Song of the Unicorns (Avalon: Web of Magic #7) (8 page)

Ozzie gaped in disbelief. “How much of this stuff do I have to make?”

“I could eat two whole batches!”
Snowflake exclaimed.

The others squawked and tootled in agreement.

Leaving Lyra with Ozzie, the weary mages walked back to their cabin. This day had been like nothing Emily ever could have predicted.

She looked at the star-filled sky and thought about what Tweek had told them. The unicorns had already attracted strong magic. If their horns sprouted, there might as well be a neon sign over New Mexico advertising thirty baby unicorns.

A simple protection amulet wouldn’t do much good, then. And according to Tweek, the mages’ combined Level One powers didn’t even have a chance against whatever evil was out there.

Emily had to get these unicorns to safety. Their lives depended on it, and somehow she knew Avalon and the entire magic web depended on it, too.

G
LOWING GOLDEN SUNLIGHT
crested the horizon over the Happy Trails Ranch. The mages and Dreamer walked quietly but quickly past the cabins. They’d awoken at dawn to check on the unicorns while the rest of the resort was still sleeping.

“So, what’s the plan?” Kara asked the healer.

“I don’t know, okay?” Emily said, more grouchily than she meant. “I’m sorry. All I know is, we have to get them to the academy before their horns appear.”

“What about the d-flies?” asked Adriane.

“No go.” Kara shook her head. “Its just too far.”

Adriane sighed. “We’ll just have to chance using the fairy map.”

“You heard Twighead. Without their horns, they can’t open a portal,” Kara reminded them.

“Then we’re going to need as much unicorn power as we can get.” Adriane eyed Kara’s gem.

“Don’t look at me, I can’t even turn my nails pink without making my head green.” Kara bit her lip. “What if I have to give it back?” she wailed, clutching her jewel on its silver chain. “Maybe it was a mistake!”

“Kara, the jewel was meant for you,” Emily reassured her. “It attracts and amplifies magic like you do. It just has to be tuned a little differently than ours.”

“Absorbing all that fairy magic didn’t help, Rapunzel,” Adriane commented.

“It’s making it worse,” Kara conceded, looking at her friends.

“We won’t let anything happen to it, or you,” Emily pledged.

“We’re in this together, got it?” Adriane concluded.

“Okay,” Kara said meekly.

As they entered the barn, the horses nickered in their stalls, but otherwise it looked empty.

For a split second, Emily thought it had all been a bad dream.

“How does this taste?” Ozzie’s voice wafted across the barn.

“Yuck!”

“Phooie!”

Inside the feed room, a gaggle of unicorns huddled around a big bucket overflowing with a white, bubbly pudding-like concoction.

The ferret held a large ladle, offering a dripping sample to Clio and Spruce.

“Emily!!”

All the unicorns gathered around the mages.

Dreamer sniffed the bucket and shook his snout.

“No luck making unicorn food?” Adriane asked, trying not to laugh.

“I’d rather eat a stinkberry!”
Riannan complained.

“Well, I think it’s delicious.” Ozzie tasted a mouthful and gagged.

Emily took a quick survey. “Ozzie, are all the unicorns here?”

Ozzie looked around. “Front and center,” he yelled, pushing Violet and Snowflake to the center of the barn. “Roll call. Just like we practiced.”

The unicorns scrambled around the ferret as he called out each of their names. “Riannan, Spruce, Violet, Clio…”

As each one answered “Here,” the ferret nodded his satisfaction.

“Daphne, Kalinda, Ruby, Snowflake, Lysander, Phoebe, Boodle, Harvard, Mailai, Beowulf, Dulcinea, Barnabus, Pierre, Sibby, Quincy, Cromwell, Elvis, Windmill, Zoey, Riccardo, Celia, Electra—”

There was no answer from Electra.

“Where’s Electra?” asked Adriane.

“Hey, where are Dante and Ralfie?”
Spruce asked, checking the stalls.

“And Pollo and Calliope?”
Violet looked around.

“Well, that’s only five missing,” Ozzie said, shrugging.

