Dark Mage (Avalon: Web of Magic, Book 11) (11 page)

The shadow cats vanished like smoke.

“What was that?” Lorren asked incredulously.

Ozzie stood atop a small boulder, ferret stone glowing. “I call it my mantichorus.”

“Nice.” The goblin prince grinned.

Emily skidded to a halt at the edge of the ravine, sending rocks disappearing into deep fog below. The glittering doorway hung in the air a few feet away from the cliff’s edge.

“Ozzie, come on,” Emily called.

Ozzie turned his liquid brown eyes to hers. “They won’t be fooled for long.”

“Jump!” Lorren ordered.

The portal was too far away. Desperately, she tried to pull it closer, but her magic was ragged, weakened to the point of exhaustion. She reached out and her footing gave way. Grasping at something, anything to stop her fall, she tumbled down the ravine and crashed in a painful heap at the bottom.

“Emily!” Ozzie yelled.

Through thick mist she watched in horror as dozens of shadow cats sprang at the ferret and the prince. Heart pounding, Emily struggled to her knees, ignoring the agony in her left ankle. Hundreds of yellow eyes swarmed into the gully. She felt their cold breath run down her back, their sharp teeth hungry for her magic.

“Help!” she screamed.

A sudden explosion of light blinded her as another portal opened. She tried to shield her eyes against the purple blur that leaped from the swirling brightness. Light and sound rushed past her as she fell through the magical doorway, twisting and tumbling, reaching for her friends.

But they were no longer there.

“F
ANTASTIC
!”

The Dark Sorceress gazed into the seeing pool, smiling in satisfaction. On the glowing surface, the image of a blonde girl, a leopard cat, and a golden fairy dragon shimmered. The sorceress’s eyes sparked greedily at the sight of the luminous crystal in the young mage’s hands. Abruptly the image went blank.

“The blazing star has found the perfect power crystal,” she gloated. “And she snatched it right from the Spider Witch’s web. I could not have planned it better myself.”

She glanced at Gardener, slumped across the marble floor beside her. Shivers racked his ragged frame as the shadow creature on his back pulsed ominously.

But the magical charge had been enough to show her what she needed.

“Aww, tired already?” the Dark Sorceress mocked.

“She should not have to be sacrificed.” Gardener pushed lank hair from his face as he struggled to sit up.

“Don’t think of it as a sacrifice. The blazing star will become a valuable ally.”

“She will become a monster.” Gardener’s eyes flashed. “Like you.”

“I am what I’m supposed to be,” she shot back. “Living proof that the prophecy always comes true.”

“You poisoned Aldenmor,” he said angrily. “Was that part of your prophecy?”

“If I hadn’t released Black Fire, the mages wouldn’t even have a prophecy to test,” she retorted. “The fact is, evil defines goodness.”

“Choices define good and evil. We
were
the ones, Miranda, until you betrayed us. I will never forget what you did.” Gardener’s eyes glistened with emotion. “I would have given anything to have a bond like that.”

The sorceress ignored the emptiness welling in her chest. “I am way past caring for the creature. Whatever happened that day has kept us
all
alive.”

“Alive,” Henry scoffed. “Silvan is half spider, whatever you are isn’t close to human, and Lucinda….”

The Dark Sorceress watched the pain gleaming in his eyes. “There is always a price to pay.”

“The price is too great, Miranda.” Gardener shook his head. “We have lived beyond our time.”

“Henry, you are right.” She turned away, silver-streaked hair hiding the fierce hunger in her eyes. “I’m tired of hunting scraps of magic here and there just so I can survive. I must move on.”

“The mages will stop you.”

The sorceress wheeled to face him, eyes burning like fire. “I’ve helped these mages. I gave the warrior a power crystal, I taught the healer about her magic, and I have watched the blazing star from the beginning. Where were you? You left them without a mentor.”

“They turned out all right.”

The scrying pool sparked, reflecting an image of the blazing star.

“We’ll see, won’t we.”

“I will never give you what you want.”

“Oh, I think you will.” The sorceress raised a clawed hand.

At once the door to the scrying chamber slid open. Rusted wheels creaked eerily in the stone room as two lizard guards entered, pushing a steel and glass cage. Murky smoke hid the roiling dark masses within.

One of the guards slid back the hatch and stepped quickly away. Mist exploded from the tank as the voracious creatures leaped free. Black as night, monstrous leeches sank long needles into Gardener’s legs, arms, and torso, binding him in a nightmare of pain.

“You
will
tell me everything—and more.”

K
ARA GAPED AT
the brilliant display cases in the jewelry shop. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, pendants, and tiaras twinkled with glittering gems of every color, shape, and size imaginable.

“Ahhh, a potential customer.”

A short, stubby, green creature stepped around the counter, his shifty eyes twinkling, wide mouth grinning from ear to ear. And what ears! Big, green, and pointed, they protruded from the sides of his wide head like wings.

“I am Goblin Feldman.” He bowed, his bulbous nose nearly touching his big green feet. “I cater to only the highest level of customer. And you’re pretty tall.”

Kara studied the short green creature warily. “You don’t look like a goblin.”

