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

by Rachel Roberts

  “So it was you I felt at the portal,” the sorceress said.

  Adriane choked, sweat running down her face.

  “Come, come, child, I know you can speak.”

  “Please… let… me go,” Adriane managed to sputter.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Was I hurting you?”

  As if the string holding her had snapped, Adriane fell to the ground with a moan.

  “Humans are such fragile things. Is that better?”

  Adriane wiped spit from her mouth as she sat up. She rubbed her arms and legs to get the circulation moving. “Thank you.”

  “So polite.” The sorceress circled Adriane, her silky robes rustling lightly as she moved. “Do you know anything about magic? No. How could you? No one to train you. Such a waste.” She smiled and Adriane caught a glimpse of vampire fangs. “Now… ” The smile faded and her eyes flashed like cold steel. “Where is my dragon?”

  “I don’t know,” Adriane answered truthfully.

  The eyes sparked dangerously. “Are you trying to make me angry? Is that what you want?” She flexed her hand, and the long, sharp claws slid out from her fingertips.

  “I don’t know where the dragon is.” Adriane wobbled unsteadily to her feet, eyes carefully trained on the razor claws.

  The sorceress continued to circle Adriane. “I have tracked the magic of the egg and I know it hatched. Then it just disappeared. Vanished… like mist.” Her breath was cold as ice against Adriane’s face. “Odd, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know.”

  The sorceress pointed a claw at her wolf stone. “Pity. Your stone is useless to me. It’s been tuned to you. Just as the dragon has already imprinted on… whom?”

  Adriane remained silent.

  “But you are already bonded to a mistwolf, aren’t you?”

  Adriane said nothing.

  “Aren’t you?” The sorceress’s eyes blazed into Adriane’s.

  “Yes,” Adriane answered meekly. She couldn’t turn away from those hypnotic eyes.

  “Do you know that once a magical animal and a human are bonded, the bond is for life? One without the other is death to both. Did you know that?”

  “Why—why are you telling me this?” Adriane stammered.

  “So you know the truth. The animals are a burden and make you weak. Look at you now, you can barely stand up. All because you could not resist following the cry of the wolf.”

  Adriane stiffened.

  “You think you are the first human to try and help those pathetic Fairimentals by bonding with animals?” the sorceress said scornfully. “There have been many, and all have failed. The truth is the Fairimentals will use you. And when you are used up, they will tell you how your spirit will be joined to the greater good of… Avalon.”

  She leaned in and hissed like a snake. “Avalon is not what you think it is.”

  She stepped back, her claws gleaming dangerously. “You are afraid to be here. You think this is all some perversion of the precious magic that binds you to these animals. Now amplify that fear a thousand fold and you have a small sense of what Avalon truly is. The only chance you have of actually entering Avalon is by working with me.” Feral eyes blinked as a sly smile escaped her lips. “Give me what I need—what we need—to open the gates.”

  Adriane could feel the sorceress reach out her icy touch.

  “Call the mistwolves. Bring them to me.”

  “No!”

  “I wonder. Just how strong is your bond? Will your mistwolf come for you? Or will she stand alone and watch you die?” She smiled evilly. “Let’s see.”

  Instantly, Adriane was surrounded by serpent guards.

  “Take her,” the sorceress commanded, robes flying as she turned away.

  Strong hands pulled Adriane toward a doorway. “I will never call the mistwolves!” she yelled.

  “Then you will die,” the sorceress said simply, then paused. “Oh, how is your friend, Kara? I’m looking forward to meeting her again.”

  The sorceress’s words echoed eerily as Adriane was dragged down a damp and musty tunnel. They passed open rooms, huge cavernous spaces cut into the earth, where figures worked on large crystals, sparks of fire flaring from the stones. The tunnel turned and twisted, going down into the earth. Adriane’s heart pounded in her ears and her mind raced. These passageways all looked the same. She would never be able to find her way out of this place. The guards finally deposited Adriane in a wide room, where she collapsed against a wall. Glints of light flashed off rock and crystal. She could feel energy flowing through the walls, pulsing like blood.

