I glare at him. “I will never work with you.”
“Your aunt does not have much more time. Are you willing to risk her life for your stubbornness? But perhaps it is your grandfather’s and father’s lives that you find more valuable. I am sure you could be coaxed into an agreement.”
I gape at him in horror. And then, just as my story picture comes careening back around, I leap and dive into the picture. I reach for Marc’s hand, praying and hoping that it’s a portal and not a wall.
My body slides through the picture. The stone surface stretches and bends around my body as if I’m diving through thick sludge. Marc’s palm clasps hold of mine, and his fingers wrap and squeeze my hand, sending tingles through me like electricity.
For a moment, we’re lost in time. Between worlds. For a breath, it’s only Marc and me, caught in forever and never. Our eyes meet, and I know, I know, he would go to the end of the world and die right there for me.
The thought shatters as something seizes my ankle. I glance over my shoulder. It’s one of the black tentacles, dragging me back. My skin is stretched, my muscles pulled, and my hip bones snap one by one. My body screams in agony. Marc’s fingers start to slip from mine.
I can’t let him go. I cry out in frustration and pain. Then, through a watery mirage, I see Michelle race up next to Marc, something in her hand. Tiny scissors. How will she get into this space between worlds?
Undaunted, she reaches out and starts cutting at the misty tentacle wrapped around my ankle. The grip loosens.
Then I’m free and tumbling into Marc’s arms. Back in the world where I belong.
“What in freaking heaven’s name was that?” Michelle asks, her voice a half screech, half quiver.
I press my fingers over my eyes, wishing I could erase those last few moments. I’d thought that after killing Haemosu and telling Palk I didn’t want a part in the Spirit World, my connection to that world would whisk away, and I could be normal again.
I was so wrong. It was foolish of me to even think that.
Marc rubs my arms and pulls me up and out of the bathroom just as a nurse hurries into the room. The nurse’s face is bunched up in worry lines.
“Neo gwaenchanh ni?” she asks us.
“Everything is fine,” Marc tells her in Korean. “She just slipped in the bathroom.”
“Okay.” The nurse nods, eying us all curiously before leaving. “But if your noise continues, I will call security.”
“Normally I’d be saying how weird it is that you speak better Korean than me,” Michelle tells Marc as she paces the room, “but what happened just a minute ago was beyond bizarre.”
Marc leads me to Komo’s bed, and I perch on its edge.
“I shouldn’t have left you,” he says, his jaw ticking.
“I thought I’d never have to go back to the Spirit World,” I say numbly. “But there I was. All over again.”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Marc begins pacing the room. “This is supposed to be over. Haemosu is gone. What happened? What was that place?”
I shrug. “Kud’s hangout, I guess. I don’t even know. I don’t want to know.”
“Kud?” Marc swears under his breath.
“Who’s Kud?” Michelle practically yells, throwing her arms up. “What was that back there? You were in a mirror, but it wasn’t a mirror. It was like a window or something.”
“Shh.” Marc looks pointedly at the door. “We don’t need to get kicked out of here.”
“They call him the dark god,” I say. “He was supposedly plotting some scheme with Haemosu, and since I ruined that, he sent his assassin to kill me.” I turn to Marc. “Apparently that guy I killed back at the Kukkiwon headquarters was his assassin.”
“So he’s ticked,” Marc says.
“You killed someone?” Michelle gawks at me.
“Yes and yes.” I bury my face in my hands. “I can’t deal with all of this right now.”
“Okay,” Michelle says. “I get why Marc’s all stalkerish now.”
“Stalkerish?” Marc says. “I am not stalkerish.”
“Um . . . you are,” Michelle says.
“Will everyone stop the nonsense,” I practically yell, “and focus on our problem?”
“Listen,” Marc tells Michelle. “I’ll explain everything later. Right now we need to figure out what to do next.”
“I need to talk to Haraboji.” I pull out my phone to call my grandfather. “He’ll know what to do.”
