Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1)

by Rachel Roberts

  “Maybe my mom can figure out what it is,” Emily continued.

  “What do you mean, what it is?” The other girl moved closer.

  Emily tried to stay calm. “Animals do not talk.”

  “Well, this one does. And all we need is your mom to tell everyone.” The girl started pacing. She gazed in the direction where the wolf had disappeared, then looked pleadingly back to Emily. “People think this place is weird enough already!”

  “You’re just going to accept a ferret that talks?”

  “Could you wait, at least?” the girl asked.

  “For what?”

  “Just wait, that’s all… to tell your mother. Until we can figure out what all this is about.”

  Emily stared at the girl she had only just met. She could tell that the girl cared deeply for these woods—and for the animals that lived here.

  “Well, my mom can set its leg anyway.” Cradling the ferret gently in her arms, she started walking away.

  “It’d be faster if you go the other way.”

  Emily stopped. “What?”

  The raven-haired girl sighed. “Come on, you’ll just get lost,” she said, dusting off the seat of her black jeans.

  “Fine!”

  Emily followed the girl and soon they were on a narrow dirt track, heading out of the preserve. The ferret lay still in the crook of Emily’s arm, muttering incoherently.

  “I’m Emily Fletcher,” Emily offered.

  “Adriane Charday.”

  “Hi, Adriane. Nice to meet you again.”

  “Yeah,” Adriane said half-heartedly. “Uh...same here.”

  “….maybe it was the wrong portal,” the ferret mumbled. “Maybe I should have gotten better directions…maybe I should have just stayed home!”

  “I didn’t know there were wolves in this part of the country,” Emily tried again.

  “This is a wildlife preserve, you know,” Adriane snapped. She caught herself and calmed down. “Her name is Stormbringer. She’s a mistwolf.”

  “Mistwolves! What have I gotten myself into?” the ferret whined.

  “I’ve never heard of mistwolves,” Emily said, trying to ignore the fact she was holding a talking ferret.

  “Mistwovles are legendary, everyone’s heard of them!” the ferret squirmed in Emily’s arms.

  “She’s the last of her kind,” Adriane said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “She told me,” Adriane answered.

  “That is so weird!”

  “No weirder than the fact that you can hear her speak,” Adriane retorted.

  The girls looked at each other.

  “Just what kinds of animals are on this preserve?” Emily asked incredulously.

  “All kinds—supposedly. I haven’t found any except for Storm…and the cat—and now this ferret.”

  “Adriane, I think the wolf saved me yesterday,” Emily said in a soft voice. “I was about to be attacked by this...I don’t know, animal-thing, I couldn’t really see it clearly, but the wolf hid me in this mist….” she faltered. It still seemed so unbelievable.

  “You think that thing attacked the cat?” Adriane asked

  “I… don’t know.”

  Adriane took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry I was such a jerk. I didn’t want to share this with anyone. I’ve only known Storm for a few weeks, she’s so amazing…”

  “I understand.” Emily nodded. “Not that I’ve got anyone to tell,” she added under her breath.

  Adriane heard her anyway. “What do you mean?”

  “We just moved to Stonehill, my mom and me. I don’t have any friends here.”

  “I should have stayed in the Misty Moors…dumb Fairimental magic…” the ferret complained as the girls walked on.

  “Noisy, isn’t he?” Adriane commented.

  “Adriane, animals don’t talk!”

  “Before I met Storm I would’ve said the same thing.”

  “I’ve got to find that portal!” the ferret yelled out.

  “What?” both girls asked in unison.

  “Something is not right! I have to get back home!” the ferret exclaimed.

  “Where do you come from?”

  The ferret narrowed his eyes and looked around suspiciously “I’m not talking...not saying another word.”

  “Good,” Adriane said.

  “Not a peep,” added the ferret.

  “Fine,” said Emily.

  “A ferret…” the ferret moaned. “How revolting!”

  “He must be delirious,” Adriane said to Emily.

  The girls made their way across the park grounds and into Emily’s backyard. They entered the animal hospital through the back door.

