Silvern (The Gilded Series) (19 page)

I freeze as it focuses on me. It blinks, sending my heart diving into my chest.

“You okay?” Marc asks, resting his hand on my arm.

I jerk my arm away and force myself back to the present. I refuse to let some magical beast control my life. Somehow I drag myself onto the stage with Marc and Kang-dae at either side. I manage to stand tall next to Michelle.

“Something wrong?” Kang-dae asks.

“Which direction?” Marc asks me from the other side.

Figures.
Marc doesn’t need me to say anything. He knows me well enough to identify that something is wrong. I ignore them both, clenching my fists. Nothing will ruin this moment for me.

I’m determined.

Grandfather hands Dr. Han a paper that details the medical supplies we have with us. Michelle then goes to the mic and explains what we’ve brought.

“The students at Seoul Foreign have raised all the money to pay for these supplies,” she explains fluently in Korean. “And we’re hoping this is something we can do in future years.”

The crowd claps politely. The nurses and doctors who have come to collect the supplies are also on the stage, and each of them comes over, bows, and thanks us. I return their bows, and my heart fills. Our group poses for pictures, and we step off the stage back into the audience, where they have saved seats for us.

As I sit, I search for that strange bird, examining the ceiling. It’s gone. If I hadn’t gone through everything I’ve experienced, I would’ve thought it was just me imagining things. But I know better. It was real. I should tell Marc and Grandfather about it, but I’m sick of mythological creatures running my life. For once I want to sit here and enjoy this beautiful performance.

The question is, whose side is that bird on, Palk’s or Kud’s?

“Wasn’t that amazing?” Michelle asks, leaning over Kang-dae to talk to me.

“It was,” I tell her. “I’m so glad we did this. Let’s do it again next year.”

If I have another year.

“I started drafting up the plans while you guys were hiking,” she says.

The acrobatic show begins. I can hardly concentrate on the daring flips, the swirls of colors from the acrobats’ costumes, or the beams of lasers flashing like lightning across the stage. Now that the ceremony is over, all I can focus on are the possibilities of tomorrow and worrying about how we’re going to get into the Spirit World. Then there’s the question of whether to even give the orb up, and how to deal with Kud once he finds out that I’ve tricked him.

Komo’s face comes to mind. Using this orb would give me the best chance of finding her. If I give this orb up, who knows if I’ll ever find her lost soul?

Marc sits on one side, stiff as a board, while Kang-dae sits on my other side, slouched and relaxed.

At the end of the show, when the performers are bowing to the audience, I see the bird once again. My mouth dries up and my skin chills. With a twist of its long neck, it spreads out its wings, spanning at least ten feet. It swoops above, soaring along the arched dome. Then it sails across the stage, curving around until it faces the audience. Its purple eyes focus on me as if it’s the tip of an arrow and I’m its mark. Soaring, the bird barrels toward me.

I open my mouth to shout, but no sound comes out, just a croak. No one even glances up at the dark shadow plunging above them. Except for Marc and Kang-dae. They both leap to their feet. Marc shoves me behind him, while Kang-dae withdraws a stick that with a flick of his wrist doubles in size. A sharp blade projects from the end.

“Fly, little one, fly!” the bird screeches out across the audience. “Before it is too late.”

Kang-dae swipes at the air as it draws closer, but before the bird comes within reaching distance, it vanishes. Swearing, Kang-dae hits his bat on the chair in front of us.

The audience gasps, turning to focus on us. Kang-dae slips his strange stick away, so quickly I almost think I imagine it. Marc holds up his hands as if in surrender.

“Our apologies,” Marc says in Korean. “Please forgive our disturbance.”

I sink into my seat, grabbing hold of the armrests. The vision of the creature’s piercing purple eyes lingers. It was warning me. But of what?

When we arrive back at the hotel, I drag myself into a lobby that’s quieter than a morgue. The two soldiers who have been standing at the entrance all day move in and wrap a chain around the door, then secure it with a padlock.

