Ghost Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #9)

by Rachel Roberts

  “As it was.”

  “As it will be again.”

  The vision splintered, replaced with a dark, mist shrouded island.

  “What happened?” Adriane asked.

  “There was a time when mage fought against mage. Portals were closed, worlds were separated, and Avalon was abandoned, its magic lost.”

  The spirit pack swirled around her, many wolves speaking in one voice.

  “The magical creatures fled to Aldenmor. Pack leaders came to believe bonding with humans was harmful.”

  “What happened to Chain?” Adriane asked.

  “The wizard Gardner was trying to open the Gates of Avalon. He won the trust of the wolf, Chain–but they were not meant to bond.”

  Adriane listened intently.

  “The path to Avalon can only be found by humans and magical animals working together. Gardner fought the Spider Witch. As she fell into the Otherworlds, she bound Chain to her. Gardener could not protect his packmate.”

  Adriane nodded. Stormbringer pressed close to her side.

  “Chain sent a clear message to the pack: Humans do not belong with mistwolves. Moonshadow took the pack into hiding, afraid humans would destroy them all.”

  Several wolves faced Adriane and Storm, silver eyes shining. “Your bond with Storm changed the course of the Spirit Trail forever. You have taken the first step to restoring Avalon.”

  Adriane reached out in wonder, her wolf stone flaring as her magic touched the magnificent spirits. “Not all humans betray their packmates.”

  “Take from the past and lead us into the future, wolf sister.”

  A bright beacon blinked in the distance.

  “The pack calls you.”

  “We must go to them.”

  “May you always run free.”

  Adriane burst into the glade in a blaze of golden light. To one side, Dreamer stood, his midnight-black fur gleaming. On her other side stood the great silver wolf, Stormbringer, her golden eyes shining as the wolf saw the friends she had left behind months ago.

  “Storm!”

  “Dreamer!”

  The mages, animals, and mistwolves rushed forward as Adriane threw her arms around both packmates, happy tears falling down her cheeks. She hadn’t thought she would ever feel Storm’s solid, reassuring presence again. And now she was really here, standing in the forests of Ravenswood, where she belonged—alive!

  “I don’t believe it!” Emily cried as she and Kara hugged Storm.

  “Welcome back!” Ozzie beamed, shoving in to hug Storm’s chest.

  “Woohoot!” Ariel tooted, swirling around the wolf as Lyra nosed in to greet her friend.

  “It is good to see everyone again,” Storm said, lips turned up at the corners in a wolfish grin.

  “You honor us.” Moonshadow bowed before Storm.

  “The spirit pack runs strong.”

  “The magic of Avalon flows through us all.” Dawnrunner came up beside Adriane, sky blue eyes shining brilliantly.

  Adriane hugged the alpha female as the wolf nuzzled her cheek. The entire pack surrounded her, everyone eager to welcome back Storm and Dreamer.

  “You have grown strong,” Stormbringer said to Dreamer, nudging his nose with her own.

  “Packmates grow strong together,” Dreamer said.

  Adriane looked at both of her packmates, old and new. “Storm, I—”

  “The pack takes care of its own,” the silver wolf said, rubbing against Dreamer in a sign of affection.

  The warrior smiled, relieved.

  Colored bubbles suddenly burst in the air above them.

  “Look!” Ozzie jumped up and down, pointing. “Something’s coming through!”

  Splat! Splooie! Sparf! Sploof! Sploot!

  Five worried mini dragons plummeted from the sky, falling on the mages.

  “Kaaraa!” Goldie squeaked, hugging the blazing star’s neck with her bright yellow wings.

  Purple Barney peeled himself off Zach’s shoulder and stood nose to nose with Drake. “Ooo.”

  Red Fiona whizzed happily around Emily, nearly colliding with orange Blaze, who barreled straight into Ozzie.

  “Hi Fred!” Adriane hugged the blue dragonfly that landed on her shoulder.

  “Finally!” Goldie scowled at Kara.

  “How do you expect me to do anything without my favorite mini?” Kara scratched her little friend between her golden wings.“I missed you, too.”

  “Adriane, you did it!” Emily smiled, arms draped around Storm.

  “You saved them all,” Zach exclaimed. “Dreamer, Storm, the spirit pack, the wolves of Aldenmor—all the mistwolves!”

