Family of the Fox, #1

by F. M. Isaacs

  “But if went back in time, no one could have changed me back.”

  “You’d come back to us, and we would.”

  “But you didn't tell me you could!” I shrilled in fury, pulling away from them. “Had I known, I would have gone to you right away! Look what I had to go through! Why didn't you tell me you were a changer, Mom? You told me the other stuff! I can’t believe any of this...”

  Mom remained silent, but her mind was evidently at work. “How do you know Daniel’s a tree?”

  “Again with the trees,” Dad groaned, whatever that meant. Probably another one of their crazy stories.

  “He talked to me! Well, in my mind.”

  My father raised his eyebrows, and Mom grabbed my hands in earnest. “Was he kind of 'glowing'?”

  “Yes.”

  Releasing me, Mom nudged Dad, and they gazed at each other like the most spectacular secret of all was about to be divulged. “Come here, Corinne.”

  “I am here,” I uttered blankly.

  “Try this.”

  “What?”

  With a flash, I was on the ground, immobile and shapeless. Mom! What did you do to me? I shrieked in my mind.

  “Now, Corinne, you're a rock. But you don't want to be one, do you?”

  Of course not!

  There it was again, the bizarreness of being solid and unbreathing...

  “So you need to push yourself back into human form.”

  How do I do that?

  “Think of your body. Think of how it feels to have arms and legs, and to be able to move. Think of what it’s like to be flesh and blood, and to be tall.”

  A powerful warmth ran through me.

  “My God,” Dad breathed.

  Mom, however, was clapping. “Yes! Yes! Think of the light – push yourself into that ball of light!”

  A surge of energy flowed through my form...

  “Go, Corinne! Go!” Dad encouraged excitedly.

  Something gave inside of my very being, and I guided the power through me. I was no longer stone. My very essence was now the energy, manifested as a bright orb of light.

  “Yes!! Now push yourself into your real form!” Mom instructed.

  Arms, legs.... I forced myself into my corporeal, human figure. Everything was coming back – hair, fingernails, nose...

  “Finish up, Corinne! Be you!”

  And I was.

  Even though I'd been human for a few minutes when my mother changed me back before, returning to it yet again after all the time as a bird was still difficult, and I stumbled a bit before I could right myself. Then I resumed my violent shaking. This new power had not only rendered me speechless, but I was infuriated as well. If I had only known, I could have saved myself. I could have escaped Allen and even stopped him for good!

  Dad let out a series of astonished curses, while Mom wept and embraced me. “You're my kid,” she whispered. “Mine and Julian's. Everyone said you'd be incredible. They were right.”

  “She even changed back fully dressed! Is she just like you, Patricia?” Dad ventured between uncontrollable bouts of smiling.

  “What does that mean?” I made a proud but angry yawn.

  “She's tired, Julian.”

  Dad continued as if Mom hadn't spoken. “Your mother picks up whatever abilities she's exposed to, Corinne. It's extremely exceptional, even for people like us. I don't know if you have that talent too, or you simply have innate abilities. I have to tell my parents. My father would love to work with you.”

  “Why?” I tried to stop myself from shivering. It wasn't working.

  “Ron is a teacher,” explained my mother.

  “I thought he's a surgeon.”

  “He also teaches people abilities. He works with them to bring them out.”

  “So anyone can do this?”

  “No. Some people are born with talents, others are able to learn them – from people like my father,” Dad replied.

  “And I guess some can't pick up anything at all.”

  “True.”

  So my own mother was doing this all along, “being” things before I ever existed. And now I could too. After the other discoveries I'd made about myself, this one was the hardest to accept. But it was true, and I now had to learn all I could about it. “How can I see or hear if I'm...whatever...a rock?”

  Mom swished her foot against the floor. “Corinne, you need to rest. It's so late,” she replied, but the hunger for information was written so clearly on my face that she grudgingly went on.

