by Ellen Oh
Micah refused. The moonstone had been with the clan for so long.
She rationalized her fascination with the moonstone by convincing herself that she was different from her mother. Her mother always said Micah was the smart one. And Micah had the ability to wield some magic, unlike her mother. Whatever it was in the moonstone that had driven her mother mad, she was sure it would not do the same to her.
But when she tried to sense the magic in the stone, she was shocked at its overpowering strength. Immediately, Micah realized she wasn’t strong enough to use it and quickly locked it back in its box. But the damage was done. Soon after, the dreams started. Dreams of the end of the world: the Kidahara on fire and her entire clan dying. She would wake up in a cold sweat every night. Were these just nightmares or were they foretellings of a dark future?
Micah started to believe that her nightmares might actually be prophecies when the Botan clan’s way of life took a drastic change for the worst.
For years the Botan clan had hampered the Orions from making their way through the Kidahara, but now with Prince Roku’s blessing, the Orion soldiers were everywhere. And Micah had heard rumblings that a political coup was happening. Prince Roku was planning to take over the palace.
If that happened, then nothing would stop the destruction of the Kidahara. If the Kidahara was destroyed, their world would change completely. The Botan clan would not survive. Micah knew that it was her duty to all her ancestors to protect her clan.
She knew she needed advice and decided to seek out the ancient sea hag. Taking only her closest guards and Mari, Micah left the clan in the hands of her aunt Sirus, a seasoned warrior and skilled adviser. The sea hag lived on a remote island off the southern shores of Joson. It was a week’s ride by horseback, and then they would have to find a fisherman willing to take them to and from the sea hag’s island. Micah brought several pounds of their priceless wild ginseng. And yet it took nearly all of it to bribe a fisherman to take them.
On the island, they found the sea hag’s decrepit shack and waited for her arrival from the sea at sunset.
“Do not look at the sea hag until she greets you,” Mari warned. “If you see her while she is transforming, she’ll eat your still-beating heart right out of your chest.”
As soon as the last ray of the sun disappeared, they heard the dragging footsteps of a large creature approaching the shack. Micah and her clan members respectfully kept their eyes on the ground. When the sea hag entered, Micah caught the shadow of a grotesque form in the light of the full moon. It had tentacles and claws, and the intense brackish smell of the sea filled the room.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
Taking it as a greeting, Micah faced the sea hag, barely repressing a shudder. The sea hag had the face of a monstrous old crone and a curved spine that made her look like a hunchback. Legend had it that the sea hag had once been a beautiful fairy creature who had loved and lost a fisherman to the seventh daughter of the dragon king, who lived deep in the sea. Heartbroken, she had pledged to search for her love in every part of the ocean. She’d never found him and instead was transformed into the hideous sea creature she was now. Micah refused to believe the sea hag was ever beautiful.
Micah bowed and introduced herself.
“I knew your mother,” the sea hag replied. “I can taste the delicious sadness emanating from you, so she must be dead now.”
“Yes,” Micah whispered. She cleared her throat. “When she died, she left me this.” Micah opened the case, holding the glowing moonstone. The sea hag looked at it with an unusual expression of both fear and longing.
“Do you know what it is?”
“It’s a moonstone. It is seeking its two sisters, and to return to its master,” the sea hag whispered.
“Who is its master?”
The sea hag began to shake. “You must leave and take this cursed thing with you.”
“Please, you have to help us.”
“I said leave. Now!” The sea hag roared so loudly that the walls shook and the sky thundered.
“My apologies,” Micah said with a bow. She was no wiser and more frustrated than when she arrived. Who could help her?
“What a waste of ginseng,” Mari muttered as they walked back to the boat. “This proves that we must destroy it. Even the sea hag was afraid of the moonstone.”
Micah didn’t answer. The sea hag’s fear had made Micah more determined to keep the powerful orb. She was sure it could be her clan’s salvation, if only she knew how to use it.
They left the island with the very nervous fisherman and headed back home with heavy hearts. Micah could not shake the feeling of impending doom that would overwhelm her at times.
When they returned to their clan, the misfortune Micah so greatly feared had struck. Their campgrounds were covered with the injured and the dead. Her people were dazed and grief-stricken.
“White Peony! Thanks to the ancestors that you are back!” an injured guard hobbled over to greet them.
“Orion soldiers attacked and overwhelmed our warriors. Your aunt Sirus is gravely hurt, and they kidnapped your brother.”
Mari cursed fiercely.
“We never should have left camp,” Micah whispered.
“Then the Orions would have kidnapped you instead,” Mari retorted. She turned back to the guard. “What did they want?”
“Their demands don’t make sense,” the guard said. “They said that if we ever want to see Master Kai again, then we must find the lost princess in the Kidahara and bring her back to Prince Roku, dead or alive.”
“The lost princess? What are they talking about? She died five years ago,” Micah said. “And even if she managed to survive, how are we supposed to find her? People who want to disappear in the Kidahara are never found again.”
“If anyone can find her, it would be the Botan clan,” Mari said. “Let’s help our clan members for now and talk about this later.”
