Gilded (22 page)

As I stroll down the sidewalk, I pretend this is just a normal day and nothing is chasing or trying to kidnap me. Buses belch smoke and traffic whizzes by. The final rays of sunlight glint off the skyscrapers in the distance, and I try to memorize this feeling of freedom, not sure if I’ll ever feel it again.

When I turn the corner of Komo’s small street, I’m licking my fingers, the
hotteok
already gone. The sides of the road are littered with cigarette butts, paper cups, and promotional flyers. A light wind kicks up, sending the trash skittering down the alley. I freeze, hearing the tinkle of bells. It smells faintly of honeysuckle.

My vision blurs. One moment the street stretches before me and the next I glimpse a snow-capped mountain. I blink, and the vision vanishes. I tilt my head, squinting, and it reappears.

This must be what Komo means when she talks about living on the edge of two worlds. I narrow my eyes at the mountain, and as I do, it crystalizes while the street blurs. Where is that
place? Is it one of those portals or connection points between two dimensions that Kumar believes in?

I force myself to concentrate on the street. Two men in black suits stroll toward the main road. A shopkeeper brushes off her stoop with a giant straw broom. Two schoolgirls in their uniforms, heads nearly touching, giggle at something on their phones. Above, tall grayish buildings jut into a sky that threatens of snow, and hundreds of wires string across from building to building, an electrician’s nightmare.

The mountain fades. My vision clears. And with it the odd sensation of someone watching me in the fading daylight.

I break into a jog until I reach Komo’s gate, slamming it behind me as I hurry up her steps and rush inside without knocking. If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately, it’s to trust my instincts.

I stop dead. Komo is sitting on a cushion at her low table drinking tea—with
Grandfather
.

“Grandfather?” I ask. “What are you doing here?”

“Jae Hwa.” He stands and bows. “It is good to see you. I am here in Seoul with your aunt discussing how to deal with Haemosu.”

I somehow manage a bow. About five million words are stuck in my mouth, and I can’t seem to get one of them out. Komo sets down her teacup and motions for me to sit next to her. Slipping off my backpack and setting it on a hook by the door, I plop down on the pillow and try to brush the hair out of my eyes. Komo folds up a map of Korea along with a brochure of the Sejong Center and sets them on top of the apothecary chest.

“I was not expecting you until after dark,” she says.

“I needed to talk to you now.” I glance between the two of them. “Both of you, actually.”

“What is it?” Grandfather asks.

“I went to Marc’s house last night.” I rub my forehead, overwhelmed by everything I needed to tell them.

Grandfather frowns. “Dr. Grayson’s son?”

“Yeah.” At first I’m surprised that Grandfather knows who Marc is, but then I remember he is friends with the Graysons. “While I was there, I talked to Marc’s dad about metamorphosis.”

I take in their expressions, waiting for them to be upset. But they aren’t. Which indicates that my suspicions were correct. So I continue.

“I noticed that the Tiger of Shinshi was painted on his ceiling, just like it’s painted on both of your walls.” I gesture to Komo’s painting. “And he’s wearing the same tiger ring as both of you. Don’t tell me that’s a coincidence, because it’s not.”

Grandfather sighs and leans back in his chair.

“She deserves to know,” Komo says. “She’s affected by the order in one way or another.”

“What order?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”

“So be it.” Grandfather nods. “First of all, you should know that what I am about to tell you is highly secretive. No one but a select few are aware of our order’s existence. Normally I would need approval for speaking so openly with you, but since you are limited for time, I think it is necessary.”

“Okay.” I stare at the two of them. They certainly don’t seem like the type to be a part of some secret organization.

“We are both council members of the Guardians of Shinshi,” Komo says.

Grandfather adds, “We are the defenders of Korea, protectors of the land, and seekers of justice. Just as the Tiger of Shinshi holds the Korean people by a golden thread, we watch over and help maintain Korea’s balance with the Spirit World. Our order has been in existence since the founding of Korea.”

I stare at him for a moment, trying to put together what he’s telling me. I vaguely remember the folktale of the Tiger of Shinshi, the immortal tiger bound to protect Korea.

“Is this another myth?” I ask.

