Dark Mage (Avalon: Web of Magic, Book 11)

by Rachel Roberts

He held the dazzling jewel as close to the lens as he could, then at arms length. Not satisfied, the goblin smelled it, bit it between his big yellow teeth and bonked it with his knobby knuckles.

  “So what kind of power crystal is it?” Kara asked impatiently.

  “Well, you got your orbs, talismans, crystal balls,” Feldman pointed to various objects on display. “You got your evil eyes, you got your hexed spheres, bonding crystals, data storage crystals—”

  “And?”

  “What you got isn’t any of those.”

  “Ah ha!” Kara exclaimed. “Um, so what is it?”

  The lens popped out of Feldman’s eye as he turned his attention to his three guests. “How did you say you got here?”

  “We were on the web being attacked by huge spiders, and then suddenly we were here,” Kara explained.

  “Did you happen to wish you were here?”

  “I didn’t even know this place existed.” Kara thought for a minute. “Now that you mention it, I did wish to be in the most wonderful place ever.”

  “I see.” He returned to the crystal. “Hmm, let’s try something. Are you guys hungry from all your mage adventures?”

  “Yeah,” Kara answered. “I wish I had a milkshake.”

  SpRoing!

  “Yeow!” Feldman leaped back as a tall glass filled with frothy liquid appeared on the counter.

  “What is that?”

  The goblin prodded the dark substance spilling over the brim with a stubby finger and tasted. “Chocolate shake, creamy too.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Kara took a sip from the straw then passed it to Goldie.

  “You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it, you did,” the goblin shopkeeper told them.

  “I did?”

  “What you’ve got here is a wishing crystal,” he declared.

  “I’ve never heard of a wishing crystal.” Lyra eyed the milkshake suspiciously.

  “Wish for something else,” Feldman suggested, handing the crystal back.

  Kara considered. “I wish for a hot dog for Goldie and a hamburger for Lyra.”

  Pop! Splat!

  A tray of cocktail wieners materialized, followed by a platter of thick juicy burgers. A huge basket of steaming crispy fries popped up beside them, complete with organic ketchup.

  “No way!” Kara raised the crystal in awe. “That’s exactly how they serve it at Rocket Burgers!”

  Goldie happily nibbled on the pint-sized hot dogs while Lyra nosed the burgers warily.

  “Yup, you have one genuine wishing crystal,” Feldman confirmed. “Very rare, imbued with strong magic, elemental in nature. It transforms thought and materializes—”

  “I wish it would rain popcorn!”

  Kapow!

  Vats of popcorn exploded all over the shop, covering everything in fragrant fluffy piles.

  “This rocks!” Kara cried, holding the unicorn power crystal high above her head. “I wish for an iPad and a new stereo, a 3D laptop, a Wii—”

  Dozens of boxes rained down on Kara.

  “Stop, stop, stop!” Feldman cried. “Do you want to turn into an ogre?”

  “No, but could I turn someone else into an ogre?”

  “Yeowow!” Feldman’s scream echoed across the store as a bright pink Corvette convertible appeared in a puff of smoke, knocking over several display cases and pushing the goblin out the back door.

  “You don’t even have a license.” Lyra peered into the front seat, Goldie perched on her head.

  “Woohoo!” Kara danced around the gleaming car.

  “Be careful with that crystal,” Lyra warned.

  “Geez, why does everyone freak out whenever I use magic?” Kara’s eyes opened wide. “Wait! I know exactly what I want.” She raised the crystal high and commanded, “I wish I had another power crystal!”

  Nothing happened. She held the power crystal tighter, willing her magic through it.

  “I so totally wish I had another power crystal.” She looked around for something big and sparkly. Still nothing. “It’s broken!” she wailed.

  “What?” Feldman shouted, wading his way through boxes, bags, and popcorn.

  “I want another power crystal,” Kara demanded.

  “You want two?”

  “Long story,” Kara replied.

  “She broke one,” Goldie explained.

  “Okay, short story, but this crystal still won’t grant my wish.” Eyes shut, Kara wished and wished again.

  “No, no, no!” Feldman waved his hands in the air. “It can’t make another power crystal because that would use up all its magic, and if you keep wishing you’re going to drain it, too.”

