Secret of the Unicorn (Avalon: Web of Magic #4)

by Rachel Roberts

  When she peeked out through her fingers a second later, she saw Lorelei dancing in place, shaking her head frantically, trying to free herself from the giant hollow orb impaled on her horn. The kid in the mascot costume—minus the eagle’s head—was running in the other direction. His hair was a little messy and his face a little pale, but otherwise he looked okay.

  The crowd cheered. “Go, Stonehill!”

  Suddenly an undercurrent of noisy, confused sound slammed into Emily. She almost screamed.

  As waves of emotional magic rolled over her, nearly buckling her knees, she could feel Lorelei’s panic rising. Emily herself felt on the verge of hysteria. She had to get Lorelei out of there—now!

  “Lorelei!” Emily pushed and shoved through the crowd, barreling out onto the sidelines. Lorelei had managed to free herself from the eagle’s head at last. She was standing in the end zone, snorting at the cheering crowd. Adriane was trying desperately to hold back several big players, but it was only a matter of seconds before Lorelei would be trapped. Why doesn’t she run?

  Lorelei spun around, looking at Emily, waiting for her.

  “Go! Run!” Emily yelled, taking a step onto the field.

  A hand landed on her shoulder.

  “This is the final straw, young lady!”

  Emily whirled to find a wagging finger in her face. “Your animals are finished, and so is Ravenswood!” Mrs. Windor said.

  “Let me go!” Emily yelled. Pulling away, she turned and sprinted across the field to Kara’s side.

  “Stand back, everyone,” Kara said to the crowd, allowing Emily to get through. “We’re professional tour guides!”

  Lorelei stood, nodding her head toward Emily.

  “Get her out of here! Now!” Kara whispered.

  “I need some time,” Emily said, moving slowly toward the terrified unicorn.

  Kara saw Mrs. Windor grabbing some teachers and pointing toward the girls. Even from here, she could tell Mrs. Windor’s face was flushed with anger as the woman started across the field. “Here comes trouble,” Kara said.

  She clapped her hands, grabbed her pompoms, ran into the field, and let out a whoop. “Let me hear you people! Goooooo Stonehill!” she sang out at the top of her lungs. “We all know Stonehill needs a team mascot, and this is your special halftime surprise. We brought a friend from Ravenswood, and with a little papier-mâché magic, she’s going to bring Stonehill to victory. Yay!”

  The stands erupted in wild cheers. “Stonehill, Stonehill!”

  Mrs. Windor was forced to a stop as curious kids pushed forward, blocking her way.

  “What’s everyone think of the Stonehill Unicorn?” Kara yelled out.

  “Awesome!”

  “That thing really showed the Evanston Eagle what’s what!”

  “Stonehill rules!”

  Emily smiled. Yes! Kara was a genius. Nobody would realize that they’d just seen a real-life unicorn.

  Unless, of course, Emily couldn’t get Lorelei out of there in time.

  Emily slowly walked to within two feet of the unicorn. “Easy. It’s only me,” she said as calmly as possible. Lorelei’s frightened eyes darted back and forth between Emily and the surrounding football players. Then Emily realized she was still holding her flute. She stared at it. Could it work?

  She had to try. Raising the instrument to her lips, she took a deep breath and blew the first few notes of their song.

  The flute’s music was soft and lilting, easily swallowed up by the hoots and hollers of the crowd. Still, Emily closed her eyes and played on, focusing on the music. As the gentle notes drifted out of the flute, Emily imagined them moving to Lorelei in slow, serene, rhythmic waves. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense that her jewel was pulsing steadily in time with the music.

  Someone nearby shouted something about calling Animal Control. She thought she heard Rae yelling that she was supposed to solo and, for a second, Emily’s concentration wavered.

  She forced down panic. Focusing her energy again, she tried to form her thoughts into a song, a lyric to go with the music she was playing.

