Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3) (6 page)

Adriane had been trying not to think about that. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to get home. And what if she was
never
able to get home? No, don’t even go there! Panicking wouldn’t do her or Storm any good. She had to stay focused on the task at hand, as Storm had taught her.

“I have a friend here. I’m on my way to find her,” Adriane explained as they continued to walk past dark and forbidding woods. “She’s my best friend in the world—my world, anyway. You ever have a friend like that?”

The rock shuddered and rolled on top of her foot.

Adriane stopped and looked down. “Well, you have one now.”

The rock rolled around Adriane’s feet.

She brushed brambles out of their way as she pushed through small patches of fog, winding around dead trees, following the soft, golden halo of the wolf stone. Finally Adriane realized they were leaving the vicinity of the gray forest. Green grass was beginning to show in patches. Cold wind swept her hair as they crested a steep incline. Before them lay a series of mist-covered valleys. Adriane could see the tops of rocky cliffs, then foothills, and beyond them loomed the crystalline mountains.

“This is not the way I imaged Aldenmor to be,” she mused. “Ravenswood is so beautiful. This is such a cold and frightening place.”

The rock wobbled beside her.

“You’re a really good listener, you know that?” Adriane was glad to have the rocky hitchhiker along for the journey. With it by her side, she felt a little less alone in this strange and scary world.

She didn’t see the giant flying creature and its rider circling overhead, watching her every move.

“L
ET’S ROCK AND
roll!” Adriane called out.

The rock was moving in big circles as they made their way down a steep hill in lazy, sprawling zigzag patterns. The rock ambled along, zigging as she zagged.

“Hey, you’re pretty good.” Adriane laughed as the rock twirled past like a graceful skater. “C’mon! Race ya to the top!” She took off up the next hill.

The rock spun around and with a burst of speed, plowed straight past her, right to the crest of the hill.

“No fair!” Adriane called out. “You rocked
and
rolled!” She laughed.

The rock froze at the top of the hill. Then it began shaking, spun around, and rolled back to Adriane, hiding behind her legs. It was quivering in fear.

Adriane’s guard went up. “What’s wrong? What is it?” But the rock wouldn’t stop shaking.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. But something told her it wasn’t.

She carefully made her way to the top of the hill and looked down the other side. Her heart thudded.

Below lay a wide, deep valley, covered in shifting mists. And through the flowing mist, Adriane caught glimpses of the valley floor. Deep gashes ran like open wounds ripped through the earth. They glowed with a sickly green. Black Fire.

“Oh, no!” Adriane gasped. The green glowed menacingly, moving in rivers through the valley, reaching for the mountains beyond.

She had seen the poison in the animals at Ravenswood. She had seen it dripping like venom from the manticore, but nothing could have prepared her for the magnitude of what lay before her.

Fear crept up her back. Nothing could survive the onslaught of such horrendous evil. She looked at the mountains beyond. She had to cross this valley. They would have to skirt around the green rivers of poison.

She took a deep breath. “Come on. This way.”

Mist crept down over the hillside. The rock took a tentative roll beside her, and stopped again. Adriane tensed. Large shapes lay partially hidden in the fog. When they didn’t move, she stepped closer. The shapes lay spread out upon the sloping hillside. She gingerly stepped closer and the mist parted to reveal bodies.

Adriane cried out, her hand covering her mouth.

They were huge animals. They reminded her of the wooly mammoths she had seen on a Discovery Channel special. What once had been an entire herd now lay still in the field. They were dead, all of them, covered in glowing green poison, horribly burned by the Black Fire.

Adriane fought back nausea. Tears ran down her face as she walked by the silent graveyard. The rock rolled right at her heels, not leaving her side.

What kind of world is this that would let such magnificent animals be slaughtered?

“Come on, Rocky, there’s nothing we can do for them.”

Adriane led the rock past the horrendous scene and entered the valley below, keeping a sharp eye out for the rivers of green poison. The air seemed to crackle with unsettling electricity. More and more, she felt as if she were being watched. She looked at the surrounding hills. Through the mist, she caught sight of something moving in the grass down the hill right toward them. Blue sparks of light flashed as it moved. And it was fast. Suddenly she saw more moving through the grass and down the hill to her left. She turned to look at the other side and saw dozens more racing toward them. Arcing blue flashes of electricity ignited sparks in the air as they moved.

Her wolf stone was pulsing with deep crimson light.

“Rocky, we have to run!”

