Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) (41 page)

“Citlalli!”

When he beckoned, my head shot up, eager. I loped over and held the box shut for Khyber as he finished the final inscription. The Dark Spirit made one last escape attempt. It shot out multiple black tentacles that lashed around my wrists. However, my skin burned rubicund again, and the Dark Spirit retreated with a wail.

“Let it go!” Khyber commanded. We threw ourselves to the side, just as the incantation came alive in neon green characters. The box cemented itself shut, and then black smoke began to creep from under the lid. The Dark Spirit screamed with every flash of the spell, and the bottom of the box grew damp with blood. Abruptly, Pandora’s Box fell to the ground in an ashen, smoking ruin.

“We did it!” I fell upon Khyber in an embrace, my eye shining. He stiffened and then unraveled my arms from his neck. He carefully turned each forearm over.

“Oh, Citlalli,” he murmured, his fingers whispering across the puckered red flesh that now ran from my elbows down to my palms. My heart pounded faster at the proximity of his lips to mine. His jet-black hair dangled over his eyes close enough to touch. I was dimly aware of Wolf scratching for my attention. However, Demon grinned and lifted my fingers toward his face.

Something painful drove through my euphoric bliss, as sharp as an arrow. I gasped as my soul suddenly stretched taut; Wolf had seized onto Demon’s ankle and was yanking Her back. In that brief moment of clarity, I snatched my hand back.

Demon. Please.

I want my prize,
She snarled.

You will have it,
I beseeched Her.
But not here. Not now. We are in danger. There are other prizes we must see to, others like him, except these we will rip open with our teeth. Please. The venom. I can’t fight it.

Demon broke free and rebounded back to the forefront of my mind. I only had time to see Her vicious smile, and then She was gone, ascending to the forefront of my consciousness.

Demon! No!

Helpless in the back of my mind, I watched as if from the dark corner of a movie theater as my head snapped up and smiled disarmingly at Khyber. His breath caught when my hand grabbed his, and then I leaned in so close that I could see the wariness churning in his eyes. The memory of the sensual bite, of my body losing control beneath his hands, made me shrink further in embarrassment.

Then Demon said in a low, husky voice: “Get over yourself, princeling. Now, are you going to fly us out of here or not?”

Khyber broke into an uncharacteristic grin and ruffled my hair. “Good dog.”

Suddenly, the ground began to rumble beneath our feet. Khyber swept me into his arms without a moment’s hesitation, and we leaped into the air. The weather demons and ghosts also took flight toward the moon.

Below us, the candlelit sea flickered violently. Waves began to slosh higher up the green fog wall. Coils of oil-black hair lashed at the mounting tide, but the moon grew fuller still, lending strength to the mighty sea. For a moment, the whole of the cursed mist quivered with the cries of a thousand lost souls.

Then, with one last thrust from a giant spirit wave, the Emerald Veil fell.

Khyber’s grip tightened. “The Doorkeeper is free.”

“She is indeed!” a low voice rang out beneath us.

I twisted to behold a ghost from the past. The newfound power radiating from her sharp eyes broke the spell of the vampyre venom on my mind.

Won Una stood beneath us upon the crater of the Forgotten Isle, her hands on her hips. Her dark hair hung in unruly tangles around her shoulders, her skin was the rough texture of pebbles, and her brown eyes formerly so slow to anger were now red-rimmed by her inner Were. “So I would suggest releasing her immediately, Crow.”

She seemed astonished when Khyber obeyed without a fight. I dashed over to Una and threw my arms around her. Holding part of Eve hostage for all of these months had taken its toll on the former spirit walker; Una felt as light and unsteady as a bushel of bamboo poles tied hastily together. However, her bones still stood stubbornly tall.

“It’s a long story,” we told each other simultaneously as I gestured toward Khyber and she, toward the volcano. Then we burst into laughter and hugged again.

“One that must wait,” Khyber said, striding toward us. “We must not delay. My brothers and the Autumn Dragon are not here, which can only mean they are close to obtaining their original desire.”

Una gazed out at the beautiful shadows of the rejuvenated night as the moonlight now played blue across the water. “Yes. The Lady of Eve and the Dark Spirits alike will know by now that the Veil has fallen. We must go to Jeju-do quickly…before they find it.”

