by H. K. Varian
The thought of being trapped in her human form for the rest of her life was enough to fill her eyes with tears. To never again transform into a seal; to never again dive through the ocean, hearing that strange, sweet song that carried through the water as though sung for her and her alone . . .
Still in her pajamas, still barefoot, Fiona ran outside to her dad’s car. It was a long shot; it was a desperate hope—after all, she’d taken the bus home from school yesterday—but the mere chance that her backpack was in her dad’s car meant it was worth checking. She rubbed the condensation off the car windows and eagerly pressed her face against the cold, damp glass.
It wasn’t there, though. In her heart, she already knew that it wouldn’t be.
Why did I even think it would be in Dad’s car? she asked herself angrily.
Then Fiona stopped.
Unless her selkie cloak hadn’t been stolen by a stranger, but taken . . . by someone she loved. . . .
She hurried back into the house.
As quickly and quietly as she could—after all, Dad still might be asleep—Fiona rushed to his bedroom. The door was open a crack; enough for her to push it open a few inches more and peek inside.
That’s when Fiona realized her first mistake. Dad wasn’t asleep at all. And from the look of things, he hadn’t slept all night.
Dad’s usually immaculate bedroom looked as though a tornado had swept through it. There were old photos everywhere—on the bureau and the bed and the dresser and even the floor. Hundreds of them. Fiona didn’t need to look closely to know that all the photos were of her mother.
And there, in Dad’s lap, was Fiona’s selkie cloak. He held it warily, with trepidation, like he didn’t know what to do with it. Or couldn’t quite trust it.
The morning sunlight touched the lovely cloak and made it gleam. Fiona longed for it. She needed it like she needed air. All her instincts told her to grab it and run, but she clenched her fists and forced herself to stay calm. That’s when she thought of a new plan: lie.
The word ricocheted through Fiona’s mind. What choice do I have? she wondered sickly. Then she swallowed hard and said, “Dad, I can explain what that is—”
Her voice broke off unexpectedly when her father looked up at last—a long, terrible moment when they did nothing more than stare at each other. The expression in his eyes made Fiona shrink inside herself; a heartbreaking combination of anguish, betrayal, and most of all—fear.
“I know exactly what this is,” he replied.
What challenge will the Changers face next?
Here is a sneak peek at
The Selkie Song!
The selkie cloak shimmered in the early morning sun as it spilled across her father’s lap.
Give it to me, Fiona Murphy thought, her eyes fixed on the cloak. What if . . .
Dad tries to take it away?
Or hide it?
Or even—destroy it?
How could Fiona live without her selkie cloak, the most important, most precious item she had ever possessed? It didn’t look like much, velvety-soft gray material with the faintest hint of a sheen, but to Fiona, that cloak was everything. It was the only way she could transform into her other form—a selkie, or seal. As a selkie, Fiona had been born with her cloak, but for most of her life, she’d been without it, ever since someone had taken it from her as a baby. But once she had discovered her true nature and found her cloak, buried in a battered old chest in the sand, Fiona had sworn she would never be apart from it again.
Ever.
“Dad, I can explain what that is—” Fiona began.
Her voice broke off unexpectedly when her father looked up at last, a long, terrible moment when they did nothing more than stare at each other. The expression in his eyes made Fiona shrink inside herself: a heartbreaking combination of anguish, betrayal, and most of all—fear.
“I know exactly what this is,” he replied.
As the words slipped from his lips, Fiona saw her father clutch her precious selkie cloak even tighter. He might as well have reached into her chest and taken hold of her heart; it seemed to skip a beat.
“Please,” Fiona said, her hands reaching for the cloak.
But her dad didn’t give it up. He couldn’t even look at her. “I have to ask,” he began. “That time you were in the water—during the first week of school—”
Fiona’s heart sank. Here it comes, she thought.
“Did you really fall in?”
A long silence followed. Please, Fiona thought. Don’t make me say it.
“Or did you transform?”
“It was the first time,” Fiona whispered, staring at the ground.
Dad’s heavy sigh made her look up just in time to see him cover his eyes with his hand. Here she’d thought he would be mad at her—after all, Dad had just caught her in a bold-faced lie—but instead, Dad looked . . . well, defeated.
Fiona wasn’t sure what to say next. The truth was, she’d lied because she had to—she’d made vows of secrecy about the very existence of Changers, people who had the ability to shape-shift into mythological animals. Fiona wasn’t the only one; in fact, there were three other kids just at Willow Cove Middle School who were Changers: Darren Smith, who could transform into a massive bird called an impundulu; Gabriella Rivera, a nahual who could change into a ferocious jaguar; and Mack Kimura, a fox Changer known as a kitsune. Mack’s grandfather was one of the First Four, a council of elders who ruled over all the Changers in the world.
Over the last few months, the Changers had been threatened by an evil warlock known as Auden Ironbound, who was determined to seize power from the First Four and control the Changers. Fiona and her friends had already engaged in several battles with Auden and his followers, but the skirmishes were much more challenging for Fiona, who hadn’t learned selkie magic yet. The other Changers didn’t need a cloak or any sort of magical object to transform, either, which was just one reason why Fiona’s selkie cloak was so vital—why she couldn’t risk losing it. . . .
“Fiona, I’m going to ask you something else, and it’s essential that you answer me honestly,” Dad finally said. “Have you been contacted by another Changer? Perhaps another selkie? Or—or—”
Or what? Fiona wondered as Dad’s voice faltered.
“Or your mother?”
Fiona blinked in surprise, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. Mom had died when Fiona was three. But the very thought that there was a way, somehow, for Fiona to contact her again filled her with hope. Can selkies communicate with the dead? she wondered as her imagination ran wild. Maybe that’s one of their secret powers that can only be learned from another selkie! Maybe—
Then Fiona’s rational, whip-smart self caught up with her imagination. She had researched selkies constantly since she’d found out the truth about herself, and nowhere—nowhere—had there been even the slightest hint that selkies had such a power.
And since when did Dad, of all people, seem to know so much about selkies?
Fiona chose her next words very carefully.
“Dad,” she said slowly, “why did you ask if I’d seen Mom?”
This time, it was Dad’s turn to be silent.
“Dad?” Fiona asked again.
He sighed before answering at last. “Because your mother is alive—and a selkie, like you.”
H. K. VARIAN has always loved reading about ancient mythology, ruins, and magic. Though H. K. once dreamed of having awesome powers like in the Hidden World of Changers series, writing became kind of like magic in and of itself. Today H. K. lives, writes, and has adventures in both North Carolina and New York City, though most of them don’t involve battling warlocks, storming castles, or retrieving enchanted objects.
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Designed by Nick Sciacca
The text of this book was set in Celestia Antiqua.
ISBN 978-1-4814-6964-7 (hc)
ISBN 978-1-4814-6963-0 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4814-6965-4 (eBook)
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2015954651