by Elena Paige
It was too late to save themselves, but it wasn’t too late to help the people they loved. “I promise I’ll activate the hat if you promise me you won’t take Grandpa’s power, if he has one. Or Wesa’s mother’s. Or Elouise’s power. Promise me! Please?”
Aden looked from Toby to the others.
“Deal!” said Aden, completely unexpectedly. Toby knew he probably couldn’t trust Aden to keep his promise, but he hoped he would. He closed his eyes and walked toward the hat. “I’m sorry I let you all down.” He felt the silk of the hat on his fingers and knew he had failed to protect the magical community.
24
The Shapeshifter
Toby felt soft grass under his bare feet. Soft skin brushed across his cheek. A hand. He followed its path to a face. A familiar face. A soft, smiling face. She smiled at him, small lines illuminating eyes that sparkled like candles.
Like a nightmare, her face contorted. Her small, pretty nose grew long. Her green eyes turned to charcoal. Her brown hair shrank into tight blonde curls. He cried out in fear.
He felt his head ache. The grass faded and the smell of carpet now filled his senses. The hand upon his cheek was still present. He strained to focus his vision. Concentrating fully, he saw the woman’s face in his dream. His mother. Was he still dreaming?
He pushed her hand away and took in her face fully. Aden was gone. Before him kneeled a woman. She wore a purple beaded dress that made a clicking noise as she moved. Her long cloak dragged on the ground. Upon her head was a purple hat. The hat. The Fiordi hat. The green glow it emitted danced around her head, teasing him.
“Who are you?” he yelled.
“I’m your mother, my darling.”
“My mother’s dead,” said Toby, letting his head fall back onto the carpet. The truth was suffocating him like a giant boulder. This couldn’t be happening.
“No. I’m quite alive. Surprise!” she said with lightness.
“Where is Aden? Why are you wearing the hat?”
“My darling. How I’ve missed you,” she said, stroking his face again. He pulled away, jumping to his feet. Had she done this?
“You killed them?” he screamed at her. Around him lay the unconscious bodies of Alexander Kirby and his three sons, Thatch and his father, Wesa and her mother, Grandpa, and Elouise.
“Not dead, my darling. Just sleeping,” she said, her voice soft and tender. The green light from the hat illuminated her face in a way that made her look ghastly.
“Where is Aden?” he repeated.
“Never mind Aden. I’m the one in power now. Don’t worry, I didn’t take your grandpa’s powers. Nor Marie Chang’s either,” she confessed, fanning herself with one hand and holding tight to one of the swords in the other.
“Why would you do this?” He backed away from her, willing himself not to faint.
His mother started pacing.
“I couldn’t not take Elouise’s power. It’s such a handy power, and I won’t be able to unlock a door to escape without it. I took the powers of your precious friends too. Such lovely friends you made. ”
Toby was shaking, half from fear and half from shock. He had failed to protect Thatch and Wesa. “Please, Mother, stop this. Please do it for me.”
“Did Jack tell you what your power is?” she asked through a cruel laugh.
Was this thin, opaque woman truly his mother? She didn’t look like the same woman in the photo in Grandpa’s living room. Apart from having aged considerably, her once happy, plump face looked sour and dry.
“No, he didn’t tell me,” he said, still curious to discover the magic he had.
“I love you, my darling.” She moved toward him and reached out her empty hand to take his. He let her. He felt her skin against his own. His mother. She was his real mother, and she was alive.
He looked into her eyes, searching for compassion and love, but he saw only greed and distance.
His body felt suddenly cold and numb. What had she done? He looked down. Red inched its way in all directions from his stomach. Blood. The long shiny sword sticking out of his stomach was still connected to his mother’s hand.
“You stabbed me?” he said, feeling the life drain from him. His mother wanted nothing more than to kill him? That’s what this was all about?
He fell to his knees, releasing her hand from his, as she pulled the sword from him. Showing no remorse, she flicked her long hair aside smiling.
“Oh, relax. You’ll see in a moment.”
