Hawaiian Shapeshifter V

Summer Mischief

By: DJ Wallace, Ellen Wallace

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 1 hr and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Book #5, Summer Mischief, returns us to the Puhi family compound, where the shapeshifting children are in summer recess from school. They are now forced to deal with other family members and children who are not shapeshifters. A curious cousin creates havoc for the family in his quest to learn the shapeshifting secrets. The family reconnects with an ancient friend who lives in their river. Our birds of prey, Hoku and Malia, display their versatile talents by keeping birds from the family mango orchard and finding a lost hiker. The following is an excerpt from the book:

At the break of dawn, Hoku performed her morning ritual just as the birds were stirring. In her owl form, Malia perched herself on the highest branch of a Haden mango tree, giving her a commanding view of the entire mango orchard. Hoku morphed into her frigate form and perched on another mango tree near Malia.

In the distance, Hoku and Malia could hear the fluttering of little wings and the chirping of thousands of hungry birds ready to descend upon the mangoes. Growing flocks of birds flew directly to the Puhi compound but quickly changed direction when they spotted the owl and frigate bird.

Hoku flapped her enormous wings to draw attention to herself. Malia hopped to another branch so the birds could see her, too. Additional flocks of birds approached the orchard from the south, perching safely on the koa and kiawe trees surrounding the compound. It was a standoff, with two giant birds of prey staring down more than a thousand hungry thieves.

Malia turned to Hoku. “Are you ready for this?”
Hoku responded with a maniacal growl. “Bring it on!”

Finally, one brave bulbul pressed his luck and broke for a Haden mango tree. The bird’s movement toward the trees created a massive jailbreak, where hundreds of birds descended on the mango trees like locusts.

Hoku sprung to action while Malia carefully chose her victim. Hoku soared high into the sky, then came crashing down upon a fat parrot, capturing it in her beak. The parrot screamed and attempted to escape, creating panic among the invading birds. Hoku flew close to the treetops with her noisy but disabled prey in her beak, tossing it into the air and catching it like a baseball. Hordes of birds took flight, giving Hoku a wide berth.

Malia silently flew below the trees where the scared birds fled and snagged a young bulbul who screamed in protest. She returned to her highest point on a Haden mango tree, where she slowly butchered and ate the bulbul. The terrified flocks of birds had seen enough and fled the Puhi compound for a safer place to feed.