Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) (43 page)

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! She 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.

The vampyres and the villagers on the beach went still. Moments passed. Finally, Ankor emerged, his black hair dripping as he stared down at an object in his palm. I swam close enough to see: It was a white pearl, tinted with a hint of rosebud pink. When Ankor tilted it under the moonlight, the pearl’s surface rippled like a snow globe, giving a glimpse of doorways into other worlds. It was such flawless, symmetrical purity… How could something so perfect be the destructive opposite of the Yeouiju?

“
La Perle de la Mort
,” Donovan whispered. He stumbled into the ocean, and salt water rose up to his calves. Oblivious, the vampyre prince extended a hand. “Give it here, ore imugi.”

Ankor’s gaze was pure contempt as it swept from Donovan to the hungry vampyres on shore. Then he backed up deeper into the sea. His black eyes began to swirl with the flows of eventide, and I realized what he was about to do.

“Ankor! Don’t do it!” My vocal cords were still weak after Santiago’s attack, but the wind shifted to carry my voice to him. The Autumn Dragon stopped, staring at me over the frothing waves.

“Citlalli?”

“We came all this way to rescue you.” I gave up fighting my way through the current and gave the dragon prince a small smile. “Give us a chance to do that.”

A shadow fell across my face, and then Donovan touched down between us, gnashing his teeth.

“So. My brother’s pet dog still lives,” he sneered, his turquoise eyes relishing the sight of my bitten neck and burnt hands. “Or should I say…his little
demon
? Dying and rising again, getting so much blood on your hands that your skin can’t be washed clean… Just what do you think that makes you, Citlalli Alvarez, if not one of us?”

I heard the breath of wings descend. Then a voice as cool and depthless as the sea gave a chilling reply: “She is my sister.”

The dark waters of the tiny cove began to spin in a whirlpool as none other than Raina cut through the mist with her leathery wings. Violet smoke poured from her nostrils to dance around her amethyst eyes. I caught a glimpse of her feet—three-toed.

But the waves still mirrored her movements. Raina hovered over the ocean with thunder rumbling in her chest. “And your fight is not with her. It is with me.”

Chapter 52: Battle of the Southern Isles

~Citlalli~

Donovan blanched at the sight of the fully-manifested water dragon and took flight. He seized the flute from his belt and swung it; instantly, it shimmered into the form of a gleaming, curved sabre. Before Ankor could defend, the vampyre prince struck the ore imugi’s hand that held the False Yeouiju. The pearl flew into the air, and Donovan shot forth to catch it with his protective gloves before it was lost to the depths again.

Stealing a glance back at the vengeful Raina, Donovan fled across the rain-smattered sea toward the summit of Seongsan Ilchulbong.

“Kill her!” he ordered the weather demons. They rallied to answer his command just as Raina unleashed a streak of violet lightning. The violent flare lit up the bay; the weather demons were fully illuminated as their ribcages shook under the powerful electrocution. Then they dropped burned and charred into the sea.

Chaos erupted on the beach. The stoic haenyeo herded screaming villages for the safety of the hills. My wolf pack shifted and burst free of their bindings, making fresh meat of their former captors on the pier. Meanwhile, the Compañia Rojo shouted and formed ranks, training their rifles on Raina in the storm-tossed sky.

“Raina! Look out!” I cried as Ankor and I swam for shore.

The roar of a second dragon startled the
soldiers. Many of their shots went wild, giving Raina time to vanish into the thickening fog. Then Yong Heesu materialized atop the cliffs. Her four gleaming claws held a jet-black pearl that twinkled like starlight. I smiled, shaking my head ruefully. If it couldn’t be Raina, then I was glad it was Heesu.

The Celestial Summer Dragon merely watched as the gun barrels aimed in her direction. Then she raised the Yeouiju high.

Out poured the Elder Life Spirits: I caught a glimpse of fiery red wings as Xu Xiang dive-bombed the nearest cluster of Spooks; a Clouded Leopard leaped her way down the cliff before camouflaging completely with her surroundings; there was a giant Asiatic Black Bear who stood up on her hindquarters at the top of the staircase and then charged; lastly, a large purple Nagi looped her coils down to strangle vampyres who tried to flee.

Then the White Tiger emerged. With one challenging growl that heralded death, the Lady of Eve rallied the spirits of the deep, the earth, and the air. Sea snakes reared their slimy heads up from the waves and then lashed out to drag the firing soldiers underwater; ghostly sea birds descended on the weather demons in a storm of feathers, and all manner of woodland spirits loped after any soldiers who tried to flee.

Ankor crouched by my side behind a pile of driftwood as the supernatural battle raged. “Where is my father?” he asked, peering out.

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry, Scaly. Maybe he got waylaid bringing some super-secret weapon from Yong Enterprises down here. Now, we’ve gotta find your sister. Where are they keeping Sun?”

The Korean boy nodded in the direction I’d dreaded: toward the towering Seongsan Ilchulbong peak.

A group of conquistadors had my wolf pack cornered. Suddenly, a giant black turtle erupted from the surf and crushed them underfoot. The soldiers fired on her in rapid succession, but Una retreated into her shell, and the bullets bounced harmlessly off.

I shifted to Wolf and danced out to greet my pack, barking joyously.

“Alpha! Raf! You’re alive!”

We collided in a frenzy of fur and wagging tails, our tongues lolling out and our noses cold as we nuzzled one another. Rafael’s tail thumped repeatedly against my leg.

“You’re ok. We saw the mist fall, but we never imagined…”

I shied away as the shadowy wings of a vampyre crossed my mind. Now wasn’t the time or place to extol who my partner-in-crime had been.

“I had help.” Panting, I looked from Yu Li to Rafael happily. “The Doorkeeper is back on our side.”

Our remaining pack members hung back. Iseul cocked her head at me.

“Bae?”

My heart beat faster against my ribcage, and I dropped my head. “I don’t know his fate, Iseul-a.”