  I know someone really loves me

  Someone who won't turn me away

  I'm not afraid

  With the strength of us together

  Nothing's going to stand in our way

  Emily opened her eyes. Lorelei’s head was lifted again, the breeze playing with her silky forelock. The unicorn’s eyes locked on Emily’s. Still playing, Emily took a step toward the exit. The unicorn stood still for a moment, then finally took a hesitant step, following Emily. Surprised murmurs from the crowd surrounded her as Emily, like a modern Pied Piper, led the creature through the exit and out to the grassy area beyond the playing field. Behind her, she heard the crowd break into cheers as the game resumed.

  Emily faced Lorelei. She raised her hand and gently stroked the creature’s velvety cheek.

  “You came to me,” she said wonderingly, tears welling up in her eyes.

  Lorelei nodded. “Emily hurt.”

  “No. I’m okay. You have to get out of here, now. Please.”

  Lorelei looked deep into Emily’s eyes. “I’m not afraid.”

  With a last wild snort, the unicorn turned and raced away.

  Emily stood and watched her friend vanish.

  “HOW COULD A horn suddenly appear when it wasn’t there yesterday?” Adriane asked as the girls made their way to the secret glade behind Ravenswood Manor.

  “I don’t know,” Emily replied. “Unicorns have strong magic, right? So maybe they can do that. Just grow another horn, I mean.”

  Kara shrugged. “Okay, but what happened to her original horn? And why in the world would she decide to show up at the game like that? I doubt that unicorns—if that’s really what she is—are big football fans.” She snorted. “We’re just lucky everyone bought that lame mascot story.”

  “That was quick thinking, Barbie,” Adriane admitted, giving Kara a sidelong glance.

  “Thanks, Xena.” Kara looked pleased.

  “She came because she thought I needed help,” Emily told them.

  “I thought you were helping her,” Kara said.

  “There’s something I haven’t told you guys yet,” Emily said, slowing her steps.

  Adriane and Kara stopped and faced Emily.

  “Spill it, girl,” Kara said sternly, crossing her arms.

  “She came because, I—I guess she thought I was in trouble.” Emily shrugged uncertainly.

  “And why would you be in trouble?” Kara asked.

  Emily gulped. “I—I think there may be something following me. Something bad.”

  “What are you talking about?” Adriane demanded.

  Emily regretted not telling them sooner. Just ahead, the immense Rocking Stone rose up through the trees, its spindly peak pointing the way to the portal field. As they walked toward it, she quickly filled them in on the mysterious, ghoulish figure that had appeared at the football game, and the strange musical sounds she’d been hearing.

  “You should have said something to us earlier,” Adriane said angrily.

  “I’m really sorry,” Emily replied. “I didn’t know if it was real or not.”

  “Especially after what Zach told us!” Adriane continued.

  “Yes, yes, I know.”

  “Are you sure it was right there in the bleachers?” Kara asked. “I didn’t notice anything.”

  “And just how many times have you seen this thing?” Adriane asked.

  “Three.” Emily looked sheepishly at her friend’s startled faces.

  Adriane and Kara exchanged glances.

  “That’s real enough,” Kara said.

  “Tell us more about the music,” Adriane suggested.

  Emily tried to explain what had happened, the magical explosion in her room, the waves hitting her in the field, the garbled noise turning to clear, crisp sounds from Lorelei. And the strange music that had hypnotized her, had made her feel so peaceful, without a care
in the world.

  “Let’s summarize, shall we?” Kara took over. “Lorelei was changing colors and made loud, awful noises. Then she shows up with a horn, looking all beautiful and making sweet music.”

  “Right.”

  “Then the monster thingy starts making different music, like a spell,” Kara continued.

  “Yes, it was like being under a spell,” Emily agreed.

  “And then Lorelei shows up at the game and saves you from this monster’s spell,” Adriane jumped in.

  “I think that’s what happened.”

  “So why is the monster after you?” Kara asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s after Lorelei, not me.”

  “Let’s say Lorelei is a unicorn.” Adriane sighed. “How did she get here?”

  “What do you mean?” Emily blinked. “She came through the portal with the other animals.”

  “First of all, unicorns don’t need portals.” Kara counted on her fingers. “Second of all, how come it’s not coming to me?”

  Adriane and Emily regarded her.

  “What! I am the one with unicorn experience, you know.”