“Did you just see that?” Michelle grabs my elbow and jerks her head toward the door. “They locked us inside!”

“They lock all the public buildings, especially if there are people inside. It’s for your safety.” Chu-won purses his lips and shakes his head. “At least, that’s what they tell us.”

“Let’s just hope there isn’t a fire or something,” Michelle says.

“You look tired,” Kang-dae tells me.

I shrug. I’m alive and I have the orb. That’s all that matters.

Grandfather rests his hand on my shoulder. “I will go make preparations and persuade all I can. Why not go to the terrace and get some juice before dinner?”

“Perhaps something stronger,” Kang-dae mutters.

“The hotel gift shop is about to close,” Michelle says, her eyes panicked. “If we’re leaving first thing in the morning, I’ve got to pick up some souvenirs before we leave.”

“Crap,” I say. “I need to get something for Dad, too.”

I find a set of North Korean stamps and ginseng tea, pay for my purchases, and sag against the wall to wait for Michelle.

“You should take a break,” Marc says. “Head up to the balcony and get some food.”

“I can’t leave Michelle alone,” I say.

“I’ll keep an eye on her for you,” Marc says.

“That’s sweet of you,” I say.

“Don’t worry.” Kang-dae steps up. “I’ll keep her safe. Where can I take you?”

Marc shoots him a dark look, while I roll my eyes. “I can take care of myself, but thanks,” I tell them. “You two are way too protective. I’m going to drop this stuff off at my room, and I’ll meet you both on the balcony.”

“You shouldn’t go alone.” Kang-dae lifts his eyebrows and waves a finger at me as if I’m being naughty.

I blow them a two-finger kiss and head upstairs. After I drop my stuff off, I find Kang-dae loitering outside the elevator.

“You stalking me?” I ask.

“Does that turn you on? If so, then yes.”

“No. Not at all.”

Kang-dae raises his eyebrows and presses the Up button. “You look as if you could use a stiff drink.”

“I don’t drink,” I say. “I like to stay in control.”

He chuckles. “I should’ve known.”

“Why are you so determined to egg Marc on?” I ask Kang-dae as we ride up the elevator to the bar on the roof.

“It’s addictive.”

When we step out of the elevator, a sharp breeze whips around us, chilling me to the bone. It’s cooler up on the fifteenth floor than I had expected. I wrap my arms around myself as we secure a seat near the edge of the hotel. The terrace is strung with tiny white lights, and tea candles glow from each table. It’s very romantic, and a sudden rush of guilt cuts through me that I’m up here with Kang-dae instead of Marc. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to come up with Kang-dae, but I needed a break from everything, especially Marc’s stifling urge to protect me. Of course, even that thought spins a strand of guilt around my chest. He’s stifling me because he’s afraid of losing me. Again.

I suppose if I had had to watch him die like he had to watch me, I’d feel the way he does.

A waiter rushes to our table. I order a glass of juice while Kang-dae orders wine.

“Juice?” Kang-dae asks after the waiter leaves.

I push the napkin shaped as a swan away, avoiding his penetrating gaze. “What I drink isn’t your concern.”

“Perhaps.”

There’s that smug look on his face again. He leans back in his chair and flips his fork to a perfect beat on the gray tablecloth. I shift in my seat at his relentless gaze.

“So how does it feel,” Kang-dae asks, “to be the keeper of such a powerful artifact?”

His words propel a shiver down my spine. I don’t want to talk about it, especially not now. “It’s not really a big deal. Hopefully I’ll be able to get rid of it soon anyway.”

Maybe.

“So sacrificial.” Kang-dae’s voice envelops me as if rich chocolate. “If it were me, I’d use it for my own reasons.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” I cock my head to the side. “Or maybe you would. You’re so egotistical.”

He laughs and lightly touches my hand. “I’d be tempted to search for buried treasure. Or a hidden tomb. Or find my true love. If you could seek anything, what would you look for?”

