“It’s out there somewhere, waiting,” a pegasus said ominously.
Phel stepped forward and the crowd parted to let him through. Pinpoints of light sparkled from his shimmering purple fur and a shower of stars gently cascaded over the glade. A sense of calm spread through the animals.
Emily rose and went to Phel. She put her arms around him as far as she could reach and held him close. He made a soft noise. Adriane joined Emily. The little quiffles giggled, and the girls laughed. Slowly others crept up to snuggle in. Emily and Adriane were soon buried in warm animals.
“You, too, Alice.” Adriane reached out and pulled Ozzie in.
“Gah!”
For that moment, surrounded by the giant arms and warm magic of Phel, no one was afraid.
STARS WINKED IN a velvet sky as Adriane walked Emily down the road out of the preserve.
“Well, we found the animals,” Adriane said at last.
“We sure did.” Emily agreed.
“So, what’s your analysis of the situation, Doc?” Adriane asked lightly. But she looked tense.
“Well, most of what we know is still pretty vague.” Emily felt better analyzing the facts. “But one thing seems sure: these animals have come from another world, and that world is being poisoned by something terrible.”
“Go on.”
Emily took a deep breath. “Okay, now some kind of doorway between worlds has opened—a portal as Ozzie calls it—and the hurt animals are making their way here, where it’s safe.”
“But how safe?” Adriane asked.
“And the Fairimentals want us to find something…a place,” Emily continued.
“Avalon. The home of magic.”
“Adriane, Ozzie said the Fairimentals need three mages…”
Adriane looked at her, waiting.
“If we are two of them….who’s the third?”
“I don’t know anything about mages,” Adriane said with a shrug. “But I do know we can’t let Ravenswood be destroyed. Those animals have nowhere else to go!”
“You’re right. We have to do something.”
“We will.” Adriane held up her bracelet, and the striped jewel sparkled in the moonlight.
Emily lifted up her own gem. “Together,” she said. A spark flashed between the two stones—a connection forged between friends, a bond that would last forever.
Adriane turned and walked back up the road to the preserve. Emily looked out over the parklands at the warm lights of her house.
Avalon. The word drifted through her mind like a soft breeze as she walked home.
THE STONEHILL TOWN Hall was a two-story redbrick building right on Main Street, across from a nicely tended park with a playground and lots of benches and trees. Carolyn parked their green Explorer while Emily searched the crowded parking lot for Adriane and Gran. Then she heard the sputtering of an old pickup truck and looked over to see Gran barreling into a parking space. The ancient engine protested, shuddered, and came to rest.
“Hey!” Adriane jumped out to greet Emily.
“Hey,” Emily returned. “Mom, this is Adriane’s grandmother.”
“Please call me Nakoda,” Gran said warmly.
Carolyn held out her hand. “I’m Carolyn Fletcher.”
Gran smiled. “It is my pleasure. Emily is a special child.”
“She’ll do.” Carolyn smiled back.
The town hall was jammed. Mayor Davies was up on the podium, listening to people argue back and forth about the Ravenswood Preserve. They were convinced some dangerous predator was killing innocent animals.
Why couldn’t these people see how important Ravenswood was? Emily thought. Suddenly her wrist began to itch like crazy. She checked her bracelet. Her stone was pulsing light! Quickly, she pulled down the sleeve of her sweater to cover it. But she had the strangest sensation that someone was watching her. She looked around the room and her eyes met the bright blue eyes of the blond girl whose friends had teased her at Arrowhead Park.
“Who’s that?” Emily asked Adriane in a whisper.
Adriane scowled, “Kara Davies, the mayor’s daughter.”
“You don’t like her much,” Emily surmised.
“Who wears pink sweaters and perfectly matched pink sandals? She’s such a Barbie!” Adriane crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at Kara—and suddenly the jewel on her bracelet sparked. Startled, Adriane covered her wrist
The blond girl’s eyes narrowed.
“We think it was a bear!” one of the men Adriane had confronted on the preserve called out. “Almost had it, too.”
