Chapter Eighteen Sunny
Chapter Eighteen
Sunny
The foggy, gray place outside hell’s door is not the Kingdom of Underworld. I, in fact, do not know where this place is, and the Judges of Ten Hells insist on keeping it that way.
“You want us to put these on?” I stare down at the black-on-black sunglasses in my hands, while Minju and Captain Seo do the same. “Wouldn’t blindfolds be more secure?”
Judge Number Eight mutters about the flimsiness of cloth blindfolds, and Judge Number Three clucks his tongue and nudges the other judge with his shoulder.
“Trust us.” Jun, the judge of the nicest hell, grins encouragingly at us. “These work much better.”
Flexing her nerves of steel, the captain puts hers on first. “Whoa.”
“What? What is it?” Minju’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she rushes to put hers on. “Goodness. It’s like someone snuffed out all the stars and the moon. I can’t see anything.”
“No.” Captain Seo brings her palm up to her nose. “Not even a vague outline.”
“If you please.” Gyun, the Judge of Tenth Hell, gestures for me to put on my sunglasses. “We cannot let anyone discover the location of the Ten Hells.”
I shrug and put mine on, then sigh ponderously. I consider not telling them for a brief second, but trust matters between friends. “I can see through these.”
“No, you cannot,” Mun, the Judge of Fourth Hell, states with absolute certainty. “No one other than the Judges of Ten Hells can see through these sunglasses.”
I roll my eyes behind my sunglasses, then wonder if I look cool in them. They’re a lot like classic Ray-Bans.
“I thought I couldn’t lie to you guys.” I cross my arms over my chest and wait patiently for him to realize he’s wrong.
“No, you cannot,” Mun concedes. “Then I do not understand.”
I fully understand his confusion. My best guess is that I can see through these because of my magic gi goggles. But that’s going to be a long explanation.
“Please don’t ask us to explain.” Minju clasps her hands together. “It is a rather long story, and time is of the essence. One of your ties will work nicely as a blindfold, and Sunny will promise not to peek. Won’t you?”
“I pinky promise.” I smirk and hold up my pinky, thinking no one will take me up on it. But Jun bounds up to me like a golden retriever and links his pinky through mine. I can’t help but smile. “Do you want me to stamp it too?”
“Do I ever.” He presses his thumb against mine. “There.”
“Please allow me.” Gyun tugs on the knot of his tie.
Holy mother of Dangun.
I watch mesmerized as the Judge of Tenth Hell takes off his tie. I’m hopelessly in love with Ethan. The Realm of Four Kingdoms faces imminent annihilation. Yet . . . I cannot look away from the smoking-hot judge.
He tilts his head this way and that, exposing the strong column of his neck. And his sleeve slips down to expose a strip of his wrist. It is positively indecent, even with his shirt buttoned up to the top.
Gyun finally tugs his tie free and holds it out to me. It couldn’t have taken more than seven seconds, but I swipe a hand across my mouth in case I drooled.
“Thanks,” I warble, taking the tie from him. I quickly wrap it over my eyes to hide my fluster. “Who’s taking me to the Jeoseung Palace again?”
“That would be me,” Gyun murmurs at my side, and I squeak a little.
Oh for fuck’s sake.
“Can I take these sunglasses off for a moment?” Minju asks.
“Of course.” Jun consents without hesitation.
A second later, I grunt as I’m tackle hugged by a small seonnyeo-dokkaebi. “Be safe, Sunny.”
I wrap my arms around her and hug her back. “I’ll see you soon, Minju.”
“And I will see you soon as well.” Captain Seo squeezes my shoulder, and I give her an awkward bro hug.
“The dead wait for no one. Not even the Amheuk.” Gyun speaks in a grim voice.
“Judges, with the exception of Mun and Jun, please return to your posts. And keep an eye out for the dead entering the First, Fourth, and Tenth Hells. We will be back as soon as we escort our new friends to their destinations.”
I hear a series of whooshes. Damn. I wish I could’ve seen how the judges made their exit.
“So . . . how do we do this?” I reach out with my hand until I feel a solid wall, which I assume is Gyun.
“With your permission, I will carry you,” he says.
“Of course you will.” I sigh. “I mean, you have my permission.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, I’m lifted off my feet and something weird happens. I can’t feel myself—like I don’t . . . exist.
Am I dead? Is Gyun a bad friend? Did he kill me?
Suddenly I smell smoke, warm and fragrant like a Yule log burning in the fireplace. Okay, I must not be dead. I sniff again, the tip of my nose pressed against the side of someone’s—I assume Gyun’s—neck. He’s the one who smells like a burning log.
