Song of the Unicorns (Avalon: Web of Magic #7) (14 page)

E
MILY PATTED DOMINO’S
neck as she and the twelve other riders executed their final moves in the Happy Trails horse show. Lining up in the center of the arena, the riders tapped their horses’ necks. In one fluid movement, all the brightly splotched horses dipped their heads to the ground in a deep bow.

Sierra rode Apache to the front of the group and he reared on his hind legs, whinnying happily.

“Good job, Domino!” Emily petted the black and white horse’s sleek neck.

Domino nickered, pleased with her performance.

Applause broke out from the crowd in wooden bleachers set up outside the arena. Emily smiled as she saw her dad and stepmom waving to her and cheering. David’s arm was around Dreamer, ruffling the wolf’s fur. The mistwolf howled his approval, white star on his chest gleaming in the sun. Ozzie sat next to Veronica, happily munching a corn dog.

It was still weird to see her dad with Veronica. Emily had been so afraid that her dad’s new wife would take him away from her, but now she knew nothing was further from the truth. Like her magic, the bond she shared with her dad was something that would last forever. Nothing in the world could ever change that.

“How about we go for another ride?” Adriane said, scratching her horse, Taco, behind his ear. He was nearly all white, with a few black spots and a flowing black and white tail.

“My last day is going to be spent buried in mud to get all this dirt out from under my nails,” Kara advised her friends. She smoothed her golden and white horse’s blonde mane and adjusted her cowboy hat.

The show over, the riders followed Sierra outside of the corral.

“You guys did great!” Sierra told them, taking the reins as the mages dismounted. “I’m so glad we could spend some time together.”

“Thanks again for helping,” Emily said. “We couldn’t have gotten the unicorns home safely without you.”

Sierra shook her head. “Don’t forget. You guys better keep me filled in on everything going on at Ravenswood.”

Kara looked intently at Sierra’s turquoise necklace. It almost seemed to be glowing. “Your jewel is looking more
magical
all the time.”

Sierra glanced at her gem, then whispered, “Ever since the unicorns came, I’ve been feeling much more in tune with my jewel.”

The three mages traded glances, eyebrows raised.

“Promise to e-mail us and keep us up to date on your jewel,” Emily said.

“And any other magically interesting news,” Adriane added.

“I will,” Sierra promised, leading the horses back into the barn. “I’ll see you guys at the farewell dinner tonight.” The brown-haired teen paused, smiling. “Unless a herd of dragons show up.”

“Don’t worry, dragons travel alone,” Adriane said.

“Well, the big ones do,” Kara argued. “But the smaller ones like the dragonflies travel in packs.”

“True,” Adriane agreed. “Then there’s the wyverns, they mate for life.”

Sierra’s brown eyes widened in astonishment.

“We’ll be there, Sierra,” Emily promised.

The mages walked over to David, Veronica, and Dreamer.

“That was wonderful, girls!” David praised them, leaping down and hugging Emily.

“Emily, you were terrific,” Veronica said, an overstuffed ferret lying face down over her shoulder.

Emily pushed her red curls from her eyes and smiled shyly at her stepmom. “Thanks.”

“Hey, Veronica’s got a great idea,” David said enthusiastically. “A trip to the Living Desert Zoo State Park! How ’bout it?”

“David,” Veronica stopped him. “Only if the girls want to go…” she looked expectantly at Emily.

“We’d love to,” Emily said.

Veronica’s dark eyes sparkled. “They have all kinds of rare desert plants and animals,” she explained excitedly.

“And snakes and spiders,” David added with a wink.

“Cool!” Emily said.

“Rad!” Adriane’s eyes shone.

“Ewww.” Kara frowned.

David put his arm around Emily’s shoulders. “You’re so lucky, Emily, to have such good friends.”

“I know,” Emily agreed, relaxing into his embrace. “Daddy, I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Emily smiled. Funny, she thought. She had been so worried about meeting her new stepmom, but she had found the courage to overcome her fears, and it turned out better than she could have ever imagined.

