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Wherever I was, the daylight was so bright that I had to shield my eyes to make out the scene before me. I stood in a garden, and a slight, brown-haired woman stooped over a flower bed, snipping off dead blossoms. She straightened slightly but did not look at me.
“Et qui êtes-vous, mademoiselle?”
Her musical voice seemed to speak of ages past. Judging from her 1920s clothing, I had a feeling that I was not in the present.
From my seven years of French, I could tell she was asking who I was. However, I didn't have the slightest idea how to reply. Since my mother had just sent me to sleep, I assumed I was dreaming. Yet the place seemed very real; a light breeze blew against my cheek, and the damp earth gave under my feet.
“It is real, my child,” the woman spoke, her words surprisingly delivered in English. Her accent was overly French, but there were more exotic tones beneath it that I couldn't place.
She turned to me, displaying a soft, trustworthy face, age-worn but loving. Immediately, I felt silly in the pajama shirt and shorts I wore. I can't say I was properly attired for the occasion.
“You aren't dreaming, but you have traveled a great distance.”
Oh, no. My father had time traveled in his sleep before. He had ended up in the Tower of London. Apparently, I had ended up here...whenever and wherever here was.
The woman examined me, tilting her head in curiosity as her eyes seemed to bore through me. Then, an astonished, proud expression played over her features.
“You are ours,” she stated gently.
“What?”
A man came stomping through the grass. “Lisette, j'ai faim, et–” He paused, seeing me.
I held in a large gasp. It was George – my mysterious “cousin” born in 1822. He was young, dressed in an old-fashioned pinstripe suit and hat, but it was definitely him. Yet he didn't appear to recognize me at all.
“Oh, excusez-moi,” he said, and, with a look from the woman, he walked off.
He had called her Lisette.
“Where am I?” I demanded.
“Lyon, France. I shall add the year 1924 for you. I see you need that.”
That confirmed it. I had indeed traveled. Well, at least I wasn’t in the Tower of London.
“You're Lisette, from 1761. You’re a changer – just like me.”
“You are very new to it, yes?”
The woman was most definitely reading my mind, and for some reason, it didn't bother me. In fact, it actually helped. There were no secrets this way.
“Yes,” I replied. “And...I'm scared of it.”
“Why are you scared, chérie?”
I don't know why I felt like I could talk to her, but the floodgates opened, and I started babbling. “I just did my first...change-back, I guess you'd call it. My mother turned me into a rock, and had me change myself back.”
“And how did you do?”
“Fine. Because I didn't want to be a rock.”
“And that is how you change yourself as well. Make yourself want to be something else instead of you.”
That made a certain, basic sense. “But what if I kill myself? What if I stop in the middle? What if–”
“Shh... You cannot because you will not. Don't do it, that's all. And there's a way out of everything. Embrace your ability – it's what you are. You are a very special being. You're of the Family of the Fox.”
“Well, my mother's maiden name was Fox,” I said.
“Yes, you must be aware of the family lore. We are related to a changer who lived many years back. They called him 'The Fox' because he liked to be one.”
“Aldous.” The name sounded strange in the 1920s air, like it had no reason for being here.
She nodded. Had she read my mind enough to see what had happened with Allen? If so, she didn't let on. “Aldous the Changer,” she murmured thoughtfully.
I sighed, and looked away.
She touched my shoulder. “Don't ever be afraid of it, chère Corinne,” she smiled as she pulled my name from my thoughts, “Embrace it. It is you. You are the universe. You are nature. But now you must return. Go, and be well. Au revoir, chérie. Return to safety.” She dismissed me with a wave of her hand, and, with an accompanying bolt of nausea, I lay back in my bed.
***
GROGGILY, I WALKED downstairs. It was hardly past dawn, but my parents were up, dressed, and finishing breakfast. “Grandpa here yet?”
“Any second now. Should I bother to ask how you slept?” Mom winked, placing a bowl of oatmeal in front of me.
“I time traveled.”
Dad jumped out of his chair and it fell backwards. “Oh, God! Where?”
I sat down and picked up the spoon. “1924. I met Lisette.”
A long silence fell over the room, and I saw my mother wipe away a tear. “That's lovely,” she said in a near-whisper. “How did that happen? Were you thinking about her?”
“Did you tell her who you were?” Dad asked, righting the chair. I guess he was worried that I'd altered history. Would we even know that?
