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

horns.
    Emily stifled a scream.
    Under the spell of dark magic, the unicorns stared at her unknowingly.
    She shut her eyes, seeking the familiar sensations of healing magic from her stone. She tried to feel something, anything—but she couldn’t. Her heart was numb.
    Emily raised her jewel and gasped. Instead of the familiar rainbow stone, she wore a crystal of black ice, its center pulsing a deep blood-red.
    The unicorns converged upon her, waiting for her to lead them, waiting to unleash their dark magic upon the web.

    Emily opened her eyes and winced. She had no sensation in her right arm. Turning to her side, she found herself buried under the warm bodies of Clio and Violet. Gently pushing the unicorns aside, she slid her arm free. She rolled out of bed, slipped into her jeans, and pulled on a sweatshirt.
    Squinting in the early morning light, she took in the room. It was jammed with bodies. Panic shot through her as she flashed on the nightmarish image. She let out her breath as she saw the unicorns stir, awakening from their sleep.
    “Emily,” a voice called softly from outside the cabin.
    Adriane heard it too. She jumped from the top bunk, awake and ready in an instant, Dreamer by her side.
    “Emily, are you in there? I need to talk to you!” Sierra’s voice pleaded from the other side of the cabin door.
    “Shhh.” Emily held a finger to her lips as she climbed over the pile of groggy unicorns.
    “Emily, are you all right?” Ozzie flailed and dug his way out of the pile, shoving Spruce’s hoof aside.
    “BLLEEEAHHHHH!” the startled unicorn complained.
    “Where’s the snooze button?” Kara’s hand waved in the air and bonked Spruce’s nose.
    Emily carefully opened the cabin door and slipped outside.
    Sierra’s sweet face was lined with worry. “The barn is empty!”
    “It’s okay,” Emily reassured her. “They’re safe.”
    “Look Emily, I know you three are involved in something,” Sierra said anxiously. “You have to tell me.”
    Emily searched Sierra’s deep brown eyes. She made a decision. “Okay, but you can never tell anyone about this. I’m trusting you with their lives.”
    Sierra nodded gravely.
    Emily’s rainbow gem and the turquoise jewel around Sierra’s neck pulsed with a sharp light. “All right.” The healer called into the cabin. “Adriane, Kara, I’m bringing Sierra inside.”
    The healer swept open the door and backed inside.
    Sierra’s eyes went wide, and her mouth opened in shock as the herd of multicolored unicorns with shimmering crystal horns stared back.
    “What… I mean, who…!” Sierra could barely form words as she stepped into the cabin. “What’s happened to them?”
    “We grew our horns.” Snowflake proudly displayed her shimmering horn.
    “They’re not ponies,” Adriane said.
    “They’re unicorns,” Kara explained.
    “What? But that’s impossible! Unicorns aren’t real.” Sierra looked closely at Clio’s pistachio horn, pulsing with soft light. “Right?”
    “We could use some apples.” Pollo yawned and stretched, sending a flurry of magic up and down his horn.
    “They’re so beautiful!” Sierra trembled as she walked among them, absently reaching in her vest pocket for a few apples.
    “Thank you,” Electra said, stumbling over Pollo to take one.
    “I feel like I’m dreaming.” Sierra rubbed her wide brown eyes as the dazzling blue unicorn munched from her hand. “Where did they come from?”
    Emily grasped Sierra’s arm. “I can explain everything later, but we have to get them out of here right now. Do you want to help?”
    “We need to take them to a secluded area,” Adriane said. “No one can see them.”
    “The Arrow Rocks,” Sierra suggested, though she still seemed dazed. “It’s about three miles south of the ranch.”
    “Any idea how we can sneak them away?” Adriane asked.
    “I’m scheduling the trail rides this morning. I can make sure everyone heads north. The path through the riding arenas will