  “Well, how do I get another one?”

  “You know anything about alchemy?” the goblin asked.

  “No.”

  “Me either. I mean, making a power crystal ain’t like popping corn, girl. You’ve got to have a proper crystal storage device crafted from the strongest minerals, then enchanted with great magic.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kara said impatiently. “Where do I get that stuff?”

  “I run an honest business, but occasionally I have customers who want, how shall I put this, more exotic items.” Feldman rubbed his hands together nervously. “But I must respect their privacy. There’s no way I can reveal the name of a valued client.”

  Kara held the unicorn power crystal high. “Maybe I’ll just wish the entire web knew about your little unicorn jewel scam.”

  “Logan,” Feldman said immediately. “He’s the most nefarious, notorious, nebulous purveyor of the dark arts.”

  “Dark arts?” Lyra asked worriedly. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Logan is one of my best customers. Tell him he owes me, let’s see …” Feldman whipped an account book from his vest pocket. “Five million starstones.”

  “Why don’t you tell him yourself?” Kara challenged.

  “I’d go, but I hate any slight inconveniences—like death.” The goblin gulped.

  The blazing star grinned at Lyra, her eyes shining with determination. “Lyra, we have to see this guy! Tasha’s got no leads on how to replace that crystal.”

  Lyra growled, not liking it.

  “Please, please, please.” She gave her friend her most irresistible wide-eyed look.

  “But then we find our way back to The Garden.”

  Kara eyed Feldman. “Okay, so what creepy, awful place do we have to go to find this Logan dude?”

  “He hangs at a club called The Black Rose.” Feldman pointed. “Take the escalator down and make a left.”

  Kara blinked. “All righty then.”

  Feldman hopped into the pink Corvette and waved good-bye. “Keep it real.”

  “WHAT THE—!” OZZIE looked one way, then hopped around and looked the other.

  There were no signs of the shadow cats. No blazing, yellow eyes, no sharp, chomping teeth. But there was something else just as terrifying. Heading straight toward him were Tiffany, Molly, and Heather leading twenty tourists through the Ravenswood Preserve.

  “This is a famous garden,” Tiffany called out, reading from her notes.

  “We can see that,” a grouchy old lady grumbled.

  “These heirloom roses were planted in 1836,” Heather added.

  “Impressive,” the lady commented. “They look brand new.”

  “My feet hurt,” complained a little kid.

  “Where’s all the animals?” his mother demanded.

  “Ozzie, over here,” a voice whispered.

  “Gah!” Ozzie spun around.

  Lorren was hiding behind a hedge wall several meters away.

  In a single bound, the ferret dove into the nearest bush.

  “Where’s Emily?” the bush asked, eyes shifting warily.

  “I don’t know,” Lorren answered. “Where are we?”

  “That piece of shrubbery popped us back to Ravenswood!”

  “Nice place,” Lorren observed.

  “I’m gonna wring that dOoi
gAf—!”

  “Someone’s coming.” Lorren pointed to the group advancing toward them. “Quiet.”

  The ferret stone erupted with static.

  “GAH!”

  “Base to Fuzzy One,” Tweek shouted. “There’s been a major shift in the web!”

  “Where’s Emily?” Ozzie whispered harshly.

  “I lost her signal, but yours is loud and clear. Where are you?” Tweek’s voice became highly agitated. “O me twig, you could be anywhere!”

  Ozzie poked his head from the bush and glared up at the library windows gleaming over the backyard of the estate.

  “Go to the window,” Ozzie instructed calmly.

  “What?”

  “The window.” Ozzie waved to the tiny bundle of twigs peering outside. “We’re right here, you twig!”

  “Inconceivable!” Sticks and moss plastered themselves against the pane in surprise.

  “Get us back to Emily!” Ozzie shook his paw. “You, you, you—”

  “Portals are opening all over the place,” Tweek squeaked. “Power crystals, web flux, wild magic—I can’t keep track!”

  “Lorren!”

  Ozzie jumped as a concerned green face popped into the bushes beside them.

  “Tash!” Lorren hugged his goblin friend. “We got separated from Emily and somehow ended up here. What are you doing?”

  “Making sure the tour doesn’t wander through a random portal,” Tasha said as several duck-waddling quiffles squashed in beside them. “Something’s happened.”