I scooped some oatmeal into my mouth, thinking over what had occurred. I hadn't told Lisette who I was, but she was perfectly aware.
“I didn't tell her,” I finally answered. “But she said I'm 'Family of the Fox'.”
Knowingly, my mother nodded.
Dad inhaled deeply. “Hopefully that didn't change anything,” he mumbled.
“What else did she say?” Mom continued, not looking at my father.
“She knew I was a changer. She told me not to be afraid, and to embrace it.”
“Yup, that's Lisette,” Mom smiled wistfully. “Anything else?”
“I saw George in a 1920s outfit.”
“He's her great-grandson. You should let him know you saw her. Visit him sometime so he can tell you about her. Their stories are incredible, living all those years.” She cleared her throat. “So then what happened?”
“I left. Lisette knew I'd traveled, and I had to return home. But she made me feel a lot better about myself.”
“Better? You should be thrilled with yourself. Do you understand what we are?” Dad spouted out, throwing himself back down in his chair. He fished up his spoon and plunged it into his cereal to drive the point home.
“What are we, Julian?” Mom prompted, her brows raised in annoy-ance. Her “don't give her a swelled head” expression was all over her face.
Shrinking back as if stung, Dad replied, “We're awesome.”
Mom grimaced at his words. “I'm glad you got to meet Lisette, Corinne. She was a remarkable woman.”
Now that I'd spoken to my middle-name namesake, I felt a little more comfortable with my new status as a changer. I knew it would be a while until it seemed normal, but at least I was on the road to acceptance. But some new questions came to mind...
“Mom, the night of the party, Matthew and I were attacked. Do you have any idea what happened?”
She grinned sheepishly. “That was your father and I. I'm sorry if we hurt you, but we were trying our best to get you away so you wouldn't see Aldous and Daniel playing at being deer. We didn't want you getting involved with Aldous...” Her comment ended on a dark note.
“But I didn't see anything. Were you birds?”
“Invisible birds,” Dad smirked.
“Oh, God. Invisibility is a thing too?” I choked. My mother flickered out and reappeared with another wink. “Oh, holy hell,” I reacted involuntarily, just like Grandpa Brian usually did.
“Your mom was the owl that you saw in the backyard, too. Remember?” Dad smiled at Mom. “You were so beautiful like that, Patricia.” His tone reflected genuine adoration, which made her blush.
“But the shrieking I heard? What was that, Mom?”
“Aldous and Daniel were out there as animals. I was trying to see what was going on.”
“But–”
“You didn't mention he was looking through her window as a bird, Patricia,” Dad spat angrily. “He was checking her out even back then.”
The paralyzing fear of that night swept over me again. Allen was the cause of it all.
My mother coughed, nodding slightly. “Then I drove them out of the yard. I purposely hurt Daniel a bit so he'd need to come home. It didn't work, unfortunately.”
“Aldous probably fixed him up,” Dad pointed out.
“Didn't they know it was you chasing them?”
“I had my mind blocked off,” Mom explained. “That way no one can pick up my thoughts. You'll need to learn to do that too.”
“Right...okay...” Mind control. Great. One more thing to deal with.
“If you can get into people's heads, why didn't you get into mine to see what I was doing when I was seeing Allen? You must have known I was up to something.”
“I suspected it, but I've always made it a rule not to do that to you. Your mind is yours alone, and I won't go in there unless I know for certain that you're in danger.”
Well, that was comforting. At least Mom hadn't been silently watching my every move.
“The reed at the concert,” I began.
“I fixed it.”
Of course. I grabbed my hair in consternation. My whole life was being orchestrated by forces beyond my control. “How, Mom? If you weren't in my head, how'd you know? How could you see my reed from where you were sitting?”
“Your mother's a changer, Corinne. She has her ways.”
“How–”
“Oh, an empty bathroom is the perfect place to change into a tiny moth,” Mom tossed out. “Now finish up your oatmeal.” I swallowed down the last few lumps as Mom stood up and made her way toward the window.
A crow perched outside tapped the glass with its foot. Mom opened up the screen and allowed the creature inside. “Hi Dad,” she greeted it, shutting the window once again.
The animal was truly majestic. It landed on the rug quite deftly, shaking out its silky black feathers and preening them for a second.
