I nod. Before becoming divine, our patron goddess was a mortal bear who wanted more than anything to be reborn in Mago Halmi’s image. She prayed to Mago Halmi for her wish to be heard, and the mother of all creation entrusted her with a challenge. If the bear could survive a hundred days in a dark cave with only a bundle of mugwort and garlic to eat, her wish would be granted. The story goes that our bear ancestor was so devoted that, on the twenty-first day, Mago Halmi turned her into a beautiful goddess. That’s how she became the patron of service and sacrifice.

“So,” Emmett concludes, “why don’t you do the same?”

“Wait, you want me to sit in a cave and eat mugwort and garlic?” I ask, genuinely perplexed.

He groans. “No, you dummy. I’m saying you should pray to Mago Halmi and see if she’ll grant you your wish to become a Gom. I may not approve of magic, but I don’t deny it exists. If Mago Halmi did it for the bear, maybe she’ll do it for you, too.”

“Even better than that,” Hattie says, with a spark in her eye, “we don’t just pray—we summon her.”

“Whoa!” Emmett stares at Hattie. “Trust you to always take it a step too far.”

I snort. “Em’s right. You can’t summon the mother of all creation. That’s impossible.”

“It is possible. There’s a specific summoning spell. Noah told me about it.” Hattie does this weird face twitch I’ve never seen before. “It’s prohibited magic, so, technically, we need council approval before casting it, but desperate times, right?” She shrugs. “Anyway, Noah said the Miru protect one of the things needed for the spell. They keep it at his dad’s Taegwondo dojang.”

“Just because Noah said it’s true doesn’t mean it’s true,” I point out.

Emmett coughs. “Also, you just said yourself, it’s illegal. Haven’t we all learned our lesson about breaking laws today?”

Hattie doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “Emmett has a point. Besides, people say things all the time without meaning them. Noah seems nice and all, but how do we know he’s trustworthy?”

“Noah wouldn’t lie to me, okay?” Hattie snaps.

I clamp my mouth shut. What was that about?

“Holy shirtballs!” Emmett bursts out. “Hattie Oh, do you have a crush on this guy?”

Her face turns as red as a monkey’s butt, and suddenly the weird vibe between Hattie, Cosette, and Noah at Saturday School makes sense. Emmett’s nunchi (basically, his ability to pick up what’s going on without being told) is seriously next-level.

“Wait, the same Noah Noh who wears hipster glasses and has hipster hair?” I ask. “Oh my Mago, you totally have a crush on him!”