They turned onto an unmarked road. Mr. Johnson said, “Almost there.”
Aiden looked out the window, wondering if he would see anything strange. It was a whole town full of supernatural creatures. And he was one of them.
He glanced over at his parents, who looked as dazed as he felt. A month ago, they’d all been normal. Well, they’d thought they were normal. Now Aiden knew he was a changeling, that his parents weren’t his real parents—weren’t his birth parents—and they knew their real son was out there somewhere. Still, they’d taken it pretty well. At least on the outside, they were taking it better than he was. But they were probably as torn up on the inside. Aiden worried that they didn’t love him as much now that they knew he wasn’t really their son. He wasn’t even human.
On either side of the road, the woods got denser. Maybe a supernatural town really could be hidden back here. A sign warned them they were approaching a dead end. Aiden looked at Mr. Johnson and opened his mouth to ask about it.
In that creepy way of his, Mr. Johnson seemed to know what he was going to say. “Ignore the sign. It’s to keep people out.”
Ahead, it looked like the trees grew right across the road. “What about—”
“It’s an illusion. There are illusions and wards around Shadow Valley to make sure ordinary humans don’t stumble into it by accident.”
Mom drew a sharp breath as the trees loomed closer. Aiden tensed, afraid they would slam into the huge trunks. A little noise escaped him when the trees were only feet away.
The truck kept going, and in the next moment they were through. The trees thinned out, and then he saw buildings ahead of them.
“Welcome to Shadow Valley,” Mr. Johnson said.
“This is so weird,” Dad said.
Aiden had to swallow to get spit back in his dry throat. “You can still change your mind.”
Mom reached over and gripped his hand. “No. We won’t leave you to do this alone. No matter what he says, you’re still our son. We love you, Aiden.”
“Thanks.” His throat was dry again.
“She’s right,” Dad said. “We would never abandon you. Don’t even think that.”
Aiden nodded.
They reached the first few buildings. The town looked surprisingly normal: a gas station, restaurants, shops, a bank. Mr. Johnson made a few turns and there were more houses, neighborhoods that looked like every other small town in the Midwest. Aiden studied them, looking for anything weird. A few people worked in their yards, cutting grass, planting flowers.
“I want to emphasize again that you won’t be in any danger here.” Mr. Johnson took another turn. “We have other humans living in Shadow Valley, generally parents of magically gifted children or spouses of nonhumans. There is some crime, just as in any town, but our crime rates are much lower than the city you were living in. Your neighbors will look out for you. I can introduce you if you don’t feel comfortable speaking to them alone.”
“Thank you. We’d appreciate that,” Dad said.
“Here we are.” Mr. Johnson pulled into the driveway of a house. It looked bigger than the house they’d lived in back in Dayton, white with brown trim, three floors—although the top floor looked like an attic and not a full level. The open porch had an overhang protecting it and even had a swing at one end.
The house looked like something out of a movie, an image of a perfect suburban home. It didn’t have a white picket fence, but the lawn was trimmed.
“Wow.” Mom stared up at their new house.
“The movers should be here shortly with the rest of your belongings. Would you like a tour of the house?”
“Yeah. Thank you,” she said.
New town, new house, new school. Aiden’s stomach turned as he thought about Monday.
* * *
Heading out to the bus stop at sunset was surreal. Adjusting to the new schedule was going to be hard, but on the bright side, no more waking up early.
On the other hand, it was his first day of high school and he didn’t know a single person. And his classmates were creatures out of nightmares.
Their neighbors looked like normal people. On one side was a couple with young children and all of them were witches. Aside from their magical abilities, they were totally human. They seemed very nice too. His shell-shocked parents had been invited to dinner the following week.
The family on the other side was part djinn, and their children were young. The older girl was in elementary school and her brother was just starting preschool. Aiden wondered if Mr. Johnson had picked this house specifically because the families on either side were human and part human. Mr. Johnson seemed to think everything through and do things with intent. He was staying in town for a few days in case they needed help. After that, he would go back to his normal job, searching out supernatural beings and making sure they were certified.
Aiden reached the stop at the end of the block. An older-looking girl was already there, black hair cut short and a baseball cap turned around on her head.
“Hi there. You must be new.” She smiled.
“Yeah. I’m Aiden.” He held his hand out, wondering what she was. Was that rude?
“I’m Tina.” She shook his hand. “What grade are you in?”
“Ninth.”
“Oh, my brother is your age.” She looked across the street. “If he doesn’t get here soon, he’s going to miss the bus.” Tina rolled her eyes. “I swear he’s late to everything.” She smiled when, a moment later, a boy darted out of a blue house and ran down the block. “There he is.”
The boy checked for cars and ran across the street to join them. “New kid?” he asked Aiden.
“Yeah. I’m Aiden.”
“Toby.” The boy also had a baseball cap, turned backward like his sister’s.
The bus arrived. Aiden hoped to sit with Toby so he’d have someone to talk to, but the boy waved to a friend and joined him. Tina also sat with someone, so Aiden ended up sitting alone near the front. He set his backpack on his lap, nervously wondering what kind of monster would sit next to him. Everyone he’d met seemed normal, but maybe he’d just been lucky so far. Shadow Valley had all sorts of things—vampires, ghouls, shapeshifters, ghosts.
The boy who ended up sitting next to him was older and built like a tank. Aiden was squished up against the window.
“Hi.”
The boy grunted and barely glanced at him. So much for conversation.
Before long, they pulled up to the school. It was huge, built of brick, and the only windows were small and soaped over. It didn’t look very welcoming—sort of like a prison without the barbed wire, actually. The darkening sky didn’t help, either. Streetlights lent pools of light to the scene of kids streaming out of buses and into the building.
Aiden swallowed, aware that he was surrounded by monsters. Now he could see hints of things that weren’t quite right in the crowd. Extra-pale skin, eyes glinting strangely in the light, a misty form drifting through the students, someone with small horns, a flash of blue light.
A little shiver went through him, and he thought about just turning around and leaving. He had to remind himself that he wasn’t normal either. He was fae, a changeling, switched at birth. The memory of the incident in the locker room got him moving again. This school was where he belonged. He had to learn how to control his powers so he wouldn’t have accidents like that again.
A little voice in his head pointed out that it would be nice to do something like that when he wanted to. If he could do that on command, no one would pick on him again.