“You first, Princess.” Adriane bowed to Kara.
“Oh no, after you,” Kara said, bowing back.
“No, no, I insist.” Adriane swept her arm toward the hall.
“Just come on!” Emily barged her way past the others and strode ahead.
The hallway led to what looked like a large storage area. In the dim light, Emily could make out a ramp up to a loading dock on the far side; the large, sliding garage door was shut. So, that’s how they got him in here, she thought.
“Phel!” Emily called out in a whisper. “Are you in here?”
Something massive moved in the darkness.
Emily sidestepped, keeping close to the wall.
“Well, is it in here or—” Kara stepped forward, screamed, and disappeared.
“What happened?” Adriane moved in behind Emily.
Emily and Adriane inched forward. In front of them was a huge pit. Their glowing jewels cut swathes of weird light across the wide space. Phel lay on his back on the floor—with Kara standing on his belly.
“Hey, look what I found,” she said.
Two gigantic eyes opened, blinked, then stared up at the startled girls.
“Phel! Are you all right?” Emily noticed the steps and was quickly made her way down.
“Did you find himmmaahhhh…” Ozzie bolted into the room, his momentum taking him right over the edge of the drop. He bounced up Phel’s belly and looked into a giant eye. “Phel! Thank goodness!”
Phel reached out giant paws and engulfed the ferret.
“Gaaaaooof!” was all Ozzie could say.
Adriane pointed toward the loading dock door. “We can get him out that way!”
Emily gently touched Phelonius. She could sense his weakness. She pushed the fear back. “We have to get you out of here.”
Together, the three girls got Phel up and onto his feet. He was frighteningly light for something so enormous. Holding Ozzie under one arm, he shuffled along as they pushed and pulled him up the ramp toward the loading dock.
Adriane started hitting every button she could find to open the big door.
“Doesn’t this place, like, have any alarms?” Kara asked.
With a loud whhirr, the door started to open. A horn blasted through the night. It rose to a crescendo, then started again. A second horn blared across the compound, followed by a third.
“Does that answer your question?” Adriane said.
“Let’s go!” Emily ordered.
They pushed Phel out the door and down the exit ramp. Spotlights flared, flooding the compound.
“What are we going to do?” Kara screamed.
Everywhere they turned, searchlights skimmed the ground, trying to trap them in bright light. Men were yelling and dogs were barking.
“Stay where you are!” a loud voice shouted over a megaphone.
“We are in such major trouble!” Kara wailed.
“Hurry, come on, Phel, we have to run!” Emily pleaded, trying to push him to move faster.
“This is all your fault!” screamed Kara. “You forced me to come here! I’m going to be grounded for, like, five years!”
“You were the one who got him caught in the first place!” Adriane screamed back.
“Stop it! Stop it!” Emily shouted. Her gem exploded, sending shafts of blue light shooting into the night. Spotlights burst to pieces and went dark. Sirens blared in the distance.
Stormbringer’s frightening growl made the girls turn. The wolf was crouched and poised to attack. Three black guard dogs, barking wildly and baring vicious teeth, were running straight for them.
Adriane raised her stone.
“No!” Emily grabbed Adriane’s arm. “We can’t hurt them!”
The girls huddled together, shaking, against Phel’s side.
“Hey, you! Ever seen a talking ferret?”
The dogs skidded to a halt, turned, and sprang up the loading dock ramp. A small furry creature leaped onto the rope pulley above the ramp, out of range of their snapping teeth.
“Ozzie!” Emily screamed.
Phel blinked great, sad eyes.
Kara shoved herself forward. “Security!” she called. “I’m Kara Dav—mmph!”
Adriane clapped her hand over Kara’s mouth. “Are you crazy?” she hissed.
Phel’s huge arms came down around the girls.
“To be here with you two? Yes!” Suddenly Kara looked down.
Her feet were no longer on the ground.
Phel was rising up into the air.
Kara screamed.
“Hold on!” Adriane grabbed onto Phel’s fur.
“Ozzie!” Emily cried, struggling to break free of Phel’s grasp.
