The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (ebook reader with highlighter .txt) 📕

trying to hide my red face behind a book, when someone dropped a Ziploc bag of chocolate-chip cookies into my lap. I looked up to see Emmett quietly taking a seat next to me. He didn’t say a word that first day—I don’t think he even looked at me—but from then on, we ate lunch together every noon, like it was an unspoken rule. He was always there for me, making sure I never felt alone.

Not much has changed since then. When everything went pear-shaped after Hattie’s ceremony, Emmett stepped up without hesitation. He put his own beliefs about magic and the gifted community aside to help me get what I wanted. He put himself in danger for me. Because that’s the type of friend he is.

Before I even know what’s happening, tears are running freely down my cheeks and dripping onto Emmett’s face. I dragged him into this mess. I am a horrible best friend.

“Seriously, what is with you and your leaky-bladder eyeballs? Repeat after me—emotions are bad for your health.” Emmett rubs his eyes and tries to sit up. “Holy shirtballs, did you sit on my head with your big butt? My brain feels like it’s about to explode.”

“You’re alive!” I hug him and kiss him and rub my happy snot all over him.

“Ew! You’re disgusting, Rye. Get off me!”

I wipe my nose with the bottom of my sweater and give Emmett a big, toothy grin. My BFF is back, and I couldn’t be happier.

“Wait, how did we end up in the laundromat again?” he asks. “What happened?”

I help him to his feet. “I’ll explain everything later, but first, we need to get out of here,” I say. “The bearded man might come back for us.”

“The bearded man? Who’s he?” Emmett mumbles. “And where are we gonna go next?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know,” I admit. “But for now, I need to get you to safety, and it’s not safe in here. So stop asking questions and move your butt. Let’s go!”

He raises his eyebrows at me, surprised by my new assertive vibe. But he doesn’t argue. Instead, he picks up Boris—with only a slight shudder—and rises to his feet. “Lead the way, boss.”

We run to the elevators, only to find that they’re out of order.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I cry.

Emmett points to the fire exit to our right. “I guess we’re walking.”

We hurry to the door, and Emmett pushes on the bar. “Ugh, it’s jammed!”

I join in, and we ram the door over and over until it starts opening, inch by inch.

“Again,” Emmett says, breathing heavily. “Push together in one, two, three!”

As we fight with the door, there is a low and deep growl behind us. I freeze in my tracks. “Did you hear that?”

Emmett continues pushing as if he hasn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. But the hairs on my arms stand tall as the rumble sounds again. “Em,” I whisper. “Can’t you hear that?”

I wrap my hand around Hattie’s heart vial and turn slowly. My eyes land on a creature that is at once familiar and unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

He’s the size of an elephant, but he kind of looks like a mastiff. Well, except for the iridescent scales all over him, the lion’s mane, the single blunt horn, and the red eyes that shine like rubies. His back twitches as he takes a step toward me, and his scales glisten as though they’re wet. A bell tinkles on his collar. And when his nostrils flare, I can’t help but pee a little. “Em, turn around!”

He looks over his shoulder and I wait for his jaw to drop. Instead, his eyebrows furrow. “Why are you just standing there like a dodo? This door isn’t going to open itself. Come on, help me push.” He turns back to the door and gives it another thrust.

I blink and rub my eyes, expecting the apparition to have disappeared. But as certain as the hairs on my arms, the Haetae—the real Haetae—is still standing in front of me. Had our finding his book in the library somehow called upon him to appear in the flesh?

I know I should be very careful. His teeth are sharp enough to bite the sun and the moon, after all. But in that moment, I stop thinking altogether. Instead, I reach out to touch him.

The Haetae sniffs my hand, and just when I think I’ve made a big mistake, he leans in to nuzzle his cheek against my palm. His scales are warm and hard and smooth, like heated marble. I exhale slowly, trying not to freak out. I just touched Mago Halmi’s guardian pet!

He growls again, but this time it sounds more like a deep purr, and he lifts his head in pleasure, revealing the brass bell tied around his neck. In its shiny surface a scene appears, like on a miniature TV screen.

I peer closer.

At first the image is cloudy and hard to make out, but as the fog clears, I see a group of people dressed in red hanboks gathered protectively around a glowing ax. A number of unmoving bodies lie sprawled on the ground. A woman stands apart from them, chanting incantations, until the ax leaps into the air and flies into her hand. I squint and study the woman’s face. She seems so familiar….

I look over my shoulder at Emmett, glance down at his silver ring, and turn back to the vision in the bell. Yes. I’ve seen pictures of her, at Emmett’s house and at Auntie Okja’s. It’s definitely her. Emmett’s mom.

Before I can react, the scene changes. Now Emmett’s mom is lying on the ground, still and unmoving. A tall black-haired man with angular features looms above her with a dark expression on his face. I don’t know who he is, but I notice something in his hand. It looks like…like my onyx teardrop stone. I cover my mouth with my hand. It can’t be….

The vision flickers again. And this time, it