Toby fell forward onto his face. He was about to die. He had let Thatch and Wesa down, and Grandpa most of all. He would never see his father again. He had failed .
Waiting for his last breaths to come, he felt the feeling begin to return to his body, his heart beating normally. He placed his hand on his wound. His stomach was intact. He peeled himself from the floor as his mother clapped maniacally. His deep cut from the sword was healed.
“How?” he asked, still inspecting the area the sword had entered.
“Because of your power, dear boy. The same as your father’s. You cannot die. You will continue to age until you are in your early twenties, and then you will stop. You not only get to stay young forever—you live forever! Isn’t it wonderful?” She lifted her shoulders and eyebrows as though waiting for him to agree with her.
Is that why his father looked so young? And Toby had inherited the exact same power. He couldn’t die. No matter what she did to him, he couldn’t die. Toby picked up one of the swords from the carpet.
“If you can’t kill me, then I can kill you,” he said, pointing the giant sword toward her.
“Yes, you can, my darling, but will you?” She stood with her arms open as though daring him to try. “Go on, aren’t you going to kill me?”
Toby’s hands trembled as he held the long, heavy sword. Could he really stab his own mother? Should he? He knew now she was pure evil.
“Honestly, Toby. I did so enjoy our time together today. You’ve quite the spirit, but you do lack the backbone!”
“What are you talking about? Tell me what you’ve done with Aden,” said Toby feeling bad he’d accused him earlier, when it had been his mother who was the villain the whole time .
“There is no Aden. When your father saved you from the explosion, he didn’t realize he also saved me. I conveniently turned into a wasp and hid in his jacket. He thought I was dead. Everyone did. So I went into hiding. I had to invent a new identity, and being Irish seemed the perfect cover. No one ever suspected me. I created a fabulous new identity and became one of the most famous magicians of all time: Aden McDermott.”
Toby felt his head throb. There was no Aden McDermott. There never had been. His former friend and confidant was never real to begin with. It was his mother the whole time. The image of his mother before him spun in his mind as the truth was revealed.
“I knew I couldn’t go back. I could never go back. Your father was more interested in fame than me. Alexander had betrayed me. I waited patiently. I knew the day would come when I could get my revenge on Alexander, and gain immortal life.
“Getting you to come to the convention was the hardest part. Everything else was rather simple. My plan has worked perfectly. You are clever to have worked it out. I’ll give you that much,” she said, changing shape to look like Aden.
Her clothes and voice changed to match. “How do you think Wesa’s change was so convincing? It wasn’t a mere illusion. Only mage magic is this powerful. My magic. Sit, my darling.” She beckoned Toby to the couch as she made herself comfortable, then turned into a panther, a wasp, and finally back into herself.
“You’re the shapeshifter? But everyone must have known that was your magic.” Toby stood where he was, not moving. Shock and disgust were all he felt. He kept the sword in his hand pointed at her. He had been such an idiot to come here. Thatch’s plan to hide made much more sense to him now. But it was too late.
“True, everyone knew I was a mage. But they always thought my power was to transfo
rm others—not myself. I never shared the truth with anyone until now. You’re the first to know. We can be together now,” she announced.
“You disgust me! I will never love you!” He held the sword tighter, completely determined to stop her, even if it meant stabbing his own mother.
“Well, I don’t expect you to forgive me straight away. But I did try to take you with me. It was your father’s fault I left. Not mine. I will always love you. But there is something I need from you first.”
He remembered Holly’s message—the person after the hat wanted his power the most. He let his hand with the sword fall. His face went blank as he now understood the only power his mother really wanted all along was his own: eternal life.
“Yes, my clever boy. That’s exactly why I’m still here. It will be fine. It’s not like you knew about this world before today. There’s nothing wrong with being a regular boy. Life will go back to how it was. Now be good and come sit here next to your mother. It will all be over quickly.” She smiled at him as though her plan was kind rather than cruel.
Toby felt his heart turn into stone. His mother wanted to steal his magic. His mother wanted to be eternal even if it meant taking it from her own flesh and blood. His mother didn’t love him.
