Windy dove under a wide arch that bridged a gap between mountains. They were flying through a narrow gorge, surrounded on both sides by long spikes of rocks that jutted out like rows of gigantic teeth.
Adriane looked down at a sheer drop into nothingness.
Windy gave a hissing snort.
“Are you using magic?” Zach accused.
“No!”
“They’re still on us.”
Windy gave the boy a few squawks. Zach was thinking, trying to make a decision.
“Windy thinks you’re okay,” he said finally. “Animals have a strong intuition.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Adriane replied bitterly, thinking of Storm.
“We’re going inside.”
“How can Windy see anything through this mist?” she yelled.
“He knows these mountains cold.” Zach laughed. The boy was actually enjoying himself. “Windy could find a craven’s nest in an ice storm.”
“I’ll remember that the next time I need a craven.”
“Besides, we’ve flown the Serpent’s Teeth before… just never in the mist.”
Windy dove and twisted, narrowly avoiding the spires and spikes that seemed to loom out of nowhere before disappearing back into the mist. Whatever creatures were trailing them weren’t faring as well. Tremendous crashes were followed by painful howls that echoed over the gorges.
“Ooo, I bet that hurt.” Zach chuckled.
Windy squawked, banked to the left, and flew straight for the mountainside.
“Where are we going?” Adriane asked, eyes wide.
“In there.” Zach pointed directly ahead to the sheer rock cliff.
At the last minute, Adriane made out a thin vertical break in the cliff wall. Windy turned on his wing tip and slipped through the crevice. Adriane hung on tight and closed her eyes. They broke through the cliff wall, emerging into a wide canyon completely surrounded by mountains. The griffin straightened out and glided, perfectly balanced atop swift currents of warm air.
“Ha! Let those demons try that!” the boy whooped, hugging the griffin. “Good flying, Windy!”
The griffin spat back a response, reminding them how he felt about demons.
Adriane felt a pang of jealousy, thinking of the close moments she’d shared with Stormbringer. If Zach felt that way about Windy, he couldn’t be so bad, could he?
The mists vanished as the griffin descended in slow circles. Below was a wide plateau crisscrossed with gorges. On the far side, the mountains rose, towering against swirling purple skies.
They dropped into a deep gorge. Adriane made out a swift-moving river at the bottom. Spindly trees dotted the scrub grass and ran up a slope to a series of caves cut into the rock wall. The griffin landed on the far banks of the running waters.
The boy slid from Windy’s back and leaped to the ground. “We can stay here until everything calms down.”
Clutching Rocky in her arms, Adriane slid to the ground. Her legs felt like rubber, and she could barely stand up. She gently dropped the rock and it rolled over to the riverbank, coming to a stop, then sitting motionless and silent.
Zach gave Windy a firm pat. With a snort and a shake of his eagle head, the griffin took off into the air. Adriane watched him fly away. “Where’s he going?”
“To hunt. Don’t worry, he’ll keep an eye out for trouble.” The boy turned and began walking up the slope toward the caves.
“Where are you going?” Adriane called.
“I have some dried fruits in the cave.” He pointed at the river. “The water runs down from the mountains, it’s fresh and clean.”
Adriane watched him walk away. A real human boy in Aldenmor—the only human, according to him. It was amazing. Then again, being in a magical world was amazing. So far it had been one shock after another.
What was it about him that bothered her? Should she trust him? He seemed friendly, but there was something … secretive about him that made her feel uncertain.
She plopped down on the bank of the river. Light seemed to reflect evenly off the canyon walls although there was no direct sunlight. She could have been sitting at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, except that the rock strata were layered with pastel green and orange instead of the rusty sand colors of Arizona.
Adriane untied her hiking boots, took them off along with her socks, and put her feet in the water. It was cold and sooo refreshing. She bent over and splashed some on her face and neck. Then she checked the rock.
“Having a good time?” she asked.
Leaning over, she rolled the large rock toward her feet. “You need a bath.”
