Chapter 7

dark magic

After only three days of staying with the witch and the magician, Yongsun had come to the conclusion that the magician, Moonbyul, was a very reserved, quiet person who minded her own business and took for granted that others would do the same.

Yongsun, on the other hand, was too curious for her own good, intrigued by the magician. She wanted to know more about Moonbyul: where she came from, if she had a large family, what she had done during the war and why she was in Kingston. Yongsun often found Moonbyul sitting on the couch with her brows closely knitted together and her tongue stuck between her teeth, scribbling in an expensive-looking leatherback sketchbook.

When Moonbyul was not on the couch, she was helping Heeyeon sorting through her blueprints. It was only on very rare occasions that Moonbyul talked to Yongsun or even acknowledged her. Even when they somehow ended up face to face, few words were exchanged, only simple greetings such as; good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Yongsun was almost convinced that those were the only words the magician knew.

Moonbyul minded her own business while Yongsun kept peering over Moonbyul’s shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of what she was scribbling, or of her magician’s stone. To Yongsun’s disappointment, the stone did not hang around Moonbyul’s neck, nor was it wrapped around her wrist. It made Yongsun curious until she eventually asked Heeyeon about Moonbyul’s magician’s stone.

Heeyeon was a very open-minded, jolly kind of person, who was always willing to explain, especially when it came to magic. However, Heeyeon had to restrain herself a couple of times when Yongsun’s questions were about the magician. So when Yongsun asked about the magician’s stone, Heeyeon smiled charmingly and took Yongsun’s hand. She then curled Yongsun’s index finger to touch her thumb, making a circle, which she made smaller and smaller, even smaller than Yongsun’s pendant (that Yongsun had stuffed into her pants pocket). Heeyeon stopped when the circle was no larger than a pearl, winked and then pointed to Yongsun’s ring finger.

The next time Yongsun encountered Moonbyul, she stole a glance at Moonbyul’s hand, noticing the ring on her finger. It was made from silver and had intricate cravings around the rim, words or an ancient text, perhaps. Yongsun could not tell, but she guessed it had something to do with the stars, seeing as the magician was a faithful follower of the Faith of Cosmos, Belief in the stars.

A small pearl sat on top of the ring, glowing a soft azure blue. Yongsun gasped. Moonbyul, who had caught Yongsun peering at her hands, stood suddenly, knocking over the chair. The pearl on Moonbyul’s ring started to beam, blue rays of light shooting in different directions. The room grew colder and raindrops began to fall from the ceiling. When Yongsun looked up, she saw that all the blueprints and documents had been thoroughly soaked.

Yongsun took several steps backwards, her hair was wet and matted to her head. When Yongsun’s back hit the bookshelf, she closed her eyes, in a deep breath and prepared herself for a curse. Because, of course, any angry witch, wizard or magician would lay a curse when provoked. But the curse never came. When Yongsun opened her eyes, she saw that Moonbyul was gone. Looking around the room, she saw Moonbyul trudging up the stairs. Yongsun exhaled and slumped against the bookshelf.

The rain continued to fall for a good twenty minutes.

After the incident with the ring and the rain, Yongsun resigned herself to staying in the alcove, jotting down notes on how to cure Moonbyul. When Yongsun found a solution to the magician’s problem — on the fourth day no less — Yongsun had expected Moonbyul to be overjoyed by the news and very willing to be cured (so that Yongsun would be released from Heeyeon’s witch’s bargain, and that Moonbyul would never have to see the Angel again).

That was certainly not the case.

To Yongsun’s eyebrow-raising surprise, the magician had been strongly against the solution. The magician’s eyes first turned black, then shone a brilliant azure. Blue scales spread across the magician’s body, crawling up her neck, stopping at her chin. Yongsun could have sworn that the room grew colder and that the smell of brimstone filled the air. 

The magician towered over Yongsun, staring down at her with glowing eyes. The sight of the magician made Yongsun shiver with worry, and the way Moonbyul spoke shook Yongsun to her core.

«I don’t need you…»

The magician breathed sharply. Her voice was deep and gravelly, causing Yongsun to look away, anywhere — anywhere but at the magician’s eyes!

«I don’t want your help…»

Moonbyul was gone in a flash. Only a thin wisp of smoke was left leading up the staircase to Moonbyul’s room on the second floor.

Now, Yongsun was a very respectful person (well, perhaps she lacked some understanding but that certainly did not make her bad ). Yongsun was very good at accepting people for who they were. She was patient and gave people time, letting them set their own pace while dealing with their injuries. This was something she had learnt during the war, especially when she had to treat soldiers who had been severely wounded and were destined to die.

But Yongsun was not sure what to do when the magician refused her help, saying her solution was ridiculous. Yongsun was not one to give up easily, but whenever she approached Moonbyul about the subject of healing, Moonbyul turned her down and fled to her room.

They rarely spoke, only interacting when they had to, which was usually when Yongsun inspected Moonbyul’s antlers and scales in the early morning. Heeyeon failed to notice that Yongsun and Moonbyul were not getting along that well, and Yongsun never really bothered to tell her. Yongsun was sure Moonbyul disliked her and wanted to send her away to somewhere else. Yongsun dreaded the thought that Moonbyul might put a spell on her and send her back to Heaven. But Moonbyul avoided the Angel as if she was a living curse.

At first, Yongsun found the magician silly and childish and paid no attention to the way Moonbyul behaved around her. But then it began to irk her. The irritation grew and pricked at Yongsun’s skin like a thorn. Yongsun barely managed to keep her composure when Moonbyul blatantly pretended that she, Yongsun, did not exist. It was not easy for her to keep herself from lecturing the magician about manners and how to be a better host.

Finally, on the fifth day, Heeyeon must have noticed the tension between the two, which was especially prominent during supper where they sat around the long wooden table, cutlery tight in hand, food in their mouths, and eyes locked onto each other. Heeyeon sat at the head of the table and kept sinking further and further into her seat, wanting to disappear.

It was the most uncomfortable position to be in, but what could Heeyeon do? The last thing she wanted was to choose sides. So Heeyeon spent most of supper staring at the bottom of her wine glass.

On the sixth morning, Yongsun told herself that enough was enough, so she searched for Heeyeon, finding her by the wooden table, stuffing several blueprints into long paper tubes. Yongsun walked over to Heeyeon while she fiddled with her pendant that was stuffed inside her pants pocket.

«How can I get Moonbyul to let me help her?»

Heeyeon looked up from the table. She bit her lip, her eyebrows lifted. Heeyeon looked like she wanted to say something, something witty or something worth listening to, but she kept her tongue between her teeth. Yongsun watched in silence as Heeyeon put the last blueprint into a tube.

«Give her a reason for you to help her.» She whispered.

«Isn’t not dying a good enough reason?»

«I guess it’s not to her.»

Heeyeon’s grip around the paper tube tightened, leaving behind a deep indentation. Heeyeon muttered a harmless curse and opened the tube, carefully removing the crumpled blueprint and placing it in a different tube.

«I take it you’ve found a solution?» Heeyeon said without looking up.

«Yes,» nodded Yongsun, «I have a theory that if Moonbyul opens up to me about what is bothering her, she might gain some sort of closure, and her body can properly