by H. K. Varian
“The selkies welcomed me as their queen from the start,” Mom said. “They allowed me to negotiate with the First Four to gain our freedom without a single battle. When I signed the treaty that secured our independence, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. As the ink dried I dreamed of returning home—to my husband, to my baby, to the life I’d made for myself.”
“I don’t understand,” Fiona said, a look of puzzlement on her face. “What went wrong?”
“The selkies were too unstable to be left to their own devices,” Mom told her. “There were factions who simply couldn’t agree on anything—except my role as their rightful queen. They needed a leader, a mediator. My advisers told me in no uncertain terms that our new nation would crumble if I left for the mainland. In my heart I knew they were right. And I also knew that I couldn’t lead two lives: one at sea, one on land; one as a selkie, one as a human.”
Fiona already knew what was coming, but she dreaded hearing about what happened next.
“I went home for just one day,” Mom said, her voice halting. “I hid your cloak to keep it safe for when you would come of age. I forced your father to swear to tell you I’d died; I didn’t want you to try searching for me until the time was right. And there were things set in motion that, even now, I can’t yet tell you about. Suffice it to say, this was the only way I could fulfill my duty—and save my kind. I promised that I’d return when you came into your powers. When you were old enough to understand what I’d done and why. You must believe me that I always planned to come back to you, Fiona. Who else would teach you the selkie ways, our songs and stories?”
“Sure,” Fiona said. “I believe you.” But there was a hard edge to her voice, and she couldn’t meet her mother’s eyes.
“Go ahead, Fiona,” Mom said gently, letting go of the intricate braids she’d made in Fiona’s wet hair. “You can say it.”
Fiona struggled to find the right words. “It’s just— It— It didn’t have to be this way!” she cried. “I don’t just need you now, Mom. I needed you always. Every day you were gone, I needed you!”
A long silence followed.
When Fiona finally mustered the courage to turn around to look at her mother, she was stunned to see tears streaming down Mom’s face.
“Forgive me,” Mom said. “I know I’m asking a lot of you, Fiona; more than I have a right to ask. But if there’s any way you can find it in your heart to forgive me. . . . For years this decision has destroyed me inside. Not a day’s gone by that I haven’t regretted it, wrestled with my choices, second-guessed everything, searched in vain for a solution, a compromise. I am confident that if there was any other way, I would’ve found it long ago. No one could’ve tried harder than me.
“Our family has paid dearly for my lineage,” Mom continued. “My duties to my kind tore me away from my duties to you. But don’t you see? Those dark days are behind us now. There’s nothing that can keep us apart. I’m determined to teach you everything about being a selkie. We have so much lost time to make up for—and now we have all the time in the world.”
There was a part of Fiona that was still trying to work out how she felt about her mom; something inside her wanted to shout, You should have found a way to stay with us! But seeing her mom in tears seemed to drown out all the anger. Just twenty-four hours ago, Fiona didn’t even know her mother was alive. Now her mom was here, wanting so desperately to be not just a mother, but also a teacher, a guide for all the abilities Fiona needed to learn. Fiona knew that it was enough, at least for now.
“I forgive you, Mom,” Fiona whispered as she reached for her mother. “I—I probably would’ve made the same choice. And we’re together now. That’s really all that matters.”
But even as her mother gathered her in a warm embrace, a nagging feeling tugged at Fiona’s heart. Even on the Isles of Saorsie, a world that felt about a million miles from Willow Cove, Fiona couldn’t forget about Auden Ironbound . . . and the real reason for her mission.
Chapter 7
The Prelude
The doorbell rang before dawn on Sunday.
Mack had only been asleep for a few hours, but he jolted upright and jumped out of bed, stumbling over his own feet as he reached for the light. “Ow!” Mack yelped, grabbing his stubbed toe. He could hear Jiichan’s soft footsteps moving through the hallway. By the time Mack got to the front door, Jiichan had already escorted in a pair of anxious-looking Changers.