They spent the rest of the day caring for the injured, and burying the dead. When they were done, Micah wandered the forest alone. She needed time to clear her mind. To calm her rage. No one had seen or heard of the lost princess in years. Everyone assumed she must have died in the Kidahara. For how could a young girl have survived the most dangerous forest in the world? If Prince Roku wanted her dead or alive, it meant he was making a play for the royal throne. Which meant if the princess was still alive, she wouldn’t be for long.
Micah racked her brain, trying to think of some way to bring her brother safely back without getting involved in the political corruption. She headed for the lake, where she could scream without fear of being heard.
“What is it, child, that makes you despair?”
Micah whirled around at the voice and saw a woman so beautiful that Micah felt compelled to avert her eyes.
“Who are you?”
“I am the fairy Samena,” the woman responded. “Tell me what troubles you so gravely.”
Micah slowly faced the fairy again and stared wondrously into eyes as blue as the bright summer sky. Pale skin framed by hair as white as lightning. She was what Micah had always imagined an angel would look like. Beautiful in a cold, otherworldly manner. Micah was mesmerized. She found herself relaying all that had occurred since her mother’s death.
“Do not be afraid,” the fairy said. “I am here to help you.”
“You can help me?” Micah asked. “But why?”
“Because I am your benefactor.” The fairy smiled, a slight curving of her thin lips that gave no indication of warmth but was dazzling in its beauty. “I am your savior. I am your master. I will help you save your brother and your clan.”
“You would do that for me?” Micah asked, her eyes locked on the fairy in utter entrancement.
“Yes, my pretty child,” the fairy replied. “And in return, you will belong to me.”
Micah didn’t feel pretty. Her own pale skin looked sallow and her black hair so dull compared to the fairy. But when Samena gazed
at her, she felt glorious. “I will be yours,” Micah whispered.
As Micah pledged loyalty to this strange fairy, she could not help but wonder what price she would pay for her help.
“How will I be able to contact you?” Micah asked.
“The moonstone,” Samena responded. “It is fairy magic. Touch it, and I shall hear you.”
Several hours later, Micah returned to her camp. Her clansman surrounded her in deep concern.
“What will we do now?” Mari asked.
“We’ll do what we have to do to get Kai back,” Micah said grimly.
“What’s your plan?”
“We go find the princess Koko.”
“Even if Roku is sending us on a wild-goose chase?”
Micah’s eyes glazed over for a moment, hearing the fairy’s voice in her head, whispering of the princess and her sightings. “I believe she’s alive and in the Kidahara forest. I will find her.”
Micah thought of her brother once again, scared and alone in a castle prison, and her lips tightened grimly.
“Don’t worry, Kai, I’ll find the princess and bring her to Roku, dead or alive.”
Chapter 8
JIHO LED THE group through the forest without any idea of where he was going. The terrain had shifted so drastically there was nothing recognizable. The team tried to follow the path that they had taken into the forest, but it was impossible to know where they were. The trees that they’d cut down had seemingly grown overnight, thicker and denser than before. None of their directional devices worked, and even Jiho could not find a way out for them. Using his senses, Jiho tried to steer his friends away from the strongest magical spots. The sun rose high above them, but a strange cool mist rose up from the grounds.
Every time he thought he knew the way out, the trail would turn in on itself and Jiho would feel lost again. It was like the forest didn’t want them to leave. But Jiho wasn’t about to tell the others, who were already deathly frightened. He didn’t want to tell them that for the last hour he’d felt an acute sense of being watched. The only thing he knew for sure was that whoever was watching them wasn’t a magical creature. He just wished he knew what they wanted.
His gut churned in a sudden warning, but it was too late. They were quickly surrounded by bandits wearing white peony insignias and holding their signature double blades in attack formation.
“Drop the bags, and you can keep your hands,” the lead bandit said.
Calvin and the others immediately raised their rifles and pointed them at the bandits.
“Why don’t you guys drop the knives and you can keep your heads, instead?”
The lead bandit pulled off her mask and smiled. In a sudden movement so fast it was a blur, she grabbed Frankie and held her blade to his throat.
“We seem to be at an impasse.”
Jiho could feel the dangerous tension between everyone. There was deadly intent in all of their eyes.
“Listen, we don’t want any harm,” Jiho said. “I will trade you my bag filled with supplies for him.”
The bandit sliced the other bag off Frankie’s shoulders. “And this one too,” she said with a half smile.
Jiho moved carefully forward, holding his bag in front of him.
“Make the wrong move and you’ll be dead, thief,” Calvin shouted.
“Don’t underestimate the deadliness of our blades, foreigner,” she retorted.
Jiho froze.
He stared at the bandit, noting the narrow, steely gaze of her dark hooded eyes and the wicked curve of her lips, as if she were perpetually sneering at life. She was the youngest and smallest of the bandits, and yet she was the most intimidating.
He turned back to look at his friends and was shocked to see that Calvin was just as fearsome.
He put up his hands in between them. “We’re just going to exchange this bag for our friend,” he said. “No need for anyone to die.”
Jiho moved forward again with the bag outstretched and his other hand reaching for Frankie, whose blue eyes were wide, bulging frantically out of his eye sockets.
