Dragon Pearl(74)

I blurted, “You what?” Why was Sujin talking to the captain? We could have bluffed our way out of the ghosts’ trap without giving away our position to Hwan.

A more chilling thought occurred to me. Had Sujin secretly been in communication with the captain this entire time? And if so, had our escape from him been staged, as a trap for me?

Before I could confront Sujin, the lieutenant exploded into a silhouette of fire. Even her eyes blazed. I had to squint to avoid being blinded. “That won’t stop him,” she said. “Captain Hwan already knew he’d have to reckon with us if he came back down here. And he will, sooner or later, because he wants the Dragon Pearl more than he’s ever wanted anything. He won’t risk leaving it in your hands.”

That was all I needed to hear. According to the old stories, wrongful death warped people’s souls and made them vengeful toward the living. Jang hadn’t seemed too bad, but he hadn’t been dead for as long as these six ghosts, and he hadn’t been left behind by the captain. A shaman might have known how to pacify Lieutenant Seo-Hyeon and her team, but I was no shaman.

Instead, I did the only thing I could think of.

I unleashed Charm in the ghosts’ direction. “Nature’s calling,” I said.





I was too panicked to come up with a more elaborate ruse. Which was just as well, since complicated lies are harder to pull off.

The lieutenant scowled at me. “Out in the rain?”

“I’m not going to do it in here,” I said. I gestured at the crumpled end of the shuttle, at the seats jutting at odd angles from their fixtures. “But I don’t want to be out there alone with ghosts of plague victims, either. Right, Haneul? Come with me.”

Haneul caught on to my plan right away and nodded once. Not wanting to be too obvious, she stared hard at the cap that Sujin was holding, clearly willing her friend to follow us.

I scowled. Haneul might be all right, but I didn’t trust Sujin anymore. Still, I didn’t dare get into an argument with the goblin in front of the ghosts.

“I suppose that would be okay,” the lieutenant said as Charm took hold. The fires around her form banked, and I was able to see her more clearly.

I held her gaze and smiled weakly, willing her to believe me. Surely she hadn’t been dead long enough to forget the inconveniences of dealing with a body. Meanwhile, Haneul kept trying to signal Sujin. She fussed conspicuously with her dripping hair, which was so unlike her that Sujin frowned in her direction.

Finally, the goblin’s eyes widened in understanding. They quickly slipped on their hat and vanished from sight.

“We’ll be back soon,” I said to the ghosts, trying not to sound breathless. I all but knocked Haneul over in my rush to leave the not-shelter of the shuttle.

As soon as we stepped outside, Haneul pressed her palms together and chanted prayers to the spirits of wind and water. As before, her magic didn’t have much effect, but even slight protection from the rain was better than nothing. We started sprinting away, and I heard footsteps splashing behind us. It had to be Sujin, trying to keep up.

“Good thinking back there,” Haneul said to me.

“Nice to know my Charm magic does work on ghosts,” I said. “Even my brother.” That thought made me so sad I tripped and almost crumpled to the ground. Haneul grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

The night swallowed us, and I couldn’t help missing the spectral flames that had lit our way previously. Before Jun had led us astray, we’d been headed in the approximate direction of the Dragon Pearl, but who knew how far off course we were now?

“Too bad we don’t have a flashlight,” I muttered to no one in particular.

“You’re in luck,” Sujin said. Their voice sounded hoarse. “I grabbed this on the way out.” A case was pressed into my hands, becoming visible as it left Sujin’s grip.

I froze in my tracks and blinked. It was a survival kit. Only one, but that was better than nothing. “Thank you,” I said stiffly, glad I didn’t have to look into the goblin’s eyes when I did. I didn’t want to have to rely on Sujin for anything.

“That kit will be good to have,” Haneul said, her tone ragged from running. “We’re going to have to stop for rest eventually.”

“How long before they catch up to us, do you think?” I asked her. I didn’t have any idea how fast ghosts moved when they went all out. Jang just popped up whenever and wherever he wanted—maybe these guys could, too.

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “We need to rest regardless.”

I agreed, not least because, as miserable as it would be sleeping out in the open, my eyelids wanted to crash closed.

We created a campsite in the lee of a craggy boulder near a copse of young trees. Haneul resumed her chants in an attempt to persuade the wind and water spirits to leave us in peace for the next few hours.

Sujin took off their hat. “We can set up a tent using the thermal blanket,” they said. “It’ll go faster if we work together.”

I gave way with ill grace. We worked in silence for a time, neither of us looking directly at the other.

“We’ll have to take shifts,” Haneul said. No one argued. “I’ll go first. You two get some rest.”

The last thing I wanted to do was huddle under the one remaining blanket with Sujin. I was still angry that they had contacted the captain. But even more, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.