by H. K. Varian
“We have to assume so,” Sefu answered. “Auden’s servants are too close for my liking. Think of it—The Compendium in the hands of Auden Ironbound.”
“You worry too much,” Yara chided him. “The Compendium can protect itself. It has defenses that not even the most powerful warlock can crack.”
“We hope,” Sefu muttered darkly. “But let us not forget that the book was lost when the warlocks attacked and burned the safe house at Tareth. With the way it conceals itself, it can just as easily be lost again. But The Compendium aside, what about the children? You cannot deny that they were in danger today. Auden Ironbound is like a wounded animal—and one must never corner a wounded animal.”
“It seems the children can take care of themselves,” Yara shot back. “I remember you were quite capable as a youngling, Sefu. Be careful that you do not underestimate them.”
“I think we can all agree that Dorina is teaching them well,” Mr. Kimura spoke up suddenly. “They were our first line of defense against the Horn of Power.”
“And Auden still has the Horn,” Yara added. “They are the only ones immune to its call.”
“I don’t like this,” Ms. Therian said. “It’s not right. We should put ourselves at risk first and foremost—not them. Never them.”
“Do not let your affection cloud your judgment,” Mr. Kimura said gently. “I have full confidence in your tutelage, Dorina. Remember why we are here. Remember what we were born to do.”
“No, Akira,” Sefu said firmly. “I have lived many centuries. Their lives have just begun. I may be an old man, but I know my place in the great circle. We must protect them at all costs.”
“We are all bound to protect our cause!” Yara exclaimed. “Young and old united against whatever danger the dark powers deliver to us.”
Then all the First Four were talking at once, their raised voices echoing off the walls of the Ancillary Gym.
No, Fiona thought, remembering what Ms. Therian had told them before the battle for Willow Cove. Auden Ironbound wants this. He wants us distracted—and if we’re arguing with one another, that’s even better.
She noticed then how tense Darren was, sitting beside her. His fingers lit up with crackling sparks, but he didn’t seem to notice as he stared at the First Four, worry written all over his face.
This has to stop, Fiona said. And no one was more surprised than Fiona herself when she spoke.
“Excuse me,” she said. Then louder: “Excuse me!”
All eyes turned to her.
“Do we get a say?” she asked, astonished by her boldness. Was it possible that she was challenging the First Four, the greatest Changers alive?
Apparently, it was.
For half a second, Fiona thought she saw a hint of a smile flicker over Mr. Kimura’s face, but it disappeared too quickly for her to be sure.
“Of course you do,” he said.
“Any decisions you make must be fully informed,” Ms. Therian spoke up. “I want you to know that Auden Ironbound is angry. Without a doubt, he is determined to have his revenge. He is perhaps even more dangerous after defeat than he was before.”
For the first time in her life, though, Fiona didn’t need to think carefully about it. Her mind was already made up. She rose to her feet and said in a clear, steady voice, “I want to help find the compass. If Auden is after us, I want to be part of the fight to stop him.”
Darren stood up too. “So do I,” he said.
“And me,” Mack added as he scrambled to his feet.
“Me too,” Gabriella said, her cat’s eyes flashing. “Otherwise, what’s the point?”
All eyes turned to her.
“We all have this—this—this ability,” she said, struggling to find the right words. “I guess you could call it a gift, maybe. A challenge, definitely. But if we don’t use it for good . . . why should we have it at all?”
The First Four exchanged a glance. Fiona could tell that they were discussing the matter silently among themselves, reaching a secret conclusion.
“I’m sorry,” Sefu finally said. “It’s just too dangerous. You need to understand that these people who came after you—they’re not the bad guys in your comic books and your movies. They will kill you if given the chance. They will come after the people you love.”
“I agree,” Ms. Therian said, nodding her head. “If Auden Ironbound realizes that you have The Compendium, you’re at even greater risk. And there’s no doubt in my mind that his henchmen would recognize Fiona and Darren after their encounter in the library. Right now, at this very moment, they are probably working on a plan to find you—and follow you straight to Circe’s Compass.”