  The ferret looked around. “Wh-where am I?”

  “At a place where we can take care of your leg,” Emily said, depositing him on the examining table.

  “I don’t need to be taken care of,” the ferret insisted. “I need to be changed out of this body! Gah! Wait till I get my hands on those Fairimentals!”

  “Paws,” Emily reminded him. “You have paws.”

  “What are Fairimentals?” Adriane asked.

  “Uh-oh. Me and my big mouth,” the ferret said, beginning to back away. He regarded them with fear in his eyes. “How do I know you’re not the enemy?”

  “The enemy? What enemy?” Adriane asked.

  “We’re friends,” Emily assured him. She heard footsteps approaching the room. “Ssshhh,” she said suddenly. “Don’t say a word! Just let my mother set your leg. She’s a doctor.”

  The ferret sighed. “All right, all right. Just make it snappy. I’ve got to find that portal—”

  “Quiet!”

  The door opened and Carolyn came in, her face drawn and pale. She smiled at Emily. “Hi, Doc, what do you have there?”

  “What’s wrong, Mom?” Emily asked. Her heart skipped a beat. “Oh no! Not the cat?”

  “No, a dog was found this morning near Arrowhead Park…”

  “It didn’t make it?” Emily asked.

  Carolyn shook her head sadly. “Oh, hello again,” she said, noticing Adriane. “Aren’t you the girl who found the cat?”

  Adriane nodded.

  “She’s doing fine, thanks to your quick thinking.” Smiling, Emily’s mom held out her hand. “I’m Carolyn Fletcher.”

  “Adriane Charday.” Adriane shook her hand politely. “I found this ferret up on the preserve. Emily helped me free him from a trap.”

  “A trap!” Carolyn turned to Emily. “Didn’t I did tell you to stay out of those woods? It’s not safe up there!”

  “I agree!” the ferret exclaimed.

  Adriane clasped her hand over the ferret’s mouth. “Shut up!”

  “What?” Carolyn said.

  “Uh, wassup? With his paw, I mean.” Keeping a hand over the ferret’s mouth, Adriane stretched him out lengthwise.

  Carolyn gently felt up and down both rear paws. “This doesn’t look bad,” she said. “No breaks, not even much of a wound. Lucky for him it wasn’t a big trap.”

  Emily bent over the ferret. She looked at him, then at Adriane. “What the…” She peered at his injured paw. The leg was sound and straight! “Must have been the other leg…” she muttered, turning him over in Carolyn’s hands.

  Emily stared in astonishment. The ferret was practically healed! She was about to tell her mother that not thirty minutes ago his leg had been broken, but she caught Adriane glaring at her. Emily remained silent.

  “You can handle this, Doc,” Carolyn said, walking toward the recovery room. “Just clean the wound and bandage it.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Emily said.

  Adriane grabbed the ferret close to her face. “Listen, you—keep your mouth shut in front of other people!”

  “I will do no such thing!” he said, crossing his paws and looking away.

  “Oh, yes, you will,” Emily insisted. “You want to be taken away and examined by a billion doctors and scientists?”

&nb
sp; “Well…I…”

  “And probed and dissected?” Adriane added.

  “Gak!”

  Adriane handed the ferret to Emily as Carolyn walked back inside, drying her hands with a towel. Emily grabbed a bottle full of water and shoved it in the ferret’s mouth, cradling him like a baby.

  “Poor thing is thirsty,” Adriane commented.

  “Blurbbboo!”

  “Completely dehydrated,” Emily agreed.

  “Foothpagg!”

  Carolyn turned to Adriane. “So, Adriane, how is it that you were on the preserve?”

  “My grandmother’s the caretaker. I live with her there.”

  Emily gave Adriane a sharp glance. “Where are your parents?” she asked.

  “Emily…” her mother said softly.

  “I have parents.” Adriane glared back at Emily. “They’re artists, they travel a lot.” She looked very uncomfortable.

  Carolyn smiled. “Well, you’re welcome here any time,” she said.

  “Mom?” Emily began. “That dog…” She faltered.