“You know your grandfather will call the whole Council, especially with two hits in one day.” Marc runs his hands through his hair. “It means you’ll have to get involved.”
“I’m way past getting involved.” I take Komo’s warm hand in mine and squeeze it. Somehow I need to find a way to get out of this situation. Kud’s warning vibrates through my mind. He’ll hunt them all down. Every one of my family members, because a god like that won’t be satisfied with killing just my dad and grandfather. Nothing will stop him unless I work with him.
Haraboji doesn’t answer the phone. Figures.
“Sitting around isn’t going to solve anything,” Michelle says. “I propose we get some food. I can never think clearly on an empty stomach. Besides, Jae is about to pass out, and Marc, you look like the walking dead.”
The three of us head down the hill into Sinchon for kalbi. Normally my mouth would be watering just thinking about Korean barbecue and steamed rice, but right now it’s chalk-dry and my stomach won’t stop rolling. When we step into the restaurant, it’s swarming with college students. I put my name in for the next open table, practically yelling at the hostess since the restaurant is so loud.
This place is a popular hangout, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and round, candy-colored paper lanterns hanging from above. Small rectangular tables rest low to the ground in traditional Korean style with built-in stoves in their centers. Seeing all of this reminds me of the last time Marc and I were here. We’d come after the APAC basketball tournament, secretly, since Dad still wasn’t thrilled about me dating Marc. I’ll never forget that feeling of pure happiness. No demanding calls from Grandfather or Komo, just the two of us daring each other to eat the most—or endure the spiciest bite. No strange creatures chasing us down.
That was just a facade, I now realize. I had been living in an imaginary world.
While we wait for a table to open up, I try to call Grandfather again. If anyone would know what to do with this mess, he’d know. But he doesn’t answer. I could kill him. This isn’t the time to decide to go phoneless.
“Haraboji!” I yell into his answering service, probably too loud, but really, he needs to start using his phone. “Call me back. ASAP. This is important.”
“You think your grandfather can help you?” Michelle asks. A white sheen still covers her face, and her hands shake. I hope she’ll be able to recover after seeing what she saw today.
“Yes.” I try to use my most confident voice. “He’s an expert in this kind of stuff.”
Finally, we get a table, and my stomach starts growling. Maybe because I skipped breakfast this morning. After I order us a meal to feed ten, Michelle wags a finger at me.
“No more secrets,” she says. “There’s something going on. Something big, and I want to know what it is. I’m tired of all your riddles and half explanations.”
Marc rubs the side of his jaw and looks at me. I shrug and take a sip of my Coke.
“She did see it with her own eyes,” I tell Marc. “Who knows what kind of trouble we’d be in if she hadn’t intervened?”
“Think of the Spirit World and our world as parallel lines.” Marc turns the meat over on the griddle in the table’s center. “Each world is separate, but they move at different speeds. And in some places, they touch each other.”
“If the worlds touch,” I add, picking two straws from
our Cokes and bending them so one part touches, but the other parts of the straws don’t, “they can enter our world and we can enter theirs. It seems there are specific places that are more likely to connect. Especially if they have a spiritual connection either through an object or a historical place. Does that make sense?”
“No, not at all.” Michelle taps her chopsticks on the table. “We need to talk to Kumar and Lily about this. This is huge. Kumar’s so smart, he’ll know what to do. We’ve got to find somebody who can help you.”
“No!” Marc and I yell at the same time.
I scan the restaurant. The dishes clank in the kitchen. A group in the corner laughs and then raises their glasses in a toast. The couple next to us glances our way, but resume talking. I let out a short breath. Thank God for noisy college hangouts.
“You can’t tell anyone about this,” I say, quieter this time. “As a punishment for being sent to jail, the dean has me seeing the counselor, and Dad’s already considering therapy to stop me from ‘seeing things.’”