“You know goblins, then?” His eyes darted around the shop suspiciously.

“Only Prince Lorren and the whole royal family,” Kara boasted.

“Oh, well,
I’m
the handsome type.” Feldman straightened his leather vest and white shirt. “Not like your boyfriend.”

“He’s not exactly my, oh never mind. I need some info on a rare gem.”

Feldman’s hand swept over a display case. “May I suggest an emerald collar for your feline friend and a petite peridot pendant for your fairy dragon?”

Goldie flapped her wings excitedly.

“No.” Kara bent low and whispered. “A
rare
gem, magic rare.”

The goblin’s eyes lit up. “Ahh, wink, wink. I got what you need.”

He ushered her to a case draped in red velvet. With a dramatic flair, he swept the covering aside.

Kara’s jaw dropped.

“The unicorn jewel of the blazing star!” Feldman proclaimed proudly.

“Not bad.”
Lyra assessed the fake gem as Kara calmed the indignant Goldie with a scratch between the wings.

The jewel was slightly smaller than Kara’s and the swirling colors emanated from what looked like battery-operated lights inside.

“Unique, one of a kind, absolutely guaranteed to be authentic. It belonged to the fairy princess herself,” the goblin confidently assured her.

“Gee, I guess mine must be an imitation, then.” Kara casually pulled her unicorn jewel from the folds of her jacket. Twinkles of magic dazzled along the flawless pink, red, and white facets

Feldman’s eyes practically popped out of his head.

“BlarPH!” Goldie blarphed.

“’Scuse me, d-fly call.” Kara turned away from the amazed shopkeeper.

“Base to Star One,” Tweek yelled. “Come in.”

“Star One here.”

“Thank goodness I finally found you. We’ve got some major shifts along the web and Emily—holy twig!” Tweek sputtered. “You’re right on top of a power crystal!”

“Really?” Kara pulled the magnificent power crystal from her pocket. Magic danced around the room in bright sparkles.

“Where are you, exactly?” Tweek asked.

“We got sidetracked. Is everything okay with Emily?”

“Beebeebeebeep,” Goldie vibrated, letting Kara know another voice was joining their magical conference call.

“Wolf Fire to Star One,” Adriane sounded anxious. “I can’t reach Emily. Kara, where are you?”

“Well, I’m at this mall check—”

“The mall?” Adriane asked incredulously.

“Actually, I’m in a jewelry store—”

“What!?”

“You should see this dress I found!”

“What are you talking about?” the warrior demanded, annoyed.

“Duh, only the most important school event of the year.”

“You have the power crystal in your possession?” Tweek asked.

“You found a power crystal?” Adriane echoed.

“Yeah, but it’s really acting weird.”

“What’s weird is you not doing what you’re supposed to!”

“I don’t even know how she got to where she is,” Tweek fretted.

“Jeez, cut me some slack here.” Kara was getting ticked now. Once again, every time she tried to do something on her own, everyone came down on her like she was the Dark Sorceress.

“Take the power crystal to The Garden right away!” Adriane ordered.

Kara flushed with anger. “What, you don’t trust me with a crystal, is that it?”

“And don’t do anything stupid.”

“I wish all of you would just leave me alone!” Kara yelled.

“Your mage-nificence!” the goblin store owner shouted. He had he overheard every word of Kara’s conversation. “The blazing star no less! On a quest to save the web and—is that a real power crystal of Avalon?”

“Realer than your unicorn jewels,” Kara snapped.

“Bah, that’s for tourists,” he scoffed.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Star One to Base.” She tapped Goldie’s head but all she heard was a tiny tummy grumble. “I can’t believe they all hung up on me!”

The little d-fly just shrugged.

Lyra nudged Kara.
“Adriane’s right. We have to head back.”

“We will, but you have to admit this jewel is pretty flooie.”

“We said we would take the power crystal to The Garden,”
Lyra reminded her.

Goldie nodded at Kara.

“What’s if it’s tainted like the one that turned Marina?” Kara asked them.

Goldie nodded at Lyra.

“Besides, we don’t even know how we got here.” Kara studied the power crystal. So dazzling and bright and beautiful. How could it possibly be tainted?

“What can you tell us about this?” Kara handed the crystal to Feldman.

Feldman plucked a jeweler’s loop from his vest pocket and squinted hard to hold the lens in place. He peered at her with his magnified, blinking eyeball. “No one knows more about magic jewels than me. Except maybe my cousin Maury, but he’s retired.”

He held the dazzling jewel as close to the lens as he could, then at arms length. Not satisfied, the goblin smelled it, bit it between his big yellow teeth and bonked it with his knobby knuckles.

“So what kind of power crystal is it?” Kara asked impatiently.

“Well, you got your orbs, talismans, crystal balls,” Feldman pointed to various objects on display. “You got your evil eyes, you got your hexed spheres, bonding crystals, data storage crystals—”

“And?”

“What you got isn’t any of those.”

“Ah ha!” Kara exclaimed. “Um, so what is it?”

The lens popped out of Feldman’s eye as he turned his attention to his three guests. “How did you say you got here?”