  “What about it?” her mother prompted her.

  “How did it… I mean, what killed it?”

  Her mother sighed. “I’d have to say that whatever attacked the cat was the same thing that killed the dog.” She headed for the door. “I’ve got to run to an appointment. I’ll be home in time for dinner.”

  The moment Carolyn was out the door, Emily whirled on Adriane. “What’s going on over there?”

  “PhatoooiIEE!” The ferret leaped to the table and scampered away. “What are you trying to do, drown me?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You live there, you must know something. Or your grandmother does.”

  “No, she doesn’t!” Adriane was horrified.

  “Hurt animals are being found in those woods!”

  Adriane blinked back tears. “You think we’re doing something to hurt the animals? My gran loves animals!” Adriane started to pace. She whirled around to face Emily. “You’re as bad as everyone else in this stupid town!” She stalked toward to door. “I’m outta here.”

  Emily ran after her. “Wait!”

  Adriane stood there, arms crossed over her chest, glowering.

  Emily felt ashamed. “I’m sorry. I just get so mad! I hate seeing animals hurt.”

  “Me, too,” Adriane said quietly.

  “I shouldn’t have accused your grandma, but have you ever asked her what’s going on?”

  “I can’t talk to her.” Adriane raised her arms in frustration. “She’s always saying weird stuff about spirits and giving me herbal roots and yucky charms.”

  “Yucky charms? They’re magically delicious!” Emily exclaimed.

  The girls broke out laughing.

  “Aaaagh!” The high-pitched scream made them jump. It came from the adjoining room. They ran in—and found the cat standing on the makeshift bed straddling the ferret and looking at him as if he were a tasty treat.

  “Help!” the ferret screamed.

  The cat looked up. Seeing Emily, she backed off and crouched, still eyeing the ferret, a low growl rumbling from her chest. The ferret rolled out from under the cat’s paws and fell on the floor with a thud. “This beast thinks I’m a rodent!”

  “Ferrets are not rodents, more like weasels,” Emily informed the ferret.

  “That’s comforting!”

  She walked over to the cat. “This mean ol’ ferret scare you?” She brushed her hand over the cat’s back. Most of the bandages had been removed but the terrible scars remained. The cat nudged Emily with her head, then rubbed against her. The growl turned into a purr that sounded like a lawnmower.

  “Glad to see you’re getting your normal appetite back,” Emily told her with a smile.

  “Don’t tell me she talks, too!” Adriane exclaimed incredulously.

  “Not exactly… I mean—this is so crazy! Animals don’t talk!”

  “Well, then,” Adriane said, “what about him?” She jerked her thumb at the ferret, which was poking around the room, exploring curiously.

  The ferret made his way to the side of a shiny metal cabinet. “Stupid thing thought I was a weasel.” His reflection glared back at him and he shrieked.

  “And what about Stormbringer?”

  Emily’s mind was whirling, trying to sort it all out. “I hear the wolf clearly—in my head. But the ferret actually talks out loud.”

  “What about the cat?” Adriane stroked the cat’s head with gentle fingertips.

  “She’s…like faint static. I can just barely make out a word here and there.” Emily shook her head. “But how can we hear them at all?”

  “I started hearing Storm when I found this.” Adriane rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a shiny stone. Shaped like a paw print, it was banded in gold, amber, and brown. “It’s a wolf stone.”

  Emily’s eyes went wide. “That is so weird.”

  “I kind of like it,” Adriane said defensively.

  Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out her own gemstone. “No, I mean, look at this.”

  Adriane stared in amazement. “Where did you find that?”

  “In this glade on the preserve. I saw some birds and some… weird deer.”

  “You saw animals there?” Adriane asked.

  “Yeah,” Emily said. She felt her pulse quicken at the memory of what had happened there. “Where did you find yours?” she asked.

  “In the woods near a big field.”

  “I wonder if there are any more,” Emily mused.

  Adriane shrugged. “I don’t know.

  The sound of a loud purr distracted them. They looked over to see the ferret scratching the big cat under her chin. The cat’s eyes were closed in pleasure.

