by H. K. Varian
“Good,” Abuelita said in a soothing tone. “Now breathe in and out. In and out.” She breathed along with Gabriella for a moment. “Feel your muscles relax, but keep your mind open to the energy that flows through all living things.”
Gabriella started to feel it, as if she was letting go of everything except the energy of the world. She felt embraced by it, like the energy was becoming a part of her, and she a part of it. It was so peaceful! If she wanted to, Gabriella felt like she could give up control and let the energy pick her up and carry her off. She was about to see what that would be like when a hand on her shoulder jolted her out of the meditation.
Gabriella blinked, coming back into the room, feeling the pillow and the floor beneath her and Abuelita’s hand on her shoulder. She still felt deeply at peace and wanted to reenter the meditation. It was so calm and relaxing after what had happened at school earlier.
“Be careful, mija. It’s important that you hold on to your sense of self,” her grandmother warned. “There’s a fine line between being fully relaxed in meditation and losing your tether to this world. It’s a skill you must master. If you let go completely, your spirit could become lost.”
Gabriella’s peace was shattered by a jolt of adrenaline. “Wait—it could happen like that? Without me even realizing it?”
Abuelita nodded gravely. “Why did you think this training usually takes years to master? But don’t worry; knowing that feeling—the feeling of letting go—is half the battle. Now you’ll know to pull back when you reach that point.”
Gabriella shook her head. “I thought I was finally getting it.”
“You were,” Abuelita reassured her. “I want you to remember what that deep meditation felt like. That’s the state you need to be in before you spirit-walk. But if you ever feel like you’re drifting off, you need to have the strength to pull back. That takes practice.”
“Okay, let’s try it again,” Gabriella said with a shaky sigh.
“I think we’ve done enough for today,” Abuelita answered. “You need a break, and I promised your mother I’d make my famous huevos rancheros for breakfast tomorrow, so I need to go grab some things from the store.”
Grocery shopping at a time like this? Gabriella thought. “But I really want to keep going,” Gabriella blurted out.
“I’m sorry, mija, but you need to rest. I know you’re in a hurry, but rushing this part of the training is dangerous. Once you have this down we’ll speed things up, I promise.”
“But how can I think about normal things like shopping and breakfast when everyone’s counting on me?”
Abuelita smiled and stood, ruffling Gabriella’s hair. “Breakfast in this house is never normal, magic or no magic. And someday you will learn that if you only focus on saving the world, you’ll forget just what it is you’re saving. Spending time with your family—even if it’s just for a normal breakfast—is important for both yourself and your training. It strengthens your tether to this world.”
Abuelita turned to go, but stopped in the doorway. “You know, I very much enjoy spending this special time with you. You’re a lot less whiny than your aunt was at your age.”
Gabriella laughed. “Do you need any help tonight?”
“Not with the shopping, but you can chop the onions in the morning,” she said. Then she left Gabriella alone.
Gabriella let out a huge breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in. It would be dinnertime soon, and then bed, and then another day, another Changers class in which she had to face Mack.
I get what Abuelita is saying, but I still feel like I should be doing more—training harder, Gabriella thought. Whatever’s going on with Mack is getting worse, and I’m just sitting here, no closer to spirit-walking than I was before. What if they need me to spirit-walk tomorrow? There’s no way I’d be ready.
As if on cue, her cell phone chimed with an incoming text from Mack.
Sorry about today. Dont know what came over me.
Gabriella texted back:
Im fine. You ok?
freaked out before but better now . . . sometimes my thoughts are sort of out of my control. I dont know what to do.
what do you mean?
it’s like I feel scrambled and then something inside me takes over. Something mean. Like Im on autopilot and barely remember what I did or said after. Im scared I could hurt you guys.
Gabriella felt that pang of guilt hit her again, full force. Here was Mack, her friend who so deeply believed in her and her abilities from the start and who now so desperately needed her.
What could she possibly say to reassure him, when she herself was worried out of her mind?
It’s gonna be ok. The first four will figure out what’s going on, and my spirit-walking lessons are going great. I learned how to meditate on my own tonight, and I’ve got another lesson tomorrow. You and me, we’re going to beat Sakura.
Gabriella watched her screen flicker a few times, as though Mack was typing a response and then erasing it, typing and erasing. Finally, a text came through.
Yeah. Thanks for understanding. Night
Gabriella wasn’t convinced by Mack’s response. She wasn’t even convinced by her own words that the lessons were “going great.” She put her arms behind her head and tried to focus on her breathing, so she could push away how anxious and unsettled she was.
Chapter 5
A Normal Afternoon
Darren left school after Changers class on Friday relieved that Mack hadn’t had another episode like he’d had earlier in the week. Mack didn’t seem exactly like himself—he was more than a little guarded—but he had performed well in all the training exercises Ms. Therian had thrown at them. Everyone, especially Mack, was relieved that there wasn’t a repeat of Tuesday’s events.
Now Darren was looking forward to a normal Saturday afternoon like any other twelve-year-old. Pizza, video games, maybe a movie.