  “And Ravenswood is totally web free, too,” Kara pronounced, unicorn jewel glittering.

  Drake nosed Adriane, puffing proudly, as the d-flies circled her head squealing and chirping.

  “Aaaaggg!” Tweek suddenly tottered past, leaning on a mossy rock as twigs dropped from his torso.

  “Now what?” Kara demanded. “Possessed by the Ghost of Christmas Past?”

  Adriane scanned the forests nervously.

  Moonshadow and Dawnrunner sniffed at the air.

  “Something is different here,” Dreamer said.

  “What’s wrong?” Emily asked, suddenly sensing danger.

  “The spirit pack was trapped in the power crystal.” Adriane blinked as her wolf stone sputtered on her wrist, the bright light burning her eyes. “I freed them, but the witch got the crystal.”

  “She is using our magic against us,” Moonshadow snarled.

  “That’s redicu—gaH!” Ozzie’s jewel sparked, sending him flying backward.

  “Ozzie!” Emily ran her healing stone over the ferret, but the gem crackled in a shower of sparks.

  The mistwolves growled, scanning the forest.

  “What’s happening?” Zach asked, blue eyes wide as his dragon stone pulsed erratically.

  With a subtle flick of her wrist, Dreamer and Storm flanked Adriane, standing strong on either side. The warrior reached with her wolf senses, gently touching the forest. The trees lived, but there was no magic flowing through their roots.

  “Can’t you feel it?” she asked.

  “I don’t feel—anything,” Kara gasped.

  “It’s gone!” Emily cried.

  The warrior nodded grimly. “Orenda is dead.”

  “No sylph, no magic,” Tweek wheezed.

  The mages looked at one another, the horrible realization sinking in: The magic of Ravenswood was gone.

  LIGHTNING CRACKLED ATOP the Rocking Stone as droplets of dark, oily rain began to fall.

  Emily tried to send healing magic into the gathering puddles of dark magic, but her jewel sparked and fizzled. “What’s wrong with our jewels?”

  “Your jewels are tied to Ravenswood,” Tweek answered. “Theoretically—” the E.F. stuck loose twigs back into his mass “—if the witch controls Ravenswood, she could control your jewels as well.”

  Dank droplets fell, drenching the trees and seeping into the forest floor.

  “It’s spreading fast,” Dawnrunner said, her gold and white coat streaked with black rain.

  Adriane and the spirit pack had destroyed the Ravenswood tapestry and broken the spell, but it had served its purpose, creating a demon to attract the power crystal. Now the Spider Witch was going to complete the rest of her plan.

  “She’s using the power crystal to weave her magic directly into Ravenswood,” Adriane exclaimed.

  “Our friends in the Fairy Realms said she’s going to try and reweave the entire magic web,” Kara said, remembering what goblin Prince Lorren had told her about the Spider Witch’s plan.

  “She been after the preserve all along,” Zach realized. “If her plan is to re-weave the web, she’s starting with Ravenswood.”

  The rain fell harder, darkening the sky as if night had fallen. Everything felt completely unbalanced as the magic seeped deeper, lulling the forest into a dark dream.

  “What are we supposed to do?�
�� Kara asked.

  Adriane frantically wiped oily rain from her arms and legs. She hadn’t come this far to lose it all now.

  Suddenly Dreamer stood tall, eyes flashing as he raised his nose in the air.

  “Packmate.”

  “What you got?”

  “Magic.”

  “Show me.”

  The black mistwolf sniffed the ground and trotted to a sheltered hollow. Storm ran after him, using her magic to protect him from the toxic rain.

  Lightning flashed, illuminating the trees in ghostly light.

  The group gathered around Dreamer as he started to dig through a pile of charred twigs. Adriane felt the magic burn him as he nosed aside slabs of shriveled bark.

  Suddenly Dreamer stood back.

  There, poking through the sodden ashes, was a lone flower—a puffy dandelion sparkling with bright colors, like a sphere of tiny magic gems.

  Emily ran over for a closer look. “It’s a rainbow flower!” the healer gasped. “Phelonius spread these all over the preserve last summer.”

  “A phelower!” Kara exclaimed.

