The Changeling Princess (9 page)

CHAPTER 16

I had goose bumps as I walked the short distance to Wade’s house. He was waiting on his front porch, but it took a second for him to realize who I was. He walked slowly down the steps, his smile widening as we came face to face. “I don’t believe this. Jeez, Jan, you take my breath away.”

“
I’m glad you’re pleased. Just remember, I’m all yours tonight and we should concentrate on having a good time.”

“
That was a nice thing to say, but if anyone asks, I’m going to introduce you as my cousin Darcy from Florida.”

“
Good idea. If Sherri and Bruce are at the dance, their senses will tell them I’m not an ordinary human.”

We headed toward the park holding hands and laughing. When we reached the park entrance, we paid the dollar admission price and went inside. Everyone was gathered around the pavilion because the band was set up and about to play. Suddenly, the band blasted away with its version of
“Shake, Rattle and Roll.” The dance floor filled up like a colony of ants that just discovered spilled sugar.

“
Shall we?” I asked.

Wade grabbed my hand and we hurried onto the dance floor. I felt my new dancing skills taking over because I was using moves that I
’d never used before. I think Wade was surprised that I was such a good dancer.

“
You weren’t kidding, Janis when you said you were going to sharpen up on your dance steps. You’re going to put everyone here to shame tonight.”

“
Practice makes perfect, isn’t that what they say?” I noticed several guys pointing me out to their buddies, but I just ignored them. Wade was the only boy at the dance I cared about.

We were both laughing when the dance ended. We held hands and waited until
“Harlem Nocturne” filled the evening air with its beautiful melody. I melted into Wade’s arms and we twirled around the dance floor.

“
You do realize everyone’s watching you,” said Wade. “They’ve never seen a girl as beautiful as you.”

“
Flattery will get you everywhere,” I joked. “What they’re seeing isn’t real, but who cares? We’re here to have fun.”

We were only half way through
“Harlem Nocturne” when someone tapped Wade on the shoulder. “I’m cutting in,” the big guy said, pushing Wade to one side.

I didn
’t wait for Wade to react. I focused my heat beam on the guy’s right shoe and gave him a hot foot he wasn’t likely to forget. The big guy hopped up and down like a rabbit being chased out of the carrot patch.

“
That was pretty cool,” said Wade, “but I probably would have aimed for his crotch.”

I slapped Wade on the arm.
“Now you’re being nasty.” The song ended and we walked off the dance floor.

The band played a small fanfare and the leader made an announcement.
“It’s time to line up for ‘The Stroll.’” The kids clapped their hands and cheered.

“
Do you do The Stroll?” I asked.

“
Yes, but I’d rather sit this one out.”

The Stroll is a completely different kind of dance that features couples strolling down the dance floor. To start the dance, the couples are separated from each other and lined up about ten feet apart, facing each other. When the music starts, everyone remains in their position and does the basic dance step. The actual Stroll begins when the person at the front of each line steps forward and joins up with their partner. The couple then strolls forward in between the two lines, doing the basic dance steps. When the first couple reaches the end of the line, the next couple steps forward to begin the process all over again. It was a fun dance to watch because everyone gets a chance to show their stuff.

The Stroll lasted for half an hour and then the band took a break. We headed for the concession stand and ordered cokes. We were standing around making small talk when Sherri and Bruce walked up to us. “Hi, Wade,” Sherri said. “Who’s your beautiful date?”

This is what I liked about Sherri, no messing around and straight to the point. Wade introduced me.
“This is my cousin Darcy from Florida. She’s spending the weekend with us.”

After the introductions, Sherri chimed in again.
“I’ll be honest with you, Darcy. You’re so darn attractive; you’d have every stud in town beating your door down if you moved to Charlotte.”

Bruce looked at Sherri as he spoke.
“Sherri’s vocabulary may not be eloquent, but she certainly knows how to make a point. I couldn’t help noticing how sharp you two were on the dance floor. Are you guys going to enter the dance contest tonight?”

“
What dance contest?” I asked.

