The Gathering Storm (11 page)

“Darren,” she whispered hoarsely. “Look—look at this.”

Fiona waited impatiently while Darren puzzled through the difficult text. When he finally looked up from the book, she could tell that he understood too.

“The First Four weren't immune to the horn,” Fiona said. “They were just young! That's why it didn't work on them!”

“So a youngling is . . . ,” Darren began.

“Here,” Fiona said, carefully paging through the ancient book before reading aloud. “ ‘A youngling is but a Changer who has not yet come of age. While even the most juvenile Changers can display some of their powers from birth, the true extent of their skills will not be known until later in life.' ”

“Auden Ironbound is on his way, and the First Four think they can still beat him,” Darren said. “But—”

“They'll be powerless against the horn now—just like all the other adult Changers,” Fiona finished for him.

“Do you think Auden Ironbound knows that?” Darren asked suddenly.

“I have no idea,” Fiona replied with a sinking feeling. “This book has been locked away in the rare books room for a long time . . . but it might not be the only copy.” She stood up abruptly. “We have to tell Mack and Gabriella, figure out what to do next—”

Just then, Darren's phone buzzed. “My mom's ready to go,” he said. “Perfect timing.”

“And I'm going to be stuck here for another three hours at least!” Fiona sighed.

“Hey, why don't you come back with us?” Darren asked. “We can get together with Mack and Gabriella and fill them in.”

Fiona thought about it for a moment. “I think that should be okay,” she said. “Let me text my dad.”

Hey, Dad. I left my math book at school. Darren's mom, Professor Smith, can drive me back to Willow Cove. OK? Sorry! See you at home tonight!

Fiona sent the text, making a silent wish that her father wouldn't be mad at her for missing the poetry reading. At least it wasn't completely a lie—Fiona did leave her math book at school, but only because she'd already finished her homework.

With extra caution, Fiona carefully closed the ancient book and returned it to its glass case. “Let's go,” she said, a strange urgency in her voice. “There's no time to lose.”

Ninety minutes later, Fiona, Mack, and Darren hunkered down in Darren's old tree house. The rain drummed against the wooden roof that Ray had nailed in place back when Darren was in kindergarten. Darren hardly ever came out to the tree house these days, and it showed—there were dried-up, crunchy leaves scattered across the floor, and more than a few cobwebs. Fiona was glad it was so dim inside. It meant she couldn't see all the spiders that were surely lurking in the corners.

As Fiona glanced at her phone again, Darren asked, “Anything?”

She shook her head. “I'll text her again, but if
Gabriella hasn't responded to my last five messages, I doubt she'll reply to this one.”

“What's going on?” asked Mack.

Fiona and Darren took turns telling Mack everything they'd learned about the horn. When they finished, Mack scrunched up his face. “I can't believe this,” he said. “Are you telling me that the First Four aren't so special after all? They were just, like, kids?”

“I wouldn't say that,” Fiona replied quickly. “The book specifically said that most ‘younglings' would be easily overcome. So obviously, they had some kind of unusual strength, even though they hadn't come of age.”

“But the reason they were spared from the horn
was
because of their age,” Darren pointed out. “We can't count on them to be immune this time.”

“Yeah, it
has
been about a thousand years,” Mack joked, but nobody laughed.

“So, what are we going to do?” Fiona asked. “We have to figure out the right way to talk to them about it. I can't imagine they'll be happy to hear they're at risk too.”

Darren turned to Mack. “You'd better talk to your
grandfather,” he said. “I mean, you know him a lot better than the rest of us know Ms. Therian.”

“Ah, um, well . . . th-there's just one problem with that,” Mack stammered. “Jiichan and I aren't exactly speaking right now.”

Fiona's eyes grew wide. “Why not?” she asked. “What happened?”

“We had a stupid fight,” Mack admitted. “All because I asked him for a little extra help. I—I—”

“Go on,” Darren encouraged him. “You can tell us.”

“It's nothing you don't already know,” Mack said with a sigh. “I can't transform, okay? I don't even know where to begin. And I
thought
that maybe my own grandfather, who is apparently one of the greatest Changers of all time, could give me some pointers. But I guess that was too much to ask.”

While Mack stared at the floor in embarrassment, Darren and Fiona exchanged a glance.

“Mack, you'll figure it out,” Fiona finally told him.

“Everybody keeps saying that,” Mack replied. “But until it happens, I'm not really a Changer, you know? I'm just some loser along for the ride.”

“No way,” Darren said firmly.

“Seriously,” Fiona agreed. “Don't you think your grandfather and Ms. Therian would
know
if you weren't actually a Changer? They believe in you.”

“And we do too,” added Darren.

“Thanks, guys,” Mack said. But one look at his face told Fiona that Mack wasn't convinced, and the only thing that could change his feelings would be learning how to transform.

“So, you'll talk to your grandfather when you get home?” Darren pressed.

Mack glanced out the tree house window. The rain was falling harder now. “It might be better if we talk to Ms. Therian tomorrow,” he suggested.

Fiona frowned. “But—” she began.

“Listen,” Mack broke in. “I just had a big fight with my grandfather, right? Now, imagine I walk into the house and tell him he's not quite as powerful as he thinks. That it was all just a misunderstanding. How do you think that will go over?”

