The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (the mitten read aloud .TXT) 📗

the gold-destroyer from the prophecy.” I push on the overlapping symbol on the back, and the triangular blades eject out. “See? It’s a weapon. In the shape of a star. It’s gotta be the Godrealm’s last fallen star!”

“Oh my Mago…” Eomma glances at Appa and Auntie Okja. “Could she be telling the truth?”

“But how can we trust her?” Austin narrows his eyes at me.

Emmett puts his ring back on his finger and stares thoughtfully at Boris’s wagging tail. “I vote we give her a chance.”

I think quickly. Taeyo had said when the Horangi lost their Gi, they started focusing on what they possessed rather than what they had lost. My two clans may have forgotten me, but like Areum and Boris, there are others whose memories will still be intact. “How about we go up to the Gi sanctuary, then?” I suggest. “If what I say is true, there’ll be people from the other four clans who’ll recognize me. If they know who I am, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.” I hold my breath. This is my ace card. It has to work.

“I believe her,” Taeyo finally says. “It’s too much of a coincidence that she had both Emmett’s ring and my compass. The probabilities work in her favor.”

Eomma gasps and points to Hattie’s heart. I look down and blanch. There is only one tiny sliver of red left on the shrunken organ. “We’ve run out of time,” I whisper, gripping the vial tight in my hand. “We need to act now.”

And that is the final push they need. Everyone stares at Hattie’s dying heart in silent agreement. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Let’s go to the sanctuary,” Auntie Okja says.

Sora nods. “You lead the way.”

With adrenaline pumping through my body, we take the elevator up to level 88.

The sanctuary is empty today. Just my luck. I was hoping for a Gi ceremony or initiation, or at least a clan gathering so I could find someone from Saturday service who’d recognize me. Instead, the goddess statues stare blankly at us from each of the six hexagonal walls.

Austin hasn’t stopped evil-eyeing me since we left room 44, and now he raises his crossed wrists in a threatening motion. “This better not be some kind of trap.”

I shake my head furiously. “No trap, not at all.” I hold up the fallen-star compass. “But as long as you trust me, we finally have everything we need. We just need the goddess to—”

There is a shift in the atmosphere, a sudden thickness to the air, and my words stop dead in my throat. I know this feeling. It’s the same one I had at Santa Monica Pier when Hattie tried to summon Mago Halmi. A fierce gust blows over the chamber, and I cover my face. That’s when I hear her voice.

“Well, hello again, my favorite new recruit!”

I freeze, and even Areum tightens her talons on my shoulder.

She has returned.

“Cave Bear Goddess?” Auntie Okja says, stunned. She bows her head automatically in reverence.

“How is she here without being summoned?” Eomma whispers to Appa, gripping his arm.

“If the goddess has an outstanding deal with a mortal, she is able to return to collect on that arrangement,” Areum explains.

Even though I saw her once before, the sight of the goddess still surprises me. She doesn’t have her Winnie the Pooh apron or saucy ladle with her today, but she’s still a frumpy middle-aged woman with frizzy hair and dated clothes.

She smiles at me with that soft, kindly face, and I will myself to smile back. Did this Korean Mrs. Weasley really manipulate us all so she and her sisters could freely roam the Earth again? What a shrewd disguise!

If the goddess has seen the other people in the sanctuary, she doesn’t show it. Instead, she pinches my cheek affectionately. “So tell me, dearie, are you enjoying the new job? Do you think you’re in the running for employee of the month?” She chuckles, and her soft belly jiggles under her knitted vest.

I keep the smile plastered on my face. I have to be careful about my next steps. Despite her convincing act, she is not the benevolent goddess we all thought she was. She’s responsible for the Horangi clan’s expulsion, and the deaths of Emmett’s mom, my birth parents, and Taeyo’s parents. She could bring on the end of the gifted clans and mortalkind as we know it. This is not a simple trade anymore.

“I don’t know about employee of the month,” I say modestly, “but I have found the Godrealm’s last fallen star, just as you asked.”

She doesn’t hide her delight. Her skin glows a bright hue of solar yellow. “Well, well, my dear, you are a treasure indeed. Maybe even in the running for employee of the century! Go on—show me what you’ve found.”

I hesitate, holding the star compass behind my back. I could reveal it to her first and then demand Hattie back, but my recent experience with the dokkaebi has made me wary—and weary. I look around at my Gom family, my Horangi family, and my best friend, all of whom have been through enough already.

No, this is not the time to show goodwill. I need to be smart about this.

“Come on, Goddess!” I say, hitting her jovially on the arm. “You said so yourself—I’m best-employee material. How about you bring my sister back first? Then I’ll give you the star.” I slip the compass into my back pocket and hold out Hattie’s heart vial.

The goddess laughs heartily. “Oh my, looks like you’ve picked up some bargaining skills on the job!” Her eyes start twinkling. “And what if I don’t? If I refuse to bring her back first, are you prepared to give up the compensation I promised you? I thought you wanted to be reborn in my image—as a Gom and a healer?”

She’s testing me, but I’m not going to give in. Because if I’ve learned anything over the last few days, it’s that healing magic isn’t