The Shadow Fox

by H. K. Varian

Gabriella spent the rest of the day helping Tony, the guy she had saved. She thought she’d feel young and out of place at Wyndemere surrounded by all the high school kids, but she felt right at home. She and Tony made a good team.

  Before long she was joking and laughing with him and the others while they set up equipment for various events, including two of her own.

  “Hey, Gabriella, can you try out the agility course for us, make sure everything’s good?” Tony asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Gabriella asked. “I’d love—” She cut herself off. “Wait, is that against the rules? I don’t want to disqualify myself.”

  Professor Leifsson was in the arena checking things out, so Tony called her over to ask.

  “Is it against the rules for Gabriella to test the agility course for us?” he asked.

  “I think it’s fine,” the nykur answered. “Once the course is up, anyone can come and try it out. I’m sure some of your competitors will be stopping by to run through it before the games.”

  The idea of her challengers running through the course lit Gabriella’s competitive fire.

  “Can someone time me?” she asked.

  Tony pulled out his phone. “Ready?” he asked her.

  Gabriella transformed, turned her yellow cat eyes on him, and nodded.

  “Set,” he said.

  Gabriella crouched and blocked out everything except his voice and the finish line.

  “Go!”

  He hadn’t even finished the word before Gabriella leaped down the track to the first obstacle. In an instant she took to the air, arching her back to slide through a hoop that burst into flames as she neared. Next, she dropped to the ground to weave in and out of a set of poles. An image of a flaming phoenix popped up as she made her way past the fifth pole, but Gabriella didn’t flinch. There were enchanted tunnels and ladders and even a hurdle that raised and lowered itself when she came close, but Gabriella handled it all easily. She came to the end and jumped onto a platform, sorry that the game was over already.

  It was only then that she heard the whistles and cheers.

  “Fifty-two seconds!” Tony shouted, waving his phone. “That’s a school record!”

  Gabriella transformed back into her human self.

  “We need you on the track team,” someone yelled.

  “How soon can you come to school here?” someone else asked.

  Gabriella laughed. “I have to finish seventh grade first,” she said. “Not to mention eighth.”

  As soon as they were finished packing up their tools and equipment, Tony and some of the others led her into the gym for some water. The bird-girl, whose name was Toula, joined them.

  “I am seriously impressed,” Gabriella said, looking around. The first time she’d been through the gym while on the tour, she hadn’t had much time to look around. Now she saw that the sports facility was easily ten times the size of their enchanted gym at Willow Cove Middle School. She could do some intense training here, and have some even more intense fun.

  “So what kind of sports teams do you have?” she asked.

  “Track and field,” Toula answered, “but it’s nothing like the track and field you have at home. It’s more like the agility course you just tore up. And the enchanted hurdles. There are all kinds of Changer sports that non-Changers could never even hope to participate in.”

  “We play some non-magical boarding schools in traditional sports, too, like soccer,” Tony added. “They have no idea we’re Changers. They just think we’re awesome,” he said with a laugh.

  “Seriously, though, I hope you’ll think about coming to Wyndemere for high school,” Toula said.

  Gabriella smiled. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

  As they wandered through the rest of the facility, Gabriella realized how much she did want to go to Wyndemere. She’d miss her soccer team, and especially her family and her normal friends. But she wouldn’t be surprised if her Changer friends came to Wyndemere with her. And, of course, she had already made new friends here.

  That’s if her mother would agree to let her leave home for high school. Gabriella’s tía Rosa was a nahual like her niece, but her mother had no idea about their magical world. She valued education, and she loved Gabriella and her younger sister Maritza more than anything. Gabriella wasn’t sure her mother would be willing to let her leave home for four years before college.

  Darren, too, had parents who had no idea about his magical abilities. He’d face the same kind of family obstacles that Gabriella would. She was still pondering those facts when she realized it was time for dinner, and she had promised to meet Fiona.

  Before she left, Tony asked what contests she would be competing in.

  “The agility course, enchanted hurdles, and timed combat,” she answered.

  “You’re gonna do great,” Toula said, raising her hand for a fist bump.

  Gabriella met Toula’s fist with her own, which felt oddly normal after the day’s supernatural events.

  “We’ll be cheering you on,” Tony said.

  “Thanks,” Gabriella said. “I can’t wait till tomorrow!”

  Chapter 6

  Bloodlines

  After his Changer mythology class, Darren spent the day checking out the campus and practicing for his event. He could feel himself getting stronger, and he definitely had more control. When his Changer abilities first started to manifest, his powers often got away from him—especially when he was upset about something. Learning that he was a magical shape-shifter who could shoot lighting from his hands was more than a little confusing.

  In the beginning Darren had a lot of power and few ways to channel it. The night he had learned that his parents were getting a divorce, his fear had caused a massive storm around his house. Luckily, Darren had never seriously hurt anyone with his lightning abilities, but from that point on, Darren made controlling his powers his main focus. He knew that his raw power was perhaps the strongest of his friends, and that made managing it all the more difficult.