She would need all her new strength to meet the challenges that lay ahead. How were they supposed to return nine power crystals to Avalon when the Fairimentals didn’t even know where eight of them were? How could three Level One mages, well, four with Ozzie, master their magic enough to save the magic of Avalon itself?

Looking at her friends, her family, there was one thing she knew for sure. The magic blazed inside of her stronger than ever. And, like her warrior best friend, she would always fight for what she believed in.

“You know, the Living Desert Zoo has a whole collection of unique species,” Veronica said, patting Ozzie’s back as he lay over her shoulder.

“UrrrrP!”

David nodded. “I bet you’ll find animals unlike anything you girls have seen before.”

Emily, Kara, and Adriane exchanged looks, their magic gems sparkling brightly in the warm desert sun.

Emily smiled at her dad and stepmom. “You might be surprised.”

T
HROUGH WALLS OF
black ice, the desolate landscape shimmered like a spectral mirage. Clouds of gray shifted over barren fields littered with misshapen trees.

“The place has a certain twisted charm, wouldn’t you say?” The Dark Sorceress turned away from the bleak vista to face her old friend in the prison of ice.

“You just got here.” A finely wrought cloak covered the Spider Witch’s face, but inside the dark hood, pixilated eyes flickered yellow and green. “That traitor, Gardener, locked me here years ago.”

“Trust me, we are in a much better place than Gardener is right now.”

The Spider Witch suddenly whirled on the Dark Sorceress. “You said you would get me out!”

“And you said you could control that golem.”

The Spider Witch’s bulky body trembled. Slender spidery fingers brushed against the tapestry that hung from the wall of ice. Silken strands spread into patterns like oils on a canvas.

“The golem was the best I could do,” the Spider Witch said sadly.

Upon the dark weaving, the image of the golem remained. “The mages ruined my beautiful work.”

Magic sparked along the loose strands of her tapestry.

For a moment, the sorceress actually felt sorry for this pathetic creature. “I never meant to harm you, Sylvan.”

“You could never handle those crystals!” the Spider Witch hissed.

“Listen to me.” The sorceress had to be careful. Her friend was unbalanced, her mind unraveling like the web itself. “While the web is in chaos, we can open the Gates of Avalon.” She met the witch’s malevolent stare. “Use the powers you have mastered. Look upon the web and tell me what you see.”

The Spider Witch’s glittering eyes turned to her frayed tapestries, focusing on the strands of the magic web beyond the walls of their prison. Spiders skittered past the hem of her long robe. “The web must be fixed.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Then I need those unicorns,” the Spider Witch insisted.

“All we
need
is the key to the gates.”

“Those mages took our crystal!”

“There are eight others.” She had to keep the witch focused on weaving the new web. The witch would never notice when the sorceress stepped through the Gates of Avalon and took all the magic for herself. “Think! With the power of Avalon, you will be able to weave the web, just the way you want it.”

“Yes, yes, I must weave. But I must get back to my lair.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

The cowled creature cackled. A swarm of shadowy spiders rippled over her grotesque form. “I have an agent in the Fairy Realms already on his way to find the second power crystal.”

“Really.” The sorceress tried to hide her surprise. “That is news.” Maybe her old friend wasn’t as crazy as she looked.

“Not everything revolves around
your
world,” the witch spoke with a clarity that sent chills through the sorceress. “But those mages will ruin everything.”

“You have no idea.” The Dark Sorceress dug her silver talons into the pale flesh of her palms. Those mages had destroyed her crystals. Her lair. Everything she had worked for.

“The mages will pay!” The Dark Sorceress’s vow rang across the black ice with deadly certainty. “You know the prophecy. One will turn dark.”

The Spider Witch skittered to a halt. “One always does.”

The sorceress smiled, vampire teeth gleaming. “I should know.”