The Shadow Fox

by H. K. Varian

  That didn’t make sense to Mack. Jiichan was always trying to get him to slow down, not speed up.

  “He pushed me hard—too hard,” Sakura said. “I wanted to please him, so I tried my best. But he didn’t know, or care, about the risks involved. He had strict standards, and he pushed and he pushed and he pushed.”

  “B-but you did earn seven tails,” Mack stammered. “And you’re powerful. Isn’t that because my grandfather—”

  “Oh, he taught me well,” Sakura said, cutting him off. Her voice turned bitter. “But it was about bringing glory to my teacher. He was so intent on himself, on his own fame, that he almost killed me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mack asked.

  “He wanted me to try a difficult spell—too difficult for a young kitsune. The execution of it nearly killed me; I still bear the scars.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Mack said. “Jiichan would never put someone in danger to improve his own reputation.”

  “If that’s the case, then why did he swear me to secrecy?”

  Mack’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “The great Akira Kimura wouldn’t let anyone know that he was at fault, lest it tarnish his precious reputation. Instead, he blamed me, said that I had tried my hand at dark magic, and banished me from his tutelage.” Sakura’s voice left all its soothing qualities behind as her anger and bitterness grew.

  Mack could feel his own anger growing. It swelled up and erased everything else—all the worry and doubt he was feeling. He thought about every fight he and his grandfather had, until the bitterness erased his love for Jiichan.

  Sakura sensed how he was feeling. She flashed him a triumphant smile. “He’s not quite the precious grandfather you knew, is he?”

  Mack was silent.

  “It’s time, Mack. It’s time for you to become the leader you truly are. It’s time for you join me.” She reached out to him again.

  This time, Mack took her hand.

  Chapter 13

  The Shadow fox

  Fiona darted through the halls toward the northeast tower, lurking in dark corners to avoid the guards. A couple of times she heard them talking to one another. The concern in their voices was clear. The guards were afraid.

  Finally, she slipped into the last hall and made her way to the tower’s entrance. The door was closed tight, but not locked. Fiona opened it quietly and crept into a hallway.

  The tower was dark, dusty, and quiet. Too quiet. She peered up the spiral staircase and saw dusty footprints on the steps. One set looked like Mack’s. The others were dark paw prints that gave off a fiery smell. Sakura!

  Fiona dashed up the stairs. She had only gone up one flight when the silence was pierced by a terrible clamor coming from above. The otherworldly sound, kind of a wheezing, sucking screech, rattled her bones and shot fear through her heart. She wanted to run in the other direction, to find the First Four, to get help, but there was no time for that. Mack was in danger. She swallowed her fear and began to sing the Queen’s Song—tentatively at first and then more confidently as the words filled her with power and protection. She focused on the dark magic she could sense in the room above.

  This ancient piece of selkie magic—the most powerful song at her disposal—was one that only those of royal blood could sing. But was it powerful enough to protect both Fiona and Mack from the Shadow Fox? She wasn’t sure.

  The song still on her lips, Fiona burst through the trapdoor leading to the room at very top of the tower. She stumbled, and so did her song when she saw Mack, in his kitsune form, limp on the floor. His tails—the powerful tail he had been so proud of earning—were underneath him. His eyes were open, but they stared at nothing, flat and unblinking.

  Even worse, the Shadow Fox kneeled over him, biting at his neck.

  She’s sucking out his memories, Fiona thought. And his powers, too.

  The Shadow Fox stopped for a moment, and so did the awful noise. The kitsune turned to Fiona then, her eyes wide and glittering.

  Mack’s eyes closed.

  Fiona picked up her song again and even tried to hurry through it, hoping that as she came to the end, Mack’s protection would be complete and the Shadow Fox would be forced to surrender. But the song held the ancient rhythms of the moon and the tides and could not be rushed.

  The Shadow Fox opened her mouth wide, revealing her hyperextended jaws and her three rows of teeth. You cannot stop me, selkie princess, she sneered. You’ve already lost this battle. Join me if you want to be on the right side of this war.

