Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) (15 page)

“Good idea.” Adriane closed her eyes. Concentrating hard, she formed an image and locked it in her mind. “Stormbringer,” she whispered.

Adriane’s jewel pulsed with white-gold light.

Kara couldn’t hide her amazement.

A cloud of mist appeared and the great silver wolf materialized. Stormbringer walked forward to greet the girls.

“I heard your call, warrior.”

“Can you help us get past that gate without being seen?”

The wolf shimmered as if radiating waves of heat. She seemed to expand, and then she was only soft gray-white mist.

Kara’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

“Stay close together,”
the mistwolf’s voice said.

“Hey, watch it!” Kara protested as Adriane pushed her up against Emily.

The mist slowly settled around them.

Slowly they made their way up to the main gate. Two guards sat in the gatehouse watching monitors, while a third paced outside.

“My ear itches,” Kara complained under the veil of mist.

A small paw reached out and scratched Kara’s ear.

“Eeeek!”

“Ssshhh!” Emily repeated urgently.

The jeep drove up and the gate began to swing open.

Adriane tensed. “Ready?”

The jeep drove past and the gate began to close.

“Go!” Adriane gave Kara a push. They shuffled forward, trying to stay together. Emily looked out through the curtain of mist. It was working! The guards didn’t even notice them—

Ringggg… ringggg…

The pacing guard stopped and pulled his cell phone from its holster. He held it to his ear, then shook it.

Ringggg… ringggg…

“What
is
that?” Adriane whispered in a panic.

“Hello?” Kara said into her phone.

“
Ssshhh!
Keep moving!” Emily said.

The guard was looking around, obviously puzzled.

“Oh, hi, Heather!” Kara covered the end of the phone. “It’s Heather,” she whispered to the girls.

Adriane pushed Kara forward as the gate swung closed behind them. “Go, go, go!”

“Ooo, really? I love pink. How does it look?”

Adriane grabbed the phone from Kara’s hand as they turned into an alley between the first two warehouses.

“This call is, like,
so
over!” she said into the phone and hit the OFF button.

“That was, like,
so
rude!” Kara objected.

The mist lifted, and the wolf reappeared.

“Ha! They didn’t even see us!” Kara exclaimed. “Very cool.”

Adriane turned to Storm. “Can you find Phel?”

The wolf sniffed the air and took off at a trot. The girls and Ozzie followed. They passed several warehouses, and then Stormbringer led them into a dark alley. They were completely in shadows—the sun was almost gone.

Adriane raced up the steps to a door in the side of the building and tried it. “It’s locked!” she exclaimed.

A dog barked and a faint light flashed out beyond the end of the alley.

“What do we do now?” Kara said.

“What about that window?” Emily pointed to a small window partway up the side of the warehouse.

“No one can fit in there,” Kara said.

“I can,” said Ozzie.

“Okay, let’s get him up there.” Adriane turned to Kara. “Bend over.”

“No
way
!”

Emily looked back as a light flashed off the warehouse wall. “Kara, this is no time for arguments.”

Kara, muttering angrily, knelt on the ground. Emily climbed up on her back.

“Owww,” the blonde girl complained under the additional weight of Adriane, who hoisted herself up on top of Emily. “Why do I have to be on the bottom?”

“If we fall, you won’t get hurt,” Adriane explained, deftly balancing herself below the window ledge.

“Oh, good idea,” Kara agreed. She wriggled to adjust her position, and Adriane wobbled.

“Stay still!” Adriane balanced herself. “Ozzie, get up here!”

The ferret scampered over Kara and Emily and up into Adriane’s arms. She hoisted him up and tried to push him onto the windowsill, but it was still too far. She swung her arm back and flung Ozzie up into the air—but the movement of her arm pulled her over. “Whoaaaah!”

Ozzie went flying as she came toppling down onto Emily and Kara.

They looked up. Ozzie was dangling from the window sill by his front paws. They watched as he hoisted himself up and squeezed through the narrow opening of the window.

Emily grinned. “He made it.”