He rushed forward with the sword clenched tight, aiming for her chest. Just as he was about to reach her, he felt himself freeze in midair. She had taken Alexander Kirby’s power and was now using it against him.
She stood up, looking unperturbed at his attempt to kill her. “Oh, my darling boy. Who could blame you? But I do love you, I do. It’s just that I love magic more.” She stroked his face gently, trying to convince him.
Although he was unable to move on the outside, on the inside, Toby could feel his blood pumping through his body as if looking for a way out. He once longed for his mother's touch, but now her hand on his face repulsed him. He still clenched the long sword firmly. He wondered if he really would have stabbed her had she not stopped him.
His mother moved away, distracted by something behind him. Toby felt life return to his body. He fell forward, the sword hitting the carpet and ripping it. As he found his balance, he turned to see what had caught his mother’s attention.
“What are you doing here, Jack?”
“Agatha? I don’t understand,” Strebor’s face went white.
“I’m alive, Jack, thanks to you.”
“Agatha!” said Jack, hugging her to him. She pushed him away.
Toby watched his father serve as the perfect distraction. Behind them, one by one, the bodies of his friends and enemies began disappearing. Rufus was here.
“What are you doing here? Where have you been all these years? How are you—”
“I’m here to take Toby’s power. He won’t miss it,” she continued, oblivious to what was happening around her.
But Toby knew he didn’t have long before his mother would realize what was happening. He looked around the messy room for something he could use to distract her. The gun that had taken away the light earlier that day was exactly where he had left it, next to his hot chocolate. Beside it was the box. The same magic box that had stored the hat, Grandpa, and the others for the whole day. He had to act fast.
He clicked the button and the room went dark. He heard screaming and noises of a struggle. Meanwhile he moved through the dark to where Wesa and Thatch lay. He slapped at them in the dark until he felt them moving.
“Give me that light gun,” screamed his mother in the dark.
He clicked the button again, returning the light to the room. Agatha was pointing a sword at Toby’s father with her back to them. Just as she was turning towards them, Toby watched as Wesa and Thatch disappeared. He looked down at his own body as Rufus touched him and watched it disappear also, just in time.
Agatha turned back to Strebor, pushing him to the ground. “Do you think you can beat me? I have been planning this day for years!” Her confidence and composure regained, Agatha realized that the only person left in the room was Alexander Kirby, his three sons, and Jack.
“What did you do with them? Where are they?”
“You’ll never succeed,” called Jack, rising to his feet and approaching her again.
“I hate you, Jack. You can’t stop me. I will get what I came for.” Toby watched as his dad was frozen solid.
Next, Agatha flicked her hands, turning Alexander Kirby upside down and stringing him up in midair .
Billy, Rod, and Jim started squirming and making sounds. “Quiet!” she commanded, freezing them next.
Agatha took off the glowing green Fiordi hat and placed it on Jack’s head. “Fine, Jack. If you prefer I take your power instead, then yours it shall be. Do you hear that, Toby? I’m taking your father’s power. You can keep yours!”
Toby felt stabs of guilt cover his whole body. He rushed at his mother and knocked her over. He saw the hat floating off his dad’s head. Thatch or Wesa, he guessed, had taken it off just in time.
But Agatha was too fast for them all. She waved her hands and froze them all, making them reappear.
Thatch was frozen in midair, holding the hat. Wesa was charging forward with a sword. Rufus was near the curtain, carrying Elouise in his arms. And Toby was lying next to his mother on the carpet, unable to move and stop her.
But his hand was in his pocket, clinging tightly to the box. It was his only hope to save them. Glancing around the room, he was relieved that Rufus had at least saved Grandpa, Thatch’s father, and Wesa’s mother. Now it was up to him to save the others.
25
A Heroic End
Agatha laughed. “Well done. Your little friends are so brave, Toby.” Her eyes seemed to glow red as she jumped up onto her feet. “And I’m quite impressed—invisibility. Very clever indeed. I can’t believe I loved you once, Jack. Or should I call you Strebor? All of you are against me. But I will have the last laugh.”
