Silvern (The Gilded Series) (8 page)

Warmth shines over my head and shoulders. I lift my gaze, following the bright sunlight to the mountain above. A pagoda rests on top, and there I spot a figure, glistening white through the gray. My breath catches. Palk, the god of light and goodness.

“Come, Jae Hwa,” he says. He sounds as if he’s speaking next to me, rather than on the cliff top. “We must talk.”

So I’m not alone, after all. I need to talk to him. If anyone has answers, he does.

I take off running down the path that curls into the woods, hoping it will lead me up the rocks to the pagoda. After pushing through leafless brambles and shrubs that spring to life as I touch them, I’m blockaded by a massive cliff that climbs straight up the mountain. There’s no way I can climb that cliff, but then I remember soaring even higher than that once before.

It was during one of my fights with Haemosu. He morphed into a bird, so to defend myself, I did the same. Could I transform again? It’s been months since I shape-shifted, and I’m not even sure I can still do it. But I’m desperate for help.

Closing my eyes, I visualize myself.

Feathered, beaked, clawed.

A hawk.

A rush of fire sizzles through me. I double over in pain. It has been so long since I shape-shifted that my body resists the transformation. My fingers twitch, tingling, and my vision sharpens. I watch in horror as my fingers alter into claws. Soft brown feathers cover my arms. My vision tunnels, and the world around me crystallizes.

My throat tightens, because even though I’ve done this before, the sensations are overwhelming, and there’s always the lingering terror that I won’t be able to make the shift back to my human self. I flutter about on the ground, unsure what to do with my wings. It had seemed so natural when I faced Haemosu, when panic caused my inner reflexes to take over.

I sit still and redirect my thoughts to focus on the cliff top. I take a deep breath, flap my wings, and lift.

And I’m flying, the wind whooshing through my feathers. The ground falls forever away as I beat my wings and rise. My heart catapults a few times, but I release my control, allowing instinct to take over. It’s terrifying and liberating all at once as I stretch out on the breath of the wind.

I swoop over the trees, barely missing their outstretched limbs. Then I propel myself higher, loving the feeling of sunlight trickling over my wings and the wind gusting around me. I call out to the sky, a high, piercing cry. Then dive, allowing gravity to pull me. I plummet toward the ground, waiting until the last second, when I pull up, flapping my wings furiously. This is the feeling I try to capture every time I half leap down the stairs at my apartment building, but that doesn’t even come close to this rush.

Finally, I reach the pagoda and land on the edge of the wooden railing. Palk stands there, hands behind his back, waiting with patient golden eyes.

“Jae Hwa.” He nods solemnly. “Good of you to come.”

I release the image of myself as a bird, refocusing on my humanity. It happens too quickly, and I find myself perched on the railing precariously close to the edge of the cliff. My balance is thrown off, and I fall backward toward the edge. Palk reaches out and yanks me back into the pagoda.

“Watch yourself.” His lips twitch.

I drag the hair out of my eyes, trying to pull myself together. It would help if I could be a little more graceful. The world around me still feels off-kilter. I bend at the knees, my stomach churning, and clamp my eyes closed, refusing to puke in front of the god of light. I’ve only morphed a few times, but it usually took a few moments to recover. If I’d fallen, I wouldn’t have had the strength or orientation to shape-shift back into a bird. My body heals quickly here, but I’m not sure I would have survived a fall like that.

“The more often you transform”—Palk pats my shoulder—“the easier your body adjusts.”

Palk’s touch soothes my skin, and my stomach stops rolling.

“Thanks for that.” I straighten.

“It is an honor,” he says. His eyes are kind, and I look away, disarmed.

“I suppose it’s been a while.” I wipe the trail of sweat trickling down the side of my face. “I’m not really sure why I’m here. Or that I should be.”

I sound like a complete blathering idiot. Why can’t I be more articulate, like Michelle?