I study his face. Has he guessed that this is a question I’ve been secretly thinking about ever since Kud mentioned using the White Tiger orb to find Komo?

“Buried treasure doesn’t sound so bad,” I say, trying to stay focused. But Kang-dae’s presence is overwhelming right now. Or maybe it’s the combination of surviving the day and now sitting here in candlelight with the north winds whispering around us.

“I think we’d make a good match, Jae Hwa. We have a lot in common. We could help each other.”

The waiter sets our drinks before us and skitters away. Kang-dae takes the corkscrew and begins to caress the wine bottle.

“Do you know what makes this wine so special?” he asks. When I stare at him like I don’t care, he continues. “This is snake wine. Once the wine bottle is filled, a live snake is put inside.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Definitely not.” He wraps his hand around the top, prepping to pop the cork. “Watch carefully. If the head of the snake is at the top of the bottle, it means good luck.”

“That’s repulsive.”

He pops off the cork, and I can’t help but be curious and peer inside. Sure enough, a head rises out of the top of the wine bottle, bloated eyes and wide jaw. So gross.

“Great.” I stare back at Kang-dae, refusing to appear intimidated by his stupid snake. “We’ve got good luck in store for us.”

Kang-dae pours himself a glass and lifts it into the air. “To us.”

I study the scales floating about in his wine and resist grimacing. “Us?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think we were good there at the falls? We were the perfect team.”

I lift my glass and clink against his. “Thanks for rescuing me today.”

“Twice now.”

Kang-dae drags his chair next to mine and wraps his arm over the back of my seat. Heat radiates from him, a relief from the cool air. I shiver again, and he takes off his leather jacket and drapes it on my shoulders. His face leans in close, and his hands linger on my shoulders.

“So are you going to show it to me?” he asks.

His spicy cologne fills the air. I could sit and listen to his voice all night. His fingers push my hair out of my face. Then they trail from my cheek down my neck. He tugs on the string that holds the pouch.

“This it?” He smiles.

It can’t hurt to show it to him. I reach to untie the strings when a screech erupts in the stillness. Through the night air, that same bird from the performance spirals from the darkening sky toward us like a bolt of lightning. Streaks of light sparkle fireworks in its wake. It dives and opens its strange mouth. A stream of light bursts from it, blinding. Debilitating. Every muscle in my body is enveloped in complete numbness.

Beside me, Kang-dae yells, covering his face, and yet at the same time reaching across me to protect me.

He drags me to the ground. I tumble over him. My glass topples, shattering. Juice drenches me. Kang-dae gropes for his stick. His hand moves sluggishly. I drag myself away from him and stagger to standing. I take my fork and wait as the bird swoops back for another round, my vision swimming with sparkles and feathers and violet eyes.

“Fly, Princess,” it screams at me. “Fly with the winds.”

The fork falters in my hand. Is this bird trying to save me? If so, then why? Those words sound so familiar. Then they come back like a stampeding horse. That is what Haechi once told me back in Seoul when Haemosu was chasing me.

I swivel to face Kang-dae, gripping the edge of the table, knuckles white.

“Do something, Jae!” Kang-dae yells. “He’ll kill us both! You need to kill it!”

The bird screeches again, a battle cry, as flames rain down over Kang-dae.

“Stop!” I scream and slip the orb from its hiding place. I lift it into the air. Silvery light washes the terrace, wavering as the stars glistening over the ocean. “Leave him alone.”

The bird screeches and swerves away, vanishing into the void.

“Kang-dae!” I rush to him and grab his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

Kang-dae’s body twists and shimmers beneath my hands. He screams in agony. Whatever that bird showered on him is killing him. I draw him into my arms. Guilt stabs me. If only I hadn’t hesitated. I couldn’t even throw a stupid fork to protect him.

But then his body shifts in my arms, twisting and enlarging. Surprised, I let go and watch in horror as his body lifts into the air, higher, until in an explosion of shattering darkness, he stands again before me.