What stood before me was not a bird. It was, in fact, my grandfather. Lifting its wing to wave at me, it took a bow.
“Nice, put on a show, Brian,” Dad muttered, turning away.
The bird squawked at him and flashed into my grandfather, who was beaming. He ran at me, picking me up and swinging me around. I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.
“Another changer in the family! Leave it to your mother!”
“And me,” Dad added.
“Well, I guess that's possible,” Grandpa Brian admitted, entertained as usual by sparring with my father. “Considering that neither of Jack's kids have that talent.”
“Dad, they’re a healer and a time traveler!” Mom retorted, exasperated.
“Those aren't the same,” said my grandfather, sitting down on the chair and grabbing up my hands. “So what have you been, Corinne? Tell me all your adventures.”
“She hasn't become anything by herself yet, Dad. Aldous changed her several times.”
“To?”
“A rabbit, a mountain lion, a fish–”
“Oh, I love being a fish! Anything aquatic is such an adventure!” Grandpa Brian clasped his fingers together, then caught my mother's warning look. “But you have to be careful with that.”
“Yes, a bird tried to eat me.” This came out of my mouth so quickly I hadn't really considered its shock value too well.
“Oh, no, Corinne!” Mom gasped. “You could have died!”
“That's why bathtubs or fish tanks are better for that kind of thing,” my grandfather quickly explained, with another glance at my mother.
“Then Allen...Aldous made me a bird so I couldn't take him back in time. He threatened me and turned me into a statue. It was pretty awful.”
Grandpa Brian tapped my shoulder comfortingly. “I would think that would be very scary if you couldn't change yourself back. But now that you know you can, you'll find yourself becoming all kinds of things.”
“Why?”
“Just for the sheer fun of it.”
“It’s fun not to be able to move?”
Sighing, Grandpa Brian turned to face my mother. “She sounds just like you when you started out, Patricia.”
“You'll learn to love it eventually, Corinne,” Mom stated. “We'll help you out if you want. You'll need to work on it.”
“Start now!” Grandpa Brian demanded, jumping up. “Be something for me!”
“Brian, we don't have time for this,” Dad reminded him. “We need to find Daniel.”
“Well, he's a tree, so let's be birds, and we'll fly off and find him. You first, Corinne.”
The idea of becoming a bird again was not so appealing after what I'd experienced, but I wouldn't let Allen ruin it for me. “Okay, so, what do I do?”
“Feel it,” my mother encouraged. “Like Lisette said.”
“She saw Lisette?” Grandpa Brian exclaimed. “How?” For the first time he seemed genuinely startled. He flipped around toward my father. “You, Julian? Or Patricia?”
“By herself,” Mom reassured him. “She must have had Lisette on her mind, and when she was sleeping, she traveled back to the 1920s.”
Grandpa Brian took a relieved breath. “Impressive, considering she's never met or even laid eyes on the woman.” He turned back to me. “But the traveling in your sleep is pretty normal for a new traveler. Even your mother did that, Corinne.” He sat back down and placed his hands on his lap. “Now, enough with the silly time traveling. Let's get you trans-forming!”
My father frowned at this slight, but he wisely remained silent.
“Go ahead, Corinne. Just...be a bird,” Mom coaxed.
“As a changer, you're closer to nature than any other being is. Join it.”
I’d heard those words before.
“That’s what Lisette said! And Allen...Aldous kept repeating it, and he was surprised that I could hear him when he was changed...”
“Well, of course–”
“He knew,” I whispered, cutting my grandfather off.
“He knew what?”
“He knew I was a changer. He kept saying I'm nature, and he had to teach me... He knew, and he wouldn't tell me!”
“Could be. Maybe he didn't want you to figure it out in case he needed to have some kind of hold over you.”
“He figured we’d try to take him back,” my mother pointed out. “We kept telling Daniel...”
“But in the beginning he was trying to help me. I swear it,” I replied. “He was changing me and showing me the ropes without actually telling me.”
I wasn’t sure of Allen’s original intentions. But whatever was going on in his head didn't matter. He was dangerous, and he didn't belong here.
I cracked my knuckles, unwavering resolve flooding through me. “We have to stop him. I don't care who he is.”