Adriane splashed water over its crusted surface, peeling away layers of mud and dirt. She was a bit surprised at how much had built up. She stopped and inspected it. A patch of yellow had appeared under the layers of grime. Blue speckles seemed to shift against the yellow. “Wow! Are you an ugly duckling?” She started scrubbing harder and more layers of dirt and mud fell away. Adriane’s eyes widened. “Look at you.”
Underneath the muck, the rock was shiny smooth, its surface a pretty yellow, dotted with purple, blue, and orange speckles. The colors were moving, melting in and out of one another, reminding her of a mood ring.
“You are the most beautiful rock I have ever seen!” Adriane announced.
The rock beamed as the shifting colors shone even more brilliantly.
“That’s not a rock.”
Zach was standing behind her. He handed her a small slab of granite, a plate filled with dried apples, dates, and raisins. Adriane’s mouth started to water.
“Go ahead. It’s not poison.” Zach popped a date into his mouth to demonstrate.
Adriane practically grabbed the slab away from him. She had never been so hungry in her life! “Thank you,” she said, stuffing two dates into her mouth. Not bad, she thought, although right about now even a craven would taste good.
Zach was inspecting the now-clean rock, carefully touching it here and there with long, sure fingers. Looking worried, he bent over and put his ear to it. Then he pushed sandy hair from his face, and focused intense green eyes on Adriane. “It’s an egg.”
Adriane stopped in mid-chew. An egg? “How do you know—sorry.” She finished chewing and swallowed. “I’ve never seen an egg like that.”
“See this section?” He pointed to a shifting splotch of blues. She bent over to look, self-consciously aware of how close her face was to Zach’s.
“The shell is thinner there,” he explained. “And warmer. Whatever’s in there, it’s alive, applying constant pressure to the weaker sections of shell.”
Adriane sat back. Alive! It wasn’t a rock after all. But then… what kind of egg was it?
“What do we do? Sit on it?” She smiled at her joke.
Zach broke out laughing. “No, I don’t think it’s a chicken.” He fell over backward, holding his sides. Adriane laughed along with him, mostly out of relief that she was still alive.
“Nothing we can do.” Zach chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. “These kinds of eggs hatch when they’re ready.”
“These kinds?”
“Magic,” the boy replied matter-of-factly.
Adriane tried to figure him out. It was time for some answers.
“What are you doing here—I mean here in Aldenmor?” she asked.
“I told you, I live—”
“But how did you get here? Did you fall through a portal also?” Adriane was suddenly terrified that if he did, he’d never found a way back.
“I was born here.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Dead.”
“Oh… I’m sorry… ”
“I don’t remember them,” Zach explained. “They died when I was really little.”
“How did you manage? I mean, how did you—”
“I was raised by… um… ” The boy turned away. “… animals.”
Adriane’s eyes opened wide. “And you’ve never seen another human?”
&n
bsp; “There are no other humans in this world, that I know of.”
Adriane suddenly felt awkward. She didn’t exactly consider herself the finest example of human society to meet the only boy from another world.
“I’m going to find Windy.” Zach got to his feet.
“Then what?”
“I’ll take you to the mountains. You said you had a friend there,” Zach reminded her.
“Yes … I’m not sure where she is, exactly.”
“The sooner you find a way to get home the better.”
She looked at him uncertainly.
“This is a dangerous place,” he explained.
“Oh, really. I hadn’t noticed.”
Zach’s eyes twinkled and he smiled.
Adriane’s eyes were downcast, but she smiled as well. “What do we do with our egg?”
Zach shrugged. “It likes you. Take it with you.”
Great, a pet whatsit! That’s all she needed. She slipped into her socks and laced up her boots, watching Zach deftly climb the steep slope above the cave opening. How could a human boy, hardly older than she was, have survived on his own here for so long? What wasn’t he telling her?
