Spellsinger (Avalon: Web of Magic #5) (2 page)

“All ready, princess?” The handsome mayor of Stonehill smiled, running fingers through his graying but thick hair.

“I have all the papers right here.” She smiled, showing off her new leather case, a gift from the Mayor’s staff. They’d been very impressed with the diligence of Ravenswood’s young president. At least
some
people appreciated her efforts.

“You still have to get final approval from Mrs. Windor and the rest of the Ravenswood committee for the construction of your stage,” Mayor Davies reminded her, pulling the car out of the driveway.

“No prob, Mayor Davies. Everything’s under control.”

B
EASLEY WINDOR TAPPED
her foot impatiently, beady eyes darting back and forth. She raised the large lion’s head door knocker and pounded away at the front door to Ravenswood Manor. A few members of the council were with her, including Sid Stewart, Lionel Hoover, and Mary Rollins.

“We haven’t seen anything unusual so far, Beasley,” Lionel remarked.

“Just keep your eyes open,” Mrs. Windor said, scanning the trails leading into thick woods. “Something strange is going on out here, and I’m going to find out what.”

“Hoo doo yoo doo.”

Startled, Mrs. Windor spun around. A red-haired girl walked across the gravel driveway toward the group. A great snowy owl was perched on her shoulder. The owl’s flared wing tips sparkled with flecks of turquoise and lavender. Mrs. Windor eyed the owl suspiciously. She could have sworn the owl just spoke. No one else seemed to have heard anything unusual. But the girl, Emily Fletcher… did she just give that bird a warning look?

“Hi, everyone,” Emily said, quickly stroking the owl’s wings closed. “Er… Kara’s on her way and Adriane must be in the library at the computer.”

“Hello, Emily. We hear your Ravenswood website has gotten quite a few hits,” Sid Stewart said.

Emily smiled. “It’s getting really busy! We've been posting information on animals, ecology, and environmental issues. We all have to think ‘green’ you know.”

“Very interesting,” Mary Rollins said, clearly impressed.

“Yes, and our teacher is giving us extra credit for sharing it with the school.” Emily looked at Mrs. Windor. “I’d be happy to show you—”

“I want to see everything!” Mrs. Windor snapped. “And I want a list of every animal here on the preserve. Every since that
peculiar
incident at Miller’s Industrial Park, animals have shown up at the mall and even at the school. Your disruption at the football game with that—
horse
thing was too much!”

Emily winced, thinking about the unicorn, Lorelei. Emily had felt such a strong bond with her. Although the unicorn had been gone for only a few weeks, Emily missed her greatly. “We thought the Stonehill Sparks could use a mascot. It would tie into the whole theme of Ravenswood Preserve being such an important place for animals.”

“You’re saying a
unicorn
represents the theme of Ravenswood?” Mrs. Windor snickered.

“No… it’s just…”

“Oh c’mon, Beasley,” Sid chuckled. “It was just a make-believe unicorn. Very imaginative, too.”

“And the kids loved it,” added Lionel. “Our team won.”

Mrs. Windor glared at Emily. “Just what kind of animals are you hiding here?” she asked accusingly.

From the corner of her eye, Emily saw Lyra drop from the skies behind the manor.

“Just the ones that live here… I mean—” she sputtered nervously.

“We do have a deal with the Town Council, if you remember, to protect
all
the animals that live here,” said a new voice.

Everyone turned as Nakoda, Adriane's grandmother and the official caretaker of Ravenswood, emerged from the front door of the manor. “In the absence of the owner, Mr. Gardener, the girls have done a wonderful job managing Ravenswood.”

“Our
deal
is to see if the preserve makes economic sense for the town,” Mrs. Windor countered.

“And we’re willing to open the preserve for a benefit concert,” Gran reminded her. “With a percentage of the profits going to the Stonehill Council.”

“Assuming there
are
profits,” Mrs. Windor said. “You’re asking us to pay for some rock and roll concert when this land could be used to benefit everyone.”

