by H. K. Varian
The art studio was next. It was huge, with great big windows overlooking the campus, and every kind of art supply you could imagine, including easels and drawing tables. Gabriella spotted someone working on a comic book. “I can see why Mack was so excited about the art studio,” she said.
“I can’t wait to see the library,” Fiona whispered back. “I bet it’s amazing.”
A minute later Fiona got her wish. A shiver of excitement ran up her spine as they stepped into the library. It had the same delicious smell as any library, but this one had something extra. Something magical.
The library was the full height of the castle—no classrooms or offices were above this room. Tall bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling. Three balconies wrapped around the walls of the room so students could access the books. It was the most amazing library Fiona could imagine.
Before she could take it all in, Zahra swept them back outside. Fiona blinked in the sunshine, her mind still in the library. There had been stained-glass windows that seemed to tell a story, but Fiona hadn’t had time to “read” them and figure it out.
“I’m definitely coming back here,” she said to Gabriella.
“That’s the end of our tour,” Zahra said when they were back outside. “There’s just one more thing.” Again, she stopped to make sure that everyone in the group was listening before she spoke, and then she pulled out her campus map and pointed to a tower in the northeast corner of the castle.
“There’s construction going on in the northeast tower, so please avoid that area of the castle,” she said, her voice suddenly very stern. “It’s not safe, so don’t go poking around there, got it?”
Zahra’s manner lightened up. “And now you’re free to explore or have dinner or train for your events. Get to know one another. You may all be coming to high school here in a year or two.”
“Dinner?” Fiona asked Gabriella.
She nodded. “I’m starving, and that food smelled really good.”
Fiona asked Mindy and Jess to join them, and the four girls found their way back to the dining hall. Mack and Darren were across the room, deep in conversation with some other boys.
The girls grabbed some food—veggie pasta for Fiona, Jess, and Mindy, and steak for Gabriella—and found seats at a table. They compared notes about their competitions. Not surprisingly, both Jess and Mindy were participating in the same underwater treasure hunt as Fiona. They had both signed up for an underwater race, too.
“I have to warn you—I’m going to dominate,” Mindy said with a smile.
“That’s fine with me,” Fiona said. “Sports aren’t exactly my favorite thing. Gabriella, on the other hand, is going to win all of her events—she’s totally amazing.”
“Fiona’s going to do great,” Gabriella said, elbowing her friend. “I have no doubt that she’s the fastest selkie here.”
Jess’s smile disappeared, and she dropped her fork. “You’re a selkie?”
Fiona nodded.
“But—what are you doing here,” Mindy asked. There was a hard edge to her voice.
It didn’t really sound like a question. It sounded like a challenge. It was almost as if Mindy was ready to fight.
Fiona felt her cheeks burning. Why had Mindy and Jess suddenly gotten so angry? She struggled to find an answer to Mindy’s question.
Gabriella had no such trouble. “Why shouldn’t she be here?” she asked, angry on her friend’s behalf. “She’s a Changer, just like you.”
Mindy’s cheeks turned red. “It’s just that most selkies belong to the selkie faction. They split from the Changers a long time ago. They don’t want anything to do with us.”
“There are rumors that the selkies are traitors to the Changer nation, that they’ve teamed up with dark witches and warlocks,” Jess said with a concerned expression. “How do we know you’re not a spy?”
The word “traitors” made Fiona cringe. She knew that the selkies weren’t traitors (just stubborn and proud), but she couldn’t reveal how she knew that without raising more suspicion. She shook her head. “Of course I’m not a spy,” she said.
She wanted to tell them more, but the First Four had warned her not to tell anyone else about her mom being the selkie queen. She hadn’t realized that Changer distrust of the selkies ran so deep. She knew her mother would never betray the Changers—never. How could she defend herself against Jess’s and Mindy’s accusations without telling the truth?
Once again, Gabriella jumped to her friend’s defense, her eyes flashing. “The Changers took Fiona in, and we’re really lucky they did. She has some awesome powers.”
“What kind of Changer are you?” Jess asked Gabriella nervously.
“I’m a nahual,” Gabriella answered. “A black jaguar nahual,” she added, still a bit angry.
Mindy gasped. Jess’s eyes widened.
“Are you two from Willow Cove?” Jess and Mindy asked, both at the same time.
Gabriella and Fiona looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. Before they could answer, Mindy rushed to explain—and apologize.
“You’re the ones who took down Auden Ironbound!” she said to Fiona. “I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to be rude earlier. We heard all about you. Everybody did. You guys are heroes.”
“We didn’t mean anything by what we said. We’ve just never met a selkie before,” Jess added. “We’ve always been warned to stay away from the ones in the waters around Hawaii. They’re just sort of . . . scary-protective of their territory.”
Fiona would have laughed at the idea of people finding her scary, but this whole conversation made her superuncomfortable. She was relieved when both Jess and Mindy awkwardly struggled to change the subject, but at the same time her mind whirled with questions.
What if I really don’t belong here? If the Changers believe my mom is a traitor and that selkies are spies, I won’t ever fit in. Will Wyndemere Academy accept my friends and reject me because I’m my mother’s daughter?