“We’re so sorry about the hour,” a man said. “We couldn’t wait any longer.”
A woman clutched a bundle to her chest; Mack realized it was a sleeping baby.
“You’re safe now,” Jiichan said soothingly. “Please, come into my study. Make yourselves comfortable. Makoto, if you would put the kettle on? I think a nice cup of tea first, and then we will discuss your options.” Then, with a reassuring smile, he led the couple down the hall.
Before the kettle was boiling, Jiichan came into the kitchen. His brown eyes were troubled. “It begins, Makoto,” he said in a grave voice.
“The attack?” Mack asked, suddenly alert.
“The prelude,” Jiichan corrected him. “Changers from all over will start arriving. Some will be ready to fight Auden Ironbound, and some will be seeking our protection. The day will be long, and I will need your help.”
“Anything. Of course,” Mack said eagerly. “I can draft battle strategies and draw maps for escape routes and—”
“Make tea,” interrupted Jiichan.
Mack’s face fell. “ ‘Make tea’?” he repeated with confusion.
“Our visitors will be scared, stressed, exhausted. A cup of comforting tea is precisely what they will need to fortify them for the difficulties that lie ahead. I want you to keep the kettle boiling at all times. Open the door, offer them tea, and escort them to the living room to wait for me. I will meet with each arrival separately.”
Mack opened his mouth to ask a question, but Jiichan cut in first.
“The door is enchanted against enemies,” Jiichan said. “You needn’t worry about warlocks in disguise.”
“All right. If that’s what you want me to do, sure,” Mack said, hoping he was able to hide his disappointment. In his heart, he wanted a more exciting, important job than door opening and tea making . . . but he knew that his wants weren’t the priority right now.
Ding-dong.
Jiichan raised his eyebrows at Mack and then nodded toward the front entryway. Mack understood.
It really had begun.
As Jiichan disappeared into his study, Mack hurried to the door and opened it wide. A middle-aged man stood on the step, the streetlights glinting off his bald head. Mack was sure he’d never met him before, but the man seemed to recognize him right away.
“What an honor,” he said as he vigorously shook Mack’s hand. “I heard all about your triumph on the beach, Makoto. Amazing! Though I guess no one should be surprised, considering who your grandfather is.”
“Uh, thanks,” Mack said, a little surprised. It wasn’t the first time he’d been recognized, and Mack knew that he’d never get used to it.
Before the man had even stepped inside, Mack saw a woman hurrying up to the walkway. “Please, come in,” he said, remembering Jiichan’s words. “You’re welcome here.”
“Good,” the woman said. “Because I’m ready to fight with you and the First Four and any other Changer brave enough to defy Auden.”
Mack ping-ponged between the kitchen, the front door, and the living room, pouring endless cups of tea for more Changers than he’d ever met before. Again and again, Mack was asked if he would be battling Auden Ironbound, and each time it got harder to answer. Mack didn’t even want to think about it, but he was powerless to push the thought from his mind: What if Jiichan is right? What if Auden Ironbound has new defenses against me—or new weapons to use?
What if I let everyone down?
It was too terrible to think about—especially when so many Changers seemed to be counti
ng on him.
By midmorning, Mack was ready for a break, but the doorbell just kept ringing. He was surprised when he opened it the next time to find Gabriella and Darren standing on the doorstep.
“Hey!” Mack exclaimed as a grin spread across his face. “What are you guys doing here?”
“We’re going downtown for a while,” Darren explained. “Want to come?”
“With everything going on, Tía Rosa decided to stay for the weekend,” Gabriella added, pointing at a silver car idling in the driveway. The driver honked and waved through the window.
“Seriously?” Mack cried. “Your aunt’s coming too?” It was no secret that Mack, a huge fan of superhero comics, had been a little starstruck from the moment he realized that Gabriella’s aunt had been a superhero called the Emerald Wildcat.
“She had some errands to run and said we could tag along,” said Gabriella.