“
The swing dance contest,” Bruce replied. “We’ve got couples from all over competing for the $100 first prize. The dance contest is the reason why the park’s so crowded tonight.”

Wade spoke up.
“I don’t think so, Bruce. Are you and Sherri going to enter?”

“
No way,” said Sherri. “A lot of these couples are expert jitterbuggers and I couldn’t begin to compete with them.”

“
I love the jitterbug,” said Wade. “My aunt taught it to me when I was a kid.”

“
You’ve got twenty minutes left to sign up if you change your mind,” said Bruce.”

We both said goodbye and then wandered around the park sipping on our cokes. Wade was still talking about the dance contest.
“I bet you’re good at the jitterbug, Janis.”

“
I was never much of a dancer until I got my powers. When we were on the dance floor, I felt like I was dancing on air.”

“
Would you like to enter the contest?”

“
Are you kidding? 1 can’t wait to get out there and do my stuff.” It suddenly dawned on me that I might have inherited some of Rita Hayworth’s outgoing personality. I figured that wasn’t all bad.

“
Okay, let’s head back to the pavilion.”

We paid our five-dollar entry fee and entered the dance contest. We were given a set of numbers that slipped over our shoulders with a string to keep them in place. There were about fifty couples entered in the contest and we were number twenty-six.

Swing dancing, jitterbug, and boogie woogie all had one thing in common—the music had a lot of rhythm and it required a lot of fast foot work. I thought they were a dancer’s dream.

When the music started, my new personality was in complete control and I was raring to go. Taking on someone else
’s personality had never happened to me before. I blamed it on my mischievous mood.

The band started off with
“Rock Around the Clock” and followed with a series of Bill Haley tunes. There were four judges roaming around the dance floor. If you were tapped on the shoulder, you were eliminated and you dropped out of the competition.

I loved being able to assimilate other people
’s abilities, but I don’t think I’d ever had as much fun as I was having right now. My feet never stopped moving and I’d done more spins in the last twenty minutes than I’d done in the last five years.

We were down to the last five couples when the band played
“Johnny B Goode,” an upbeat rock and roll tune that got my blood boiling and made my feet itch to get moving. “Let’s put it into overdrive,” I yelled to Wade.

Wade and I flew around the dance floor. My feet felt like they were on fire and we were burning up the floor. What really surprised me was what a good dancer Wade was. I had no doubt that he could be a professional dancer if he wanted to be.

When the song ended, Wade and I were one of the two remaining couples. The winner would be decided by the audience.

The judge held his hand over the other couple and they received a thunderous applause. When the judge held his hand over Wade and me, the applause was so loud it could probably be heard clear across Charlotte. I squealed and then I threw my arms around Wade and kissed him.

Wade stood there beaming. “That was the best prize of all, but who kissed me, you or Darcy?”

“
We both did, silly.”

Wade pocketed the prize money and I held onto the first place trophy. Bruce and Sherri were there to congratulate us as we walked off the dance floor.

“You guys were terrific!” said Sherri. “I’d give anything to be able to dance like that.”

“
You were by far the best of the best,” said Bruce. “Congratulations.”

*
* *

Wade and I went for a walk around the park. It had turned into a fantastic evening and it wasn
’t over yet. We were walking near the park entrance when my senses became focused on a young guy who was acting suspicious. He kept staring at the cash box and I sensed that he was up to no good.

“
Wade, I think that young guy is planning to steal the gate receipts.”

Wade looked at the guy I was referring to.
“He does look like he’s up to something.”

My senses told me that the young guy was struggling with his emotions. His heart was pounding and his breathing was becoming erratic.

I didn’t waste another second. I took Wade by the arm and we walked directly toward the young man. “Excuse me,” I said. “We have a problem and we need your help.”

“
I, I uh, I don’t know what you mean.”

Wade used his power of thought control and had the guy walk away with us. When we were alone, I turned and faced the young guy.
“You were thinking about grabbing the gate receipts and making off with them, weren’t you?”

The guy looked terrified.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“
Of course you do. What’s your name?”

