All That Glitters (Avalon: Web of Magic #2) (9 page)

Kara blinked. And her own adorable face looked back through clouds of mist.

Oh, boy, I really need to soak!

She removed her necklace and placed it on the dressing table, then padded over to the sunken tub and eased into the hot water.
Oh, heaven!
It felt wonderful. Bubbles, bubbles, lost in the bubbles. Steam circled up and enveloped her, so warm, so soothing, so nice . . .

Kara lay back and dunked her head.

Underwater, bubbles churned all around her, all thoughts of magic floating away…

The timer shut off, abruptly bringing the water to a dead calm.

Kara resurfaced, head and toes pointing out of the still water.

A single drop emerged from the jet, swirling with colors as it rose in the water. Kara watched through half-closed eyes, totally relaxed, as fluid shapes spread around her.

The drop enlarged, swelling like a balloon. The surface colors took on shapes, oily smears on water. Slimy colors turned muddy brown and green as long stringy hair fanned from the bubble.

Kara held up a finger. Thick slime, like pond scum, dripped into the water. Her eyes flew open. She was lying in putrid green-and-brown water. In front of her, the banshee hissed as its foul head surfaced.

T
HE MONSTER EXPLODED
out of the slimy water.

Kara screamed and scrambled from the sunken tub, splashing water everywhere. The ragged creature began to slosh its way—not toward Kara, but to the dressing table. The jewel! The banshee was after her magic jewel! Outside, Lyra scratched wildly at the closed glass door.

Kara ran around the tub but slipped on the wet tiles. Flailing about, she grabbed a towel hanging on the rack.

“Help—
oohhf!”

The towel rack broke and Kara tumbled into the silk screen, falling forward and collapsing to the floor. She whirled and kicked the whole mass of screen, towels, and bathing suits at the banshee. The creature wailed, batting aside the debris. Kara got to her feet and lunged for the jewel. Behind her, the banshee fought free and lurched forward. It snatched at the mat under Kara’s feet, sending her flying into a citrus tree. Sobbing, Kara watched in horror as the tree came crashing down against the dressing table in a rain of dirt, leaves, and tiny oranges. Her magic jewel careened across the tile floor toward the drain in the center of the room. It caught in the grate, sparkling like a diamond.

Outstretched ragged fingers reached for the stone.

Now or never!

Kara dove headfirst toward the jewel—and jerked to a stop.

The banshee had Kara’s hair caught in its grip. Kara was wrenched upward. She reached desperately for the jewel but was yanked back again. Her hair was beginning to sizzle, burning under the banshee’s acid touch. Kara screamed, inhaling the sickening smell of singed hair. She pulled away sharply. But she lost her footing and slipped again, crashing against the washstand.

Through her tears, Kara watched the creature’s clawed, twisted hand reach out . . .

Suddenly the jewel rose into the air.

“KeeKee!”

“Goldie!” Kara exclaimed. Eyes red with fury, the banshee howled as it grabbed for the stone. But the jewel floated just out of its grasp.

Four more dragonflies popped into the room in bursts of light.

“Skeepooot!”

The banshee swatted at them, trying to get at the jewel.

“Here, over here! Good dragonflies!” Kara called out.

Goldie swooped toward Kara, the jewel wobbling in her tiny claws. She dropped it into Kara’s outstretched hand.

Kara spun to face the banshee, holding the jewel out in front of her. “Stay back!” she screamed. She didn’t know what to do. Should she use it or not?

The banshee lumbered forward with sloppy wet steps and reached out.

Kara held the stone and concentrated on driving the creature back.

Astonishment and terror chased across the hideous face. The banshee’s red eyes filled with despair, and the creature fell back, covering its face with clawed hands.

Kara threw her arms theatrically into the air and called on the power of the stone. Make lightning smite the banshee into a million, million pieces!

“Go away, scary thing!” she shouted wildly.

Power rushed through her like a freight train, sending circles of light swirling around her body.

The banshee cowered before the blazing magic.

Kara laughed triumphantly. Nobody was going to take her jewel. The creature began shrinking, falling in on itself, its rags spreading out across the tiled floor into a puddle of slime. Clawed fingers reached out in a desperate plea.

“You doom us all . . .”

Kara watched, amazed, as matted hair swirled around in clumps. With a final gurgle, the thing turned to green slime and vanished down the drain.

“A
ND DON’T COME
back!” Kara wiped her hands together.

A strange light gleamed behind her.

She slowly turned.

The mirror’s surface swirled, as if filled with mist. Cold animal eyes glinted, distant and cruel—then faded. Kara’s own wide, blue eyes stared back from the cool glass.

A trick of the light?

Kara looked closer at the disheveled blond hair sticking out over her ears.

What?

Carefully, she touched the back of her head and felt the short, stiff ends.

She whirled around and looked over her shoulder. An entire section of her hair was gone, singed off by the banshee. It was as if a mad barber had run a lawn mower up her neck and onto the back of her head.

“My hair!” Kara burst into tears.

