Dark Mage (Avalon: Web of Magic, Book 11)

by Rachel Roberts

  Lorren glanced at Ozzie. “Didn’t the Fairimentals tell you about the legends of Avalon?”

  “No.” The ferret frowned, clearly disturbed.

  “They never said anything about opening the gates?”

  “No.”

  “What about anyone else who tried to open—”

  “Gah! The Fairimentals didn’t tell me anything about Avalon!” Ozzie burst out. “I was supposed to find three mages and go home, that’s all.”

  Emily sensed a sharp flare of pain from her friend. She had been so wrapped up in herself, she hadn’t stopped to consider what Ozzie was going through. This quest had literally transformed him, ripping him away from his life as an elf on Aldenmor. It occurred to her that for all her powers to see magic, she had never seen Ozzie as he truly was.

  As if reading her mind, Lorren said, “Dawn’s Edge was once a beautiful area the elves called home. That was way back when they actually practiced magic.”

  “I didn’t know that, Ozzie,” Emily said. The elves of Aldenmor didn’t use magic, unlike the elves that lived in the Fairy Realms.

  “Most of the elf population moved to Aldenmor and took up more practical lifestyles like farming, leather making, and dumpling rolling,” Ozzie told her.

  “Guess you’re the exception.” Lorren pointed to his ferret stone.

  “Yeah, a regular wizard of Ozzie,” the ferret groused. “I’m just a helper-mage who can talk loud and break wind. That comes in really handy when you’re trying to save the entire web.”

  Emily understood how frustrating it was to have magic and not know what to do with it. “The Fairimentals chose you for a reason,” she assured him.

  Ozzie hopped down from Emily’s backpack, grumbling, “Probably because every other elf on Aldenmor had something more important to do.”

  “So what were you like before you were sent to Earth?” Lorren asked.

  “Taller.” The ferret sighed and kicked at a cattail.

  After the mages had healed Aldenmor, the Fairimentals offered to turn Ozzie back into an elf. He could have gone home to his village in Farthingdale, gone back to his life. But he had chosen to help the mages at Ravenswood, which meant staying in a ferret’s body. Emily often wondered how much that choice had cost him.

  “Ozzie, what do you miss most about being an elf?” the healer asked softly.

  “Besides having opposable thumbs?” A smile played on the ferret’s furry lips. “There’s nothing I loved more than the Crabapple Fair at harvest time. My, er, friend, Esmerelda, and I, would wigjig until midnight, eating bubbleberry pie as the moons rose.”

  “You never told me that. It sounds wonderful,” the healer said.

  “I was supposed to be a farmer, like my parents and grandparents. I never really wanted to do that. There had to be more to life than rutabagas.” He looked away. “I was sent to find you and Kara and Adriane. What if I already did everything I’m supposed to do?”

  “If your mission was truly over, why did the Fairimentals give you a magic jewel?” Emily asked.

  Ozzie touched the orange gem with his paw. “How should I know?”

  “You’re a Knight of the Circle,” Lorren reminded him.

  “An honorarium from some dumb old club. I might as well be Count Chocula.”

  “I have such amazing friends,” Emily stated. “Lorelei, Kara, Adriane, Indi. And I wouldn’t have met any of them without you.” She knelt and looked Ozzie in the eye. “But you know what?”

  “What?”

  “You are my best friend.” She gave the ferret a big kiss on his furry head. “You take care of me. I take care of you.”

  “All right, all right,” Ozzie mumbled, embarrassed. “Nothing more pathetic than a wet ferret.”

  Rrrring!

  In a burst of twinkles, Fiona popped onto Emily’s shoulder.

  “Base to Doctor D, come in!” Tweek’s agitated voice echoed from the d-fly.

  “Calm down, Tweek, what’s going on?” the healer asked.

  “I’m picking up massive magical flux ahead of you!”

  “The power crystal?” Emily asked anxiously.

  “Most likely. I can’t be sure and Tasha’s out checking on the animals. The place is crawling with tourists.”

  “You just stay put and don’t let anyone in the library,” Emily advised.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll wear a hat.”

  “Kara’s friends can handle it,” Emily assured him.

