Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12) (5 page)

BOOK: Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12)
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Kara held up her finger. “No ifs, ands, or feathers.”

Adriane took hold of Emily’s other arm. “We go together, Emily.”

“The pack never leaves anyone behind.”
Dreamer gazed at Emily with his deep green eyes.

Lyra nodded, tail twitching.
“This time, we stay together.”

Emily looked from Adriane to Kara, reading the determination in the sparkling blue and shining black eyes. There was no arguing with either of them when they had their minds set on something.

“Fine. I’ll go one last time to say goodbye, but then I’m really done. After that, this will all be your problem.”

T
ASHA STOOD WAITING
as the mages stepped through the shimmering mirror onto a stone pathway. “How was the jump?” the goblin teen asked.

Dreamer and Lyra followed the mages down a grassy green hill that led them to The Garden, the Fairimental’s stronghold on Aldenmor.

“Easy,” Kara replied, distracted by all the commotion in the courtyard. Creatures, big and small, bustled in and out of several newly constructed buildings. Tents had been erected everywhere. The aroma of stews and roasted veggies filled the air, coming from a multitude of cooking pots scattered throughout the encampment.

Adriane zipped her leather jacket. They had left the warm early summer of Ravenswood for the cool wind of fall. Grey skies churned overhead, a portent of colder days to come.

“One good thing about the new web, it’s very stable.” Tasha eyed Emily as she led the mages around the tents. “Portal and mirror jumps should be extremely smooth.”

“What’s going on here?” Adriane asked as spriggans and pixies scurried past, arms full of supplies. The creatures avoided all contact with the mages, giving them a wide berth.

“All available space is being taken by the refugees,” Tasha explained, leading the mages toward the lake.

“Refugees?” Kara asked.

“The Garden is open to all who want shelter,” Tasha explained, walking the mages onto the main grounds.

The normally peaceful sanctuary had become a whirlwind of nervous activity. It seemed half of Aldenmor had set up camp in the rolling hills and sprawling flower-filled fields around the lakeshore. Bright tents of assorted sizes housed trolls, pixies, spriggans, and countless others. Adding to the crowded chaos, the animals who lived full time in The Garden wandered around in clusters, dodging groups of patrolling mistwolves and grazing unicorns. The Garden was filled to capacity.

“They’ve been coming from all over Aldenmor.” Tasha stepped aside to make way for a clan of brownies carrying tents, pots, and supplies. “The Fairimentals are going to address everybody.”

“Finally, someone has a plan,” Kara approved.

The mages crossed a lush meadow as young cats, griffins, and other creatures kept their eyes on the healer, stepping back as she walked by.

“How’s she doing?” Tasha whispered to Kara and Adriane, glancing at Emily, who trailed behind them, her eyes downcast.

“She’ll be okay,” Kara replied, meeting Adriane’s gaze.

“Hey, Emily, look!” Adriane called over her shoulder as she spotted a herd of baby wildebeests and ran over to pet them. The size of hippos, these “babies” would have been extinct if the mages hadn’t healed Aldenmor.

Emily’s face brightened as she joined Adriane, stretching her hand toward the wooly creatures. But her gesture was met with frightened snorts—the babies turned tail and galloped away.

“It’s the dark mage,” a spriggan hissed. “What is
she
doing here?”

Hundreds of wary eyes focused on the red haired girl.

Emily swallowed hard, her heart aching. “They think I’m going to hurt them again.”

“Memo to Aldenmor,” Kara announced, cupping her mouth like a megaphone. “Emily’s fine. She’s not under the Spider Witch’s spell any longer.”

“So you say,” a purple spriggan fretted, hopping from foot to foot.

“This was a bad idea,” Emily said, wincing as the animals scrambled aside, terrified of the dark mage. “I should leave.”

Kara pulled Emily close as Adriane, Tasha, Dreamer, and Lyra huddled around the worried girl. “It’s okay. We’re right here.”

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Adriane assured her as the animals pressed close. “You got it?”

Emily nodded.

The warrior and the blazing star marched Emily past the circular amphitheater known as the Fairy Ring. The flower-covered structure was jammed with more refugees.

“Kara!” Lorren ran up to Kara, giving her a quick hug. He nodded to the others and patted Lyra. “How’s Emily doing?”

“Not great.”

