All That Glitters (Avalon: Web of Magic #2)

by Rachel Roberts

  With a savage snarl, Stormbringer attacked. But the great wolf passed through the cloaked body as if the sorceress were a ghost. Storm danced away, snapping.

  The sorceress glared at Adriane, eyes flashing with rage. “You bond with a mistwolf!” Her blood-red lips twisted with scorn. “Bonds can be broken.” She turned back to the terrified banshees. “Useless creatures.” She looked at Kara. “Now you may destroy them.”

  Kara steeled herself. This was why she wanted to have magic. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about the banshees anymore. She could stop anyone who got in her way.

  Kara raised the jewel, then stopped. “What do you want from me?”

  “You must fulfill your destiny, as the banshees foretold.”

  A destiny of dark magic, Kara realized.

  “You want me to use my jewel to call the unicorn,” Kara said. “You want his magic.”

  The sorceress smiled, revealing sharp fangs. “You know how it feels to want magic, don’t you?”

  Kara faltered. The Dark Sorceress was right. Magic was everything she wanted.

  “Prove yourself.” The sorceress’s eyes blazed with an inhuman glow as she pulled the final strings of the trap. “Call the unicorn,” she instructed calmly. “He cannot resist your magic.”

  My magic. Kara tightened her grip on the jewel.

  What should she do?

  A banshee reached forward, clawed hand outstretched, sadness burned forever in crying eyes. “You must not take hisss magic.”

  Kara studied the ghastly face. But hideous as it was, the creature wept as if its heart was truly broken.

  Some things are yours only for a short time.

  Kara looked from the banshees to her friends, then at the beautiful glowing gem. “What if I never find another magic jewel? I want this to be mine!”

  “Then you are truly like her!” wailed the banshee. “As it hasss been foretold.”

  To your own heart be true.

  There is always another chance to make a difference.

  The sorceress smiled so cruelly it made Kara sick. This was not how magic was supposed to work. How could she keep the jewel when each time she used it, it would bring her closer to being something so evil? How could she face herself? How could she face her friends?

  The truth burned through Kara as powerful as any magical force: even if she never found another one, this stone was not hers to keep. She was not the blazing star.

  Kara lowered her hand. “You really think I’m like you?”

  She felt for the clasp on her locket. The crystal hung quiet, cool, as she removed the stone—and gave it to the nearest banshee.

  “No!” The sorceress’s face contorted with fury. “You stupid child!”

  Backing away, the banshee hissed and wrapped her clawed hands around the glowing jewel.

  Kara whirled on the sorceress. “You don’t know who I am.”

  Brilliant light streamed up into the sky, raining down over the banshees. Kara watched in amazement as the creatures began to change, their horrible faces and dirty rags transforming. The vile green glow dissolved and flowed away, revealing beautiful wraith-maidens who shone with clean, pure magic. The same wraiths Kara had just seen in her vision.

  The image of the Dark Sorceress shuddered and warped, becoming transparent.

  “Your magic is nothing without me to guide you,” the sorceress hissed as she continued to fade. “Your precious animals will never be safe, here or on Aldenmor.”

  The spectral image twisted into mist and vanished.

  The wraiths swirled around the girls with a sound like bells.

  “We are free.”

  “Free of the evil spell.”

  “How do we stop that thing from coming back?” Adriane asked.

  “You must construct a web of protection before the portal closes.”

  “How?” Emily asked.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Dozens of rainbow bubbles appeared, dragonflies popping out all over, each one trailing streams of something behind them.

  “What are they holding?” Emily asked.

  “My hair!” Kara exclaimed.

  The dragonflies zipped into the field, long strands of Kara’s rainbow hair held in their mouths and paws. Fiona and Blaze darted past Kara with a dip and a wave, and Barney flapped by, glimmering lilac. The dragonflies lit the air with their shimmering eyes and an occasional tiny burst of fire. A little gold one buzzed in front of Kara’s face, trailing a long strand of rainbow hair. “Keekee!”

  “Goldie!” she exclaimed. “Can you build a web?”