The young guy paused.
“Johnny Moore.”

“
Look, Johnny, I don’t think you’re a crook. You look like you’re in some kind of trouble and we might be able to help.”

“
You can’t help unless you’ve got a spare hundred dollars you want to give away.”

“
Why do you need a hundred dollars?”

“
Well, I…uh…my dog needs an operation.”

“
That sounds rather fishy,” Wade said.

“
My senses told me that Johnny was telling us the truth. What kind of a dog is he?”

“
He a little dachshund and his name is Sparky. He got hit by a car and he really does need an operation. I’ve only been able to raise fifty dollars and the operation is a hundred and fifty. If I can’t raise another hundred dollars, I’ll have to put Sparky to sleep.”

Johnny was on the verge of crying and I was always a sucker for an animal story.
“I’ll give you the hundred dollars, Johnny.”

Johnny looked bewildered.
“Why would you give me a hundred dollars?”

“
Let’s just say that I’m an animal lover.”

“
But…but I don’t know when I can pay you back.”

“
You don’t have to pay me back. My parents are extremely wealthy and a hundred dollars is chump change to me. I turned to Wade. “Let me have a hundred dollars.”

Wade handed me the prize money from the dance contest and I gave it to Johnny.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” said Johnny.

“
Don’t say a thing. Just take the money and get Sparky’s hip fixed.”

I watched as Johnny walked away with the money. I knew Johnny was extremely happy and that made me happy, too.

“That was a nice thing you did, Janis. You’re really special.”

“
You would have done the same thing if you were me.”

“
I’d probably have given him fifty.”

“
I don’t believe that.”

“
But you don’t know for sure.”

“
Don’t try to kid me. You’re not very convincing.”

Wade took me in his arms and kissed me.
“Now who’s kidding?”

I didn
’t answer as I wrapped my arms around Wade’s neck and kissed him back.

I can
’t remember when I’d had a more wonderful evening. I spent quality time with Wade, I won a dance contest, and I saved a little dog named Sparky. What more could a girl ask for?

CHAPTER 17

School started and I was officially an eleventh grader. Some of the seniors treated me like I was a child, but that didn’t bother me. Looking down on people was purely a human trait I didn’t want anything to do with.

The school band had tryouts for chairs. I had a problem because I couldn
’t reveal my new skills on the flute. I got around that problem by making mistakes on purpose. I was still last chair, but that was okay. Being a member of the school band was all that was important to me.

Sherri moved up to first chair. It didn
’t surprise me because Sherri was talented and she practiced a lot.

“
You should have seen how I blew away the competition,” said Sherri. “I aced the sight reading and I showed big mouth Barbara I was the better player. You should have seen the look on her face when it was announced I was the new first chair. Her sneer was priceless.”

Sherri never ceased to amaze me. I hoped she always remained the spunky, wide-eyed girl whose gift of laughter filled my heart with warmth.

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon and I was window shopping at a local shopping mall. My attention was suddenly directed toward a security guard who was yelling for someone to stop. I turned and saw a young guy running toward me. I put two and two together and used my telekinesis on the guy. I raised his body up off the floor just enough so he couldn
’t get any traction. His legs were moving a mile a minute, but he was wasn’t going anywhere. It reminded me of one of those old silent movies with a lot of slapstick comedy.

I released my hold on the guy when the guard caught up with him. The look on the guy
’s face told me he was totally confused. I was giggling to myself as I continued on my way.
Chalk up one for the good guys,
I said to myself.

I was rummaging around in a dress shop when I picked up a strange scent. I looked around and saw a middle-aged woman staring at me. It was obvious she
’d figured out that I wasn’t a normal human. She dashed out of the dress shop and left the clerk looking confused. The woman headed for the nearest entrance and I was right behind her.

I watched as the woman rushed in between two parked cars and morphed into a Mist. I morphed into a Mist and was right behind her when as she ascended into the sky. When she floated back down to the ground, she was shocked to find me standing beside her.

“This isn’t possible,” she said.

“
Please don’t be upset with me because I followed you. I’m a Changeling and I have the power to morph into a Mist.”