***
SINCE I WAS STILL HESITANT about transforming, Mom changed herself into a bird first so Grandpa Brian could explain her progress to me. He commented on each step of her metamorphosis, including how to direct my own change and the sensations I'd experience while going through it. Mom became a crow just like Grandpa Brian usually did, and now it was my turn to become one too.
My grandfather stood beside me, wringing his hands. “Listen, Corinne, one of the most important things in transforming is to keep your mind present. I know that sounds silly, but there are really two ways to change. Your mom is still your mom, but she's in a bird body, and her aura is bright. However – and Patricia, I hope you'll allow me to demonstrate–”
The crow nodded.
“If I change her completely, her aura diminishes, and she's truly a bird with a bird's mind. Watch.”
The crow glowed momentarily, then shrieked and took wing, batter-ing itself against the window glass while trying to escape.
“Shh, shh,” Grandpa Brian said, inching toward her. She flew to the edge of the ceiling in fear. “See? That's not your mother. That's a wild crow that has no idea of its past human state.” He made the crow glow again, and it visibly relaxed and flew onto his shoulder.
“How'd I do, guys?” it said out loud.
“Talking crows?” I yelped.
“Well, that's for Julian's benefit. He's not a changer, so, unless he's transformed, he can't hear into our minds.”
“But changers can.”
“Yes, and usually only changers can see auras. Usually. There are some others who can, especially if they work on it, like your father.”
Suddenly my mother's voice reverberated through my head. Can you hear me, Corinne?
I don't know why, but it was more disconcerting to hear a familiar voice there than a stranger’s. Perhaps I was so used to her words echoing through the house instead?
Yes, I hear you, Mom. You can hear me too?
“Yup,” she said out loud.
“I don't like talking animals,” I shuddered.
“I don't either,” Dad added from the corner.
“Now go ahead, Corinne,” my grandfather prompted me. “You've been a bird before. Think of how it felt, and push your body back into that form.”
First there was nothing. I thought of the glow, and the warmth, and then it was spreading through me very slowly.
Hurry up! We have to save Daniel! I told myself. As nervous as I was, the idea of Daniel alone and vulnerable in the forest was the extra shove I needed. Forcing the changes as hard as possible, I glowed brighter and brighter, and then I snapped to the floor.
I was a crow!
“Bravo!” everyone yelled and clapped at once – even Dad.
“Your first real change!” cried Grandpa Brian.
My parents embraced me as well as they could. Mom put her wings around me. Dad kind of hugged me with his hands. “Now change me,” he demanded, directing this at Mom.
“Julian, you can't come!” she gasped.
“Why not?”
Flapping in irritation, she replied, “He'll go after you!”
“So then you'll change me back. The more time travelers we have, the better. We should get Jonas, save Daniel, and then stop Aldous. Five travelers should be able to handle one changer!”
Grandpa Brian scoffed at his words. “Depends on who the changer is.”
“Jonas knows what's going on?” I had to be certain.
“Jonas probably knows more than the rest of us combined,” Grandpa Brian said, pressing a button to dial his uncle's phone number.
***
“ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!” Uncle Jonas burst out, patting me on my feathery head. “Three generations of changers. Truly a rare occurrence! Funny to see her as a crow, Brian,” he remarked with a wistful nod to my grandfather.
My mother quickly outlined how Uncle Jonas had helped Grandpa Brian when he found out he was a changer. Grandpa Brian had been in college, and he had witnessed his father's death. The trauma of the experience apparently set off his ability, and he changed into a crow. But my grandfather had no idea what was happening to him.
That must have been terrifying. At least Allen had prepared me.
Mom and Grandpa Brian transformed Dad and Jonas, and Grandpa Brian changed last. I was amused that we were truly a “gathering” of crows, and I started to laugh, or cackle, or whatever you call the raucous sound I was making through my beak.
In a rush of wings and feathers, my parents, grandfather, and uncle took to the sky. They were impressive animals, and I felt humbled as I did my best to catch up with them. They knew how to fly, how to glide, and how to land. Through our whole flight, they spoke to each other as though they did this every day.
I was so flustered about Allen that I was having trouble locating Daniel. I scanned the forest, trying to find him, but I wasn't sure I was in the right spot.
Are we near? Jonas asked gently.
“I'm not sure,” I said out loud in frustration. “I figured I'd find him right away.”
Patricia, Brian, can you help her? Dad requested.
I’m purposely not. Give her a chance first, Julian, Mom responded. Corinne, how are you looking for him?
