Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3) (19 page)

Diminutive members of the Demon class, imps are formed by twisted, electrical magical currents that hold their oily jet black forms together. If injured, they can re-form themselves or merge together into larger forms. Imps have no individual thought, they act as a unit and follow one group prerogative.

Winged medium size member of the Demon class, gargoyles are vicious monster predators. Unlike imps, gargoyles are cunning and ruthless hunters, using their terrifying and nightmarish looks to their advantage.

E
MILY TRIED TO
explain how important this was. “The whole magic web is at stake,” she told them, her voice thick with tension and fear. “Lorelei is supposed to protect the web. If she can’t repair it quickly, it’s going to keep falling apart!”

“But going into the portal—it’s too dangerous,” Ozzie said.

“I’m going through!” Emily said defiantly.

“How will we find Lorelei even if we do go through?” Kara asked.

“I can find her,” Emily stated. “I have to.”

Ghyll stepped forward. “I am a fairy creature, a magic tracker. If we go right now, I can help find the unicorn on the web.”

“I don’t know,” Ozzie said. “It sounds risky.”

“I went through once before,” Adriane reminded the others. “My wolfstone protected me.”

“What will happen to the web, to Aldenmor and the Fairimentals, if we don’t help Lorelei?” Emily asked. “We have to decide now!”

She glanced at the portal. In a few moments it would be gone.

“One jumps, we all jump!” Adriane announced.

“Why I listen to you two is beyond me,” Kara said.

“Storm, you and Lyra stay here and take care of the others,” Adriane ordered.

“I will contact you if I do not hear from you,”
Storm told her.

“Hold onto me,” Gyhll said.

The three girls grabbed hold of Ghyll as he took a mighty hop.

“Wait for me!” Ozzie yelled.

Emily reached out. Ozzie leaped and grabbed hold as they jumped through the misty veil and fell into the portal.

The flobbin drifted in space. Kara, Emily, Adriane, and Ozzie floated alongside. They seemed to be encased in a gold-and-blue bubble. The amber glow of the wolf stone and the blue-green glow of the rainbow jewel filled the bubble. Outside, streaks of light swept by as the bubble flew across an endless ribbon of stars.

Ghyll was concentrating on the rows of blazing lights that flew towards them. “To the left,” he called.

Adriane and Emily shifted their stones to the left, and the bubble turned, careening into a connecting path of starlight.

Emily’s eyes were wide with astonishment. Long, wide swaths of glowing light, like highways, spiraled and stretched, searing past them at enormous speed.

“Right!” Ghyll ordered.

The girls shifted their stones, banking the bubble right, where it soared onto another streaming path, flying out over the vast web.

“This is amazing!” Emily exclaimed.

“I remember actually riding on the strands of the web,” Kara said, referring to her wild unicorn ride. “But this is intense!”

“Are we there yet?” Ozzie covered his eyes as the bubble dipped, then dropped down a vertical well of looping strands, spinning upside down and jumping forward once again.
“GarG!”
The ferret was jolted into the air. “Doesn’t this thing come with seatbelts?”

“Hurry, Ghyll,” Emily cried.

“I can only track the unicorn,” said the flobbin. “You can increase the speed with your magic.”

“Hold on!” Kara touched her fingers to each of the jewels, and the bubble shot forward like a rocket.

“Ahhhh!” Ozzie cried out.

The bubble sped across the web like a shooting star, arcing towards an intersection of pathways. A wide platform of light floated where the highways met.

“There!” Ghyll called out.

“Where? Which one?” Adriane asked.

“All of them.” He pointed.

Emily and Adriane moved their jewels, and the bubble slid into an approaching pathway. Bouncing slightly, they came to a halt on the edge of the platform. The bubble flared and disappeared.

Splashes of light danced behind Emily’s eyes, inside her head. Music filled the air—bright, brilliant, enormous, as if the universe itself were singing.

Emily opened her eyes, awestruck. They stood on an immense, circular platform, looking out upon the web itself. The magic web! An endless array of gleaming strands stretched out in every direction, woven into impossibly complex patterns. At every intersection, tiny glittering stars twinkled with pure white energy. When she looked down, Emily realized the platform was made of thousands of tightly woven strands. The platform formed the base of a giant circle, surrounded by connecting strands of the web. Smoke plumed from various places along the pathways. Upon closer inspection, she could see that sections of the web had been burned away. Loose strands unraveled as sparking embers of green glow spread from the edges—Black Fire. Through the gaping holes she could see where sections of starways crumbled and burned, falling away into the black of nothingness. Even the flobbin seemed stunned by the devastation of the ruined web.

“Where are we?” Adriane asked.

“A nexus,” Ghyll said quietly.

“A what?”

“There are sections of the web where many paths converge in one place,” Ghyll explained. “This is a nexus.”

“Like a train station,” Emily said.

“If you follow the right path, you can jump to different places, worlds.”

“Is it safe here?” Kara asked.

“I’ve never seen the web destroyed before. It’s terrible. And dangerously unstable.” Ghyll shifted his flippers nervously.