“Please, could you move just a little?” Emily tried. “Our friend seems to be caught under you.”
The purple giant seemed to search Emily’s face. She felt overwhelmed by a sadness so deep that tears welled in her eyes. But the feeling passed in a flash and her hands fell away from the creature’s side as he lumbered to his feet.
“Gah!” Ozzie sputtered.
Emily reached down to peel Ozzie off the ground. “Are you all right?”
“No! I’m all flattened out!” The ferret shook dust off himself and kicked the big creature. “What are you trying to do, squish me?”
The huge beast just blinked down at Ozzie. Then silently, he turned and started to walk away.
“Hey, come back here!” Ozzie yelled. He ran and grabbed hold of the creature’s leg, then scampered all the way up to his shoulder.
“We’d better follow him until we’re sure those hunters are really gone,” Emily said.
The girls ran to catch up as the purple giant entered the woods. He moved silently forward as if gliding on air, trailing a colorful wake of rainbow flowers behind him.
“So that’s where the flowers are coming from!” Emily exclaimed.
“Phelonious, am I glad to see you! I thought I was sent to the wrong place!” Ozzie gestured wildly with his arms as he chattered into the great beast’s ear. “I ended up in this strange body— what were those Fairimentals thinking? Look, I’m a weasel!!!” he wailed.
A flash of color moved through the trees behind them. Emily grabbed Adriane’s arm. “Did you see that?”
“See what?” Adriane stopped to look. In the stillness, they heard rustling and the patter of hoofbeats. Suddenly a herd of jeeran burst through the brush, bounding through the trees.
Adriane whirled around. “Look, there’s more!”
Behind the jeeran, a group of strange duck-like birds appeared. They were goofy-looking, with silver bills and webbed feet too big for their bodies. One of them waddled right up to Emily. It cocked its head up at her, but made no threatening moves.
“Hello,” Emily said.
“Hello yourself,” it responded. It spoke out loud, its rubbery beak moving weirdly to shape the words. “Are you a mage?”
“Mage? No, I’m a girl.”
“A warlock, then?” it persisted.
“We’re not warlocks,” Adriane said.
The creature thought for a moment. “All right then.” It waddled past them, herding the others along the trail of rainbow flowers left behind by the purple giant Ozzie called Phelonius.
Following the parade of animals, the girls made their way around a mass of dense thickets. Phelonius was entering the natural archway that led to the Rocking Stone.
“This is it!” Adriane exclaimed. “The glade must be on the other side!”
Emily hung back, suddenly overwhelmed by the reality of being back here again.
“C’mon!” Adriane called.
Reluctantly Emily followed, hoping the glade really was there. They skirted the immense boulder—and stopped.
“Wow.” Adriane stopped, awestruck. “This is amazing!”
The glade was just as awesome as Emily remembered. The slender boughs of the weeping willows touched the pond, sending cascading ripples through the water’s reflection of the sky. The ground was a flower-carpet of rainbow colors. Sparkling sunlight glinted off the turquoise wing of a bird perched on the arching bridge.
“Wow…” Adriane breathed, looking around. “I can’t believe this was here and I never knew it.”
Phelonius was settling his great bulk beside an enormous tree. Stormbringer padded out from the far trees and walked over to him, lowering her head, her ears, and her tail in a wolfish bow. Emily caught brief glimpses of animals huddled together.
The ferret raced over to the girls.
“Ozzie, what is he doing here?” Emily asked, looking at the purple creature.
“I don’t know yet. He’s not talking.”
“An animal that doesn’t talk—what a concept,” Adriane remarked.
“Phel is not an animal,” Ozzie said. “Come and say hello.”
Emily and Adriane followed Ozzie over to Phel. The glade was still. A brightly colored bird darted over the water and zipped past. Emily blinked. It looked like a tiny dragon, with wings! It was gone before she could be sure. She looked around and felt surrounded by animals. They stood at the outskirts of the glade waiting—but for what?
“This is Emily and Adriane,” Ozzie said. “They’re girls, but they seem to have a talent for magic.” He sat back, pleased with himself.
