At first the image is cloudy and hard to make out, but as the fog clears, I see a group of people dressed in red hanboks gathered protectively around a glowing ax. A number of unmoving bodies lie sprawled on the ground. A woman stands apart from them, chanting incantations, until the ax leaps into the air and flies into her hand. I squint and study the woman’s face. She seems so familiar….

I look over my shoulder at Emmett, glance down at his silver ring, and turn back to the vision in the bell. Yes. I’ve seen pictures of her, at Emmett’s house and at Auntie Okja’s. It’s definitely her. Emmett’s mom.

Before I can react, the scene changes. Now Emmett’s mom is lying on the ground, still and unmoving. A tall black-haired man with angular features looms above her with a dark expression on his face. I don’t know who he is, but I notice something in his hand. It looks like…like my onyx teardrop stone. I cover my mouth with my hand. It can’t be….

The vision flickers again. And this time, it shows Emmett and me. We’re at the zoo, standing in front of the tiger enclosure. We’re drinking what looks like…boba tea?

“What in the name of Mago—?”

But I don’t get to say more. Emmett grabs my wrist just as the fire-exit door swings wide, and he pulls me into the stairwell. He drags me up the stairs, and in a rush, we burst into the temple lobby. We run through the secret portal, emerge from the walk-in fridge, and hurry past the surprised man at the Korean fried chicken counter. Finally, we find ourselves back on a busy street in the heart of Koreatown. While catching our breath, we look up at the H-Mart.

“I can’t believe we made it out of there without being caught,” I say, my chest heaving.

Emmett lets go of my wrist. But instead of answering, he just stares at me. And there’s a strange look in his eyes.

“What?” I say.

He points to my chest.

For a second, I panic. Did I lose Hattie’s heart again?

My hands search around my neck for the second time today, and I’m relieved to find the vial still hanging from its cord. I grasp it and look down at my sister’s tiny heart, only to see why Emmett is wearing a horrified expression.

A corner of the heart has started to blacken, slowly shriveling like a dying flower inside its glass prison. Now I know I’m not imagining it. Hattie’s heart is changing. It’s not as alive as it was before.

My breath catches in my throat as I look up at my partner in crime. “Em, we need to hurry. Hattie’s running out of time.”

14: The Best Boba Teas in Town