I realized what she meant, and I knew I was going about this the wrong way. “I need to feel for him, right?”
Right.
You're a changer. Use everything that you are, Grandpa Brian advised.
What he said sounded cryptic or even vaguely mystical, but I understood his meaning. I searched for that pull I'd felt, and, almost immediately, there Daniel was, calling me to him.
He's here! I declared. Follow me!
Interesting that we couldn't find him before, Patricia, Grandpa Brian commented to my mother. I sense him now.
My mother shrugged her bird-shoulders. I guess Aldous isn't blocking his signature anymore.
“Over here!” I called out.
The sapling seemed to welcome me. I alighted on a top branch and the rest of my family joined me.
I brought the whole clan for a visit, Daniel. It’s a happy family get-together! I sounded more and more like my father every day.
Hey, you guys are making my branch sag. Can you spread out the weight a bit?
“Daniel!” Mom tapped her beak gently against his trunk. “My God, are you alright?”
Hi Mom. I'm fine.
“Good. Good.” Her tone softened in relief. “We were so worried about you! We couldn't find you. I'm so glad you're okay.” She drew one of her bird claws lovingly against a leaf. “Although he did make you into a beautiful tree, I have to say. Are you enjoying it?”
Totally. I don't want to change back, if you really must know.
His words made me lose all patience with him. Staying a tree forever was absolutely absurd! This whole panorama of talking birds and trees was ridiculous!
I cut off their little reunion scene. “Well, I'm a changer like Mom and Grandpa Brian. And we're changing you back and stopping Allen.”
Daniel grew quiet. One of his leaves floated to the ground.
“He's losing his leaves,” Grandpa Brian said. “Daniel, you're doing that purposely?”
Yes.
My grandfather lowered his voice, clearly doing his best to sound convincing. “I know it's nice to be a tree. If you want, we'll let you do it again. But this time it'll be in your own backyard, and you'll do it when you want. Right now you're coming with us. We're going to fix the mess you made. Brace yourself. I'm making you into a crow, too.”
Grandpa Brian set to work. Seeing a whole sapling explode into light and shrink into avian form was like viewing an art project being created from start to finish. The new bird shook itself out, pumped its wings several times, and looked up at us. “Good to go,” he proclaimed.
“You've been a bird before?” My dad asked suspiciously.
“Aldous. He made me whatever I wanted.”
My mother sighed, and Dad looked away. “He's got to go back. Our existences might depend on it.”
“Yours too, Julian?” Daniel queried.
I was about to explain, but Jonas jumped in. “We're all from the same area in Europe. Greenes married Foxes several times. It's very possible Julian's family is related to Aldous as well. I'm pretty sure our abilities stem from a common ancestor.”
“How far back?” Daniel raised his eyebrows.
“Oh, Daniel, it's not like we married our sisters,” said Grandpa Brian. “He means many, many centuries ago. Maybe even a millennium or so.”
“Allen once showed me what he really looks like. He's older, shorter, and he has Dad's green eyes,” I said.
Everyone was quiet for a moment. I guess I'd just proven Jonas' point.
Dad gulped. “Well, there you go, then.”
“Green eyes don’t mean he's definitely related to the Greenes,” Grandpa Brian inserted. He didn't sound very confident, though.
“I know he has to go back,” Daniel uttered, subdued. “Mom and Julian convinced me, and I tried to bring Aldous home. That's how I ended up planted.” Longingly, he nodded at the hole in the ground where his roots had once been.
“Daniel, you miss it?” I couldn’t help asking. “Being a tree forever, it's beyond dumb. Look at all the schooling you went through, just to be...wood?”
My brother stretched his wings. “Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.”
“That's so stupid–”
“Guys, that's enough,” Grandpa Brian scolded. “We've got bigger issues here! First of all, we've got to get Aldous unawares. One of us should divert his attention so a traveler can get him back to the 1300s.”
“What if said traveler then gets transformed in the 1300s?” Dad's question ruffled some feathers – literally.
“Well,” Jonas replied, “we need to send a changer back too.”
“Yes, and that changer has to be capable of taking down that sadistic lunatic,” Dad spat out.
“We’ll handle him,” Mom said. “But remember, he’s definitely not a lunatic.”
“No,” I added sadly. “It might have been easier if he was.”