There was a crash, followed by a boom.

The girls rushed to the door and waited. They heard the scampering of little feet across the floor, a few bumps, some thuds, and assorted
args
and
doofs.
Then silence.

Emily looked at the other girls. “Ozzie, are you all right?”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing?” Adriane asked.

“I can’t reach the door release,” Ozzie’s muffled voice replied.

“Why don’t you use your magic charms?” Kara asked sarcastically.

Adriane turned to Emily. “Let’s see if we can lift him.”

“You think?” Emily looked doubtfully at her bracelet.

“Like when I made those trees move.”

Kara raised her eyebrows.

“Okay, what do I do?” Emily asked.

“Concentrate really hard,” Adriane said. “Picture Ozzie floating up to the lock.”

Emily held her gem close to Adriane’s, closed her eyes, and concentrated as hard as she could.

“Ooh!” Ozzie exclaimed from behind the closed door.

“What’s happening?” Adriane asked.

“I’m on my tiptoes! Try harder!” Ozzie called back.

Flashlight beams bounced around the entrance to the alley.

“Hurry, the guards are coming!” Kara pushed at their shoulders.

“Stop it, I can’t concentrate!” Adriane shot back.

“Anyone there?” a guard called out.

“Oh, hurry it
up
!” Kara pushed harder at the girls.

A flashlight beam swept the alley.

“Would you quit shoving?” Adriane snapped, turning back to Kara.

Kara’s hand slipped off Adriane’s shoulder and landed on the two jewels. The stones exploded with a flash of light.

“Whoooooaahhhhh!”

Thump!

Crash!

Something inside slammed against the ceiling and came crashing back to the floor. “…. Ooooh!” Ozzie’s voice sounded wobbly.

“Sorry,” Kara said, pulling her hand back.

“A little more subtle,” Emily suggested.

Kara lightly touched the stones. They pulsed with bright light as Emily and Adriane concentrated on floating Ozzie up to the doorknob.

“Upseee!” Ozzie was up.

The latch clicked open and the girls tumbled inside. Storm padded in behind them.

“We did it!” Emily exclaimed. Looking around the dark room, she held up her jewel and willed it to shine. She smiled as a pale blue light spilled over the entryway. Adriane added a soft golden glow.

Three darkened hallways ran off in separate directions.

“This is nuts!” Kara shook her head. “We’re breaking and entering
and
using illegal magic stuff!”

“Magic is not illegal,” Adriane shot back.

“I bet it is, too! How come, like, the President doesn’t have this?”

“Sshhh, quiet!” Emily ordered. “Can you two please stop arguing for two minutes! Let’s just find Phel and get out of here.”

Storm sniffed and headed down the middle hallway. Kara and Adriane moved to follow at the same time and found themselves wedged in the doorway.

“You first, Princess.” Adriane bowed to Kara.

“Oh no, after you,” Kara said, bowing back.

“No, no, I insist.” Adriane swept her arm toward the hall.

“Just come
on
!” Emily barged her way past the others and strode ahead.

The hallway led to what looked like a large storage area. In the dim light, Emily could make out a ramp up to a loading dock on the far side; the large, sliding garage door was shut. So, that’s how they got him in here, she thought.

“Phel!” Emily called out in a whisper. “Are you in here?”

Something massive moved in the darkness.

Emily sidestepped, keeping close to the wall.

“Well, is it in here or—” Kara stepped forward, screamed, and disappeared.

“What happened?” Adriane moved in behind Emily.

Emily and Adriane inched forward. In front of them was a huge pit. Their glowing jewels cut swathes of weird light across the wide space. Phel lay on his back on the floor—with Kara standing on his belly.

“Hey, look what I found,” she said.

Two gigantic eyes opened, blinked, then stared up at the startled girls.

“Phel! Are you all right?” Emily noticed the steps and was quickly made her way down.

“Did you find himmmaahhhh…” Ozzie bolted into the room, his momentum taking him right over the edge of the drop. He bounced up Phel’s belly and looked into a giant eye. “Phel! Thank goodness!”