The dogs barked and jumped, trying to grab the ferret from the swinging rope.
Storm shimmered into mist and snaked past the dogs. They looked in confusion at the mist.
Ozzie swung the rope over the dogs and jumped. He skidded down the ramp and ran for his life. The dogs barked and bounded after him.
“Wait for me!” Ozzie burst down the alley, inches in front of the snapping jaws of a black Doberman.
Emily slid down Phel’s leg. Adriane reached down and grabbed onto Emily’s right arm. Emily extended her left arm, reaching down…
“Hurry, Ozzie!” Adriane yelled.
The dogs would have him in seconds.
Emily slid right to the edge of Phel’s giant foot.
“Emily!” Kara shrieked.
“I got her.” Adriane had hold of Emily’s leg.
Emily stretched her arm out, fingers clasping…
“Jump, Ozzie!” she yelled.
Ozzie closed his eyes and leaped. Emily caught his paw and pulled him into her arms. Below, guards and dogs grew smaller and smaller as Phel rose above the industrial park and drifted into the night.
THE SKY WAS ablaze with the orange-golden light of the full moon. Phelonius glided silently on his back, like a great sky whale, high above the countryside.
“Don’t you ever do something like that again!” Emily squeezed the ferret in a hug and handed him to Adriane.
“That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.” She hugged him, too. “You’re okay, Ozzie.”
Ozzie opened his arms and reached for Kara.
She scrunched her nose at him. “Nice job, ferret.” With a quick glance to make sure Emily and Adriane weren’t watching, she kissed Ozzie. “You ever tell anyone I kissed a ferret, I’ll have you stuffed!”
Ozzie winked. “Our secret.”
The girls and Ozzie sat on Phel’s belly, looking out in total amazement. No one knew what to say. They were flying—being carried through the sky by a creature made of magic! Below, the streetlights and houses of Stonehill looked like exquisite toys.
“Hey!” Kara exclaimed suddenly, leaning over to the side. “I didn’t know the Feltners had a pool! And they never invited me over!” She sat back, crossed her arms, and pouted.
Emily and Adriane exchanged glances and started to laugh. After a minute, Kara began to laugh with them. Howls of laughter spilled into the night as they glided peacefully over the treetops, leaving the lights of the town to fade in the distance.
Behind them a dark winged shadow rose above the orange-gold moon. It closed in for the kill.
PHEL DRIFTED ON a sea of clouds. Kara raised her arms, her long hair furling in the breeze like a golden flag. Adriane searched the dark forests that appeared and disappeared between the low clouds.
Emily was studying Phel. He had been so weak back at the warehouse. How much magic was he using to fly? What would happen if he ran out? Would he come apart like those whirlwinds of dirt and twigs? She peered anxiously over his side.
“We have to get him home,” Ozzie told her, seeing the worry on her face.
“How, Ozzie?” she asked.
“We have to find that portal and open it.”
“How much longer does he have?”
Ozzie looked down. His silence was answer enough.
&nb
sp; Kara was hanging over Phel’s side. “Look. An arrow.”
“That’s not an arrow, that’s the Rocking Stone,” Adriane scoffed.
Kara shrugged. “Looks like an arrow,” she repeated.
Emily narrowed her eyes. Kara was right: from this height, the ancient stone looked like a skinny finger reaching out…or pointing.
“Aluns,” Emily said.
Adriane and Kara looked at her.
“Aluns,” she repeated. “It’s a Lenni-Lenape word meaning arrow. I found it on the Web. The Rocking Stone is supposed to point to a spirit door, a gateway—”
“Or… a portal,” Ozzie said.
All four looked down.
“It looks like it’s pointing to that clearing!” Adriane exclaimed.
“The glade?” Emily asked.
“No. Just beyond, to the left.”
Out of nowhere, a dark shape swept past, sending Phel careening to the right.
“What was that?” Adriane asked nervously.
“I don’t want to find out. Hurry, Phel!” Emily called out.
Phel turned towards the Rocking Stone and swooped into dense clouds.
For a moment a shadow was visible against a cloud. Something huge, with gigantic wings.
