Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) (14 page)

Maybe healing Ariel had drained the crystal, or she needed Phelonius to guide her. “This is crazy! I can’t do this!”

The cat stared at her.

“I’m sorry…I don’t know what else to do.” Emily broke down and hugged the cat, sobbing into her neck.

The cat pulled away and turned to pick up something from her bed. When she turned back to Emily, she was holding an orange stuffed lion. Emily took Mr. Snuffles from the cat’s mouth. She could swear the cat was smiling at her.

“Taking and giving completes our circle. It’s time to let go.”

Emily stared at the cat. Maybe she had helped her heal after all. There
was
something more she could do for her, she realized. She reached out to pet her one last time. “We each have to find our own path,” she said. Then she went to open the door to the outside.

Moonlight danced in the doorway. A cool breeze ruffled Emily’s curls.

“Have faith, healer. The magic is with you, now and forever.”

Without a backward glance, the cat walked out into the night. Slowly Emily closed the door and hugged Mr. Snuffles.

T
HE SKY WAS
overcast as Emily navigated her bike into the bike rack by the town hall. The parking lot was full. There seemed to be an unusual amount of activity this morning. It seemed like everyone was rushing about.

“Something’s up.” Adriane was already at the front steps, waiting for her. “Come on.”

Together, the girls walked into the building and crossed the lobby to a desk where a stocky woman with big hair sat fielding phone calls.

“We’d like to talk to the mayor, please,” Adriane announced.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” the big-haired lady replied.

“Why not?” Adriane asked.

“First of all, he’s not here. Second of all, he’s not here.”

“We can wait.”

“Suit yourself,” Ms. Big Hair said.

“What’s going on around here, anyway?” Emily asked.

“Haven’t you heard? They caught the monster of Ravenswood.”

Emily’s face went ashen.

“What?” Adriane leaned forward.

A fireman shuffled through to drop some papers on the front desk.

“Who caught what?” Adriane pressed.

“It was a bear,” the fireman said. “Can you believe it? A big
purple
bear.”

“About time,” Ms. Big Hair said. “If you ask me, that place should be shut down. Just stand over there if you want to wait—” By the time she looked up, the girls were gone.

K
ARA SAT SUNNING
in a lawn chair in her backyard. She had everything perfectly laid out within arm’s reach: a bowl of chips and trail mix, ice-cold lemonade, suntan oils, and her iPod. Rose-tinted shades covered her eyes and headphones covered her ears. She didn’t see Emily and Adriane until they were practically standing right over her.

“Hey, you’re blocking my sun!” she complained.

“Where is he?” Emily demanded.

Kara pointed to her headphones. “Can’t hear you. Come back next century.”

“You told them where he was!” Adriane accused. “You promised you wouldn’t tell and you did! How could you?”

Kara sat up and removed her headphones. “Take it easy, Pocahontas. It’s not hard to find a twenty-story rock. They’re getting a court order to bulldoze the whole place anyway. So go find somewhere else to play.”

“Ooohhhhh!” Adriane’s eyes flashed with rage.

“Kara, you saw what’s going on out there,” Emily said, trying to be reasonable. “You saw all those animals.”

“I don’t know what I saw,” Kara replied, clearly uneasy. “All I remember is the monster.”

“He’s not a monster, he’s our friend,” Emily told her.

“That figures.”

“That’s it!” Adriane advanced on Kara, her hands balled into fists. Bright gold fire suddenly flared from Adriane’s bracelet.

Kara’s jaw dropped. “How did you do that?”

Adriane stared at her gemstone. The stone pulsed with light. “I didn’t do anything,” she said, more to Emily than to Kara.

Emily turned slowly to Kara. “Maybe
you
did something.”

Kara tried, but she couldn’t hide her astonishment. “Yeah, right,” she scoffed.

Emily held up her wrist. Both Kara and Adriane stared at the incredible crystalline flower that flickered with rainbow sparkles in the sunlight.

“Emily, your stone, it’s… ” Adriane started.

“Amazing!” Kara finished.

“Phel did it.” Emily said.

“The purple bear gave you that?” Kara asked, her eyes wide. Emily moved the jewel closer to her. The stone flashed a bright burst of blue. Emily backed away and the stone cooled.

“You’re making it do that,” Kara said, eyes glued to the startling gem.

“No,” Emily said. “You are. In the woods yesterday, Phel tried to give
you
something—a gift,”

“And you ruined it!” Adriane put in.

Kara bit her lip. “And why would it give
me
a gift?”

“I think, for some reason, you are part of this,” Emily told her.

“Part… of… what?” Kara asked slowly.

Emily looked to Adriane.

“Phelonius is magic, just like these stones,” Adriane explained.

Kara shook her head. “That’s the most ridiculous thing...I ev—” She stopped as Stormbringer and Ozzie walked out from behind the rose garden.

“Aaahhhh!” Kara shrieked, knocking over the bowl of chips as she shrank back from the silver wolf. “Keep that thing away from me!”

Storm stood still and looked into Kara’s eyes. The girl was mesmerized.

“Do not be afraid.”