“Girl, after seeing what I saw, I might need therapy. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Dad takes things to the extreme,” I say. “I can’t risk it.”
“There’s a council that I’m a part of,” Marc explains to Michelle. “They are the best suited for this. In fact, this kind of thing is exactly what the Council was created for.”
My phone rings. It’s Grandfather. “Haraboji?” I say. “What took you so long to call back? Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
“The Council has called an emergency meeting,” Grandfather says, totally ignoring my comment. “We have already assembled and discussed a plan. They want you to come.”
My head reels. I hadn’t expected this. “Me? But I’m not a member. I didn’t think I was allowed at your secret meetings.”
“Things have changed,” he says in his brisk, deep voice. “Marc will be getting a call shortly. He’ll escort you there.”
Escort? I rub my forehead. Sometimes Grandfather acts like he’s from the last century. “Okay.”
“Until then, annyeong kyeseyo.” And he hangs up.
I set my phone down just as Marc’s rings. His eyes find mine as he listens to the person on the other line. I suddenly notice his ring. It’s no longer a simple gold band. It has the symbol of the Tiger of Shinshi engraved on it. Things have just gone from complicated to impossibly complicated.
“We’ve got to go,” Marc tells me as he puts his phone away. “They’re already assembling.”
“Your ring,” I say. “It has a tiger on it now.”
“They inducted me last night.” Marc stares at the ring and then back at me. He lets out a long breath. “I wanted to tell you in person over dinner, after your belt test.”
It’s finally happened. He’s now an official Guardian of Shinshi. I should be thrilled for him. This is something he’s wanted for a long time. The truth is I don’t want him a part of any of this. My chest pricks knowing that as one of the Guardians of Shinshi, he’ll be sent on secret missions as a defender and protector of Korea’s heritage. Without me.
He’ll be putting himself in danger every time. He could get hurt, killed even.
It’s bad enough that my grandfather is all cloak-and-dagger, since he’s a member of the Council. But to have my boyfriend be a part of it all, too? It’s not settling in so well.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Marc says, his eyes pleading. “You know what this means to me.”
“Congratulations.” Guilt tugs at me, and I force a smile. “We’ll have to celebrate.”
“Yes.” He rolls the ring around his finger. “After we make sure you’re safe.” Worry flicks across his features. He tosses some won on the table. “We should go.”
I pick up my chopsticks and stuff my mouth with rice. “Not until I eat something. I’m starved.”
“They don’t like to be kept waiting.” Marc jams his hands into his pockets.
“And I really don’t like being told what to do.”
“Leave her alone,” Michelle says. “She should eat. Especially after going through such a traumatic situation.”
I check the steak, and seeing it’s cooked enough, blow on it and pop it into my mouth. “Listen, I know it’s not your fault that the Council of Shinshi is insanely obsessed with protocol, but they can wait two minutes, so I can shovel some food down my throat.”
Michelle ticks the ends of her perfectly manicured nails on the table. “These council people need to chill. Personally, I don’t like any of it. Jae, you really should stop and think about this. Do you have to go? Maybe if you just ignore this crazy Kud guy, he’ll leave you alone.”
Marc snorts and crosses his arms, but he doesn’t say anything, so I’ve got to give him some credit.
“He’s the one pursuing me,” I say, not caring that my mouth is full. “He seems to think I have some special ability or something that can help him. Which is ridiculous, but whatever.”
I rip out tiny square napkins from the table dispenser, stacking them into a pile. Then I load them with meat strips. Grease spills onto the table, but it will do.
“Thanks, girl, for saving me back there,” I say.
She stands. “I’m coming with you.”
My heart twists, seeing her panicked expression.
“Afraid I can’t let you,” Marc says. “The Council doesn’t allow outsiders. Jae Hwa will be the first exception. Ever.”
“Well,” Michelle huffs. “Who made you her boss?”
“Not boss,” Marc says. “Protector. And the Council did.”