Chapter 4
followed
Early the next morning Mack woke up to a text message from Joel Hastings, his best friend. Mack and Joel had drifted apart a bit ever since Mack found out he was a Changer, but Joel was still his closest friend.
How’s the national park field trip going?
Mack rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he texted back.
Really fun. How’s Spain?
Awesome! I picked up some comic books in Spanish for you—they’re really cool.
Bring me a pinecone?
Mack snorted.
Ha. Ha. We can’t all go on amazing, globe-trotting spring break vacations, Joel.
So that’s a no on the pinecone?
Mack smiled as he set his phone to the side and got out of bed. Joel had texted pretty early due to the time difference, but Mack didn’t mind—he was excited for his first full day at Wyndemere. It was neat getting to see the campus yesterday, but today Mack really wanted to talk to some of the other students and find out more about their Changer forms and magical abilities. If there was time he’d head to the art studio to work on sketches for his Kitsune Tails comic.
Mack’s comic book for the end-of-the-year middle-school art show was going to be killer. The kids at Willow Cove Middle School would believe he was making up stories about mythological shape-shifters, but Mack was drawing inspiration from real life. . . . And he was about to get some insider info.
Darren was as excited to start his day as Mack was. They had just sat down with loaded breakfast trays—the Wyndemere dining hall was the best—when Fiona and Gabriella joined them.
“Let’s compare schedules,” Mack said, pulling a piece of paper from his welcome bag.
The others did the same, and Mack scanned them for similarities.
“We both have Defense Tactics for Land-Based Changers after breakfast,” Mack said to Gabriella. “Cool.”
Fiona read the name of her class out loud. “ ‘Changer Perceptions After the Turn of the First Millenni
um, CE,’ ” she said.
Mack wrinkled his nose. “History?”
Fiona laughed. “I love history. And that’s my only class. I was going to try to sit in on a few more, but then I got a look at the library. I think I’ll spend the rest of the day exploring that. What about you, Darren?”
“My class is Changer Mythology: Separating Fact from Fiction,” he said, reading his schedule. “And I noticed there’s a movie club meeting this afternoon. I think I’ll check it out. It’s the most normal thing about this place.”
Gabriella gave him a playful punch on the arm. “This is all normal,” she said with a laugh. “It’s normal for Changers, and we are Changers.”
“Okay, okay,” Darren said, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m just taking a little bit longer than the rest of you to get used to this whole secret magical world thing. There are still some mornings when I wake up and think I dreamed it all. But since I got a handle on my powers, it doesn’t feel like a nightmare anymore—just a really strange dream.”
“At least you’re going to do great at your event in the games,” Fiona commented.
“I hope so,” Darren said.
“You’re going to kick butt, Darren. . . . Except for the event we’re competing in together,” Mack joked. “I’m planning to win that one.” Then he turned to Gabriella. “Ready to go?”
Gabriella took one last bite of her eggs, and they headed to class.
A tall blond woman waited for them in the center of the grassy quad. “Welcome. I’m Professor Leifsson,” she said. “I’m a nykur, or horse Changer from Iceland. We’ll be practicing defensive moves out here today while the gym is being prepped for the games.”
She Changed and then thought to the group, Who wants to show me some defensive moves while I attack? Don’t worry. I won’t hurt anyone.
Mack felt a surge of confidence. He spent almost every afternoon training with Gabriella, and he’d fought alongside the First Four. It was time to show Wyndemere what he was made of. Without a second thought, he Changed and stepped forward. Bring it on, he thought. And don’t go easy on me. He could see some of the others in the class eyeing his two tails. It was unusual for a young kitsune to have already earned a second tail.
He wondered for a moment if Professor Leifsson would have anything to teach him; he didn’t expect nykurs to have the kind of agility a kitsune or a nahual did, but his professor was amazingly fast. Mack quickly regretted his cocky behavior when his teacher went into attack mode. He tried to defend himself, but she bested him once, twice, and then three times. Total humiliation!
Now, would anyone like to tell me why the kitsune’s defensive tactics didn’t work against me? she asked.
Mack cringed, but luckily, no one in the big group could answer her question.
So instead, Professor Leifsson showed them some powerful moves that would have worked against her attacks, and Mack couldn’t help but be impressed. At the end of two hours, he was exhausted. He also had a lot more tools and maneuvers at his disposal, in case he was ever attacked.
“If any warlock comes after us again, we’ll make mincemeat out of him,” Mack said to Gabriella after they transformed back into their human forms.
“I hope it never comes to that,” Gabriella said with a frown. “I’m going to check out the arena again. Maybe some of the coaches are around. Want to come?”
Mack shook his head. “I’m going to work on ideas for my comic,” he said. He watched her go, and then he grabbed a seat on a bench, making quick sketches of his nykur professor, and a bear Changer in their class—whom he learned was called an ijiraat—from memory. Then he started checking out the students around him. He had planned to interview them about their abilities and powers, but after getting beaten so badly in front of everyone in class, he felt a little awkward.
Even so, he kept his eyes open, and every once in a while he saw a transformation he hadn’t seen before. He tried not to think and just keep his hand moving as he watched a mujina, a Japanese badger Changer, demonstrate something to a púca, an Irish ram Changer.