  Fiona shook her head. She kept singing.

  The kitsune’s grin turned to a grimace.

  Something’s happening! Good magic is getting through! Fiona thought.

  She sang louder, holding the evil kitsune’s eyes, hoping to keep the Shadow Fox from biting Mack again before help arrived.

  The Shadow Fox howled with rage, opening her jaw even wider. She took a step toward Fiona, but Fiona held her ground. The kitsune made as if to leap at her, but instead disappeared in a haze of smoke. Fiona thought she heard a deep chuckle as the smoke dissipated.

  Kneeling beside Mack, Fiona tried to shake him awake. “Mack, I’m here,” she said. “I’m here and you’re safe.”

  He transformed back into his human form, but his eyes remained closed, his body limp. She checked his wrist and found a faint pulse.

  She tried to lift him so that she could carry him downstairs to get help, but he was too heavy for her. She didn’t want to leave him.

  “Help!” Fiona screamed. “Help me!”

  No one will hear me all the way up here, she realized. Everyone’s on lockdown in the basement.

  Fiona took a deep breath to calm herself down. She took out her cell phone, but the battery was dead. Could she reach the others telepathically? She had to try. She closed her eyes, concentrating on sending a message to Mr. Kimura and the rest of the First Four.

  Mack needs help! she thought.

  A second later she heard Mr. Kimura’s voice in her head.

  Where are you?

  In the northeast tower. At the very top. Mack won’t wake up. The Shadow Fox was here with him!

  Cast a protection spell, Mr. Kimura told her.

  Now that she knew help was on the way, Fiona gave in to her tears. They slid down her cheeks as she sang a song of protection, forming a protective bubble around Mack and the tower room.

  Seconds later, Mr. Kimura burst through the trap door, followed by Ms. Therian.

  “How did this happen,” Mr. Kimura said flatly, kneeling at his grandson’s side.

  Fiona told him everything she knew—about hearing the awful sucking screech and finding the Shadow Fox kneeling over Mack, her sharp teeth in his neck.

  “I waited too long to go after him,” Fiona said, tears flowing freely now. “I knew he was going to try to find her if he got the chance. He didn’t know how dangerous she was. He just wanted to talk to her. Is he going to be okay?”

  “He needs to rest.” Mr. Kimura sat and cradled Mack’s head in his lap.

  Ms. Therian crouched beside him and pressed her hand against Mack’s neck. A healing light engulfed them. Sakura’s teeth marks disappeared, but a set of thin white lines remained. “That’s the best I can do,” she said. “He might always bear that scar—it’s powerful magic.”

  “I waited too long,” Fiona said again. “I’m sorry.”

  Mr. Kimura shook his head gravely. “Don’t blame yourself. I should have put an end to Sakura long ago. This was my doing.”

  “Mack said she was your student,” Fiona said quietly.

  “She was,” Mr. Kimura said. “My first student. I’m afraid I pushed her too hard. A prophecy had been delivered to me, one that I misinterpreted.”

  “She craved power, Akira,” Ms. Therian said gently. “The fault is not solely yours. She made her choices long ago.”

  Mr. Kimura nodded sadly. “When I realized my mistake, I took a step back from our teaching.
She wanted to prove herself, to learn more. When I refused, she began looking into dark spells that would increase her power. She wasn’t ready, wasn’t skilled enough, to cast such spells. One backfired and made her the monster that you saw tonight.

  “I knew when Makoto saw her on the battlefield that she was planning to go after him as a way to get her revenge on me,” Mr. Kimura continued. “Right before we revealed the prophecy to you, I could sense that Sakura was hiding in Willow Cove, waiting to strike. That’s why we sent you here, to the games.”

  “Sefu, Yara, and Akira were planning to hunt her down in Willow Cove while the four of you were safe on campus,” Ms. Therian said quietly. “But just as suddenly as she appeared in Willow Cove, she disappeared again. Now we know she was here all along.”

