by H. K. Varian
Mr. Kimura’s car pulled up. Fiona expected to see Mack in the front seat as usual, but instead, Gabriella sat up front with Mr. Kimura. Darren waved from the back. Maybe Mack’s already at the school, she thought.
Fiona hopped into the backseat beside Darren. She was about to ask where Mack was when Gabriella turned to her.
“Can you believe they attacked Darren in broad daylight like that?!”
Fiona was confused. “Wait—who attacked?”
“You didn’t get my message?” Darren asked.
Fiona shook her head. “My phone died. I just turned it back on a few minutes ago.” With that, Fiona whipped out her phone, only to discover a thread of unread messages from Darren and Gabriella. Mack was on the text too, but he hadn’t said anything either.
“Sakura sent a phoenix after me,” he said. “But it turned out all right . . . thanks to the First Four’s protection squad. I’m not sure I could have held that Changer off on my own.”
“Protection squad?” Fiona asked.
Darren filled her in on his unexpected rescue.
“So then . . . do we all have Changers following us?” Fiona asked.
Mr. Kimura nodded. “All four of you have guards whenever you’re in an unsecured area. Ms. Therian and I made sure that your homes have been enchanted with protective magic. Except Fiona’s—the selkies took care of that before we got there.”
Fiona looked sheepishly out the window.
“And, of course, the school is safe for you. But whenever you leave one of those areas and aren’t with a member of the First Four, you’ll have guards. They’ll stay at a distance. You may not even see them, but you can trust that they’re there, ready to step in if needed. Darren discovered that today.”
He parked in front of the entrance to the middle school’s ancillary gym, and they went inside. Once again, Fiona noticed Mack’s absence, but just as she tried to ask Mr. Kimura about Mack for a second time, two old friends joined them.
Miles Campagna, the aatxe, or magical bull, who had helped them locate Circe’s Compass for their battle with Auden Ironbound’s forces, greeted them with a smile. Fiona was happy to see him again.
The other familiar face was that of Margaery Haruyama, a tengu Changer who could control the wind. The tengu had the power to transport them anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. She had transported Fiona and her friends to Wyndemere Academy for the Youngling Games, and Fiona hoped she would be joining them on this trip as well. She was happy to see that her hunch was right.
After they exchanged greetings, Mr. Kimura asked them to sit for a debriefing.
“We didn’t want to include too many details in your mission folders in case they fell into the wrong hands, but now I can tell you that our mission is to recover a very special magatama talisman,” he said. “Magatama were meant to bring good fortune to their wearers and to ward off evil.”
He conjured a picture of the magatama for them to see. It was a comma-shaped pendant that was looped by a piece of string and made of curved stone that appeared to be a dark jade.
“It’s beautiful,” Fiona said.
“Beautiful and precious. This talisman can be used to protect Makoto from Sakura’s memory eating if we can retrieve it,” Mr. Kimura said. “This mission could be very dangerous. I have no doubt that Sakura’s forces also know of the magatama’s existence and what it can do to protect Makoto. They’ll be searching for it too. And they’ll want to keep us from it.”
“Do you think they know where it is?” Gabriella asked.
“We’re not even positive where it is,” Mr. Kimura answered. “We recently came across some new information that indicates the necklace is hidden on a northern Japanese island called Hokkaido,” Mr. Kimura answered. “That’s where we’ll search tonight, or shall I say this morning— With the time difference it’s currently eight a.m. in Hokkaido. Are there any questions before we begin?”
Where’s Mack? Fiona thought. She could tell by the way they eyed each other that Gabriella and Darren had the same question, but none of them wanted to be the one to ask. Mr. Kimura was already torn up about what Sakura had done to his grandson. Asking will only make him feel worse, Fiona realized.
But Mr. Kimura had the wisdom to know what they were thinking. “Makoto will not be joining us tonight,” he said. “I thought it was best for him to remain under magical protection until he has the talisman.”
Then he turned to the tengu. “If you would, Margaery,” he said with a nod. “It’s time.”
The group stood in a circle with Margaery at the center and rested their palms on her shoulders.
I wonder if going all the way to Japan will take two blinks— Before Fiona even completed the thought, the group was on its way.
There was a whoosh, and for a moment, Fiona felt like she was nestled inside the calm heart of the wind. For two or three dizzying seconds the world flew by, and then they landed gently in what appeared to be a forest. It was damp, the trees were dense, and the air was sharp and cold with the spicy smell of pine. Fiona pictured the world map that hung on the wall in her advanced geography class and remembered that Japan stretched as far north as Russia. No wonder it’s colder here than in Willow Cove, she thought.
Mr. Kimura walked ahead and cleared a path for them. He was followed by Darren, Gabriella, and Miles. Fiona and Margaery took up the rear. The sun was up, but it filtered weakly through the dense pines. The group traveled quietly, so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
“How are there still enchanted objects like this magatama talisman just laying around where Sakura and her followers might be able to find them?” Fiona whispered to Margaery. “I mean, if Changers have been looking for magical relics for years, shouldn’t they all have been found by now?”
