The Emerald Mask (8 page)

She'd never heard of such a thing. No. Crying—with real tears and everything—was decidedly human.

When Gabriella looked up again, there they were: her old, familiar brown eyes. Just like Maritza. Just like Ma. Just like Tía Rosa.

I'm back,
Gabriella thought with joy as she grinned at her reflection.
I'm back!

And just in time, too—for at that moment, the locker room door banged open.

“Mija?”
her mother's voice echoed off the tiles. “You in here?”

“Yeah,” Gabriella called and then cleared her throat.

Tía Rosa, Maritza, and Ma hurried up to her. Ma placed her hands on Gabriella's flushed cheeks. “Sweetheart, what happened?” she asked urgently. “Are you sick?”

“I'm okay,” Gabriella replied—and she meant it. “I got a little lightheaded on the field. You know. Woozy.”

Ma shook her head. “All that adrenaline,” she said, wrapping her arm across Gabriella's shoulders. “You girls were running so hard in the sun. It's a wonder you didn't pass out!”

Tía Rosa, though, was watching Gabriella carefully. “Adrenaline, huh?” she asked, as if she didn't quite believe her. “You feeling better now,
mija
?”

“Way better,” Gabriella assured her, though she couldn't quite meet Tía Rosa's eyes.

“I don't want you playing anymore today,” Ma said firmly. “Enough is enough. You need some rest, some time out of the sun—”

“Yeah, of course,” Gabriella said. “The game's probably about over by now, anyway.”

“Let's get you home,” Tía Rosa said, patting Gabriella's back. “Go ahead and change. We'll run home and get the car.”

“It's only a couple blocks,” Gabriella protested. “I can walk. I'm fine.”

But one look from Ma silenced her protests.

Once her family had left, Gabriella opened her locker and pulled out her street clothes. Suddenly, her phone buzzed, clattering across the locker's metal shelf.

Six missed texts!
Gabriella thought as she glanced at the screen. And all of them from Fiona.

EMERGENCY! MEET AT THE GYM NOW!

Fiona hurried into the Ancillary Gym, cradling her backpack as Darren closed the door behind her. They were immediately swarmed by the First Four: Ms. Therian; Mack's grandfather, Akira Kimura; Yara Moreno; and Sefu Badawi.

“Are you all right?” Ms. Therian demanded urgently. “What happened?”

Yara held up a wrinkled hand. “Dorina, let the children catch their breath,” she said. “It's obvious they've been through something traumatic.”

It is?
Fiona wondered. She noticed Mack hovering at the edge of the group, his eyes dark with worry. She tried to smile reassuringly, but just then—

Bang!

The door flew open again, making everyone jump. But it was only Gabriella, out of breath from her dash across the school. She was still wearing her soccer uniform.
The big game,
Fiona remembered suddenly. It looked like Gabriella had left right in the middle of it.

“Sorry I'm late,” Gabriella said. “I came as soon as I got your text. What's going on?”

“Come,” Mr. Kimura said to Fiona and Darren. “Sit. Tell us what happened.”

“We went to the library at New Brighton University,” Fiona began. “Darren and I wanted to research Circe's Compass. We thought there might be information in the rare books collection, where we found the book that told us about the Horn of Power.”

“But there were these guys,” Darren spoke for the first time since they'd arrived. “I thought they were students at first. They were searching for something—and they were getting frustrated. . . .”

“I was getting frustrated too,” Fiona chimed in. “The digital record seemed incomplete. I couldn't find a single entry about Circe's Compass
or
the Horn of Power—no
matter how I searched. So I decided to take a look at the actual book we'd seen before.”

Fiona paused, her hands hovering over her backpack. But she didn't open it. Not yet.

“I was right about the digital record,” she said. “Because in the book—the real, physical book—there was so much more.”

“The letters,” Darren said, shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe it. “They swirled around, switched places, formed entirely new words.”

“Whoa,” Mack breathed.

“That sounds like something from a movie,” Gabriella said, an edge of disbelief in her voice.

But Fiona was noticing something else—a glance, just a half second, that passed between Mr. Kimura and Ms. Therian.

“You can see for yourself,” Fiona said suddenly, reaching into her backpack. Everyone watched in total silence as she unwrapped her
selkie
cloak to reveal, at last, the massive tome. Fiona placed it in Ms. Therian's hands, but Yara recognized it first.

“The Compendium!”
she gasped.

“I never thought I'd lay eyes on it again,” Sefu marveled, shaking his head.

But Mr. Kimura began to laugh. “I knew it was out there somewhere,” he said. “And to think, this whole time, it was so close, hidden away in a college library.”

“Jiichan, what are you talking about?” Mack finally spoke up, asking the question on all the kids' minds.

“It's not
The Compendium
,” Fiona added. “This book is called
Traditions of Otherworldly Beings
.”

“A clever title, but a fake one,” Mr. Kimura told her. He held out his hands, palms up, and turned to Ms. Therian. “May I, Dorina?”

“Of course,” she replied, passing the book to him.

“The Compendium,”
he began. “A precious resource for Changers. A living book. It contains our history—
all
our history, all these many thousands of years. Maps. Relics. Family trees. Lost lore. Hideaways. Secrets. They are all in here, carefully guarded. As you have already discovered, Fiona and Darren,
The Compendium
decides who can read it. Not the other way around.”

“Well, it let
me
read it,” Fiona said, her voice filled with wonder. “It showed us where Circe's Compass
is—on a ship that sank in 1792, right off the coast of Middletown. We could go and get it tomorrow!”