“We’re here.” He sets me down on my feet. “Welcome to the capital of the Kingdom of Underworld.”
I tug Gyun’s tie off, and my jaw drops as I take in the city. We’re standing on a hill, looking down on . . . a metropolis.
It’s not flashy like the Las Vegas Strip, or Times Square, but several tall black buildings jut into the sky, and streetlamps dot the concrete roads winding through the city. Granted, there are no cars on the road but—A fucking motorcycle rushes by below us.
I fling my arm out so fast that Gyun jumps back to avoid getting smacked. Then I flap my hand wildly in an effort to encompass all . . . that.
“How?” I sputter. “Technology . . . Magic . . . How?”
“It is technically not technology in the way you’re thinking.
No pun intended.” Gyun shrugs a big shoulder.
“It’s what humans would call ‘analog.’ Our machinery is made of cogs and gears, but powered by magic.
And we build everything by hand, using principles similar to somok woodworking, where precise joints are created to interlock and fit together. ”
“That is not wood.” I jab an accusing finger at the tallest building, made with some kind of gleaming black material.
“No, the Jeoseung Palace is built with volcanic stones.” He tilts his head, admiring the dark high-rise.
“Are you saying your people cut joints and grooves into volcanic stones?” I lower my hand, unclutching my figurative pearls.
“It took many years of hard work and dedication, but we wanted the Jeoseung Palace to symbolize our kingdom’s commitment to advancement.”
“Commitment to advancement?” I repeat like a parrot.
“The rest of the kingdoms in this realm believe that magic should be stagnant.” He shakes his head. “But the Kingdom of Underworld studies magic to develop ways to move forward with the rest of the worlds.”
“How is that not science?” I think science is spectacular. Magic defies logic, but science achieves magical results, following the rules of logic. I just don’t understand how magic can coexist with it. “How are your advancements not technically technology?”
“We are still figuring that out.” He looks out at the city. “But we do know that the crux of the conflict between magic and technology comes from digitization and the type of energy used to power the machinery.”
“Fascinating,” I breathe. “So this is the capital of the Kingdom of Underworld?”
“Yes.” Gyun sticks out his huge chest, like a proud father. “The rest of the kingdom isn’t as advanced, but we’ll get there.”
I want to gawk and ask more questions about magical advances, but that will have to wait.
“Do you hear that?” I cup my ear and pretend to listen. “I think I hear the tortured souls of Tenth Hell calling for you.”
“Not funny.” A corner of his mouth tics up. “But I do need to get back. Are you ready?”
“To meet the King of Underworld?” I gulp. “Heck yeah.”
“He’s a nice guy.” Gyun wraps his hand around my arm. “You’ll like him.”
Then something tries to vacuum my soul out of my body—or at least, it feels that way—and we’re standing inside a sleek black lobby on the top floor of what I’m guessing is the Jeoseung Palace. A female with a pinched face sits behind a black reception desk in a trim black skirt suit.
So much black. I might like this kingdom.
“We need an audience with the king,” Gyun tells her without preamble.
The female’s eyes widen, but she gathers herself. “Do you have an appointment, Your Honor?”
“No.” He shakes his head once. “Regardless, please inform the king that I need to speak with him urgently.”
“Will your . . . guest wait outside for you?” Her nose crinkles ever so slightly.
“No, she will accompany me.” An eyebrow arches above his sunglasses. “Have no doubt. He will see us.”
“Of course, Your Honor.” The female rises to her feet and rushes to a tall double door, guarded by two grim reapers, then she murmurs, “Your Majesty?”
“Yes,” a voice answers from behind the doors, and the floor vibrates beneath me.
Holy shit.
I have never heard a single more intimidating sound. I’m not sure if I want to meet the King of Underworld anymore. I am literally quaking in my combat boots. I might want to gouge my eyes out, magic gi goggles and all, if the king looks as scary as he sounds.
“Forgive me for disturbing you. But the Judge of Tenth Hell has an urgent matter to discuss with you.” She glances over her shoulder at me. “And he has brought a guest.”
I roll my eyes. I’m not suppressing my magic. She knows I’m a gumiho, and she obviously doesn’t approve of my existence. I change my mind. I don’t like this kingdom any better than the other three.
“Send them in.” The whole lobby rumbles at the king’s voice.
I gulp as anxiety washes over me, but I pull my shoulders back. How hard can it be to convince the King of Underworld to send troops to aid the Kingdom of Mountains, then bend his knee to Ethan?
Hard. It will probably be very hard.