by H. K. Varian
As long as distrust continued between the Changers and her own subjects, Mom felt that she had to remain where she was—in the ocean with the selkie faction. Fiona knew that her mother longed to bring the two groups together again—with Fiona’s help. Fiona wanted the same thing, so that the two of them could spend a lot more time together. For now, she had to settle for weekend selkie lessons and occasional surprise visits.
“Have you been practicing the new song I taught you?” Mom asked.
Fiona held up one finger and sang a few notes. A glowing wave symbol appeared on her palm, and then there was a loud whooshing sound. Her mother looked out the window to see a huge wave crash on the rocky shore—a wave Fiona had summoned.
“Amazing!” Mom said. “At this rate you’ll have most of the songs mastered before you even come of age.”
Fiona smiled. It feels so good to hear love and pride in my mother’s voice when she talks about me.
“With everything that’s been going on, I want to learn them fast. I feel better knowing I can defend myself on land if I have to,” Fiona said before filling her mouth with another bite of her mother’s delicious pancakes.
Her mother’s eyes narrowed slightly. “How did your visit to Wyndemere Academy go? I know you were worried about your event in the Youngling Games.”
Fiona put down her fork. “You know that sports aren’t really my thing, but I loved the library, and the class I took was really interesting. I met a lot of other Changers, too. Even a mermaid.”
Mom looked concerned. “When the others found out you were a selkie, did they give you any trouble?”
“I didn’t tell anyone I was a selkie princess, even though I’d like to tell the whole world that you’re my mother,” Fiona admitted. “The First Four said it was best to keep that secret, and after being at Wyndemere I can sort of see why.”
“What happened?”
“The first two girls who learned I was a selkie—both waterborne Changers—didn’t exactly make me feel welcome there. They thought I was a spy or something. Isn’t that crazy?”
Mom sighed. “There’s a lot of suspicion and distrust between the selkies and the Changer nation at the moment. Old rumors have gotten blown way out of proportion, and what’s going on between the finfolk and selkies in the Sea of Japan isn’t helping matters. The other waterborne Changers have been keeping their distance from us, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it means less fighting. Bad because it means more suspicion. But you and I are going to change all of that soon.” Mom squeezed her hand from across the table.
“Maybe I already started,” Fiona said. “When they learned I was the selkie from Willow Cove, everything changed. I guess the four of us are pretty famous for defeating Auden Ironbound. And they knew that it was a selkie who destroyed his Horn of Power. All of a sudden they wanted to be friends, so that was kind of cool.”
“It seems you’ve learned that actions really do speak louder than words,” Mom said as she reached for another heap of pancakes. “Now tell me about the competition.”
Fiona didn’t want to worry her mother, but she couldn’t avoid telling her about Sakura. “The competition never happened. The Shadow Fox put an end to that.”
Mom didn’t look quite as surprised as Fiona thought she would, but she urged her daughter to recount the full story about Mack’s decision to confront Sakura, and Fiona’s attempt to save him.
“She disappeared when I sang the Queen’s Song, but not before she attacked Mack. And we’re not sure exactly what she did to him. Mack can’t remember, of course. We only know that she’s trying to start a war.”
Mom seemed to weigh her words carefully before she spoke. “You were very brave to go after your friend the way you did, but I want you to be more careful in the future. Sakura has powers that may be stronger than the Queen’s Song.”
Fiona’s forehead wrinkled with confusion. “I thought the Queen’s Song was the most powerful magic there is?”
“It’s a powerful piece of good magic,” her mother answered. “But there are things about dark magic that we’ll likely never know—not without delving into dark magic ourselves. And that isn’t safe. It was dark magic that turned Sakura into the Shadow Fox.”
Fiona suspected there was something her mother wasn’t telling her. “Have you ever had any trouble with Sakura? Have the selkies?”
