The Gathering Storm

by H. K. Varian

  “When is this going to happen?” Fiona asked.

  “Soon,” Ms. Therian said. “That’s the best I can tell you right now. Time is of the essence, so I suggest we stop talking now and get to work. Fiona, I want you to practice those deep breathing exercises we discussed. Darren, flight for you today, I think. Gabriella, let’s work on sprinting for you. I think you’ll find it’s quite a different experience on four legs instead of two. And Mack, keep practicing your transformation. I’m sure you’ll have the hang of it in no time.”

  The moment Mack had been dreading was upon them: in a flash, everyone else transformed, leaving him behind. His face was burning as he moved to sit alone on the floor, trying with all his might to transform—fluttering his eyelids, flexing his muscles, twitching, stretching, everything. But with each move he got the same result.

  Nothing.

  Mack was actually glad when the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Since Mack didn’t need to transform back into his human form, he was the first one out the door. Comics Club was meeting today, and that was always fun. Suddenly, Mack felt like he’d barely seen or talked to Joel since riding the bus on the first day of school. Hanging out with non-Changers is just what I need, Mack decided—until he arrived at Comics Club and saw everyone poring over the latest issue of Super Warriors. Superpowers, superpowers, superpowers wherever Mack turned. For the first time in his life, Mack was sick of comic books and superheroes.

  “Mack! Get in here!” Joel hollered when he spotted Mack hovering in the doorway. “You won’t believe what happens in issue seventeen!”

  “Actually, I can’t stay,” Mack replied. “I have some stuff to do at home.”

  Joel’s face fell. “Oh. Okay,” he said. “Talk to you later?”

  “Sure,” Mack replied.

  Mack sent a quick text to Jiichan to ask for a ride home and then set off for the parking lot to wait for him. The clouds had never cleared up, and now, a light drizzle was falling. It didn’t seem like much, but soon Mack’s shirt was soaked.

  “Mack!” a voice called.

  He turned around to see Gabriella approaching. He could see her friend Daisy trying to get her attention, but Gabriella didn’t seem to notice her.

  “Hey,” Mack replied. “What’s up?”

  “Practice got canceled,” Gabriella said, gesturing to her cleats. “The weather.”

  “Do you need a ride? My grandfather should be here soon,” said Mack.

  Gabriella shook her head. “I live close enough to walk,” she said. “But I can hang out with you while you wait.”

  “Thanks,” Mack said. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby, but they were alone. Just do it, Mack told himself. Swallow your pride and ask.

  “Can I ask you something?” Mack said.

  “Sure,” replied Gabriella.

  “What’s it like?” Mack asked, his words tumbling out in a rush. “Changing, I mean.”

  Gabriella stared off into the distance, deep in thought. “It’s . . . hard to describe,” she began. “I’ve only done it twice now. I guess . . . Have you ever been bodysurfing?”

  “Like in the ocean?” said Mack. “Sure.”

  “It kind of feels like that,” she explained. “You feel this wave approaching, and then you have a choice: if you take a deep breath and, like, prepare yourself . . . and just sort of let go . . . the wave will lift you up and carry you. It’s so easy and natural. It feels right, you know?”

  Mack nodded.

  “But if you force it, you’ll face-plant,” Gabriella continued. “The wave will drag you down, and you’ll be sputtering through a mouth full of sand and salt water.”

  Gabriella pulled her hair out of its high ponytail. “I’m not sure that makes any sense,” she said with a self-conscious laugh.

  “No,” Mack said earnestly. “You made perfect sense. I think . . . I’ve been doing everything wrong, you know? I’ve definitely been trying to force it . . . and getting nowhere.”

  Gabriella looked sympathetic. “I think that first transformation is kind of out of our control,” she confided. “My eyes—They’d started changing on their own. If we hadn’t started Changers class right around the same time, I don’t know what I would’ve done. Can you imagine how terrifying it would have been to change without warning?”

