Raf! I’m here! See me, please!
Donovan threw one of his disgusting veiny wings over Ankor’s shoulder. The imugi prince tried to throw it off, but its bristly ends dug into his skin with surprising strength.
“I have always tolerated the dragons,” Donovan sneered, pressing Ankor closer. “Indeed, sometimes I respect your kind. You are not the monsters that folklore makes you out to be, unlike the other shifter brutes. Why, you never interfered with the Vampyre Court’s rule during my late mother’s reign. And now that you have decided to stick your scaly tail where it doesn’t belong, it will be to help us. After all, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to your feisty twin sister, would we?”
Ankor’s grim-set stare promised death. Donovan smirked and sauntered over to my captive pack. “Although I must admit, I am a bit confused as to why you care for these savage beasts. This wolf bitch,” Donovan snarled, grabbing Yu Li’s braid with sudden strength and twisting her head sideways, “could have supported her late husband once he became one of us. But no! Sh
e chose to hunt us instead! Duck Young was always weak because he still cared for her.”
Spitting in Yu Li’s face, Donovan then came to stand before Rafael. The vampyre prince’s muscles went deadly still. The Red Company licked their lips and inched closer in anticipation.
“You,” Donovan said softly. “Two of my brothers are gone, thanks to your pitiful crusade to rid the world of my kind. Saint Rafael, the great Vampyre Slayer! Is that the title you hoped would rally the pack? Put an end to all of us forever? But no one bought your pathetic lone ranger act, and do you know why?” The vampyre prince seized Rafael’s throat and began to squeeze until blood jettisoned out in spurts. I bit back a bark of alarm.
Donovan dragged Rafael close so the werewolf could peer into his vacant eyes devoid of irises, devoid of humanity, devoid of anything—just a clear, pitiless teal.
“Because they could already see that you were a dead man,” Donovan whispered and then began to squeeze harder.
Frantically, I splashed for the pier, but then a thin shadow pushed between Rafael and Donovan.
“Stop,” Ankor said stiffly. “I won’t find it if you kill him, or any of them.”
Donovan sneered. “Not your father’s son, are you, wurm? You have a weak heart for fools. Fine. Get to it, then.”
Taking a deep breath, Ankor stood on the edge of dock and surveyed the dark waves shifting restlessly beneath the impenetrable twilight. He put out a hand and made a strange chirping noise as he scanned the sea, as if he were some sort of human metal detector.
The sea grew louder as high tide rose with the moon, but I still caught a snatch of voices from the beach—
“You caught a scarred, one-eyed girl? Where is she? Bring her to me immediately!”
“That’s not how all liddle mortals look?” the second-in-command whined. He was understandably confused. Chunks of his nose and brain were missing.
“You fool!” A considerably larger Spook shook him. “That girl is Citlalli Alvarez!”
I sank down to my nose in the water and combed my black curls over the right half of my face. Yet at that moment, Ankor chose to dive.
Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) Page 33
