The boy smiled as he peered into the window, his breath leaving a thin layer of frost on the glass. The family inside had all huddled up to sleep in the living room floor tonight, catching the warmth of the fireplace. The temperature hadn't dropped this low until today, shortly after the boy arrived in town.

            A woman appeared behind him, making him jump. "Yah! What are you doing here so soon?"

            She gazed down the dark street, holding her hand out as a snowflake landed against her pale skin. "Winter will be early." She peered in the window at the sleeping family. "Not them."

            The boy raised his eyebrows. "I've already claimed them."

            "Not them, Baekho," the woman repeated. "You will be taking someone else."

            "Who?"

            "The queen," she said, turning to Baekho. "Follow her until she is yours."

            Before he could open his mouth to speak, a red glow appeared at the woman's feet. "What is that?" he asked.

            "It appears to be a summoning circle," she said, recognizing the runes that beckoned her.

            "Are you going to answer it?" Baekho crossed his arms and leaned against the house, watching as the snow began to fall more heavily now.

            "I think I will." She allowed the spell to draw her down. A moment later the street had been replaced by a dim room lit by candles, and in Baekho's place stood six blonde boys. Some stared in terror, others in awe. They fell to their knees in a bow when they remembered themselves.

            "Divine One," the boy nearest her said. He wore glasses and a light blue sweater.

            "Who has called me?" she asked.

            Only the same boy dared to look up. "All of us, but it was I who summoned you. My name is Youngjae." His gaze returned to the floor. "Great Goddess of Winter, we beg for your aid in our mission to rid the world of one more evil."

            "And what evil would that be?" the goddess asked.

            "Sandara, the queen of Seorin," another said, stepping forward. His voice was deep, and as he stepped into the light, the goddess saw that he was not a boy at all, but a man. He wore the dark blue uniform of a soldier, and in his face the goddess saw the ghost of a man she had once known—a great general of their kingdom.

            She smiled. "What good fortune you six have been blessed with."

            "What do you mean, Divine One?" Youngjae asked.

            "I will help you," she answered, the boys glancing at one another in disbelief. "And you may call me by the name I was given at birth, Bom." She stared at them for a moment before speaking. "But you must know that the queen is a powerful sorceress, and she will not at all fall to you easily."

            "We know," the soldier said. "We plan on luring her to where she is powerless."

            Bom cocked her head to the side, knowing of the place he spoke. "But how do you plan on luring her so far from her home?"

            The man smirked, crossing his arms. "By kidnapping her daughter, of course."