  “Yeah,” Mack said. “I hadn’t thought about it like that before. At this point I’m just so ready to change. I can’t believe I’m the last one to figure it out.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Gabriella told him. “You’ll get it. Ms. Therian believes in you—and look, your own grandfather is one of the First Four—I mean, that’s incredible!”

  Mack tried to smile, but Gabriella’s enthusiasm just made him feel worse. If Jiichan was one of the First Four, shouldn’t Mack have an easier time transforming—and not harder?

  Just then, Jiichan pulled up to the curb. Mack was happier than usual to see him. If talking to Gabriella had given him an entirely new perspective on how he should approach Changing, then what could he learn from his own grandfather, a true master?

  “Thanks for the advice, Gabriella,” Mack said. He hopped into the car.

  “How was your day?” Jiichan asked as Mack fastened his seat belt.

  “Gabriella can change now too,” Mack said with a sigh. “That’s everybody—everybody except me. Please, you have to help me, Jiichan. Can you at least tell me what’s it like? What did it feel like when you first transformed?”

  Jiichan turned up the windshield wipers to high. “You will understand soon,” he replied.

  Mack balled up his fists in frustration. He and Jiichan sat in silence for a few moments while Mack tried to get his anger under control.

  “I’m asking you simple questions!” Mack finally exploded. “Why won’t you answer them? I don’t know how to do this and it’s killing me!”

  “Perhaps, then, you should try patience,” Jiichan said.

  “Oh, thanks. That’s great advice,” Mack said sarcastically. He knew how disrespectful he was being, but for once, he was so upset that he didn’t even care. “It’s not like there’s some insane, power-hungry warlock on the way. You’re right. I’ll just sit around and wait. I’m sure that will work out fine.”

  Jiichan didn’t respond, which made Mack even angrier.

  “It would’ve been hard enough to go through this if Mom and Dad were here,” he snapped. “But they’re gone. I guess it was too much to expect my grandfather to be there for me.”

  But not even that could get a response from Jiichan. As they drove home without speaking, Jiichan’s silence made Mack feel worse than ever.

  Chapter 10

  The Horn of Power

  A famous poet was visiting the campus of New Brighton University later that evening, which meant Fiona was spending the afternoon in her father’s office in the English department. As chair for poetry, her dad was always hosting readings like this. Though she was looking forward to hearing the poet read, Fiona found herself wishing she were anywhere else. Actually, just one place else: the ocean cove, where she had first swam as a selkie. The saltwater pool in the ancillary gym just wasn’t the same.

  Fiona stood up from her father’s desk and decided to get a snack from the vending machine. When she saw a familiar face reflected in the glass case, she almost gasped.

  “Darren?” Fiona asked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “Fiona!” Darren exclaimed. “I— What are you doing here?”

  “My dad’s an English professor,” she explained. “He’s working late tonight, so . . .”

  Darren nodded knowingly. “My mom’s a chemistry professor,” he said. “Usually, I hang out in the science building, but man, it stinks over there today!”

  “Experiment gone wrong?” Fiona laughed.

  “Definitely,” Darren replied. “My brother, Ray, goes here, and he said that the English department has the best student lounge.”

  “Oh, it
does. No doubt about that,” Fiona said.

  “So here I am,” Darren said.

  “You know, I was going to head over to the library to work on my Changers report,” Fiona said. “Want to come?”

  “Sure,” said Darren.

  “Have you ever been in the rare books room before?” Fiona asked as they walked across campus. “You won’t even believe the amazing ancient texts they have—parchment pages, gold lettering . . . You even have to wear cotton gloves to touch them.”

  “Gloves?” Darren made a face. But when they reached the library, he didn’t complain when she handed him a pair.

  Soon, Fiona was so engrossed in the beautiful old books that she almost forgot Darren was there. The only sound was the camera on her phone, click-click-clicking as she took photos of anything she could find on selkies.

  Then Fiona gingerly opened an ancient book with a crumbling cover. It was like an encyclopedia, illuminated by exquisite illustrations that depicted each kind of transformation. She turned a few pages and began to read.