  Phelonius was the first fairy creature the girls had ever met. He had appeared when Adriane and Emily had discovered their jewels. Along with Ozzie, the mages helped the giant bear-like creature get home to Aldenmor.

  “Lookie!” The five dragonflies swarmed around the bright bloom, scattering the puffy seeds in a poof of activity. The ground shimmered. Clear, pristine puddles remained where the twinkling bits had fallen.

  Adriane’s wolf stone flashed bright gold. “Yes!”

  “Here it is.” Tweek held up his HORARFF, projecting an image of the rainbow flower. “Flora rainbowpufficus produces large quantities of raw magic, which can be harvested in a variety of ways. They are elemental in nature.”

  “If we can get the seeds to grow and bloom, we can replace the magic of Ravenswood!” Adriane exclaimed.

  “Easier said than done,” Tweek sighed, leaning against Storm. “There’s something I’m just not seeing. If I could just put my twig on it—”

  “What do we need, a Miracle-Gro spell?” Kara asked.

  Tweek’s quartz eyes practically bulged out of his grassy head. “Twingo!”

  The little E.F. took off, scurrying back through the glade to the Rocking Stone.

  Everyone raced after him.

  Tweek studied the glowing symbols on the tower’s base. “Of course!”

  “What?” Ozzie demanded.

  The E.F. grabbed Ozzie, pressing his nose to the stone. “Look!”

  “Gah.”

  “These symbols. It’s not a message—they’re directions!”

  “You mean this is a recipe for growing rainbow flowers?” Ozzie guessed.

  “Precisely!” Tweek pointed a twig at a flower-shaped symbol.

  “So that’s what Phel was doing!” Emily exclaimed. “Making sure we’d always have magic in Ravenswood.”

  “Let’s go for it!” Kara called out.

  “Inconceivable!” Tweek faced the mages. “Each one of you must add elemental magic needed to make the pufficus.”

  “Hurryupicus!” Ozzie shook Tweek.

  “Earth can’t thrive without water, air, fire, or time,” Tweek explained. “Each element must work together in harmony, strengthening all the others. Only together do you have the power to save Ravenswood.”

  “We can do this,” Adriane declared. “We have to!”

  The warrior led her friends back to the glade. Everything they had learned about magic would be put to the test.

  “Everyone team up with your magical animals and form a circle,” Tweek shouted, racing after the group.

  The mages and animals ringed the seedlings twinkling upon the forest floor. The five dragonflies flew about excitedly, each landing on a mage’s shoulder.

  The E.F. nodded, looking the group over. “Zach and Drake are a powerful time combination, Kara has Lyra and her paladin for fire, Adriane has the mistwolves for earth, and you two—”

  Emily and Ozzie stood in the circle with only Fiona and Blaze.

  The two d-flies looked at each other and zipped over to Kara.

  “Fine!” Ozzie called out.

  Ariel fluttered over the group, landing on Emily’s arm.

  “Thank you,” Emily said, nuzzling the white owl.

  “We’ll all help Emily and Ozzie,” Kara instructed, unicorn jewel sparkling with diamond light.

  Tweek waved his twigs at the mages. “But you still have to figure out how to work together.”

  “I know, spellsinging!” Kara said, twirling her unicorn jewel confidently.

  The mages had learned music was a powerful way to combine their magic.

  “A spellsong could harmonize your different types of magic,” Tweek agreed.

  Adriane nodded. “It’s time we did a little magic weaving of our own.”

  “Me, me, me,” Goldie sang.

  “You, you, you,” Fred sang back.

  Wolf stone glowing, Adriane stepped toward Emily, Kara, Zach, and Ozzie. The mages joined hands and paws, jewels sparkling with intertwining magic. With a rousing cheer, they broke apart and walked to their animal friends, jewels raised and ready.

  Tweek looked at Emily. “First up, we need water.”

  “We’re on it.” Emily stepped to the center of the circle, Ariel perched on her arm.

  The animals of Ravenswood gathered with the mistwolves and Drake, ready to send the healer magic.

  “Go, Emily!” the animals cheered.

  Emily closed her eyes in concentration. Then she started to sway, arms moving in a dance.