“And?” the mayor prompted.
“It got away,” the hunter scowled. “But we’ll get it!”
Emily stiffened. “They’re talking about Phel,” she whispered to Adriane. But she couldn’t dare tell anyone about Phel, that he was magic! How could she explain that he’d healed the animals?
The crowd was buzzing. “Place should be closed…Wild animals near our town—it’s too dangerous!” People were clearly upset.
Mrs. Beasley Windor, a very vocal member of the town council stood up. “Let’s just cut to the chase here.” Her tight black hair, beady eyes, and sharp nose made her look like a hawk. “We can’t have dangerous animals running around like a jungle. Ravenswood has a history, but I say it is history!”
“The animals need a place to live also!” Emily said more loudly than she’d intended.
“Yeah, they have rights, too!” Adriane echoed.
“Excuse me! Since when do children have a voice in town matters?” Mrs. Windor said condescendingly. “Especially those involving public safety!”
“Mrs. Windor, please,” the mayor said. “We still need proof of these accusations.”
“Oh, really.” She walked forward and slapped a letter onto the lectern in front of the mayor. “Why don’t you read this, Mayor?” She gave Carolyn and the girls a snide look. “It’s a copy of a letter sent to Dr. Carolyn Fletcher from the University of Pennsylvania.”
“Uh-oh, this is bad,” Adriane said to Emily.
Carolyn glanced at Emily. Emily tried to smile but felt her lips lock into a grimace.
The mayor quickly read the letter. “Well, this settles it then. Health officials from the Centers for Disease Control will be here in two days, so if we can’t find a solution to this problem, they will give us one.”
“You got that right.” Mrs. Windor was smiling. “The place should be shut down and the land properly developed!” she repeated to a chorus of agreements.
“Okay, folks, let’s take a break and cool down,” the mayor said. “Mrs. Charday, may I speak to you for a minute? You, too, Dr. Fletcher.”
Carolyn and Gran rose. Adriane and Emily started to follow, but Carolyn stopped them. “You two wait outside. You think you can do that without creating a town incident?”
Emily knew better than to argue with her mother when she used that tone.
Mortified, the girls left the building and walked over to the park. Except for their moods, the summer night was perfect—low humidity, a cool breeze, and a golden waxing moon.
Adriane kicked at a small rock. “Now what?”
“My mom’s gonna kill me about that letter!” Emily wailed. “I wish we had done something else!”
“Shhh, wait, someone’s coming,” Adriane hissed.
In the orangey glow of a street lamp, Emily saw pink sandals. She and Adriane stared as Kara Davies strolled up to them.
“What?” the blond girl asked. “Is there gum in my teeth?”
“What do you want?” Adriane asked rudely.
Kara didn’t seem fazed. “It’s a free country. I can walk here if I want to.” She looked at Emily. “Almost didn’t recognize you without a pile of dogs.”
Emily reddened. “I’m Emily Fletcher.”
“I’m Kara Davies—”
“We know who you are,” Adriane interrupted.
“So, I know who you are, too,” Kara replied, not missing a beat.
<
br /> “Great, now what do you want?” Adriane shot back.
“Nothing… I just thought you could tell me what store in the mall carries those bracelets.”
“You can’t buy them,” Adriane told her with obvious satisfaction.
“I can buy anything I want.” Kara dismissed Adriane with a flick of her hand.
“Well, you can’t buy these!” Adriane held up her arm and shook the bracelet in front of Kara’s face. The stone blazed to life with a fierce golden fire. Startled, Adriane quickly pulled her wrist behind her back.
Kara’s bright blue eyes were as wide as saucers. “Wow! How’d you make it glow like that? Batteries?” she guessed.
Adriane looked at Emily. Neither girl replied.
Kara tried a new ploy. “Maybe I can help you and your wild animals, if you give me one of your bracelets,” she offered slyly.
“No way!” said Adriane.
“Wait a minute,” Emily said. “Maybe Kara can help us. If we show her where we got these, maybe she could convince her father to help… all the animals.” She looked meaningfully at Adriane.
