Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12)

by Rachel Roberts

  In the back of the packed club a small, green gremlin called Dimwiddie supervised a long line of partiers waiting to greet the Black Rose’s owner, ensconced in a luxurious private booth. Tall, blonde, and gorgeous, the young man wore a slick smile and silvery suit tailored to perfection as he held court over the cool, the trendy, and the magically chic.

  But not even he could outshine the blond girl who strutted across the dance floor like a rock star. Draped in a dazzling diamond pink halo of coolness, she strode confidently to the front of the line. Shimmering light reflected off her sequined jeans and sparkly black V-neck, transforming her tresses into a fiery river of gold. A spotted leopard cat padded beside her, green eyes flaring with menace. On the girl’s shoulder, a golden fairy dragon boogied to the rocking beat.

  “You’re having a party and I wasn’t invited?”

  “Blazing star!” Logan looked up, startled. He quickly regained his composure. “I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon.”

  “Why, did you think I’d be on vacation with my new mentor?” Kara demanded.

  “The thought did occur to me.” The dark fairy smiled his killer smile. “Welcome, we’re celebrating the new web.”

  That smile would have melted the old Kara’s heart in two shakes of a brimbee’s tail. But this blazing diva was all business.

  “You set me up,” she accused, barely keeping her anger in check. The diamond-bright jewel around her neck pulsed threateningly.

  “You look… different.” He examined her carefully with his mesmerizing black eyes. “Whatever happened agrees with you.”

  “Glad you like it, even if it’s not the makeover you and the Dark Sorceress had planned.”

  Shock flashed across the fairy’s handsome face before he could conceal it. His eyes went to her unicorn jewel, shining pure and bright on her silver necklace. Clearly he had been expecting to see something else in the glimmering facets.

  “I decided evil wasn’t my color.” Kara flicked her long tresses over her shoulder. “But enough about me. You’ve got a real problem.”

  “And that would be?” Logan inquired casually, eyes darting to the large cat.

  Kara smiled sweetly. “The problem is, I’m not the dark mage.”

  The crowd buzzed at the mention of the dark mage.

  Logan’s eyebrows raised. “Then who is it?”

  Kara gestured toward the club’s entrance. “Her.”

  Dancers and partiers scrambled aside as wraithlike tendrils of glowing smoke slithered across the dance floor.

  “Dig, y’all!” the DJ announced, spinning up a storm. “In da house, give it up for the one, the only, Weaver of Webs, Destroyer of Planets, Harbinger of Doom, the Dark Maaaaage!”

  Smoke billowed through the club in inky waves. A figure seemed to float across the room like a malevolent apparition, her red hair rippling like flames.

  The crowds parted in awe.

  “Awesome!”

  “Can I have a picture?”

  “Sign my toad!”

  Purple sparks flew from the girl’s fingers as she glided to a stop in front of Logan. Her deep-set eyes of red coal pinned him to his chair.

  “I am the dark mage!” Emily’s normally soft voice filled the room with a booming echo. “Everyone here will fall under my spell!”

  “Ooo, I’m so scared,” a troll chuckled, unimpressed.

  The crowd snickered.

  The dark mage snarled and raised her hands. Waves of iridescent magic blanketed the club in pale light. Instantly the laughter morphed into terror.

  “Hey, I really am scared!” The troll quivered and closed his eyes.

  Emily tightened her mind controlling spell. “Darkness will overcome you. You will be slaves to my magic forever!”

  “I don’t want to turn dark!” a hobgoblin wailed.

  “Help!” came a cry from the dance floor.

  Panic erupted in the club.

  Logan gulped, jumping to his feet. “Look, I run a semi-respectable club. We don’t want any trouble.”

  Kara pushed Logan backwards, forcing him to sit. “You should have thought about that before selling us out!” She poked an accusing finger into his couture-covered chest. “You knew exactly what I would have to do to finish the power crystal we made, and you didn’t tell me!”

  “You said you were willing to do whatever was required.”

  Emily leaned close to Logan, sending waves of fear to the soles of his expensive shoes. Finally his composure cracked. “Keep her away from me!”