Lyra was carefully picking her way through the wreckage.
“Hair isn’t important.”

“Maybe not to you!” Kara wailed.

The cat regarded her with deep, calm eyes.

“What am I going to do?” Tears spilled down Kara’s cheeks.

“It will grow back,”
said Lyra.

“I can’t wait that long,” Kara cried, her voice trembling. “What do I tell my parents and everybody in school? I can’t tell them about that thing, I can’t tell them about the jewel, and I can’t tell them about
you!”

She sniffled, trying to control herself. “I’ve got to fix this on my own.”

“How?”
Lyra asked suspiciously.

“Magic,” Kara answered. “And you’re going to help me!”

The cat cocked her head.

Kara clutched the gemstone in one hand and put her other on the back of her head. “Stand still and help me make magic.”

“All right,”
the cat answered, moving next to her.
“Breathe calmly, and we’ll focus together.”

Kara took a deep breath.

Hair! It must,
must
grow, she thought. She closed her eyes tight and concentrated with all her might on how much she needed this to happen, right now.

Grow!

Kara pressed closer to Lyra. The gem grew warm and she thought she could feel a faint tingling on her scalp. And then her hand, clutching the cropped hair, dropped toward her shoulder. Her eyes flew open.

Yes!
Her hair was definitely growing!

“
Is it working?”
Lyra asked.

“You tell me.”

Puzzled, the cat looked into the mirror. Not only was Kara’s hair growing, but the fur all over the cat’s body was growing as well. Lustrous spotted fur now covered the bald and scarred patches.

“Look at you!” Kara said in delight.

Lyra’s body was bushy with new fur.
“This is not funny.”

“Skeehee!”

“Leeloo!”

The dragonflies somersaulted happily.

Kara pulled her hand away and twirled around, hair flying out in a golden cascade. She hugged Lyra, laughing with sheer relief.

“Oh, thank goodness!” she cried. “I’ll have to get a trim, but at least I won’t be going back to school looking diseased.” She pulled a pink scrunchie around her hair.

Lyra examined herself in the mirror.
“I think we might have grown enough hair.”

Kara felt her scrunchie drop lower . . . down her neck . . . past her shoulders . . . Her hair was growing faster and faster. “Stop! Stop, please!” she yelled at her stone.

Nothing stopped. The scrunchie dropped toward her waist. Lyra was beginning to look like a woolly mammoth. “I take it back,” Kara cried. “Reverse the magic!”

But the scrunchie didn’t stop dropping as her hair reached her feet. “What do we do?” Kara sobbed.

“This was your idea. Make it stop,”
Lyra said.

Kara closed her eyes and concentrated, waving the jewel all around, but the hair kept growing. “I can’t.”

The dragonflies darted this way and that, lifting up long golden strands.

Kara began to cry again as waves of hair piled onto the floor.

“Stop crying, we have enough water already!”
Lyra looked like a walking shaggy carpet.

“I have to call Emily,” Kara finally decided. “We need help and fast!”

She stepped over mountains of hair, grabbed the phone from the wall, and punched in Emily’s number.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hello,” Kara squeaked.

“Kara, are you all right?” Emily instantly sensed that something was wrong.

“No!”

“What happened?”

“Can you come over here, like, right now?”

“You used the jewel!” Emily accused.

“Just get over here, and hurry! I’m in the sunroom out back.”

“Okay, hang on, I’ll call Adriane. We’ll be right there.” Emily hung up.

With a grunt, Kara twisted the new hair, using four scrunchies to keep it together. It was a thick cable now, bumping along on the floor behind her. The big furry cat lumbered over.

Kara couldn’t help laughing. “You look like Cousin It!”

“Who?”
Lyra asked.

“Pheeheee!”

“Hoohaa . . .”

“Oooohoo!”

Four dragonflies landed on Kara’s arms and lap. A purple one sat on Lyra, scratching the cat’s back. Lyra closed her eyes and flopped down next to Kara.

“How did you get in here, anyway?” Kara asked Lyra as she petted the mini dragon’s head.

“
Up there,”
Lyra said, opening one eye and cocking her head skyward.

The sunroom skylight was open. This cat was very agile!

She brushed Lyra’s long, silky fur coat. “Nice coloring, it’s beautiful.”

“I didn’t think it would ever grow back.”

“So what happened to you, I mean, your fur?”

“I was burned trying to escape,”
Lyra told her.

“Escape from where?”

“A place called the Shadowlands.”
Her fur bristled.

“What were you doing there?” Kara stroked her fur back down.

“There was a raid in my forest. Hunters took us to a powerful sorceress.”

Kara’s eyes widened. She suddenly flashed on what the magic water things had told her about the Dark Sorceress. Shivering, Kara snuggled closer.

“We were brought to a dungeon and locked in with other animals. The sorceress was stealing our magic. I am one of the few who escaped. I tried to save my sisters, but I couldn’t.”

“That’s the saddest thing I ever heard!” Kara burst into tears again, sobbing into the cat’s silken side.