“Where’s Lyra?” Kara demanded, closing her eyes to contact her friend.

“Everyone
stay
here,” Emily told the unicorns. “We’ll find the others.”

The three mages and Dreamer ran to the barn door—and right into a startled Sierra.

“Sierra!” Emily exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I work here,” the brown-haired girl said, trying to peer over the mages’ shoulders.

Adriane and Kara shifted to block her view.

The sounds of scuffling and giggling were heard along with a “Gak!” and a “GarG!”

“What are
you
doing here?” Sierra wanted to know.

“We got up bright and early to help with the chores,” Adriane said quickly.

Sierra gave them a puzzled look as she strolled into the barn. “Well, that’s unusual for guests, but thanks.”

“Ahh!” Kara screamed as Electra trotted up to the door, right behind Sierra.

The mages scrambled to block Electra from Sierra’s view. The unicorn tried to poke her nose between the girls’ waists.

The short-haired teen stared at Kara. “Are you all right?”

“I get, like, totally excited by a good… chore,” she stammered, looking over her shoulder for the unicorn.

Sierra shook her head as she walked to Apache’s stall, Electra trotting right behind her.

Adriane made a grab for the unicorn, but Electra stumbled forward, bumping into Sierra.

“Hi.”

Sierra gasped. “Where did this filly come from?”

The girls shuffled, looking at each other.

“Her hide.” Sierra bent to examine Electra. “It’s practically sparkling! Where did you come from, you sweet thing?”

“Palenmarth, on the north side of the web.”

Sierra cocked her head. “Funny, I thought she said something.”

“Ha ha!” Kara laughed.

“Look, Sierra,” Emily began. “Remember I thought an animal was in trouble?”

“This is it?” Sierra raised an eyebrow. “She looks perfectly healthy.”

“Yes, well, good thing we found them, er, her,” Adriane said.

Sierra furrowed her brow. “She must have wandered away from the Triple A Ranch about ten miles east of here.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a shiny red apple. “Here you go, sweetness.”

“Ooh, thank you. I’m very hungry.”
Electra chomped the apple happily.

A dozen unicorn heads peered from the stall.

“Hey! We want apples too!”

“What’s going on here?” Sierra asked, turning to the stalls.

The unicorns quickly stumbled backward, squashing another “Gah!” from Ozzie.

“Sierra, wait!” Adriane said. “We can explain.”

“We can?” Kara asked.

“How many others are in there?” Sierra asked slowly.

“Oh, just a few,” Kara said.

Twenty-four unicorns tumbled out of the stall, flattening the ferret to the floor.

Sierra’s mouth opened in shock. “I have to call Uncle Tex right away!”

“No,
wait
!
”
the mages cried in unison.

“We have to get them back to the Triple A!”

“You can’t tell
anyone
about them, Sierra!” Emily blurted out.

“Why?”

“Because…” Adriane looked to Emily.

“You know that we’re caretakers for all kinds of animals at the Ravenswood Preserve,” Emily explained carefully.

“You mean like Dreamer?” Sierra asked, crossing her arms.

The girls exchanged glances.

“I know a wolf when I see one,” Sierra declared. “But I’ve never seen a pony like this!”

“Sometimes we deal with, well, unusual breeds,” Adriane said.

“We’ve handled animals like these before, and we want to make sure they get home safely,” Emily finished quickly.

Sierra seemed unconvinced.

“You have to trust us on this, Sierra,” Emily pleaded. “Promise you won’t tell anyone, it’s
really important
.”

Sierra considered. She seemed to deliberate for a long time. “Okay. I can close the barn for the day, but you’re going to have to muck the stalls if no one else can come in here.”

“Thank you, Sierra,” said Emily, relieved.

Sierra nodded. “Meantime, I’ll get a barrel of apples in here.”

“YaY!”

Sierra looked at the unicorns and giggled. “I swear they’re talking. But that’s so silly, isn’t it?”

“Hysterical,” Kara agreed.

Sierra shook her head and left the barn.

“Oh, this is just great!” Kara cried. “Now I have to muck!”