She stood up and stretched her legs, watching the river wind its way around a bend in the gorge. She had crossed the valley and had made it past the foothills. Was she close enough to reach Storm?
She held up her wolf stone and concentrated, picturing the silver mistwolf. She began to turn slowly, gazing into the golden center of her gem.
“Storm,” she called out. “Where are you?”
The light around the canyon grew brighter, reflecting off the water, until it suddenly flared out, washing her entire field of vision in pure white. She closed her eyes and felt herself once again race through a tunnel. Images flickered at the edges of her sight. She opened her eyes and looked at the mistwolf pack.
“Storm, can you hear me?”
“Yes. I am here.”
The voice in her mind startled her. “Are you all right?” She could hear the other wolves. They were agitated, angry.
“Yes. Stay strong, warrior.”
“Stormbringer!” Moonshadow stood in front of Storm, snarling. Adriane watched him through Storm’s eyes. The great black wolf held Adriane in his golden eyes. Was he looking at her, or at Storm—or both?
“Was it not bad enough that a human killed our pack mother? Your human will only put you in danger. The pack must be protected. There will be no contact with humans! Never again.”
Adriane cringed. She would never do anything to put Storm in danger. She could feel Storm’s despair. Her best friend was torn between her new wolf pack and the human with whom she’d bonded.
Fog quickly gathered at their feet, and rose until it obscured Adriane’s view. The mistwolves vanished and Adriane was thrown violently out of Storm’s mind.
She blinked, watching the sparkling river cut its path through the base of the ancient gorge. A human had killed the pack mother. But the only other human here was Zach.
“WHAT WERE YOU doing?”
Zach’s voice startled Adriane and she whirled around to see him sliding off Windy’s back. Windy’s large, brown bird eyes studied her sharply. She hadn’t even heard them approach.
“I was … trying to find my friend,” she said, covering the wolf stone with her hand.
“I told you not to use magic!”
Adriane felt her face redden. “It’s not like there’s no other magic in this world.”
“This is not some game,” Zach continued angrily. “You and your friends can’t just show up here and start doing anything you want. Your actions have consequences.”
“I know that.” She crossed her arms defiantly. “But if my friend’s in trouble, I have to help.”
“The one in trouble right now is you. And us,” he added, his gesture including the griffin, “now that we’ve helped you.”
Adriane felt a stab of guilt. She didn’t want them to get in trouble because of her.
Zach started pacing back and forth, brow furrowed. “Those creatures are not going to give up.”
Pop!
“The last thing we need around here is more magic!”
Adriane looked around. That sound… it was so familiar.
Zach stopped pacing. “Who knows what horrible monsters will show up next!”
“Ooooo … ” A red dragonfly head peeked over the boy’s shoulder.
Adriane’s eyes went wide.
Zach followed her gaze. “What the… !” He jumped back, swatting at the bat-sized dragon.
“Pweek!” The mini dragon leaped into the air, flapping shiny red wings, and hovered in front of Adriane.
“Fred!” she cried.
“Uh-uh… ” The dragonfly shook its head.
“Uh… Barney?” Adriane guessed.
“Pweoooo!” the dragonfly said, angrily releasing a small spark.
“Fiona?”
“Dee dee!” The red dragonfly landed happily on Adriane’s shoulder, nuzzling her neck, her round jewel eyes sparkling.
Zach slapped his forehead. “What did I just say about magic?”
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Four more dragonflies, all different colors, popped in, chittering and flying around Adriane. She was never so happy to see anything in her life.
“Ooooo!” The dragonflies spotted the egg and zipped over, nudging one another aside for a chance to land on it.
“What are you doing here?” Adriane asked happily.
A yellow dragonfly—Goldie, she remembered—fluttered up to her, golden-faceted eyes twirling. Clearing her throat with a quick spark, she spoke carefully, “Kaa raa skeep a peep peep.”
“What?”
Purple Barney jumped up, nudging Goldie away. “Kaa raa dee dee!”