  “Oh, that reminds me, Kara’s missing,” Tweek informed her calmly.

  “What???” Emily, Ozzie, and Lorren exclaimed.

  “She disappeared from the web, but she didn’t use any portal I can track.”

  “Any word on the unicorns?” Emily asked nervously. Not being able to sense Lorelei made her very uneasy. It felt like a piece of her was missing.

  “Negative, but I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything,” Tweek said. “Over and out.”

  “Don’t worry,” Lorren smiled. “The princess has more magic than anyone I know. And if that doesn’t work, she’ll charm her way out of trouble.”

  Ozzie snorted.

  “Kara’s powerful all right,” Emily agreed.

  “She’s amazing!” Lorren’s cheeks blushed dark green. “I don’t know how she does everything she does.”

  Amazing, Emily thought. Kara should have been trying to find the unicorns, but once the blazing star’s mind was made up, no one could change it. Sometimes she was too powerful for her own good. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. No use pointing that out to Lorren, Kara’s biggest fan.

  The goblin prince paused at a crossroads. Two trails ran in opposite directions, obscured by billowing mist. “This is the end of the Fairy Realms. People who wander too deep into those mists don’t usually report back.”

  Ozzie squinted into the fog. “Which way?”

  Emily’s head swam as her rainbow jewel cycled through red, green, and purple.

  “Where is that magical flux Tweek was warning us about? I can’t see a thing,” Lorren complained.

  “There’s something out there.” Emily could feel it, tingling like goose bumps up her back.

  “Can you track the power crystal?” Lorren asked.

  Ozzie gazed up at Emily, a silent question in his deep brown eyes. He knew she could see the crystal with her Level Two powers.

  When Emily became a Level Two mage, she had learned how to actually see magic. Unlike Kara and Adriane, Emily could look at an animal or mage and see a colorful magical aura glowing around them, each one as unique as a thumbprint. And that was only the beginning of her powers. If she desired, Emily could take that magic and use it for herself. She had learned the hard way that could have dire consequences. The Dark Sorceress had tricked Emily, manipulating the healer into stealing magic from the animals of Aldenmor. Their screams still haunted her.

  Looking down at her brave friend, Emily thought of all he had sacrificed in the quest for Avalon. There was only one right thing to do.

  Steeling herself, Emily took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She visualized her own swirling rainbow aura and then Ozzie’s orange golden glow. She paused, noting that Lorren, though not a mage, had a faint silver glow around him.

  Gingerly, she expanded her vision into the mist. A world of glowing magic blossomed in her mind’s eye. Flashes of fur, snouts, whiskers, and flippers rushed through her mind. Their auras swirled in a beautiful kaleidoscope, each one reaching out as they sensed the healer’s magic. Emily skimmed over the eager animals, careful not to touch them.

  She spotted a concentration of reddish magic just ahead and her pulse quickened. “I found something.”

  It found her, too. Suddenly she was enveloped in the bright red power. It reached out for her, calling to her. The magic was fierce—and familiar.

  “Power crystal?” Lorren asked.

  “No.” Her eyes flew open. “Kobolds.”

  After connecting with the kobold in the school library,
its magic was forever imprinted upon her rainbow jewel.

  “Where?” Ozzie asked.

  Emily gulped. “Everywhere.”

  Dozens of red eyes gleamed through the swirling fog. Hulking creatures with black fur came into focus, amulets of feathers and pointed teeth hanging on their thick necks.

  “Stay close,” Lorren whispered.

  Ozzie stood in front of Emily protectively.

  One kobold stepped forward, a dark shadow against the pale mist. It was the same creature who’d come to Emily in the library! A sharp-toothed grin split its face.

  To Emily’s surprise, the other kobolds abruptly stopped and fell to their knees.

  “Dark witch.” The leader bowed his head.

  He gestured, and two others hurried forward and set an ornately carved onyx box at Emily’s feet.

  “We bring you an offering,” the leader said, raising the lid.

  A hissing mass of spiders swarmed from the box. Their shiny red and black legs clicked as their glowing green eyes locked onto Emily. The healer scrambled back, disgusted.