“Hello,” Emily said shyly.
“Hi,” Adriane said.
Phelonius blinked, and Emily felt a wave of warmth and love pour over her.
“What kind of creature is he exactly?” she asked Ozzie.
“Phel’s a fairy creature, he’s made of magic.”
“How can that be?” Emily's rational mind wondered. “We can touch him! We can see him!” She shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe, anymore.”
“Prove it,” Adriane said to Phel. “Show us magic.”
The corners of Phel’s thin mouth turned up into a smile. Tiny pinpoints of light sparkled across his fur. Then as if by some silent signal, dozens of animals began to emerge from the forest. Emily rubbed her eyes. “I think I’m seeing things,” she whispered.
“Emily, that’s….that’s a…” Adriane stammered incredulously. “What is that?”
Before them stood a pony with resplendent wings of bright orange and yellow, like those of a butterfly. A dozen Jeeran stepped forward, followed by a host of other creatures. Some had wings, some had scales, one had the body of a cat and the head of a bird. Emily could not even begin to identify the others.
Then she caught her breath. A magnificent white owl with glowing turquoise eyes hobbled to a halt at her feet. Her heart, so full of wonder a moment ago, emptied with a dull ache. The owl’s wings glowed a sickly green—just like the burns on the cat.
“My wings can’t fly.” Emily heard the words in her head as clearly as if they’d been spoken aloud.
“Emily!” Adriane was pointing to the animals.
Emily was taken aback by the tears that ran down Adriane’s cheeks. She looked more closely at the other animals. “Oh, no!” she gasped.
“Oh, my.” Even Ozzie seemed shocked.
The hind legs and back of one of the jeerans was a patchwork of raw abrasions, all colored with the faint green glow. It swayed slightly, as if just standing up was an effort. The winged pony’s flank was slashed by a lightning strike-shaped burn. Some of the animals couldn’t walk very well, and others were helping the wounded move along. The duck-like creature she’d met earlier was herding forward several others of its kind, all covered in the noxious glow.
Pain throbbed like a hot coals as Emily felt the animals’ misery—but she also sensed a spark of hope that flared in them upon seeing Phel. She gripped Adriane’s hand.
A jeeran, its leg crisscrossed with greenish burns, approached Phelonius. Emily held her breath as the purple giant reached out toward the jeeran. Immense but gentle paws touched the animal’s sides and legs. The jeeran shivered. Phel’s fur shimmered. The brighter he shone, the fainter the green glow became. Then Phel’s light faded and the horrible burns were gone!
“How did you do that?” Emily asked, astonished.
He removed his paws and released a cloud of rainbow sparkles that twinkled through the air. The jeeran bent a front leg in a bow to Phel, then danced away, its hooves kicking up dirt and grass.
Adriane turned to Emily, her face full of wonder as one by one the injured animals approached Phel. As he worked, more and more rainbow sparkles floated and danced over the glade. The air glittered. Rainbow puff flowers sprouted and blossomed. Emily’s pain washed away like that of the healed animals, leaving in its place an incredible sense of hope and dreams…and magic.
Adriane had found Stormbringer herding animals forward and she ran to
her friend. “How can this be happening?”
“Magic finds a way, warrior.”
Emily looked down at the owl sitting near her. As gently as possible, she lifted it in her arms. Then she turned to Phel.
“I want to help,” she said.
EMILY HELD THE owl as Phel’s great paws stroked its wings. The jewel on her wrist pulsed with a bright blue light. She was concentrating so hard, she was barely aware of Adriane, Ozzie, Stormbringer, and the other animals watching. As the light from her stone mixed with Phel’s warm glow, she could feel the poison leaving the owl’s body; could sense its strength returning. Her heart leaped into flight. The owl opened its bright eyes and looked adoringly at Emily. She gently scratched its head and was thrilled to see a glimmer of turquoise and gold run through its feathers.
“There, is that better?” she asked.
“A mouse would be good.”
“That was amazing, Emily,” Adriane breathed.
Emily laughed as she brushed the soft feathers with her hand. Then she lowered the owl to the ground.