“What are they after, Una?” I asked quietly.

Her face darkened. “The False Yeouiju. It is a white pearl, a pale imitation of a real Yeouiju. Its power is the opposite of the Yeouiju’s in every way. Instead of creation, its power is ruin.” She paused. “It will destroy the door to Xibalba itself.”

Chapter 49: Night of Falling Dreams

~Raina~

The tempestuous waters bucked and churned over our heads and then spat us out on the beach. Heesu and I dragged ourselves wearily amongst the rows of white tents, which flickered with dozens of candles lit in memory of the dead.

I coughed up salt water as my lungs readjusted to human form, and then I sniffed the air. The night felt…different.

Heesu shivered next to me and gazed up at a heaven full of brilliant stars. “Raina, the Emerald Veil has lifted!”

“Una,” I whispered, my heart glowing. Somehow, the Doorkeeper was free. Citlalli and the others were still alive and fighting. They had to be.

As we staggered to our feet, still reveling at the touch of clean, crisp air, the sky began to rain stars.

It began on the indigo horizon, where the ocean receded into the firmament. Above, the stars began to tremble in their places as a great force approached to shake them free: Chuseok. Summer died, and with the chill of Autumn’s approach, even the stars themselves were little more than brittle leaves clinging to a fading tree.

Then they began to fall.

“Hurry, Raina!” Heesu grabbed my shoulder. “We must fly!”

I loped after her, coaxing my numb legs into a jog. “But what did your mother mean? How do we catch them with ‘dragon’s breath’?”

Heesu sprang onto a large trunk of driftwood. She spared me a mischievous glance as emerald scales began to carpet her face. “I think I know. She refers to our greatest weapon. Think about it, Raina. What are dragons known for across the world?”

Breathing fire.
Swallowing, I gazed up at the oncoming storm of stars hurdling toward earth. “But I’ve only ever been able to breathe wind.”

“That is because you still think like an imugi.” Heesu winked at me. “Now it is time to become a dragon.” Then she leaped off the driftwood.

When Heesu rose into the air, the feathery plumage of her wings lifted like a great storm of leaves, rustling with every tint of green under the torrent of starlight. The Summer Dragon refused to let Autumn come without a fight. I felt the humidity rise, and then Heesu’s eyes flared russet under the starlight. I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. Then Heesu breathed in the clouds, the wind, the heat—and released it in a streak of lightning.

The nearest falling star shattered under her lightning strike and crashed to the ground, dead and cold. It was no yeouiju. Heesu twisted playfully in the air and then shot after the next star. Grinning, I rose to join her.

The first few falling stars nearly burned holes through my wings. I snapped them tight to my sides and dove deep. I nearly smashed into the sea to avoid two meteors that screamed past me in a hiss of white fire. I took refuge on the Great King Rocks, which seemed impervious to the heavenly bombardment. Narrowing my tearing violet eyes, I struggled to sense which flying space rock was the Dragon’s Pearl of omnipotent power.

Heesu landed beside me with a thud.
We’re getting pummeled.

I agreed.
If the stars keep falling this fast, then we will lose a claw instead of growing one.

Spirits had begun to gather on the shores of Bongil Beach this Chuseok night, hovering like benevolent fireflies compared to the shrieking fireballs cannonballing into the ocean. Suddenly, to my shock, the sea snake shifters emerged from the depths, poking their heads up to gaze out at the Night of Falling Dreams in wonder. Then, one by one, they began to sing.

Their haunting siren song was so great that even the falling stars lingered. My breath caught. The sea snakes’ musical notes buoyed the meteors up until they hung suspended like softly glowing souls. Then the stars floated down into the hands of the awaiting sea snake folk and transformed into crowns, geodes, and rhinestones. I spotted the old Korean woman who had greeted us in Sun Young’s tomb wink at me before she slipped into the water with the body of a great eel.

Look, Raina!

I followed Heesu’s claw to see a tiny star shoot through the air amidst the smoke of the larger meteors, unmoved by the sirens’ song. It was easily dismissed because it looked like a shard that had chipped off one of the greater rocks. Except amongst the glow of white, blue, and red fires, its flames smoldered black.