Mom turned and looked out the window, back toward her home on the Isles of Saorsie. “Sakura tried to force us into forming an alliance with her. She’s amassing an army to fight the First Four and overthrow the Changer nation. She asked for our help. When we refused, she tried to use dark magic against us.”
“What happened?” Fiona asked.
Mom shook her head. “We kept her at bay. She should know that selkie lands are protected against non-selkies. But there’s concern that she’s trying to find a way past our protections.
“I was afraid she might come after you and your friends. The council was against me using selkie magic in Changer-controlled areas, but I protected a few more places against non-selkie magical beings—this house and the stretch of beach below. Other than selkies, whom we know we can trust, no other magical beings will be able to enter this area.”
For a moment Fiona felt safe and protected by her mother. Then she realized what those words really meant. “But, Mom!” she cried. “My friends, my teacher— They won’t be able to come over!”
Having friends was a new experience for Fiona. The other kids at school were always nice, and she hadn’t been bullied or anything like that, but she’d never had a best friend, either. When she learned she was a selkie, she, Mack, Darren, and Gabriella had become fast friends. She hated to think that now there was going to be a barrier between them.
“I’m sorry, Fiona, but this is for the best. And it’s temporary. As soon as Sakura is contained, I’ll lift the protections.”
“I could have asked the First Four to work protection magic on the house. That way my friends could still come over,” Fiona said.
But Mom wouldn’t hear it. “Selkie magic is stronger than other forms of Changer magic. Nothing can harm you while you’re here. And now that we know Sakura is after your friend, I know I was right to be worried about you.”
Fiona was about to ask her mother to reconsider when she heard the rumble of the school bus. “I have to go,” she said, grabbing her backpack. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
Mom drew her into a hug. “Be safe, my girl.”
Fiona caught a few glimpses of Mack in between classes. He still looked tired, but more like himself. By the time Fiona made it to the afternoon Changers class, she was happy to see that Mack was having fun racing Gabriella around the track for warm-ups. The two of them skidded to a stop a few feet ahead of Fiona and Changed back to their human forms.
“How are you suddenly so fast?” Gabriella asked, sounding almost winded.
“Practice makes perfect?” Mack responded with a smile. “Hey, Darren! Since I’ve tired out Gabriella, want to go another round at elemental archery? I never did get to crush you in the Youngling Games.”
“Oh, you’re so on,” Darren retorted.
While Darren ran to set up the targets, Mack turned to Fiona and got serious for a moment. “By the way, Fiona, thanks for what you said yesterday. . . . I feel better knowing that maybe I did do something brave, and that’s where my mystery tail came from. I was feeling kind of hopeless, and now I don’t feel so bad anymore.”
“I’m glad,” Fiona said. “And I meant it.”
Ms. Therian clapped her hands to get their attention. “Gather ’round! I want to introduce a new exercise we’re going to try today.”
There was an audible groan from Darren, upset that his chance to show Mack up at elemental archery was cut short once again.
Ms. Therian ignored him and pressed on. “As I think you all know by now, teamwork is a vital part of any mission. Successful training isn’t just about honing your skills; it
’s also about finding ways to combine those skills with that of your teammates’.” She turned toward the gym’s double doors. “Please come in, Akira,” she said.
Mack’s grandfather entered the room, followed by a tall man who seemed to be made entirely out of shadow. The image startled Fiona for a moment, bringing her back to the Shadow Fox and the tower at Wyndemere.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Mr. Kimura said, sensing their unease. “This is just an illusion. I’ve conjured it for the purpose of this exercise. The instant one of you touches it”—Mr. Kimura waved a hand through the image—“it will disappear.” The shadow dissolved.
“Your goal will be to use your powers and those of your teammates to catch the illusion. I’ll be timing you. We’ll run a few of these drills today, and maybe up the ante in a few days once you have the gist of it.”
The four young Changers lined up along the indoor track, cracking knuckles and stretching muscles. Then with a flash, all had transformed except Fiona, who was humming an otherworldly tune. Ms. Therian blew her whistle, and they were off.