  “You didn’t tell me I’d have to kill Drake!” Kara pressed.

  “Look, to make a power crystal so fast required a burst of exceptionally strong magic,” Logan stammered. “You only get that from the life force of a powerful magical creature. I’m sorry about your dragon, I really am.”

  “Zip it, Brad Pitiful!” Kara ordered. She turned with a dramatic wave of her arm. “Save your sorrys for Drake’s mama.”

  A loud roar filled the club.

  If it were possible, Logan’s pale face turned a shade paler. He shrank into his seat, waiting for the ferocious mama dragon to storm in and demolish the club.

  A cloud of silver mist twisted into the form of a girl dressed in black jeans, sleek black leather boots, and a black leather jacket.

  “Nobody threatens my dragon,” she hissed, dark eyes glittering with anger.

  The presence of the warrior did not calm Logan, who looked as if he would rather face a real dragon. “You’re Drake’s mama?!”

  A large black wolf materialized from thin air. “And I’m his brother.”

  “Mistwolf! Mistwolf!” Dimwiddie ran in circles. “Lock the doors and eat the key!”

  Dreamer bared his sharp teeth and snarled. The green gremlin dove under the table with a squeal of terror.

  Logan tried to remain composed, but clearly he was outclassed, outnumbered, and outwitted. “You’re bonded to a dragon and a mistwolf?” he choked, fascination and envy in his eyes. “That’s unbelievable.”

  “That means so much, coming from you,” Adriane said as Logan slowly slid to the edge of his seat.

  Dreamer and Lyra blocked his path, trapping the dark fairy in the booth.

  “It seems none of my friends like you, Logan,” Kara taunted. “That can’t be good.”

  Suddenly, two massive stone bouncers lumbered toward the mages, their boulder-like feet booming across the room.

  The crowd buzzed, sensing some action.

  “Maybe you should have sent a real dragon!” someone yelled.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” Logan warned.

  The warrior glanced from one stone creature to the other and sent a silent signal to her bonded.

  The bouncers made their move, incredibly fast for creatures made of stone.

  But Adriane was faster.

  Black hair swirling, she spun and crouched, and fired a double blast of silver from her crossed fists.

  The bolts slammed into both bouncers at once, sending them flying across the room. With a loud crunch, they collapsed, demolishing three tables. Dreamer was on them in a flash, razor teeth daring them to move a marble muscle.

  Adriane coolly blew sparks from each fist and lowered her arms. “Anyone else want to play?”

  The entire club emptied in seconds flat.

  Logan quickly surveyed the damage and straightened his silver suit. “Let’s talk in my office, shall we?”

  “Lead the way.” Kara gestured to the heavy doors at the back of the club.

  Logan did his best to stride across the club with an air of confidence, but it was very clear who was in control now. He opened the door, allowing the mages to enter his lair.

  “NICE CRIB,” KARA remarked as she and her friends surveyed Logan’s hangout. “You redecorate yourself?”

  “You approve?” The tall fairy swept a hand around the newly tricked out lair.

  Logan’s laboratory looked totally different than the last time Kara had been here. Old woode
n bookshelves had been replaced by gleaming chrome racks behind glass doors. Plush carpeting in geometric silver, black, and red now covered the stone floors. Speakers lined the softly glowing walls, and sleek black leather couches and chairs made up a private meeting space in the corner beside the magical supplies.

  Logan hadn’t upgraded his long metal table, but it was full of new equipment and electronics, some not even out of their packages yet. Kara picked up a small device connected to headphones.

  “That’s the latest in storing musical spells,” Logan bragged. “An evil eye pod.”

  Kara slammed the device onto the table with a crunch.

  Goldie stomped up and down on it.

  “Hey!” he protested, then gulped, stared down by three mages and two-and-a-half animals.

  “Disappointed that I’m not the dark mage?” Kara circled the fairy. “That was the plan, wasn’t it? Give me a weapon to use against one of my friends.”

  “The plan,” Logan said, “was to make a new power crystal. I warned you arcane magic doesn’t work like mage magic. But you insisted.”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Kara shot back.