  “I knew Mack might try to go after her, but I never thought she’d be able to penetrate the protection spells here,” Mr. Kimura said, shaking his head. “She’s grown even more powerful since our last encounter six years ago.” He smoothed his grandson’s forehead. “I’m so sorry, Makoto. I thought I could take care of this before she got near you. You alone have had to bear the burden of too many of my mistakes.”

  His face was sad and resigned. “The time for keeping secrets is over. We can’t leave the children in the dark anymore,” he said to Ms. Therian. He turned to Fiona. “I had hoped to keep all of this from you until you were fully trained, but if Sakura is making another bid for power, then it’s time that you, Makoto, Gabriella, and Darren are fully immersed in the ways of the Changer nation.”

  He shook his head again with a bitter laugh. “If I can’t keep Wyndemere Academy safe, then perhaps nowhere is safe. You’ll have to be ready to face real missions, real involvement, and very real danger.”

  “We can do it,” Fiona said. “You’ve taught us well. So has Ms. Therian.”

  “I hope so,” he said. “It’s time, Dorina.”

  Ms. Therian got to her feet. “I’ll make the arrangements at once.”

  Epilogue

  Mack woke up with a start in the middle of the night, rubbing the side of his neck. Where am I? he wondered. And why does my neck hurt?

  His eyes adjusted to the dim light, and he realized he was in some kind of hospital room. Slowly, things started to come back to him—Wyndemere Academy, the Youngling Games, and Sakura.

  Sakura!

  He remembered the peace he had felt in her presence, and that the peace had turned to worry and then fear and then pain and terror. She had done something to him—something he needed to remember. He searched for the memory but only came up with a dark, shadowy hole where the memory should have been.

  I have to remember. I’m going to hurt my friends if I don’t. I’m going to do something really, really bad and put everyone in danger.

  He looked around and saw his grandfather asleep in the chair at his side, his face creased with worry even in sleep.

  Jiichan! It was something to do with Jiichan. Think! Mack told himself, but the memory wouldn’t come.

  He closed his eyes, and hot tears slid down his cheeks. He was so stupid to go after Sakura on his own. He should have trusted Jiichan more. He shouldn’t have been so impatient and so cocky. What Mack had done had somehow helped Sakura, and now the Shadow Fox was going to win.

  Win what? He couldn’t remember.

  Mack wiped his tears and then reached over to wake his grandfather.

  He’ll know what to do, Mack thought. He can help me figure out how to fix this.

  Jiichan shook the sleep away and leaned toward Mack with a loving smile.

  “Welcome back, Makoto,” he said.

  Mack opened his mouth to speak—to apologize and to ask for help—but the words that came out were not his own:

  “War is coming.”

  What challenge will the Changers face next?

  Here is a sneak peek at

  The Spirit Warrior!

  Gabriella Rivera rushed out of math class the second the bell rang. She wanted to talk to her friends Fiona Murphy and Darren Smith before their next and final class of the day. It was a class that the rest of Willow Cove Middle School thought was an ordinary gym class. Gabriella and her friends alone knew that it was so much more.

  Gabriella zigzagged around clusters of other kids, making her way back to her locker. Sometimes, in the midst of her fellow students, it was easy to forget just how different she was from them—just how different everything was. Gabriella had learned on the first day of seventh grade that she was a Changer, someone with the power to transform into a creature the normal world believed was mythological.

  In Gabriella’s case, she had discovered she was a nahual, or jaguar, from Aztec mythology. Her aunt and grandmother had always been proud of their Mexican heritage, and they always insisted that the blood of Aztec warriors ran through their veins. Until recently, Gabriella had no idea how true that family story actually was. With her transformation came an array of incredible powers worthy of any warrior—superspeed, sharp claws, and quick reflexes, among other things.

  Gabriella caught up with Fiona and Darren near Fiona’s locker. Fiona was the secret daughter of the selkie queen, a seal Changer who ruled the oceans. Using her selkie cloak, Fiona could transform into a seal as well; in her human form she channeled magic into selkie songs. Darren’s other form was a fearsome bird, an impundulu, who could shoot lightning bolts from his razor-sharp talons and create incredible storms. The final member of their group was Makoto “Mack” Kimura.

