When I reach my locker, slightly out of breath, a piece of paper is taped onto it with an arrow sticking out from its center. What a weird practical joke. It’s a picture of a full moon. Doesn’t Min have better things to do with her time? I rip it off. And then I remember.
Full moon. The dokkaebi wanted me to pierce the belly of the full moon. He must still want to bargain with me. No one else could have known about this.
I glance around the hallway, half expecting to see his giant, ugly self pop out into the hallway. Nothing happens. Either he’s shielded me from seeing him or he left long ago.
The locker resists as I yank on it. I give it a hard pound with my other hand. It jerks open, and I fall backward to the hard floor. The noise in the hallway vanishes as if someone has clicked MUTE, except for a light tinkling sound. Inside the locker, my books fade away. The hook and the gray iron walls melt as golden light streams through and out of the locker. The warmth of it drenches me, tugging at my body.
I stand and stretch my hand into the iridescent light. It shimmers as if it’s sprayed with gold. One step closer and my hand slips into the locker. I grope toward the back, but it’s not there. I squint, and that’s when I can see a glistening palace, gilded in gold and gems. My breath leaves me. It’s beautiful.
A voice calls out from behind me. “Jae Hwa!” But it’s so far away, like at the end of a long corridor.
A gust of wind swirls around me. My whole body glitters as I am pulled inside. And then I’m standing in a thicket of tall grass that waves against my knees, tickling them. Beyond the field is a grove of persimmon trees, laden with plump orange fruit. Fluffy white clouds sail above on a sea of sapphire sky.
Haemosu emerges from the grove with a confident stride, taking a bite of a persimmon. I can’t deny how handsome he is, dressed in a red silk tunic and pants lined with gold ribbon, a giant dragon rearing across his chest. But then the light shifts, and for a moment I can see his true hideous self. A decaying skeleton of a monster.
Stepping backyard, I suck in a deep breath. He must see the fear sweeping over my face, because he stops midstride. Staring intently at me, he crushes the persimmon in his hand. Instead of spewing out juice, it erupts in a gush of red liquid like spilled blood.
“So you can see my true form,” he says. “Interesting. The others never did. Perhaps Palk is right. Perhaps you are different from the others.”
“So you’ll let me go, then.” I clench my fists, hating how my voice shakes.
“No. That would never do. A prize like you must be treasured for eternity.”
He lifts his arms in the air and roars, the ground shaking in response. I stumble and fall to the ground. As I’m staggering to my feet, I watch in horror as he transforms before me. In a shiver of light, his body ripples into a black spiked beast. Smoke pours from his nostrils. A long thick tail snaps behind him.
I’ve never seen anything more horrifying than this.
I whip around and take off in a full sprint just as his four paws hit the earth and he leaps toward me. Icy terror streaks through my veins. My feet pound the grassy field, but I can hear his paws behind me and feel the lash of his tail swipe my heels. I’ve always been fast, but here I’m as fast as the wind. Maybe faster. I think I can outrun him.
But it’s not enough. Because I can’t find my way out of Haemosu’s world. Last time I escaped by finding the place in the air with a distinct contortion. I’ve no idea how I got here this time.
Then the ground falls away, leaving behind a sharp cliff that plunges to nowhere. I stagger to a stop and hold out my arms to keep from plummeting over the edge. I comb the cliff edge for the wavering light, feeling Haemosu’s presence drawing closer.
Where’s the flipping doorway?
“Why run from me, my princess?”
I spin to face Haemosu’s perfect human face. I want to punch it until its black and blue.
“Your efforts are pointless. We are meant for each other. Even my lands respond to you. It will not be long until we are together for eternity.” He’s got another persimmon in his hand and takes a bite of it. Juice drips down his chin. “I thought we would spend some time together. You and I.”
The cries I heard in that dark, abandoned palace echo in my memory, and a fire rises up inside me. “Time together? Is that what you told all those other girls?”
“I do not know what you speak of.”
“The curse. That’s what you have brought my family. It needs to end. Now.”
“Do not lessen what we have.” He clucks his tongue, taking my arm and rubbing his hand over the bracelet. “I am intrigued. How do you plan on ending our special bond?”
I whip out a side kick into his gut, and the fruit falls to the ground. He tries to grab my leg, but I whip around and my foot smacks him in the cheek. I throw a punch aiming for his temple, but he grabs hold of my left wrist where the bracelet is.
I scream in pain as an electric shock pulses through my body. I drop to my knees when he finally lets go. My teeth chatter from the shock. All Komo’s training suddenly seems pointless and stupid. Metamorphosis magic? Transforming into another being? What had I been thinking to believe I could stand up to a demigod?
A voice calls out my name, booming from below the chasm, sounding oddly familiar. I search for the source. No one is there.
“Who is calling you?” Creases fill Haemosu’s forehead. “It sounds like a boy. Did you bring someone through the door?”
The locker. My thoughts clear. Yes, that’s how I got here. If I can find it, I can escape. I think about the voice. It sounded awfully like Marc’s.
“You made a very poor decision in telling someone about our special place,” Haemosu says, and strides to the cliff. “I will not share you with anyone. You are mine alone!”
Haemosu reaches out his hand and aims it toward the voice. “He does not understand who he is dealing with. Perhaps he should have a taste.” It dawns on me that he’s going to do something horrible to the person calling my name. What if it is Marc? I couldn’t bear Haemosu hurting him.
I grab ahold of Haemosu’s arm just as a burst of golden liquid shoots from his fingertips. But it’s enough to throw him off guard, and his aim is flung sideways. He isn’t used to girls who can fight.
“This is between you and me,” I say, hoping that whoever is trying to save me is okay.
Haemosu rears back, and a mind-splitting screech erupts from his mouth, pulling at his lips until they stretch into a beak. His body contorts, the red silk twisting and bending into feathers; his legs extend into wings, and sharp claws replace fingers.
A massive bird stands before me.
The beak is larger than my head, and it snaps at me. My reflexes click into motion, and I snap out a front kick, jamming my foot into the beak. The bird screeches again, flies higher, and circles above me. The roundhouse double kick Komo taught me comes to mind.
I wait, my high block in place as he nose-dives straight at me. When the bird is inches from me, I lift my body into a spin and twirl around. I’ve estimated perfectly as my foot impacts against his stomach. His claws attack my face. A chunk of my hair tears out, and his beak rips my left cheek. I fall to the ground, which is no longer tall grass, but hard-packed dirt.
I scramble to my feet, but not fast enough. He’s pecking at my back. I scream as the pain cuts through me as if I’m being stabbed by sharp pieces of glass.
I push out a front punch but knife through empty air as he swerves left. If I don’t do something soon, he’ll tear me to shreds. My mind races, trying to remember how Komo said I should transform. What did that article say?
Take control of your mind.