Dark Mage (Avalon: Web of Magic, Book 11) (8 page)

M
OSS-DRAPED TREES HUNG
over snaking streams as Emily, Lorren, and Ozzie hiked through the marshy outback. All was quiet save for the wind rustling through reeds and the occasional birdcall or croaking frog. They were about a mile from the small town of Dawn’s Edge, where the Fairy Underground had dropped them off. There hadn’t been much to the outpost, just a stable, supply store, and a few grizzled spriggans who collected rare local herbs. It was the last trace of civilization before the Fairy Realms ended in a wall of thick, mysterious fog.

“Lorren, do you really think there’s dark magic inside Avalon?” Emily followed the tall goblin prince along a meandering dirt path. Ozzie sat atop her backpack, chewing a slab of turkey jerky.

“Olfert is just a doomsayer,” Lorren scoffed. He frowned as he saw the worry in Emily’s eyes. “What is it?”

The healer shivered as moisture clung to her red curls. “It’s just that the Dark Sorceress told me
she
tried to open the Gates of Avalon. I mean, it makes sense that she’d want dark magic.”

Lorren hesitated. “Most believe Avalon is good. There’s always a few who say it doesn’t even exist. Then there are those, like Olfert, who think Avalon holds dark magic.”

Ozzie threw his paws in the air, sending his turkey jerky flying. “How many legends are there?”

“Plenty.” Lorren whacked away thick berry vines. “Most are just stories every kid hears around the campfire.”

The healer smiled. “Fairy tales.”

Lorren arched an eyebrow. “Nobody can say for certain what’s hidden there, but everyone agrees on one thing. We need nine power crystals to find out.”

They walked in silence, listening to a lone whippoorwill’s call.

Lorren noticed Emily’s troubled expression. “What about your speech? I thought you believed in Avalon.”

Emily shook her head, confused. “I do. But with magic, anything is possible.”

Lorren glanced at Ozzie. “Didn’t the Fairimentals tell you about the legends of Avalon?”

“No.” The ferret frowned, clearly disturbed.

“They never said anything about opening the gates?”

“No.”

“What about anyone else who tried to open—”

“Gah! The Fairimentals didn’t tell me anything about Avalon!” Ozzie burst out. “I was supposed to find three mages and go home, that’s all.”

Emily sensed a sharp flare of pain from her friend. She had been so wrapped up in herself, she hadn’t stopped to consider what Ozzie was going through. This quest had literally transformed him, ripping him away from his life as an elf on Aldenmor. It occurred to her that for all her powers to see magic, she had never seen Ozzie as he truly was.

As if reading her mind, Lorren said, “Dawn’s Edge was once a beautiful area the elves called home. That was way back when they actually practiced magic.”

“I didn’t know that, Ozzie,” Emily said. The elves of Aldenmor didn’t use magic, unlike the elves that lived in the Fairy Realms.

“Most of the elf population moved to Aldenmor and took up more practical lifestyles like farming, leather making, and dumpling rolling,” Ozzie told her.

“Guess you’re the exception.” Lorren pointed to his ferret stone.

“Yeah, a regular wizard of Ozzie,” the ferret groused. “I’m just a helper-mage who can talk loud and break wind. That comes in really handy when you’re trying to save the entire web.”

Emily understood how frustrating it was to have magic and not know what to do with it. “The Fairimentals chose you for a reason,” she assured him.

Ozzie hopped down from Emily’s backpack, grumbling, “Probably because every other elf on Aldenmor had something more important to do.”

“So what were you like before you were sent to Earth?” Lorren asked.

“Taller.” The ferret sighed and kicked at a cattail.

After the mages had healed Aldenmor, the Fairimentals offered to turn Ozzie back into an elf. He could have gone home to his village in Farthingdale, gone back to his life. But he had chosen to help the mages at Ravenswood, which meant staying in a ferret’s body. Emily often wondered how much that choice had cost him.

“Ozzie, what do you miss most about being an elf?” the healer asked softly.