Darren had been one of the most popular kids at Willow Cove Middle School for as long as he could remember, but he could never really figure out why. He’d always tried to do what his big brother, Ray, had done in school—be nice, no matter what anyone else said or did or thought. Darren was sure he’d never admit it to Ray, but he looked up to him a lot.
Darren longed to tell Ray about his life as a Changer, but he wasn’t sure his big brother would understand. Ray had helped Darren through so much, especially since their parents decided to get a divorce, but finding out that his little bro could transform into a giant bird and shoot lightning from his talons?
That would probably be a lot to take in, Darren thought. Even for the most supportive big brother in the world.
Darren may have wished he could share his Changer secret with his brother, but he was still pretty sure he never wanted his friends at school to know. He’d been best friends with Ethan Renner and Kyle Rodriguez since they were all in preschool, and he knew the two of them better than anyone. He could just imagine how telling them would go over. . . .
Could you give us a lift to school? Get it? A lift. ’Cause you’re a bird!
Maybe you could zap the school’s power out so we don’t have to go to math class today. They unlocked the expansion pack for Space Alien Hunters 4 last night, so I didn’t have time to study for that math quiz.
Nah. Darren would definitely prefer to keep his secret powers under wraps when it came to his friends. But that was fine; Darren had Mack, Fiona, and Gabriella to talk to about Changer stuff.
Darren decided to sleep in Saturday morning and woke up to a string of text messages from Ethan and Kyle. They were headed to the movies that afternoon and wanted Darren to join them.
It had been way too long since Darren had hung out with them outside of track practice. Actually, it had been way too long since he’d hung out with anyone his own age that wasn’t talking about shadow foxes and ancient curses and the “coming war.”
Darren didn’t have to meet the Changers for their mission in Japan until after dinner
that night. There was definitely time to go to the movies and get to the school before then. Luckily, Darren had already cleared the Japan operation with his mom. . . . Or rather, Mr. Kimura had told Darren’s mom that Darren would be at Mack’s house for a game night and wouldn’t be home until later.
Darren clumped down the stairs and found his mother in the kitchen. “Can I go to the movies with Ethan and Kyle this afternoon?” he asked. “Kyle’s dad is going to drop us off and pick us up.”
“I don’t see why not,” she said. “Text me Kyle’s dad’s number?”
“Definitely,” Darren said, rattling off the number in a text to his mom. Then he sent a new message to Kyle and Ethan to tell them he was up for going to the movies and ran upstairs to get ready. It wasn’t long before he heard a car horn beeping from the street below his bedroom window.
“Darren?” Kyle said in an faux old man voice when he hopped into the car. “Could that really be you? How long has it been? Three, four hundred years?”
“Ha-ha,” Darren retorted, punching his friend in the arm. “I ate lunch with you yesterday, turd.”
“Yeah, but outside of school and track, you’ve been MIA, dude,” Ethan added. “Which reminds me, did you talk to Gabriella about ice cream with Trisha and Reese after the track meet next Saturday?”
“She never texted me back, but I’m sure it’s okay.”
“And I’m sure it will be twooo wuv between you and Reese,” Kyle added in baby talk.
Ethan elbowed him in the ribs as the car pulled up to the movie theater. The friends hopped out of the car, thanked Kyle’s dad, and headed inside.
“Remember that karate class we all took when we were five?” Darren asked, pointing to a movie poster for an upcoming martial arts film beside the ticket booth.
“The best thing about it,” Ethan said, “was being able to take our shoes off and stick our feet in other people’s faces.”
Darren cracked up. “Dude, every time you took your shoes off, a green haze settled over the room.”
“Be careful, or I’ll take my shoes off now,” Ethan joked.
“Don’t make us faint before the movie!” Kyle cried.
Soon, they had moved on to talking about the “movies” they had made in third grade. Kyle had gotten a small video camera for Christmas, and the three of them had taken roles as superheroes battling evil villains, cavemen running from dinosaurs, and aliens determined to invade Willow Cove in a whole series of films they thought were great at the time.
What would they think about me battling real villains? Darren wondered.
He watched his friends demonstrate a human versus dinosaur fight they had thought was Academy Award–worthy when they were seven. Laughing along with Kyle and Ethan made Darren realize how much he missed hanging out with his old friends.
I miss the days when my biggest worries had to do with surprise pop quizzes, rain on my Little League games, and whether or not Becky Jenkins was going to check yes or no on my note asking whether she liked me. Now I’m worried about evil shape-shifters and a magical war.
But even with all the Changers stuff going on, Darren saw the importance in hanging out with his friends: It reminded him that there were people in this world that Darren was fighting to protect. Goofy memories and silly jokes and “wasting time” messing around with friends . . . These were the reasons why the world was worth saving in the first place. Why Sakura, with her twisted view of the world, could never win. And even if it was only for the length of the movie, Darren was determined to savor every minute of being a thoroughly normal seventh-grader with his extraordinarily average friends.
By the middle of the film, a dumb but hilarious spy comedy, their popcorn bucket was empty and Darren decided to head out for a refill. He was waiting for the clerk at the counter when a woman came toward him, walking fast. Before Darren knew what was happening, she was throwing firebolts his way.