  “No one, not even Jonas, truly understands how we are able to transform things. A rock should just be a rock, right? But by studying my father, Jonas, who is every bit the scientist, feels that this ability of ours proves that there is more to consciousness than just the physical brain.”

  Digesting this, I nodded slowly. “So you're saying, like a soul?”

  “Maybe. You've heard of out-of-body experiences?”

  “Yes. I never believed in them, however.”

  Dad chuckled. “But you believe in transformation.”

  Mom folded her hands together. “Well, I liken it to the idea that the consciousness can be separate from a body. Our body might go through a complete metamorphosis, but our ‘soul’ or consciousness remains, locked in whatever form we've put ourselves in.”

  We blinked at each other for a few seconds, and then Mom sighed. “I wish Lisette could have seen this. She's the one you were named after – a venerable old changer.”

  Of course, having been born in 1761, she would have been ancient. I was very curious as to what her story was. The idea of her living that long fascinated me.

  “She was able to live so long because she changed. She never stayed as any one person.”

  “Don't you just...run out of energy at some point?”

  Mom gulped. “I don't know. She was killed,” she replied softly.

  Someone killed a changer? I wanted to ask more, but my mother's tortured expression silenced me for the time being.

  “Okay, let's get a few hours of sleep so we're strong. I'll need to get my father. Then we'll go rescue your brother and stop Aldous.”

  “Well, at least for a while,” Dad added. “He’ll start on Hannah soon enough when he’s back home.”

  “Let's go now!” I gasped, horrified that we would wait. “We've got to save Daniel!”

  Shaking her head, Mom countered, “Corinne, you're exhausted from changing and everything Aldous put you through. We need all the strength we can get. We've got to be clear and sharp.”

  “I can't sleep, Mom! How can I sleep after I found all this out?”

  First my mother's hand was on me. Then we were both upstairs by my bed.

  Mom pulled back the blanket and straightened the sheet. “Get in,” she demanded.

  I only had to look at her face to know that I had no other choice. I got in, she covered me up and ordered, “sleep.”

  I did.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Wherever I was, the daylight was so bright that I had to shield my eyes to make out the scene before me. I stood in a garden, and a slight, brown-haired woman stooped over a flower bed, snipping off dead blossoms. She straightened slightly but did not look at me.

  “Et qui êtes-vous, mademoiselle?”

  Her musical voice seemed to speak of ages past. Judging from her 1920s clothing, I had a feeling that I was not in the present.

  From my seven years of French, I could tell she was asking who I was. However, I didn't have the slightest idea how to reply. Since my mother had just sent me to sleep, I assumed I was dreaming. Yet the place seemed very real; a light breeze blew against my cheek, and the damp earth gave under my feet.

  “It is real, my child,” the woman spoke, her words surprisingly delivered in English. Her accent was overly French, but there were more exotic tones beneath it that I couldn't place.

  She turned to me, displaying a soft, trustworthy face, age-worn but loving. Immediately, I felt silly in the pajama shir
t and shorts I wore. I can't say I was properly attired for the occasion.

  “You aren't dreaming, but you have traveled a great distance.”

  Oh, no. My father had time traveled in his sleep before. He had ended up in the Tower of London. Apparently, I had ended up here...whenever and wherever here was.

  The woman examined me, tilting her head in curiosity as her eyes seemed to bore through me. Then, an astonished, proud expression played over her features.

  “You are ours,” she stated gently.

  “What?”

  A man came stomping through the grass. “Lisette, j'ai faim, et–” He paused, seeing me.

  I held in a large gasp. It was George – my mysterious “cousin” born in 1822. He was young, dressed in an old-fashioned pinstripe suit and hat, but it was definitely him. Yet he didn't appear to recognize me at all.

  “Oh, excusez-moi,” he said, and, with a look from the woman, he walked off.

  He had called her Lisette.

  “Where am I?” I demanded.

  “Lyon, France. I shall add the year 1924 for you. I see you need that.”

  That confirmed it. I had indeed traveled. Well, at least I wasn’t in the Tower of London.

