Spellsinger (Avalon: Web of Magic #5) (16 page)

Suddenly, a chill wind kicked up and surrounded Johnny. In fury, he swung around and glared at Kara. What was that girl doing? Opening his mouth, he joined her in song, tightening his control, forcing Kara to sing the right words to his spell.

Kara tried to sing again, but she could barely catch her breath.

Emily and Adriane raced to the stage. Security guards converged on them.

“You have to let us through!” Adriane demanded.

“We told you, no one’s allowed on stage during the show!”

“Perhaps you’d like to talk to the ones that run this place.” Emily stepped aside to reveal Stormbringer and Lyra.

The animals bared their teeth and growled fiercely.

“Whoa!” The guard jumped back at the sight of the huge silver wolf and the large spotted cat. “No problem!”

Adriane pulled the animals back. “Thanks, guys. We’ll take it from here.”

Her gaze fell on the locket around Kara’s neck, glowing with dark magic.

“
That’s
what Johnny’s using to control Kara!” Without a second thought, Adriane launched herself on stage. She ran to Kara and knocked the fairy map away from her. The ball floated gently over the crowd.

People in the audience started to bat it around like a translucent beach ball.

Rage flared on Johnny’s face, but only for a second. Dancing to the edge of the stage, he motioned for the crowd to send the ball back to him.

Adriane surged toward Kara, her hand reaching for the locket—but she was yanked back. Another burly guard carried the struggling girl back to the wings.

A sudden awareness flooded into Kara. The fairy map was always meant for her. That’s what Johnny really wanted. Only she could open it—and find Avalon.

She heard Johnny. “Kara, you are the blazing star—now
finish
the spell!”

Wide-eyed with horror, Kara realized the terrible mistake she’d made—all the wrong decisions and all the wrong excuses to justify them.

She felt herself spiraling out of control. The locket that seemed to complete her, focus, and sharpen her magic, was a lie. Just like the dark magic Johnny had worked on her.

She had to sing.

It was her dream.

Her
nightmare.

There was a loud commotion backstage. Kara heard growls, scuffling, and people running. Then Adriane was racing toward her, reaching for the locket. Kara had a flash that this was a mistake, the worst mistake anyone could make.

Or maybe that was just what Johnny wanted her to think.

Adriane’s hand closed over the locket—

And for a single instant, Kara and Adriane’s minds were linked. Kara understood that Adriane hadn’t grabbed the locket for the sake of Ravenswood, or for Avalon, or even to protect herself; her only thought was to help her friend. Kara had been so wrong.

The chain securing the locket snapped—and Adriane threw it down, crushing it with her boot. Kara looked at Adriane, her eyes brimming with tears.

Adriane just nodded.

Howling with rage, Johnny ran around the stage, gesturing and singing wildly.

The fairy map floated above the audience as they bounced it to and fro. Bright stars moved inside it in shifting patterns.

If anyone had been in the open field just behind the trees, they might have seen a much larger light show. Paths of stars swirled in the portal as the blazing star’s magic created a chain reaction. Other portals opened one by one in a frantic tumbling of cosmic dominoes.

Johnny sang and a swirling cloud of intense energy formed several feet above his head. Deep shades of red and blue blended together as bolts of lightening shot out from its center, reaching for the fairy map. Suddenly, something else bobbed up into the air above the audience. It swatted the fairy map away then fell back into the crowd.

“What is that?” Emily asked.

Some sort of furry animal was being tossed into the air above the heads of the crowd.

“Ozzie!” Emily cried.

“Woot!” the ferret chortled as the crowd flipped him head over paws. Each time Ozzie flew into the air he swiped at the fairy map, knocking it away from Johnny’s grasp.

But all eyes were fixed on Kara, who was shining in a diamond-white light that bathed the stage and the crowd.

Kara tried desperately to control her magic, but it was too late. She had changed, and not in the way she had imagined. She had betrayed her friends and the bright light inside had turned—to darkness.

Suddenly, a loud guitar chord rang out over the crowd. An enormous cheer rose up.

Adriane was standing beside Kara, guitar in hand. “Let’s rock and roll!”

Grasping her friend’s magic, Kara wrapped herself in the warrior’s strength. Together they sang, their voices mixing in magical harmony.

Together we stand strong

Together we can make it right

When everything feels wrong

Let’s shine our light!

Clouds of white crystals rose from Kara, filling the air with beautiful sounds and washing away Johnny’s swirling pattern.

Whirling around to signal his band, Johnny switched to another tune, his voice thundering out over the stage. Tossing his head back, he howled a spellsong that morphed the mages’ magic. A roaring phoenix of red fire rose into the sky, opening its maw as if to bake the girls where they stood.

Kara held the unicorn horn tight and magic leaped forth. A blue-white unicorn formed in the air. The sparkling image reared back and charged the phoenix, impaling the fire creature with its horn. Cool silver sparkles rained down on the amazed audience as the images vanished.

Johnny launched into a smoldering version of the title song from his new CD.

I put a spell on you,

One look in my eyes, you know it’s true

One note of my voice tells you what to do

Don’t you know, I put a spell on you

Adriane’s guitar squealed in feedback and sparks flew. The girls’ voices faded as they began to sway under the spell of the song.