“Ariel likes you.” The duck-thing was standing there watching.
“Thank you…I think. Her named is Ariel?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?” Emily asked.
“Ronif,” it told her. “I’m a quiffle.”
Emily blinked. “My name is Emily. These are my friends, Adriane, Ozzie, and Stormbringer.” She pointed to each in turn.
The quiffle looked them over. “Mages!” He waddled away to tell the others.
“Come on, let’s help them.” Emily got up to carry one of the wounded quiffles to Phel. Adriane joined her.
The sun dropped low behind the trees, its golden rays cutting across the glade, but Emily hardly noticed, too busy holding and soothing the sick and wounded animals while Phel healed them. Adriane and Storm moved among the larger animals, helping them get to Phel.
At last no more animals came forward. Emily sat down, exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. She held the beautiful owl in her lap and gazed at the extraordinary collection of creatures gathered in the glade. They were all watching her. She sensed their joy at being healed, and yet they seemed nervous, darting glances into the woods and up toward the sky.
Adriane approached, half a dozen baby quiffles riding in her pockets, and three more in her arms. Adriane plopped three into Emily’s lap, then sat down carefully, so as not to disturb her passengers. Ariel let the tiny quiffles snuggle into her feathers; they cooed happily, and Emily laughed.
“Fantastic!” Ozzie said as he walked over.
“We didn’t really do anything,” Emily said. “Phel healed them all.”
“Don’t be so modest.”
“Did you see your stone glowing?” Adriane asked. “Like mine did, when I made those trees move.”
Emily checked her jewel. It wasn’t glowing now. “Maybe the stones react to magic,” she suggested.
“Very possible,” Ozzie said. “Phel’s flowers are seeding the whole place with magic, the stones could be absorbing it.”
“Yeah, maybe they store the magic—like batteries—and let us use it,” Adriane ventured.
“Could anyone use these, or…just us?” Emily wondered.
Adriane looked at Ozzie, eyes narrowed. “What else do you know that you haven’t told us?”
“Those burns.” Ozzie said looking over at the animals. “It’s the Black Fire.
I had no idea it was this bad. And they’re the ones that made it here. Who knows what’s happened to the others left behind.”
“No wonder they’re all scared,” Emily said. “Talk to them, Ozzie.”
“Who, me?”
“Tell them everything’s going to be all right,” Emily added.
“Come on, Ali—Ozzie,” Adriane said.
“Oh, all right.” Ozzie got up and walked over to the animals. “Hello, I’m Ozymandius, er, Ozzie.” The animals all perked up, eyes wide-open, ears pricked forward. The ferret steeled himself and faced the crowd. “I’m an elf.”
“You don’t look like an elf,” Ronif the quiffle remarked.
“That’s right, genius! I know I don’t look like an elf!”
“Go on, Ozzie, you’re doing great,” Emily said encouragingly.
“I’m from Aldenmor, like you. I grew up in the village of Farthingdale, near the Moorgroves.”
Sounds of recognition were heard from the animals.
“It’s a secluded Elven place. Too secluded for me—I wanted to explore the world. If I had known any better I would’ve stayed home!” He surveyed the expectant faces and continued. “One day, I wandered out among the Moorgroves and got lost in the dark forests. Phel found me and brought me to the Fairy Glen, and I actually met Fairimentals!”
Murmurs of wonderment surged through the crowd.
Encouraged, Ozzie grew more animated, waving his paws and shuffling back and forth. “They knew I was coming, don’t ask me how—who knows the ways of fairies? They told me Aldenmor was in great danger, that soon there would be no place safe.”
An animal bugled agreement; Emily thought it was one of the jeerans.
“The Fairimentals are searching for an enchanted place, the source of all magic. They said they needed ‘humans’ to help. I was to find three mages. A healer—” He paused and looked directly at Emily. “A warrior—” He looked at Adriane. “And a blazing star.”
Eyes wide, Emily glanced at Adriane. “Blazing star?” she whispered, perplexed. Adriane shrugged.