Adriane took off, her legs making long strides across the valley floor. Rocky rolled behind her, trying to keep up. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw her pursuers moving faster.

Whatever they were, they were small, small enough to be hidden in the tall grass.

She didn’t like this at all. She had to be careful not to run into the deep gashes of poison. And the flowing mist was making it very difficult to see.

She turned back and peered into the fog. Something screamed and lunged straight for her. She had a split second to register that it was jet-black with blazing red eyes before it knocked into her, sending her flying. Twisting as she fell, she folded her body into a tuck and rolled back up into a fighting stance. But there was nothing there. Whatever it was had vanished back into the mist.

More high-pitched screams erupted around her, surrounding her.

“Rocky? Where are you?”

Sharp pain lanced into her neck as something jumped her from behind. She screamed and whipped around, tossing the creature to the ground. The thing was instantly back on its feet. It looked like an inkblot in the shape of a small man with bright red eyes. A spark of electrical energy raced through its body with a snap.

It attacked again. This time, Adriane swung her arm, and a blazing stream of fire whipped from her jewel. She turned, stepped to the side, and swept the fire upward, smacking the creature back into the mist. Four more came at her. Incredibly fast, they were on her before she knew it. Two went for her legs as the other two leaped for her head. Adriane jumped and kicked, knocking the lower ones against one another. She spun in a circle to shield her head as the other two screeched wildly, grabbing for her hair and eyes. Adriane screamed as magic fire exploded from her gem. Black ink splattered as the two creatures were ripped to pieces. Droplets rained to the ground, sparking and pulsing. Adriane watched in horror as the drops of black slowly pulled together and rose up. The creatures began to re-form.

She dropped down, swiping her hair off her face, frantically searching for Rocky as she waited for the next attack.

To her right, the mist parted, and she saw a dozen of the inky things circling the rock, trying to keep it penned in the middle. Silver-blue sparks of electricity shot through the rock as they tried to trap it. She swung her arm, whipped out a long trail of magic and let it fly. Golden fire crashed into the creatures, splattering them into pools of black.

“Rocky! Over here!”

Before the things could re-form, the rock dashed past them to Adriane’s side.

“Run!” she screamed.

They took off across the valley, streaking headlong into mist—and stopped short. Across their path lay a glowing gash of Black Fire. It was too wide to jump.

Breathing hard, Adriane whirled around. The monsters had regrouped. Dozens were running toward them, screeching like mad spirits out of a nightmare.

Behind her, the river of poison stretched into the distance both right and left. There was no way to run around it. They were trapped. The creatures were closing in fast. Rocky suddenly took off, barreling right at them.

“No! Rocky!”

The rock plowed into them like a bowling ball. The inky monsters went flying.

There was a rush of air, and dust and dirt swirled around her. Adriane fell to her knees, covering her eyes and mouth to keep from choking. Through her fingers, she saw a winged creature hovering above her. It had the body of a lion and the head of a giant bird. Its wings were enormous, spanning a good twelve feet. A hand suddenly reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up and tossing her onto the flying creature’s back. Someone was sitting in front of her.

“I hate imps,” the figure said simply, turning around to look at Adriane. Her jaw dropped. Adriane was pretty sure it was a human boy.

“Hang on!” he shouted, turning back to spur his mount. The creature’s wings flapped and it rose into the air. Adriane twisted around to see Rocky still on the ground, toppling over as it desperately tried to jump.

“No! Wait! Let me go!” Adriane screamed. She bucked and struggled.

“Stop that! What are you doing?” the boy yelled, reaching back to keep her seated.

“Let me go!”

With a fierce push, Adriane flung herself off the flying creature. Grabbing its leg, she hung on, sending it careening into a dizzying spin. The surprised beast gave a loud squawk as it tried to shake loose its swinging baggage. Adriane hung on, forcing it toward the ground. Letting go, she dropped. She landed, rolled and sprang back up to her feet.

“Rocky!” she yelled.

The rock quickly rolled over to her and she bent to lift it. It was heavy! Adriane didn’t know what to do. The imps were going to be on them in seconds.

“Hurry, pass it here!”

The boy was leaning over the side of the flying creature as it beat its powerful wings to stay in the air. She had no choice. She lugged the rock up to the boy, grabbed his other arm, and swung back up behind him. The imps swarmed, climbing on top of one another, madly grabbing at the flying creature’s legs, igniting a flurry of sparks. The flying beast lashed out with sharp claws, splattering the pile of imps. Adriane hung on for her life as the mighty winged creature swept up into the sky.