“Tourism dollars are the backbone of many small communities,” Lionel mused.

“Not to mention the press this should generate,” Sid added.

“You’ll see,” Emily said. “It’s going to be great.”

“It’s not going to
be
anything at all, young lady,” Mrs. Windor reminded her. “Not until
we
say it is.”

The mayor’s Lexus pulled into the wide circular driveway and came to a stop. Kara bounded out. “Hey, kids!”

“Ah, Mayor Davies,” Lionel said as he walked to the mayor to shake his hand. Sid was right behind him.

“Greetings, Sid, Lionel, Mary. A beautiful day, isn’t it, Beasley?”

“Mayor Davies,” Mrs. Windor said gruffly, wagging her finger. “I expect a complete breakdown of this proposed event.”

“Right! I have all the specs right here.” Kara flipped her hair back and opened her briefcase.

“Good day to you, Nakoda.” The mayor bowed to Gran and turned to face Mrs. Windor. “Kara has it all worked up, Beasley,” he said.

Kara smiled and glanced down at the papers and gasped. They were all out of order!

Emily slid in with a save. “Come on, we’ll show you where the event will take place out on the Great Lawn.”

Shuffling papers, Kara followed Emily as she herded the group along the path that led to the back lawn bordered by resplendent gardens. The surrounding trees were ablaze with the colors of autumn.

A sudden rustling made Mrs. Windor look around furtively. Something with soft blue and pink fur danced past the trees.

“The stage will go there,” Kara pointed out quickly, managing to draw Mrs. Windor’s attention away from the magical animals that should have been safely hidden. That’s supposed to be Adriane’s responsibility, Kara thought, annoyed.

“The stage is really just a raised platform,” Mayor Davies added. “The show goes on from four till six, Saturday afternoon.”

Kara finished sorting out the papers and presented them to Mrs. Windor. “It’s all right here.”

Mrs. Windor glared at Kara as she took the papers.

“With the newest, hottest band coming, to make sure it’s a hit!” Kara exclaimed.

“Not exactly.”

The group whirled around. Adriane walked toward them, a paper fluttering in her hand. “B*Tween isn’t coming.”

“
What?
”

“Look for yourself.” Adriane held up a printout.

Kara snatched the e-mail.

Dear Miss Davies,

Unfortunately, B*Tween will not be able to make an appearance at your benefit concert. The entire tour has been canceled due to unforeseen events. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Joseph Blackpool, CEO

Worldwide Tours Unlimited

“B*Tween isn’t coming,” Kara repeated glumly, all the energy draining out of her.

“Well, there goes your little show,” Mrs. Windor said with a smirk.

“No way!” Kara said, trying to think fast. “They
have
to show up!”

“They’re missing,” Adriane said.

“Huh?”

“Word online says B*Tween vanished. Just disappeared.”

“Disappeared? How does a group like B*Tween just disappear?” It was probably all part of some bogus publicity stunt to get people talking. And who cares about some little benefit concert, right? Kara kicked a small stone. “That’s just great!”

“However...” Adriane said with a sly edge to her voice.

“What?” Kara was almost afraid to ask.

“There’s a second e-mail.” Adriane’s dark eyes twinkled as she held up a second printout.

“What? What!” Kara reached for it.

“Let’s see here…” Adriane teased her, moving the paper out of Kara’s clasping fingers.

“Hurry Up! Oh, give me that!” Kara grabbed the e-mail.

Miss Davies,

Further to our last e-mail, we received notice that one of our premier musical performers has volunteered to replace B*Tween at your benefit event: Johnny Conrad.

Kara’s eyes went wide.

“Johnny Conrad…” Kara wobbled and sank to the ground. “Johnny Conrad… coming here!” she screamed.

“Johnny Conrad? Even I’ve heard of him!” Mary Rollins exclaimed.

“Wow! He’s one of the biggest stars in the world!” Emily said, amazed.

Kara jumped to her feet. “Johnny Conrad is coming here!” She swooned and promptly sat down again.