“We were on the web being attacked by huge spiders, and then suddenly we were here,” Kara explained.

“Did you happen to
wish
you were here?”

“I didn’t even know this place existed.” Kara thought for a minute. “Now that you mention it, I did wish to be in the most wonderful place ever.”

“I see.” He returned to the crystal. “Hmm, let’s try something. Are you guys hungry from all your mage adventures?”

“Yeah,” Kara answered. “I wish I had a milkshake.”

SpRoing!

“Yeow!” Feldman leaped back as a tall glass filled with frothy liquid appeared on the counter.

“What is that?”

The goblin prodded the dark substance spilling over the brim with a stubby finger and tasted. “Chocolate shake, creamy too.”

“Oh, thank you,” Kara took a sip from the straw then passed it to Goldie.

“You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it, you did,” the goblin shopkeeper told them.

“I did?”

“What you’ve got here is a wishing crystal,” he declared.

“I’ve never heard of a wishing crystal.”
Lyra eyed the milkshake suspiciously.

“Wish for something else,” Feldman suggested, handing the crystal back.

Kara considered. “I wish for a hot dog for Goldie and a hamburger for Lyra.”

Pop! Splat!

A tray of cocktail wieners materialized, followed by a platter of thick juicy burgers. A huge basket of steaming crispy fries popped up beside them, complete with organic ketchup.

“No way!” Kara raised the crystal in awe. “That’s exactly how they serve it at Rocket Burgers!”

Goldie happily nibbled on the pint-sized hot dogs while Lyra nosed the burgers warily.

“Yup, you have one genuine wishing crystal,” Feldman confirmed. “Very rare, imbued with strong magic, elemental in nature. It transforms thought and materializes—”

“I wish it would rain popcorn!”

Kapow!

Vats of popcorn exploded all over the shop, covering everything in fragrant fluffy piles.

“This rocks!” Kara cried, holding the unicorn power crystal high above her head. “I wish for an iPad and a new stereo, a 3D laptop, a Wii—”

Dozens of boxes rained down on Kara.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Feldman cried. “Do you want to turn into an ogre?”

“No, but could I turn someone
else
into an ogre?”

“Yeowow!” Feldman’s scream echoed across the store as a bright pink Corvette convertible appeared in a puff of smoke, knocking over several display cases and pushing the goblin out the back door.

“You don’t even have a license.”
Lyra peered into the front seat, Goldie perched on her head.

“Woohoo!” Kara danced around the gleaming car.

“Be careful with that crystal,”
Lyra warned.

“Geez, why does everyone freak out whenever I use magic?” Kara’s eyes opened wide. “Wait! I know exactly what I want.” She raised the crystal high and commanded, “I wish I had another power crystal!”

Nothing happened. She held the power crystal tighter, willing her magic through it.

“I so
totally
wish I had another power crystal.” She looked around for something big and sparkly. Still nothing. “It’s broken!” she wailed.

“What?” Feldman shouted, wading his way through boxes, bags, and popcorn.

“I want another power crystal,” Kara demanded.

“You want two?”

“Long story,” Kara replied.

“She broke one,” Goldie explained.

“Okay, short story, but this crystal still won’t grant my wish.” Eyes shut, Kara wished and wished again.

“No, no, no!” Feldman waved his hands in the air. “It can’t make another power crystal because that would use up all its magic, and if you keep wishing you’re going to drain it, too.”

“Well, how do I get another one?”

“You know anything about alchemy?” the goblin asked.

“No.”

“Me either. I mean, making a power crystal ain’t like popping corn, girl. You’ve got to have a proper crystal storage device crafted from the strongest minerals, then enchanted with great magic.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kara said impatiently. “Where do I get that stuff?”

“I run an honest business, but occasionally I have customers who want, how shall I put this, more exotic items.” Feldman rubbed his hands together nervously. “But I must respect their privacy. There’s no way I can reveal the name of a valued client.”

Kara held the unicorn power crystal high. “Maybe I’ll just wish the entire web knew about your little unicorn jewel scam.”

“Logan,” Feldman said immediately. “He’s the most nefarious, notorious, nebulous purveyor of the dark arts.”

“Dark arts?”
Lyra asked worriedly.
“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Logan is one of my best customers. Tell him he owes me, let’s see …” Feldman whipped an account book from his vest pocket. “Five million starstones.”

“Why don’t you tell him yourself?” Kara challenged.

“I’d go, but I hate any slight inconveniences—like death.” The goblin gulped.

The blazing star grinned at Lyra, her eyes shining with determination. “Lyra, we have to see this guy! Tasha’s got no leads on how to replace that crystal.”

Lyra growled, not liking it.

“Please, please, please.” She gave her friend her most irresistible wide-eyed look.

“But then we find our way back to The Garden.”

Kara eyed Feldman. “Okay, so what creepy, awful place do we have to go to find this Logan dude?”

“He hangs at a club called The Black Rose.” Feldman pointed. “Take the escalator down and make a left.”

Kara blinked. “All righty then.”

Feldman hopped into the pink Corvette and waved good-bye. “Keep it real.”