“Hang on,” Mack said. “I’ll be right back.”
The next time Jiichan emerged from his study, Mack asked for permission to go out for a while.
“Yes, you have earned a break,” Jiichan told him. “Yara is on her way now to help. Please, be careful. Stay with your friends at all times. There is safety in numbers . . . especially now.”
“I will,” Mack promised. “Thanks, Jiichan. I’ll be home soon.”
Minutes later, Ms. Rivera parked the car on Market Street. “I’m going to get some coffee,” she said, stifling a yawn. “Meet you back at the car in thirty minutes?”
“You got it,” Gabriella replied. She gave her aunt a quick wave and then turned to Mack and Darren. “Want to see if the bookstore has any new comics?”
“Definitely,” Mack agreed. “They usually get shipments on Fridays. Maybe we’ll even run into Joel there!” Joel was Mack’s best friend; he didn’t have any magical abilities, but none of that mattered to Mack. He started to follow Gabriella but then realized that Darren was lagging behind. “Hey,” Mack called. “You coming?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” he said. “I thought I saw . . . Never mind. It was nothing.”
“Jiichan told me we have to stick together,” Mack said. Darren just nodded in response.
In the quiet of the bookstore, surrounded by ordinary people browsing for books, it was almost possible to forget about the looming battle. Almost, but not quite. Every so often Mack would feel a jolt when he remembered what was happening at home. The trip to town wasn’t quite the distraction he had hoped for.
He closed the comic book he picked up and tucked it under his arm. “I just read the same page three times, and I still can’t tell you what happened,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Gabriella said. “I’m having trouble concentrating too.”
“Let’s get something to eat,” Darren suggested. “Then we can talk.”
While Mack paid for his comic, Darren and Gabriella bought some cookies from the bookstore’s cafe. Then they found a table where they could talk privately.
“I can’t stop thinking about Fiona,” Gabriella began. “Where do you think she is right now? Do you think she’s made it to the Isles of Saorsie yet?”
Darren checked the time on his phone. “Maybe,” he said. “But it seemed like even Ms. Therian didn’t know exactly how far away it was.” Then he turned to Mack. “Did your grandfather say anything to you?”
“Honestly, we’ve barely even had a chance to talk today,” Mack told his friends. “The doorbell started ringing while it was still dark. It’s been nonstop, one Changer after another.”
“So they’re taking Auden Ironbound seriously?” asked Gabriella.
“Very seriously,” Mack said. “Some of them are scared; some of them are angry. And I mean really angry. They came here ready to fight.”
“Good,” Darren said. “I think we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”
“I don’t know about that,” Gabriella said. “Tía Rosa is, like, supremely unconcerned.”
“Well, yeah,” Mack joked. “Because she’s a superhero.”
Gabriella smiled, but she shook her head. “I guess it’s possible that she’s putting on an act so I don’t freak out,” she said. “But last night she told me all about the Harbors.”
Mack sat up a little straighter. “ ‘The Harbors’?” he repeated. “You mean Middletown Marina?”
Gabriella shook her head again. “No. The Harbors are top secret Changer bases in Willow Cove and around the country that can protect all of us,” she explained. “They’re pretty much impenetrable. So if the worst happens, there’s a fallback plan, at least.”
“I don’t get it,” said Darren. “How come the First Four didn’t open up the Harbors the last time Auden Ironbound attacked?”
“Probably because it was a sneak attack,” Mack said wisely. “Remember how Auden Ironbound showed up early, before anybody was expecting him? Plus, the First Four didn’t even know the truth about the Horn of Power. They thought they’d still be immune.”
Gabriella crossed her arms and hugged herself. “This is what scares me,” she said. “What we know is bad enough. But it’s what we don’t know that’s really dangerous.”
“Yeah,” Mack said, nodding slowly. “All the Changers who came over this morning . . . They all think that I can beat Auden Ironbound again, just because I did it before.”