“Can you believe it?” Adriane grinned. “This town is going to rock!”

“
Ahhh!
” Kara screamed, leaping in the air.

The three girls were hugging and jumping up and down together.

“Well, this event will certainly generate some publicity for Ravenswood,” Mayor Davies smiled. “Good work, girls.”

“Johnny Conrad!” Kara squealed, stomping her pink sneakers into the grass.

Sid pulled Mrs. Windor aside. “Do you know what kind of crowd a star like this will attract?” he whispered. “Thousands of people are going to show up!”

“Yes…” Mrs. Windor smiled evilly. “Think of it, thousands of kids, press, and tourists all coming here to the Ravenswood Preserve.”

“This will surely put Ravenswood on the map,” Sid said proudly.

“If there’s anything left of it after it’s over,” Mrs. Windor whispered, grinning.

kstar:
got some news today—B*Tween can’t come and play

beachbunny:
:-! what happened?

goodgollymolly:
what’s wrong?

beachbunnie:
I just heard their latest song

goodgollymolly:
they didn’t break up, did they?

beachbunnie:
tell me that’s not what u’r gonna say :( ’

Sunlight poured through the large windows of Ravenswood Manor’s library, gently caressing Kara’s face as she watched the texts flying across her phone. Drawing a deep breath, she let her fingers dance over the keys.

kstar:
fear nottest, we got the hottest

goodgollymolly
: who could be so cool?

beachbunny:
we must tell everyone at school

kstar:
Johnny Conrad!

goodgollymolly:
Johnny Conrad? I’m SCREAMin! :-O O-:

beachbunnie:
he’s totally hot!

goodgollymolly:
Johnny Conrad? I must be dreamin!

A sudden tap on the shoulder made Kara jump half out of her skin. “Hey, Lady Gaga!”

“What?” Kara snapped. She whirled around to see Adriane standing behind her with a grave expression.

“We got a problem.” Adriane said. “It’s Mrs. Windor. She came in with the construction teams.”

“So? Let her boss them around for a bit. Give her something to do.”

“She snuck off into the woods. She’s out there right now and she’s got a camera.”

Kara’s stomach tightened. “Did you get the feeling that she caved too easily on this concert?”

“Yeah, it had crossed my mind,” Adriane said.

“Let’s go!” Kara exclaimed.

Signing off, Kara raced with Adriane from the library, down the rear stairs, and out the back of the manor house. About ten men were hauling huge planks of wood across the great lawn. Another group rolled cable and equipment. Others stood looking at a set of plans.

“Where is she now?” Kara asked Adriane.

“Storm, what’s happening?” Adriane called into empty air. Instantly, she heard the silver mistwolf’s answer in her mind.

“
She’s headed for the Rocking Stone.
”

Kara heard, too. “Oh, great! What if she finds the secret glade?” Kara picked up her pace. “What’s Storm going to do? Wrestle Mrs. W. to the ground and take her camera?”

“That’s why
you’re
here.” Adriane grinned. “We need some presidential action.”

They flew past the hedge maze and took a path into the woods. Only a small barrier of trees separated the Rocking Stone from the glade where so many of the homeless animals from the magical world of Aldenmor now lived.

Mrs. Windor was determined to shut down Ravenswood through any means necessary; if she could show the Town Council pictures of strange creatures—or even what looked like bizarre animals—running loose in the preserve, she’d almost certainly get her way. And that would only be the beginning. A video would be a sure hit on YouTube and then the truth would be discovered. Scientists or some government agency would take the magical animals away; they would remain in cages, possibly the subject of experiments—or worse—for the rest of their lives.

They could not let that happen to their new friends. Kara and Adriane raced toward the stone marker.

B
EASLEY WINDOR TRIPPED
half a dozen times on roots she could have sworn were trying to snag her. She had whacked her head twice on low lying branches that she was certain swept in out of nowhere—it simply couldn’t have been that she was looking one way and walking another. This was a dangerous place.