  “Jealous, Rapunzel?” Adriane teased. “Emily has a deep empathy with animals—she’s obviously feeling the pain of this creature,” she continued seriously.

  Emily tried to explain. “It’s like we feel each other’s pain.”

  “How did she get past the Dark Sorceress?” Kara asked. “We know she’s trying to get her hands on magical animals—trying to steal all their magic. She was after my unicorn, right? So why would she just let one leave Aldenmor?”

  “Maybe Lorlelei escaped,” Adriane suggested.

  “Hiding with the others, she snuck through.” Emily continued the train of thought. “And this monster is now after her.”

  “Makes sense,” Adriane said.

  “So what happened to her horn?” Kara asked.

  “I don’t know—it’s part of the mystery.”

  Kara tugged at a lock of blond hair. “We need to find out what it is, and if it’s dangerous,” she said. “As president of the Ravenswood Wildlife Preservation Society, I hereby call an executive meeting. We need some magical opinions.”

  “Agreed,” Adriane said. “Let’s gather the troops.”

  The girls walked through the natural arch of trees to the Rocking Stone and on past into the magic glade.

  “I didn’t know you played the flute,” Kara mentioned to Emily.

  “Yeah.”

  “Adriane plays guitar—maybe we should form a band.”

  “And what would you do?” Adriane asked.

  “Lead singer, of course. La laaa!” Kara crooned.

  Adriane covered her ears. “Well, we’d be a smash at the Pet Palace.”

  The three girls laughed. Kara and Adriane entwined their arms with Emily’s and walked into the wondrous glade together. Emily felt better, at least for the moment. With her friends at her side, nothing could harm her.

  “THIS MEETING OF the Ravenswood Wildlife Preservation Society is now in session!” Kara declared, walking back and forth as she surveyed the large crowd of animals and creatures. Emily, Adriane, Storm, and Lyra sat on the bank of the small rippling stream that emptied into the glassy pond. A dozen quiffles perched on the delicate bridge that arched gracefully over the stream. Other creatures—jeeran, pegasi, brimbees, wommels, and more—were sitting or standing on the leaf-strewn grass surrounding the water.

  “Everyone’s met the newcomers, and I’m glad you’ve all settled in,” Kara continued.

  “Beautiful princess!” a breathless voice sang out, interrupting her. Ghyll sprang out from behind a fir tree, followed by Ozzie. The flobbin hopped speedily over to Kara. “I’m here. I came as soon as I heard your call. Won’t you please allow me to apologize for my tardiness with a nice big kiss?”

  Kara brushed him away with a wave of her arms. “Not now, I’m busy.”

  “When would be a good time, O goddess of magic?”

  “How about never? Does never work for you?”

  Lyra stepped in front of Kara, leaving no doubt as to the time frame involved. The others all gestured for Ghyll to sit down and keep quiet.

  Ozzie sat next to Emily. “You know,” he muttered as Ghyll took a place by the pond, “I’m starting to think there’s something a little odd about that guy.”

  “Quiet, please.” Kara paced back and forth, hands behind her back. “How can I concentrate? We’ve got an evil creature that’s here right now, you know!”

  The crowd gasped. Murmurs of dismay rippled through the gathered creatures.

  “Don’t panic,” Emily called out. “We just need to figure out what it could be.”

  “Right.” Kara hopped up on a large, flat rock at the edge of the pond.

  “What kind of monster are we talking about?” Balthazar asked.

  Emily stood up and gave a quick description of the thing she’d seen.

  “Could it be a banshee?” a brimbee asked.

  “No, we know what those look like.” Emily shuddered at the memory of the ragged, green-skinned, red-eyed hags that had attacked them not long ago. “This creature had pale white skin and black eyes and was sort of bony.”

  “A night stalker!” another voice cried.

  Ronif shook his head. “No, no,” he said. “They have yellow eyes, and their skin is black as midnight.”

  “That creature who ran away, the one who made the horrible noise,” a wommel called out. “We haven’t seen it since we got here. That’s your monster!”

  “We think that creature may be a unicorn,” Emily said.

  “A unicorn. Here?”