Startled, Kara looked around. “What? Who said that?”

“The magic is strong with you.”

“There’s no such thing as magic,” Kara said.

“How do you explain
him
?” Adriane pointed to Ozzie.

Kara turned to Ozzie. The ferret was holding the bowl of trail mix in his paws. “These are delicious! Can I have some juice?” he asked her.

“Plenty of toys do that stuff,” Kara said uncertainly.

“Come on, Emily, we don’t need her.” Adriane turned away, pulling Emily with her.

Emily faced Kara and held up her bracelet again. “Kara, Phel gave us his magic and now he needs our help. Are you in or out?” Emily asked.

Kara’s eyes sparkled at the jewel. She focused back on Emily and looked over at Adriane, at the wolf and the ferret, all waiting for her. She scrunched her nose as if making an important decision. “They took it to a warehouse at Miller’s Point Industrial Park.”

L
IFE IS CHANGE
, Emily’s father had told her.
Be ready and excited.
Somehow, she was neither. With Ozzie on her lap, she was seated next to Adriane on the Stonehill town bus, headed toward Miller Point Industrial Park. It had been Kara’s idea to take the bus. The blond girl was sitting a few rows in front of them, listening to Earl the bus driver drone on about how the mayor should improve the bus lanes. Ozzie’s brown nose pressed against the window as he watched the farmlands sweep by.

Emily turned to Adriane. “Do you think this is crazy?”

“Not any crazier than running around the woods with a dangerous predator loose,” Adriane answered with a wry smile.

“It’s not crazy to help our friend,” Ozzie said.

“Why can’t the Fairimentals stay with us, Ozzie?” Emily asked.

“Their magic is bound to another world,” Ozzie explained. “They can’t survive here for long.”

“Like Phel.” Emily had to face the truth. Phel had limited time here.

“I don’t think he was supposed to use so much of his magic to heal those animals,” Ozzie said.

“What
is
he supposed to do?” Adriane asked.

“Seed your world with magic.”

“Then why did he heal those animals?” Emily asked.

“I think he did it for you, Emily.” The ferret was staring at her. “You are the healer.” He turned to Adriane. “And you are the warrior.”

“We’re thirteen-year-old kids!” Adriane reminded him.

“I know, but the Fairimentals came to you,” Ozzie replied. “And you’ve heard Storm. I thought mistwolves were dangerous, but I was wrong. Storm carries memories of her kind that go back centuries. She knows the Fairimentals sent me to find three mages.”

Adriane laughed. “Great. If we’re two, who’s the third?”

Ozzie looked to the front of the bus where a bored Kara sat.

Adriane flushed. “Oh no! Do
not
even go there!”

“She’s trying, Adriane,” Emily said. “Let’s give her a chance.”

Adriane looked out the window. “Forget it.”

“I could be wrong, of course,” Ozzie said. “Being a ferret wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Maybe they disguised you,” Emily suggested.

“An elf in Stonehill—that
would
get people talking,” Adriane added.

“But why did they choose me? I wasn’t magical as an elf, and I’m not special now,” Ozzie said with a hint of defeat. “I just want to go home.”

“Ozzie, whatever reason you’re here, I’m glad that you are,” Emily said.

Adriane looked at Ozzie. “Me, too.”

Ozzie smiled a ferret smile.

The bus pulled into the wide parking lot of Miller’s Point. The industrial park covered about a square mile of buildings and landscaped parks. Behind the office buildings, on the far side of the park, was a row of warehouses.

“All right, we’re here,” Kara announced.

“A real Girl Scout,” Adriane muttered.

“Where is he, Kara?” Emily asked.

“In one of those warehouses out back, until some UFO team or something comes to get it,” Kara told them.

“But which one?”

“I don’t know,” Kara replied.

“I just hope we got here in time,” Adriane said.

“If it wasn’t for me, you would still be walking and you would have shown up in about two weeks!” Kara fumed.

“All right, Kara,” Emily intervened. “You were right, it
was
a good idea to catch the bus. Let’s go.”

The girls made their way along a mosaic pathway between the two main office buildings. They emerged on the other side onto an open green lawn with a small man-made lake, its water reflecting the orange and gold of the setting sun. A family of ducks quacked greetings as the girls passed. Ozzie rode in Emily's backpack as they marched down the road toward the semicircle of warehouses.

“How are we going to get back after we find him?” Emily looked around.

“We’ll figure something out,” Adriane said. She didn’t sound too sure, either.

“Well, I have some magic of my own,” Kara smirked.

“Oh?” Adriane’s eyebrows rose.

“Yeah. It’s called a cell phone.” Kara held up her little flip phone.

Emily stopped suddenly. “Trouble.”

Adriane and Kara stopped and looked where Emily was pointing. Up around the bend was a guard gate, blocking the entrance to the warehouse section of the park. It was manned by security officers.

“Well, I guess this ends our little rescue expedition,” Kara stated.

“No way,” Adriane said.

A jeep was approaching the gate from one of the warehouses.

“Then we’ll just walk through and tell the guards we’re here to pick up the purple bear,” Kara snickered.