Suddenly, the sound of a flute sent an achingly beautiful melody arcing over the crowd. It was Emily. She stood next to Kara and Adriane. Playing her flute, she sent out the song of Lorelei, the song of friendship she shared with the unicorn.

Johnny stopped singing. Was he weakening?

“Come on, girls,” Kara yelled. “Let’s kick it!”

One chance for us all to stand together

One hope it’s going to last forever

We’ve got the spirit

We’re going to make it

I know the magic’s on our side

Kara’s voice sounded like… Kara’s voice, but to her friends it was the voice of an angel.

“Everybody help us! Join in!” Kara called out.

The entire audience sang with the girls.

Johnny was quivering, shimmering in lights. B*Tween’s song carried powerful magic. He ran behind the amplifiers as his human form began to melt away, twisting into a green, scaly monster.

Kara saw a dark shadow and caught sight of a bat flying away from the stage. She stood between Adriane and Emily and held out her hands. Adriane and Emily clasped hands with their friend, raising their arms high. A bolt of magic flew from the mages, arcing out into the evening sky.

Fireworks lit up the night as the Skultum was swept into the dreamcatcher and pulled into the swirling vortex. The portal closed.

For several long moments there was nothing but silence on the great lawn of Ravenswood. Then someone in the audience started clapping and others joined in. The audience surged to its feet, crying out for more!

Kara embraced her friends as they took a bow to a thundering round of applause. The band was looking around uncertainly for Johnny.

Holding the mic, Kara announced, “Johnny had to fly. But, before we go, I’d like to invite all the contestants to sing with us. Tonight, we’re all stars!”

The excited girls rushed onstage, surrounding Kara, Emily, and Adriane.

“I’d like our special animal friends to join us, too. They are the spirit of Ravenswood. Let’s have a big hand for Stormbringer!”

The crowd cheered as the silver wolf loped on stage and stood beside Adriane.

“My best friend ever, Lyra!”

Lyra padded over to Kara. Kara knelt and hugged the cat so tightly, Lyra thought she would burst.

“Ariel!” Emily shouted out.

The snowy owl swooped over the astonished crowd and landed on Emily’s arm.

Adriane took the mike. “And the one and only rock and roll ferret, Ozzie!”

The crowd went crazy cheering as Ozzie scampered onstage, pumping his paws in the air.

Kara turned to Heather and smiled. “You start.”

Heather smiled back and sang.

We’ve got the spirit

We’re going to make it

I know the magic’s on our side

We’ve got the power in the darkest hour

So don’t give up the Spirit of Avalon

Everyone sang together. Their voices joined as one and they sang from their hearts, sending the sweetest, truest, most powerful magic ringing out across the preserve, across their world, and across the magic web to what lay beyond.

“I
’VE NEVER SEEN
so many messages!” Ozzie exclaimed. The ferret was at the library computer reading through the hundreds of e-mails that had been pouring in from all over the world.

Congrats on a great show!

The special effects were awesome!

Are you available to appear in Springfield?

Ravenswood rules!

“We haven’t finished the ‘I told you so’s’ yet.” Adriane paced the floor of the library, throwing her arms in the air. “You and magic, Kara! It’s like throwing gasoline on fire!”

Kara nodded, eyes lowered. Emily was there, too, along with Storm, Lyra, Ronif, Rasha, and Balthazar. The unicorn horn lay on the table where Kara had put it—after she had confessed everything. Next to the crystal horn, the glowing orb of stars twinkled, tiny points of light inside configured in a still unknown pattern.

It had taken most of Sunday to get the great lawn cleaned up. It would still take some weeks before everything was back to normal. If that would
ever
be possible.

But all Kara thought about was how much she’d wanted to believe Johnny’s lies, how her selfish emotions had triggered her magic in all the wrong ways. She had really messed up big time. Why couldn’t she make good magic like the others? Even after all this time, she had no better control over the magic than when she had first discovered it—maybe even worse. She was supposed to be part of a team, building trust and confidence, not destroying everything they worked so hard for—like the friendships she had almost so carelessly thrown away.

She leaned into Lyra, hugging her friend quietly.

“Ha! Check this out,” the ferret said. “Teen singer, Johnny Conrad, rejoined his band for a show in Memphis. When asked about the successful benefit performance at Ravenswood, he seemed in a daze and couldn’t remember the show!”

Emily looked over the ferret’s shoulder. “Well, at least he’s okay.”

“Great!” Kara was on her feet. “The
real
Johnny Conrad won’t remember anything!” she exclaimed. Her star had come and gone.

“Here’s one from the Town Council,” Ozzie said.

Congratulations on a terrific event. Stonehill has been on the news all day. The Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve and Ravenswood Manor have been marked for landmark status. We need someone to represent the town, any suggestions?

Adriane ran to the screen. “Wow. That’s incredible!”

“How about that, Kara?” Emily said.

“Tell them to send Mrs. Windor,” Kara said, walking to the window.

The others stared at her.

“Let
her
take the credit. I’ve had my time in the spotlight,” she said wistfully.

Emily glanced at Adriane and nudged her. “You were also under the creature’s spell, Adriane.”

“Yeah,” Adriane sighed. “And I’m really sorry about the way I acted. Really sorry, Kara.”