  Gasps of wonder broke out among the crowd

  “Surely with the magic of a unicorn, we need not worry about a monster,” a brimbee said.

  “They can travel freely on the web itself,” another quiffle explained. “They don’t need a portal or anything. Why would it be here?”

  “We’re not sure she is a unicorn, yet,” Kara said.

  “This monster made beautiful music. I can’t explain it—it was hypnotic,” Emily continued. “I forgot about everything else when I heard it.”

  “It has to be a harpy,” Balthazar said.

  “Or a siren, creatures that use beautiful music to lure victims,” Rasha added.

  “There’s a famous painting, The Sirens of Waterknell, hanging on the wall at my cousin Brommy’s place,” Ozzie said excitedly. “I’m sure you must have noticed it, Ghyll?”

  “Of course,” Ghyll replied immediately. “It’s quite striking.”

  Emily noticed a weird look cross Ozzie’s face.

  “Sirens always take the form of beautiful maidens; they’re not ghoulish,” Balthazar pointed out. “But they do use similar magic as harpies.”

  “Oh, no, a harpy is here?” someone cried in a frightened voice.

  “A harpy spirited my brother away.”

  “Calm down!” Kara’s voice broke through the commotion. “What’s a hippy?”

  Once again there was an eruption of responses.

  “Harpy.”

  “. . . hideous beastie. . .”

  “. . . song that can lure anyone to their doom. . .”

  “. . . horrible, gaping eyes of death. . .”

  “Harpies are birdlike creatures that weave spells using musical enchantments,” Balthazar explained. “They lull victims into a state of mindlessness and then take control of them—make them do their bidding.”

  “They use music as magic?” Emily asked.

  “Music can be a potent form of magical energy,” Balthazar continued. “The right sounds or combinations of sounds can have a strong influence on magic and those who use magic.”

  All around the glade, heads were nodding.

  Ghyll stepped forward. “The harpy’s music creates a beautiful vision, sort of a dreamtime state—disguising it just long enough to get close so it can attack. Only those with powerful magic of their own can see the harpy’s tru
e form.” He nodded toward Emily.

  A lot of things were starting to make sense now. Emily remembered the weird, dreamlike spell the music had thrown over her, the exquisite illusion she’d spotted briefly in the forest. “What are we supposed to do?” she demanded, pushing the images away. “What if this thing is after Lorelei?”

  “You’re the only one who’s seen it. Maybe it’s after you,” Ghyll suggested.

  “When the Dark Sorceress tried to get the unicorn last time, she tried to use me. Maybe now she’s trying to use you,” Kara put in.

  “Catch it and send it back through the portal!” an agitated voice cried from the crowd.

  “Yes! It’s the only way!” someone else called.

  “We can’t send Lorelei back to Aldenmor and into the Dark Sorceress’s hands,” Adriane said sharply.

  “Maybe we can,” Ghyll said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Unicorns are at the top of the magic chain,” the flobbin explained. “As the beautiful princess pointed out”—he gave Kara a little bow—“the Dark Sorceress couldn’t get a unicorn on her own. If the creature is a unicorn, it should be able to handle the sorceress just fine. If it’s not, she won’t pay any attention to it anyway. So everybody wins.”

  Kara blinked. “Unless, of course—” She stopped.

  “Unless what?”

  Kara paced back and forth again. “Unless the Dark Sorceress knows the unicorn thing is here.” She raised a finger in the air. “What if she sent it?”

  An anxious murmur swept through the crowd.

  “No!” Emily cried. “The thing I saw—it’s definitely evil!”

  “Ribbit.” Ghyll cleared his throat. “There is another possibility. If this harpy is particularly powerful, it might be able to shape shift.”

  “Harpies can change their shape?” Adriane asked.

  “Some,” Ghyll said. “If their magic is strong.”

  “Then maybe Lorelei is the harpy,” Adriane concluded unhappily.

  “No, no, no!” Emily shook her head.

  “The Dark Sorceress would send only the most powerful of her magic trackers to this world,” Ghyll warned. “It is possible that a powerful harpy could make itself look like a unicorn.”