Gabriella, Mack, and the First Four started talking at once, but Darren's voice carried above the rest.

“Those guys at the computer,” Darren said. “Jack, Bram, and . . . Evan.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“They
knew
about this book,” he continued. “I'm sure of it. They were desperate to get their hands on it.”

“Did they threaten you?” asked Sefu.

“Well . . . ,” Fiona began.

“Not exactly,” Darren admitted. “They were kind of, well, menacing, I guess. It was like we could
feel
their—their intentions.”

“They tried to look friendly, but their eyes were wrong,” Fiona explained.

“What did they do to you?” Ms. Therian asked; her voice had a hard edge.

Darren stared at the floor. “One of them—it looked like he was getting ready to attack us and steal the book . . . there was a glow to his hands . . . so I shot a lightning bolt,” he said. “I didn't mean to—well, I did—but it all happened
so fast, and all I knew was that we had to escape.”

There was a long silence.

“You did the right thing,” Ms. Therian finally said. “Your safety is always of the utmost importance, but you must be careful in the future. Your training has barely begun, and your magic should only be used in emergencies.”

“The lightning didn't hurt them. They chased us through campus.”

“They were working for Auden Ironbound, weren't they?” Fiona asked. “Trying to find Circe's Compass, and us, too.”

“We have to assume so,” Sefu answered. “Auden's servants are too close for my liking. Think of it—
The Compendium
in the hands of Auden Ironbound.”

“You worry too much,” Yara chided him. “
The Compendium
can protect itself. It has defenses that not even the most powerful warlock can crack.”

“We hope,” Sefu muttered darkly. “But let us not forget that the book was lost when the warlocks attacked and burned the safe house at Tareth. With the way it conceals itself, it can just as easily be lost again. But
The Compendium
aside, what about the children? You cannot
deny that they were in danger today. Auden Ironbound is like a wounded animal—and one must
never
corner a wounded animal.”

“It seems the
children
can take care of themselves,” Yara shot back. “I remember you were quite capable as a youngling, Sefu. Be careful that you do not underestimate them.”

“I think we can all agree that Dorina is teaching them well,” Mr. Kimura spoke up suddenly. “They were our first line of defense against the Horn of Power.”

“And Auden still has the Horn,” Yara added. “They are the only ones immune to its call.”

“I don't like this,” Ms. Therian said. “It's not right. We should put ourselves at risk first and foremost—not them. Never them.”

“Do not let your affection cloud your judgment,” Mr. Kimura said gently. “I have full confidence in your tutelage, Dorina. Remember why we are here. Remember what we were born to do.”

“No, Akira,” Sefu said firmly. “I have lived many centuries. Their lives have just begun. I may be an old man, but I know my place in the great circle. We must protect them at all costs.”

“We are
all
bound to protect our cause!” Yara exclaimed. “Young and old united against whatever danger the dark powers deliver to us.”

Then all the First Four were talking at once, their raised voices echoing off the walls of the Ancillary Gym.

No,
Fiona thought, remembering what Ms. Therian had told them before the battle for Willow Cove.
Auden Ironbound
wants
this. He wants us distracted—and if we're arguing with one another, that's even better.

She noticed then how tense Darren was, sitting beside her. His fingers lit up with crackling sparks, but he didn't seem to notice as he stared at the First Four, worry written all over his face.

This has to stop,
Fiona said. And no one was more surprised than Fiona herself when she spoke.

“Excuse me,” she said. Then louder: “Excuse me!”

All eyes turned to her.

“Do we get a say?” she asked, astonished by her boldness. Was it possible that
she
was challenging the First Four, the greatest Changers alive?

Apparently, it was.

For half a second, Fiona thought she saw a hint of a
smile flicker over Mr. Kimura's face, but it disappeared too quickly for her to be sure.

“Of course you do,” he said.

“Any decisions you make must be fully informed,” Ms. Therian spoke up. “I want you to know that Auden Ironbound is angry. Without a doubt, he is determined to have his revenge. He is perhaps even more dangerous after defeat than he was before.”

For the first time in her life, though, Fiona didn't need to think carefully about it. Her mind was already made up. She rose to her feet and said in a clear, steady voice, “I want to help find the compass. If Auden is after us, I want to be part of the fight to stop him.”

Darren stood up too. “So do I,” he said.

“And me,” Mack added as he scrambled to his feet.

“Me too,” Gabriella said, her cat's eyes flashing. “Otherwise, what's the point?”

All eyes turned to her.

“We all have this—this—this
ability
,” she said, struggling to find the right words. “I guess you could call it a gift, maybe. A challenge, definitely. But if we don't use it for good . . . why should we have it at all?”

The First Four exchanged a glance. Fiona could tell that they were discussing the matter silently among themselves, reaching a secret conclusion.

“I'm sorry,” Sefu finally said. “It's just too dangerous. You need to understand that these people who came after you—they're not the bad guys in your comic books and your movies. They will
kill
you if given the chance. They will come after the people you love.”

“I agree,” Ms. Therian said, nodding her head. “If Auden Ironbound realizes that you have
The Compendium
, you're at even greater risk. And there's no doubt in my mind that his henchmen would recognize Fiona and Darren after their encounter in the library. Right now, at this very moment, they are probably working on a plan to find you—and follow you straight to Circe's Compass.”

“We should assemble an outside team made up of those the warlocks wouldn't recognize,” Mr. Kimura suggested. “It will take a week or so, but I think that would be the safest option.”