Secret of the Unicorn (Avalon: Web of Magic #4) (18 page)

“Yes.” Emily smiled and stepped forward into her mother’s embrace. They hugged for a long, safe, comfortable moment.

“I love you, sweetie.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

Rrrrrrrip!

“Ozzie!” Emily cried. Over Carolyn’s shoulder, she spotted the ferret tearing open a fresh bag of liver snaps.

Carolyn turned and laughed. “Naughty, naughty!” she exclaimed, hurrying over to pull the bag out of Ozzie’s grasp. “Come along, now. If you’re a good boy, I’ll let you taste my special vegetarian lasagna.” She cradled Ozzie in her arms, then glanced at Emily. “School night. Don’t stay out too late, okay, hon?”

“Uh, okay, Mom.” Emily watched in surprise as her mother headed to the door with Ozzie. The ferret waved as he passed her.

Emily shook her head in confusion. Who ever would have guessed that Carolyn would bond with Ozzie like that?

Oh, well, Emily thought. It’s nice that Mom has a new friend, even if it is a wacky magical elf disguised as a ferret. Of course, that leaves me with nobody at all. She thought about Lorelei. They had become so important to each other in such a short time. They had healed each other, become friends. Why couldn’t they stay together? After all, Adriane had Storm. Kara had Lyra. Who did Emily have?

Seeing that her mother had already filled the dogs’ food dishes and taken care of the rest of her chores, Emily sighed and headed for the door. Outside, the reddish glare of the setting sun made her squint. As her vision adjusted, she saw two figures walking toward her across the lawn.

“Hey!” Kara called cheerily. “There you are. We were just thinking about walking into town for some ice cream. What do you say?”

“Yeah.” Adriane added. “I need you to buffer-zone Miss Goddess of Magic. Her radiance is blinding me.”

A feeling of warmth flooded through Emily. They understood. Her friends understood. They would be there for her, no matter what.

“Sure,” she said.

They walked slowly back across the lawn. “So I’m totally psyched about the benefit concert,” Kara said. “You’ll never guess who’s going to be the musical act.”

Adriane shook her head. “No, but I’m sure you’ll tell us.”

“Well, what do you think about B*Tween?”

“Yeah , sure,” Adriane scoffed

“Huh? Huh? How cool is that?”

“I’ve heard them—they’re really good,” Emily said.

“They totally rock!” Kara exclaimed.

“And they’re coming to Stonehill?” Adriane asked incredulously.

“Right into your backyard, baby.”

“Wow, Kara. That’s cool,” Emily smiled.

“What are we going to do about Mrs. Windor?” Adriane asked.

“Oh, I’ll take care of that. I’ll send her free tickets.”

“No way!”

As her friends continued to chat, Emily felt a flash of sadness mixed with pride. As much as she wished Lorelei could have stayed on Earth with her, she knew her friend had important work to do on the web. It was hard to accept that they couldn’t be together—almost as hard as accepting her parents’ divorce. It was going to hurt for a long time. Before encountering the unicorn, Emily herself hadn’t even realized how deeply wounded she was. She had done such a good job of hiding her pain and sadness from everyone else that she’d hidden it from herself, too. She had been chasing an elusive ending to a song that needed to be sung. Now they both had to move forward, take what they had learned, and do their best to make things better.

Even though her father didn’t live with her, it didn’t mean he loved her any less. She would always carry the lessons he had taught her—and those still to teach—in her heart. Her mother’s love would always be there, no matter how far from home Emily might journey. And her friends. Her wonderful friends who cared about her and supported her. That was stronger than any magic spell.

Emily took a deep breath of crisp autumn air, lagging a bit behind her friends. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and the clear evening sky was growing darker with every passing moment. As Emily looked up, she saw that stars were starting to wink into sight here and there. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of light diving toward the horizon—a shooting star.

Emily smiled up at it, still thinking about Lorelei. Their friendship was like that star—all too brief, but bright and unforgettable.

Thank you,
she thought, hoping that somehow, some way, Lorelei would hear her and understand.
Thank you for everything.

In return, she heard a faint, melodic whisper of a reply, like the distant echo of a shooting star’s celestial song. And it was perfect.

We'll touch the sky

And we'll find a new tomorrow

We'll discover dreams in ourselves

And we'll fly, you and I

I'll be taking care of you

You'll be taking care of me

After all we've been through

I know I've found a friend in you

Wommels are red koala-sized creatures with thick fur and large eyes. They are native to the Moorgroves forests in Aldenmor. They appear cute and cuddly but Wommels are fiercely protective of their families. Working together, many wommels can provide relatively strong magic.

Pooxim are sleek creatures that looks like a cross between a songbird and a rabbit. They have a natural sing-song voice that conducts musical magic. The pooxim’s thrilling songs of the wild can be heard echoing through the Moorgroves of Aldenmor, keeping the forests healthy and rich with magic.

Flobbins are large fairy creatures, rotund and froglike. Fairy in nature, flobbins have a reputation for being schemers and tricksters. Flobbins are also natural magic trackers with a special knack for finding magic blobs, loose pockets of wild magic.