She snatched the Fiordi hat from Thatch, who was frozen in midair, placed it back on her head, and walked toward Alexander Kirby. He was the only one not frozen solid. He wriggled and made groaning noises from his taped-shut mouth.
She kissed his cheek and clearly addressed Billy, Rod, and Jim, now all as still as night, with dreadful expressions frozen on their faces. “Your father and I were quite an item once, you know, boys,” she said, touching Alexander Kirby’s face, her long red nails shining in contrast to his white skin.
“But you betrayed me, didn’t you, my love? We were going to be together. It was all planned and you double- crossed me. How long I have waited for this day to get my revenge on you! We could have been a formidable team, you and I, Alexander. We could have had it all. But you were blinded by your hate for illusionists. And now you are one. Fate can be so cruel.”
She stroked his mustache, taunting him as she stared straight into his eyes. He mumbled and wriggled twice as much in response.
Toby remembered the letter he’d read from Alexander Kirby to his mother. The one she never received. All this time she had believed that Kirby had double-crossed her when he hadn’t. Now he might never get the chance to explain it.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I took your powers. You are nothing now. Just an illusionist. And so are your sons.” Agatha leaned in and kissed Alexander Kirby on the cheek again, smirking. She had won, and she wanted Alexander Kirby to know it. Billy’s, Jim’s, and Rod’s eyes were bulging, despite their frozen state.
“Are you watching, my dearest?” Agatha asked Alexander Kirby as she leaned down to touch his three sons. As her long, slender fingers touched them, all three of them turned into giant fat rats. Scampering free from the rope and tape, they ran and hid under a mess of clothes. Agatha laughed, watching Alexander Kirby squirm and mumble frantically. He was clearly panicked and distraught.
Toby shouldn’t have felt sorry for him, but he struggled to watch Kirby suffering at his mother’s hand. And watching the triplets run around like frightened rats would have made him laugh once, but now he just felt s
ick. She was getting her revenge, and she didn’t care the cost.
Looking satisfied with herself, Agatha turned back toward Toby, who was still lying on the carpet. “Fine, have your way, Toby. Your father can keep his power. I shall take yours. Agreed? Good.” She walked toward him and lifted him up as though he weighed nothing. Flicking her wrist toward him, he felt able to move once more.
“I won’t let you take it. I won’t!” he yelled.
“So gallant! Perhaps this will help you decide.” Agatha flicked her wrist and sent one of the swords flying through the air toward Wesa.
“No!” cried Toby. “Stop, please.”
The sword stopped just as it touched Wesa’s chest. “Please, I’ll do as you ask. Here—take my power. Take it.” He offered his head toward her, succumbing to his emotions.
“Don’t. Do. It.”
Agatha turned toward the voice. “How are you talking?” she yelled, walking away from Toby and pushing Rufus backward onto the floor. He dropped Elouise and was once again able to move.
“It’s better to die than give her your power,” said Rufus. He pulled his metal leg off and threw it at Agatha.
Agatha roared with delight, catching it as though it were merely a stick. Smiling, she threw it back toward him, aiming for Rufus’s other leg. He screamed in pain as the metal pierced it.
“A little tricky when you can’t become invisible anymore. I must thank Elouise for her very generous power. I forgot I had it there for a moment. It’s lovely rendering other people’s powers useless. Quite lovely.” She spoke like a lady at an afternoon tea party. “Now shall I take your power first or Toby’s? That’s the hardest decision I’ve had to make all day.” She looked at Toby, who stood still with his eye on the hat .
Toby looked at Wesa, the sword so close to penetrating her skin. He waited for the perfect moment. As his mother turned her back on him and returned her attention to Rufus, who was screaming in agony, Toby took a deep breath and jumped forward, grabbing for the hat. Before Agatha could stop him, he pulled it off with all his strength, the suction disengaging. Instead of putting it into the box as he’d planned, he shoved it on his head.