  “Have you seen Mack yet?” Gabriella asked.

  Darren shook his head.

  “He wasn’t in homeroom,” Fiona murmured, glancing around to make sure she wouldn’t be overheard. “When I called his house last night, his grandfather said Mack would be here for Changers class. The First Four will be here too, so Mack could transform for the first time since . . .” Her voice trailed off.

  “Since Sakura bit him,” Gabriella said bluntly.

  Mack, a huge fan of comic books and superheroes, could transform into a kitsune, a magical fox whose paws blazed with fire. Mack could be goofy and more than a bit nerdy at times, but Gabriella liked that he always saw the best in people. When each of his friends, including Gabriella, had trouble controlling their powers, Mack never lost faith in them. He was always the first to say that things were going to work out okay.

  Mack’s grandfather, Akira Kimura, was also a kitsune and one of the First Four—a council of elders who led all the Changers in the world. But even Mack’s powerful grandfather couldn’t protect him from the Changers’ newest enemy, an evil kitsune named Sakura Hiyamoto, known to many as the Shadow Fox.

  Kitsunes earn tails (up to nine) for accomplishing heroic deeds or learning new skills. One of Sakura’s unique abilities was memory eating, which meant that she could consume other Changers’ memories and, in doing so, could also absorb their powers. A former student of Mr. Kimura’s, she had delved into dark magic, and when that went very, very wrong, Sakura turned on Mr. Kimura. She even started a rebellion against the First Four, and stole powers from many Changers. Her exploits had made her a boogeyman to most young Changers. Sakura had since been hiding from the Changers underground, watching and waiting for her chance to strike. But recently, she had returned and would stop at nothing to have her revenge on Mr. Kimura and the rest of the First Four. That included going after Mr. Kimura’s grandson, Mack.

  Gabriella and the other young Changers—or younglings, as the Changer world called them—had been back in Willow Cove for only a few days. Over their school’s spring break, they had visited Wyndemere Academy, a boarding school for high school–aged Changers. Mack and his friends were supposed to get to know the school and participate in a competition known as the Youngling Games. But Sakura had put a stop to all that, bringing fear and chaos to the Changer world once again.

  Sakura had been following Mack for some time, but Mack’s grandfather refused to talk to him about her. Frustrated with his grandfather, and determined to get
his own answers, Mack followed Sakura and confronted her. Unfortunately, he did so without knowing just how dangerous she could be.

  Fiona had saved Mack’s life with a selkie song—arguably one of the most powerful forms of magic known to Changers—but not before Sakura managed to sink her teeth into their friend. Mack had been unable to tell them what happened and what memories or powers Sakura had stolen from him, but he did know one thing: war was coming. War between Sakura’s followers and those who supported the First Four. The First Four were dedicated to protecting humans and Changers alike. Sakura wanted to take the world for Changer-kind alone.

  Gabriella shivered thinking about the dark times ahead. Her mother and sister were normal, nonmagical people; so were her soccer teammates and most of her friends. She would do whatever she could to protect them. She hoped to learn more about how to do that and how to defeat Sakura in today’s class. And, of course, she also hoped to see Mack.

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?” Darren asked. “I mean, what if Sakura took his power—like, stole it?”

  “Mack’s our friend, powers or not,” Gabriella said. “It’s important that we’re there for him.”

  “I wish Mr. Kimura would have let us visit Mack over the weekend,” Fiona said. “He was so upset when we saw him last. . . . I’m afraid Mack will think we abandoned him.”

  “Mack knows we’ve got his back,” Darren said. “The four of us need one another. We’re not complete without him. Now let’s go so we can tell him that in person.”

  “There’s Mack,” Gabriella said as they entered the school’s ancillary gym.

  Mack and his grandfather were standing in a corner, having a discussion in Japanese. Mr. Kimura had a hand on his grandson’s shoulder, as if he was trying to reassure him. Gabriella saw Mack’s eyes flick in their direction for a second before he turned his attention back to his grandfather.

  He looks different, Gabriella thought. Guarded.