A black-clothed form with a shrouded hood, the ends ragged, stretching out into thin snakes of material manifesting from the void.

Writhing. Twisting. Hungrily seeking.

I stagger backward. My mouth dries up. My words are ripped from me.

“You saved me,” the clothed figure says. “Once with the dragons, and now with the
Bonghwang
. You are brave indeed. You have exceeded my greatest expectations. But even better, you have found the White Tiger seeker orb. Tucked within a realm that neither mortals nor immortals could touch, it rested for a thousand years. Until you came. You who are neither mortal nor immortal. Truly one of a kind.”

“Kang-dae?” My voice shakes.

“That is the form you seem to prefer,” he says in a deep voice. “Regrettably, I have been revealed, thanks to that foolish bird.”

“Kud.” I choke out his name.

I’m a complete fool.

“Yes. So you recognize me after all?”

I spot a crooked grin struggling on his face and recognize a slight resemblance. Why hadn’t I seen it before?

“Leave me alone.”

“You were not thinking that moments ago.”

My face turns heated, shamed at how close I let him come to me. I back up farther.

“We have a connection, the two of us,” Kud says.

My heart stops at the possibility. “You’re wrong.”

“Join me or give me the orb.” Kud’s voice turns sour. “And you can go back to your pathetic life.”

My hand clenches the orb, still tucked inside my palm. The power of it pulses against my skin as if fire.

“Never,” I say. “It will be returned to the Heavenly Chest.”

“You followed my instructions perfectly.” He steps closer. His tentacles writhe at my feet, sliding up my bare legs. “I enticed you to take this quest to find the orb at the Council. Even when the king of the Underworld tried to thwart me, you defeated his weasels and Princess Bari. I returned to my land barely in time to heal my wounds. Then I showed you the back door, and you once again took the bait. You were my only hope for obtaining this orb. Excellent work.”

His words sicken me. They are truth, and I’m ashamed as I face it.

I spin and make a break for the elevator, but his tentacles cinch tight around my ankles. I fall to the ground, barely catching myself, but the orb tumbles out of my grip, rolling across the concrete floor. I look for the waiter, but his head is resting on the counter. I pray he’s sleeping and not dead.

Kud looms over me. His eyes focus on the orb, just out of my reach. I slap the ground, grasping for the orb before he can reach it, but he lifts my body upright using his robe’s tentacles. They snake tightly around me until my arms are bound. I’m practically a mummy, everything tucked in except for my neck. He leans in close as if taking in my scent. I gag. His breath reeks like death.

“Yes. It is mine now,” he says, and swoops to pick it up.

The orb flames bright as a shooting star. He screams in pain, cursing, and it tumbles to the ground. With his unscathed hand, he grips his searing red palm. A sizzling sound and the stench of burnt flesh fill the air.

“What curse have you put on this, witch?” he snarls.

“The dragons bound the orb to me. I’m its keeper now until I give it away. Only I can hold it.”

“What is this?” Kud spins in ferocious anger, lifting his fists and shaking them. He opens his mouth, and the terrace erupts into a windstorm. Chairs and tables fly across the roof and fall away. The lightbulbs shatter in their sockets and are scattered across the ground. My hair flies around me, but I stay upright, still bound.

The elevator doors slide open, and Marc races out. He’s pushed back by the gusts and is pressed against the elevator shaft’s wall. His eyes are wide.

“You can’t win,” I yell at Kud over his storm. “I am the orb’s keeper until I return it to the Heavenly Chest.”

Just speaking those words, a strength builds inside me, because I know they are true. The storm stops. Kud turns his attention to me. “Until death do you part.”

“No!” Marc yells and darts to me. “Don’t touch her!”

Kud holds up a hand and Marc freezes, unable to move.

“What have you done to Kang-dae?” Marc says.

Kud starts laughing, a deep, devious, guttural sound. “I am Kang-dae,” Kud says. “The perfect disguise, don’t you agree?”