Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3)

by Rachel Roberts

  “Again!” Emily yelled.

  Magic leaped from the rainbow jewel, through the window, blazing into the wolf stone. Waves of blue light ran up and down Adriane’s arms and began to spread, bathing her in pure healing magic.

  Emily jerked back her arm and the blue light faded.

  Adriane stood, her arm raised, the wolf stone flashing golden light. “It’s gone! You did it!”

  A cheer went up from the animals in the dark cave.

  Squealing with joy, the dragonflies started dancing and swooping, causing the window to flicker and fall apart.

  “Hey!” Kara yelled. “Not you! Keep spinning!”

  The dragonflies jumped back together and spun.

  “Okay, Kara, can you move the dragonflies around the room so I can see the animals?” Emily asked.

  “You heard her, start moving. Slowly!” Kara called out.

  With a few squeaks, the dragonflies slowly spun their window over the animals.

  Adriane quickly rounded up the wounded creatures in the dungeon, separating them according to how serious their injuries were. When the dragonflies flew over Silver Eyes, Emily studied the mistwolf closely.

  Emily raised her rainbow jewel in the air. “Okay. She’s first. Just like before. I need everyone’s help. Stay close and focused.”

  “Right!” Kara, Ozzie, and Lyra stood ready.

  “Adriane, are you ready?” Emily asked.

  “Let’s do it!” Adriane said, her wolf stone raised

  “A walk in the park.” Emily raised her jewel. “Here we go… Now!”

  Blue-white magic exploded out of Emily’s rainbow jewel and shot straight through the window, wrapping the wolf in a cocoon of light.

  Golden fire flew from Adriane’s stone and enveloped the blue. With all her might, she willed the wolf to heal. Blue and gold lights flared brighter and brighter until they were a blinding white glow.

  “Enough!” Emily shouted.

  They lowered their gems and the light slowly faded from the wolf.

  Adriane helped Silver Eyes to her feet. The wolf was still weak and thin, her fur still mottled, but there was no trace of the Black Fire anywhere on her body! Adriane’s heart soared as she knelt to hug the wolf. “You’re going to be all right.”

  Another cheer went up from the animals as Adriane turned to them, smiling. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks. “We have to hurry before the sorceress feels this magic,” she said.

  “I will use my magic to shield us,” Silver Eyes said, as she slowly evaporated into mist.

  One by one, Emily, Adriane, and Kara healed each animal through the dragonflies’ spinning window. The process went faster and faster as the healthy animals added their pure magic to the healing. Others too weak to walk were carried in. Soon, every animal in the dungeon was healed.

  Adriane’s eyes shone as she grinned at her friends through the dragonflies’ window. “We did it!” she cried.

  “Can you get everyone out of there?” Emily asked.

  “It’s an underground maze,” a doglike creature said. “No one’s ever gotten out of here.” The animals fell silent.

  “I have.” Lyra was looking into the window.

  “Lyra?” a voice called from the crowd of animals.

  “Rynda?” Lyra began scanning the animals.

  A large, spotted cat stepped forward.

  “My sister!” Lyra yowled. “Where is Olinde?”

  Another cat pushed through the group. “I’m here.”

  “I thought you were lost,” Lyra said.

  “And now we are found,” the cats mewed.

  “Can you help us get out?” a quiffle asked Lyra.

  “I escaped the dungeons. Listen to my thoughts, Rynda.”

  Rynda closed her cat eyes.

  “Look into my mind. Can you see the path I took?”

  “Yes, sister,” the cat said, golden eyes gleaming as she faced the animals. “This way,” Rynda directed, and led them out of the chamber and into the dark tunnels.

  Adriane saw her friends in the window back at Ravenswood.

  Kara, Emily, Lyra, and Ozzie all stared back.

  “Keep the faith,” she said to them. “I will come home!”

  With a quick series of pops, the dragonflies vanished.

  “We love you, Adriane!” her friends called out as the window faded. And they were gone.

  “I love you, too,” Adriane said and followed the animals.