  Lyra crouched, growling. Dreamer moved behind him, lips curled in a snarl. Goldie glared, jeweled eyes flashing in anger.

  “I gave you the tools to complete the crystal.” Logan held his hands up defensively. “I’m really sorry about your dragon. How can I make it up to you? Anything—”

  “We were attacked on the web by shadow creatures,” Kara informed him.

  “Oh?”

  “And guess what?”

  “Um, what?”

  “I saw the same creature right here in this lab.”

  The blazing star pointed to a row of glass cages stacked on the far wall, now empty. They had been specially designed by Logan to catch shadow creatures. “How do you explain that? Huh?”

  “The Dark Sorceress is a client. I sold her some shadow creatures. It’s just business.”

  Kara looked at him levelly. “Go on.”

  “She told me to give the blazing star what she needed. That you were going to be the dark mage of Avalon.” Logan frowned in Emily’s direction. “But how did you become the dark mage if Kara killed the dragon?”

  “Lucky for you, Kara didn’t kill him,” Adriane said coolly.

  “She didn’t?” Logan stopped cold. “Hey, you tricked me!”

  “Snap!” Kara said smugly.

  Logan arched an eyebrow. “So your quest failed.”

  “Not exactly,” Kara said. “We opened the Gates of Avalon but we were out-scooped.”

  “So, she finally got what she wanted.” Logan’s dark eyes narrowed at Kara. “Where did you get the magic to finish our power crystal?”

  “Kara killed a shadow dragon that possessed Drake,” Adriane informed him.

  “No thanks to you,” Kara added. “The wishing crystal saved the day.”

  A wily smile returned to the fairy’s thin lips. “Amazing! The crystal became what you needed to save your friend, not kill him. Don’t you see? The perfect mix of mage and fairy magic. Only a blazing star could have pulled that off!” His eyes filled with new admiration.

  “Maybe.” Kara threw Logan a quick smile.

  “Now the web is crawling with those things!” Adriane exclaimed.

  “I thought the web was fixed.”

  “It’s fixed all right,” Emily said. “Just in time for the Dark Sorceress to flood it with dark magic.”

  Logan shrugged. “Okay, but that’s still not really my problem.”

  “What do you think your business associate will do to you and your little club now that her plan to recruit me didn’t work out?” Kara queried.

  “Hmm, good point,” Logan muttered.

  A sharp chill caught at Emily’s mind. She glanced around the room but saw nothing.

  Adriane glanced questioningly at her, then continued grilling the dark fairy. “How do we get rid of the shadow creatures?”

  Logan sighed. “They’re voracious parasites who feed on whatever magic they can find.”

  Emily gasped as a mournful cry echoed in her ears. She whirled around, but no one else seemed to have heard it. Lyra and Dreamer pressed close to her side, sensing her distress.

  “How does the sorceress control them?” Adriane asked impatiently.

  “She binds them to her, similar to the way warlocks control their minions. Like Dimwiddie and me.”

  “Ugh.” Kara shuddered.

  “Look, if Kara killed one shadow dragon, it must be possible to kill them all,” the warrior insisted.

  “You’re thinking too much like mages,” Logan chuckled. “All you need to kill shadow creatures is dark magic.” He gestured toward Emily. “And you happen to have the dark mage right here.”

  Emily barely heard him. She was making her way to a lone glass cage sitting on the bottom of a metal shelf. Though it appeared empty, she knew something was inside: a creature in terrible pain.

  She looked closer and an aura suddenly blossomed, a jumbled knot of color writhing in the center of the cage. Silky strands reached for her like ghostly fingers.

  Without thinking, Emily put her hands on the glass. Her jewel flooded red as something grabbed her magic like a vise.

  “Don’t touch that!” Logan shouted.

  Adriane and Kara spun around.

  “What’s in there?” Kara demanded, her jewel sparking to fire.

  “A shadow creature, a real mean one. I couldn’t even deliver it,” Logan stammered. “I was waiting for the warlocks to destroy it.”