  Goldie chattered with perfect assurance and then flittered straight up above Kara’s head, coughing out a fiery rallying cry. The busy little fliers tugged trailing streamers behind them like wisps of starlight, gossamer thin and glittering with raindrops. They flew off in different directions, warbling dragonfly calls and pulling the strands. Soon they had woven strands into a rainbow web.

  “It’s working!” Kara shouted.

  “Use your jewels to power the web,” the wraith said.

  All around the girls, the animals gathered: quiffles, pegasi, brimbees, and jeeran. Emily and Adriane held up their jewels. The dragonflies fluttered in the air, holding the web in place over the portal.

  Kara stood between her friends, arms outstretched. She reached out and touched Emily and Adriane’s hands. Even without a jewel of her own, sparkling diamond light raced through her body and into the other girls’ stones. This time, the magic felt right, made by a true heart and true friends.

  As power poured into the strands, the dragonflies glowed more brightly, their jeweled eyes glistening like sequins. The rainbow colors of the web shimmered, and the droplets of water caught in its net sparkled like diamonds, reflecting the stars that twinkled behind in the darkness of the portal. The net stretched outward, then snapped tightly into place, perfectly woven with one hole in the center.

  “Look at that!” Ozzie exclaimed.

  “It looks like a—” Adriane started.

  “—dreamcatcher,” Emily finished.

  The dragonflies had woven the strands of Kara’s rainbow hair into a dreamcatcher.

  “Only those who use good magic may pass through,” the wraith said.

  The wraiths swirled into the portal, their delicate bodies shining. As their pure magic touched the dreamcatcher, its rainbow strands flashed, strengthening the protection spell.

  The portal swirled and vanished, leaving a blanket of light rain falling upon the forest. The wraiths were gone and the field was quiet.

  Kara started to walk to her friends. Everyone stared, awestruck, at something behind her.

  “What?” she asked in alarm.

  The unicorn stood in the field, white as the purest snow. He bowed his head, horn sparkling with colors.

  Kara approached the beautiful creature. “She wanted you all along, didn’t she?”

  “Yes.”

  Yet despite the risk, he had come to her. She hugged his neck, crying softly into his lustrous, smooth hide.

  “I wanted your magic, too,” she said, feeling an emptiness in her heart so vast, she felt she might cry forever.

  “You have saved the fairy wraiths, and helped all these animals.”

  “Now I have nothing,” Kara sniffled.

  “It is time for the magic to be renewed,” the unicorn said. “You are the blazing star.”

  Kara’s eyes widened. With a touch as soft as a kiss, the pain was gone. She lifted her head. “Will I see you again?”

  “Yes. Go to your friends. They need you now.”

  Diamond light flared from the unicorn’s horn. The magical creature reared back on his hind legs, magnificent and free. In a flash of light, he vanished.

  Kara turned back to Emily, Adriane, and the animals. In the center of the group sat Lyra, green eyes flashing.

  “Are you all right?” Kara ran over to the big cat.

  “Seems so.” Lyra rubbed her head against Kara’s che
ek.

  Emily smiled. “She’s a little weak, but she’ll be just fine.”

  “I was so scared.” Kara hugged Lyra tight. “I thought I’d lost you.”

  “You saved the unicorn,” Lyra said. “The most powerful of all magical creatures.”

  “Yeah, and I lost all my magic.”

  “Not quite.” The big cat gazed at Kara, waiting.

  “Hey! I can still talk to you!” Kara exclaimed. “Even without the jewel!”

  The cat looked at her, warmth and love in her eyes. “Is that okay?”

  “Yes, it’s okay!” Kara turned to her friends and shouted with joy. “I can still talk to her!”

  Emily, Adriane, and the animals all smiled back.

  “You did an amazing thing, Kara, giving your jewel to those fairy creatures,” Ozzie said.

  But Kara knew how close she had come to taking the unicorn’s magic. The temptation to keep the jewel had nearly blinded her, but she had made her choice. She would choose to work with her friends and protect all magical creatures. Even without the jewel, she was the blazing star. Whatever magic she had was inside her, something no one could take away.