  Things had definitely gotten better since then. Ms. Therian had taught Darren a lot about keeping his powers in check. He worked on it every single day. Talking to his Changer friends and his big brother, Ray, about the divorce helped. Ray had no idea Darren was a Changer, but like Darren, he knew what it was like to be different. There weren’t many other African American kids in Willow Cove, so Ray could definitely relate.

  Between Ms. Therian, his Changer friends, and Ray, Darren began to feel less out of control and more confident. He even started to enjoy the idea of being a Changer. . . . That is, when he wasn’t battling evil warlocks and feeling scared out of his mind.

  Darren checked his phone to see what time it was. There was another class he wanted to sit in on, and he had lost track of the afternoon. He had to transform in order to make it to the academic buildings on time.

  If anyone would have told me back in September that I’d actually like being an impundulu, he thought, I would have said they were crazy. But now here I am, flying across a campus full of shape-shifters like it’s nothing.

  He landed in front of the main entrance for the academic buildings, transformed, and took the stairs two at a time for Professor Zwane’s class on West and South African mythologies.

  Darren had learned about Professor Zwane’s course that morning during his Changer mythology class. The teacher could see how interested Darren was, and suggested he sit in on Professor Zwane’s advanced lecture for seniors that afternoon. Not only was the professor an impundulu like Darren, he was an expert on South African tribal mythology—the area of the world where impundulus originated.

  Seconds before class was to begin, Darren slipped into a seat in the last row. He had always been interested in mythology. At Willow Cove Middle School he had learned about a lot of cool Greek, Egyptian, and even Chinese lore, but his teachers had never talked about African myths. He didn’t even know there were any.

  Darren shook his head. He could almost hear Fiona’s
voice scolding him. Not myths. Real! She was right, and that made everything about the stories even cooler.

  Professor Zwane started to talk about the anansesem, or “spider tales,” in West African mythology. While the rest of the class took notes, Darren sat back and just listened, fascinated.

  “Anansi—the trickster god of wisdom, culture, and storytelling—is perhaps the main reason why spider, or so-called Anansi Changers, have managed to emerge with their good reputation intact from the pages of non-Changer mythology,” the teacher said. “In fact, one of the original First Four was a spider Changer who led the war against Morwyn, Circe’s dark apprentice, which you should all remember from last year’s readings.” He went on to explain that spider Changers had a variety of superhuman abilities, including immense strength and speed. Also true to their namesake, Anansi Changers were primarily responsible for keeping Changer knowledge alive during the Time of the Dark.

  There’s that phrase again, Darren thought. He and Fiona first came across the term a few months ago, when they were doing research in The Compendium on Circe’s Compass, but they had never figured out what it meant. He made a mental note to ask Fiona if they could find a book about the mysterious Time of the Dark in the library later.

  “Without that wisdom, Changer history might have been lost in the battle against Morwyn and her followers over the millennia,” Professor Zwane said.

  Darren was spellbound. The First Four had never told them any stories from history like these.

  Before he was even aware that he was doing it, Darren raised his hand.

  “I see we have a youngling visitor who is brave enough to ask a question,” Professor Zwane said with a smile. The rest of the students in the class craned their heads back to look at him. “Asking questions is how we learn, you know. You should all be doing more of that,” the professor drawled out sarcastically. Then he turned to Darren. “Ask away, young man.”

  “I’ve, um, heard that Changer abilities can be passed down from generation to generation through bloodlines,” he said. “But I’ve never heard of spider Changers before. Are they rare?”

  “An excellent question,” the professor answered. “Spider Changers have exceptionally powerful gifts, and the ability has been passed on, although only rarely. A small number of spider, or Anansi Changers, do exist today, primarily in Ghana.”

  While the professor went on to share some of the spider tales in West African folklore, Darren couldn’t help but wonder about his own bloodline.

  Are impundulus rare too? I feel like I’ve already seen two or three since coming here, not to mention Professor Zwane. So if they’re not rare, then why am I the only one in my family with Changer abilities? And if I’m not the only one, why hasn’t anyone come forward to tell me?

  Darren was still thinking about this when he realized the other students were filing out of class. Professor Zwane was at the door and spoke to each student as he or she left, offering words of encouragement, reminding one guy that his research paper was late, and urging all of them to do the reading for next week’s test.

  Darren didn’t expect a personal message, so he was surprised when the professor signaled him to wait a moment.

  “Do you have a minute to meet with me?” the professor asked. “My office is just down the hall.”

  Darren nodded, suddenly worried that maybe he shouldn’t have asked a question after all, or that the professor had noticed he hadn’t been paying attention at the very end of class. He followed Professor Zwane into his office, ready to be reprimanded.

  An apology was already on Darren’s lips, but instead of scolding him, the professor asked an unexpected question.

  “Have you ever heard of the Spider’s Curse?” he asked.

  Darren shook his head. “The Spider’s Curse? No. What’s that?”

  “The Spider’s Curse is a powerful poison that comes from the bite of an Anansi Changer. They have the power to curse more than the individual they’ve bitten. The curse can course through the whole bloodline—passed down from generation to generation. This is especially true for impundulu bloodlines.”

  “Impundulus?” Darren asked. “But why us?”

