I haven’t done any kind of paddling since elementary school camp, which ended with me capsizing the canoe, along with three other girls from my class. Since then I’ve stayed clear of water sports.
The boy digs his paddle into the sea, yelling at me over the waves to do the same. I grip my paddle and plunge deep, trying to push back against the waves. I don’t even look up for a while but focus on plunge, push back and lift, plunge, push back and lift. Then, from the corner of my eye, I notice black rocks jutting up in front of us like shark teeth.
My heart sinks. I should be excited that I’ve been able to paddle so far out, but I’m not. How am I supposed to climb those rocks? What if I have it all wrong and this amulet will do nothing? Or what if I am right and it works, but then I fail when I find Haemosu?
“I thought you said you could paddle?” the boy says, frowning at me.
“Right.” I push away my negative thoughts and think about Dad’s obnoxious poster back home: “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” This is me creating my future, I think as I dig my oar in deeper. Sea kayaking out to scale impossible rocks and trespassing on a sacred burial site.
Yep. I’ve so got everything under control.
We’re at the edge of the island, the volcanic rocks jutting up sharp and impenetrable. Water gushes against the island wall, spraying me, the salt burning my eyes. We float closer, and I examine the slopes for some way to get up on them. It’s not until we make the final turn before heading back to shore that I spot it. One rock section slopes just enough that I think I could climb it.
“Let’s get closer!” I yell.
“Too dangerous!”
“I didn’t give you a hundred thousand won for nothing!”
He shakes his head but shovels his paddle into the left side of the boat to turn us closer to the island. After a few yards the current makes it impossible to get any closer. I’ll have to jump for it.
I set down my paddle and adjust my bow.
“What are you doing?” the boy says.
“I’m going to swim to the island.”
“What?” His eyes widen as if I’m crazy. He has no idea.
“If I can’t climb on, will you wait for me?”
“This is a very bad idea.”
Tell me about it.
Before he can talk me out of it, I pencil-jump into the ocean, icy water stabbing my skin, and pop back to the surface, coughing up water. The current pulls, and I realize I’ll be swept out to the beach before I even have a chance to touch the rocks. I stretch out my arm and start swimming, fighting against the current, hoping I’ll reach the rocks before my strength leaves me.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been swimming, but when I scrape my palm against the rock face, I know I’ve made it. The current bears down on me as I press my body against the rock and fumble for a handhold. My fingers are numb and white from the freezing water. The incline I noticed on the boat is just beyond my reach. I wedge my body into the rock, straining against frothing waves. I scream.
And somehow, in a haze of insanity, I reach it. Notches are grooved into the rock face, and my fingers fit into them perfectly. Maybe I’m not the only one who has been on this rock. I pull myself up, and my feet graze the razor-sharp lava rock until I find a tiny ledge for them to stand on. Slowly I work my way up the slope.
My muscles burn.
My arms shake.
I climb higher.
The wind whips around me; my hair sticks to my cheeks, wet. I bite my lip, tasting a mix of blood and salt, and keep moving until I’m at the top of the rock. I cling to its surface and gaze around. The boy is still sitting in his kayak, waving his oar at me.
It’s not exactly a happy wave. More like a you-better-get-over-here-or-I’m-going-to-get-you-in-big-trouble type of wave. I wave back.
Back at the shore, the sandy beach, so safe and calm, feels like forever away.
Looking around, I realize these rock walls form a ring. From the sky they would resemble a crown, and in the center of the crown is a pool just like the one in the kumiho’s painting, oddly calm in comparison to the surging waves on the other side of the rock walls.
I swing my leg over the tip of the rock, which I’m sure is sending the boy into total panic mode. Slowly I climb down the slope, careful to place my feet so I don’t fall into the pool of water in the center of the rock crown. I stop midway, searching for anything that would look like the samjoko on the amulet.
A cloud parts above me, and rays of sunlight trickle into the smooth pool. That’s when I see it. A golden plate, submerged beneath the water’s depths, ingrained into the side of a rock. I scale farther down the rock until I can find a ledge on which to stand. Carefully, I slide the amulet out of its pouch. I hold it up to the sun, comparing it to the golden plate below.
How does it work? Only one way to find out. I slip the amulet back into its pouch and wrap its string around my wrist.
I jump in.
This water is slightly warmer than the surf outside of the rock crown. I push my way back above the surface for a quick breath and dive back under, swimming to the golden plate. Once there, I slip out the amulet and press it into the circular space on the plate, pushing against the water until the amulet sets in place. A perfect fit.
Nothing happens.
My breath is nearly gone. I press both hands on it, willing it to work.
Begging it to work.
It moves, slightly. I push harder. My lungs scream for air.
The plate sparkles like diamonds shattered into a thousand pieces. It’s so bright that I’m blinded and lose my breath, choking on water. The plate revolves faster and faster, until the inside bursts open. The light explodes, and I’m dragged within. Once again I find myself sucked into a spinning, star-riddled vortex. Into another time and another place.
CHAPTER 39
This time I’m prepared when the swirling stops. I reach for my bow, relieved it’s still with me, and notch in an arrow.
But I am wrong again. So wrong.
The place into which I step is like nothing I’ve yet experienced. Stars glitter around me, as if I’m suspended in the middle of nowhere. Before me is an enormous tiger, sitting on his haunches, as orange as the deepest sunset, with black stripes darker than the darkest night. I drop my bow in surprise. It floats by my side.
“Where—” I stutter, my breath comes out heavy. “Where?”
The tiger’s deep ginger eyes consider me, and he tilts his head to the side. Behind the tiger stretches a long thick golden thread, shimmering as it trails to forever. He roars, “I am the Tiger of Shinshi, the Warden of Three Thousand Li, the Defender of the Chosen, and the Guardian of the Golden Thread.” I clamp my hands over my head. “Who are you?”
I lower my shaking hands. “I am Jae Hwa.”
“What is your purpose, daughter of Korea?”
I gape at his massive paws. “I am going to confront Haemosu.”
“What of Haemosu?”
“He has stolen the spirits of my ancestors and kidnapped my aunt, grandfather, and friend. I have to help them.”
“The Spirit World is not for the living.”
“But aren’t you supposed to protect us?” I don’t dare look at him. I’ve overstepped my boundaries. “My family hasn’t had peace for hundreds of years. Please allow me to go into Haemosu’s land. I have to stop him.”
“Hmm.” His voice rumbles. “Impertinent girl. You know that no dream comes without a price. Are you willing to sacrifice?”
My heart clenches like a fist. I lift my head. “Yes.”
His eyes bore deep into mine. “Then go.”
“Can you make sure my bow and arrows come with me?”
“Your weapons will not save you.”