Free Prophecy by Ellen Oh

clear opening with an aerial view of the city, the sun was rising over the horizon and painting the land a shimmering red-gold. The high ridge provided a view of the southeastern wall of the city and the mountain-cliff pagoda, overlooking the Han River. Here the river curved into a horseshoe.
    Kira slid off her horse and stumbled to the top of the ridge. Black clouds of billowing smoke rose high above the inner city. Reds, yellows, pinks, and blues fluttered in the wind as hundreds of court ladies fell from the cliff onto the jagged rocks of the river below.
    “I don’t understand! Why are they doing this?” She collapsed to her knees.
    “They are jumping because they fear the enemy more than they fear death,” Brother Woojin said. He took off his prayer necklace, wrapping it around his hand. He began to pray.
    Clouds of colorful silk floated in the river, like broken flowers twirling in the current. Was it only a few days ago that she’d walked past the court ladies and their fluttering fans? When she’d seen the queen and her mother?
    Kwan came up behind her. “We have to go.”
    “Mother,” Kira whispered. Kwan’s hand tightened on her shoulder before he walked away.
    She followed him in a daze, unable to accept what she’d just seen.
    “She wouldn’t jump,” she said to herself. “She wouldn’t jump.”
    As they mounted their horses, Kira took one last look. There was nothing but black clouds.

12
    It wasn’t until the hour of the snake was well advanced that they reached the Hansong fortress wall. The midmorning sun brightened the main road, forcing them deep into the recesses of the forest to avoid detection. Here they would rest and care for their spent horses.
    Captain Pak’s scouts spotted unfamiliar armed soldiers patrolling the top of the fortress walls and Kudara ships lining the banks of the Han River. But the city was quiet; there was no movement on the roads leading to the locked gates.
    Kira cursed under her breath. Her father had been right. Kudara was in league with the Yamatos. The daimyo, who must have orchestrated the murders of the kings, had been from Kudara. And Brother Woojin believed that Taejo was the link to the prophecy. She had to rescue Taejo.
    “The only way in is through the sewer tunnel,” she said, addressing Captain Pak, Kwan, and Brother Woojin. “I know these tunnels better than anyone in Hansong.”
    She knelt on the ground, sketching a rough map in the dirt. “There’s no way you and your men are going to pass through the marketplace unseen. It would be better for me to go alone, find out where they took the prince, and then report to you.”
    Kwan shook his head. “No, not by yourself.”
    The captain agreed. “You’ll need at least one backup with you.”
    “I’ll do it,” Kwan said.
    “OK, but we need disguises,” Kira said.
    “Leave that to me,” the captain said. He walked away, calling for his scouts.
    As Kira stood up, Jindo lurched to his feet, trying to follow. Kira pushed him gently down with a firm no.
    “Don’t worry, boy,” she said. “We’ll find him for you. We’ll bring him out safely. I promise.”
    Not much later, the soldiers returned with two battered conical straw hats worn normally by farmers and monks, and two long coats so covered in dirt and mud that it was hard to tell that they’d once been white.
    As she put on the coat, Kira noted the bloodstained tears on the interior and the stench of rotted flesh. Saying a quick prayer for the souls of the departed, she gritted her teeth and handed Brother Woojin her bow and arrows but kept her sword. Taking off her nambawi, she shoved it inside her uniform and put on the straw hat.
    As she and her brother prepared to leave, the captain handed Kira a small dagger to replace the one she’d left in the half-breed monster.
    “You must find the prince,” Captain Pak said. “We cannot leave without him. If you are not back within the hour, we’re coming in after you.”
    Kira