  Professor Zwane pulled a pen out of his desk and started scribbling on a piece of scrap paper. “In ancient times, before the Changer nation was established to prevent such things, there were sometimes wars between different Changer factions. Usually they had to do with establishing power over a particular area. There was a bitter conflict between the Anansis and the impundulus for many years.”

  Professor Zwane explained, “There was no clear winner before a truce was finally reached, but many of the impundulus were cursed. The Spider’s Curse suppresses the Changer ability in a bloodline so that those under the curse can never use their Changer gifts. After the war, feelings were high on both sides, even with the truce. Most Anansi Changers refused to lift the curse, so it continues today.”

  Darren was stunned. “Never use their Changer gifts?” he repeated.

  Professor Zwane nodded. “I could scarcely believe it—until I found out that I’m an impundulu who came from such a bloodline. When I was just a youngling, another impundulu recognized my ability, and also the curse,” the professor said. “From the minute you walked into my classroom, I could sense that your power too is bound by it.”

  Chapter 7

  The Spider’s Curse

  Your power too is bound by it.

  The words hung in the air while questions raced through Darren’s mind. How could his whole family be cursed? Were they in any danger? He was too stunned to even formulate full sentences.

  “But . . . I definitely have my powers,” Darren blurted. “In fact, sometimes I think I have too much power. There’s no way I could be cursed.”

  Professor Zwane shook his head. “I’m afraid that I’m quite certain you are. I’ve experienced the weight of the curse before—I can feel its same hold on you.”

  The professor paused as he handed a piece of paper to Darren. It read The Anansi–Impundulu Wars by Dina Salawu. Then he turned back to Darren. “This book should help. See if you can get it from the library before your stay here is over. Your power, it’s . . . quite ancient. Can you summon lightning from within yourself, or do you need to channel it from the sky?”

  “I can create it,” Darren said, sounding a little frantic. “Is that bad?” He took a deep breath to get his racing heart under control.

  The professor put a calming hand on Darren’s arm. “It’s not bad. That power is rare. It comes only from the most ancient and powerful impundulu bloodlines. Many of those bloodlines led the charge against the Anansi, and many of those bloodlines were cursed.”

  “Wait, that doesn’t make any sense,” Darren said. “You said the impundulu bloodlines were cursed to not be able to use the Changer gift, but I have it. So how did I become a Changer?”

  “The same mysterious way I did,” Professor Zwane answered. “All curses have laws. And all laws have loopholes. Somehow, you and I slipped through and came into our power despite the curse.”

  “So then . . . is it possible that there are other people in my family who are Changers, but the curse is blocking them from developing their powers as well?” Darren asked.

  “It’s certainly possible,” the professor said with a nod.

  “And if I break the curse, will they become Changers, or is it too late if they’re older than twelve?”

  “It’s not too late,” Professor Zwane said. “Most Changers start to develop powers in their twelfth year, but if a curse is broken, there’s no age limit on transforming.”

  Darren thought about what a relief it would be to have another impundulu in the family—especially if that impundulu was Ray. For once, Darren would be the one to give help and advice to his big brother, instead of the other way around. That would be so cool. And it would be great to be able to be completely honest with Ray. Darren wasn’t used to keeping secrets from his brother, and he definitely hated it.
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  But then again, Darren thought. All those times I’ve wished these powers away . . . All the times I almost lost control, or was afraid I would hurt someone . . . Ray would have to deal with all of that too. Suddenly, Darren wasn’t so sure that breaking the curse was the best idea.

  “If I wanted to . . . how could I break the curse?” Darren asked. “Can it be done?”

  “It can be done, but it’s not easy,” Professor Zwane answered. “You’ll have to find the Anansi Changer who cursed your bloodline—or one of his or her descendants—and get that person to grant their forgiveness.”

  “We’re not at war anymore, right?” Darren asked. “So that shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Professor Zwane seemed uncertain. “Some grudges last a long, long time—too long,” he said. “There’s also a chance that the particular Anansi Changer who cursed your bloodline has no descendants. Not all Changers bore Changer younglings. If your spider Changer died without having any children, then your family could suffer the curse forever.”

  “So if I can’t find this spider’s descendant, if their bloodline died out, I’m out of luck?” Darren slumped against the wall. “Has anyone ever gotten rid of the curse another way?” he asked. “Did you?”

  “About a hundred years ago, there was a push to restore the lost impundulu bloodlines. Both the Anansis and the First Four worked some powerful magic. But that caused a lot of problems. Too many people started shifting into their impundulu forms and had powers that they hadn’t yet learned to control. I’m sure you recognize how powerful our gift is. The lightning storms that ensued all over the planet were too fierce and too dangerous, especially for non-magical beings. But still, I was lucky enough to have my bloodline restored during this time. Now the First Four have special rules and safeguards in place for the curses. It can make the curse even harder to break.”

  “So what do I do now?” Darren asked. “Is it really hopeless?”

  “This isn’t cause for despair,” Professor Zwane said. “You’re particularly gifted. I can feel it. When you come of age you might yet find a way to break the curse, as I once did.”