The Last Fallen Moon: A Gifted Clans Novel by Graci Kim

Author:Graci Kim [Kim, Graci]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Books
Published: 2022-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT, I’m in the water, ripping the eum-and-yang stone out of my pocket. Immediately, the light explodes around me, illuminating the river and cleansing it of its poison. Bada is pulling Hattie down into the depths, and I kick my legs as hard as I can, diving toward them. I wave the fused relic in front of me, hoping that whatever it did to help Bada before, it can do it again.

Seeing me approach, Hattie thrashes her legs, trying to free herself from Bada’s tight grasp. She beats her arms like Areum’s wings, trying to counter the ineo’s downward pull. As I get nearer, the glow of the stone creeps over Bada’s skin, and her grip on my sister slowly loosens. By the time I’m close enough to pull Hattie away, Bada’s eyes have cleared once again.

Hattie and I race to the surface for air.

“I’m so sorry!” Bada cries out as she pops her head above the water, no longer acting possessed. Her face is panicked and she looks like she might cry. “I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean to. Please, please, forgive me.” She clasps her hands together as if in prayer. “This illness…It’s going to be the end of us!”

Hattie mumbles an acceptance to her apology, but I shake my head, feeling disappointed. “I thought the stone could heal Saint Heo Jun,” I admit. “But it isn’t going to work. As soon as he has a shower, or drinks the tap water, or goes back into the river, he’s going to get sick again. We need a permanent solution.”

Hattie nods solemnly, wringing the moisture out of her ponytail. “Considering how much time we’re spending in this gunk, it’s a surprise we’re not losing it, too.” She climbs over the rock wall and lands on her feet.

She’s right. It seems the only reason the three of us aren’t sick must be because of our exposure to the relic and its mysterious light. Bada, on the other hand, will be reinfected as soon as she returns to the water—to her home. I think of all her family and friends who must be suffering from the effects of the poison, and my heart wrenches for her. She must feel so hopeless knowing the source of the illness yet being powerless to escape its grasp.

Bada gazes up at the Statue of Eternity with desperation, and her voice is pleading. “I know it’s a lot to ask after all I’ve put you through, but I beg you—please help us. We are a danger to ourselves and to everyone who nears the water until the spring flows back into the river.”

She turns to dive back into the water, and in a rash moment of boldness, I call out to her. “Bada, wait!”

I grab Dahl’s arm. “I think we should give her our stone,” I whisper in his ear. “We’re here now, so we’ll be able to get the water to heal Saint Heo Jun, and fix the blockage to save everyone else.

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