Heart of Avalon (Avalon: Web of Magic #10): (12 page)

J
EWEL FIRE EXPLODED
in the cave. Red, silver, pink, and orange beams ricocheted everywhere as the mages rocketed into action.

Adriane somersaulted through the air, landing in perfect fighting formation, Dreamer snarling beside her. Wolf fire sprang from her fists, slicing through one of the hydra necks. The hissing head splashed to the floor.

“My turn.” Kara twirled, blond hair spinning around her. She landed in a crouch, Lyra by her side. Diamond red and white fire sizzled through another hydra neck, releasing a torrent of steam.

The blazing star smiled at the warrior.

But her triumph was premature.

The severed necks sparked and split apart, sprouting
four
heads where two had been before.

Adriane lashed out again, but only made it worse. The hydra grew two heads for each one the mages lopped off.

“You have to take magic to survive.” The sorceress’s raised hands controlled the hydra like a marionette. “I learned that a long time ago.”

Tasha stood spellbound beside the sorceress, unable to move as magic fire sparked dangerously all around her. Loren held Kara’s gaze for an instant before disappearing into the shadows at the back of the cave.

Like twisting serpents, the regenerated heads latched on to the eggs. Bright magic pulsed down the hydra’s throats.

“Marina!” The healer reached out, desperately seeking the core of the watermental’s magic. “Stop it, you’re killing them!”

A violent flash of deep red sent her reeling back, heart pounding. Marina was gone, twisted beyond recognition.

“The magic is mine, one way or another,” the sorceress taunted them.

“Save the eggs!” Marlin cried, grabbing two of the fragile eggs in the nick of time. Two snake-heads missed by inches, smashing into the floor instead.

“Shield!” Adriane ordered. Warrior and mistwolf spun in a tight circle, streaking silver fire in a crisscrossing pattern.

Kara and Lyra were a step behind them, binding unicorn power into the shield.

It didn’t work. Just as before, wolf and unicorn power repelled each other, unable to meld.

“Zach!” Adriane yelled.

The boy added blazing dragon fire, binding Kara and Adriane’s magic into a shimmering dome. The three mages threw their shield, blanketing a large pile of eggs. The snake-heads hissed steam, weaving in the air, looking for an opening.

“Go, go, go!” the warrior ordered. “Get the others!”

Emily and Marlin scrambled to rescue the defenseless eggs, depositing them under the protective shield.

“Save the booty!” Cribby yelled as he and Ozzie rolled a large egg behind the mages.

Indi used his nose to roll several eggs out of harm’s way.

Arms ablaze with energy, the sorceress furiously pushed the water hydra forward.

Red lightning spiked along the forcefield as the monster struck. The shield wavered but snapped back in place.

“Give it up!” Kara yelled.

“Keep it coming!” Adriane held her hand palm up, beckoning the sorceress closer, black eyes sparking with fury.

Ozzie dashed back and forth, depositing eggs in the pile. “We can’t stay here forever!”

From the corner of her eye, Emily caught Lorren sneaking along the back of the cave toward Tasha.

“Adriane, keep her distracted.”
Kara shot a telepathic message to the warrior.

“I thought I was doing that,”
the warrior replied.

“Oh, good job.”

“Dreamer!”

The black mistwolf roared as his packmate fired powerful bolts of silver at the sorceress, slamming her against the opposite wall. The magic meter tumbled across the cave floor.

“Distracting enough?”

Kara gave the warrior a thumbs-up.

The sorceress’s eyes flared with rage as she got to her feet. Rearing up, the hydra struck again, furiously pounding away at the shield.

Adriane flicked her wrist. Easily sidestepping the lumbering hydra, Dreamer lunged at the enemy.

The Dark Sorceress fired directly at the mistwolf—only to hit bare crystal walls. Dreamer had vanished, leaving a trail of misty sparkles. The sorceress whirled, trying to gauge where the wolf might attack from next.

“That’s all the eggs,” Ozzie announced, matting his forehead with a paw.

Emily frantically surveyed the pile beneath the glowing shield. There were hundreds. What was she going to do now?