  The Horne of Power

  The Horne of Power can be brandished only by a Witch or Warlock of unusual Strength and Skill. It has but one Limitation: younglings will be unaffected by its hypnotizing song, but this is of little consequence as younglings are usually quite Weak and Unskilled. Any Warlock worthy of the Horne will easily be able to overpower younglings in other ways.

  It took Fiona a little longer than usual to make sense of the words, especially since they were written in such elaborate, squiggly letters. But once she did understand them, she had to read it again—just to make sure she was right.

  “Darren,” she whispered hoarsely. “Look—look at this.”

  Fiona waited impatiently while Darren puzzled through the difficult text. When he finally looked up from the book, she could tell that he understood too.

  “The First Four weren’t immune to the horn,” Fiona said. “They were just young! That’s why it didn’t work on them!”

  “So a youngling is . . . ,” Darren began.

  “Here,” Fiona said, carefully paging through the ancient book before reading aloud. “ ‘A youngling is but a Changer who has not yet come of age. While even the most juvenile Changers can display some of their powers from birth, the true extent of their skills will not be known until later in life.’ ”

  “Auden Ironbound is on his way, and the First Four think they can still beat him,” Darren said. “But—”

  “They’ll be powerless against the horn now—just like all the other adult Changers,” Fiona finished for him.

  “Do you think Auden Ironbound knows that?” Darren asked suddenly.

  “I have no idea,” Fiona replied with a sinking feeling. “This book has been locked away in the rare books room for a long time . . . but it might not be the only copy.” She stood up abruptly. “We have to tell Mack and Gabriella, figure out what to do next—”

  Just then, Darren’s phone buzzed. “My mom’s ready to go,” he said. “Perfect timing.”

  “And I’m going to be stuck here for another three hours at least!” Fiona sighed.

  “Hey, why don’t you come back with us?” Darren asked. “We can get together with Mack and Gabriella and fill them in.”

  Fiona thought about it for a moment. “I think that should be okay,” she said. “Let me text my dad.”

  Hey, Dad. I left my math book at school. Darren’s mom, Professor Smith, can drive me back to Willow Cove. OK? Sorry! See you at home tonight!

  Fiona sent the text, making a silent wish that her father wouldn’t be mad at her for missing the poetry reading. At least it wasn’t completely a lie—Fiona did leave her math book at school, but only because she’d already finished her homework.

  With extra caution, Fiona carefully closed the ancient book and returned it to its glass case. “Let’s go,” she said, a strange urgency in her voice. “There’s no time to lose.”

  Ninety minutes later, Fiona, Mack, and Darren hunkered down in Darren’s old tree house. The rain drummed against the wooden roof that Ray had nailed in place back when Darren was in kindergarten. Darren hardly ever came out to the tree house these days, and it showed—there were dried-up, crunchy leaves scattered across the floor, and more than a few cobwebs. Fiona was glad it was so dim inside. It meant she couldn’t see all the spiders that were surely lurking in the corners.

  As Fiona glanced at her phone again, Darren asked, “Anything?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll text her again, but if Gabriella hasn’t responded to my last five messages, I doubt she’ll reply to this one.”

  “What’s going on?” asked Mack.

  Fiona and Darren took turns telling Mack everything they’d learned about the horn. When they finished, Mack scrunched up his face. “I can’t believe this,” he said. “Are you telling me that the First Four aren’t so special after all? They were just, like, kids?”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Fiona replied quickly. “The book specifically said that most ‘younglings’ would be easily overcome. So obviously, they had some kind of unusual strength, even though they hadn’t come of age.”

  “But the reason they were spared from the horn was because of their age,” Darren pointed out. “We can’t count on them to be immune this time.”

  “Yeah, it has been about a thousand years,” Mack joked, but nobody laughed.

  “So, what are we going to do?” Fiona asked. “We have to figure out the right way to talk to them about it. I can’t imagine they’ll be happy to hear they’re at risk too.”

  Darren turned to Mack. “You’d better talk to your grandfather,” he said. “I mean, you know him a lot better than the rest of us know Ms. Therian.”