  As it fed on Emily’s magic, spikes and gleaming teeth shifted into view. Darkness welled up from the creature, but Emily did not pull back. Something stirred deep in the heart of her magic. She could never turn her back on a creature who needed the touch of a healer. She let the empathic connection grow stronger. Black spots dotted her vision as the air left her lungs. The pain was so intense she thought she might faint. But she held on, refusing to let go as the creature’s cries built to a wrenching howl.

  “Emily, don’t do it!” Adriane rushed to her friend’s side.

  “Stay away!” Emily screamed.

  In a terrible flash, the magic detonated.

  Shards of glass flew everywhere. The shadow creature was on Emily so fast she hadn’t even seen it move. Freed from its prison, the creature greedily clawed at her pure healing magic.

  Silver fire snaked up the warrior’s arms.

  Dreamer and Lyra sprang to the healer’s defense.

  “It’ll take all your magic!” Kara warned.

  “Stay away!” the healer repeated.

  Connected to the shadow creature, something dark and fierce rose up inside Emily. She couldn’t feel her healing powers, just an overwhelming urge to take the creature’s twisted magic for herself. She was slipping away to a place where nothing mattered. No more fear. No more hurt. It would all go away if she just took the shadow creature’s magic.

  “Kara!” Adriane shouted.

  “We’re here, Emily.” The blazing star’s magic lit the room in a bright haze.

  The auras of her friends, radiant pink and glittering silver, swirled in her periphery. Latching onto their strength, she tried to pull back from the darkness. But the one who could help her was no longer there. How could she ever really heal without Ozzie by her side?

  The creature shrieked. Blinding colors of fear and anguish swirled in Emily’s mind, binding into a tight cord of white light. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The thing had not released its grip, but it wasn’t stealing her magic any longer. Instead, it was helping her, steadying her. And in that instant, Emily knew what she had to do. Everything Phel had taught her came down to one thing. She had to open her heart, no matter how painful it might be. That is what a healer does.

  Emily opened herself completely, letting the creature’s magic meld with her own. What she found was not malevolence, but desperate hunger. Alone and frightened, the creature was fighting for su
rvival. It was on the brink of starvation and it needed her magic to keep itself alive.

  “Hold onto me.” Gently, she embraced the creature, soothing his pain, easing the agony. Her magic entwined with his, letting him sense the pain within her. They were both hurting. But now neither of them was alone.

  “It’s all right,” she whispered. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

  Healing magic bloomed from her jewel, wrapping the creature in a cocoon of blue light.

  Logan gasped, shocked.

  Emily cradled the creature, and saw something else. His dark, twisted aura was not natural. A shadow creature was not his true form. He was under a spell! Just as the unicorns, and Emily herself had done, the shadow beast was using dark magic because he had no other choice.

  Taking hold of the aura, she carefully separated the colors, reweaving the pattern into healthy blues and greens. Vibrant sparkles cascaded over the creature until all vestiges of his dark aura melted away.

  Emily opened her eyes.

  Before her stood a creature blinking one big orange and one big purple eye. The size of a large dog, it looked like an armadillo with spikes protruding from its leathery skin and long tail. A wide mouth with big flat teeth bisected his elongated head, topped by big floppy ears.

  “Wow, that is ugly,” Logan observed.

  “He’s beautiful.” Emily hugged the bizarre thing, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

  Rainbow colors beamed from his healed aura, mixing with the colors of her healing stone.

  “Emily, you rock!” Kara squealed in delight.

  Adriane hugged her friend. “You are awesome.”

  “You healed a shadow creature?” Logan was bewildered. “That’s impossible!”

  “Braahaarph yo!” The newly healed beast snarled, protectively circling his bonded healer.

  Lyra and Dreamer studied the new creature, heads cocked, noses sniffing curiously.

  The beastie hid his big, spiky head behind Emily, nervously eyeing everyone.

  “It’s okay,” she soothed. “These are your friends.”

  “You got a name?” Kara asked, kneeling next to him.

  “balafAFup!”

  “I think he said Buttercup,” the blazing star offered.

  “Perfect.” Emily grinned.