“I see your point,” said Fiona.

“How about this?” Mack continued. “We'll go to Ms.
Therian tomorrow in Changers class. All of us. Darren and Fiona, since you actually saw the book, you can tell her exactly what it said.”

“Can we afford to wait?” asked Darren.

“Yeah. I think so,” replied Mack. “Jiichan has had the weather station on all afternoon. The hurricane isn't supposed to hit for three more days.”

“
Where
is Gabriella?” Fiona asked suddenly. “I can't believe she hasn't texted me back.”

A sudden downpour clattered on the roof, making everyone look up warily. A few minutes later the rain slowed again to a steady patter. It would've been a soothing sound—comforting, even—if there wasn't an evil, power-hungry warlock behind it.

“Maybe she lost her phone,” said Darren.

“Maybe,” Fiona said.

But everyone could tell she wasn't convinced.

The next morning Gabriella made sure that she was the first one waiting at Lizbeth's locker. Lizbeth's messenger chat last night had made it very clear that anything less would
not
be okay. While she waited, Gabriella sneaked a peek in her little mirror. Ponytail—check. Little gold earrings—check. Normal brown eyes—check.
There is no reason to be worried,
Gabriella reminded herself. Lizbeth was her best friend . . . right?

Suddenly, someone snatched the mirror from Gabriella's hand and snapped it closed. It was Lizbeth, of course.

“You have gotten so vain!” Lizbeth announced. She
was smiling like she was teasing, but her eyes looked like she meant it. “All the time with this mirror, I swear. Just checking to make sure you're still gorgeous, huh?”

“No, it's because my hair is a disaster,” Gabriella said automatically. It was always safer to put herself down when Lizbeth acted like this. “I had to redo my ponytail three times already.”

“Yeah, it looks pretty frizzy,” Lizbeth said smugly. “Must be all this rain.”

Gabriella glanced down the hall and waved when she saw Daisy and Katie approaching.

“G!” Daisy exclaimed. “What happened yesterday? Why were you talking with that Mack guy after school? I wanted to hang out.”

Gabriella shrugged. “Mack and I just said hi. Then I went home.”

“Daisy told me you were tearing it up at practice the other day,” Katie said.

“No, whatever.” Gabriella tried to laugh it off.

“You were,” Daisy insisted, her voice tinged with envy. “I never saw you run so fast or kick so hard. I mean, wow. Even Coach Connors couldn't believe it. I
heard him say that the star had gone supernova, whatever that means.”

“I guess Jock Gym for Superjocks is going great for you,” Lizbeth remarked.

Gabriella tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it.
Are my
nahual
powers showing up on the field?
she wondered. If only there was a way to know if her golden eyes had appeared while she ran.
What if I started to transform during practice?
she worried.
Could I stop it? Or would I lose complete control?

“Hello?” Lizbeth said as she gave a quick tug on Gabriella's ponytail. “Where did you go?”

“Just thinking about my math quiz,” Gabriella said. “So, what's up?”

“That's exactly what I wanted to ask you,” Lizbeth said, making her blue eyes go all wide. “I have barely seen you since school started. Why are you spending so much time with those weirdos? I mean, Fiona? Seriously? And don't even get me started on the Comic Book King of Willow Cove.”

“If Mack was a superhero, he'd be, like, Captain Loser.” Daisy giggled. “And Darren is so—”

“No. Darren's okay,” Lizbeth cut her off. “He's cute, at least. But you shouldn't be ditching your
best
friends to hang out with him.”

“Or anybody else,” added Katie.

“I—” Gabriella began, but she stopped herself. Of course she should stick up for her Changer friends; she knew that. But if she did . . .

“Gabriella!”

When Fiona's eager, high-pitched voice echoed off the lockers, Gabriella closed her eyes.
Not now, Fiona,
she thought.

But Fiona was already hurrying over, with Mack and Darren right behind her.

Gabriella didn't need to open her eyes to know that Lizbeth was staring at her. What Gabriella did next would decide everything.

“What do you want?” Gabriella asked coldly.

Fiona paused; blinked. “I— Did you get my texts yesterday?”

Fiona didn't know it, but it was the perfect thing to say.

“Yeah, I got them,” Gabriella replied, as if she didn't care. In reality, her phone had accidentally spent the
night in her locker at school, but nobody needed to know that.

“Why didn't you respond?” asked Mack.

Gabriella sighed and leaned over to whisper in Lizbeth's ear. Lizbeth loved it. She laughed loudly, even though Gabriella hadn't said anything particularly funny.

Most people would've slunk away by now, but Fiona was determined. “We've got to talk to you,” she said, giving Gabriella a meaningful look. “It's urgent.”

This time, Katie and Daisy laughed.

“I'm with my
friends
,” Gabriella said pointedly. “Why don't you go get some of your own?” she added before turning away, feeling like the worst person in the world. Lizbeth, Katie, and Daisy turned their backs too.

Gabriella tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, like she hadn't noticed the hurt and anger in Fiona's eyes, or the way Darren and Mack had looked at her in disgust. The boys didn't say anything as they left, hurrying after Fiona as she stormed away. Gabriella longed to follow them, to leave Lizbeth behind for good.