Darren let out a low whistle. “Man,” he said. “That’s a lot of pressure.”
“The truth is, none of us really knows what Auden Ironbound can do,” Mack continued. “I mean, the First Four are concerned. That’s enough for me.”
A worried expression flickered across Gabriella’s face. “Maybe Tía Rosa isn’t being cautious enough,” she said. “We should . . . find her.”
“You okay?” asked Darren.
“I’m not sure,” Gabriella admitted. “I suddenly have a very weird feeling about everything.”
“Let’s go,” Mack said, standing so abruptly that his chair screeched as it slid across the floor.
Looking back, he would always wonder when, exactly, it had happened. Was it while they were walking to the door, or was it the moment they stepped outside? Everything seemed the same at first, but the light—there was something wrong with it—had a greenish tinge, and the air was unusually still.
Not just the air, though. The clouds were frozen in the sky; the leaves were motionless on the trees. And the people . . .
The people were the worst part of it all.
The sidewalks were still crowded with them; people were seated in unmoving cars, but there was something so fundamentally odd, so wrong, that Mack had an overwhelming urge to run away as far and as fast as he could, and never look back. They were completely stiff and unmoving, like horrible frozen mannequins. When Mack forced himself to look closer, he realized that they were breathing slowly, steadily, and in perfect, chilling unison.
But that seemed to be all they could do.
“It’s a curse,” Darren whispered. “They’re cursed. We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Not without Tía Rosa!” Gabriella snapped anxiously, scanning the crowd.
“We should—” Mack began.
Then he saw it out of the corner of his eye: a flash of movement. A woman, dressed all in black, was moving supernaturally fast toward them, her hand held high as a glimmering orb began to form in her palm.
“Look out!” Mack screamed.
Darren was already on it, a sizzling bolt of electricity jumping from finger to finger as he channeled all his energy into making the strongest lightning bolt of his life. It glowed white-hot—then burst into a million smaller bolts, each one sizzling as they linked together to form a powerful force field, a web of pure, unbridled electrical power—
Suddenly, Darren doubled over, as if he’d been punched in the stomach. He fell to his knees, breathless, and Mack saw a magic-user behind Darren, holding him hostage.
Gabriella transformed so quickly that she was just a blur of black fur. She lunged forward, leaping over the unmo
ving people as she charged at Darren’s attacker.
Mack was just one step behind her, on the verge of transforming himself when there was a sudden sharp pain in his elbows, as if they were being pinned behind his back.
He twisted his neck, trying to see who had grabbed him.
A choking cloud of smoke surrounded him . . .
And everything went black.
Chapter 8
Cursed
The moment Gabriella attacked, Darren’s captor released him. In an instant Darren transformed. With a little height, he would be able to cast an even wider force field to protect him and his friends from the attack. He flapped his massive wings once and propelled himself up onto the bookstore’s awning. Darren’s piercing eyes glinted as he surveyed the scene below. One—two—three. He counted the figures as they crept among the statue-people.
The cloud of smoke sprang up so suddenly that Darren didn’t know exactly where it came from or how it happened. All he knew was that one moment Mack was standing there, ready to fight, and the next moment he was on the ground.
Mack! Darren’s cry ripped through his thoughts.
But there was no answer.
Then Darren saw something so horrifying that a piercing bird-shriek escaped him, shattering the bookstore’s window. Before, he thought he’d seen . . . But it was over so fast, he couldn’t be sure. . . .
Now, though, there was no doubt: Jasper, Auden Ironbound’s most devoted follower, crept in beside the warlocks. His tall, gaunt form cast a long, terrible shadow that seemed to grow with every step he took.
What’s wrong? Gabriella thought frantically.
Jasper’s here, Darren replied, peering through the clearing smoke with his keen eyes. They did something to Mack— Gabriella! Look out!
Gabriella spun, her front paw already raised with her dagger-sharp claws revealed. The sight was enough to make the witch creeping up behind her turn and run.