Ozzie continued. “I didn’t have the faintest idea what they meant, but it’s not every day a Fairimental asks for your help. So I followed their directions and somehow ended up getting tossed through some portal and into this world—stuck in the body of a ferret! I don’t really know much else. It’s kind of fuzzy,” he said apologetically. “My giant-sized brain’s been compressed to the size of a peanut!”
Ronif stepped forward. “The Fairimentals were right. The Black Fire is destroying our world, poisoning us. If we hadn’t found our way here, and if you and the great fairy creature hadn’t helped us, we would have died.”
“What is Black Fire?” Emily asked.
Ronif turned to her. “It rains from the sky and seeps through the ground, burning all that it touches.”
Emily turned to Adriane. “My mom was right,” she said. “It’s some kind of toxin, or radiation, maybe.”
“Now we are refugees here in this strange land,” a winged pony said.
“Some of us have left families behind.” The speaker was one of the quiffles. The others voiced their agreement. The baby quiffles buried their heads in Emily’s arms and started to cry.
Another winged horse stepped forward. “We pegasi know of legends.” It looked directly at the two girls. “Old legends say that once, long ago, animals and humans worked together to make magic.”
Emily looked down at her stone. Mage…healer…magic…The words ran round and round in her head.
Ozzie spoke up again. “If the legends say that animals and humans once worked together, then that’s what we are going to do again.” He pointed to Emily and Adriane. “The important thing now is that you have friends here. Somehow, we’ll figure it all out together.”
The animals signaled their approval with bleats and neighs, barks and hisses, quacks and hoots.
“Go, Ozzie!” Adriane cheered.
The sniffling quiffles stared up at Ozzie.
“Hey now, I may be a weasel, but I can still dance!” Ozzie shuffled an elf dance in front of the quiffles. “Look, the wigjig!”
He leaped into the air, twisted, and landed with his arms outstretched—and fell over backward. The quiffles giggled.
“What I wouldn’t give for feet,” Ozzie mumbled into the dirt.
Suddenly the ground beside him swirled and he jumped back. The animals looked at one another. Emily and Adriane stared as four small pools of dirt and twigs rose from the ground, spinning into tiny whirlpools.
Emily and Adriane stood quickly as the whirlpools buzzed around their legs.
“Sankk uuuu…” The voice seemed to come from the closest whirlpool, and Emily turned to follow it.
“Frrrrienndss…” came the voice of another.
“Sssssssssrrrrrr…” another said in a swirling frenzy. It flew apart, twigs and leaves flying.
The first whirlpool spun by even faster. “Serrrrrrrrrrecch…”
“Search. Search for what?” asked Emily, listening hard.
“Hommmmm…”
“Hommmmmm…”
“Hommmmm…” the third cyclone added its tiny voice in a harmonic chorus as the three spun together, weaving in and out and around the girls.
“Please, can’t you tell us more?” Emily had bent over to make sure they could hear her.
One tiny tornado spun wildly by her. “Weecannnotttsttaaayherrrr…”
“Er…I don’t mean to be rude, but before you go, you think you could, mmm, like, change me back?” Ozzie whispered.
“Uucannnnottgoobackk…”
The whirlpools were wavering, starting to fall apart, as if the strength it took to communicate was too much for them.
“Please, don’t go! Where is home?” Emily was close to tears.
The whirlpools spun faster, trying to hold together for one last message. But with a whisper they blew apart and became the wind.
“Nooo!” Emily cried.
“Emily…” Adriane said in a hushed tone.
There on the ground before them, a word was etched in the dirt: Avalon.
“Thanks a lot!” Ozzie was jumping up and down.
Avalon.
Emily stared at the word as a cool breeze blew it to dust. What did it mean?
The animals moved about restlessly. Somehow they understood what the Fairimentals were saying: that there was no going back. They were refugees without a home. An unspoken sadness spread through the glade.
“What about the monster?” a little quiffle asked in a tiny voice. A perceptible chill swept through the crowd.
“The dark creature will hunt us down,” said a blue rabbit-like animal.
Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) Page 7