Year of the Dragon (Changeling Sisters Book 3) (21 page)

Smoke curled up between my clenched knuckles, and I was pleased to see Fred’s eyes widen in fear. He had done this to me. He had meant his kumiho fire to obliterate me from the face of the earth, but I had survived. His fire burned within me, a twisted, dreadful beast named Demon, and now he was afraid. I could hurt him.

Fred dropped to his knees, shuddering with the effort to keep his form.

“Wait!” he begged. “I didn’t know what they would do to Una! I don’t like what the vampyre princes are doing any more than you do. I want to get her out!”

My narrowed eyes shifted to the Truth Lantern. Green. This silver-tongued vermin was finally telling the truth.

“What happened after you kidnapped her?” I asked in a dangerously low voice.

Fred straightened his suit. “I took her vacationing in the southern isles. I knew I could show Una things she had never dreamed of in the waking world, and that eventually she would accept her place by my side. But we were approached by a Greater Dark Spirit named Xecotcovach. It promised me something I had never believed possible: humanhood. In exchange, it wanted the Doorkeeper in order to seal off Jeju-do and all of the islands in the South China Sea as a safe haven for the Vampyre Court.”

“And you believed Xec,” I said flatly. “You’ve been a professional bullshitter for nine hundred years, and you couldn’t smell what it was feeding you?”

“The promise of humanhood blinded me,” Fred said quietly. “I knew of Xecotcovach and its elder masters. I knew they could do what it claimed. My dream to become human is not something I expect you to understand.”

I remembered the Lady of Eve attempting such as well, only to fail her test and become an eternal guardian in the spirit world. Many legendary creatures of power and wisdom dreamed to become human like Fred did. He was right; I didn’t understand. Humanity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It was an awareness of consequences. It was the power to save the world or destroy it.

Perhaps Fred did finally understand the former, because he blinked wet eyes and then gazed away miserably. “They said they would only need Una for a moment. She was the Doorkeeper, and she alone could upset the balance between Eve and the mortal realm, allowing the Emerald Veil to leak into your world. They tortured her until they coaxed out her true form. Then they trapped her in-between. At that moment, I knew: they never intended to give her back to me. As for this”—he extended his hands, which trembled violently—“they indeed made me human. Yet you can already see how quickly I fade.”

I resisted the urge to shake him. “What is Una’s ‘true form’ that you speak of? And who are ‘they,’ Fred? Why do the vampyres need the Emerald Veil to keep us out? What are they searching for?”

Fred didn’t answer for a while. “You already know,” he said finally. “The Crow Prince told you, didn’t he? The vampyre princes are desperate now that their claim to the East has been lost, wolf girl. They have allied with the Dark Spirits and now seek to free their creators, the Death Gods of Xibalba. Day and night they toil, scouring the deep, for something that fell long ago…with the power to open Xibalba itself.”

“A relic of some kind,” I said, remembering Raina’s dream of the enslaved haenyeo diving for treasures while Donovan cast a sinister winged shadow across their backs. “But Siwoo’s family escaped! So there is a way in.”

“No.” Fred regarded me pityingly. “There is only a way out…if they wish it.”

I stared at him, aware of the last rays of sun retreating from the windowsill. In the silence, the first of the cries rang out.

Dragging an uncooperative Fred along, I hurdled back toward the first floor. Bounding down the staircase two steps at a time, we wheeled around the corner to see Yu Li and Miguel bracing themselves against Siwoo’s family—who had all transformed into Dark Dogs. But what was far worse was what emerged from the center of their pack: a giant half-lion, half-dog haetae with eyes of burning green flame.

“Bae, get the children out!” I barked. My omega looked only too grateful to comply. I heard the other wolves form ranks behind me. Miguel swung open his switchblade with a click before disappearing under the Dokkaebi cap.

The massive haetae, an armored orange beast with a golden mane and a single horn protruding from his forehead, stepped forward. The gentle kindness of Siwoo’s father had been swallowed up by the hungry green fire raging in his eyes.

“Princes Donovan and Santiago send their greetings, Alpha Alvarez,” the haetae’s great voice thundered, causing dust to shake from the ceiling. He took another step forward, and I sensed my pack’s resolve waver. The haetae alone would have been a problem, but he had eight snarling Dark Dogs with him. The haetae’s nostrils flared in satisfaction.