  Shimmering, showering

  Falling like rain

  Fountains of life

  Awaken again

  Emily sang, spinning in a circle, her red hair flying around her. Fiona, Blaze, Goldie, Barney, and Fred sparkled in the air as they danced with Ariel. The lake bubbled and churned, shooting arcs of water in rhythm with Emily’s soaring spellsong.

  Petals of green and blue blossomed from the rainbow stone, sinking into the black clouds overhead. Everyone in the circle gave magic to the healer as they sang together:

  Turning and turning

  This circle of friends

  One world, one home

  Begins where it ends

  Glittering rain fell, diamond white and pure as a spring shower.

  “Wonderful!” Adriane swayed to Emily’s song, feeling the seedlings springing to life as they drank in the sweet, clean water.

  Cheers rang across the glade as Emily, the d-flies, and Ariel took a bow.

  “The seedlings need the heat of fire to bloom,” Tweek instructed.

  “Sun team!” Kara and Goldie shimmied into the center of the circle with Lyra. The blazing star shut her eyes, concentrated, and called upon the magic of fire. “Starfire, I need you!” The unicorn jewel flared with bright Firemental magic. “We all need you.”

  In a meteoric woosh, a bolt of fire streaked across the sky. Iridescent orange-and-red flames twisted together and formed a magnificent stallion with strong muscles and flowing mane and tail.

  Everyone gaped in awe at the amazing creature that stood before them.

  “Blazing star.” The Firemental stallion bent his head over Kara’s shoulder as she hugged him, unicorn jewel instantly covering her in a protective shield.

  “Starfire, you came to me,” she said, barely holding back tears of joy.

  “I am for you.”

  With a swift leap, Kara swung onto his back. The incredible stallion reared, flames licking the air.

  Lyra and Goldie flapped their golden wings and hovered on either side of the blazing rider.

  “Go, Kara!” the crowd cheered.

  Kara hugged Starfire’s flaming neck. “Let’s rock!”

  Gleaming, streaming

  Star shining bright

  Color the land

  With your blanket of light

  Prisms of light streamed from the unicorn jewel, forming a bri
ght rainbow. The fire stallion’s hooves burned brightly as he raced into the air, pulling the rainbow after him in a curving arc.

  Goldie and Lyra followed Starfire, looping and weaving around the growing rainbow.

  As the sun team reached the top of the rainbow, the clouds parted. Bright sunlight spilled over the forest like a golden curtain. Small seedlings burst through the soil, dazzling bright points in the grass.

  “Excellent!” Adriane said, sensing the flowers reaching for the Firemental magic.

  Everyone cheered as Starfire landed, Kara’s arms held high. The rainbow stretched across the brilliant blue sky.

  Tweek nodded. “The flowers need time to grow and bloom.”

  “I am the germinator!” Zach exclaimed, stepping into the circle as Drake stomped forward, Barney on his head.

  The boy held his dragon stone high in the air. Drake threw back his head and roared, sending a burst of flame into the sky. Red waves of magic swirled from Zach’s jewel, rippling over the seedlings.

  Hours to days

  Morning to night

  Everything blooms

  When their time is right

  Rainbow flowers popped up like popcorn, blooming and spreading as Zach’s dragon magic fast-forwarded the flowers’ growing cycle. Sparkling puffs blossomed everywhere until there were hundreds shining across the floor of the glade.

  Adriane felt the flowers, heavy with magic, swaying on their stems. “Okay, they’re ready.” She hugged Drake’s neck and high-fived Zach.

  “We need wind to scatter the seeds,” Tweek directed.

  A flock of quiffles shoved Ozzie forward.

  “Go, Ozzie!”

  Ozzie closed his eyes tight, ferret stone glowing bright orange. Slowly he started floating up from the ground, until he was nose to nose with Starfire.

  Ozzie opened his eyes. “What are you looking at?”

  The stallion looked down.

  “Gah!”

  The ferret plummeted to the ground. Quickly springing to his feet, he adjusted his ferret stone and tried again.

  Wings all a-flutter

  Trees bend and sway

  The whistle of wind

  Brings new life today

  A gentle breeze ruffled the quiffles’ head feathers as the d-flies fluttered over Ozzie.

  “We need more,” Adriane called out, sensing the magic coming loose from the flowers. “Come on, Air Team. You’re almost there!”