“Over there.” Kara pointed.
Emily and Adriane looked, but it was gone.
They peered around anxiously.
“Hurry, Phel!” Emily called.
The clouds swept past, then parted like a curtain. The monster hung in the sky before them. Phel was on a collision course with two red-hot demon eyes and rows of razor teeth. The monster roared thunder and Black Fire erupted from its mouth to explode against Phel’s shoulders. Kara screamed as Phel dropped like a rock, billowing green and black flames.
Wind whipped Emily’s hair into her face. “Phel!” Her jewel flared blue and bathed Phel in a blanket of light, extinguishing the flames.
Phel dove low and pulled up in a sweeping arc, careening toward the trees at an alarming speed.
“Left!” Adriane yelled, leaning hard.
“Right!” Kara shrieked, pulling in the opposite direction.
The girls flattened themselves against Phel’s body as he swept up and over the forest canopy. Branches and leaves scraped his back.
“We’re going to crash!” Kara yelled.
“Adriane!” Emily shouted.
She reached across Kara to clasp Adriane’s hand. Sparkles ran across Kara’s body and the stones glowed bright. “We need to slow Phel down!”
“I got it,” Adriane closed her eyes.
Brilliant rainbow light arced from the gems and spread into a canopy above them. A parachute! Emily gripped Adriane’s hand as Phel’s descent slowed.
“Hold on!” Adriane yelled.
Kara put her head down and closed her eyes. Emily and Adriane held the rainbow tight. Ozzie wedged himself under the girls.
Phel soared past the Rocking Stone. With a final effort, he skirted the treetops and went down, bouncing hard on the ground. Emily’s teeth ground together with the jolt. The rainbow burst apart, leaving a sparkling trail as Phel’s body dug a long, shallow furrow in the grass. He came to a stop at the edge of the field.
Emily was sprawled sideways across Phel’s chest. Kara was hanging upside down, halfway down his side. Ozzie was stuck under Phel’s paw.
Adriane rolled over and hit the ground. “Are you all right?” She helped Emily and Kara slide down. Ozzie jumped off to examine Phel.
“Thank you for flying Air Phel.” Kara rubbed her head.
“Help him up,” Emily told them.
Together they pushed Phelonius to a sitting position. The back of his head and shoulders was glowing with the evil green poison. It was eating away at him, spreading down his back. Parts of him were becoming transparent.
“Emily, you have to help him!” Ozzie pleaded.
Phel opened his eyes and looked at Emily.
“Tell me what to do!” she begged.
Phel’s paw was blinking in and out.
Emily raised her stone and concentrated. The gem flashed blue light as she pushed hard with every ounce of will she had. She felt the dark power of the Black Fire. It was overwhelming, threatening to crush her.
“Help me!” Emily felt her face grow wet from sweat and tears.
Adriane raised her stone. It glowed hot white gold.
“Kara!” Adriane yelled.
Kara stood between them and touched both stones. Golden fire swirled up her arm from Adriane’s gem. Kara closed her eyes. Her long blonde hair flared as the magic passed through her, down her other arm, and flowed into Emily’s stone. Blue and gold magic collided, and green light flashed from Emily’s wrist and streamed out to cover Phel. She felt her heart beating too fast; she was afraid it would explode as she fell into darkness…and then she felt another heartbeat, Adriane’s, strong, pure…and Kara’s, steady, certain...and Ozzie’s, solid, true, pulling her back. Phel began to glow, blue and gold, matching the stones. And the darkness fell away.
The light faded. Phel blinked his eyes. The green poison was gone.
But he was still fading in and out. Emily’s throat tightened and she fought back tears. They had stopped the poison, but it was too late. She had failed again, and now she was losing Phelonius.
“What was that thing?” Adriane asked.
“A manticore,” Ozzie said. “It’s bad, real bad.”
“What does it want from us?” Kara asked.
“Manticores track magic,” Ozzie said.
“Why didn’t it get Phel before?” Kara asked
“Maybe Phel’s magic was protecting him, hiding him.” Ozzie explained
“Phel doesn’t have any more magic!” Emily cried.