  With Rynda in the lead, the entire group moved up through the tunnels. Adriane ran alongside, senses on high alert. As they passed a small cave, she heard a moan.

  She ducked into the opening, golden gem held high.

  Scorge lay chained to a wall. He looked even more wretched and pathetic than usual. “Scorge is so doomed. Oh, me, me,” he moaned.

  Despite what he had done to her, Adriane couldn’t leave him here. She flung out a stream of magic and broke the old rusty chains with one swipe. Scorge’s eyes opened wide and he fell to his knees, groveling.

  “Oh, thank you, thank you. You are good witch. Scorge is humble servant… ”

  “You’re on your own now. Good luck.” She turned and ran after the others.

  Tunnel after tunnel, twist after turn, the group followed Rynda upward, toward the surface. Occasionally they had to sneak by large caverns occupied with workers, but nothing stopped them. No one expected the prisoners to ever attempt an escape.

  Finally the floor leveled out and the tunnel ended at a large set of doors.

  Adriane held her hand up to silence everyone. Then, slowly, she pushed the doors open. Outside was a stone-paved yard, and beyond it, the barren gray landscape of the Shadowlands. Night had fallen, and she could see the twin moons rising into the starry sky.

  Four serpent guards marched back and forth across the yard.

  Adriane walked out right between them. “Say, is this where the bus stops for Stonehill?”

  The guards turned on her at once, staffs raised. Green fire licked from the tips, and they charged.

  Suddenly they skidded to a stop, shock on their serpentine faces. Behind Adriane thirty animals came charging out the door. Adriane whipped out golden fire and yanked the staffs into the air as the animals raced forward, barreling over the surprised guards.

  Adriane led the triumphant group across the yard and onto a stretch of flat, sandy ground. Behind them, several small volcanoes were rising from the desert. There were doors at the bases of each. She wondered briefly if she had come out the same place she’d gone in.

  All around them lay the forbidding Shadowlands. Adriane held her wolf stone out in front of her. Which way should she go? They needed to get as far away as fast as they could. It would not be long before the sorceress learned of their escape.

  “Follow my voice!”

  Adriane’s heart soared. “Storm!”

  “I am with you.” The voice of the mistwolf rang clear and true in her mind.

  Adriane saw a line of dunes ahead, dark against the night sky.

  “This way!” she yelled, herding the group toward the distant dunes.

  Under the bright light of two moons, the animals fled across the parched sands. Adriane was out front, her wolf stone flashing in the night, a beacon to lead them.

  “Storm!” she called.

  Suddenly her gemstone flashed, and Adriane’s mind whirled. Once again she was being pulled into the mind of the wolf. She breathed in fresh night air, felt sand beneath her padded feet, but saw no pack. Instead, only the image of a single figure. Slowly it came into focus. It was human. It was… her! Adriane was looking through Storm’s eyes and seeing herself.

  She blinked and saw a lone wolf standing strong, silhouetted by the light of the rising moons.

  “Stormbringer!” Adriane cried. She ran to her friend and hugged her hard, as if she’d never let go.

  The mistwolf licked her face. “You found me.”

  The light of the moons suddenly went dark, then brightened. A large shado
w flew across the sky. Adriane felt her stone pulse with danger.

  The animals began cowering and whispering. They felt it, too. Something was coming…

  With a sound like thunder, the ground shook.

  Something was here.

  Behind the animals, a shape stood, unfurling immense bat wings, each with pointed razor tips. The demon’s huge muscles rippled along a body covered in thick leather armor. Its eyes blazed red. Green venom dripped from its set of long razor teeth as it smiled.

  A vision out of her worst nightmare stepped forward and Adriane’s heart sank.

  The manticore roared and leaped straight for them.

  THE ANIMALS SCREAMED and scattered as the manticore landed with a ground-shaking crunch not ten feet in front of them and straightened to its full height. Armored in dark leather, its lower body looked like a mutated lion; the upper part resembled some bizarre ape-beast, with arms muscled like steel cords. A thick tail tipped with iron spikes swayed dangerously behind it.