“We should assemble an outside team made up of those the warlocks wouldn’t recognize,” Mr. Kimura suggested. “It will take a week or so, but I think that would be the safest option.”
“A week?” Fiona exclaimed. “But—”
“You needn’t worry about the compass,” Ms. Therian interrupted her. “We can take it from here.”
Chapter 7
The Secret Mission
Their response hit Mack harder than he’d thought. Mack, Gabriella, Darren, and Fiona had saved the Changers once before, and they could do it again. He was sure of it.
This isn’t over. Mack sent the thought to his friends. I’ll talk to Jiichan. Maybe he’ll be able to convince the others.
But that was easier said than done.
“There’s nothing I can do,” Jiichan said as they pulled into the driveway at home. “The First Four put everything to a vote, and the vote was that you are not ready.”
“But we are!” Mack cried. “You have to know that. And besides, when we defeated Auden on the beach, we were definitely not ready, but we still did it!”
“I understand that you are frustrated,” Jiichan said calmly. “But the First Four’s decision is final. Now, I am expecting company at any moment and will need your help to prepare.”
“Who’s coming over?” Mack asked.
“His name is Miles Campagna,” Jiichan replied.
Mack scrunched up his face. He’d never heard of Miles Campagna before—and Mack was pretty sure he knew all of Jiichan’s friends. “Who is—” he began.
“I’m sorry, Makoto,” Jiichan interrupted him. “But I am really quite behind. Please tidy those papers on the table, make some tea for Miles, and keep him company in the kitchen. I will join you both as soon as I can.”
“Yes, Jiichan,” Mack said, stifling a sigh.
After Mack filled the teakettle, he started to stack some papers and folders that Jiichan had left on the table. This is ridiculous, Mack thought in frustration. Circe’s Compass is out there—we know where it is!—but Jiichan wants me stuck in the house, getting ready for a tea party. Why are we wasting time? We need to get the compass now!
Suddenly, a label on one of the folders caught his eye. It read: MILES CAMPAGNA/AATXE.
Mack’s fingers hovered over the folder; hesitated. He wasn’t a snoop. He wasn’t the kind of person who enjoyed going through somebody else’s stuff. And yet, that word—“aatxe”—caught Mack’s attention and wouldn’t let go.
Mack sneaked a look at the door, but there was no sign of Jiichan. Just a peek, he promised himself, already feeling guilty.
Then he opened the folder.
MILES CAMPAGNA
Age: 26
Changer form: aatxe
Mack sucked in his breath sharply. Miles is a Changer! he thought in excitement. He didn’t even know what an aatxe was (or how to pronounce it for that matter), but he was dying to find out. Mack turned back to read more, but the next words on the page stopped him.
Occupation: assistant manager at the Middletown Marina
This changes everything, Mack thought. If Miles worked at the Middletown Marina, if he would help Mack and his friends rent a boat, maybe, and pilot it out to the site of the shipwreck . . .
The plan was forming so fast in Mack’s head that he didn’t even no
tice the teakettle’s high-pitched whistle as steam billowed from its spout. The only thing that could shatter Mack’s thoughts was a knock—sharp, loud, insistent—at the back door.
Mack was so startled that he jumped, dropping the file. As the pages scattered across the floor, Mack panicked. “Hang on!” he hollered to the visitor, who was still knocking, as he ducked under the table and grabbed the stray sheets of paper and then shoved them back into the folder.
Mack hurried across the room and checked the peephole to find a tall, lanky guy standing on the doorstep. He had rough stubble on his cheeks and a shiny metal stud in his ear. His dark hair was all messy and tousled—not like he’d tried to style it that way, but like he just didn’t have time. Mack recognized him from his picture in the file and opened the door.
“Are you Miles?” Mack asked.
“Are you Mack?” the guy said. He reached out, grabbed Mack’s hand, and started shaking it. “You—what you did on the beach—”
Miles took a quick glance over his shoulder. Mack immediately held the door open wider. “Come in,” he said.