“She’s cool, Kara,” Emily said. “And a little cleaning work won’t hurt you.”

“Sierra may be cool, but others won’t be,” Adriane pointed out. “We better round up the escapees.”

“Lyra’s spotted Pollo and Calliope out back by the corrals,” Kara reported.

“Okay, Adriane you take those,” Emily said. “Kara, you check the spa.”

“Right.”

“And the rest of you,” Emily ordered the unicorns. “Stay
here
!”

E
MILY RACED BETWEEN
the cabins, almost missing Ralfie’s spotted rump. His head was poking into an open window.

“Emily, there you are!” a smooth voice rang out. The step-monster.

The healer stopped in her tracks. “Uh, hi.”

“I’ve been looking all over for you.” Veronica walked up, Pollo trotting alongside.

“Hi, there.”

Emily’s eyes went wide.

“Look what I found,” Veronica said. “Isn’t he just adorable?”

“Has anyone else seen him, I mean, where—what—”

Emily caught Dante trying to push Ralfie in the window.

“I brought him to you right away,” Veronica said. “I think he’s lost.”

Emily smiled, relieved. “Oh, good—I mean, I’ll take care of him.”

“Say, I’m going to an art gallery in town. Would you like to go with me this afternoon?” Veronica’s red lips curved in a hopeful smile.

“Um… I’m—” She was about to say busy, but managed to be more polite. “I have my friends and everything.” Emily caught Ralfie’s long legs flailing. “I really have to go now.”

“Yes, of course,” Veronica said. “You know Emily, maybe I’m out of line here, but I really hope we can be friends. You’re the whole world to David, and I can understand why.” She smiled.

“Thank you,” Emily mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

“Tell you what, meet us at the barbeque later. It’ll be fun.”

“Okay,” Emily agreed.

“Great. See you then.” Veronica sauntered off.

Emily caught Pollo smiling at her. “What?”

“What’s a barbeque?”

“It’s not for you. Come on, help me get the others.”

I
T WAS LATE
afternoon when the girls finished cleaning the stalls. When they were sure all the unicorns were accounted for, they put Ozzie in charge and left the barn.

“There you are, girls!” David exclaimed as he and Veronica marched toward the mages. “What have you been up to? You haven’t been at any of the activities, Em.”

“We were—um…” she stammered.

“They were helping Sierra round up some stray ponies, David,” Veronica explained. “You know how good Emily is with animals.”

“Yes, she certainly is,” David agreed, smiling proudly. “Come on, I’m starved. Texas Slim promised the best barbeque this side of Memphis.”

The mages followed, the sudden thought of barbeque making their mouths water.

The cookout was behind the ranch near the corrals. A huge barbeque pit sizzled with ribs, burgers, hot dogs, and chicken. Resort guests sat on bales of yellow hay ringing a crackling campfire. Everyone was chowing down and chatting merrily.

Texas Slim carried a few mesquite logs from a nearby woodpile and tossed them in the pit. “Come on, fill up them plates, girls!”

“How’s it going?” Sierra stood near a long wooden picnic table laid out with biscuits, iced pitchers of lemonade, beans, salads, and condiments.

Emily filled a plate with salad, beans, and a burger. “Okay. Thanks for covering for us.”

“Someone is bound to find them,” Sierra noted. “We can’t keep them hidden in there.”

“I know. We’ll get them home soon,” Emily said as she went to sit next to David and Veronica. “I hope,” she added quietly.

Sunset streaks of bright orange, soft purple, and glowing pink shone with vivid clarity, set off by the dark blue sky. Stars danced overhead, reminding Emily of the magic web. Unicorns were the only animals that could actually run on the web, keeping magic under control and flowing to the right places. Without them, what would happen to all the magic from Avalon now flowing wild?

“Hey, now! What’s a cookout without some stories and singing!” Texas Slim crowed.

Sierra picked up a guitar. “I’ll start off with an easy one to get us all in a campfire mood.” She adjusted the blue woven shoulder strap before placing her fingers expertly on the frets.

Emily’s dad smiled and she grinned back, knowing he was thinking of the fun they’d had playing music together in Colorado—when they’d been a real family.

