Spellsinger (Avalon: Web of Magic #5) (7 page)

T
HE MORNING SUN
cast deep, shadows behind Kara as she trudged along the high, grassy bank of the Chitakaway River, head down, feet dragging. She swung her backpack by its straps, letting it graze the dewy grass and earth, not even caring if it got stained. Sparkling water danced over stones jutting from the river, the roaring and rushing creating its own special music.

She had suffered the most restless night’s sleep she could possibly have imagined. At one moment flying high in amazing dreams of success, basking in the glow of superstardom, the envy of all her friends—and at the next moment tossed into throes of anxiety, running scared in the blackest nightmares of failure, feeling utter humiliation as everyone laughed at her, their jeers and snickers echoing in her mind.

“Okay, okay, just breathe,” Kara said aloud, painfully aware of her own shortcomings as a singer—and the event looming over her this evening. The preliminary karaoke-style audition for the big contest would be held at seven in the school auditorium. Inky Toon would pick five lucky finalists who’d be allowed to sing during the preshow on Saturday. Johnny would judge that round of competition personally.

Kara would have to sing in front of dozens of people tonight—maybe even hundreds... including Adriane.

She clutched her backpack tighter, tormented by indecision. She could feel the unicorn horn inside, radiating with power, calling to her. Yet she also felt a nagging twinge of guilt for taking it in the first place, and for what she planned to do with it.

The whole concert was supposed to be about helping Ravenswood, and Kara had organized the benefit like a pro. But when it came to magic, she was a total amateur. Emily and Adriane had found their gems months ago and were constantly working to expand and control their abilities. So while her friends were on their way to becoming real mages, she was left behind, unable to control powers she didn’t understand. The only thing she knew for sure was that she supercharged Emily and Adriane’s jewels. But why should she, Kara Davies, play the role of helper? Why didn’t she have a jewel of her own, something to
prove
that she was the blazing star?

If she was ever going to become a real mage, she had to use a jewel. So why not this? A shiver passed through her; the unicorn horn practically buzzed with a vibrant life all its own. With trembling fingers, Kara opened the backpack and touched the unicorn horn. Sparks of energy ran around the intricate scalloped shape, sparkling over her fingers.

A fluttering in the breeze behind her made her turn just in time to see Lyra descend. Kara marveled at the cat’s powerful wings. Unlike the feathery butterfly-shaped wings of a pegasus, Lyra’s were sleek, hawk-like, built for speed and fast maneuvering. The tapered, golden wings folded to the cat’s sides, flashed, and disappeared.

“
No ride this morning?
” Lyra asked, brushing up against Kara’s hip.

Kara scratched the cat behind the ears and shrugged. “I decided to walk.”

“
Storm and I checked the entire preserve. We’ve found no sign of the intruder that scared the animals last night.
”

“Maybe it was just a nightmare,” Kara said.

“
Then we all had the same nightmare.
”

“But nothing bad can slip through the dreamcatcher.”

“
Unless it came from somewhere else. With all the people starting to arrive in Ravenswood, we’re on high alert.
”

“Okay.” Kara looked down, shuffling her feet.

“
Are you still concerned about this singing contest?
”

“No! Yes. Maybe….”

“
You sounded good the other morning.
”

“Yeah, it’s easy when you have a band like B*Tween to sing along with. Tonight I have to sing all by myself!”

“
You’re making too much out of this.
” Lyra nudged her flank playfully against Kara, hard enough to make the girl wobble for a second before regaining her footing.

“Quit it! I am not! The entire school is going to be there!”

As they neared the Saddleback Bridge that would take Kara over the river and onto the main road to school, Lyra stopped and sat back on her haunches.

“
Okay, let’s hear,
” Lyra said.

“What, now?” Kara stopped, irritated.

“
Give it your best shot,
” the cat said patiently.

Kara looked around. A few blackbirds sat in an ancient oak. Other than the birds, the area was empty.

She took a breath. “Okay, you asked for it.” She put down her backpack and struck her best superstar pose.