  “We meet again.” The monster’s guttural voice grated like shards of metal. “What magic do you have for me this time?” it challenged.

  Adriane realized it was toying with them, reminding her that it had attacked once before, at Ravenswood, and had stolen the fairy map. It had taken the magic of the three girls working together to send the monster back through the portal.

  Now she faced it alone.

  No! She was not alone. Storm stood by her side, the bond between them strong and true. And her friends, Emily, Kara, Ozzie, and Lyra—they were with her, always.

  “Let us go!” she yelled.

  The demon snarled. “I was told to bring you back alive. But accidents happen.”

  “Stay away from us!”

  The manticore stepped forward.

  Adriane raised her wolf stone high, her other hand gripping the thick fur of Storm’s ruff. The silver wolf snarled, teeth bared. Golden fire flared from Adriane’s fist, spiraling down her arm and covering her entire body. She and Storm stood bright as flames in the desert darkness and sent a beam of white-gold magic flying into the manticore.

  The power slammed into the creature hard, forcing it back. The manticore roared. Together, Adriane and Storm whipped the magic around the manticore, wrapping the monster in fire.

  The beast stood in the magical inferno—and smiled. Then it opened its blood-red mouth and took a long, deep breath. A ribbon of gold snaked its way into the manticore’s mouth. It was inhaling the magic!

  Adriane was suddenly jerked forward.

  “Storm!”

  The mistwolf leaped in front of Adriane and snapped at the manticore, looking for an opening to attack.

  The manticore opened its mouth wider and began swallowing the magic. Adriane was being pulled in. She tried to resist but it was too strong.

  Golden light flew wildly into the creature’s nose, its mouth, and its ears. Then, with its chest fully expanded, the manticore heaved, spewing sickly green light back at Adriane.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw all the animals closing in, trying to give her what magic they had.

  “No!” she called to them. “Stay away!”

  Like a bullet, Storm streaked for the manticore’s back, hitting it from behind. Teeth imbedded in leather and flesh, the wolf violently shook its head. The monster roared and twisted, trying to dislodge its attacker.

  It was enough of a distraction. Adriane pushed back, trying to stop the green fire from flowing into her gem. The beam of light warped, angling sharply into the air. She twisted her wrist, trying to cut off the flow. With all her strength, Adriane smacked the beam down hard, cutting a smoking rift into the ground. Sand and rocks went flying as the magic burst apart, shooting sparks of lightning into the air. Her stone free from the creature’s grip, Adriane tumbled backward.

  With a flap of its dark wings, the manticore suddenly rose into the air, throwing Storm to the ground. With a booming thud, the creature landed behind the frightened animals.

  The animals went running in chaos and confusion over to Adriane and Storm.

  The manticore slowly looked over the huddled, shaking group.

  “Healthy animals for the mistress to begin her work again. You did well.” Its eyes focused on Adriane. “She cannot use your stone. But I can. You will have no use for it back in the dungeons.”

  The manticore closed its wings to reveal a regiment of armored serpent guards, one hundred strong, marching across the sands. The animals gasped and cried as the serpents fanned out into a line as they approached, and then came to a halt. The thud of a hundred staffs pounding the ground echoed across the terrified group. Each serpent held its staff in front of them, pointed at the sky. Green sparks leaped into the night from the tips.

  “Your magic is strong, but you cannot win,” the manticore taunted.

  The animals pressed tightly around Adriane and Storm, trembling, eyes darting about nervously.

  Adriane leaned against Storm, wrapping both arms around the mistwolf. She was drained. She felt as if everything was slipping away, out of reach—except for one thing. The thing that mattered most.

  “Storm,” she said softly, her face buried in the wolf’s neck. “You came for me. You risked everything for me.”

  “You did the same for me.”

  “Moonshadow was right. I have only brought you danger. Go. Please!” she begged. “Save yourself.”

  The wolf nuzzled Adriane’s cheek. “I would not be able to go on without you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “I love you, Storm.”

  “And I love you, Adriane.”

  An eerie howl split the night, echoing across the desert.