“She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes,” Sierra sang. Soon everyone joined in.

Emily noticed David and Veronica holding hands and laughing. To her surprise, she wasn’t upset. Her dad seemed genuinely happy. For the first time since she’d arrived, Emily began to relax.

“She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she—”

“S
QUONK!”

Emily bolted up, startled.

“Emily, we have a problem.”
Lyra’s voice popped in her head.

“She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she—”

“TOOOT!”

Sierra looked at her guitar strings, puzzled, then continued.

“It wasn’t my fault!”
Ozzie yelled.

“She’ll be coming round the—”

“BeeP Beep.”

“She’ll be coming round the—”

“floohonk.”

“She’ll be—”

“Pffoooping.”

“round the—”

“toOOtle”

“when she—”

“BwAAP!”

What the—! Emily looked around at the chuckling guests. Those sounds weren’t just in her head. Everyone heard them!

“La LAAAA!”

“Whooo doggies, coyotes must be gettin’ hungry out there,” Texas Slim said. Something green scuttled behind the guests on the far side of the campfire.

What was that?

Something
orange
moving the other way caught Emily’s eye.

Holding her jewel, Emily sent a telepathic SOS. “
Adriane!”

“I’m on it.”
Adriane dashed after the green thing, Dreamer close on her heels.

Emily wondered why Dreamer wasn’t in the barn watching the—
uh oh.

A glittering silver animal trotted after the mistwolf.

“Wonderful! Anyone else have talent they want to share?” Tex called out.

Zzzzap!

Kara yelped as diamond-white magic sparkled in the night like a miniature fireworks display. When the glittering light faded, her hair was a mass of curling purple ringlets.

“Cool, a magic act!” one of the guests exclaimed amid appreciative applause.

Gulping, Kara bowed. “And now for a disappearing act.” She dashed off, shaking her colorful head at Emily.

“Okay, we had a song and a—whatever that was—but now its time for ghost stories!” Tex announced.

Emily excused herself and ran to the barn. Pulling open the door, she gasped.

The unicorns were huddled in a big mass tootling and hooting up a storm.

“What’s going on?” Emily asked.

Something sparkled in the middle of the group.

Emily pushed her way through the unicorns. There in the center stood Dante, Boodle, and Spruce. No longer beige, their coats were sparkling silver, green, and orange. And upon their foreheads, swirling crystal glittered.

Oh no!
Their horns had sprouted!

“How cool is this?”
Dante swaggered as the unicorns proudly displayed their new horns.

A hay bale flew across the room. Adriane ducked for cover just in time.

A bright light surrounded Ralfie. When it cleared, his hide was a deep green, with bright brass-colored spots. His new horn shimmered with rainbow magic.

“I’m so handsome!”
Ralfie puffed his chest proudly.

A perplexed Domino rose a few inches off the ground.

“Everyone! Stop!” Emily shouted. “Listen to me, do
not
use your magic.”

The unicorns all stopped.

“What happened to you?” she asked, shocked. “You’re all silver and orange and green!”

“These are our real colors,”
Ralfie explained.
“They appear when our horns grow in.”

“I thought unicorns were white,” Adriane said.

“How many have you seen?”
Ralfie challenged.

“Two,” she admitted.

“Well, there you go,”
Spruce said.

Suddenly bright lights flashed—horns were popping up like popcorn!

“Where’s Kara?” Emily was looking about frantically. “Kara?”

“Hey, where’s Calliope?”
Dante asked.
“And Mailai and Violet? And Electra? And Snowflake?

“Roll call—” Ozzie shouted.

“Not now, Ozzie!” Adriane yelled.

Hiding thirty baby unicorns that looked like colts and fillies was one thing. How long would it take for people to notice thirty bright rainbow-colored unicorns with real sparkling crystal horns?

“Come to the cabin!”
Kara’s voice cried out in Emily’s mind.
“Hurry! We have an emergency!”

“Everyone just
stay
here!” Emily shouted, running toward the door. “Let’s go, Adriane.”