Out of nowhere, a joyful roar thundered across The Garden. It came from a fiery red dragon swooping overhead. Skimming across the grassy meadow, he came to a stop as two teenage boys, one blond, and one green, slipped off his back.

“Hi, Mama!”
the dragon rumbled happily.

“Drake!” Adriane scritched her baby boy’s nose.

“’Sup?” Zach greeted the warrior, eying the blazing star warily.

Adriane smiled at the blond dragon rider. “That’s what
we
want to know.”

“Emily!” A tall, handsome merboy beamed at Emily. He wore the traditional garb of the merfolk dragon riders, a wet suit several shades darker than his green skin, which set off the emerald tinge in his brown hair and eyes. A bright star-shaped jewel hung from a chain around his neck. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you. Didn’t you get my d-fly calls?”

“Hello, Marlin.” Emily stood stiffly as the cute merprince hugged her.

“You should see all the sea dragons you helped save, the hatchlings are humongous!” he said excitedly, oblivious to her coolness.

“That’s nice.” Emily turned her back on him and abruptly walked away.

“Where are you going?” Marlin held up a data crystal. “I have all the egg reports.”

Kara stopped him. “She’s not herself yet.”

Marlin swallowed hard and nodded, hurt and bewildered by Emily’s behavior.

The blazing star smiled sympathetically and turned to rejoin Tasha, but Zach stopped her in her tracks.

Kara hesitated, uncertain. “Hey, Zach.”

Things had been tense between them since she’d taken control of his magic to help save a cave full of sea dragon eggs. But now Kara was even less sure what Zach thought of her. At the Gates of Avalon, she had stabbed Drake, using an enchanted dagger. She’d done it to reach the shadow dragon hiding inside of him. Drake hadn’t been harmed, but Kara understood how protective a mage could be of his bonded.

“Drake told me everything,” Zach said.

Kara nodded, relieved. “I know I was acting pretty crazy, but I would never hurt him.”

“That shadow dragon would have killed him.” Zach patted his bonded dragon.

“And all the other dragons, too,”
Drake pointed out. “
The shadow dragon wanted to steal their magic.”

“But how did you know it would work?” Zach asked her.

“’Cause I’m the blazing star, that’s how.” Kara grinned.

Adriane gave her a look, then sighed.

Drake snorted a puff of steam as Zach smiled warmly.

“Mages!”

Three wondrous creatures had materialized by the lakeshore: Gwigg, Ambia, and Marina. Green swirls of elemental magic trailed after Gwigg, the Earth Fairimental. A larger and leafier version of Tweek, Gwigg resembled a tumbleweed jammed full of moss and flowers.

“Welcome, mages.” Gentle breezes swirled from the nearly translucent figure of Ambia, the Air Fairimental. The sun glinted off the gentle curves in her wavy hair and slim figure, making her seem a creature composed of light as much as of air.

Various delegations of spriggans, pixies, fairies, trolls, boggles, and assorted creatures hurried toward them, eager to hear what the Fairimentals had to say.

“We need some answers,” Kara addressed the magical beings. “How do we get back into Avalon?”

“You cannot. The gates are closed and you no longer have the key,” the Earth Fairimental announced. “It is only a matter of time before the Dark Sorceress unleashes a devastating wave of dark magic onto the web.”

Kara exchanged a panicked look with Adriane. This was not what they were expecting the Fairimentals to say.

“How do we stop her?” Kara asked.

“There is only one thing you can do,” Marina the Water Fairimental announced, her watery form shimmering on the lake’s surface.

“Anything we can do to help,” Adriane vowed.

Gwigg continued, “We need your magic to create a shield that will hide us from the sorceress.”

“We will store your magic in the Crystal Keep.” The Water Fairimental pointed at the gleaming dome on the other side of the Fairy Ring.

Adriane frowned. “You asked us here just to charge the batteries for your shield?”

Ambia spoke, her voice floating on the breeze. “The time of magic is over, the mages have failed. Our enemies will find and destroy us.”

“We will fight with every tooth and claw!”
Moonshadow growled, leading his mistwolf pack down the grassy hill to the lake.

The mistwolves howled in agreement.

“The sorceress is too strong. We cannot win,” Gwigg responded. “Therefore, we must protect The Garden.”

