Page 5

CHAPTER 5

REN

Haebaek Mountains

Gorye Village

“DEMON!” SOMEONE SHRIEKED. As if released from a spell, the villagers began to flee in all directions.

Ren stood immobile, fear pinning her to the ground. She didn’t understand what was happening. Demons weren’t real . They were monsters that only existed in folktales and myths.

The demon was hunched over Mokjae. Wet, slurping sounds filled the air. Horror spread through her chest as she realized it was feeding on him.

With a jerking motion, it lifted its head. Ren followed the direction of its gaze to Little Uncle, who’d fallen onto the ground. He’d been knocked over by the weight of two children who clung to him in desperate fright.

The demon lurched toward them. Ren’s heartbeat raced, nearly exploding. She had to do something , or they would die. But she couldn’t move. The fear was like a vise around her arms, her legs. The demon drew closer to Little Uncle, to the children.

She brought her hand to her mouth, biting deep. Pain ripped through her, and she could move.

Taking off her sandal, she pelted it at the demon. It rebounded off the back of its head. Screaming, the demon raced toward her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Big Uncle leading the villagers behind the walls of the headman’s home. Auntie appeared beside Little Uncle, helping him to stand while the children bunched around her.

The demon lunged at Ren, swiping its claws. She leaped to the side, tumbling across the dirt. The demon let out a gurgling cry, then circled back.

She didn’t think, trusting her body to react, avoiding every swipe of the demon’s claws. It was like the tricks Little Uncle and Ren practiced, with him shooting blunt arrows while she dodged them—except this was life or death, the demon breathing down her neck, its claws inches from ripping her to shreds.

The demon’s claws caught her braid, jerking her head back. Its weight bore down on her, knocking the air out of her chest.

She quickly grabbed her flute from where it was tucked into her belt and pressed it horizontally against the monster’s neck. Hot, rancid breath stole over her as the demon gnashed its teeth, a hairsbreadth from her face.

Her arms shook from holding it back; gore dripped onto her cheek. She wouldn’t last for much longer. Already she was weakening.

Suddenly the demon’s weight disappeared.

Big Uncle had tackled it from the side, holding the monster down with his body.

“Big Uncle!” she cried out.

“Get away from here!” he shouted.

She shook her head, stumbling forward on the ground even as the demon slashed at Big Uncle, its claws leaving bloody trails across his arms.

“Go, Ren,” he bellowed. “Now!”

Little Uncle rushed to her side, grabbing her arm; Auntie must have taken the children because he was alone. He pulled her to her feet. They couldn’t go to the headman’s house—the demon blocked their way, and so they ran blindly through the streets until they stumbled outside the village. The forest lay before them, wreathed in shadows. A great wind swept down from the mountain and the trees rattled, swelling like waves in a fierce sea. A keening howl ripped through the air behind them.

They plunged into the trees.

Branches appeared from nowhere, swinging down to block their path. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she brushed them away with the back of her arm. All her usual sure-footedness was lost, and she stumbled over roots and rocks.

They were moving at an incline. A tight pressure built in her lungs. Beside her, Little Uncle’s breaths grew labored.

“Big Uncle,” she sobbed.

“Don’t look back,” Little Uncle begged, his throat hoarse from crying. “We have to keep going.”

The trees broke apart, and they stumbled onto a hard surface, Little Uncle crying out as his ankle twisted beneath him. They were atop a rock face with large boulders as white as the moon. Ahead of them came a loud, rushing sound. As they stumbled across the flat, open surface, Ren realized what the source of the sound was. The boulders ended at a ravine where far below rushed a great river.

As she peered over the edge, she was gripped by vertigo. A woman standing at the edge of a cliff, the crimson robe trailing behind her. Ren’s chest tightened; her breaths came in gasps.

“We have to jump!” Little Uncle was shouting, but she could barely hear him beyond the roar in her ears. Then she was falling, falling—

She trembled all over. “I—I can’t!”

A branch snapped behind them. At the edge of the forest stood the demon. It rose to its full height, disjointed limbs lengthening until it was a head taller than any person she’d ever encountered. Its long arms stretched the entirety of its body, ending in claws that dripped with blood.

“Ren,” Little Uncle pleaded. “We have to jump. If we don’t, we’ll die.” He gripped her arm. “Please.”

“I…” She took a step toward the edge, but then her legs gave out. This fear was different than when she’d faced the demon; it felt bone-deep, engraved upon her soul.

“I can’t!” she cried. Why was she so weak?

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to find Little Uncle had stepped away from her, his legs shaking. He held his dagger. His trembling hand circled around the character he’d carefully carved upon the hilt: protection.

Howling, the demon raced across the rocks. With a mighty shout, Little Uncle sprang forward to meet it.

Ren screamed as the demon slashed its claws across Little Uncle’s chest.

He fell to the ground, and when he didn’t get back up again, her heart shattered.

No, no, no. Why was this happening? Only minutes ago, the children were laughing beneath the lanterns. She saw Big Uncle’s gentle smile as he handed her the paper umbrella. Little Uncle as he winked, slipping his mask over his face. And Auntie, her hand held out to Ren. Come with me , she’d said, I’ll keep you safe.

Ren had taken her hand. For ten years, Auntie had kept her promise. Ren would have stayed with Auntie, Big Uncle, and Little Uncle, happy and safe, forever.

Ren rose to her feet, her fury a living thing. She felt it radiating from her core. This demon had hurt the people she loved, her family .

She reached for the power within her. As she touched the Light, it roared, answering her call. This time, when she released the Light, she didn’t hold back.

A bright silver radiance enveloped her, the heat almost unbearable until it spread outward, bathing Little Uncle, the demon, the rocks, and the forest.

The last thing she knew before she fell unconscious was the demon’s scream and a white-hot heat that burned inside her like a star.