  “Ah, um, well . . . th-there’s just one problem with that,” Mack stammered. “Jiichan and I aren’t exactly speaking right now.”

  Fiona’s eyes grew wide. “Why not?” she asked. “What happened?”

  “We had a stupid fight,” Mack admitted. “All because I asked him for a little extra help. I—I—”

  “Go on,” Darren encouraged him. “You can tell us.”

  “It’s nothing you don’t already know,” Mack said with a sigh. “I can’t transform, okay? I don’t even know where to begin. And I thought that maybe my own grandfather, who is apparently one of the greatest Changers of all time, could give me some pointers. But I guess that was too much to ask.”

  While Mack stared at the floor in embarrassment, Darren and Fiona exchanged a glance.

  “Mack, you’ll figure it out,” Fiona finally told him.

  “Everybody keeps saying that,” Mack replied. “But until it happens, I’m not really a Changer, you know? I’m just some loser along for the ride.”

  “No way,” Darren said firmly.

  “Seriously,” Fiona agreed. “Don’t you think your grandfather and Ms. Therian would know if you weren’t actually a Changer? They believe in you.”

  “And we do too,” added Darren.

  “Thanks, guys,” Mack said. But one look at his face told Fiona that Mack wasn’t convinced, and the only thing that could change his feelings would be learning how to transform.

  “So, you’ll talk to your grandfather when you get home?” Darren pressed.

  Mack glanced out the tree house window. The rain was falling harder now. “It might be better if we talk to Ms. Therian tomorrow,” he suggested.

  Fiona frowned. “But—” she began.

  “Listen,” Mack broke in. “I just had a big fight with my grandfather, right? Now, imagine I walk into the house and tell him he’s not quite as powerful as he thinks. That it was all just a misunderstanding. How do you think that will go over?”

  “I see your point,” said Fiona.

  “How about this?” Mack continued. “We’ll go to Ms. Therian tomorrow in Changers class. All of us. Darren and Fiona, since you actually saw the book, you can tell her exactly what it said.”

  “Can we afford to wait?” asked Darren.
<
br />   “Yeah. I think so,” replied Mack. “Jiichan has had the weather station on all afternoon. The hurricane isn’t supposed to hit for three more days.”

  “Where is Gabriella?” Fiona asked suddenly. “I can’t believe she hasn’t texted me back.”

  A sudden downpour clattered on the roof, making everyone look up warily. A few minutes later the rain slowed again to a steady patter. It would’ve been a soothing sound—comforting, even—if there wasn’t an evil, power-hungry warlock behind it.

  “Maybe she lost her phone,” said Darren.

  “Maybe,” Fiona said.

  But everyone could tell she wasn’t convinced.

  Chapter 11

  Out of Time

  The next morning Gabriella made sure that she was the first one waiting at Lizbeth’s locker. Lizbeth’s messenger chat last night had made it very clear that anything less would not be okay. While she waited, Gabriella sneaked a peek in her little mirror. Ponytail—check. Little gold earrings—check. Normal brown eyes—check. There is no reason to be worried, Gabriella reminded herself. Lizbeth was her best friend . . . right?

  Suddenly, someone snatched the mirror from Gabriella’s hand and snapped it closed. It was Lizbeth, of course.

  “You have gotten so vain!” Lizbeth announced. She was smiling like she was teasing, but her eyes looked like she meant it. “All the time with this mirror, I swear. Just checking to make sure you’re still gorgeous, huh?”

  “No, it’s because my hair is a disaster,” Gabriella said automatically. It was always safer to put herself down when Lizbeth acted like this. “I had to redo my ponytail three times already.”

  “Yeah, it looks pretty frizzy,” Lizbeth said smugly. “Must be all this rain.”

  Gabriella glanced down the hall and waved when she saw Daisy and Katie approaching.

  “G!” Daisy exclaimed. “What happened yesterday? Why were you talking with that Mack guy after school? I wanted to hang out.”