“What?” Kara blurted. “You’re giving up?”

“The healer became the dark mage,” Gwigg intoned. “Destruction is inevitable.”

Emily lowered her head as the crowd erupted in panicked confusion.

“Why? Why did you betray us?” shouted a spriggan.

“She saved us only to destroy us!” charged a brownie.

“Off with her jewel!” demanded a dwarf.

“One mage has always gone dark before,” Ambia said. “You were the last chance to break the cycle.”

“Emily’s not dark anymore!” Adriane protested.

The crowds grumbled, unconvinced.

Kara snapped her fingers, releasing a flurry of diamond sparkles. “All d-flies, front and center!”

Bursts of magic erupted in the air as five brightly colored mini dragons appeared.

Goldie, the bright golden mini, nuzzled into Kara’s neck.

“Not me,” Kara told them. “Emily.”

The five minis danced and spun around Emily. Three landed on her arms and one on each shoulder, jeweled eyes whirling.

Dreamer and Lyra padded to Emily’s side followed by the mistwolf pack, led by Moonshadow. Dozens of unicorns soon surrounded the healer.

Lorelei stepped forward, horn swirling with pure magic.
“The unicorns stand with the healer.”

“These are some of the most powerful animals on the web.” Kara marched up and down the line of creatures. “They are our friends, and more importantly, Emily’s friends. Do you see her taking their magic?”

Her skeptical audience listened in silence.

“No!” Kara asserted. “Emily is the same mage who saved Aldenmor. She healed your world when the Dark Sorceress released the Black Fire. If not for her, your Garden would not be the beautiful place it is today. She may have been caught in the Spider Witch’s spell, but at heart she is still the healer you know and love.”

A smattering of applause greeted Kara’s presentation, but it was clear the majority of the crowd awaited the Fairimentals’ opinion.

“Your loyalty is commendable, blazing star,” Ambia said, “but the healer is a dark mage.”

“And what proof do you have?” Kara demanded.

“She has done what every dark mage before her has done,” Gwigg explained.

“And what’s that?” Adriane challenged.

“She killed her bonded.” Marina’s voice was filled with sadness.

A stricken look crossed Emily’s face.

Adriane refused to back down. “That was an accident, she was under the witch’s control.”

Gwigg rumbled, twigs shaking. “Ozymandias was not killed by the Spider Witch.”

In a quavering voice, Emily confessed. “I wanted to fix the web, I needed magic...”

Ambia nodded. “The healer has sealed her fate, and once again, fulfilled the Dark Prophecy.”

“But you can’t close off The Garden,” Marlin protested.

“And you certainly can’t just hide here,” Zach added.

“We have no choice,” Gwigg told him.

“Hold up,” Kara said, pondering this. “You Fairimentals knew all along that one of us would turn dark.”

“The Dark Sorceress was right!” Adriane said angrily. “You used us.”

“You were the chosen ones. Nothing could have stopped you if you had really worked together,” Ambia said.

“We were so working together!” Kara argued.

“You were trying to strangle me,” Adriane reminded her.

“Oh, that.” Kara waved dismissively.

“The mages have failed,” Ambia declared. “Avalon is lost forever.”

“Let me through, you clambob!” a voice cut through the crowd.

Everyone whirled around as a group of about thirty curly haired elves marched into the meadow.

“The elf contingent from the Moorgroves,” Tasha observed.

The elves averaged about four feet tall. Guys wore tan leather pants, white linen shirts, and assorted bright vests with shining buttons; girls had long dresses dyed in vibrant hues and pretty ribbons adorning their long curls.

“Move it, bub!” A highly agitated elf shoved his way through the throng. His sandy colored curls whipped this way and that as he kicked a huge troll foot. “I must see the ’mentals!”

“Patience, good elf. The Fairimentals are busy,” the troll rumbled.

“Gah! I must get to Ravenswood,” the elf insisted.

“No one but the mages have access to Ravenswood,” answered the troll.

“I
am
a mage, you twit!”

Emily bolted upright. That voice! It sounded so familiar.

She stepped in front of her friends, scanning the crowd of elves. She froze. Shivers ran down her spine as the gathering of elves seemed to blur and fade away, leaving the one elf with the mop of sandy curls. He stared at her with penetrating brown eyes.

BOOK: Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12)
12.73Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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