“They wish to thank you for welcoming us so easily into your headquarters,” he continued, leering. “They also wonder, how many more dens do you have left to scurry off to? The restaurant…the warehouse…your little friend Minho’s loft…”

How had he known Minho’s name?
I swallowed as he towered directly above me.

“How many more homes must we destroy before you wolves understand that you are on the wrong side?”

I stepped in front of Taeyang, not liking the way the Dark Dogs were snapping at him. “Your masters want everyone to be as cold and dead as them.”

“Humanity is a blight on the face of the earth that has long turned its back on the spirit world,” the haetae decreed. “And your allies in the Were Nation have long been corrupted by their greed.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The haetae snorted. “Foolish girl. Why do you think the dragons looked the other way while the Vampyre Queen reigned? Why do you think the goshawk leader insists on a stranglehold of power over the Were Nation rather than let your tribes live alone in peace?”

Yu Li crouched beside me, her eyes flashing with blue sparks. “Careful, Alpha. He means to divide us.”

The haetae laughed uproariously. “Perhaps the wolves have already fallen as well. Does your newly anointed Alpha share all of her secrets with her pack?” He nodded toward the shuddering Fred. “Does she tell you why this one has not shifted like us?”

I whirled to face my wolves and was dismayed at the uncertainty clouding their faces. “I swear, I just found out myself—” I began, but then Taeyang shouted and pointed.

The sneaky haetae had lunged while my back was turned. I yelped and snapped into Wolf in a clap of black smoke. The haetae sneezed in displeasure, but then his mouth pulled back in a draconic grin as he caught sight of me. He charged with horn gleaming.

A clamor of howls pushed and shoved their way into my mind. My pack shifted without hesitation. I immediately sent Kaelan and Namkyu, two of our burliest brawlers, to hold off the Dark Dogs. I needed our nimblest and most strategic fighters to take on the haetae.

Our pack mind melded together as one. Iseul and Moon ducked the haetae’s swinging jaws and leaped for his haunches. Yu Li dashed forward fearlessly and sprang onto the haetae’s vulnerable head, taking two swipes at his eyes. The legendary creature bellowed and went on a stampeding frenzy. He stepped on a Dark Dog’s tail and nearly trampled an invisible Miguel, who reappeared momentarily to stab a Dark Dog through the throat.

I lunged for the haetae’s underbelly, scoring several marks on his abdomen. Dodging the haetae’s tail, I remerged on the other side with Iseul and Moon. We watched in dismay as Yu Li flew up into the air once, twice, three times; the haetae tried to spear her with his horn each time.

A sudden bark distracted him. My heart surged as I recognized the familiar snarl. Rafael, a dark brown wolf, appeared on the second level. He locked eyes with me. At that moment, it didn’t matter that we were on opposite sides, tense enough to snap off into separate orbits forever. Rafael didn’t hesitate before flinging himself off the platform. He landed squarely on the haetae’s armored back. Skittering up to the great beast’s neck, Rafael sank his teeth in. The haetae hissed, giving both Yu Li and Rafael time to leap to safety.

His eyes! The poor thing is corrupted!
Yu Li cried.

Rafael and I exchanged a look. Only Yu Li would pity a terrifying legendary creature.

The haetae are defenders of justice,
she stressed.
They protect Seoul from disasters.

I swallowed, feeling Demon prickle beneath my skin. However, I felt a hand on my back and turned to see Fred shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t, wolf girl,” he said softly. “Haetae eat the fire of our kind.”

I growled.
What of what Yu Li said? If the haetae is corrupted, then there must be a way to free him.

Fred paused, a cunning twinkle in his eye. “Not bad, wolf. Healer Boy and I may well be able to set up a trap. If you can hold him off, that is.”

Kaelan and Namkyu herded the last of the Dark Dogs toward us. I fastened my jaws around the first one’s neck, my heart darkening as I tore out its jugular with a savage twist. Rafael and Yu Li killed the other two, blood splattering across their muzzles, while Iseul and Moon set upon the last one with their practiced rhythm. We swung around to face the enraged haetae in arrowhead formation.

Where does Si Woo go with Taeyang?
Yu Li asked.

I took a deep breath.
Si Woo is…not who we thought he was. He is a nine-tailed fox.

The pack’s mind descended into fury and mistrust.
Trickster!
Kumiho!
I heard several cry. Rafael’s orange eyes met mine, round and full.

The fox with many names: Kai. Nicodemo. Fred.