“Besides having opposable thumbs?” A smile played on the ferret’s furry lips. “There’s nothing I loved more than the Crabapple Fair at harvest time. My, er, friend, Esmerelda, and I, would wigjig until midnight, eating bubbleberry pie as the moons rose.”

“You never told me that. It sounds wonderful,” the healer said.

“I was supposed to be a farmer, like my parents and grandparents. I never really wanted to do that. There had to be more to life than rutabagas.” He looked away. “I was sent to find you and Kara and Adriane. What if I already did everything I’m supposed to do?”

“If your mission was truly over, why did the Fairimentals give you a magic jewel?” Emily asked.

Ozzie touched the orange gem with his paw. “How should I know?”

“You’re a Knight of the Circle,” Lorren reminded him.

“An honorarium from some dumb old club. I might as well be Count Chocula.”

“I have such amazing friends,” Emily stated. “Lorelei, Kara, Adriane, Indi. And I wouldn’t have met any of them without you.” She knelt and looked Ozzie in the eye. “But you know what?”

“What?”

“Y
ou
are my best friend.” She gave the ferret a big kiss on his furry head. “You take care of me. I take care of you.”

“All right, all right,” Ozzie mumbled, embarrassed. “Nothing more pathetic than a wet ferret.”

Rrrring!

In a burst of twinkles, Fiona popped onto Emily’s shoulder.

“Base to Doctor D, come in!” Tweek’s agitated voice echoed from the d-fly.

“Calm down, Tweek, what’s going on?” the healer asked.

“I’m picking up massive magical flux ahead of you!”

“The power crystal?” Emily asked anxiously.

“Most likely. I can’t be sure and Tasha’s out checking on the animals. The place is crawling with tourists.”

“You just stay put and don’t let anyone in the library,” Emily advised.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wear a hat.”

“Kara’s friends can handle it,” Emily assured him.

“Oh, that reminds me, Kara’s missing,” Tweek informed her calmly.

“What???” Emily, Ozzie, and Lorren exclaimed.

“She disappeared from the web, but she didn’t use any portal I can track.”

“Any word on the unicorns?” Emily asked nervously. Not being able to sense Lorelei made her very uneasy. It felt like a piece of her was missing.

“Negative, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything,” Tweek said. “Over and out.”

“Don’t worry,” Lorren smiled. “The princess has more magic than anyone I know. And if that doesn’t work, she’ll charm her way out of trouble.”

Ozzie snorted.

“Kara’s powerful all right,” Emily agreed.

“She’s amazing!” Lorren’s cheeks blushed dark green. “I don’t know how she does everything she does.”

Amazing, Emily thought. Kara should have been trying to find the unicorns, but once the blazing star’s mind was made up, no one could change it. Sometimes she was too powerful for her own good. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. No use pointing that out to Lorren, Kara’s biggest fan.

The goblin prince paused at a crossroads. Two trails ran in opposite directions, obscured by billowing mist. “This is the end of the Fairy Realms. People who wander too deep into those mists don’t usually report back.”

Ozzie squinted into the fog. “Which way?”

Emily’s head swam as her rainbow jewel cycled through red, green, and purple.

“Where is that magical flux Tweek was warning us about? I can’t see a thing,” Lorren complained.

“There’s something out there.” Emily could feel it, tingling like goose bumps up her back.

“Can you track the power crystal?” Lorren asked.

Ozzie gazed up at Emily, a silent question in his deep brown eyes. He knew she could see the crystal with her Level Two powers.

When Emily became a Level Two mage, she had learned how to actually see magic. Unlike Kara and Adriane, Emily could look at an animal or mage and see a colorful magical aura glowing around them, each one as unique as a thumbprint. And that was only the beginning of her powers. If she desired, Emily could take that magic and use it for herself. She had learned the hard way that could have dire consequences. The Dark Sorceress had tricked Emily, manipulating the healer into stealing magic from the animals of Aldenmor. Their screams still haunted her.

Looking down at her brave friend, Emily thought of all he had sacrificed in the quest for Avalon. There was only one right thing to do.