“Daddy always listens to me,” Kara boasted. “But first you have to take me to the store where you got those.”
“Read my lips,” Adriane stated. “No way!”
“Adriane, maybe Kara can find her own stone,” Emily suggested.
“Sure, I’m a power shopper,” Kara smiled, showing perfect teeth. “And you can just tell me where in the mall, you wouldn’t even have to go with me.”
“Oh, of course, it would be just horrible being seen with us,” Adriane said.
“I just meant it might be easier,” Kara replied, as if she were speaking to a three-year-old. She twirled the ends of her long blonde hair.
Emily nudged Adriane.
“Okay,” Adriane agreed. “But we have to take you there.”
“And you have to promise that whatever we show you, you’ll keep secret,” Emily added.
“Of course,” Kara dropped her voice to a whisper. “I understand how important it is to keep cool about fashion. Pretty soon everyone would have one.”
“Geez! That’s not the point!” Adriane burst out.
Kara gave a well practiced ‘Like what’s with her?’ look.
“So, you promise?” Emily prompted.
Kara was getting impatient. “Yes, yes, fine.”
“Emily!” Emily looked up to see her mother calling her from the steps of the town hall. Gran stood beside her. Others were leaving the building. Evidently the meeting was over.
“Coming!” Emily called back. She turned to Kara. “Tomorrow at noon, meet us out by the baseball diamond in the playing fields and we’ll take you into the woods.”
“You found those in the woods? How disgusting! Forget it!”
Adriane shrugged. “Okay, fine, we’ll do it without you.”
“Wait, lemme see those again.” Kara grabbed for Emily’s wrist.
Brilliant turquoise light flared from the blue-green gem. Kara jumped back. It was so fast it might have been a trick of the light. This time it was Emily who was shocked by the vivid flare of her jewel.
Kara stared with her mouth open. “Okay, noon,” she said.
AS THEY DROVE home, Carolyn filled Emily in her conversation with Gran and the Mayor. Too many people were worried about dangerous predators; and even the mayor had to admit an interest in the money a new development would bring the community.
“The university analysis presents more immediate problems,” Carolyn went on.
Emily sank into her seat. “I shouldn’t have hidden it. That was pretty dumb, huh?”
“Yes, it was. Especially since the mayor’s office faxed me a copy only a few hours later.” She glanced at Emily. “Since you read it, you know they detected an unidentified toxin and they recommended quarantine.”
“But they can’t do that!”
“Health officials will be here in a few days. Unless we can show them the place is safe, it may have to be shut down.”
Emily softly rubbed the jewel under her sweatshirt sleeve. She and Adriane had to figure out how to help Phelonius and the animals. Time was running out.
IT WAS A quarter to noon when Emily left her house. With the Pet Palace population slowly dwindling as vacations ended, her chores were taking less time. She thought hard as she crossed the picnic grounds and headed over to the baseball fields. The townspeople were wrong—Phel was no monster! But they were also more right than they knew—something evil was in those woods and it was stalking all kinds of animals. How could they fight that? How—
“How is this supposed to work?”
Emily looked up to find Kara standing on home plate. The blond girl wore a silver silk jacket over a pink T-shirt that said ROCK STAR in fake silver gems. Light green shorts and strappy sandals completed the outfit.
“Oh, hi.” Emily said. In her concern for the animals, she had almost forgotten about Kara.
“What are we supposed to do?” Kara demanded. “Just wander around in the woods? It's creepy—and dangerous. Do we have a treasure map or something?” Her steely gaze bore into Emily.
“How ‘bout we just saddle up and follow the old Injun trail?” Adriane had come up from the other direction.
“Do you always wear black?” Kara remarked, taking in Adriane’s black jeans, black T-shirt, and black hiking boots with clear disdain.
“Just until they invent a darker color,” Adriane retorted. She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going, exactly?” Kara asked.