“The world is a big place,” Margaery answered. “During the Time of the Dark, many Changers hid their most prized possessions, especially the magical ones. They used cloaking spells to try to keep them out of the hands of humans and warlocks.”
The Time of the Dark. It wasn’t just the cold that made Fiona shiver. She had first heard about the Time of the Dark from the Changers’ magical book, The Compendium, and she’d pieced together the rest from the First Four and her visits to the library at Wyndemere. Changer- and magic-kind hadn’t always led secret lives. They used to live openly in partnership with normal humans. But a thousand years ago, a dangerous warlock used the Horn of Power—the same Horn of Power that Fiona herself had destroyed—to turn the Changers against nonmagical people. Even after the First Four defeated the warlock and locked away the horn, the damage had been done. Nonmagical beings banished the Changers from their villages, or worse, hunted them down.
That was the beginning of the Time of the Dark, when the Changers had been forced to create a hidden world. For hundreds of years Changers lived apart from humans in hidden Changer bases. But gradually, they moved back into the wider world, living side by side with non-Changers once again. They continued to do what they could to protect mankind. Even so, they had no choice but to do it in secret.
“But it’s been centuries since the Time of the Dark,” Fiona said. “Why haven’t the magical talismans been found before now?”
“As Changers disappeared or died, their secrets went with them,” Margaery answered. “Finding and reclaiming these objects has been a priority for the current First Four for hundreds of years. But most relics are deeply hidden and protected by magic. We many never find everything the ancients left behind.”
Fiona was fascinated by the idea of powerful talismans hidden all over the world. She was about to ask Margaery if she knew anything about selkie relics when Mr. Kimura announced that they had arrived at their destination.
He stepped into a clearing in the forest and waved his hand over the ground. As he did so, a hidden stone pathway appeared. The stones led to what appeared to be a dark, mossy circle. As Fiona neared, she saw that it was a hole.
We’re headed underground, down
into the earth.
The team wound their way through a series of underground tunnels. Both Mr. Kimura and Margaery cast spells to light their way. Chambers off the sides of the tunnels revealed silver coins, shiny lacquered boxes inlaid with mother of pearl, and ancient samurai armor.
Fiona would have loved to explore it all, but Mr. Kimura kept up a steady pace.
With Sakura’s forces looking for us, there’s no time to lose, but I want to come back and explore here one day . . . , she thought. Someone needs to put together a complete history of Changers and to map the lost places like this. Maybe I can be the one to do that.
Fiona was beginning to feel comfortable with the dark and eerie quiet of the underground world, when Mr. Kimura communicated to them telepathically. Don’t touch anything; these objects are enchanted against intruders—there’s no telling what could happen. And be as quiet as you can. I don’t believe we’re alone here.
The group continued through the maze of tunnels as quietly as possible. Fiona was even afraid to breathe too deeply for fear of attracting the notice of one of Sakura’s followers.
They had all just stepped into one corridor when a hairy creature burst out of it with an eerie screech. Fiona nearly screamed, but Mr. Kimura simply waved his hand and muttered under his breath. The creature disappeared.
It was an illusion to keep us away, Fiona realized.
One corridor that looked promising led them to a steep rock wall, blocking them from going farther. They turned back to the main tunnel, which led them to another corridor and a deep pool.
This is probably another dead end, Mr. Kimura thought to them. Fiona, can you explore the pool?
Fiona drew her selkie cloak around her and dove into the water. It was blacker than any water she had ever seen, even deep in the ocean. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust, but it was still too dark. She surfaced.
Can you conjure some kind of light? I think the water is enchanted to keep me from seeing anything.
Mr. Kimura nodded and whispered a few words in Japanese.
Fiona dove under again, and this time there was a faint glow in the water, allowing her to see. And that’s when she saw them—sharks swimming all around her. They were coming toward her with their mouths open wide. Fiona nearly jumped out of the water when she realized something.
There’s no way this many sharks could live in such a small pool. This is another illusion!
Steeling her courage, she forced herself to let them swim right for her. The lead shark opened its mouth wide, as if to bite her, but she felt nothing. She would have laughed if she wasn’t afraid of making a noise.
The sharks forgotten, she circled the pool. She swam as close as possible to the smooth rock wall, searching for an opening or a door of some kind. Finding nothing, she dove to the bottom and searched there, again finding nothing.
You were right, she communicated to Mr. Kimura as she hopped out of the water and removed her cloak. A dead end.
They made their way back to the main tunnel once again. After the next turn, their path took a steep downward pitch. The air was noticeably colder. How far underground are we? Fiona wondered. How long will we be able to breathe this air?
But the next thing she knew, they had stepped into a chamber. It was bigger than most of the others and held the group comfortably and with room to spare. There were shelves on the walls with ancient katana, a type of Japanese sword, and other objects. In the center of one wall was a magatama necklace—a real version of the one that Mr. Kimura had conjured for them earlier. He motioned for the group to form a semicircle behind him.
Fiona stood between Gabriella and Darren with Margaery and Miles at either end. They watched Mack’s grandfather approach the talisman with cautious respect. He bowed with his hands clasped in front of him, whispering some sort of spell. The jade talisman glowed for a moment, and then Mr. Kimura performed another spell. He spoke so quietly that Fiona didn’t hear the words, but she gasped when the necklace practically jumped off the wall and into his hands. He bowed three times and slipped the necklace into his pocket.