  “I’m really an elf, you know,” the ferret was telling the cat.

  The cat stretched and licked the ferret’s head.

  “Blah!”

  “Emily, do you believe in magic?” Adriane asked.

  Emily shook her head. “If you asked me that yesterday, I would have thought you were nuts. Now…I don’t know.”

  The front door of the clinic banged open, and Emily heard Kevin’s familiar, clomping stride coming down the hall toward them.

  Instinctively, both girls stuffed their stones into their pockets. Emily went to the door and opened it. Kevin, holding a Fed-Ex envelope, came into the room. “Hey, Em,” he said.

  Then he saw Adriane behind her. “Oh, hey,” he said to her.

  “Hey, yourself,” she replied.

  “Yeah, whatever,” he said, waving the envelope at Emily. “This came for your mom.”

  Emily looked at it. The return address was the University of Pennsylvania. Curiosity got the better of her and she snatched the envelope. “She’s not here right now. I’ll give it to her later, okay?”

  Kevin frowned, but after a glance at Adriane, decided not to object. “I’ve got some shelves to stock,” he said, backing out of the room. “See you later.”

  “Yeah.” Adriane looked down.

  Emily stood there, holding the package.

  “The other kids around here don’t like me much,” Adriane said after Kevin was gone. “I’m used to it, though.”

  “They’re just being jerks.”

  “So what is it?” Adriane nodded at the envelope.

  “Lab report on the skin samples from the cat,” Emily explained. After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the envelope and read the report. Its contents made her heart sink.

  “Listen to this: ‘Results of testing are inconclusive…traces of toxin...recommend extreme caution... The area should be quarantined until further testing by agents from the Centers for Disease Control.’”

  Adriane gasped. “Quarantined? They can’t do that! Me and Gran live there!” She grabbed Emily’s arm. “You have to hide that letter!”

  “But it was sent to my mom. I shouldn’t even have opened it.”

  “Emily, if they shut down the preserve, we’ll
have to move,” Adriane pleaded. “I’ve only been there six months, but it’s my home now. I can’t move again!”

  Emily thought for a moment. “Okay, I’ll keep the letter hidden—for now. But if this radiation, or whatever it is, is not coming from the preserve, then where is it coming from?”

  “I don’t know.” Adriane sprang up. “I’ve got to go tell Gran what’s going on. If they close down the preserve, who’ll protect the animals?”

  The question echoed in Emily’s mind. “I’ll come with you.” She grabbed the ferret, who was busy examining his reflection. “I think we’d better take you with us, before somebody hears you talking.”

  “What’s wrong with me talking?” he asked, sounding insulted.

  “Around here,” Emily told him, “ferrets don’t talk.”

  “I am not a ferret. I am an elf.”

  “Yeah, and I’m Dr. Doolittle,” Emily said.

  “I’m an elf!” he insisted again. “My name is Ozymandias. You can call me Ozzie.” He smiled a ferret smile.

  Adriane stared at him. “We need to make a pact,” she turned to Emily. “To keep all this secret—at least for now.”

  “Okay.”

  The two girls held out their hands. As they shook, a furry paw came down and sealed their pact.

  EMILY FOLLOWED ADRIANE across the park and over a small hill that put them right on the main road to Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve. Ozzie rode comfortably in Emily’s backpack. His head poked out of the top, snout covered with crumbs from a power bar he’d found inside.

  “Okay, Mr. Ozzie the Talking Ferret, spill it.” Adriane smacked the side of the backpack.

  “Spoof!” Ozzie spit out a mouthful of power bar. “What-what-what?”

  “Where did you come from?” she asked.

  “How did you get here?” Emily added, swinging the pack around to rest against her chest.

  “How come you can talk?” Adriane demanded.

  “Stop, you’re making me dizzy! One minute I was there, then I fell through the portal to here. I’m an elf. Well, I was an elf. Now look at me. I’m a furry beast with paws and fleas!”

  He tried to scratch his back. Emily reached into the pack and scratched it for him.

  “A little to the right—ooooh, good one.”