“Indeed.” Grandfather waves his hand. “But this is not something you should worry over. Dr. Grayson is also a council member, and I trust him. The council has agreed to assist us in saving you. I should have thought to ask Dr. Grayson about metamorphosis myself.”

“I don’t understand.” I grip the edge of the table, needing its solidity. “Why have they suddenly decided to help us now? What about Sun and all our other relatives? Where were they then?”

Grandfather’s shoulders sag. “Let us just say we’ve learned that Haemosu might have something the council wants. Hence our plight coincides with theirs.”

“The last thing she needs to worry about is the council and its needs,” Komo says, giving Grandfather a raised-eyebrow look. “What you need to focus on, Jae, is yourself and how we can help you.”

Then I explain what happened in my locker. Grandfather mutters a string of Korean words under his breath while Komo clucks her tongue.

“This is bad.” The wrinkles around Komo’s eyes deepen. “Something is wrong.”

“Something? Isn’t everything wrong?”

“Maybe not,” Grandfather says. “She has learned the art of metamorphism. This is a step in the right direction. Jae Hwa, now that Haemosu has gilded you, we do not have much time. In less than a week you have had two encounters with him.”

“We must act now,” Komo says. “Tonight, perhaps.”

“What are you talking about? What’s happening tonight?”

“Remember the
Illumination
exhibit that your father’s company sponsored?” Grandfather says. “The
samjoko
amulet is on display there. The Guardians of Shinshi have recently uncovered information that leads us to believe that it acts as a key into the Spirit World.”

“Like a transporter?”

“It is not that simple. Each tomb of the ancient Koguryo kingdom was built as a gateway into the Spirit World. According to legend, if the
samjoko
is fitted into the keyhole within a tomb, it will unlock a passageway into the Spirit World.”

“You’re basing your whole plan on legend?” I gape at them. This is madness, putting our lives at risk based on some random story written nearly a thousand years ago.

Grandfather shrugs. “We are discovering that what we once deemed to be myth is often reality. I am willing to take the risk.”

“We plan on acquiring it,” Komo says, “and entering the Spirit World to attack when he is not expecting it.”

I shift onto my knees. An image of a circular bronze medal with a three-legged crow flashes through my memory. The bird’s body touched eight smaller points around the circle. “So you want to get this amulet so you can go hang out with Haemosu. That’s—” Crazy, stupid, ridiculous.

“Shh!” Komo presses her fingers to my lips. I flinch. “Do not utter his name here!”

Now I’m not supposed to say his name? When will the rules and restrictions stop?

I say, “I’m coming with you.” There’s no way I’m letting them do this without me.

“No.” Komo begins to clear the table, setting the teacups on the linoleum counter. “It is too dangerous.”

“I can help.”

“Then you shall.” Grandfather clears his throat after seeing Komo’s scathing look. I try not to look too triumphant. “Your aunt told me you believe that Haemosu’s locked the girls’ spirits in a tomb. This is also news to us. We must discover why he is keeping them there. I cannot sit idly, knowing my daughter is still trapped in his clutches.”

“We must plan quickly,” Komo says. “The museum closes in three hours. We need to be inside when they lock the doors. A Guardian will be there to assist us in case we run into trouble.”

“Wait a second,” I say. “You’re not planning on stealing it, are you?”

Komo doesn’t answer. Instead she picks up a scrub brush and turns on the faucet to clean the dishes. I want to scream, shake some sense into them. There’s no way I can let them get hurt because of me.

I lost Mom to cancer, and I couldn’t control that. I won’t lose Grandfather and Komo, too. I have to think of a way to stop them.

“Come,” Grandfather says. “We should not discuss this here but in a more private place.”

Komo sets the teacups in the drying rack and moves to the center of the room to toss back the carpet over the trapdoor. I help her lift the hatch, and just as I start down the ladder rungs I glance at the window. Someone is standing outside, silhouetted in the streetlight against the curtained window.

I grow so cold, I nearly let go of the rung.

“He’s here!” I yell.

“That is impossible!” Komo says. “Darkness already has set in.”

Grandfather whips around as the front door flings open. Flashing light burns my eyes. I duck my head into my arm.