“Huddle up,” Adriane ordered.

“What’s the plan?” Kara asked as the mages gathered behind the dome.

The warrior turned to Emily. “What about it, Doc?”

“Marina is the cause of the water sickness,” Emily was thinking aloud. “We can’t heal the water unless we heal her.”

“That’s why the Dark Sorceress just gave us the power crystal,” the warrior said, angrily. “It was full of dark magic.”

Emily nodded. “The sorceress planned it all along.”

“Can you heal Marina?” Marlin asked Emily, eyes wide with fear.

“I can’t use this magic,” Emily said, glancing at the eggs. “It would destroy them.”

“We can’t keep this up,” Zach reminded them as the hydra battered the shield.

“Something’s got to give.”

As if on cue, several eggs began to shudder and crack.

Marlin’s face flushed. “What’s happening to them?”

“Too much magical energy,” Zach cried. “They’re starting to hatch!”

“Do something!” Marlin screamed.

“What am I supposed to do?” Emily cried.

Large cracks began spreading over dozens of eggs.

“We can’t let them hatch,” Zach called out. “They’ll imprint on the first person they see.”

“I’m calling Starfire,” Kara announced, preparing to summon her paladin, the fire stallion. “He can help us heal Marina.”

“I’m calling Stormbringer.” The warrior raised her wolf stone.

“We can’t risk using your paladins!” Emily cried. “Their magic is too strong. All these eggs would hatch!”

“Everyone, clam down!” Ozzie ordered as six eggs shuddered, cracking open in front of his eyes. “Gah!” the ferret screamed and ran around in circles. “Help!”

Emily felt the world close in around her. Ragged breath caught in her throat as she fought to stay calm.

“Time,” the healer said, spinning to face Zach. “We need time. That’s your department.”

“I’ll try.” Zach closed his eyes, dragon stone glowing as he called upon his elemental power of time. Sweat broke on his brow as rings of magic pulsed from his wrist, trickling over the mages.

“Hurry up!” the blazing star ordered.

“Careful, Zach,” Adriane cautioned.

“Oh, give me that magic.” Kara swung her fists, locking unicorn power around Zach’s wrist. The boy cried out as Kara seized his magic, forcing it over the eggs and encircling the hydra.

“Kara, stop!” In a blaze of silver, Adriane tried to fight Kara off.

But the blazing star’s magic was unstoppable. It latched on to the wolf stone, too! Kara’s magic was greedy, hungry, consuming everything in its path. The shield crackled with the impact, threatening to rip to pieces.

“Kara, let go!” Emily grabbed Kara’s arm, trying to pull her back. With Lyra helping her, they pulled Kara and Zach apart.

“What are you doing?” Zach yelled, rubbing his arms.

Kara fell back. “What does it look like? I’m saving the eggs.”

“You’re out of control!” Adriane shouted, wolfstone blazing.

Lyra stepped in front of Kara protectively, teeth bared.

“Stop it!” Ozzie bellowed as he planted himself between the two mages.

Kara and Adriane glared at each other, jewels pulsing dangerously.

“We have enough to deal with without you two going at it!”

But Kara’s boost had worked. Zach’s time magic had slowed the hydra, its dozens of necks bobbing and weaving sluggishly. Even the Dark Sorceress seemed unable to lift her arms to control the watermental.

“Kara, you can’t just take magic like that!” Emily exclaimed.

“I was only helping.” The blazing star sneered at Adriane.

“You hurt him!” the warrior snarled.

“I’m fine, just keep sending me power,” Zach said evenly, stone sparking as his time magic held the hydra at bay. “Easy.”

“Okay,” Ozzie squeaked, lying over three eggs that had rolled free of the shield. “But no more surprises.”

Suddenly, Lorren appeared out of thin air, Tasha beside him.

“Ahhh!”

“Tasha!” Kara hugged her, then held her at arm’s length. “Are you all right?”

“I think so. Gertie and I landed downriver and the next thing I knew, I was in this cave.”

“Sounds like the same spell we were under,” Marlin said.

