CHAPTER ONE
Elliot Eisner was lying, facedown, on the pavement in front of his new house, in his new town, in New Jersey.
The morning was clear and fine. Kids were walking past on their way to school, kicking red and yellow leaves. It smelled of fall.
Why was Elliot lying facedown on the pavement?
He wasn’t sure. He had opened his front door, stepped on something, and then gone toppling headfirst down the steps. Elliot pushed himself up and turned around to see what he had tripped on.
On his front step was a small package, wrapped in brown paper. He got to his feet and walked over to the package. No address. No stamps. Just a name, scrawled in brown ink. Weird. He examined the name on the package.
It was his name.
Elliot had had a strange day yesterday. It had been his first day at his new school. He’d made a friend, Uchenna Devereaux. She was odd. She kinda dressed like a punk rocker, she made up random songs about nothing at all, and she had a strong desire to put herself, and Elliot, in mortal danger. All that said, she was funny and she was brave and Elliot liked her. They had rescued a young Jersey Devil—which was supposed to be an imaginary creature, but definitely was not imaginary. It seemed to have adopted them. Finally, a terrifying teacher at their school, named Professor Fauna, had invited them to join a secret organization: the Unicorn Rescue Society. Its mission was to save mythical creatures from danger.
So yeah, it had been a strange day.
Now Elliot was staring at a mysterious package that had been left on his doorstep.
For him.
He tore open the paper. A book stared up at him. The Country of Basque.
“What?” Elliot said out loud, to no one.
Why had someone left him a book? On his doorstep? And who had left it? And couldn’t he just have a normal, not-at-all dangerous second day at South Pines Elementary? Please?
He sighed, tucked the book under his arm, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and started off to school.