Steeling herself, Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She visualized her own swirling rainbow aura and then Ozzie’s orange golden glow. She paused, noting that Lorren, though not a mage, had a faint silver glow around him.

Gingerly, she expanded her vision into the mist. A world of glowing magic blossomed in her mind’s eye. Flashes of fur, snouts, whiskers, and flippers rushed through her mind. Their auras swirled in a beautiful kaleidoscope, each one reaching out as they sensed the healer’s magic. Emily skimmed over the eager animals, careful not to touch them.

She spotted a concentration of reddish magic just ahead and her pulse quickened. “I found something.”

It found her, too. Suddenly she was enveloped in the bright red power. It reached out for her, calling to her. The magic was fierce—and familiar.

“Power crystal?” Lorren asked.

“No.” Her eyes flew open. “Kobolds.”

After connecting with the kobold in the school library, its magic was forever imprinted upon her rainbow jewel.

“Where?” Ozzie asked.

Emily gulped. “Everywhere.”

Dozens of red eyes gleamed through the swirling fog. Hulking creatures with black fur came into focus, amulets of feathers and pointed teeth hanging on their thick necks.

“Stay close,” Lorren whispered.

Ozzie stood in front of Emily protectively.

One kobold stepped forward, a dark shadow against the pale mist. It was the same creature who’d come to Emily in the library! A sharp-toothed grin split its face.

To Emily’s surprise, the other kobolds abruptly stopped and fell to their knees.

“Dark witch.” The leader bowed his head.

He gestured, and two others hurried forward and set an ornately carved onyx box at Emily’s feet.

“We bring you an offering,” the leader said, raising the lid.

A hissing mass of spiders swarmed from the box. Their shiny red and black legs clicked as their glowing green eyes locked onto Emily. The healer scrambled back, disgusted.

“Bugs!” Ozzie leaped into Lorren’s arms.

Without even thinking, Emily waved her hand. Instantly, the spiders froze.

The kobolds gasped appreciatively.

The leader clasped his hands together. “Thank you for answering our call, great web weaver.”

“Web weaver?” Lorren sounded surprised.

Emily stopped cold, remembering what the Dark Sorceress had told her. The Spider Witch had been a healer once. She and Emily used the same kind of magic. That’s why the kobold had come to her in the library.

“They think I’m the Spider Witch,” she whispered.

“That’s crazy,” Lorren said.

“I can weave magic like she does.”

“But how do they know that?” Ozzie asked, eyeing the kobolds suspiciously.

The leader called out. “Great witch, terrible magic has destroyed our home!”

“Thanks for the bugs but we’re on important mage business.” Ozzie grabbed Emily and slowly backed up.

The kobold looked distressed. “No one else can help us.”

Lorren edged close to Emily and whispered. “The crystal Kara found sure messed up the Fairy Realms.”

Emily nodded and addressed the kobolds. “We will help you.”

The kobolds smiled, sharp teeth shining.

Ozzie eyed the fierce creatures warily, not knowing if they were pleased or getting ready to eat them. “Listen up, you things.” He puffed out his chest, ferret stone sparking. “If you even think about hurting this healer, you’ll have to go through me first.”

“You will not harm us.” Emily pinned the creatures in her gaze, her rainbow stone glinting with the strength of her magic. “Take us to your home.”

The large leader warned, “Prepare yourself. You’ve never seen a more terrible, awful, disgusting place.”

“I guess you haven’t been to Bernie’s Boar and Grill,” Ozzie quipped.

The kobolds parted, making a path for Emily, Ozzie, and Lorren. “The way lies through the deep mist.”

The kobold leader guided them along a rough trail. The fog became thicker the farther they went. On either side, misty mountain walls loomed, closing in around them like a giant maw.

“Here.” The kobold leader stepped through a glowing patch of mist and disappeared.

Lorren frowned. “Another drifting portal.”

“The crystal is in there.” Emily peered nervously into the gleaming mist. Would she be able to handle what lay on the other side?

“We’re with you,” Ozzie assured her.

She smiled gratefully. Whatever this awful place turned out to be, she, Lorren, and Ozzie would deal with it.