“This was once Haemosu’s land,” Palk says, obviously skipping the small talk. “He destroyed it until it became a barren wasteland.”

Palk motions for me to stand next to him at the edge of the railing. The wind cuts against our faces, cool and sharp. From high up on these peaks, the land stretches out to the sea, rolling in patchy brown hills. Skeletal trees are remnants of what I imagine were once lush pine forests. In the distance, the ocean’s waves rake along slate-colored beaches.

“It’s pretty depressing,” I say. “Haemosu at least knew how to make it look good if he wanted to.”

“Lies only deepen the wounds of the weak until they are left gaping and seeping in filth.”

“That’s one way to look at it.” I study Palk. His white robes shimmer like a thousand stars. It almost hurts to look at him. “You opened the portal at my archery center, didn’t you?”

“This land you see belongs to you now,” Palk says, completely avoiding my question. “It beckons your healing touch.”

I resist laughing, tempting as it is. “I’m usually the girl you call when you need someone to beat up your enemy.”

Palk sighs. “You see that streak of green below. Just your presence here awakens the land. It takes on the power within you.”

I bite my lip. I hate how he’s always right. “Isn’t it the other way around?” I ask. “Doesn’t the land give power to me?”

“The land brings you, its rightful ruler, power,” Palk says. “You determine how the power will be used: to heal, to morph. Haemosu collected it to increase his power in the human world.”

“Will it help me find Komo? Her spirit is lost. She’s been in a coma.”

“Perhaps.”

“Perhaps? That’s all you have to say? She spent her life training in battle and studying Haemosu and his tactics all so that she could save me. Me, the niece she never met. I can’t leave her alone in a coma. I have to help her.”

“And so you shall. The time will come, and the decision will be set before you.”

“Coming here was a waste of time, then, if I’m supposed to sit around and wait for the perfect time. I can’t do that. I need answers, and if you can’t give them to me, I’ll find someone who can. I’m supposed to meet Marc soon, and he’d be upset if he knew I was here.”

“The Spirit World needs you.” Palk’s face focuses on me, grim and far too serious for my taste. “Haemosu has left us with an imbalance perilous to both the human and spirit worlds. Kud’s power grows, and yet we here in the Spirit World cannot reach him.”

“Kud.” I clench my fists. “He threatened me. Said he would kill my family if I didn’t find the White Tiger orb for him.”

“His threats are not to be taken lightly,” Palk says. “If you agree to join us and rule this land, he would leave you alone. Without that special ability to enter your world and ours and still hold power in both, you would no longer be valuable to him.”

I gape at Palk, shaking my head. “I can’t leave my family and friends. They mean too much to me.”

“Of course. And yet, this may be to our advantage. As a mortal, you have access to places we immortals do not. If the orb were returned to the Heavenly Chest, it would make us stronger on this side, give us the upper hand against Kud’s power. It is the risk that worries me.”

Deep down I know he’s right. I was the one who defeated Haemosu when none of my other ancestors could achieve this. Moments ago, I touched the trees and they burst green. But no one can seem to understand that I don’t want this. I never wanted any of this. I wanted a normal life, hanging out with Marc, my family, and my friends.

“What do you mean by ‘this side’? Isn’t Kud in the Spirit World, too?”

Palk waves his hand and the world shudders. I grip the railing as the ground races before us as if flying away at an impossible speed. Yet Palk and I remain, standing on the pagoda.

Seas and islands and snowcapped mountains sail beneath us.

“The Spirit World,” I whisper.

“Yes.” Palk draws his hand into a fist, and we come to a screeching stop. “It needs you.”

I back away. This is way too complicated. Why can’t everything be simple? Like,
Hey, you did a great job with Haemosu, so we’re going to leave you alone to live happily ever after.

I’m about to turn away when he takes my hand. After my experiences with Haemosu, this freaks me out. But before I can break into a roundhouse, a sense of peace wraps over me. A glow emanates over our hands and grows until we’re completely surrounded in a ball of glittery light. A blast erupts, and the light explodes like fireworks around us. Everything around us vanishes, and the light trickles away into a million stars.

