Dark Mage (Avalon: Web of Magic, Book 11) (17 page)

J
OYOUS ROARS AND
licks of flame flashed off the majestic mountains. In the hidden valley below, a raucous dragon celebration was underway. Living, breathing dragons of countless myths, their hides midnight blue, iridescent bronze, and every color in between—all crowded around Drake and Gwyx, congratulating the returning heroes, two of their own.

His long snout raised to the air, the massive High Wyvern spread his battle-scarred green wings and belched fire into the skies.

The others quieted immediately as their leader spoke. “
This is a glorious day for Dragon Home! Gwylrrtrwrx has returned victorious from his quest to slay the shadow dragon. And he has brought a long lost red crystal dragon brother with him.”

Several dragons draped their wings around Gywx, jockeying for a position close to the great warrior. A pretty turquoise female batted her eyes and snorted a flirtatious puff of steam. Gwyx soaked it all in, his pointy teeth bared in a wide grin.

Drake stood beside him, snorting in pleasure to finally be in Dragon Home.

“
Brother Gwylrrtrwrx,”
the High Wyvern continued.
“For your bravery and service to the dragons and all of Dragon Home, you shall no longer be known as Runs-with-Tail.”

“Finally!”
Gwyx practically drooled dragon slobber.

“From this day forth, your new warrior name is Shadow Slayer.”

“That is the meanest, baddest name ever bestowed upon a dragon!”
Gwyx pumped his front paw in the air.
“I accept.”

His friends roared with approval, ready to party.

“Pass the firefloggin!”
a blue-coated dragon bellowed.

“The brew you can spew,”
chortled his green companion.

The two dragons roared with laughter and crashed their chests together in a dragon toast.

“Do the Dragon Stomp!”
A huge, purple dragon stomped his feet. Dozens of others joined in, shaking the ground so hard rocks tumbled down the mountains.

“Welcome to Dragon Home, Drake.”
A silver dragon sidled up to Drake, who responded by sniffing at his magic.
“You are the first outsider ever to set foot in this secret valley.”

“There is more dragon magic here than I ever imagined,”
Drake replied, excited to be among other dragons for the first time in his life.

Gwyx pulled Drake back to his side.
“I’d trust this dragon with my left wing. It’s like we were hatched from the same egg!”

Six young dragons ran up to the newly christened Shadow Slayer, pulling at his wings.

“Tell us how you slew the monster,”
a golden youngling asked, his eyes wide in awe. Others echoed, “
Yes, tell us everything, Shadow Slayer.”

“The shadow creature was so afraid of me that it died of fright rather than do battle,”
Gwyx boasted.

The dragons roared with laughter. The younglings hung on every word.

“The monster was huge. Biggest and fastest dragon I’ve ever seen! But I was faster.”
Gwyx spun quickly, dramatizing the moves he had supposedly made in the fight.
“It attacked with brutal strength, but I took the beast down with a fatal blow.”

He glanced at Drake, but the red dragon was wandering through the party, intently studying the others.

“Drake helped me, of course. It is a miracle I have brought him to our secret home before any humans could find him. He would have become a slave instead of a hero.”

The young dragons snorted smoke.
“Yeah, foul humans.”

Gwyx ran over to Drake and pulled him away from the High Wyvern.
“Over here, Brother Drake. Let us revel in my, I mean, our, victory. This is the best moment of my life!”

Pop!

A strange, very undragon-like sound interrupted the celebration.

“Hey, a party!” In a cloud of pink twinkles, Kara materialized.

The dragons gaped in disbelief at the creature that had just appeared in the center of their festivities.

“What’s that?”
A youngling snuffled up to Kara, his snout steaming.

“Hey, watch the hair,” she admonished him.

Fireballs exploded over her head, courtesy of dozens of stunned dragons roaring in fury.

“A human!”
A cobalt-blue dragon was furious.

“This is outrageous!”
a lime-green one thundered.

“Ew, I touched it!”
The golden youngling jumped away, disgusted.

Dozens of dragon warriors charged at Kara, flames shooting from their angry snouts. The sight of them would have scared the living daylights out of anyone. Not the blazing star.

Shimmering magic flew from Kara’s fingers, meeting dragon fire with elemental fire. Dragon fire bounced right back at the massive warriors.

“What’s with you guys?” the blazing star demanded with a toss of her golden tresses. “I just got styled at the Fashion Realm.”

“The human is going to take our magic!”
a furious dragon hollered.

“No, I’m not—well, except his.” Kara waved happily at her friend. “Hi Drake!”

Every dragon eye turned to Gwyx and Drake.

The High Wyvern towered above them.
“What falsehood have you told us? Instead of killing our enemies, you have brought one right into our home! You betrayed us!”

Gwyx leaped away from Drake, his wings fluttering nervously.
“Don’t blame me. I hardly know the guy.”

“No human has ever found Dragon Home,”
the leader bellowed.
“You brought her here!”

“Oh, chill out. I’m not staying.” Kara tapped her foot impatiently. “Let’s go Drake, we have to get to the Gates of Avalon.”

“Drake!”
the High Wyvern thundered.
“Are you with us or the human?”