“
The only Changeling that would be granted that kind of power is an Ivarr.” The Mist looked deep into my eyes. “Oh my goodness, you are an Ivarr! I can’t believe we have an Ivarr right here in Charlotte. What’s your name, child?”

“
My name is Janis and I’d appreciate it if you’d grant me some time to talk to you. I have a thousand questions.”

The woman thought for a minute.
“Follow me.”

We both morphed into Mists and flew high into the sky. It was only a couple of minutes before we settled into an apartment about five miles from the shopping mall. I couldn
’t help noticing that the apartment had a huge collection of books.

“
Pardon me, but what do I call you?” I asked.

“
You can call me Ms. Forbes of the Bosra Clan. I sense that you’re impressed with my books. Mists observe important moments in history. We record everything we observe.”

“
Is that how you knew about Ivarrs?”

“
Mists have followed the adventures of Ivarrs for tens of thousands of years. You may not know it, but you are one of the rarest creatures on Earth. You only appear in this world once every five hundred years.”

I was overwhelmed because I
’ve never thought of myself as unique. “Mrs. Forbes, my powers are still developing and I don’t really understand what’s happening to me. My grandmother has been doing extensive research for years, but she admits she’s still in the dark. Can you give me any information about Ivarrs?”

“
The only thing I can tell you is that you’ve been chosen because you are a born warrior. The purpose of Ivarrs throughout history is to defend the Earth against evil.”

“
My grandmother came up with that theory too, but she was only guessing. How is it that you haven’t been aware of me before today?”

“
Mists are never involved until the battle begins. When that time comes, our only task is to record what takes place.”

“
Can you tell me anything about the Ivarrs before me?”

“
Only that they were all great warriors. You might be interested to know that an Ivarr always has a warrior companion to fight beside them. Your instincts will tell you when you come across such a companion.”

“
I already have. I met a Witch named Wade with exceptional abilities. We were drawn to each other the first time we met.”

“
It’s not uncommon for an Ivarr to partner up with a warrior from a different Clan.”

“
How will I know when it’s time for me to go into battle?”

“
You will be given instructions by the Supreme Entity.”

“
This is mindboggling. I’m only a teenager.”

“
Don’t forget that Joan of Arc was a teenager when she commanded an army.”

I took a deep breath.
“I know you’re right. I’ll just try to be patient and take what comes.”

“
That is a very intelligent attitude. I wish you success for the sake of everyone on Earth.”

“
Can I visit you again sometime?”

“
No, we do not mix with anyone outside of our own kind. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. You must promise me that you will never try to contact me. I only made an exception about talking to you because you are an Ivarr.”

“
I will respect your wishes and I will not bother you again. I just want you to know that I enjoyed talking to you.”

“
You are such a sweet child to have been chosen for such a huge mission. I and all of the remaining Mists on this planet wish you nothing but success. The fate of our world is resting on your shoulders.”

* * *

My head was spinning when I returned home. The first thing I did was call Wade.

“
Hi Wade, we have to have a talk.”

“
We’re talking right now.”

“
Now you’re being silly again. The reason I called you is because I just had a conversation with a Mist.”

“
You’re kidding? You actually talked to a Mist? 1 wasn’t even sure they existed.”

“
Oh they exist all right. The Mist knew instantly that I was an Ivarr and I learned a lot about what’s expected of me.”

“
What did you learn?”

“
I learned that the Ivarr will be called upon to fight a great battle.”

“
What else did you learn?”

“
I learned that the Ivarr always has a partner who is also a warrior. The partner is usually from another Clan.”

“
I take it that’s me.”

“
Now I know why my I had such a powerful reaction the first time I laid eyes on you.”

“
And I thought it was my good looks.”

I couldn
’t help giggling. “All kidding aside, let’s get together and head up to the mountains next weekend. I want to get in a lot of practice.”

“
Okay by me.”

“
We could morph into Mists and fly up there. It would save a lot of time.”

“
I’m not quite ready for that. Maybe next time.”