“It was incredible!” Miles continued as soon as he was safely in the Kimuras’ kitchen. “Everybody’s still talking about it—you know that, right?”
Mack shook his head. “Jii—um, my grandfather—he doesn’t tell me much.”
Miles flashed him a crooked kind of smile. “Well, you and your buddies are pretty much celebrities,” he said. “I forgot how young Changers don’t really get out much beyond your training unit, do you? But trust me, when you’re a little older, and out on your own, there’s this whole network of Changers who will have your back and be there for you, no matter what.”
“Cool,” Mack replied. He didn’t really know what else to say.
“You saved us all, you know—you and your friends,” Miles continued. “Nobody saw it coming—that warlock mess. I’m in your debt, man. If I can ever do you a favor . . . um, you going to get that teakettle?”
“Right! Tea!” Mack exclaimed. He dashed over to the stove and turned off the burner to silence the shrieking kettle. “Do you want some tea? We have, um, green tea, and white tea with ginger . . .”
“White tea with ginger, for sure,” Miles replied. “Thanks. I’ve been on the ocean all day, and let me tell you, it’s a lot colder out there than it is on land.”
“What were you doing? Surfing?” Mack asked, even though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
“Boating, actually,” Miles replied. “I work at the Middletown Marina. We do a few glass-bottom boat tours on the weekends.”
I bet you do, Mack thought as he made the tea, all the while trying to get up the courage to ask for that favor Miles had offered. Mack knew that he couldn’t just blurt it out. . . . He needed to be subtle, to figure out the right way to ask. But the clock was ticking; Jiichan could appear in the kitchen at any moment—and then, Mack knew, his chance would be lost.
“So . . . what kind of Changer are you?” Mack asked as he brought two steaming cups of tea over to the table.
“Aatxe,” Miles replied, a hint of pride in his voice. “The bull.”
“So I did see you on the beach!” Mack exclaimed. “You have reddish brown fur, right?”
Miles raised an eyebrow and then nodded. “I can’t believe you remember. I barely remember anything that went down. What was that, your first mission?”
“Yeah,” Mack said. This is it, he told himself. You’re not going to get a better chance. “So that favor you mentioned? I was wondering . . . would you take my friends and me out sometime, on one of those boats?”
Miles shrugged. “Sure, no problem. You just have to bring an adult along, since you’re not eighteen yet.”
“That’s the thing,” Mack said. “This would be more like a . . . mission than a tour. If you know what I mean.”
Miles leaned back in his chair and gave Mack a long look. “Go on.”
“I don’t think it would take long,” Mack said in a rush. “We know exactly where we need to go. My grandfather wouldn’t even miss me. We’re talking, like, an hour. Two, at the most.”
“I don’t know, man,” Miles said. “Is this going to be dangerous? Because your grandfather really should—”
“No! Not dangerous at all!” Mack assured him. “And if there’s any sign of trouble, we’ll call the whole thing off. I promise.”
“That seems fair.” Miles finally gave in. “I mean, I take people out on these tours every day. They’re pretty tame. And I do owe you one.”
“Thank you!” Mack exclaimed. “Can we go tomorrow?”
Miles scrolled through the calendar on his phone. “Tomorrow’s no good, and we’re closed on Monday,” he said. “Tuesday?”
“Sure,” Mack said at once. “We’ll be there right after school.”
That crooked smile crossed Miles’s face again as he made a note in his phone. “You want a speedboat, maybe?” he suggested. “That glass-bottom boat is pretty slow.”
“A speedboat would be perfect,” Mack said.
“I’ll take care of it,” Miles promised. “Hey, do you mind making another cup of tea?”
“I would be happy to,” Jiichan said as he entered the kitchen. His eyes flickered over to the table. “There’s my file! I’ve been looking for it this whole time! Mack, thank you for entertaining Miles while I was occupied.”
