The Gathering Storm (10 page)

By the time school rolled around later that morning, Mack's bad mood had worsened. All he wanted to do was finally figure out how to transform, but he couldn't exactly work on it in the middle of English or science class. Changers class was the only thing Mack looked forward to, the one time in the entire day when he could truly be himself.
Maybe today will be the day,
Mack thought eagerly as he approached the ancillary gym.

Inside, everyone was clustered in a tight clump by the bench. Mack could tell immediately that something big had happened, but nothing could've prepared him for the sight of a full-size jaguar standing there.

Mack stood very still, too shocked to move. Even though he
knew
it was Gabriella—
So, she figured out how to transform, too,
he thought—it wasn't easy to approach such a powerful creature.

The
nahual
turned and looked at Mack with her gold cat eyes. Her long tail, covered with black fur so glossy that it almost looked blue, swished back and forth.

Not bad, huh?
Gabriella's voice echoed in his head.

“Incredible,” Mack said, but his voice sounded funny—hollow and small.

“Check it out!” Darren suddenly exclaimed, and
whoosh
—the
impundulu
was back. Mack forced himself to smile through the excited shrieks and chatter from everyone else, but he was painfully aware that he was the only one who still didn't know how to transform. His eyes met Fiona's, and as they stared at each other, all Mack could think was
Please don't. Please don't change.
He wasn't sure he could bear it if everyone was in his or her Changer form—everyone except him.

Somehow, Fiona seemed to understand. Her
selkie
cloak stayed neatly folded in her lap, to Mack's relief.

Ms. Therian clapped her hands loudly. “Human
forms, please,” she announced, and just like that, Gabriella and Darren were back. Mack joined the others on the bench, grateful for the chance to blend in.

“There has been a significant new development,” Ms. Therian announced. Then she filled in Gabriella and Fiona about everything that had happened overnight—from the full history of the Changers to Darren's strange dream to the warlock now approaching Willow Cove.

“I can't believe you flew by yourself,” Fiona whispered to Darren. “Weren't you scared?”

“No,” he replied with a chuckle. “I was asleep! Apparently, I'm a sleep-flier.”

“Listen carefully, please, because what I am about to say affects all of us,” Ms. Therian continued after a sharp look at Fiona and Darren. “The First Four met early this morning to finalize our battle plans. When Auden Ironbound arrives, Mr. Kimura will lead him to the north side of town, where there are fewer houses. Sefu, Yara, and I will hold his army at the beach. You four will be responsible for patrolling the town. Should any of Auden Ironbound's soldiers escape the beach, you'll need to alert one of us. It's important you don't
try to engage them. Luckily, when the storm hits, everyone should already be evacuated or taking cover in the storm shelters, so it's our hope that none of the townspeople will be in danger.”

“When is this going to happen?” Fiona asked.

“Soon,” Ms. Therian said. “That's the best I can tell you right now. Time is of the essence, so I suggest we stop talking now and get to work. Fiona, I want you to practice those deep breathing exercises we discussed. Darren, flight for you today, I think. Gabriella, let's work on sprinting for you. I think you'll find it's quite a different experience on four legs instead of two. And Mack, keep practicing your transformation. I'm sure you'll have the hang of it in no time.”

The moment Mack had been dreading was upon them: in a flash, everyone else transformed, leaving him behind. His face was burning as he moved to sit alone on the floor, trying with all his might to transform—fluttering his eyelids, flexing his muscles, twitching, stretching, everything. But with each move he got the same result.

Nothing.

Mack was actually glad when the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Since Mack didn't need to transform back into his human form, he was the first one out the door. Comics Club was meeting today, and that was always fun. Suddenly, Mack felt like he'd barely seen or talked to Joel since riding the bus on the first day of school.
Hanging out with non-Changers is just what I need,
Mack decided—until he arrived at Comics Club and saw everyone poring over the latest issue of
Super Warriors
. Superpowers, superpowers, superpowers wherever Mack turned. For the first time in his life, Mack was sick of comic books and superheroes.

“Mack! Get in here!” Joel hollered when he spotted Mack hovering in the doorway. “You won't believe what happens in issue seventeen!”

“Actually, I can't stay,” Mack replied. “I have some stuff to do at home.”

Joel's face fell. “Oh. Okay,” he said. “Talk to you later?”

“Sure,” Mack replied.

Mack sent a quick text to Jiichan to ask for a ride home and then set off for the parking lot to wait for him. The clouds had never cleared up, and now, a light
drizzle was falling. It didn't seem like much, but soon Mack's shirt was soaked.

“Mack!” a voice called.

He turned around to see Gabriella approaching. He could see her friend Daisy trying to get her attention, but Gabriella didn't seem to notice her.

“Hey,” Mack replied. “What's up?”

“Practice got canceled,” Gabriella said, gesturing to her cleats. “The weather.”

“Do you need a ride? My grandfather should be here soon,” said Mack.

Gabriella shook her head. “I live close enough to walk,” she said. “But I can hang out with you while you wait.”

“Thanks,” Mack said. He glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was nearby, but they were alone.
Just do it,
Mack told himself.
Swallow your pride and ask.

“Can I ask you something?” Mack said.

“Sure,” replied Gabriella.

“What's it like?” Mack asked, his words tumbling out in a rush. “Changing, I mean.”

Gabriella stared off into the distance, deep in thought. “It's . . . hard to describe,” she began. “I've
only done it twice now. I guess . . . Have you ever been bodysurfing?”