  KARA SAT BACK in the soft leather chair, her laptop open beside her, feet propped on an ornate footstool that stood on carved animal paws. She was in a pleasant sun-drenched sitting room overlooking the great lawn of Ravenswood Manor.

  Kara shook out her restored blond hair. She was feeling better. For the first time in days nobody was trying to kill her. She had been frantic about not showing up at home Saturday after that incident at the mall. But no one noticed. Her parents had been at the country club all day. Kara was in the clear. No one yelled, and she wasn’t grounded. Another amazing magical moment. The only one upset was Kyle when he found out he’d missed all the action at the mall.

  goodgollymolly: u ditched us at the mall

  kstar: sry about that, I had to make sure the cat got back to ravenswood safely

  credhead: the whole mall shut down lol

  Kara winced. The cat showing up at school was one thing, having it run around the mall being chased by police was totally different. Even if the gunshot was accidental, the town council was not going to be happy, especially Mrs. Windor, who would use this as more ammunition to try to close down the preserve. The website just had to work!

  Emily and Adriane had spent the last two days detailing the site. Now that they had the old Ravenswood files as their base, the work went much faster. The data for the public access section of the site was finished and ready. They had an explanation of the RWPS, its mission to protect and educate about wildlife and endangered species, plus directions to Stonehill and Ravenswood. Emily was working on adding a section of pet tips and a list of animals on the tour.

  Then there was the second, password-encoded level. They had begun to add a compilation of everything they had learned so far about magic. Combining that with files already on the system, it was quite a collection, from sketches of the duck-like quiffles that Adriane had drawn, to a catalog of magic jewels and animals, and pictures of beautiful dreamcatchers, like the one that now protected the portal.

  goodgollymolly: u don’t care about us anymore :(

  beachbunny: what do you see in them?

  credhead: it’s not like they give good parties and they’re pretty far down the food chain as far as clothes go

  kstar: so they don’t know clothes, that’s not everything

  There was silence. All texts ceased ringing. Maybe she had gone too far with that one. But she was sure now of one thing.

  kstar: Ravenswood is really important to me. U know, credhead’s got singing lessons, ggmolly’s helping her mom with catering, bbunny has dance class, pretty soon we’ll be trying out for all sorts of stuff. Does that mean we stop being friends?

  goodgollymolly: no :D

  “Kara, we’re almost ready!” Adriane shouted down the hall.

  Kara closed down her IMs with an unaccustomed feeling. Was there anyone who really understood her?

  The door pushed open and Lyra walked into the sitting room. Her spotted fur shone in the sunlight streaming through the big windows.

  “Where have you been?” Kara asked, annoyed.

  Lyra stretched hugely. “I thought you would like some space.”

  “I don’t need space.” Kara glanced at the cat and back to the screen. “I like company.”

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed.” The big cat padded over and plumped down next to Kara’s chair.

  Kara sighed and gently scratched Lyra’s neck. “It’s just I always have all this stuff going on, school, friends, parties, and shopping. Before, I didn’t have to choose, I was like a passenger in a car.” She looked at the cat. “But now, this time . . . I’m driving the car.” She pouted. “I don’t know how to drive. I’m too young.”

  “Maybe you are too young,” Lyra agreed. The big cat gazed evenly at the blond-haired girl. “But you made a good choice, and I have faith that you will make more good choices.”

  Kara smiled and gestured to her backpack sitting on the floor. “You like cat food?”

  Lyra sniffed. “Then again I could be wrong.”

  “Kara, come on!” Adriane called out.

  “Okay!” Kara called back. She shut down her laptop, picked up her backpack, and ran down the hall.

  In the library, Adriane and Emily sat at the console looking at the RWPS homepage. Storm was stretched out by the window soaking up the sun. Ozzie, Balthazar, Ronif, and Rasha were examining the screen, comparing it to a printout propped up beside them.