She hummed a bit and started her choreographed steps, adding a few new ones she picked up watching Johnny and his crew.

Lyra bobbed her head along. “
Good moves, but can you sing a little louder?
”

Kara went for it.

The blackbirds screamed in protest at the obnoxious, screeching voice that suddenly interrupted their day. They flew away, squawking back a few insults.

Lyra listened patiently. Kara couldn’t tell if the cat was smiling or about to hurl a furball.

“Well?”

Lyra sat for a second then stretched her back and stood. “
Well…
”

“I knew it.” Kara swept up her backpack and stomped off. “I stink!”

Lyra caught up to her. “
I wouldn’t say that.
”

“Well, what would you say?”

“You just need a little help.
”

“Exactly what I was thinking!” Kara looked relieved as she held up her backpack.

“A few lessons with the singing coach and some practice.
”

“Oh—yeah…” Kara lowered the backpack.

Lyra cocked her head. “
What were
you
thinking?
”

“Uh… I should practice with the choir,” she said, embarrassed now to admit what she was
really
thinking about.

They headed across the pedestrian bridge. Beyond it, the trail to school wound past the orchards. Kara knew that Lyra would have to turn back once they got there, or else risk drawing attention. That meant if Kara wanted to tell Lyra what was on her mind, she’d have to do it quickly.

“Lyra, have you ever done something you know you really shouldn’t have? Something a part of you wishes you could take back, while another part of you is saying, ‘hey, I’d do it again.’”

The cat’s eyes narrowed. “
Why are you asking?
”

Kara looked away. If she told Lyra about the unicorn horn, then she’d never be able to keep it; she’d feel too guilty about making her friend an accomplice after the fact.

“
This thing you’re talking about,
” Lyra prompted, “
it can’t be undone?
”

It occurred to Kara that she could go to the manor
right now
and put the unicorn horn back where it belonged. No one would ever know she’d taken it in the first place.

But... she needed it. How could she hope to compete in the contest
without
using magic? Magic that had been given to the girls. Well, to Emily actually. But it had been given to help all three of them.

“
She’s your friend,
” Lyra said.
“I think you should just talk to her.
”

“Huh?” Kara asked, startled.

“
Adriane’s just stubborn, unlike someone else I know,
” the cat said, rubbing playfully against Kara’s side.

“Yeah,” Kara said, quickly recovering from her surprise. “She should be apologizing to me!”

Lyra sighed.

“I’ve got to get to school!” Kara rushed ahead, anxious to get away from Lyra before she was forced to look her friend in the eye—she knew she couldn’t do that—and tell a lie, even a little white lie like pretending she meant Adriane all along.

K
ARA COULDN’T CONCENTRATE
on classwork. At lunch she only barely heard Emily as the girl went on about the craziness with Mrs. Windor the night before, which, thanks to the picture-snapping reporter, was even more fully reported in the morning edition of the Stonehill Gazette. At least that was one problem solved. No one was going to believe Windor now about what she had seen in the woods.

But Kara’s greatest frustration was that she didn’t have the spellsinging book. If she had been more on top of things, she would have gotten it back from Emily the night before. The time spent with Johnny had seemed to cast another kind of a spell on her, making her feel light-headed with joy, not able to think as clearly as she usually did. Today she could hardly concentrate. All she could think about was spellsinging. And Johnny.

Kara barely paid attention as Heather, Molly, and Tiffany crowded around her, wanting to know all the details about Johnny Conrad. She was the center of the universe, as Adriane had put it, just like she wanted to be...but for how long?

It was time to do something.

K
ARA MARCHED TOWARD
the music building and stopped—then leaped behind a large maple tree. Every time she tried to enter the music room, she couldn’t. She was too scared to make the move. Peering around the tree, she saw the open doors that led from the music room to the track behind the school.