Nothing except a dragon will stop that star’s fall.
Our heartbeats thumped harmoniously in our chests, and I shared a grin with my half-sister. This was it. There, before our eyes, was the Yeouiju.

Come, Raina.
Heesu nodded toward the swiftly falling midnight star.
It is time to sing
our
song.

Together, we raised our heads.

Mimicking Heesu’s movements, I drew in the sizzle of heat on the air, the water vapor, and then a hint of thunder. Then I released my breath in a streak of violet lightning, which crackled around Heesu’s golden lightning bolt to strike the Yeouiju in mid-air. Its fall slowed. It circled for an escape, but it was surrounded by leaping white-hot light on all sides.

As we approached the Dragon’s Pearl, its flames lashed out at us in scorn.

–Away. Let me die in peace–

We seek to become the next Celestial Dragon,
Heesu protested.

The Yeouiju was derisive. –Why–

So we sang. I was aware of Heesu’s song, high-pitched and airy, but I focused on my own. There was no right or clever answer when confronted by the age-old star seeking its death in the sea. My soul buoyed my song. I told the Yeouiju of my childhood, of a life shaped by others’ choices. I spoke of my captivity under the vampyre princes, of seeing the evils they were capable of. I whispered of the evils mortals were just as culpable of.

The Yeouiju was intrigued by my song, but not moved. –Child, I have watched your world for a long time. Suffering is a part of it. It both creates and destroys. Why should I give you power to choose who suffers and who doesn’t–

I swallowed.
Because you will not be giving it just to me. You will be giving it to many. I listen, Wise Pearl. Sometimes I listen to others too much, but I want to hear what they have to say. Not to make my decisions easier, but to remember those I will hurt. I want to be aware. I believe seeking out the experiences of others, even those I would rather ignore, is the key to wisdom.

The Yeouiju’s black flames waved and jumped with midnight blue sparks, expanding to eclipse our lightning cage.

–Your words are honest and inspired, little water imugi. However, I will not choose you. There is still something you must learn, something to conquer the shadow of doubt that holds fast to your heart and leaves you vulnerable to the ill intentions of others–

The dizzying kaleidoscope of stars righted themselves in the firmament. The blizzard of stars vanished into the sea with a sigh, leaving just enough light to reveal a sole earth dragon hovering above the waves…and extending her newly grown fourth claw to accept a small pearl as dark as ebony.

The Yeouiju’s parting words spun kindly in my ears: –Have faith in yourself–

We collapsed back on the beach in human form. The sea snake folk approached with rope robes and then backed away from us, prostrate. Spirit messengers leaped into the night to spread the news, but just as many stayed to humble themselves before Yong Heesu, the first Celestial Dragon of Summer.

Heesu wasn’t watching them; she was looking at me. Her dark brown eyes held a hint of gold now, as if behind her small stature and pixie haircut, she hid the power of a small sun.

The Dragon’s Pearl remained cradled in my younger sister’s hands. A galaxy of stars rippled forth and then vanished within its dense depths. For an instant, I yearned to seize the orb from her hands. I longed to plunge my fingers through its glossy surface and shape the life forces it held: forests, cities, people… I sensed with strange clarity that anything I found in the Yeouiju, I could shape to my will. I could snap people in half. I could send an earthquake reverberating through a village. I could stir the weather systems of the world into mellow rivers or hurricanes of fury. I could, create at will.

Heesu watched my approach warily. She could have stopped me at any time.

At the last second, I placed an arm around her shoulder. Holding each other close, we both wondered at the power of the Yeouiju.

“Congratulations, little sister,” I whispered. “You did it.”

Heesu gave me a broad smile and hugged my waist. “We did it. Unni, the seasons of Spring and Summer have triumphed. There will be many kind times ahead.”

An enormous wave crashed against The Great King Rocks, and the spirits fell back with awed murmurs. None other than Yong Mun Mu himself emerged with the body of a great scarlet dragon. His mane and beard roared radiant with white fire, and his ruby scales gleamed like hot coals beneath the heat of his flames.

The Guardian of the East Sea took his first step onto the beach, and the spirits fled in fear.

Youngest daughter!
Mun Mu was ebullient.
How you have made me proud. I should have known the stars would favor your kind and steadfast heart. Forgive me.