Secret of the Unicorn (Avalon: Web of Magic #4) (5 page)

The pegasus shrugged his sleek, spotted shoulders. “It was so hectic when we came through the portal. Maybe I can’t be sure of the color, but the sounds it made were unforgettable.”

“Maybe it was something evil,” a wommel suggested nervously.

At that moment, the noise came again, filling Emily’s head. She clenched her fists hard, her fingernails digging into her palms. Glancing down at her stone, she saw that it was glowing with soft, multicolored light. She chewed on her lower lip. Her uneasiness was growing. She didn’t think it was evil she was sensing—just uncertainty and suffering.

“There’s another creature out there,” she murmured aloud.

Ozzie looked at her. “Sounds like a lot of creatures.”

“And it—they—also sound wild,” Adriane added.

“It’s hurt bad and needs help.” Emily took a step toward the forest. “I’m going to check the woods.”

Adriane grabbed her arm. “You are not going out there by yourself.”

“What am I, chopped rugamug?” Ozzie straightened up to his full sixteen-inch height.

“No offense, Ozzie.”

“It could be dangerous,” he said.

“Right,” Emily agreed quickly. “That’s why you’re coming with me. It’s okay, Adriane,” she continued. “You stay and get things organized here.”

“Take Storm with you,” Adriane ordered.

The great silver wolf rubbed against Emily’s side, her ears pricked alertly.

“Thanks, Storm.” Emily cast a glance at the forest surrounding the meadow. Even in broad daylight, the thick, tangled trees looked gloomy and forbidding. Whatever was out there needed help—needed her. With a deep breath, Emily headed into the woods.

“F
OUR, FIVE…” KARA
was counting off a group of jeeran, making notes on her phone so the creatures could be logged into the Ravenswood journals. She looked up as Adriane approached.

“How’s it going?” the dark-haired girl asked.

“Eight, nine. . .” Or was that the same one she’d already counted? “Aargh!” Kara cried as she completely lost track of where she was.

“Everyone is settling in,” Adriane announced. “Thank goodness Emily got here in time.”

“One, two, three. . . Hey, you! Stand still!”

Adriane was glaring at her.

“Six, seven. . . what?” Kara demanded.

“I think we should contact Zach.”

Kara smirked. A few weeks ago, Adriane had followed Stormbringer through the portal to Aldenmor. She’d had an amazing adventure there. But since her return, she refused to talk about the time she had spent with the adorable sandy-haired guy she’d met there. Emily and Kara were dying for details.

“Need a last-minute date to the harvest dance?” Kara asked innocently.

Adriane rolled her eyes. “Get real, Princess Pea Brain,” she snapped. “I just think we should try to find out what’s going on over there. Something caused the portal to open again, and these injuries were really awful.”

Kara had to admit she had a point. “Okay. I can do that.” She grinned. “What would you do without me?”

“Just call them.” Adriane frowned. “Though why they listen to
you
is anyone’s guess.”

“It’s all in the training.” Kara took a deep breath, picturing the tiny, brightly colored dragonflies in her mind.

“Yoo-hoo!” she sang out. “Goldie, Barney, Fiona, Fred, Blaze! Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

A cloud of multicolored bubbles danced into sight. The bubbles burst in a sudden blizzard of flashing rainbow sparkles, turning into chirping, brightly colored flying mini-dragons.

“Kaa-raaa!” a golden one sang. It fluttered up and down happily before coming to rest on Kara’s shoulder.

“
Goldie!” As Kara scratched the little dragon’s head, Goldie’s golden, jeweled eyes glowed with pleasure.

Red Fiona, orange Blaze, and purple Barney vied for her other shoulder. “Kee Keee!”

“Dee-deee!” Blue Fred hooted gleefully, zipping around Adriane’s head, leaving little trails of colored sparkles behind.

“Listen up, crew,” Kara commanded sternly. “We have work to do.”

The dragonflies perked up and sprang to attention.

“We need a little portal,” Adriane said. “Like the one you made for me on Aldenmor.”

“So start spinning,” Kara ordered.

Moments later, the dragonflies had joined wingtips and were spinning in a perfect little circle.

“Good dragonflies,” Kara said.

“Ooooo,” Barney cooed.

“Show us where Zach is,” Adriane said, picturing the boy’s handsome face and warm smile, the way his eyes danced. “He has that dragon stone I gave him. Hone in on its magic.”

“Ooookayy.”

A swirling, wavering mist appeared inside the circle of spinning dragonettes. Adriane clutched her wolf stone with a look of intense concentration.

“Are you getting anything?” Kara peered into the small window anxiously. The dragonflies could be restless and unpredictable, and they were being asked to make strong magic. She knew they only had a few minutes to make contact.

Adriane shook her head in frustration. “Lyra, we need your help!”

The cat loped toward them. “
Rasha, Ronif, Balthazar, bring the others, too.”

The pegasus and two quiffles came, as did a dozen other animals drawn by the urgency in Lyra’s voice.

Kara gestured for them to come closer. With all of their friendly magical energy joining in, Adriane’s stone glowed brighter. She looked at Kara and held out her wrist. Kara reached out and touched her fist to Adriane’s, making the wolf stone flare with amber light.