“Like in the ocean?” said Mack. “Sure.”

“It kind of feels like that,” she explained. “You feel this wave approaching, and then you have a choice: if you take a deep breath and, like, prepare yourself . . . and just sort of let go . . . the wave will lift you up and carry you. It's so easy and natural. It feels right, you know?”

Mack nodded.

“But if you force it, you'll face-plant,” Gabriella continued. “The wave will drag you down, and you'll be sputtering through a mouth full of sand and salt water.”

Gabriella pulled her hair out of its high ponytail. “I'm not sure that makes any sense,” she said with a self-conscious laugh.

“No,” Mack said earnestly. “You made perfect sense. I think . . . I've been doing everything wrong, you know? I've definitely been trying to force it . . . and getting nowhere.”

Gabriella looked sympathetic. “I think that first transformation is kind of out of our control,” she confided. “My eyes—They'd started changing on their own.
If we hadn't started Changers class right around the same time, I don't know
what
I would've done. Can you imagine how terrifying it would have been to change without warning?”

“Yeah,” Mack said. “I hadn't thought about it like that before. At this point I'm just so ready to change. I can't believe I'm the last one to figure it out.”

“That doesn't matter,” Gabriella told him. “You'll get it. Ms. Therian believes in you—and look, your own
grandfather
is one of the First Four—I mean, that's
incredible
!”

Mack tried to smile, but Gabriella's enthusiasm just made him feel worse. If Jiichan was one of the First Four, shouldn't Mack have an easier time transforming—and not harder?

Just then, Jiichan pulled up to the curb. Mack was happier than usual to see him. If talking to Gabriella had given him an entirely new perspective on how he should approach Changing, then what could he learn from his own grandfather, a true master?

“Thanks for the advice, Gabriella,” Mack said. He hopped into the car.

“How was your day?” Jiichan asked as Mack fastened his seat belt.

“Gabriella can change now too,” Mack said with a sigh. “That's everybody—everybody except me. Please, you have to help me, Jiichan. Can you at least tell me what's it like? What did it feel like when you first transformed?”

Jiichan turned up the windshield wipers to high. “You will understand soon,” he replied.

Mack balled up his fists in frustration. He and Jiichan sat in silence for a few moments while Mack tried to get his anger under control.

“I'm asking you simple questions!” Mack finally exploded. “Why won't you answer them? I don't know how to do this and it's killing me!”

“Perhaps, then, you should try patience,” Jiichan said.

“Oh, thanks. That's great advice,” Mack said sarcastically. He knew how disrespectful he was being, but for once, he was so upset that he didn't even care. “It's not like there's some insane, power-hungry warlock on the way. You're right. I'll just sit around and wait. I'm sure that will work out fine.”

Jiichan didn't respond, which made Mack even angrier.

“It would've been hard enough to go through this if Mom and Dad were here,” he snapped. “But they're gone. I guess it was too much to expect my grandfather to be there for me.”

But not even that could get a response from Jiichan. As they drove home without speaking, Jiichan's silence made Mack feel worse than ever.

A famous poet was visiting the campus of New Brighton University later that evening, which meant Fiona was spending the afternoon in her father's office in the English department. As chair for poetry, her dad was always hosting readings like this. Though she was looking forward to hearing the poet read, Fiona found herself wishing she were anywhere else. Actually, just one place else: the ocean cove, where she had first swam as a
selkie
. The saltwater pool in the ancillary gym just wasn't the same.

Fiona stood up from her father's desk and decided to get a snack from the vending machine. When she saw a familiar face reflected in the glass case, she almost gasped.

“Darren?” Fiona asked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Fiona!” Darren exclaimed. “I— What are
you
doing here?”

“My dad's an English professor,” she explained. “He's working late tonight, so . . .”

Darren nodded knowingly. “My mom's a chemistry professor,” he said. “Usually, I hang out in the science building, but man, it stinks over there today!”

“Experiment gone wrong?” Fiona laughed.

“Definitely,” Darren replied. “My brother, Ray, goes here, and he said that the English department has the best student lounge.”

“Oh, it does. No doubt about that,” Fiona said.

“So here I am,” Darren said.

“You know, I was going to head over to the library to work on my Changers report,” Fiona said. “Want to come?”

“Sure,” said Darren.

“Have you ever been in the rare books room before?” Fiona asked as they walked across campus. “You won't even believe the amazing ancient texts they have—parchment pages, gold lettering . . . You even
have to wear cotton gloves to touch them.”

“Gloves?” Darren made a face. But when they reached the library, he didn't complain when she handed him a pair.

Soon, Fiona was so engrossed in the beautiful old books that she almost forgot Darren was there. The only sound was the camera on her phone,
click-click-click
ing as she took photos of anything she could find on
selkie
s.

Then Fiona gingerly opened an ancient book with a crumbling cover. It was like an encyclopedia, illuminated by exquisite illustrations that depicted each kind of transformation. She turned a few pages and began to read.

The Horne of Power

The Horne of Power can be brandished only by a Witch or Warlock of unusual Strength and Skill. It has but one Limitation: younglings will be unaffected by its hypnotizing song, but this is of little consequence as younglings are usually quite Weak and Unskilled. Any Warlock worthy of the Horne will easily be able to overpower younglings in other ways.

It took Fiona a little longer than usual to make sense of the words, especially since they were written in such elaborate, squiggly letters. But once she did understand them, she had to read it again—just to make sure she was right.