Minutes later, a giant serpent, whom Mack recognized as a naga, slithered through the grass in front of him, came up behind a girl, and tapped her on the shoulder!
Mack kept sketching, letting his mind wander. It wasn’t long before he was thinking about the golden kitsune he saw on the battlefield nearly four months ago.
Why won’t Jiichan talk about her? The First Four were more than a little freaked out when I told them I saw her at the battle on the beach. What could she have done that was so bad?
In all of Fiona’s research in The Compendium, she had never once encountered word of an evil kitsune. So what was the big secret?
Suddenly, Mack felt eyes on him. He turned to look, and there she was—the golden kitsune—staring at him from the tree line. Mack felt almost hypnotized while she held his gaze. Then she cocked her head, turned, and disappeared into the forest.
For a moment, Mack remembered Jiichan’s serious tone, the worry in his eyes, when the golden kitsune was mentioned. Could this be a trap? Mack wondered. The streak of fur was getting farther away in the distance. If Mack truly wanted answers, it was now or never. With one last look at his notebook, Mack got up and ran in her direction, heading into the trees, not thinking at all about Ms. Therian’s warnings to stay out of the forest.
Deeper and deeper into the woods he ran, catching only a glimpse of her at every turn until all he saw was a gold streak in the distance.
Mack grimaced. It was like she was taunting him to follow her. Why wouldn’t she wait for him?
Then suddenly, she stopped. I have a message for you, she said. Her voice was soothing, but there was a sense of urgency to her words.
Mack stumbled a few steps forward, but a shadow passed over him, and he looked up at the sky. Was it about to get dark? When Mack turned back to her, the golden kitsune had gone. He ran forward, jumping over a fallen tree—had he done something wrong? She had something to tell him; why would she leave? He was about to transform so he could run faster when a deep voice stopped him.
“Hey, kid!” A Wyndemere guard ran over and stood in front of him. “What are you doing in the woods?”
“Sorry,” Mack said, scrambling for an excuse. “Just walking. I—I thought I saw something.”
“There’s nothing out here except trees.” The guard pointed in the direction of the campus. “Back to the lawn,” he said. “It’s dangerous for younglings to wander around alone in the forest.”
Mack was about to point out to the guard that if there was really nothing out there but trees, then it wouldn’t be dangerous to wander around alone, but the look on the guard’s face stopped him.
Mack turned and trudged back to the center of campus feeling angry and frustrated. The golden kitsune was trying to tell him something. Something Jiichan didn’t want him to know.
I need to find her, and hear what she has to say. Even if it’s something the First Four don’t think I’m ready to hear.
Chapter 5
wyndemere’s fastest
While Mack was sketching, Gabriella headed down to the sports arena to watch the preparation for the games. She wanted to scope out the enchanted hurdles and the agility courses before the big day. Even though she was confident she could win both of her events, it always helped knowing what to expect.
There was almost nothing she loved more than a competition, in or out of her nahual form. This is going to be so cool! she thought.
The arena was full of groups of high schoolers setting up and testing equipment for the games. Gabriella took a seat halfway up the bleachers, where she could see everything. Then she reluctantly pulled out the homework her math teacher had assigned for spring break. Homework over break was totally unfair, but she knew that the sooner she got it done, the sooner she could forget about it and concentrate on the competition. She had one eye on her homework and the other on the kids setting up equipment for the various contests.
Most of the kids were on the other side of the arena, working on what looked like a giant game of mousetrap. One guy was closer to Gabriella, setting up an equally massive obstacle course by himself. She thought she saw the scaffolding he was building sway. Some kind of magic, she thought.
Then the scaffolding wobbled.
The guy was standing next to it, reading blueprints. He wore headphones and bobbed his head to the music.
And then the scaffolding actually shook.
It didn’t look like magic anymore. It looked like the scaffolding was about to collapse, right on top of the guy—and he had no idea what was coming.
“Watch out!” Gabriella shouted.
But, of course, he couldn’t hear her warning over his music.
In a flash, without thinking, Gabriella transformed and bounded across the field. She pushed the guy out of the way and leaped to safety just as the scaffolding came crashing down, right where he had been standing a second before.
Barely winded, Gabriella transformed back into her human form.
The guy stared at her and then at the heap of boards and metal at his feet. “Wow, I think you saved my life,” he said. “Thank you.”
Other student volunteers ran over and started whistling and applauding. For a second, Gabriella thought back to the vision of herself as a superhero that they’d seen in the moonstone.
Maybe saving people really is what I’m meant to do.
Gabriella was both proud and a little embarrassed. “I saw you needed help, and I was the closest,” she said with a shrug.
“We’re shorthanded,” he said. “I should have had someone holding the frame up for me, but we’ve got too much to do before tomorrow and not enough people to do the work.”
“Hey, would you want to help?” one of the girls asked Gabriella. “We could really use an extra set of hands.”
Her homework forgotten, Gabriella readily agreed.
“Great, you’re with Tony.” Satisfied, the girl transformed into a bird, flew to the top of the arena, and adjusted the scoreboard.