Gabriella broke ahead of the pack quickly, nearly catching the illusion within the first ten seconds. Darren tossed a few bolts haphazardly, trying to slow it down. Meanwhile, Fiona stayed behind, not even trying to catch up. Her humming turned into the tide song, and she made the hand motions her mother had taught her as she turned her attention to the saltwater pool. Summoning a wave from the ocean was easy. Building a wave in the pool required concentration and time.
But something strange was nagging at Fiona’s concentration—it sounded like a snarl echoing from across the room, followed by a deep-throated growl. Who was doing that? Fiona opened her eyes for a moment and saw Mack. Something was off about his face—he looked fearful—like he was ready to attack, but that couldn’t be right. They were just running a drill; no one was in any real danger.
Fiona got to the final crescendo of the tide song, and the wave symbol appeared on her palm. Pushing her hand forward on the last note, just like her mother had taught her, she watched as the wave burst out of the water, like a four-story wall, and crash down in the illusion’s direction. The shadow man leaped out of the way, clearing the water with a superhuman jump. Before Fiona even had time to blink, Gabriella had used the distraction to close the distance between herself and the target.
Fiona watched Gabriella turn and prepare to pounce, but just at that moment, Mack jumped in front of Gabriella with a snarl.
Fiona gasped. He’s not snarling at the shadow; he’s snarling at Gabriella!
And then he lunged at her.
Chapter 4
The First Lesson
Instinctively, Gabriella dodged Mack’s attack. She heard Fiona’s startled scream behind her and then circled and stood her ground. She kept her eyes locked on Mack’s, her weight on her front paws, ready to fight if she had to.
In her nahual form, Gabriella was hyperaware of everything around her. She realized that it wasn’t her friend Mack she was squaring off against. She could hear his heart hammering in his chest, his eyes angry, his jaw clenched. Then he opened his kitsune mouth to show her his sharp teeth.
What is going on? Gabriella thought. He’s looking at me the same way he looks at our enemies.
In a flash, the shadow illusion disappeared. Mr. Kimura transformed and jumped between Gabriella and his grandson. He growled at the younger kitsune, and Mack seemed to snap out of it. Looking from Gabriella to his grandfather in confusion, he pinned his ears back and sat down on the gym floor.
Darren transformed back into human form and cautiously approached the group. “What was that?”
“Are you all right?” Fiona asked Gabriella.
Gabriella only nodded, still in her nahual form. She didn’t dare take her eyes off Mack. She was waiting for him to Change back, ready to protect Fiona and herself if she needed to.
When Mack Changed, the confusion in his eyes turned to fear. “I—I don’t know what came over me,” Mack stammered. “I felt this surge of adrenaline, and I’m not really sure what happened next. I felt like I was in danger, and the next thing I knew I was in attack mode. I couldn’t control it. Gabriella, you have to understand—”
Mack tried to move toward her, but Mr. Kimura blocked his way. Then Mack noticed his friends’ frightened faces. “I would never have . . . ,” he whispered.
In a flash, Gabriella Changed back to her human form. “It’s all right,” she told him, relaxing a bit. “I know you wouldn’t have bitten me. It just caught me off guard.”
Mack’s eyes filled with tears. Then he hung his head, shame replacing fear.
Mr. Kimura transformed and put a hand on Mack’s shoulder. “Come, Makoto,” he said. “Let us talk.”
Gabriella watched the two of them walk to the other side of the gym and begin a quiet conversation in Japanese. She could tell even from across the room that Mack was trying very hard not to cry, and suddenly, Gabriella was swallowing tears of her own.
That wasn’t him! she thought desperately. She knew deep down that only really powerful dark magic could cause Mack to turn on one of his friends. He would never have done anything like that before Sakura bit him. What did she do to him?