  “I’ll say,” Tweek confirmed. “I had to completely reconfigure my web map to match the new pattern.”

  “Can you locate Emily’s jewel?” Lorren asked Tasha.

  “It’s very faint.” Tasha’s hand-held jewel locator blinked with light. “But it’s definitely on the web.”

  “Can you guide us there?”

  “There a portal moving through the forest behind the sculpture gardens.” Tasha pointed. “If you hurry, you could—”

  “Let’s go!” Ozzie dashed from the bushes.

  “Oooh, there’s that cute little ferret,” a voice cried out.

  “Doh!” Ozzie stopped short, trapped as tourists swarmed around him. Three quiffles came barreling into his rear.

  “SplaaPh!”

  “Hey, we don’t have notes on those animals,” Heather said.

  Molly beamed. “Those are rare ducks from… France.”

  “Ooooh, a French duck!” Cameras clicked as the quiffles posed and preened their head-feathers.

  “Do a trick, Ozzie,” a lady called out, recognizing the ferret from the Ravenswood brochure.

  “No way—oop!” Ozzie slapped his paws over his mouth.

  “Did he just talk?” Tiffany whispered.

  Ozzie shook his head.

  Heather bent over the wide-eyed, frozen ferret. “What’s with you, ferret?”

  “All part of the show,” Lorren stepped from the hedges.

  “Who’s that?” Tiffany and Heather exchanged a look while Molly checked Kara’s carefully scripted notes.

  “Greetings from the Fairy Realms, good people.” Lorren bowed with a flourish. “I am Prince Lorren.”

  The tour group clapped energetically. “What a show!”

  “And such marvelous makeup.”

  “He must be the gardener, he’s got a green thumb,” someone cracked.

  “This is truly a magical place,” a delighted woman declared.

  “Go ahead, Ozzie.” Lorren smiled.

  “Huh?”

  “Do your trick.”

  Ozzie shuffled his feet, moving forward and back, then cart wheeled across the grass.

  The group cheered enthusiastically while Tasha and the quiffles sent a herd of deer and peacocks into the crowd. The tourists turned their cameras as the animals strolled among them in search of treats.

  Ozzie moonwalked behind a rose bush and vanished.

  Molly, Tiffany, and Heather looked confused as the group happily fed the animals.

  Ozzie ran as fast as his little legs could move toward the portal, Lorren, Tasha, and the quiffles hot on his heels.

  Tasha waved her jewel locator at Lorren. “The Spider Witch’s web has expanded!”

  Ozzie skidded to a halt at the forest’s edge. Bright magic crackled between the tall firs.

  “Heads up,” he said, aiming a beam of orange ferret power at the wandering portal. As the magic hit, planes of light converged into a whirling doorway.

  “Emily attached the Otherworlds to the Spider Witch’s web.” Lorren looked at Tasha grimly. “I was just about to tell you.”

  “What? Why would she do that?” Tasha demanded.

  “We don’t know exactly what happened!” Ozzie defended the healer. “We have to find her.”

  “Look.” Tasha held her blinking device in Ozzie’s face. The golden dot indicating Ravenswood was surrounded by green tendrils of the witch’s web. “The Spider Witch has got Ravenswood surrounded.”

  “We know what to do,” Rasha, the quiffle, said determinedly. “The warrior taught us how to work with Stormbringer. We will protect Ravenswood.”

  “That portal will only stay open for two more minutes, hurry!” Tweek cut in.

  “Where will this take us?” Lorren asked, facing the swirling doorway.

  “Directly to Emily’s jewel,” the E.F. rattled. “Or you could fall into a black abyss of nothingness from which you will never return.”

  “You first,” Ozzie said to Lorren.

  “Hurry!” Tasha cried.

  The crackling portal warped and began to drift away.

  Lorren and Ozzie looked at each other. Each knew time was critical. Emily was in real trouble.

  “Keep it together, twig guy!” Ozzie screamed as he soared head first into the portal.

  “Look out! Portal flux—pO.Ot!”

  The last thing Ozzie heard was an explosion of twigs flying all over the library.