  Adriane’s eyes widened.

  Another howl, then another, swept over them like a ghostly chorus of ancient spirits.

  Suddenly Storm raised her head to the moons and howled in response. Standing up, Adriane threw back her head and howled alongside her friend.

  One by one, the animals added their voices, sending the wolfsong over the desert and back into the night.

  The booming roar of thunder rolled over them, washing out the cries.

  A huge cloud, black and gray, was moving down the dunes toward them. The cloud spilled across the sand and began to form into individual shapes—wolves. The entire pack racing straight for them.

  And behind them, Adriane saw something else.

  It was Zach, his Elven sword drawn to protect the big red baby dragon that lumbered beside him. The dragon craned its neck, straining to push forward, looking for something.

  “They come!” The manticore roared to his serpent troops. “Tonight we will finish this. Ready!”

  As one, the serpents raised their staffs high and aimed at the oncoming wolves. Green fire sparked from one tip to the next, racing across the line of weapons and joining into a single web of roiling fire.

  Adriane looked in horror from the wolves back to the serpents as the truth suddenly hit her.

  It was a trap! She had brought the mistwolves and the dragon to the sorceress. She was responsible.

  No wonder it had been so easy to escape the dungeons. The sorceress needed live bait.

  “Remember, we want them undamaged!” the manticore’s voice boomed.

  “No! Go back!” Adriane screamed at the charging wolves. She whirled to Storm. “Tell them!”

  But it was too late. The serpent army stepped forward… and fired.

  Green lightning lit the night skies as the fiery net flew forward. As the wolves drew nearer, the net spread wide, ready to engulf the onrushing pack.

  The manticore’s eyes blazed with triumph. “Yes!”

  The net fell to the sandy ground in a haze of sparks.

  The manticore’s eyes flew open in rage as the serpents began looking around frantically. Thirty animals and a hundred mistwolves had just suddenly vanished from sight.

  From under the misty veil, Adriane knew exactly what had happened. At the last moment
, the entire pack had dissolved into mist. The magic of the mistwolves had settled over the animals, making them invisible to anyone outside.

  “Maamaa!”

  Drake bounded into Adriane’s arms, covering her face in warm, wet dragon licks.

  “Drake!” she cried happily. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  “Find them!” the manticore screamed. Through the cloud, Adriane could see the manticore stomping around, enraged. It was searching for them, sweeping the sand into clouds with its huge wings.

  “Hurry!” The voices of the wolves filled the veil. “We must move quickly.”

  Under the magic mist of the wolves, the animals huddled close behind Adriane, Storm, and Drake, and began to move away.

  Green flashes erupted around them as the serpents fired random blasts at the ground.

  Adriane held up her stone and focused on the light at its center. Yellow-gold flashed. Concentrating hard, she sent a ghost image of her gemstone to a dune behind the guards.

  “Over there!” one yelled, as a gold light sparked in the distance. They started running toward the false magic signal—away from their prey.

  The manticore sniffed at the air and turned its head. Slit demon eyes looked directly at the place where Adriane and the others were hidden. Adriane held her breath. With a low growl, the manticore started for them—but stopped.

  Adriane saw Zach standing in front of the monster, sword out and ready.

  “We can’t leave without Zach!” she cried.

  The manticore snarled and grabbed for the boy. Silver steel stung the beast’s arm and it roared in pain, lashing out. Zach leaped out of the way. Spinning around, he sliced into the manticore’s leg, sword flashing. The creature swung its body, plowing giant arms at the boy’s head. Zach ducked, but he was slammed to the ground by the beast’s iron-spiked tail. The boy shook his head, pushed himself up, and tried to get to his feet.

  The monster raised a giant foot and roared. “I will kill you as easily as I killed your parents, boy!”

  “Then you will have to kill me as well.”

  A large shape materialized in the air as it flew at the monster, knocking it back and taking it down. It was a wolf, huge and black. The manticore fell with a booming crash as it tried to throw the wolf off. But the wolf was too stubborn and held on, raking its claws down the creature’s chest, locking teeth into its neck.