“Conspiring, I see,” Haemosu says in his creamy-smooth voice. He’s dressed differently tonight, in black slacks and a blue-collared shirt; but he’s still his same perfectly gorgeous self, with those piercing black eyes, chiseled features, and wavy black hair. “So we meet again, old man. I cannot have you influencing my princess.”

Komo doesn’t even blink. She rushes at Haemosu, whipping out a roundhouse kick. Haemosu is thrown sideways and crashes against the concrete wall, cracks splintering up and down where he lands. Grandfather turns to me, his eyes wide, and pushes me farther down.

“Stay below and lock the hatch,” he says.

“No!” I push against him. “You need my help!”

Grandfather leaves me, and I scramble back up the ladder. Komo is bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet as Haemosu pulls himself off the wall. Grandfather sidles next to her.

“Not much of a welcome,” Haemosu says, brushing off chunks of cement. “Especially since I have brought my friends.”

He snaps his fingers. Two boars leap through the open door,
snarling. One lands on Komo, pinning her to the ground with its sharp claws. The other faces Grandfather and growls.

“Komo!” I scream, and forward flip through the air. I land next to her as the boar’s fangs sink into her neck. Blood spurts up in the air, and I kick the boar in the side; but its furry mass feels like iron. The animal won’t budge.

Grandfather punches and kicks at his boar, barely holding off the beast as he backtracks to the kitchen cabinets. He yanks open a drawer and withdraws a handful of knives. In quick succession, he hurls knife after knife at the boar until the beast’s face is riddled with them.

“The sword,” Komo screeches. Her pale finger points to the wall.

I follow her finger to the sword resting on two nails above the step chest. Before I can take another step, the bracelet on my arm flares white. It jolts me back, and I’m flung to the very opposite wall. The bracelet bolts me to the wall.

Haemosu laughs and snaps his fingers again. The boars’ heads flick to him. “Leave the princess alive. She will watch you kill these two conspirators,” he says. And then to me, “You shall suffer for making a fool of me. You will watch all those you love suffer until you are begging me to take you.”

Then I start screaming, and my vision is a blur of anger as I snatch anything within grasp with my free hand—picture frames, lamp, vase—and hurl them at him.

In a burst of light, Haemosu vanishes. His laughter echoes through the room, spinning my heart into a raging fire.

The boars gnash their teeth, saliva drooling from their tongues, and face Grandfather and Komo again. Grandfather
leaps onto the table and dives across the room toward the sword. The beast jumps after him. Grandfather’s outstretched hand whips the sword off the wall, and as he falls, he swivels the sword around and pierces the boar in midair.

I pull against the bracelet, now with three dragon eyes blazing red.

Komo has squirmed back toward the couch while Grandfather scrambles to his feet, slipping on blood. The boar rakes his claw across her chest. Still she holds him off. Her hand snakes under her couch cushions and pulls out a silver dagger, and she plunges it deep into the boar’s chest. Grandfather pierces the boar’s rear. It wails, kicks him in the face, sending him tumbling backward. Komo yanks her dagger back out and stabs the boar again. It collapses to its side.

Komo, her face streaked with crimson lines, falls still.

And so do I.

The carnage of blood, the rank animal odor, the broken furniture overwhelm me. Sharp silence chokes at my throat, and suddenly it’s impossible to breathe. The door bangs against the side of the house in the wind.

Bang, bang, bang.

My wrist is raw and throbs with pain. But that is nothing compared to the agony in my chest. A cutting wind swirls through the room, kicking up golden dust. It whirls around the beasts and Komo’s body until all three are drawn into it.

“Don’t take her!” I yell.

Grandfather shifts on the floor and lifts his head. “Eun,” his voice whispers, and then louder, “Eun!”

Komo’s eyes flutter open, and she reaches out a hand to me.

“Komo!” My scream pierces the night as she vanishes in the tunnel of wind.

She’s gone. She needed me, and I couldn’t save her.

The bracelet finally releases me from the wall. Sobbing, I sink to the floor, the pain of the battle battering against me like sheets of hard rain, but I crawl against the storm inside me to the door.

Haemosu took her to that awful palace of his. I’m sure of it. Grandfather pulls me into his arms, tears streaming down his wrinkled face.

“I tried. I tried.” Grandfather repeats those words over and over. “If only he had taken me. If only—”

Why? WHY!