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

tie, but today it’s purple to match his blazer. He looks like a human rainbow.

“Argh!” Emmett cries, shielding his face. “My poor eyes! It’s blinding!”

Taeyo looks up at the sky. “Is the sun too bright? Sorry, Emmett. I should have brought my sunglasses for you. I have two pairs, so I definitely could have given you one of them!”

He is completely oblivious to Emmett’s sarcasm, and for some reason, that makes me warm to him. Sure, Taeyo’s vibrant color palette is a world away from Emmett’s all-black uniform, but there’s an earnestness about the guy that makes him easy to be around. And anyway, I actually think his outfit’s kind of cool—even if he is a bit overdressed for the zoo.

He holds up what looks like Boris but also doesn’t quite look like Boris. “I think you guys forgot your friend.”

He unfolds the scooter and wheels it toward us. Blue scales. Wagging tail. Cute little wings. It’s Boris, all right. But now he’s almost twice his original size, and he’s been souped up with fancy new wheels and some mysterious new toggles at the handlebars. It even looks like he’s had a good polish.

“Whoa!” Emmett exclaims. “What happened to him?”

Taeyo grins. “Our engineers gave him an upgrade this morning. He was returned to your room, but you must have missed him.”

Emmett pulls Boris protectively toward him and narrows his eyes at Taeyo. “Is this some kind of trick to bait us? Did your mom put you up to this?”

Taeyo frowns. “My mom?”

“Sora,” I say. “Did Sora tell you to follow us?”

Taeyo looks confused. “Sora’s not my mom. Not really.”

Not really? What kind of answer is that?

Taeyo glances at me. “My parents were killed in the conflict, too. Sora and Austin and some of the other adults took me in, so, in a way, they’re all my parents, I guess.”

Emmett and I exhale sharply. Yesterday, Sora had looked at me and Taeyo weirdly when she was talking about the innocent lives Sookhee had taken. Was this why?

“I made it clear I don’t want to join your clan, so if that’s why you’re here, you can go back to campus.” I feel bad speaking so bluntly, but there’s no time to beat around the bush. “Unless you can help find the last fallen star, you’re not much use to us. No offense.”

“Well, actually, I think I can help with that.”

Emmett and I look at him suspiciously. If he knew a way to find it, why was he telling us instead of his clan?

“Elaborate,” Emmett says.

Taeyo holds up his phone. “I’ve been working on an app. It’s still in beta phase, but if I’ve programmed it right, it should allow us to talk to gwisin.”

“Gwisin?!” Emmett and I both yelp.

Gwisin are hungry ghosts that haven’t been able to pass through to the Spiritrealm because of unfinished business on Earth. Sometimes, when they had a particularly gruesome end to their life, you get hungry and angry ones (aka hangry ghosts), and you really don’t want to be haunted by those.

“Yeah,” says Taeyo. “It’s kinda like a ghost-whisperer app. It puts out a beacon to gwisin. If they match with someone who’s willing to help them, they’ll finally get to pass into the Spiritrealm. Hopefully, anyhow.”

“No way.” I am genuinely impressed by both his altruism and his coding ability. “That’s kinda awesome.” Then I remember he’s from the cursed clan. They’re supposed to be selfish and greedy. “But what’s in it for you?”

He shrugs. “Nothing, I guess. Just a good feeling from knowing I helped a ghost pass on.”

Hmm. A charitable Horangi. I shake my head dubiously. “And what has this got to do with our search?”

He looks at Emmett. “I thought maybe we could use the app to find your mom. Like you said yesterday, she’s the only one who seems to know the truth. If she’s a gwisin, she might be able to tell us who really wanted the sunstone ax, why the council framed us, and maybe even where the last artifact is being kept.”

My eyes dart to Emmett. What Taeyo is suggesting is a really big deal. Emmett has wanted to meet his mom his entire life. If we look for her and don’t succeed, he will be devastated. On the other hand, if we do find her, Emmett will learn that his mom had spent the last thirteen years haunting the Earth because of unfinished business. No kid wants to find out that their mom is a hungry ghost. On top of all that, what if what Sora said about Mrs. Harrison is true? That she was the one who stole the sunstone ax and destroyed innocent lives?

I shake my head. “Nope, it’s too risky,” I say. “It’s a creative idea, but we won’t do it.”

Emmett puts his hand in front of me as if to say, Hang on a second. He turns to Taeyo. “What’s your angle, Bow Tie? Why would you work with us? You don’t even know us.”

Taeyo straightens his blazer over his shirt. “I never knew my parents, but I’m told they were some of the bravest scholars the clan has ever seen. They always jumped at the chance to help people in need. I know it might sound corny, but I want to make sure their legacy lives on. I want to make them proud of who I’ve become.”

That makes Emmett and me go silent. We both have parents we didn’t get to know, either. It’s understandable that he wants to do right by his.

“If it works and we find out where the last artifact is being kept,” Taeyo continues, “we have a real shot at stopping the prophecy. And of course, we could save your sister, too.”

I bite my lip. Taeyo’s idea may have legs, but it’s not worth putting Emmett through potential devastation to risk it. He’s been through enough already.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” I start. “We don’t—”

“I’ll do it,” Emmett interrupts.

I reach over and squeeze his arm. “You don’t have to do