  Adriane shivered, pulling her knees into her chest. She could hear moans in the darkness around her.

  She got to her feet and raised her wolf stone, willing it to glow. Cutting a swath of golden light in front of her, she saw rough crystal shapes jutting from the ceilings and cave floors. It was as if the entire place had formed right out of the earth itself. The light fell over a creature lying in the corner. Adriane moved closer and saw it was a pegasus, a winged pony, like the ones hidden at Ravenswood. This one was covered with ragged scars. Its wings were torn, green-glowing ooze on its back, sides, and legs. Black Fire.

  Adriane edged closer and knelt before it, the light of her gem jittering.

  The creature half opened its eyes, struggling to move.

  “Shh, it’s all right.” Adriane tried to calm the creature, but she was shaking.

  “Corintha… ” it breathed.

  “What?”

  “Corintha… where is she?” It nodded weakly across the room.

  Adriane got up, trying to steady the light as it swept across the room. It settled over the still body of another pegasus. There was no need to get any closer. She turned back. “I’m… sorry… ”

  The pegasus slumped. Tears ran from its eyes.

  Something shuffled behind her. Other animals were slowly creeping out of the darkness. Adriane stifled a cry as her heart filled with anguish. There were dozens of creatures, some she recognized, like quiffles and jeeran, and some she didn’t. The glint of golden cat eyes flashed as two big spotted cats emerged. They looked like Lyra—before Emily had healed her. All the animals had the deathly glow of the Black Fire.

  Adriane felt dizzy. Her stomach twisted into a knot. She felt as if she were suffocating.

  “You are human.”

  She whirled around, and the light of her gemstone landed on a silver duck-like creature. It was a quiffle.

  “Ye… yes.”

  “A human magic user!” another of the animals exclaimed.

  Adriane heard the whispers from one to another as the word spread. A human was here among them. And she carried magic!

  More animals crowded into the room.

  Adriane didn’t know what to do.

  She felt in her pocket for the last of the coconuts. She took it out. These creatures were starving, how was this going to help?

  Trying to control her shaking, she carefully broke the coconut into small pieces and began handing them out.

  “I’m sorry, it’s all I have,” she said miserably. She was desperately fighting to keep herself from breaking down and losing it completely.

  “Packmate…” a soft voice said in her mind.

  Adriane jumped. The light of her gem began to pulse. She strained to hear the voice.

  “You are not alone.”

  It was a mistwolf. Adriane knew it instinctively.

  And the wolf was somewhere close, calling from the shadows of the prison.

  She held up her gem and scanned the dark corners.

  “Is there a mistwolf here?” she asked the animals, her voice trembling.

  “Yes,” one of the quiffles said. “She is dying.”

  “Take me to her. Please!” Adriane pleaded.

  While the rest of the animals shared the small coconut, Adriane followed the quiffle under a low archway into another chamber. In the center was a clear box. As Adriane got closer, she saw it was a cage made comp
letely of glass. And inside, curled on the floor, lay a silver mistwolf.

  Adriane ran to the cage and placed her hands on the glass. Her stone flared wildly.

  The wolf was ragged and weak, her rib cage sharply outlined through her skin. Patches of her once lustrous fur were gone, revealing burnt flesh crisscrossed with ugly green lines. As the light of Adriane’s gem flashed over her, the wolf weakly raised her head, eyes half opened.

  “It is good to see you.”

  Adriane’s heart felt like it was being ripped apart. Anger welled, surging inside with the force of a hurricane. Filled with rage, she pounded her fist, spilling golden fire onto the glass.

  The glass cracked, but held.

  She turned to see the other animals watching her.

  The animals huddled together and moved closer. She felt the weakness within them, striken by the dark force of Black Fire. It ran through them, infecting their magic.

  Still, she drew whatever strength they could offer.

  Adriane screamed as a wave of green light swept from the animals and into her jewel. She threw the power at the glass. It shattered.

  Crossing the scattered shards, she knelt and carefully lifted the wolf’s head into her lap, gently stroking the mottled fur.