Mack could tell that was his cue to leave. “Anytime, Jiichan,” he said. He could barely hide his smile as he hurried from the room. The mission was on—and he couldn’t wait to tell his friends.
Mack somehow managed to keep quiet about Miles until the end of Changers class on Monday, when Ms. Therian left to check inventory in the storage lockers. Then he told Darren, Fiona, and Gabriella all about his plan.
“I met this Changer, Miles,” he began in a hurried whisper. “He’s a friend of Jiichan’s, and get this—he works at the Middletown Marina. He says he can take us out on one of the speedboats tomorrow! We can go get Circe’s Compass after all!”
“He would do that for us?” Fiona asked in disbelief.
Mack nodded. “He feels like he owes us for saving him from Auden Ironbound during the invasion,” he explained.
Darren slowly shook his head. “You heard the First Four,” he said. “They’re already making plans to get Circe’s Compass next week.”
“Are you kidding?” Mack asked. “We can’t afford to waste two whole weeks while they try to pull together some special team of outsiders to do the job!”
“Those magic-users in the library,” Darren said. “You didn’t see them, Mack. You didn’t see their eyes. They for sure know what Fiona and I look like. Remember what Ms. Therian said? They’ll be watching for us.”
Mack waved his hand in the air. “Don’t let the First Four make you doubt what you can do,” he said. “You and Fiona totally defeated those weak magic-users before. If you have to, you can do it again—and Gabriella and I will be there too. And Miles! He can turn into a bull!”
“As surprising as this might sound, I’m with Mack,” Fiona said bluntly. “I think it’s worth the risk. If we can secure the compass, we can prove to the First Four that we’re ready for real missions and make sure that all young Changers like us are safe.”
Mack turned to Gabriella. “What do you think?”
She shrugged. “You guys already know I’m in,” she said. “My feelings haven’t changed since Saturday. I think it’s time we show the First Four what we can really do.”
“Okay. Fine. I’m in too,” Darren said with a sigh. “But how are we going to get to the marina?”
“I have it all figured out,” Mack said. “There’s a movie theater across the street from the Middletown Marina. Jiichan already said he could drive us there. He’ll think we’re watching a movie, which gives us, like, two hours. It’s going to work out perfectly!”
“I hope you’re right,” Darren said.
“Everything will be fine,” Mack assured him. “
Especially when we have Circe’s Compass, safe and sound.”
The bell rang then, so Mack grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
“Mack! Wait up!” Gabriella called to him. “Do you have Comics Club today?”
“Yeah. You want to come?” asked Mack.
“I thought I might check it out—if that’s okay,” she replied. “I have a few minutes before practice starts.”
“That’s awesome. I think you’ll like it,” Mack said as they walked across the length of the school. “We’re mostly just working on our comics for the art show. You should definitely do one.”
“I don’t know much about comics. . . . Actually, I don’t know anything about them,” Gabriella said. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“That’s okay,” Mack assured her as they walked into the meeting. Mack’s best friend Joel nodded to Mack from the other side of the room. “You’ll do great. And I can help—not that you’ll need it.”
Mack found some extra charcoal and a stack of handouts about panel sizes, lettering, and other techniques for creating a comic book. Then he pulled two desks together at the back of the room, so he and Gabriella could talk.
“I wanted to return this,” Gabriella whispered, reaching into her backpack for The Emerald Wildcat, Volume 1. “Thanks so much for letting me borrow it. I really loved it.”
“Anytime! I brought these in for you, too, just in case you were still interested,” Mack replied as he searched in his own backpack and then presented her with issues two, three, and four. Gabriella’s whole face lit up when she saw them.
“Awesome!” she exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice. “To read about a real nahual—doing good in the real world—it’s so . . .”
“Inspiring?” Mack guessed.
“Comforting,” Gabriella said. She glanced down for a moment. “Do you realize how in control the Emerald Wildcat must’ve been? Nobody knew who she was—even though she was totally public about her nahual abilities! And using her nahual powers in her human form so naturally. I mean, that is amazing!”