Drake eyed Kara suspiciously.
“I never saw this human before!”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly, Drake.” She turned to the elder dragons “He’s a little shy. Drake is with me. He’s bonded to Adriane—”

Drake stepped away from the blazing star.
“No self-respecting dragon would ever bond with a human!”

Pop!
Another strange sound echoed through the valley.

The purple dragonfly Barney suddenly appeared on Kara’s shoulder. “Hi.”

The mini took one look at the army of giant, angry dragons and freaked.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Kara held Barney up to her ear.

Tasha’s worried voice blasted from Barney’s belly. “Princess, are you there?”

“’Sup?” Kara asked.

The dragons stared in disbelief at the little, purple d-fly.

“Do you mind, this is private,” Kara told the astonished dragons.

“Lorren said you made a power crystal,” Tasha said.

Kara beamed. “Cool, huh? I got this really rad shell and—”

“Where are you?” Tasha asked.

“I’m at Dragon Home with Drake.” Kara slid away from the angry throng.

“Where’s Adriane?”

“How should I know?” Kara snapped.

“Wait, what are you doing with Drake?”

“I need his magic to finish the power crystal.”

“One dragon for a whole power crystal?” Tasha seemed surprised.

“It’s arcane magic, very scientific,” the blazing star explained.

“Kara, that is really dangerous stuff.”

“Don’t worry. Tell the others to forget The Garden and get to the island, pronto.”

“But what about the crystals at the jewel vault?” Tasha asked.

“I’ll take care of it. Gotta go. I got a hundred dragons staring at me.”

Barney vanished in a burst of bubbles the instant Kara let go.

She shrugged. “Drake, come on, you’re throwing me way off schedule here,” she said impatiently.

“I found my home and I’m not leaving,”
Drake insisted.

“Yes you are,”
the High Wyvern roared.
“No one who leads a human to our secret home can stay.”

His wrathful glare settled on Gwyx.
“You have endangered us all.”

“It was all his fault.”
Gwyx cowered, pointing both wings at Drake.

“You are hereby banished from Dragon Home!”
the leader declared with a stomp of his foot.

“When can I come back?”

“Never!”

Gwyx hung his head.
“Can I keep my name?”

“No!”

The shamed black dragon glared at Drake and Kara.
“I’ll get you for this! You haven’t seen the last of me!”

The red dragon shuffled from foot to foot.
“I must stay and stomp with my brothers and sisters!”

“Quit acting so weird, we’re going to find Avalon,” Kara’s voice was all no-nonsense. “What’s the matter with you?”

Drake backed away.
“I… uh…”

“Forget it, I don’t have time to argue.” Kara took the wishing crystal from her jacket pocket and pointed it at Drake. “Drake, I wish you would come with me to the Gates of Avalon.”

In a sparkling cloud, blazing star and dragon disappeared.

O
N A WIDE PLATEAU
halfway up the snow-covered slopes of Mt. Hope, the misty shape of a girl knelt in the center of her bother and sister wolves. The pack circled her, nearly three hundred strong. Raising their heads to the sunset skies, their wolfsong rang through the thick forests of Packhome. Lone wolves no longer, each packmate joined with every other in the haunting cry.

The power crystal embedded in Adriane’s chest vibrated with the mighty sound. The warrior stiffened, struggling to free herself from the crystal’s hold and return to solid form. Connected to the strength of every wolf, she longed to run with the pack, to feel her paws padding over wet grass, the infinite wonder of the forest surrounding her.

The wolf song’s melody rose and fell like the timeless cycle of the moons. Adriane swayed to the howling chorus. She knew the pack’s trail led toward an uncertain future, yet the one thing that would stay constant, forever sure, was the familiar, comforting scent of the pack. She was at the center of a never-ending circle, perfect and whole, always there to lead her home.

Adriane opened her eyes. She lifted her arms and exhaled slowly. Her wolf stone gleamed on her solid wrist. She quickly felt her legs, then rose to her feet, testing the weight of her boots against the forest floor. With the strength of the pack’s magic, she was finally in human form again.

Hundreds of bright wolf eyes focused on her, the spell of the wolf song echoing into the evening skies. With a yelp, Adriane ran toward Dreamer and hugged him tight, burying her face in his warm black fur.

“It is good to see you again, packmate.”
Dreamer licked her face.

“Good to be seen.” Adriane laughed.

“Welcome back, wolf sister,”
a female wolf greeted her.

Adriane grinned at the magnificent gold and white wolf, the alpha female of the pack.

“Dawnrunner!” Adriane hugged the wolf, delighting in her cinnamon-sweet fur.

“
Why must you always stick your nose into trouble?”
another wolf growled at her.

For a second, Adriane completely forgot her wolf etiquette and rushed to throw her arms around the packleader. She stopped herself at the last moment and kneeled before the huge black mistwolf. “Moonshadow, you honor me,” she said with reverence.

The packleader moved closer, until he was nose-to-nose with the warrior. “
You are wolf sister to the pack. But you bring foul magic to Packhome.”

“Packleader, I would never willingly bring danger to the pack, but danger has followed my trail.”