  Everything she had experienced—the loss of the griffin, the dead wilderbeasts, the rivers of poison tearing across the land, the monstrous creatures, and now, these animals, alone and lost, dying—came pouring out at once.

  Adriane’s tears fell like rain as she hugged the mistwolf.

  She thought about Storm, strong, vibrant, and full of life. She knew she couldn’t call her. She could never bear to have Storm end up here. And suddenly Adriane realized why she had come all this way. Why she had risked everything to find her friend. All she wanted, needed, was the chance to say I love you… and to say good-bye.

  Adriane cried until there were no more tears left.

  “Your mistwolf loves you very much,” the gentle voice said in her head.

  Adriane gazed into her soft silvery blue eyes. Although the wolf’s body was wracked with poison, her eyes were clear and full of compassion.

  “I miss her so much,” Adriane sniffled.

  “Shh, little one. No matter how far, she is always in your heart, as you are in hers.”

  Adriane curled into the mistwolf’s side, snuggling close. She saw her wolf stone sparking from gold to green and knew that the poison was starting to spread through her own body as well. She refused to remove it. If this was the end, this was how she wanted to go.

  “My name is Adriane,” she said to the wolf.

  “I am Silver Eyes.”

  Suddenly the air began to sparkle. Then she heard that unmistakable sound.

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

  FIVE BRIGHTLY COLORED dragonflies popped into the cave, red, orange, blue, yellow, and purple. They took one look at Adriane and the other animals, gave a chorus of shrieks, and immediately disappeared.

  “Wait!” Adriane called after them. “Come back… ohhh.”

  She couldn’t blame them. She was among dozens of sick animals, a dying mistwolf by her side, and she could feel the Black Fire moving at a deadly pace through her body.

  “Silver Eyes,” she said to the mistwolf, “we thought you were dead.”

  She heard a soft bark, which Adriane recognized as a wolf laugh. “Not yet.”

  “Zach thinks so, too.”

  “Zachariah?” The wolf’s eyes opened wide. “Little Wolf?”

  “Little Wolf?” Adriane asked. “A human boy, he was raised—”

  The wolf struggled to sit up. “Is he all right?”

  “Yes, the last time I saw him.”

  “You saw my human son?” Her voice was full of wonder.

  “Yes.”

  The wolf lay her head back down in Adriane’s arms. “Little Wolf is all right…” She repeated over and over.

  “He thinks it was his fault,” Adriane told her.

  “It was not his fault.”

  “Moonshadow thinks so.”

  “Moonshadow is the most stubborn creature in Aldenmor!”

  Adriane smiled.

  “He could never accept the boy as his pack brother.”

  “Moonshadow is taking the pack somewhere safe,” Adriane said. “My friend, Stormbringer, is with them. She thought she was the last mistwolf. Then we found the others.”

  “A wolf is bound to protect the pack,” Silver Eyes said. “But that does not mean she has abandoned you.”

  “Then why did she leave?”

  “Sometimes you have to leave to find your way home.”

  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

  The dragonflies were back, this time huddled together in a tight ball, shaking and squeaking.

  Adriane slowly got to her feet and extended her arms. “It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.”

  Fiona broke away and landed, trembling, on Adriane’s arm. “Ooo, Deedee!” Fiona’s little red eyes swirled with distress.

  “It’s okay, Fiona. Did you bring me another message?”

  She leaped into the air and chirped at the others. There was some confusing dragonfly chitter, and a few angry squeaks. Then they linked front wing claws together and started to spin in a colorful circle.

  “Too Kaaraa!” Goldie squeaked.

  Suddenly the area inside their circle began to sparkle.

  The dragonflies had made a window about the size of a dinner plate—they had opened a small portal! Adriane peeked in and saw a hairy nose and a few whiskers.

  She stepped back, confused.

  Then she heard a familiar voice.

  “I can’t tell if this is working or not! Dooh! Those pesky things!” It was Ozzie!

  “Ozzie!” she called out.