“I’m going to count to three and we’ll trade, okay?”
The bandit didn’t respond, keeping her unblinking gaze on him.
“One, two, three!”
The bandit grabbed the bag, and Jiho grabbed Frankie, pulling him away from the bandit. But in a split second, the bandit had Jiho in her grasp instead.
“And now we’ll be taking the rest of the bags too, foreigner.”
“No good, rotten liars!” Calvin growled. “You let him go, or we’ll shoot you all down!”
But before she could respond, Jiho put out his arms, in warning. “I’m afraid we are all gonna be dead if we stay here. Something bad is coming.”
Chapter 9
THE HAIR ON the back of his neck tingled and his nose twitched as he sensed the oncoming danger heading toward them. The trees suddenly shook and the ground shuddered below them.
“Fall back!” the bandit leader ordered and the bandits vanished into the brush. As the Botan clan members disappeared, Jiho thought he saw the flash of a hooded figure, a woman with white hair he’d seen before.
Before he could think of who she was, a foul odor caused him to gag. He turned to face the largest and most frightening oni he’d ever seen, holding a massive iron club.
“Do not run, little humans. For I am hungry and will get angry if you run.”
For a moment they all stood frozen as the oni slowly approached.
“Good little humans,” the oni crooned as he reached toward them with a massive hand.
“Run!” Jiho screamed as he pushed the others.
“Now I’m angry!”
He heard the oni shout, and then the loud pounding of rapidly approaching giant feet made him nearly pee his pants.
Suddenly Shane stopped. “Why are we running? Let’s take this monster down!”
They all stopped to shoot at the oni.
Ratatatatatatatat.
The oni lumbered to a halt and scratched its head as the bullets ricocheted off his skin like Ping-Pong balls.
“Stop that tickling!” he shouted.
Jiho pulled Shane back by his collar. “You’re just making him madder!” he yelled. “We have to get away from it! Fast!”
With looks of horror, the team ran as quickly as they could.
“This way,” a musical voice called out from a clearing to their left.
“Turn left!” Jiho shouted, as he immediately veered toward the voice, desperately trying to keep ahead of the furious oni. He could feel the heat of the oni’s foul breath on his neck. “Run faster!” he shrieked.
All of a sudden, a tremendous crash sent branches and leaves flying all around them. Jiho turned his head and nearly fell over at what he saw. The oni was on the ground facedown, and a young girl was standing on its head, twisting down the top of its ear.
“How many times must I remind you that you are trespassing on sacred namushin ground? Do I have to teach you another lesson?”
“No, my lady,” the oni was whining. “I’m sorry, my lady. When first I saw the humans, they were not on your land. I warned them not to run, but they didn’t listen to me! It isn’t my fault that I trespassed; it was the measly humans! Give them to me, and I shall punish them all for you!”
“That is a pretty clever try for an oni,” she responded. “But you and you alone are at fault for trespassing. If I find you on my land again, I shall turn you into a flea and squash you beneath my feet.”
The oni shuddered and cried.
“I am very sorry, my lady! I will promise never to do so again. But would it be all right if my lady were to give me just one little human? That little one over there!” The oni pointed at Jiho. “I am frightfully hungry, my lady!”
She twisted his ear harder, causing the oni to whimper.
“How dare you ask me for any favors when you are trespassing!” Her voice magically echoed and became a tremendous bellow, causing Jiho and his fr
iends to cover their ears.
The oni begged for forgiveness until finally the girl released him, shoving him hard. The oni scrambled to his feet and ran quickly back the way he had come.
Jiho stood in openmouthed shock and admiration.
“Are you a namushin?” Jiho asked.
The girl laughed. It was the most entrancing sound he’d ever heard. It made him think of sunshine and soap bubbles.
“No, silly,” she said. “I’m too big to be a namushin!”
“Then are you a fairy?”
She laughed again and shook her head. “I’m human, just like you.”
Jiho blinked. “You just took down a full-grown, adult oni,” he said. “And he was scared of you. No human can do that.”
The girl frowned. “I’m a human.” She glanced at the others and smiled, but they all shrank in fear, staying well behind Jiho.
Jiho shook his head slowly. “You even threatened to turn him into a flea. That’s some serious magic. Are you a witch?”
She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I told you, I’m a human,” she said. “But the namushin have always told me I have dragon’s blood in me.”
“Dragon’s blood? Wow, that’s extremely rare,” Jiho said. “Dragons have been extinct for five hundred years. I think only the royal family is said to have a trace of it in their bloodline—”
Jiho’s words came to an abrupt stop as he took in her long blue-black hair. He’d seen it before many times. “Holy octopus balls! You’re the lost princess Koko!”
He turned to his friends in excitement. “She’s the lost princess of Joson! She’s been missing for five years!”
The others cautiously approached.
“That’s right, I heard about her,” Calvin said.
“I’ve never seen a real live princess before,” Frankie said admiringly.
She stilled at his words, a sad expression on her pretty face as her eyes lost focus. “Princess Koko,” she whispered. “Yes, that’s me.”
“The queen and king have never stopped looking for you,” Jiho said.
Koko’s face crumpled. “Oh, Mama, I miss my mama!”