Darren raised his hands and fell back, concentrating on letting sparks form at his fingertips. Those sparks joined together, creating a glowing web of electricity. Then he waved his arms to form a circle that included himself and the clerk behind the concession counter.
The force field repelled the flames, but the woman kept coming. Her firebolts hit his force field and recoiled, shooting right back at her, but it was as though she was immune to the flames.
She smiled at Darren. “You’ll tire soon,” she said. “I can wait.”
Darren concentrated on holding his electric bubble in place, but she was right. He was already feeling exhausted. Holding a force field took a tremendous amount of energy, but he didn’t know if he had the skills to fight her, either.
He tried to keep his focus on her and not on the movie theater employee who was totally freaked out. At least the guy was frozen with fear and too scared to scream. The last thing Darren needed was a distraction.
Suddenly, two men burst out of the theater and got in between Darren and the woman. Darren realized he had seen them on the street earlier that day, but thought nothing of it. Now he prepared for the worst, but instead of attacking him, the men went after his attacker.
The fight was so fast, Darren’s head spun. The enemy was clearly losing when she transformed into a phoenix, a firebird, and crashed through the theater’s front window to get away.
Darren let go of his force field and collapsed, feeling like he had just been kicked in the stomach. The first man helped Darren to his feet while the other snapped his fingers. The passersby on the street who had been gawking at the window and the bird a moment before turned their heads and kept on walking like nothing had happened. Another second after that, Darren watched as the pieces of glass started to float together. Soon, the window was fixed. There was no evidence that it had ever been smashed.
In the meantime, the man who had helped Darren get to his feet was standing in front of the concession stand and singing an eerie song to the guy behind the counter. It sounded a lot like a song Yara had once sung when she and Fiona were talking about the differences between encantados and selkies. The guy behind the counter went from looking scared out of his mind to happy and oblivious. The encantado had wiped the guy’s memories of the whole terrifying event.
Then the encantado drew Darren away from the refreshment counter so they could talk without being overheard. The clerk hummed as he restocked candy.
“Are you all right?” the encantado asked Darren.
Darren nodded. “Thanks to you two. Who are you?”
“We’re part of your protection detail.”
“My protection what?” Darren asked blankly.
“The First Four didn’t— Surely you must’ve assumed?” the encantado asked.
Darren shook his head.
“Until Sakura is eliminated as a threat, the First Four want to make sure that you and your friends stay safe,” he explained. “We weren’t supposed to make ourselves known unless there was a definite threat.”
“I guess that was a definite threat,” Darren said, taking a deep, shaky breath.
The other man had gone outside and was looking up and down the street. Satisfied that there was no one else about to attack, he joined them. “We’re clear,” he said.
“I thought I saw you both on my way into the movie theater. Are you following me everywhere?” Darren asked.
“You’re protected by Changer magic at home and at school. We follow you when you leave those safe areas,” the second man said. “When you’re out in the world, we’ll be shadowing you—from a distance, of course.”
“So that was—”
“One of Sakura’s,” the man cut in. “Try not to think about it too much. You’re perfectly safe.”
Darren had a lot more questions, but his protectors brought an end to the conversation.
“You should rejoin your friends before they come looking for you and start asking questions,” the encantado said.
Darren nodded, still a little dazed—both by the attack and the fact he now had thi
s Changer version of the Secret Service following him around. It made everything seem much more dangerous than it had just that morning.
After a very awkward thank-you, he headed back into the theater.
“What did I miss?” he whispered.
“The funny spy is now the mean spy, and vice versa,” Kyle whispered back. “And they’re both too dumb to figure out that the bad guy is right in front of them.”
“Hey, dude, where’s the popcorn?” Ethan asked.
Darren shrugged. “There was no one at the concession stand. I waited for a while, and then I gave up. Sorry.”
“You’re the worst,” Kyle said sarcastically, receiving an instant punch in the arm from Darren.
Darren settled back into his seat, but he couldn’t concentrate on the movie anymore. He pretended to laugh along with his friends, but he couldn’t pretend to himself that everything was back to normal, that he was back to normal, even for an afternoon.
I’m part of the next generation of the First Four, he thought. My life will never be normal again.
Chapter 6
The Labyrinth
That night, Fiona waited for Mr. Kimura and the others to pick her up and take her to the gym. They wouldn’t be able to enter the driveway because of her mother’s protections, so she stood at the end of the front walkway to avoid having any awkward conversations.
Fiona took a deep breath and thought about what she had read in their mission folder. There weren’t a lot of details about what they hoped to find or exactly where they were going. Fiona knew only that they were on the lookout for magical objects, talismans that would protect them from the Shadow Fox’s attempts at mind control, and that this one was somewhere in Japan.
I suppose it makes sense that the First Four would be sparse on the details, she thought. If the mission brief fell into the wrong hands, we could be intercepted by Sakura’s forces. Though Fiona had a sneaking suspicion that Sakura’s forces would find a way to intercept them no matter what.
Fiona was glad that Gabriella now carried the Ring of Tezcatlipoca with her all the time. And of course Fiona had her Queen’s Song for protection. The sooner they found talismans to keep Mack and Darren safe, the better.