“I think we’ll cut practice short today,” Ms. Therian said. “We all need a break. We’ll continue training for your mission tomorrow—be sure to bring your questions about the mission brief.” She sent Gabriella, Fiona, and Darren to the locker rooms to clean up.
While Fiona showered off the salt water from the pool, Gabriella splashed cold water on her face at the sink. She was still shaken about what had happened, replaying the incident over and over in her head.
Would Mack really have attacked me? What if his grandfather hadn’t come between us and gotten him to back down?
“Do you think Sakura could be controlling Mack?” she asked Fiona suddenly.
Fiona grabbed a towel and started to dry off. “I don’t know,” she said. “At Wyndemere, those high school kids told us that Sakura could use memory eating to turn friends on one another. I thought our bond was too strong for that, but . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“It is,” Gabriella said fiercely. She needed to believe in that connection more than anyone if she was to have a chance at saving Mack.
Fiona nodded. “Sorry—you’re right. And for the record, I don’t believe Mack would have really attacked you in the end. The real Mack would have stepped in and stopped himself before things got too bad. The good in him is stronger than whatever Sakura left behind. . . .
“But it was really scary,” Fiona went on. “Anyway, I’m sure the First Four will find a solution or a cure for whatever’s going on with Mack soon. With all the magic in the world, there has to be a way.”
Gabriella didn’t tell Fiona that her spirit-walking ability was supposed to be the cure. Mack’s grandfather had asked her to keep it a secret. But Gabriella felt more and more like maybe keeping Darren and Fiona out of the loop was a mistake. If the four friends really did share a bond, didn’t secrets like this just weaken it?
After track practice, Gabriella headed home for her first lesson in spirit-walking. Her mother would be at work until later, and Maritza had gone to a friend’s house after school. Tía Rosa had returned to New Brighton for the day, but promised she’d be back soon. Gabriella and her grandmother had the house to themselves.
Gabriella quickly filled Abuelita in on her frightening experience in the gym. “It’s more important than ever that I learn how to do this,” she said.
Abuelita gave her a hug. “But it can’t be rushed, mija. There are things you need to learn before you even attempt to spirit-walk again. You’ll be at risk of losing yourself if you don’t.”
“Losing myself?” Gabriella shivered at the thought. What does that mean, really? What would be left of me if my spirit got lost in the dreamworld—or in Mack’s brain? Just a shell?
Afraid to hear the full answer, she only asked, “Where do we start?”
“The first thing you have to master is meditation,” Abuelita said gently. “That’s easier said than done, but I know you can do it.” She led Gabriella to a cushion she had set up in Gabriella’s bedroom.
“Sit quietly and focus on your breathing,” she explained. “You want to free your mind of thoughts until it’s just you and the breathing.”
Gabriella tried and failed, and tried and failed, again and again. “I keep thinking thoughts,” she said, growing frustrated. “Why was this so easy the first time, when I spirit-walked in Darren’s dreams? I didn’t have to meditate.”
“It’s possible that Yara put your mind in the right place first,” Abuelita explained. “That was an emergency situation, but you’ll be stronger and more protected if you can learn to do it yourself.”
But after another few minutes of failed attempts, Gabriella threw her hands in the air. “I don’t think I’m getting it,” she said in exasperation. “Thoughts keep bouncing around in my head. I keep picturing Mack lunging for me and hearing Fiona scream.”
“Patience. Meditation is all about having a relaxed mind. At your age that’s hard to accomplish, especially with everything that’s been going on. But I know you’ll get there.”
Gabriella nodded. “I’ll try, but I’m not so sure.”
“When thoughts come in, I want you to imagine yourself breathing them out with your exhale. Then come back to focusing on the breath when you inhale,” Abuelita said. “Soon, your thoughts will quiet, and you’ll be able to focus solely on your meditation.
“Think about your transformation, about how it is as effortless as breathing, how you become aware of every part of your nahual body,” she continued. “Use that same awareness to maintain focus.”
Gabriella nodded again and tried to do what her grandmother suggested.
