The Emerald Mask (13 page)

Darren pressed himself behind a tree and sized up the scene. His greatest strength right now, he knew, was to stay invisible. To avoid charging into the fight without a solid plan in place.

Off to the side, Miles lay, knocked out. Mack and Gabriella were battling the magic-users in a cloud of shifting light. Their sharp claws were deflecting curses, which ricocheted into tree trunks, scarring them with dark, smoldering wounds. It was nothing short of awe-inspiring to watch, and for a moment—just a moment—Darren lost track of everything: time, space, even his own self.

“Darren!”

It was Fiona's voice ringing through the clearing.

But . . . where was Fiona?

Darren opened his mouth to call back to her but then stopped. He still had the element of surprise on his side. Fiona must be battling the betrayer, the unknown Changer, both of them in their human forms on this unforgiving ground away from the sea.

Darren dropped to the ground and crawled, as low as he could, toward the next tree trunk. That's when he spotted them, tangled in a desperate fight for Circe's Compass. The unknown Changer was trying to hold it high out of Fiona's grasp, but Fiona almost had it . . .

Zing!

The lightning took everyone by surprise—even Darren himself. He stared at his fingers in astonishment.

The battle paused in a moment of miraculous stillness as everyone else turned to stare too. Someone moved, or maybe just flinched; then Mack growled—a long, low sound of menace—and lunged at Gabriella's opponent.

One of the magic-users stumbled back, unsteady on his feet.

Gabriella seized the opportunity to move on. Her
nahual
ears pressed back against her head, and she entered an attack posture—head down, muscles taut. Then she charged, with all her might, at the unknown Changer.

The betrayer didn't see Gabriella coming. The unknown Changer took the hit full force, flying
through the air and landing, face-first, in the mud. With her quick cat reflexes, Gabriella dived forward and seized Circe's Compass with her sharp teeth.

Somehow in that moment, her eyes met Darren's, and even more astonishingly, they shared a small smile. And Darren knew that Gabriella was thinking exactly what he was:

Finally.

A swirl, a blinding flash: Mack took his human form, towering over the injured magic-users and the unknown Changer.

“It's over,” he declared. “Surrender to us.”

For a moment, Darren thought they actually might. The one called Bram was bleeding badly; even Evan, their leader, was casting around desperately, trying to figure out a way to escape.

Never corner a wounded animal.
Darren remembered Sefu's words suddenly.

The next thing he knew, Darren was flat on his back, fighting for breath, as prickly pine needles rained down on him.

Mack couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Every cell in his body was screaming out for oxygen, and all he could do was lie there, staring stupidly at the trees and their ugly needles, which scraped against the eyes he couldn't even blink. Mack could hear Miles in his
aatxe
form chasing off the warlocks, but the sound was dull, as though there was cotton in his ears.

Then, suddenly, like the sun burning away a stubborn fog, the paralysis spell lifted. Mack tried to take a deep breath but ended up coughing and choking uncontrollably.

He wasn't the only one. Around him, Gabriella and Darren and Fiona were struggling too. The fight for
breath was almost worse than the paralysis. Before, at least, it had been out of his control. But now? He was trying as hard as he could . . . and failing.

“Breathe,” Miles commanded them as he came running back to the clearing. “Breathe deeply. You'll all be fine—but breathe, now, do it! Even if it's hard. Even if it hurts.
Breathe
.”

Mack focused on Miles's voice until, little by little, his lungs stopped seizing and relaxed into slow and steady respiration.
Breathe in. Breathe out,
he told himself.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Soon he felt strong enough to sit up—and start asking questions.

Miles held out his hand for Mack. “What was
that
?” Miles asked fervently, his eyes blazing. “Those guys—and that lady—where did they go? And the— Was that really . . .”

Mack held up his hand. “I'm afraid that's classified,” he said. Somewhere behind him he heard Darren snort.

Miles raised an eyebrow. “Is everyone all right?”

“Yes,” Darren and Fiona said at the same time.

“Gabriella?” Mack asked. The
nahual
nodded and then padded across the clearing on broad paws. She
dropped the compass's case near the others and transformed back into her human form.

“Looks like everyone's fine,” Mack said, picking up the case. “Let's check it out!”

The kids crowded around Mack while he opened the compass's case. If its gold metal had glowed before, it
blazed
now, emitting beams of light in a wild spectrum of color. Mack didn't know much about precious jewels, but he had a feeling that those were real rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires studding the surface of the compass.

Everyone watched as the compass's arrow moved in a slow, purposeful circle, pointing first at Miles, then Mack to Fiona to Darren, and finally to Gabriella.

“Awesome,” Mack whispered, his face beaming.

“It's beautiful,” Fiona marveled. “I mean, I was impressed when I saw it underwater—but this is about a million times more amazing.”

Darren pointed at the compass's surface. “What's wrong with the arrow?” he asked. “It's stuck.”

Fiona frowned. “Perhaps it's picking up on a stronger signal from a nearby Changer,” she mused.

Everyone tensed at once, remembering the unknown Changer. The betrayer. Was she still near—lying in wait—ready to attack?