  “You're Lisette, from 1761. You’re a changer – just like me.”

  “You are very new to it, yes?”

  The woman was most definitely reading my mind, and for some reason, it didn't bother me. In fact, it actually helped. There were no secrets this way.

  “Yes,” I replied. “And...I'm scared of it.”

  “Why are you scared, chérie?”

  I don't know why I felt like I could talk to her, but the floodgates opened, and I started babbling. “I just did my first...change-back, I guess you'd call it. My mother turned me into a rock, and had me change myself back.”

  “And how did you do?”

  “Fine. Because I didn't want to be a rock.”

  “And that is how you change yourself as well. Make yourself want to be something else instead of you.”

  That made a certain, basic sense. “But what if I kill myself? What if I stop in the middle? What if–”

  “Shh... You cannot because you will not. Don't do it, that's all. And there's a way out of everything. Embrace your ability – it's what you are. You are a very special being. You're of the Family of the Fox.”

  “Well, my mother's maiden name was Fox,” I said.

  “Yes, you must be aware of the family lore. We are related to a changer who lived many years back. They called him 'The Fox' because he liked to be one.”

  “Aldous.” The name sounded strange in the 1920s air, like it had no reason for being here.

  She nodded. Had she read my mind enough to see what had happened with Allen? If so, she didn't let on. “Aldous the Changer,” she murmured thoughtfully.

  I sighed, and looked away.

  She touched my shoulder. “Don't ever be afraid of it, chère Corinne,” she smiled as she pulled my name from my thoughts, “Embrace it. It is you. You are the universe. You are nature. But now you must return. Go, and be well. Au revoir, chérie. Return to safety.” She dismissed me with a wave of her hand, and, with an accompanying bolt of nausea, I lay back in my bed.

  GROGGILY, I WALKED downstairs. It was hardly past dawn, but my parents were up, dressed, and finishing breakfast. “Grandpa here yet?”

  “Any second now. Should I bother to ask how you slept?” Mom winked, placing a bowl of oatmeal in front of me.

  “I time traveled.”

  Dad jumped out of his chair and it fell backwards. “Oh, God! Where?”

  I sat down and picked up the spoon. “1924. I met Lisette.”

  A long silence fell over the room, and I saw my mother wipe away a tear. “That's lovely,” she said in a near-whisper. “How did that happen? Were you thinking about her?”

  “Did you tell her who you were?” Dad asked, righting the chair. I guess he was worried that I'd altered history. Would we even know that?

  I scooped some oatmeal into my mouth, thinking over what had occurred. I hadn't told Lisette who I was, but she was perfectly aware.

  “I didn't tell her,” I finally answered. “But she said I'm 'Family of the Fox'.”

  Knowingly, my mother nodded.

  Dad inhaled deeply. “Hopefully that didn't change anything,” he mumbled.

  “What else did she say?” Mom continued, not looking at my father.

  “She knew I was a changer. She told me not to be afraid, and to embrace it.”

  “Yup, that's Lisette,” Mom smiled wistfully. “Anything else?”

  “I saw George in a 1920s outfit.”

  “He's her great-grandson. You should let him know you saw her. Visit him sometime so he can tell you about her. Their stories are incredible, living all those years.” She cleared her throat. “So then what happened?”

  “I left. Lisette knew I'd traveled, and I had to return home. But she made me feel a lot better about myself.”

  “Better? You should be thrilled with yourself. Do you understand what we are?” Dad spouted out, throwing himself back down in his chair. He fished up his spoon and plunged it into his cereal to drive the point home.

  “What are we, Julian?” Mom prompted, her brows raised in annoy-ance. Her “don't give her a swelled head” expression was all over her face.

  Shrinking back as if stung, Dad replied, “We're awesome.”

  Mom grimaced at his words. “I'm glad you got to meet Lisette, Corinne. She was a remarkable woman.”

  Now that I'd spoken to my middle-name namesake, I felt a little more comfortable with my new status as a changer. I knew it would be a while until it seemed normal, but at least I was on the road to acceptance. But some new questions came to mind...