And now—just as silently—we must leave as quickly as we can, Mr. Kimura communicated.
The small group turned to leave.
But there, standing in the doorway, was another team of Changers.
Chapter 7
The Magatama
Darren recognized the phoenix who had attacked him at the movie theater. She was accompanied by three others. He remembered Mr. Kimura’s words about the enchanted objects and cast a force field around the shelves and the magical items on the walls before Sakura’s followers accidentally set off some ancient protective spell that would endanger them all.
Good thinking, Darren, Mr. Kimura thought to him.
Darren had a moment to feel proud before the room descended into chaos. Mr. Kimura answered the flamethrower’s fiery arrows with flames his own. The hurricane-force wind Margaery created held the three other Changers at bay. They struggled against it, but it held them in the doorway. They couldn’t get past it and into the chamber.
But then one of them did—a man transformed into a giant werewolf, let loose a powerful roar, and pushed his way through the wind. A nykur—a horse Changer—just behind him tried to break through on the werewolf’s heels, but Margaery blew it backward again with her howling wind. It tumbled into a naga, a giant snake.
The werewolf headed straight for Gabriella.
Gabriella! Watch out! Darren communicated.
Gabriella had already transformed. Darren saw the Ring of Tezcatlipoca glittering on her front paw. Now she pounced on the werewolf, her sharp claws doing serious damage. Still, she was no match for the sheer size of the creature, and Miles rushed to her aid, his bull’s head down, driving his horns into the creature and, together with Margaery’s wind, pushing it back.
Darren struggled to keep his force field in place, but he could already feel himself weakening.
I can’t keep this up for much longer, he thought to Mr. Kimura.
It’s important that we don’t set off the protection spells on the objects. Focus your power—we only need a few more minutes, Mr. Kimura answered.
Darren took a step back and reinforced the electric shield around the magical objects, but still his energy was waning. He cast his eyes around the room, searching for help.
Everyone was completely focused on battling Sakura’s forces except for Fiona. Why is she holding back? he wondered.
Fiona! Darren communicated. I need your help to keep them away from the objects—sing the Queen’s Song.
Darren knew that with the Queen’s Song, Fiona could temporarily shut down the other Changers’ magic, leaving them unable to fight. It would bring the battle to a close in seconds.
I can’t sing in such close quarters, she answered.
Even though they were communicating telepathically, Darren could hear the frustration in her voice.
Everyone’s too close together and moving too fast, she explained. I can’t focus on any one individual with the song.
Sing to the whole room! Darren answered.
I can’t, she said. If I sing the Queen’s Song in a room this small, it could knock you out too, or strip everyone of their magic. It’s too dangerous.
Darren was trying to think of another way for her to help them when he saw the naga break through Margaery’s wind barrier. It reared up as if to bite Margaery.
Darren stepped in to fight by her side, and the force field broke. He felt it crackle before it disappeared in a shower of sparks. The naga whipped around in his direction and hit him right in the midsection with her thick snake’s tail. Darren dropped to his knees, feeling as if the creature had sliced him in half.
Margaery jumped in front of him and took the monster on. But the nykur came to the naga’s aid. Mr. Kimura was busy with the phoenix while Gabriella and Miles battled the werewolf.
At the same time, with the collapse of the force field, the enchanted objects began to rocket
around the room. They collided with people and with one another. One heavy sword fell from the ceiling to hit the werewolf on the head. The giant creature turned to swat the sword away, but the minute he touched it, he turned to stone. He was frozen, his paw still raised.
Back into the tunnel! Mr. Kimura told them. I have the magatama. We must get away from the rest of the magical objects.
He cast an illusion spell over each member of the Willow Cove team as they made their way back into the underground world’s main tunnel.
The phoenix and the naga tried to follow, but Darren watched Margaery blow them deeper into the chamber. Then she cast a spell and ducked just in time before another sword dropped from the ceiling and knocked the flamethrower to the ground. She was unconscious.
Margaery joined the rest of them in the tunnel, and Mr. Kimura performed a spell to seal the chamber off. A solid stone rolled into place, blocking Sakura’s forces from getting out.
“Should we run while we can? Before they figure out how to escape?” Darren asked out loud. “We’ve got the talisman.”
Mr. Kimura shook his head. “We must capture them if we can,” he answered. “But let’s catch our breath and wait for the objects to settle down.”
After a while, Gabriella, in her nahual form, put an ear to the stone. It’s quiet in there now, she said to the group.
Mr. Kimura and Margaery had a whispered conversation, and he asked the others to stand back. He opened the chamber while Margaery cast a spell.
Darren gasped when the stone slid away from the chamber’s entrance. Enchanted objects still littered the floor, but they were beginning to reassemble and take their places on the shelves. He watched as a set of ancient katana righted themselves on the wall.
The werewolf was still frozen in stone, and the phoenix was still unconscious. He wondered why Mr. Kimura looked so concerned, but then Darren realized that the naga and the nykur had escaped.