“You’re about to get the grand tour of the Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve,” Adriane told her. “We show you around and then take you home. That’s it.” She turned and walked back up toward the road. “And no lectures.”
“Hey!” Kara ran to catch up. “What about those stones?”
“If you find one, we’ll throw you a party,” Adriane said.
“What’s with her?” Kara asked Emily.
“She’s worried about the animals that live in the preserve,” Emily told her. “And if the place is closed down, she and Gran will have to move.”
“Why don’t you and Gran just move into a normal house?” Kara pressed.
Adriane stopped and faced Kara. “Look, just stay behind us and try not to say anything too stupid, please!”
“You know, you should really try a little bran in your diet.”
“Someone shoot me now!” Adriane strode quickly up the path.
Emily and Kara hurried to keep up with Adriane as she forged into the woods. The sun poured golden beams through the overhead branches and cool breezes blew the leaves, creating shifting patterns of light and shadow across the forest floor.
Kara had only one thing on her mind. “So, what do I look for? Minerals? Quartz crystals? I have a book on gems in my backpack.” She slung off her leather pack and began digging in it.
“You do? That’s really cool.” Emily was impressed. Adriane moved on ahead, not wanting any part of the conversation.
“Here, look.” Kara pulled out a small, fat book. “See? Identifying Minerals and Gems. It’s grouped by structure, composition, and luster. The structure is the shape, composition is the purity of the stone, and luster is color.”
“Wow.” It struck Emily that Kara might not be as shallow as she seemed. She might even be pretty smart.
Kara continued. “Here’s the really precious stones, emeralds, sapphires—and my favorite—diamonds!” Kara said. “We can look up your stone in here, too.”
Emily held up her wrist as Kara flipped through the pages, trying to find a match. “We made our own bands,” she commented self-consciously. “It was Adriane’s idea.”
Kara barely glanced up. “Not bad. I have some silver chains that’ll look much better. I’ll get you one.”
“I love silver, thanks,” Emily said.
“Here, looks like aventurine.” Kara pointed to the page. “Properties include protect
ion and healing.”
Emily’s hazel eyes widened. What a coincidence that she, of all people, should pick up a healing stone! Sunlight reflected off the stone, sending shimmers of color through it.
Kara was mesmerized. She softly touched the gemstone. Blinding shafts of blue and green light flared from the stone.
Both girls screamed and Emily jerked her hand back.
Adriane wheeled around and ran back. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, my stone, it just—” Emily began.
“That was so awesome!” Kara exclaimed. “I’ve never seen anything like that!”
“What did you do?” Adriane asked Kara accusingly.
“Easy, Godzilla, I didn’t do anything. Her stone just lit up like a sparkler.”
Adriane glared. Kara beamed.
Adriane turned to Emily. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Emily answered. The gem, in its woven bracelet, was now back to normal. “That was so weird.”
“I have the perfect silver chain for my jewel,” Kara went on excitedly.
Adriane ignored her. “We’re coming up to the topiary gardens. Over there.” She pointed to a garden of living sculptures. There was a lion, a giraffe, an elephant, even a dinosaur all carefully carved out of magnificent foliage. “The topiary gardens are of the most amazing gardens on the estate.”
“Oooh, look!” Kara bent over and picked up a sparkly stone. She studied it, scrunched her nose, then tossed it away. “What’d you say?”
“Never mind.”
As they walked into the garden, even Kara seemed impressed with the carefully sculptured hedges. “Wow, tree animals! Cool!”
Adriane continued. “First designed in 1920, each of the hedge sculptures is supposed to represent an animal that was on the preserve at that time.”
“I thought we were in a ‘no lectures’ zone,” Kara commented.
“Oh, yeah.” Adriane and Kara actually smiled at each other.
“And another thing,” Kara continued, “these hedge sculptures can’t possibly represent the animals that were on the preserve.”
“What do you mean?” Adriane asked.
“Hellloo! That’s a unicorn, and that’s…like, a dinosaur! I’m pretty sure the hedge-a-saurus has been extinct for like a billion years.”
Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) Page 8