I growled, my ears flattening as the haetae descended on us.
We must lure the beast back to the shipping crates. Fred and Taeyang are setting up a ritual to free the haetae from the madness corrupting him. Attack and retreat. Go!

We took turns in waves, darting forward as quickly as shadows to snap at the haetae’s haunches. Kaelan wasn’t quick enough to evade, and the haetae pounced eagerly, his huge claws raking his back. We howled our anguish and hurried forward, but the haetae was waiting and gored Iseul through the thigh.

Suddenly, he reared up. Bae had returned from seeing the children to our basement safe house. As terrified as he was, the old graying wolf still managed to sink his teeth into the haetae’s tail. Miguel appeared out of thin air and helped Iseul and a limping Kaelan to safety.

“Mud Girl!” Taeyang’s voice rang out. I turned to see him and Fred standing on top of a giant shipping crate, just big enough to fit a rampaging haetae inside. Fred had painted runes all over the crate’s interior walls, floor, and ceiling with colorful fiery ink that writhed as if alive.

I swallowed. Now it was time to really piss off the giant magical beast. Wolf whined, but Demon was only too eager to oblige. Barking for the other wolves to take cover, I burst into ruby-red flames. Lava pooled around my charcoal-black jaws, and my single golden eye gleamed like a full moon. The three shards of my soul scraped against one another, sending waves of stabbing pain through my head. However, I forced us to remain trained on our target. I fired off a stream of flaming arrows, peppering the haetae in the eyes. He bellowed and shook his head, wounded. Then he charged.

I could feel my pack baying for my attention, but I couldn’t hear them over the roaring furnace of my heartbeat. I darted into the shipping container, and the haetae barreled in after me. His weight was so heavy that the metal groaned. I whirled around in the back like a cornered animal and bared my teeth.

The haetae laughed in the darkness. “What is this?” he asked in amusement, looking at the runes. “Pretty words on a wall? They will not save you. You’ve played your last trick, Fire Wolf. I shall eat you and grow more powerful still.”

You’re the one who’ll be cooking in an oven,
I snarled and then lashed out with a wave of wildfire. The haetae’s horn hissed through the flames and speared the spot where I’d stood. However, by then I had shot out of the crate to freedom, using my black smoke for cover.

Now!
I barked. Taeyang and Fred released the lid. The shipping crate door clanged shut, completing the runic circle. The container came alive with flashing golden light.

I collapsed into human form, choking on smoke. Pain continued to blare through my head like an alarm. When I tried to reach for Wolf and Demon, it hurt. I was vaguely aware of Yu Li and Miguel dashing over to drape a thick blanket around my shoulders. When I looked up, a far less friendly face took shape.

Xu Xiang, leader of the Were Nation, straightened from examining my charred fingertips and nodded to Rafael. “Thank you for inviting me here today. I have seen everything I needed to see.”

“Rafael?” I coughed, my voice still raspy, but he wouldn’t look at me. The other werewolves had gathered. I felt their panic over watching me dissolve into flames solidify into something worse: fear. The rumors about my Fire Wolf shape had just been confirmed.

“Alpha Citlalli Alvarez,” Xiang thundered, “you stand accused of being a Triad and letting the enemy infiltrate your pack. In one moonrise, you must stand before the Were Council at Donggureung Park, where you shall be judged by both the living and the dead. How do you answer these summons?”

Poor Alpha Alvarez.

I felt Fred’s voice brush my mind, and I turned to see the nine-tailed fox wink at me from the windowsill.

You were defeated before you began.

Then the kumiho slipped away with a wave of his golden tails.

Chapter 25: Just Friends

~Citlalli~

I strolled through Myeongdong Underground Shopping Mall arm-in-arm with Minho. The hour was late, but one would ever have been able to tell once lost within the labyrinth of fluorescent-lit shops winding underground for miles. We laughed over the Konglish T-shirts, drooled over chicken kebab skewers, and spent a fruitless hour shoe shopping, to which countless shopkeepers wrung their hands and kept repeating to me, “Feet too big.”

Raina texted to check in, and I sent her a quick message that the date was going well. Miguel had told her about the vampyre princes’ latest attack on our compound, but I’d made him swear not to tell our family about Xiang’s summons to the Were Council. Mami wouldn’t have cared, but it was Raina I was concerned about. The last thing she needed to worry about was her crazy wolf-sister’s hearing during the Trials.