  “THAT ADRIANE HAS some nerve hanging up on me!” In spite of all the fun she’d had in the Fashion Realm, Kara was hurt by Adriane’s diss. She juggled dozens of shopping bags as she descended the escalator, in search of the mysterious Logan.

  “She didn’t hang up, you wished her away,” Lyra pointed out.

  “Oh.” Kara squeezed her eyes shut. “I unwish not to talk to my friends.”

  Nothing happened.

  Kara arched an eyebrow at Goldie.

  The golden dragonfly shrugged. “Line’s dead.”

  “Like I need Bruin Hilda’s help anyway,” Kara scoffed.

  “You can’t do this alone,” Lyra reminded her gently.

  “You’re right. Here, carry these.” Kara slung an armload of dress bags over Lyra’s back.

  “All this shopping has gone to your head,” Lyra grumbled.

  Kara smacked her forehead. “You’re so right! I wish all this stuff would go to my bedroom!”

  Her mountain of packages vanished in a twinkle of magic.

  “See, I’m fine. I don’t need anything else.” Kara wandered off the escalator, which led into another bank of shops. “Except maybe this lamp.”

  “Ooooo,” Goldie whistled.

  “And that chair.”

  “Focus!” Lyra nosed Kara onto the escalator leading to the basement.

  There were no bright storefronts or food stalls here. Only a long, empty hallway. The thud of a throbbing bass resonated through the floor, hinting at very cool sounds coming from the end of the dark passage.

  “Walk this way,” directed Kara.

  Lyra and Goldie sauntered down the dim hallway following in their bonded’s footsteps.

  Turning a corner, the blazing star stopped short. Red velvet ropes led to a set of steel doors emblazoned with the insignia of a Black Rose. Two massive stone ogres stood on either side. A trendy club! Excellent! Kara eagerly reached out to open the door.

  “ID,” a deep voice boomed.

  The statues were glaring at her—they were alive!
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  “Um, we’re looking for Logan,” she said sweetly. “I was told he could help me with magic tech support.”

  Stone eyes glowed. Abruptly the steel doors swung open and the hulking guards stepped aside.

  “I got game.” Kara winked at Lyra.

  Pounding percussion and heavy bass enveloped them as they entered the dark club. On a raised platform near the wide dance floor, a wiry spriggan DJ hipped and hopped, scratching away on twin turntables. Against the walls were a few dozen booths illuminated by solitary blue candles. The place seemed almost empty, but Kara saw Lyra’s eyes narrow as the cat spotted movement in a crimson velvet booth. Two more stone figures guarded whoever sat in the shadows.

  “Guys, is this cool or what?” Kara yelled over the music as she moved past a long table edged with neon light. Several fancily dressed goblins and mysterious fairy creatures turned to watch her pass.

  “Word up.” Goldie sat on Kara’s shoulder, grooving to the beat.

  Kara took a deep breath as she approached the plush booth. Logan was probably some ancient old wizard. She’d need all her skills of diplomacy to handle this geezer.

  “Whazzzafuzz!” A green creature with horns and a long tail suddenly leaped from the table, cackling wildly. The size of a small monkey, it ran around Lyra shooting sparks from its nose. “Who let the cat out? Who? Who? Who? Who?”

  Lyra growled deep in her throat, ready to swat the bizarre pest.

  “Are you Logan?” Kara asked incredulously.

  Laughter spilled from the darkened booth. “Dimwiddie, don’t be rude.”

  “Magic time!” The green creature ran back to its master.

  “I am Logan,” the silky voice continued.

  Kara peered into the shadows. She could make out a pair of pale hands illuminated by flickering light. Black polish gleamed on the nails of long white fingers. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed several ornate rings that caught the light. Some kind of tribal tattoo snaked from the back of his wrist under a silky white shirt and black velvet jacket.

  “Hello. I’m Kara Davies,” she said with a bright smile.

  Piercing black eyes raked over Lyra, then widened as he saw Goldie perched beneath Kara’s golden tresses.

  “How much for the fairy dragon?”

  “What?” Kara blurted, taken aback.

  “The fairy dragon. How much?”

  Kara’s unicorn jewel flashed an angry red. “She’s not for sale and don’t you touch a scale on her head!” Kara scanned the guards, suddenly unsure of what she had walked into.