Several wolves warily sniffed the power crystal, which now lay in the center of the wolf circle shimmering with an unearthly glow.

Dawnrunner growled and shoved her mate aside.
“Can you not see our sister has hunted well?”

“What she has brought is made of shadow,”
a brown and silver wolf declared. “
Powerful dark magic.”

“And you bonded with this crystal,”
Moonshadow growled.

“It is a power crystal of Avalon.” Adriane bowed her head in submission to the great wolf. “If the pack hadn’t helped me, I would have been trapped by its dark magic.”

Moonshadow’s deep golden eyes studied hers.
“Do not be deceived,
w
arrior. You have been touched by darkness in your most vulnerable form. The wolf runs strong inside you, but the shadow now lies waiting, fearsome in its power.”

Adriane flinched. Even as the packleader spoke, she could feel the darkness like night in her veins.

“She and Dreamer run to save our world.”
Dawnrunner ignored her mate’s grumbling.
“You were right to come, sister.”

Brrrrring
. The familiar sound of a dragonfly rang out.

“Welcome back, Fred,” Adriane said as the blue d-fly hugged her neck, his eyes whirling in relief.

“Adriane?” Tasha’s voice came through Fred’s belly. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. Did you find Emily?” Adriane suddenly remembered her missing friend.

“We think she’s already at the island or on her way.”

“And Kara?” the warrior asked coldly.

“I just talked to her. She made a replacement crystal.”

“She did?” Adriane couldn’t hide her surprise. How could Kara have accomplished in a few hours something Tasha couldn’t do after months of research?

Tasha hesitated. “And she’s taking Drake to the Gates of Avalon.”

“What? Why in the world would she need Drake?”

“She needs his magic for the crystal.”

Anger flared through Adriane, making her wolf stone flash dark gray. What did Kara think she was doing? The last time she took magic, she couldn’t control herself. And now she was expecting Drake’s magic to finish something as huge as a power crystal?

“Tasha, how could Kara make a power crystal so fast?”

“She’s using strong magic.” The goblin sorceress gulped.

Adriane glowered, her suspicions confirmed. “Dark magic, you mean.”

“Um, I suppose so,” Tasha answered in a tiny voice.

Adriane could sense the goblin was at her wit’s end. She had to respect that Tasha would never say anything bad about Kara. But Adriane could read between the lines. Even Tasha didn’t trust Kara now.

“Adriane, she said she was going to get the crystals from the vault to the island, too.”

“This is not good.”

“Ozzie found the last crystal and left for the gates to find Emily. That leaves you.”

“I have my crystal,” Adriane told Tasha. “I can take the Spirit Trail to the Gates of Avalon. I’ve done it before.”

“You’ve got to hurry. I’m really worried…”

Tasha didn’t have to finish her thought.

Adriane was on it. “I’m on my way.”

The warrior broke the connection, worry clouding her dark eyes.

“Speak with us, warrior,”
Dawnrunner urged.

Adriane gazed at the pack she loved. Her heart filled with pride as she looked upon each of her brothers and sisters. Turning to Moonshadow, she spoke bluntly, warrior to warrior.

“I must leave to complete my quest. The Spider Witch is weaving her web and I suspect my power crystal isn’t the only one filled with dark magic. I don’t know what will happen when we open the Gates of Avalon. I ask you to stand ready to protect Aldenmor, and if necessary, the web itself.”

Moonshadow faced Adriane, wolf eyes gleaming. “
I have made a pledge to the Fairimentals to protect Aldenmor.”
The packleader glanced at Dawnrunner.
“I have more reason than ever to protect the pack.”

“I carry his pups.”
Dawnrunner smiled a wolfish grin.

Adriane hugged Dawnrunner again, eyes damp with joy for her sister. “My heart sings for you.”

Moonshadow faced the warrior. “
Do not let fear overpower you, warrior. You must remain strong.”

“I will.” The warrior was more determined than ever to keep the pack safe for all the mistwolves who had yet to run.

Adriane clenched her fists as Kara flashed in her mind. When Kara lashed out to take Zach’s magic, the Dark Sorceress had been there, controlling the water Fairimental, Marina. Adriane knew the Dark Sorceress had given up too easily after their battle on Aldenmor. If controlling Marina and the dragon eggs had been her true objective, she would not simply have vanished.

Was there something more to the sorceress’s plans? Adriane had a terrible feeling she knew what it was. What if the sorceress turned one of the mages? And who else would the Dark Sorceress choose but Kara? It was a serious accusation, but Kara had betrayed the mages before, and her relation to the Dark Sorceress made her more vulnerable to the evil woman’s attacks.

It all seemed clear now—Adriane knew what she had to do to keep her pack safe.

“We will wait for your signal, warrior,”
Moonshadow said.

“May you run strong, packmates,”
Dawnrunner called to Adriane and Dreamer.

The warrior’s senses tingled as the wolf pack raised their heads as one, sending the wolfsong into the star-streaked sky. The voices of a thousand mistwolves answered, their paws thundering over Packhome as they came to greet her. Through the trees, a glittering blue pathway swirled open, beckoning Adriane and Dreamer onto the ancient trail to Avalon.