  “Mom, the night of the party, Matthew and I were attacked. Do you have any idea what happened?”

  She grinned sheepishly. “That was your father and I. I'm sorry if we hurt you, but we were trying our best to get you away so you wouldn't see Aldous and Daniel playing at being deer. We didn't want you getting involved with Aldous...” Her comment ended on a dark note.

  “But I didn't see anything. Were you birds?”

  “Invisible birds,” Dad smirked.

  “Oh, God. Invisibility is a thing too?” I choked. My mother flickered out and reappeared with another wink. “Oh, holy hell,” I reacted involuntarily, just like Grandpa Brian usually did.

  “Your mom was the owl that you saw in the backyard, too. Remember?” Dad smiled at Mom. “You were so beautiful like that, Patricia.” His tone reflected genuine adoration, which made her blush.

  “But the shrieking I heard? What was that, Mom?”

  “Aldous and Daniel were out there as animals. I was trying to see what was going on.”

  “But–”

  “You didn't mention he was looking through her window as a bird, Patricia,” Dad spat angrily. “He was checking her out even back then.”

  The paralyzing fear of that night swept over me again. Allen was the cause of it all.

  My mother coughed, nodding slightly. “Then I drove them out of the yard. I purposely hurt Daniel a bit so he'd need to come home. It didn't work, unfortunately.”

  “Aldous probably fixed him up,” Dad pointed out.

  “Didn't they know it was you chasing them?”

  “I had my mind blocked off,” Mom explained. “That way no one can pick up my thoughts. You'll need to learn to do that too.”

  “Right...okay...” Mind control. Great. One more thing to deal with.

  “If you can get into people's heads, why didn't you get into mine to see what I was doing when I was seeing Allen? You must have known I was up to something.”

  “I suspected it, but I've always made it a rule not to do that to you. Your mind is yours alone, and I won't go in there unless I know for certain that you're in danger.”

  Well, that was comforting. At least Mom hadn't been silently watching my every move.

  “T
he reed at the concert,” I began.

  “I fixed it.”

  Of course. I grabbed my hair in consternation. My whole life was being orchestrated by forces beyond my control. “How, Mom? If you weren't in my head, how'd you know? How could you see my reed from where you were sitting?”

  “Your mother's a changer, Corinne. She has her ways.”

  “How–”

  “Oh, an empty bathroom is the perfect place to change into a tiny moth,” Mom tossed out. “Now finish up your oatmeal.” I swallowed down the last few lumps as Mom stood up and made her way toward the window.

  A crow perched outside tapped the glass with its foot. Mom opened up the screen and allowed the creature inside. “Hi Dad,” she greeted it, shutting the window once again.

  The animal was truly majestic. It landed on the rug quite deftly, shaking out its silky black feathers and preening them for a second.

  What stood before me was not a bird. It was, in fact, my grandfather. Lifting its wing to wave at me, it took a bow.

  “Nice, put on a show, Brian,” Dad muttered, turning away.

  The bird squawked at him and flashed into my grandfather, who was beaming. He ran at me, picking me up and swinging me around. I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

  “Another changer in the family! Leave it to your mother!”

  “And me,” Dad added.

  “Well, I guess that's possible,” Grandpa Brian admitted, entertained as usual by sparring with my father. “Considering that neither of Jack's kids have that talent.”

  “Dad, they’re a healer and a time traveler!” Mom retorted, exasperated.

  “Those aren't the same,” said my grandfather, sitting down on the chair and grabbing up my hands. “So what have you been, Corinne? Tell me all your adventures.”

  “She hasn't become anything by herself yet, Dad. Aldous changed her several times.”

  “To?”

  “A rabbit, a mountain lion, a fish–”

  “Oh, I love being a fish! Anything aquatic is such an adventure!” Grandpa Brian clasped his fingers together, then caught my mother's warning look. “But you have to be careful with that.”