  “Bugs!” Ozzie leaped into Lorren’s arms.

  Without even thinking, Emily waved her hand. Instantly, the spiders froze.

  The kobolds gasped appreciatively.

  The leader clasped his hands together. “Thank you for answering our call, great web weaver.”

  “Web weaver?” Lorren sounded surprised.

  Emily stopped cold, remembering what the Dark Sorceress had told her. The Spider Witch had been a healer once. She and Emily used the same kind of magic. That’s why the kobold had come to her in the library.

  “They think I’m the Spider Witch,” she whispered.

  “That’s crazy,” Lorren said.

  “I can weave magic like she does.”

  “But how do they know that?” Ozzie asked, eyeing the kobolds suspiciously.

  The leader called out. “Great witch, terrible magic has destroyed our home!”

  “Thanks for the bugs but we’re on important mage business.” Ozzie grabbed Emily and slowly backed up.

  The kobold looked distressed. “No one else can help us.”

  Lorren edged close to Emily and whispered. “The crystal Kara found sure messed up the Fairy Realms.”

  Emily nodded and addressed the kobolds. “We will help you.”

  The kobolds smiled, sharp teeth shining.

  Ozzie eyed the fierce creatures warily, not knowing if they were pleased or getting ready to eat them. “Listen up, you things.” He puffed out his chest, ferret stone sparking. “If you even think about hurting this healer, you’ll have to go through me first.”

  “You will not harm us.” Emily pinned the creatures in her gaze, her rainbow stone glinting with the strength of her magic. “Take us to your home.”

  The large leader warned, “Prepare yourself. You’ve never seen a more terrible, awful, disgusting place.”

  “I guess you haven’t been to Bernie’s Boar and Grill,” Ozzie quipped.

  The kobolds parted, making a path for Emily, Ozzie, and Lorren. “The way lies through the deep mist.”

  The kobold leader guided them along a rough trail. The fog became thicker the farther they went. On either side, misty mountain walls loomed, closing in around them like a giant maw.

  “Here.” The kobold leader stepped through a glowing patch of mist and disappeared.

  Lorren frowned. “Another drifting portal.”

  “The crystal is in there.” Emily peered nervously into the gleaming mist. Would she be able to handle what lay on the other side?

  “We’re with you,” Ozzie assured her.

  She smiled gratefully. Whatever this awful place turned out to be, she, Lorren, and Ozzie would deal with it.

  Emily marched after the kobolds. Gray mist surrounded her, thick and suffocating, as if they were walking through murky water. Suddenly the fog vanished and she was standing in bright clear sunlight.

  The kobolds wailed, shivering with fear.

  Emily stared at the unbelievable vista before her, barely able to speak. “Oh… my…”

  “Gah!”

  “LOOK AT THIS place!” Kara whirled around, trying to take in everything at once.

  The blazing star, Goldie, and Lyra had materialized on a wide promenade. Dozens of boutiques with windows tinted pink, purple, and green circled a splashy fountain of dancing waters. Jumbo screens flashed holographic ads against a pastel dome.

  “She’s here!” A small purple spriggan twirled toward her, waving his arms excitedly.

  As if on cue, a musical fanfare soared through the air with a dramatic flurry of bells and horns. Hundreds of excited fairy creatures tumbled out of storefronts, converging on Kara in a wave.

  “Where are we?” Kara asked, startled by her welcome.

  “Exactly where you want to be!” Three frog-like boggles wearing red tuxedos appeared behind her, nearly crying with joy.

  “You have arrived in the greatest place on the web,” the first boggle declared.

  “The Fashion Realm!” the second boggle cried proudly.

  Kara’s eyes widened. “The Fashion Realm?”

  “The best mall in the universe!” the crowd chorused.

  “YippEE!” Kara squealed.

  Colorful pixies and sprites swarmed around the blazing star. “We are here for you.”

  “And you.” A silver sprite waved at Lyra.

  “You, too.” A tiny green fairy pointed at Goldie.

  Kara paused. “How did we get here?” she demanded of the fairy creatures.

  Just a minute ago, she’d been buried in gross spider gunk. And now she was in, without a doubt, the most awesome place on the web. Definitely weird.

