Authors: H. K. Varian

The Power Within (15 page)

“Or did you transform?”

“It was the first time,” Fiona whispered, staring at the ground.

Dad's heavy sigh made her look up just in time to see him cover his eyes with his hand. Here she'd thought he would be mad at herâafter all, Dad had just caught her in a bold-faced lieâbut instead, Dad lookedÂ .Â .Â . well,
defeated.

Fiona wasn't sure what to say next. The truth was, she'd lied because she
had
toâshe'd made vows of secrecy about the very existence of Changers, people who had the ability to shape-shift into mythological animals. Fiona wasn't the only one; in fact, there were three other kids just at Willow Cove Middle School who were Changers: Darren Smith, who could transform into a massive bird called an
impundulu
; Gabriella Rivera, a
nahual
who could change into a ferocious jaguar; and Mack Kimura, a fox Changer known as a
kitsune
. Mack's grandfather was one of the First Four, a council of elders who ruled over all the Changers in the world.

Over the last few months, the Changers had been threatened by an evil warlock known as Auden Ironbound, who was determined to seize power from the First Four and control the Changers. Fiona and her friends had already engaged in several battles with Auden and his followers, but the skirmishes were much more challenging for Fiona, who hadn't learned
selkie
magic yet. The other Changers didn't need a cloak or any sort of magical object to transform, either, which was just one reason why Fiona's
selkie
cloak was so vitalâwhy she couldn't risk losing it.Â .Â .Â .

“Fiona, I'm going to ask you something else, and it's essential that you answer me honestly,” Dad finally said. “Have you been contacted by another Changer? Perhaps another
selkie
? Orâorâ”

Or what?
Fiona wondered as Dad's voice faltered.

“Or your mother?”

Fiona blinked in surprise, unsure if she'd heard him correctly. Mom had died when Fiona was three. But the very thought that there was a way, somehow, for Fiona to contact her again filled her with hope.
Can
selkie
s communicate with the dead?
she wondered as her
imagination ran wild.
Maybe that's one of their secret powers that can only be learned from another
selkie
! Maybeâ

Then Fiona's rational, whip-smart self caught up with her imagination. She had researched
selkie
s constantly since she'd found out the truth about herself, and nowhereâ
nowhere
âhad there been even the slightest hint that
selkie
s had such a power.

And since when did
Dad,
of all people, seem to know so much about
selkie
s?

Fiona chose her next words very carefully.

“Dad,” she said slowly, “why did you ask if I'd seen Mom?”

This time, it was Dad's turn to be silent.

“Dad?” Fiona asked again.

He sighed before answering at last. “Because your mother is aliveâand a
selkie
, like you.”

H. K. VARIAN
has always loved reading about ancient mythology, ruins, and magic. Though H. K. once dreamed of having awesome powers like in the Hidden World of Changers series, writing became kind of like magic in and of itself. Today H. K. lives, writes, and has adventures in both North Carolina and New York City, though most of them don't involve battling warlocks, storming castles, or retrieving enchanted objects.

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.