“But you do,” Ozzie said.
The treetops swayed, blown by a sudden wind.
“Hey, what time is it, anyway?” Kara asked in a rush. “I’ve got a ten o’clock curfew. I gotta go—”
“We need you, Kara,” Emily told her.
“You do?” Kara asked.
“We do?” Adriane echoed.
“Every time she’s near these stones, they go crazy!”
“What do we do now?” Kara asked.
“We have to send Phel home, back through the portal,” Emily said.
“How are we going to do that?” Kara asked.
“Hey! Come back here!” Ozzie yelled.
The girls turned to see Phel slowly lumbering across the field. A few rainbow-puff flowers popped up behind him—but they withered and collapsed into dust.
The fairy creature’s skin was translucent, a ghostly haze in the moonlight. His body seemed to be drifting apart, like Stormbringer turning into mist.
“What’s he doing?” asked Adriane.
“Trying to make magic. But he’s too weak,” Ozzie answered.
“Our stones, concentrate on helping Phel,” Emily said.
Emily and Adriane stood next to Kara and held their bracelets in the air. The stones began to glow as Phel raised his arms. An electrical burst of wild magic leaped from the stones, startling the girls. Phel swirled the strands of blue and gold magic in the air. He wove the magic into a circular shape, a web, with a bright silver glow in the center. The shape became a three-dimensional ball that floated in the air in front of him.
Ozzie jumped up and down. “The fairy map!”
The glowing orb grew brighter and brighter. Phel collapsed to the ground growing dimmer and dimmer. The twinkling web floated like a glittering beachball over to the girls. Emily tried to grab it, but it danced away. Adriane jumped for it, but it eluded her grasp. It settled over Kara.
“Take it, Kara!” Adriane said.
“Come on, Kara, take it,” Emily pleaded.
Ozzie sniffed the air. Something smelled foul…
Pinpoints of light reflected over Kara’s face as she reached out…
A blast of wind tore it from her grasp.
The manticore landed with a ground-shaking cr
unch that rumbled like thunder across the field. Even hunched over, it was massive. It slowly turned its head, and slitted demon eyes bore straight into the girls. Adriane’s mouth froze open. All the color drained from Kara’s face. The monster towered over them. The lower part of its body looked like a lion, the upper part resembled a bizarre ape beast with arms muscled like steel cords. Its head was grotesque, with long dripping teeth in a blood-red mouth. Its eyes flared red fire. Gigantic wings unfurled behind its back as it roared. The sound was deafening.
There was nowhere to run.
Embracing the ball of stars, its horrible mouth moved grotesquely as it spoke. “Mine!”
“How could I have been so stupid!” Ozzie cried. “It was after the fairy map.”
“If that’s what you want, then leave us alone!” Adriane shouted.
“What I want is not your concern, human,” it replied, its mouth twisting into a sickening smile. “The fairy creature is dying. It was just a matter of time before it gave up the map.”
Emily felt heat at her wrist. The jewel on her bracelet was still pulsing, blazing with light. Adriane felt it too: her stone was also glowing.
The monster stared suspiciously at the gems and growled low in its throat. “My mistress will never allow humans to control magic. Give me those stones!” it roared.
“I would highly recommend you do what it says,” Ozzie piped up nervously from behind the girls.
“Fine, let it have them,” Emily said. She tried to take off her bracelet but couldn’t. “It’s stuck!” The more she tried to move it, the more solidly it seemed to cling to her wrist.
“Emily, I can’t move mine,” Adriane said, panic rising in her voice.
“Me, either!”
“Hurry, give it the stones!” Ozzie was hopping up and down.
The monster reached forward with hands the size of chairs and claws glowing with green poison.
Adriane was desperately pulling and twisting at her bracelet. “It—won’t—come—off!”
“Give it that stupid stone!” Kara shrieked. She reached to yank it from Adriane’s wrist and the wolf stone exploded with golden fire. Jagged lightning pierced the ground in front of them. The girls stared at the smoking fissure.
The monster stepped back, red eyes flashing dangerously. Then it leaped at the girls.
Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) Page 11