The air sparkled as Dreamer’s invisible mist reshaped into solid wolf form. Tasha’s magic meter was clamped firmly in his mouth.

“Thanks, Dreamer.” Tasha cleaned it with the hem of her robe and ran a finger over its surface “Holy cow!”

“Unicorn,”
Indi corrected her.

“Emily…” Ozzie wobbled as an egg beneath him shuddered. The shell fractured as a tiny, webbed fin reached out, struggling to free itself.

The ferret leaped in the air. “It’s hatching!”

Emily knelt next to it as Indi watched her with wide eyes. She had so badly wanted a bonded animal, and now it looked like she was going to get her wish tenfold!

“Emily, look out!”

Marlin pushed Emily aside as the infant dragon poked his long nose through the crumbling shell. The baby wailed mournfully, searching for its mother. Large, wet eyes locked on Marlin. With a joyful squeal, the creature sprang into the arms of the merprince. He screamed as they tumbled backward together, vanishing into the pile of eggs.

The cave echoed with the wail of newborns as more eggs began hatching.

Emily felt the familiar tingle of panic. She had to heal Marina before all the eggs hatched. These infants wouldn’t have a chance against the virus. But there was no power crystal.

“What are we going to do?” Kara asked.

Her friends looked at her anxiously. Adriane and Kara were tiring; Zach was fading. Their magic shield wouldn’t last.

Emily had no choice. She would have to weave her web again. She needed the magic of
every
water animal to heal Marina. Fear burned through her. Would the animals even come to her? What if she lost control like the last time?

It was a risk she had to take.

“I have to try healing Marina,” Emily said. “I’m going to need all your help.”

“I can’t work with
her
.” Adriane pointed at Kara.

“Not my fault
my
jewel is so much more powerful,” Kara snapped.

“I can guide your frequency levels so they blend together better,” Tasha suggested, tweaking her magic meter.

“Okay?” Emily asked Adriane and Kara.

Her friends nodded as magic pulsed from their jewels.

“Zach, keep your magic focused on the eggs,” Emily ordered.

“Right.” The blond boy nodded.

Adriane and Dreamer stood to Emily’s left, silver wolf magic swirling from her gem.

Kara and Lyra, on the right, released a diamond cloud of sparkling magic.

“Less wolf, more cat.” Tasha watched colored lines move up the meter.

Following Tasha’s instructions, Adriane, Dreamer, Kara, and Lyra managed to hold their magic in balance.

Emily fought the tightening in her stomach, pushing the fear to a place where she could harness it, use it.

“Indi.” She placed her hands on the unicorn’s warm, velvety neck. “I can’t do this without you.”

Confidence and love shone in his eyes.
“We will do it together.”

Centering herself, Emily gazed at the colors swirling around the eggs. Reaching her hand around the shield, a tiny spray of the hydra’s water washed through her fingers. Droplets covered her silver bracelet, sparkling like diamonds, washed clean by the magic of the sea dragon eggs.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, opening herself to the water magic. She visualized fine lines radiating, then stretching out, leading to every lake, river, and stream, melding with the warm undercurrent flowing in the oceans.

Carefully, she weaved the lines of magic together, forming a delicate web. Feeling the boost of her friends, Emily reached out to the animals. Indi supported her, giving her everything he could to keep her strong.

Lights flared along the web, brilliant points of stars flickering to life.

Drawn to the healing magic, dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of animals came to her. Building in power, their magic thundered down the strands of the healer’s magic web.

“Here it comes!” Tasha’s jewel meter beeped and whirred.

Arms outstretched, Emily felt the power rush through her. She connected with Indi, and knew instinctively where the sickness had struck Marina.

“Now!” she cried.

The magic moved at her command. Rushing from her, it encircled the hydra in a ring of blazing blue fire. With every last ounce of strength, Emily drove healing magic into the core of the sickness.

The explosion was so intense, Emily almost blacked out. Fire filled every pore of her being as the virus leaped from Marina into the healer. The agonizing pain of every animal she’d summoned seared through her body, suffocating her as if she were drowning.