  “So, we’re, like, live?” Kara asked, laying her backpack on the table.

  Emily smiled. “As soon as we connect to the council’s server.”

  “That’s great. What about the second level?”

  “All we have to do is enter our password, and we’ll have access,” Adriane said.

  “Anyone else who knows the password will be able to access us, too,” Emily added.

  They all looked at the keypad.

  “Okay, are we ready?” Emily asked excitedly.

  “Not quite,” Kara said, standing beside the table.

  Emily and Adriane looked at her.

  “Before we open the site to the world . . .” The girls and animals studied her curiously. “. . . while this is still ours, at least for the next few minutes . . . I just wanted to . . . I mean, I thought we could . . . oh, never mind.” Kara opened her backpack, pulled out a small box tied with a pink ribbon and handed it to Emily. “This is for you.”

  Emily’s eyes went wide. Adriane gave the gift a quick glance.

  “Is it my birthday already?” Emily giggled.

  “Go on, just open it,” Kara instructed.

  Emily untied the pretty ribbon, opened the box and lifted out a sparkling silver bracelet. “Kara . . . it’s beautiful!”

  “Yeah, the clasp will hold your jewel securely around your wrist, see?” Kara helped Emily remove the jewel from its woven setting, attach it to the silver clasp, and lock the bracelet.

  Emily held her arm up. The bracelet and jewel were a dazzling combination. “I love it, Kara. Thank you,” she said, beaming.

  Kara smiled, then looked at Adriane. The dark-haired girl quickly turned away as Kara reached in her backpack and held out another box.

  “I can’t take your gift,” Adriane said, eyes downcast.

  “Yes, you can, and you will!” Kara ordered. “If you’re going to keep doing all that fancy jumping and flying stuff, how do you expect your jewel to stay in place, huh?”

  Adriane’s mouth twitched in a smile.

  “Take it . . . please.” Kara held out the box. “I want you to have it.”

  Adriane slowly took the box from Kara. She opened it and held up an exquisite black wristband inlaid with turquoise.

  “This is too much . . .” Adriane gasped.

  “You like it?”

  “I . . . yeah, I do.”

  “You’re welcome.” Kara smiled at
her.

  Adriane smiled back.

  “How could one ferret be so right?” Ozzie burst out. “I think I might cry!”

  All three girls looked at the ferret.

  “I’ve found all three mages, the healer, the warrior, and the blazing star! How great am I?”

  They all laughed, bound together by the magic they shared and the friendship they were learning to trust.

  “Okay! Let’s get this club happening!” Kara exclaimed.

  Emily sat at the console and connected to the council server.

  Adriane stood next to Kara. “Remember when I told you the magic didn’t like you?”

  “Vaguely.”

  “I was wrong,” Adriane admitted.

  Kara arched an eyebrow. “Even though I gave it back?”

  “It likes you because you gave it back,” Adriane said.

  Kara and Adriane smiled at each other. Emily couldn’t help but smile, too, as the connection was made.

  “Congratulations, ladies and gents!” Emily announced. “The RWPS homepage is live. I think it would only be fitting that our esteemed president be the one to officially open the magic web.” She grinned at Kara. “Would you do the honors, please?”

  Kara smiled at her friends and typed in the password that would announce to the world they had arrived: Avalon.

  Lyra is an exotic leopard-like magical winged cat. Only those with magic can see her magnificent wings. The magic cats of Aldenmor vary in size and coloring and possess a keen intelligence, sharp intuitive senses, and deep empathy for others.

  Unicorns are the most legendary and powerful of all magical animals—highly sought after and coveted by those seeking magic. Fast as lightning, unicorns can run upon the magic web itself, transporting themselves and their rider anywhere on the web without the need of a portal.

  Dragonflies are miniature dragons originally bred in the Fairy Realms. Their magic derives from fairy magic giving them unique abilities. They can pop anywhere without the need of a portal and can communicate between worlds. Being fairy in nature, dragonflies are fun-loving and playful. Wild dragonflies basically spread magic seeds and rarely ever bond with humans.