But when Mack and the others looked warily in the direction that the arrow was pointing, all they saw was Gabriella.

Well, no.

Not exactly Gabriella.

Who they saw there—or
what
they saw there—was not really Gabriella at all.

Part girl, part
nahual
, her golden cat's eyes glimmered with panic as she stared at her human hands, from which cruel, unforgiving claws protruded. Two plush, velvety cat ears stuck up comically from her head, and a long, furry tail snaked behind her in the dirt.

“Oh no,” Mack whispered before he could stop himself.

“I—I'm stuck,” Gabriella said miserably, her voice choked and halting. “I—I—I—”

Miles rubbed his temples. “Okay. Okay,” he said. “Look, Gabriella, um, stay calm. This happened to a guy I know when we were in training. You're going to be fine.”

“Do your counting thing!” Fiona suggested.

“Okay,” Gabriella said as she took a deep breath. The clearing was completely still except for Gabriella's small voice as she dutifully counted backward. By the time she reached five, Mack realized that he was holding his breath. And by the time she reached one . . .

Nothing happened.

“Do it again,” Miles said, so firmly that Mack realized—for the first time—that he was worried.
Really
worried.

Still nothing.

“I have an idea,” Darren spoke up. “Why don't you transform fully into a jaguar and then back into your human form? Maybe it will be like pushing a reset button.”

“Okay,” Gabriella said eagerly, nodding her head. “Okay. I'll try it.”

Seconds later, the jet-black
nahual
stared at them and then blinked her golden eyes.

After Gabriella tried to transform back, those golden eyes were still staring.

“It didn't work!” Gabriella cried.

“That's it,” Miles said. “I'm going to call your grandfather, Mack.”

“No!” Mack exclaimed. “We can handle this. Gabriella, why don't you try counting backward again—”

“Come on, man,” Miles said, not unkindly. “Secret mission or no, this has gone too far. Those warlocks meant business, and there's no way we can take Gabriella back to the marina like this. If somebody saw her—”

“Miles is right, Mack,” Fiona spoke up. She put her hand on Gabriella's shoulder. “It's okay to ask for help when we need it—and right now, we
definitely
need it.”

“Stay here,” Miles told them, holding his cell phone in the air trying to get reception. “I mean it. Nobody leave. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

There was a heavy silence as Miles walked away from the clearing. Then Gabriella burst into loud, choking sobs.

“What am I going to do?” she wept. “What if I stay this way—forever? I can't go home like this.”

No one knew how to comfort their friend, who was suffering so deeply.

“I'm being punished,” Gabriella said. “For using my
powers in soccer, for being a cheater and a liar, for all those wins that were unfairly won. I'm not human—not like this. At best I can be an animal, I guess. And at worst—a
freak
!”

“Don't say that!” Fiona exclaimed. “You're not a freak.
None
of us are.”

“And you're not a cheater,” Darren said firmly. “Your abilities are natural! You were born with them!”

“They're part of who you are,” added Mack. “It would be lying to cover them up. What would your teammates think if they knew you were holding back? Wouldn't that be worse?”

“Nothing could be worse than this,” Gabriella replied, holding up her claws for all to see.

“You just need help,” Darren told her.

“What if no one can help me?” Gabriella shot back. “What then?”

That gave Mack an idea. He held up Circe's Compass and dangled it before Gabriella's face. “Then maybe,” he began, “you'll need to help yourself.”

It was all Mack had to say; Darren and Fiona looked confused, but Gabriella understood perfectly.

“You think—” she began.

“I
know
,” Mack interrupted her. “Go. Find the Emerald Wildcat. You've said all along she could help you. Now give her the chance.”

“Hold on a second,” Darren spoke up. “What if those magic jerks are still out there? Or that dolphin lady?”

“You think they're a match for Gabriella?” Mack scoffed. “Even if they ganged up on her, Gabriella could escape and leave them all in the dust. Nobody's faster.”

“That's true,” Fiona said. She reached out and squeezed Gabriella's arm. “You be safe out there, okay?”

“She'll be fine,” Mack declared. “Besides, we all know she's the best fighter in the group.”

“Thank you,” Gabriella whispered. Without another word, she took Circe's Compass and hung it around her neck. It dangled there, gleaming and winking as if it had a secret.

Then Gabriella transformed, fully, into her
nahual
form and charged away from the clearing.

It wasn't luck that allowed Gabriella to race home to Willow Cove as a jaguar without being seen. In her
nahual
form, Gabriella was able to run miles in minutes, so fast that she was a blur.

Gabriella ducked into her house and transformed silently as soon as the door closed behind her. A quick glance in the entryway mirror told her that she was still partially changed—
Oh, those ears!
she thought in dismay. She couldn't even bear to think about her tail. . . .

Gabriella forced herself to take a deep breath.
You're home now,
she reminded herself.
Safe.
The smell of chocolate was heavy in the air, and someone in the kitchen
was singing in Spanish. A thrill of hope spiraled inside Gabriella, making her dizzy.
Ma,
she thought, placing her hand on the doorframe to steady herself. This was it: the moment of truth. Circe's Compass would reveal everything that Gabriella had longed to know.