She listened to the uplifting voices of the school’s choir. They sounded so rich and beautiful. A soloist took the lead and Kara sang along, desperately attempting to match the girl’s incredible voice. But every note Kara sang was either flat or sharp, early or late, always somehow just plain wrong. Even when she tried the easier route of singing along with the rest of the choir, she was never once in tune with them.

Kara tried to belt it out like she did when singing along to B*Tween. A few stray dogs ran around the tree, barking. She quickly shut her mouth, looking around. The last thing she needed was for someone to hear her voice before the big contest.

For a moment, she thought about just giving up. Then she thought of Adriane’s triumphant smile, the one she’d give her when Kara backed out.

No, she
had
to sing at the contest tonight. She had to make it to the final round and prove to Adriane that she was... that she was a star—the blazing star!

Johnny thought she was special, and he should know.

She opened her backpack and took out the unicorn horn. The crystalline horn shone in the afternoon sun, rainbow sparkles running up and down its delicate spiraled curves.

“I want to sing like a star!” Kara said.

She held it tight and tried a chorus of “Supernatural High.”

It wasn’t working—she sounded exactly the same. Kara felt close to panicking. This was her last hope. What was she doing wrong? Maybe the horn worked just for Emily.

I need to focus, like Emily and Adriane do when they use their stones, she thought.

Think musical magic. Magic to make music. Music to make magic. She thought of the book she had found in the library. The strange words of spellsinging drifted in her mind like tinkling bells.

Spellsing as one

And see your work done

“Okay...” Kara whispered. Spellsinging. A musical spell could help focus magic. How hard could it be?

I want to sing like a bird

The best in the world

Make my voice ring

I’m super-stylin‘

Cute, she thought. Not too bad for her first magic spell.

She tried saying the words again, but nothing happened. Then she tried singing them in a rapping rhythm, the unicorn horn clutched tightly in her hand. Suddenly, she felt wind kick up, sending a swirl of magical energy around her, lifting her long blonde hair.

Whoa!

It stopped the moment she fell silent.

Kara tried the spell again, singing the words a little more loudly now, with more confidence and control—and somehow, even though she wasn’t singing what the choir was singing, she was in tune with them, her rhythms in sync, her notes flowing perfectly with theirs.

She felt the horn trembling in her hands as it focused her magic.

An ember of brilliant light suddenly flared from the horn. Kara leaped back, scared. She watched in amazement as the light spread between her fingers, swirling around her hands. The air felt heavy as sparkling diamond magic raced up her arms and swirled around her. Her heart thundered in a chorus of power.

Yes! The jewel was exactly what she needed. Just like the last time, the exquisite power she used with the jewel of the unicorn. Only this time it was stronger—just what she needed to change—

This was wrong! She knew it and fought against its call, but another part of her sang with the harmonies of her magic.
Her magic!
The power was exhilarating. The wind screamed in her ears, whipping around her in a cyclone of magically charged air.

Her entire form blazed diamond bright as the magic crackled across her skin. The power seemed so much larger than her small frame. How could it stay contained? And once released, how could she control it?

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind of anything but the flows and ebbs of the magic. In a few heartbeats, the glow simmered, then grew back to an intense blaze. She could do this!

Kara squeezed her eyes closed and centered her breathing. With a certainty that rocked her world, she locked the magic to her will.

Kara started to sing. A perfect G note rang from her mouth. She moved to C and F sharp then began running up the scale, notes perfectly in tune, each rising in perfect pitch. Her control was incredible. Her voice became a lilting, wondrous sound, cascading like sweet summer rain as it moved up and down the scale.

The horn blazed with power. The magic inside of her sang for release.

Kara was ready.

She raced up three octaves and with perfect breath control, she hit a triple high C.

The tree trunk burst with an explosive
crack
!

Waves of invisible force rippled from the horn—and a window shattered in the school!

She heard the choir screaming in surprise.

Kara gasped as she wrestled the magic under control—but somewhere deep inside, somewhere she feared to look too closely, a part of her cackled with wicked delight. A flicker of a smile fluttered around her mouth. The magic was hers.