We’re hanging in the center of darkness, the stars swirling around us. My whole body shakes from the shock of what has just happened, is still happening. I’ve seen a lot over the last three months, but this is taking things to a new dimension.

“Look into the distance,” Palk says.

I follow his gaze. There at the edge of the nothing lies a red river, snaking through the emptiness like a sea of blood. It bubbles, and steam curls into the nothingness. We float closer until it’s as if we’re standing at the edge of the starry sky. A blast of air hits us, sending my long hair whipping around my face. Deep within my chest, a mixture of anger and fear and terror swirls inside me.

“Do you feel it?” Palk asks.

I nod, too overwhelmed to speak.

“Kud has stolen the Red Phoenix orb and is using it to build his own empire in the north. He has caused a rift in the Spirit World, dividing Korea. We have no access to his lands, and because our powers are weak in the human world, we cannot enter his portals from there either. His land is slowly stretching deeper and deeper into darkness and isolation. He feeds off the darkness that grows within North Korea. Even I am powerless to stop him unless I use the two orbs from the Heavenly Chest to break the seal of the divide. But the toll it would take on your world would be catastrophic. It would mean war.”

“So
you
are asking me to find the White Tiger orb?” I stare at him in horror at how much bigger this is than I’d thought. “But what if I fail?”

He smiles. “Princess Yuhwa’s blood still runs through you. And though that is true of all your ancestors, you were the one brave enough to stand up to Haemosu. You were the only one to be successful after centuries of bondage. You still have power in both worlds. At least for now.”

“I don’t understand.” But that’s a lie. I know exactly what he means. “There’s got to be someone else. I might be good at fighting, but this is way beyond what I can do.”

“I have tried.” He sighs, stroking his pointed white beard. “No one has entered Kud’s lands and lived to speak of it. Until you. He forced you into his land without asking. And you found your way out.”

Yay for me.
I get dragged through a mirror into Kud’s sick world, get terrorized, and this is how I’m rewarded. “He let me go. That’s the only way to explain it.”

“Yes, interesting, is it not?”

I can’t believe I’m getting drawn back into the Spirit World’s problems. Why won’t everybody leave me alone?

As if reading my thoughts, Palk says, “This is not something to be taken lightly.”

“I don’t take it lightly.” How could I after all I’ve been through? “I’ve agreed to help the Council of Shinshi search for the White Tiger orb. They’re worried that Kud will find it first, and since it’s a seeker orb, he’ll then find the others.”

“You plan to enter the northern lands?”

“I’ll look for the orb. If we find it, I’ll bring it back to you. But I can’t save Haemosu’s lands. I can’t give up my family for this.”

“A great light shines in the Cave of the Nine Dragons.” Palk looks at me. “Our powers are not strong enough to travel long in the human lands, and the northern lands are all under the power of Kud. Perhaps this cave will give you the answers you seek.”

The Cave of the Nine Dragons. I haven’t the faintest idea where this is, but I’m certain Marc will know.

“If Kud gains possession of another orb, his power will only increase,” Palk says. “This is the risk you take in seeking out this artifact. He has been looking for all the orbs for endless ages. They have been well hidden. It is hard to foresee if this is the best step.”

“I’m not certain of anything. I just get this feeling that he’s closer to the orb than we realize, and that worries me.”

Palk stares hard at the blood-red river, serving as a boundary between the two lands. Crimson reflects against his face, and his forehead wrinkles. “You are right to worry.” He turns and claps both hands on my shoulders. “This is the path that has been set before you. Take it and use your powers with wisdom and strength. Both will be needed for success.”

His form seems to be pulling away from me. I watch him growing farther and farther away, as if we’re in an endless tunnel. I reach out, already missing that feeling of strength that I realize I was drawing from him.