  The boggles bowed. “Your wish is our command.”

  Kara glanced at the amazing unicorn-shaped power crystal in her hands. The bright jewel swirled as if alive, responding to her every touch.

  “What magic!” A pack of purple pixies flitted around Kara. “Let us bathe in your brilliance.”

  Kara beamed, running a hand through her blonde tresses. “Ew.”

  Her hair was streaked with dried spider goop, her suede jacket and jeans stained green.

  Lyra shook her rear foot and growled at her muck-matted fur.

  “We need a bath.” Goldie wrinkled her little nose, pulling icky strands from her wings.

  Kara sighed. “I wish there was a salon here.”

  Suddenly every fairy, pixie, spriggan, and sprite broke into dance. Like spinning tops, blazing star and blazing bondeds were ushered into a glorious salon and plopped into three custom sized shampoo chairs. Carrying armloads of supplies, the fairy creatures burst into song:

  Welcome, welcome, welcome, we all know who you are

  A goddess of magic, the blazing star

  We’ll pamper, polish, primp, and preen

  A princess you are, but you’ll look like a queen

  “Now this is what I call customer service,” Kara approved as a delighted fairy flew up and offered her a frosty glass. “Mmmm, my fave, raspberry lemonade.”

  Dozens of sprites gently massaged her scalp, shampooing and conditioning her hair in a flurry of sweet smelling bubbles.

  Nothing’s too good for the fairest of the fair

  From painted toes to shiny hair

  “Manicure, pedicure?” Two impeccably dressed sprites swooped to her side with a basket of pink nail polish, files and buffers. They beamed at Goldie and Lyra. “Wingicure, clawicure?”

  The unicorn power crystal sat on the sink, pulsing hypnotically, bathing Kara’s face in swirling pink light. That’s odd, she thought dreamily, didn’t I just put that in my pocket?

  “Only Kara gives me a bath!” Lyra tried to shake off the pixies rubbing and scrubbing at her.

  “These fur care products are one hundred percent organic from the purest natural botanicals, flowers, fruits, and berries,” a blue pixie told the cat.

  “Really?”

  “Rose scented, too
.”

  “Excellent!” Kara yelled.

  In her little chair, Goldie sat wrapped in a tiny robe, watching her wing tips and claws being polished and painted sunshine gold. The sprites sized up her cowlick before giving it a deftly designed clip.

  The swelling chorus filled the salon over the hum of the blow dryers.

  With your magic you can go far

  You’re more than a star

  You are a blazing superstar!

  Rainbow light sparkled as Kara spun out of the salon, smiling and waving to her adoring fairy fans. Her beautiful face appeared on the jumbotron screens throughout the mall, lustrous hair swirling, shining, and rippling in golden waves around her.

  “She’s energized, sparkilized, and dancersized!” the boggles chanted, applauding.

  Lyra ran after her. “Kara, shouldn’t we be heading back?”

  But Kara was in the groove, dancing with the crowd through the mall.

  There’s so much to do before we can stop

  Now that you’re spritzed, you can shop, shop, shop!

  “Lyra!” Kara suddenly screamed.

  With a ferocious roar, Lyra leaped to her bonded, ready to protect her. “What is it?”

  “Look!”

  Colorful signs adorned every storefront:

  TODAY ONLY, BLAZING STARS TAKE 99% OFF!

  “Grrrrr!” Lyra grrrred. “You’re under a shopping spell.”

  Then she saw it.

  “Blingo.”

  Kara rushed inside the boutique directly in front of her. In the window floated a knee-length, crimson satin dress with tiny rhinestone stars glittering along the hem. It was so beautiful she thought she would cry. How amazing would she look wearing this to the school dance?

  But wait! Next to that was another even more perfect outfit. A jade jersey halter dress and next to that was a scarlet ruched taffeta dress and jackets with fur trim—

  “Stop the spell!” Kara commanded in a blaze of jewel bits.

  The music echoed away as she examined the collar closely. “Is that faux fur?”

  “Of course,” the shop spriggan answered. “The finest in synthetics.”

  “All righty then.” Kara beamed, then frowned. “Does this come in my size?”