“What are they saying?” Adriane asked.
“How should I know?” Zach scanned the skies, as if a horde of monsters might drop in any second.
Windy stuck his head next to Adriane and let out a loud, deep squawk that startled everyone.
The little dragons screeched and hid behind Adriane. Fiona poked her nose up over Adriane’s shoulder. “Poot!” she yelled back at Windy.
Windy squawked at Zach again, a little more softly this time.
“Windy says they have a message from your friends at Ravenswood,” Zach translated, checking out the blue dragonfly that had landed on his shoulder.
“What?” Adriane felt like dancing. “Well, why didn’t you say so!”
The dragonflies all jumped back up and flew happily around Adriane.
“What’s Ravenswood?” Zach asked her. “Is that where you live?”
“Yes. It’s a wildlife preserve and my friends and I are guides there,” she explained.
“I like the name.”
The dragonflies all twirled and spun in a circle around Adriane. Fred dropped a small roll of paper into her hand.
“What’s this?” She carefully unrolled the paper, turning it this way and that, studying the drawing scribbled on it. “Some kind of map?”
“Let me see that!” Zach grabbed the paper. As he examined it, his eyes narrowed.
“Where does it lead?” Adriane asked excitedly.
Zach looked up, astonished. “The Fairy Glen,” he said as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Yes!” Adriane almost jumped for joy. Ozzie must have drawn her a map and sent it with the dragonflies. “Why, that little ferret! The Fairimentals will help me find Storm!”
“Storm?”
“Um… the friend I’m looking for,” she said, avoiding the boy’s eyes.
Zach ripped the paper to shreds.
Adriane’s hand flew to her mouth. “No, wait! What are you doing?”
“This must be destroyed.”
“That was from my friends!” Adriane yelled. “It wasn’t for you! You had no right!” Adriane felt like crying, but stopped.
Zach’s face had gone ashen. “Who sent this?” he asked accusingly.<
br />
“Ozzie. He’s an elf.”
“An elf?”
“The Fairimentals sent him to Earth to find… humans,” Adriane said.
“The Fairy Glen is the heart of this world!” Zach was clearly distressed. “What if the witch found this?” He threw the tiny scraps of paper into the river.
“You mean the Dark Sorceress?” asked Adriane.
Zach swung to face her. “She is using magic to destroy this world!”
Adriane’s heart ached remembering the giant creatures lying dead across the hillside.
“First your stone, then these… ” Zach started to say.
Fred sat on his arm and cocked his little blue head, smiling.
“Dragonflies,” Adriane said.
“Yeah… ” he went on. “She’s probably got half the planet looking for us by now.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Adriane said slowly.
“You think she’s after you?” Zach asked.
“She wants magical animals.”
“Goook!” The dragonflies leaped into the air, bumped into one another, and popped out.
“Well, I think we can rule them out,” Zach said. “And it’s not Windy. There’s no other magical anim—” He stopped.
The egg! It was sitting still, colors shifting boldly across its surface.
“She’s after the egg!” Adriane concluded.
“Yeah, whatever it is, it’s magical, all right. Windy even sensed it. I thought it was your magic attracting all the attention. It’s that egg.”
Zach stood still, as if he were listening hard to something. Ominous shadows moved slowly across the river as the sky darkened.
The griffin had stood up, his sharp bird eyes scanning the skies.
“What is it?” Adriane asked nervously. Something didn’t feel right. She checked her wrist. Her stone was pulsing with bursts of red light.
The griffin spread his wings, squawking and spitting loudly.
Adriane didn’t have to ask what the spitting sound meant.
“We have to get out here… fast!” Zach leaped onto Windy’s back.
Something streaked across the sky, smacked into the canyon wall with a boom, and ricocheted off like a flaming pinball. A tree exploded in flames, sending shards of wood flying everywhere.
Adriane ducked in terror, covering her head. Fireballs began to rain down into the canyon.
Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3) Page 5