  “Huh?” The hairy face pulled back and she could see Ozzie’s whole ferret head. His little brown eyes opened wide in astonishment.

  “Adriane!” He started hopping up and down, yelling over his shoulder. “I’ve got her! Hurry!”

  Adriane couldn’t believe it. She was looking through a window into the library at Ravenswood Manor. She heard the sounds of shuffling and running.

  “Adriane!” It was Emily!

  “Emily!” Adriane cried out, fresh tears streaming down her face. “I’m here!”

  Ozzie’s snout was pushed aside as Emily’s face filled the little window.

  Adriane smiled with joy. “It’s my friends,” she told the other animals.

  Emily’s face lit up, then changed to shock. “Adriane, what happened to you?”

  Suddenly Kara’s blond head pressed in tight against Emily’s auburn curls. “You look terrible!”

  “I missed you, too.” Adriane didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both.

  The dragonflies’ circle began weaving about as they argued among themselves. The window ghosted and flickered like a bad television signal.

  “Oh, no,” Adriane cried.

  “Hey! Keep spinning!” Kara yelled at the dragonflies.

  “OOoooOO!” Instantly the dragonflies stopped arguing and returned to spinning in a synchronized circle. The picture cleared.

  Emily and Kara were looking at Adriane. Ozzie was jumping up and down on the desk, trying to get a look as Lyra paced behind them. Adriane could not remember ever feeling so happy. “How is Gran?” she asked.

  “Fine,” Kara said. “We told her you were staying at the Pet Palace helping Dr. Fletcher.”

  “Adriane, where are you?” Emily’s face was full of concern. “What’s happened to you?”

  Adriane could only imagine what she must look like. She was filthy, her hair straggly and matted, the left side of her neck purpled with welts. She could feel the Black Fire slowly creeping through her.

  “Okay now, don’t freak out… ”

  Her friends all held their breath.

  “I’m in the Dark Sorceress’s dungeon.”

  “What?” Kara and Emily gasped. Lyra growled behind them. Ozzie fel
l off the desk with a loud crash.

  “There are a lot of sick animals here, and there’s a mistwolf. She’s hurt so bad…”

  “What about you?” Emily asked, cutting her off.

  Adriane lowered her head. “The poison is in me too.”

  “GAHaaaah!” She heard Ozzie scream.

  “What do we do?” Kara yelled, grabbing Emily.

  Lyra yowled and Ozzie began leaping like a frog. The dragonflies squealed and their circle began to flutter apart.

  “Stop it!” Emily’s voice cut through the commotion. “Chill! Everyone! Let me think!”

  She turned to Kara. “Keep those dragonflies spinning!”

  Kara yelled into the window, “Listen up!”

  “Ooo!”

  “Keep this window open no matter what! Got it?”

  “Ookies, Kaaraa,” Goldie squeaked.

  “Adriane, let me see your wolf stone,” Emily said.

  Adriane held up her stone and Emily gasped. The once-bright gold and amber gem now glowed with a sickly green hue.

  “Kara, Lyra, over here! Now!” Emily raised her rainbow jewel. Lyra and Kara were at her side in a flash.

  “You, too, Ozzie.”

  The ferret leaped onto the big cat’s head.

  “Stand still, Adriane!”

  Emily held up her jewel and concentrated. It flashed with cool blue light. “Kara, give me your hand,” she said.

  Emily and Kara joined hands as Lyra and Ozzie crowded in even closer.

  “Concentrate on healing… feel Adriane’s heartbeat and lock it on your own. Steady, strong, until our hearts beat as one.”

  The dragonflies squeaked softly, but kept spinning their magic window in front of Adriane.

  “Now!”

  Blue fire shot from Emily’s jewel right through the window and slammed into Adriane’s wolf stone. Adriane was thrown back. The dragonflies shrieked and broke their circle. The picture in the window sputtered, blinking in and out.

  “Keep spinning!” Kara commanded.

  Goldie sparked a golden flame and squawked at the others. They clasped wing claws again and spun. The window cleared.

  Adriane’s stone pulsed erratically, blinking from green to gold and back to green.