I roll my eyes at Marc’s nonsense. “Just humor him, Michelle,” I say. “We both know I’m the real protector. Besides, I can’t let you get hurt. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m not an idiot.” She crosses her arms, glaring. “Sure it’s dangerous, but if I hadn’t been back there, snipping away, who knows what would’ve happened. You need me. Ever think about that?”
I take her hand. “You have to promise you won’t try to get involved. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”
“And you don’t think I feel the same way?” she huffs. “Fine. But call me when you get home, so I know you’re okay.” Then to Marc, “And you now have my approval to stalk her.”
“See you at school tomorrow.” I give her a hug.
Marc puts his hand on the small of my back as we exit the restaurant. “So back to the protector thing,” he says. “Who was it that found you when you were stuck fighting Haemosu or when you got lost in Kud’s creepy room?”
“We’ll call it a team effort, since you paid for dinner.”
“If you insist.” He smiles.
I can’t resist that smile, and I kiss the dimple on his cheek. “I do.”
There’s something about Marc that one kiss doesn’t satisfy. Maybe it’s the feel of his body pressed against mine or the way his lips kiss me back softly and desperately all at the same time. But here I am again, wrapping my free hand behind his neck and pulling him in for more. It’s not until a group of students pushes past us that I’m dragged back to reality.
We step away from each other, but I hold on to his fingers, not wanting to let the moment go.
“That was an avoidance tactic,” Marc says. “You know how to make a guy forget everything. Including secret meetings.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, popping the last of the steak into my mouth and wiping my hands down with a wet wipe.
“Yonsei,” Marc says.
I freeze. The wipe grows cold in my palms. “The Council meets at the university?”
“Shh. It’s supposed to be a secret.”
We duck into the now jam-packed sidewalks where university students are browsing the stalls that line the road. The sidewalk is so full that we have to squeeze ourselves into th
e throng. It also doesn’t help that almost everyone is going down into Sinchon, while we are going up to the university.
The neon lights illuminate the night, and the steam from the pushcart vendors curls into the sky. We pass by an odaeng cart, the fish skewers all neatly arranged in stacked rows, and another cart selling fresh juices. People are laughing and shoving themselves into coffee shops, and I can’t help but think how every night feels like a festival in Sinchon. I grab Marc’s hand, wishing we were ducking into one of the karaoke rooms along the street rather than heading to meet the Council.
It doesn’t take long to make our way back under the pillared entrance and onto the Yonsei University campus. Now that it’s dark, the campus has sunk into a stillness it doesn’t know during the day. The shadows stretch in twisted angles, and the buildings have become looming giants.
I eye the bushes lining the path, knowing they are perfect hideouts for creatures to lurk. I jump at every noise and shadow as we cut across the diagonal of a garden maze near the back of the main campus.
We come to a small courtyard flanked by the back of Underwood Hall. The ivy growing along its stone walls reminds me of snakes crawling up its side. I shiver in the cool night air. Marc wraps his arm around me and suggests we sit on the bench for a while.
“Why are we sitting here?” I ask, trying not to laugh. “What happened to your desperate hurry to get there? Don’t tell me you want to stop for a quick make-out session?”
Marc’s face leans close to mine. “Tempting, but I think we’re being followed.”
I peek over my shoulder and spy a shadow before it blends in with the lamppost. “Perfect. What are we going to do? Sit here all night?”
Marc runs his other hand through his hair until it looks even wilder than before. “Good question. You could beat the guy up.”
“Funny,” I say dryly. “Why don’t we just run for it? Then we’ll be too obvious for him to follow us.”
In the end, we decide to backtrack and take a new route. We choose a wooded dirt path that follows a low stone wall bordering the university. It runs along the edge of a pine grove. The damp air clings to my clothes and skin. I can’t stop myself from continually glancing over my shoulder, waiting for dark shadows to leap out.
Silvern (The Gilded Series) Page 3