Song of the Unicorns (Avalon: Web of Magic #7) by Rachel Roberts Page A

They’re needed on the web to control all that wild magic until those power crystals can be found.”
    Emily looked at the other mages, determination flashing in her hazel eyes. “I think the unicorns can open the portal.”
    “Pooobahh!”
    “YodalOOt!”
    “MeeMEE!”
    “We have no choice now,” Tweek said, shuddering. “I’m going to have to explain this whole thing! This could take all night.”
    “The map has been tuned to unlock with special magic, my unicorn jewel.” Kara took the silver amulet from her pocket. With a deft touch of her fingers, her unicorn jewel flashed and the glittering fairy map blossomed in the air. Sparkling points sprinkled across fine lines.
    “Holy treewart!”
    Kara pointed to a glowing path of portals. “So… all we have to do is find a new portal path to Dalriada, and they’re back on the schoolbus.”
    “Well… yes…” Tweek said, startled by the blazing star’s portal savvy. “But, but, but—”
    “We’ll have to go into the desert,” Adriane said. “Portals can get pretty big.”
    “Exactly!” Tweek peered up at the warrior, impressed. “However—”
    “We should wait until tomorrow,” Emily advised, “and hope whoever’s looking for the unicorns loses the trail.”
    “Precisely!” Tweek sputtered. “ Fortunately, I have portal GPS but it’s still risky. The portals are all flooie. Without an experienced unicorn, traveling the web will be very dangerous.”
    “We can do it!” Pollo insisted.
    “Yeah, we can open the portal,” Dante trumpeted.
    “We sure can! TweeP!” The group began tooting, lights flashing in their crystal horns.
    “Well, we can’t risk keeping them in the barn anymore,” Adriane said.
    Emily nodded. “They can stay here tonight. First thing in the morning we leave for Dalriada.”
    Unicorns piled into a heap on the floor, snuggling close together as they settled down for the night.
    Violet scrambled under Emily’s bunk and curled up happily while Calliope lay on one of Kara’s pillows.
    Emily huddled deep inside the covers, listening to the soft toots and honks. Ready or not, the mages had to try and get the unicorns home.
    “Good night, Clio.”
    “G’nite, Violet.”
    “Good night, Dante.”
    “G’nite, Emily.”
    “Good night, Snowflake.”
    “Good night, Calliope.”
    “G’nite, Fuzzy.”
    “Good night!”



L IGHT BROKE INTO fragments, rippling along towering crystalline walls. Frozen spider webs shivered, draped like delicate glass sculptures.
    Emily wandered into an immense chamber of black ice.
    She wasn’t cold. She didn’t feel… anything.
    Flashes of light silhouetted a large block rising from the center of the chamber. She moved carefully across the smooth floor, trying to see inside the block. But smoke ran through its icy surface.
    “So this is the healer mage,” a surprised voice shattered the silence. “She seems so… ordinary.”
    “So were you—once.” Now a familiar voice floated across the chamber.
    The first voice laughed, a horrible chitter like bone grating against bone. “What I have become suits me.”
    “The blazing star is set on her path, the warrior can be broken, but this one—this one is special.”
    Emily slowly turned. Two cloaked figures—creatures—sat upon a raised podium, studying her. One looked grotesquely bloated, robes covering a wide torso like a shroud. Several boney legs were partially hidden beneath the robes.
    “And you actually believe she can weave magic?” the spidery figure asked.
    “They are smarter than you think.”
    “Smart enough to trap you in here.” A maniacal laughter filled the chamber.
    “Not for long.”
    “Who are you?” Emily called out.
    “She knows we are watching,” the first voice clicked.
    “It’s only a dream,” the familiar voice answered calmly.
    Emily ran toward the murky ice, desperate to see more. Peering into the blackness, she glimpsed what lay inside—wild light played like fire from thirty crystal