The mist within the portal swept away, replaced by a new, slightly hazy scene. The background details were blurry, like faded watercolors, but Zach’s sharp-featured face stood out clear and unmistakable in the foreground.

“Adriane?” he asked uncertainly, blinking toward them. “Is that you?”

“It’s me!” Adriane called. “How are you?”

“Fine. My dragon stone just went crazy,” Zach said, holding up the bright red jewel on his wrist. Crimson facets sparkled like tiny flames. “I knew it was you.”

“Hi.” Kara’s head pressed close to Adriane’s.

“Hello.”

Adriane glowered. “You remember Kara.”

“Yes.” But his eyes were on Adriane.

“How’s Drake?” she asked, referring to the baby dragon Zach was raising on Aldenmor.

There was a sudden thunderous, roaring sound in the background. “What’s that noise? Are you in trouble?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Zach assured her quickly. “Drake is fine. He’s really getting big and he misses you. Did all those animals make it to you safely?”

“Totally!” Kara called back. “It was a regular Noah’s ark.”

Zach and Adriane looked at Kara.

“Oops, sorry,” Kara whispered. “You two kids go right ahead. This is a long-distance call. Pretend I’m not even here.”

“Just tell us what happened,” Adriane said.

As Zach opened his mouth to speak, his face swam woozily and his voice suddenly faded, as if the volume on a radio had just been turned way down.

“Hey!” Kara said sharply to the dragonflies. “Keep spinning!”

“KOookoo!” the dragonflies sang excitedly, spinning faster and faster. “Soo-reeeeeee!”

Zach’s face swam back into clear view. “. . . another explosion near the Dark Sorceress’s lair, ” he was saying. “The biggest one yet.”

“Is that how all the animals got burned?” Adriane asked.

Zach nodded. “Black Fire came down all over the place,” he reported grimly. “But that’s not all—whatever the Sorceress did made the portals here go wild. The one leading to Earth opened, and a bunch of others just suddenly disappeared—including all of the ones to the Fairy Glen.”

“Oh, no!” Adriane gasped. This was seriously bad news. The Fairy Glen was the home of the Fairimentals and the magical heart of Aldenmor. “Have you tried to contact the Fairimentals?”

“Of course. But we haven’t been able to find—”

His face wavered again. The dragonflies’ bright wings were flickering wildly as they spun, letting out tiny popping noises and rainbow colored sparks.

“Wrap it up,” Kara muttered to Adriane.

Adriane bit her lip.

“… you have to be careful,” Zach was saying. “One of the mistwolves said he saw a suspicious creature go through the portal. He said it reeked of evil.”

“Evil,” Adriane breathed, tensing. “Did he say what
kind
of creature?”

Zach shook his head. “It went through too fast. Just be on the lookout.”

“Okay, thanks.” Adriane said.

“Adriane, I’m real glad to see you,” Zach said.

“Me, too.”

“I—”

“Me, too,” Adriane smiled and blushed.

Zach grinned back

“How cute is this?” Kara said with a sugary smile. “Just make sure she’s home by ten!”

At that moment, the dragonflies flew apart in a flurry of squawks and chitters. The portal blinked out of existence.

“You ditz!” Adriane yelled. “Didn’t you hear what he said?”

“Dragon stone, huh! How come
he
has a magic jewel?”

“Forget the stone! Something evil might have snuck in when the portal opened!” Adriane exclaimed.

“Oh, that.”

“And it’s loose out there,” Adriane finished.

Together the girls turned their gaze to the edge of the glade. Beyond the tall firs that encircled the glade, an ocean of trees stretched into the blackness of deep forest.

A monster. And Emily was out in the woods tracking it down right now!

“
I
’VE FOUND ANOTHER
print, healer
.”

Emily hurried to peer over Stormbringer’s shoulder. A patch of sunlight illuminated a hoofprint pressed into the moist dirt near the edge of the path. The mistwolf had already discovered half a dozen similar prints, beginning at the edge of the woods back in the meadow.

“Same size and shape as the others,” Emily mused, studying the print. “Could be jeeran.” She leaned closer as the faintest hint of sound flashed through her. Music? No, more like those off-kilter chords she’d heard earlier. She listened closely, but the sound was gone, leaving behind a lingering sense of anguish and defeat.

Ozzie stepped forward and peered at the print. “Jerran are herd beasts with little magic. I still say pegasus,” he guessed. “Or maybe something like a centaur or even a large kelpie. What do you think, Storm?”

Instead of answering, Storm stood stock-still, her limbs rigid and her eyes half closed. The tip of her bushy tail twitched slightly.

“What is it?” Emily asked anxiously.

Storm remained silent for several more seconds. Finally, she blinked her golden eyes and gazed at Emily somberly. “
The warrior just sent me a message
,” she said.

Adriane and the mistwolf shared such a strong bond that they could communicate mind to mind across almost any distance. “What did she say?”

“
She has contacted Aldenmor
,” Storm told her. “
Something evil may have crossed over with the others
.”

Emily felt a chill pass through her as she glanced down at the print again. One thing they had learned since discovering magic was that evil could take many forms. Something horrible could be out here with them right now. Behind a tree, listening to them, waiting. . . She took a step closer to Storm, drawing comfort from the mistwolf’s powerful presence.