Phel reached out giant paws and engulfed the ferret.

“Gaaaaooof!” was all Ozzie could say.

Adriane pointed toward the loading dock door. “We can get him out that way!”

Emily gently touched Phelonius. She could sense his weakness. She pushed the fear back. “We have to get you out of here.”

Together, the three girls got Phel up and onto his feet. He was frighteningly light for something so enormous. Holding Ozzie under one arm, he shuffled along as they pushed and pulled him up the ramp toward the loading dock.

Adriane started hitting every button she could find to open the big door.

“Doesn’t this place, like, have any alarms?” Kara asked.

With a loud
whhirr
, the door started to open. A horn blasted through the night. It rose to a crescendo, then started again. A second horn blared across the compound, followed by a third.

“Does that answer your question?” Adriane said.

“Let’s go!” Emily ordered.

They pushed Phel out the door and down the exit ramp. Spotlights flared, flooding the compound.

“What are we going to do?” Kara screamed.

Everywhere they turned, searchlights skimmed the ground, trying to trap them in bright light. Men were yelling and dogs were barking.

“Stay where you are!” a loud voice shouted over a megaphone.

“We are in such major trouble!” Kara wailed.

“Hurry, come on, Phel, we have to run!” Emily pleaded, trying to push him to move faster.

“This is all your fault!” screamed Kara. “You forced me to come here! I’m going to be grounded for, like, five years!”

“You were the one who got him caught in the first place!” Adriane screamed back.

“Stop it!
Stop it!
” Emily shouted. Her gem exploded, sending shafts of blue light shooting into the night. Spotlights burst to pieces and went dark. Sirens blared in the distance.

Stormbringer’s frightening growl made the girls turn. The wolf was crouched and poised to attack. Three black guard dogs, barking wildly and baring vicious teeth, were running straight for them.

Adriane raised her stone.

“No!” Emily grabbed Adriane’s arm. “We can’t hurt them!”

The girls huddled together, shaking, against Phel’s side.

“Hey, you! Ever seen a talking ferret?”

The dogs skidded to a halt, turned, and sprang up the loading dock ramp. A small furry creature leaped onto the rope pulley above the ramp, out of range of their snapping teeth.

“Ozzie!” Emily screamed.

Phel blinked great, sad eyes.

Kara shoved herself forward. “Security!” she called. “I’m Kara Dav—mmph!”

Adriane clapped her hand over Kara’s mouth. “Are you crazy?” she hissed.

Phel’s huge arms came down around the girls.

“To be here with you two? Yes!” Suddenly Kara looked down.

Her feet were no longer on the ground.

Phel was rising up into the air.

Kara screamed.

“Hold on!” Adriane grabbed onto Phel’s fur.

“Ozzie!” Emily cried, struggling to break free of Phel’s grasp.

The dogs barked and jumped, trying to grab the ferret from the swinging rope.

Storm shimmered into mist and snaked past the dogs. They looked in confusion at the mist.

Ozzie swung the rope over the dogs and jumped. He skidded down the ramp and ran for his life. The dogs barked and bounded after him.

“Wait for me!” Ozzie burst down the alley, inches in front of the snapping jaws of a black Doberman.

Emily slid down Phel’s leg. Adriane reached down and grabbed onto Emily’s right arm. Emily extended her left arm, reaching down…

“Hurry, Ozzie!” Adriane yelled.

The dogs would have him in seconds.

Emily slid right to the edge of Phel’s giant foot.

“Emily!” Kara shrieked.

“I got her.” Adriane had hold of Emily’s leg.

Emily stretched her arm out, fingers clasping…

“Jump, Ozzie!” she yelled.

Ozzie closed his eyes and leaped. Emily caught his paw and pulled him into her arms. Below, guards and dogs grew smaller and smaller as Phel rose above the industrial park and drifted into the night.

T
HE SKY WAS
ablaze with the orange-golden light of the full moon. Phelonius glided silently on his back, like a great sky whale, high above the countryside.

“Don’t you ever do something like that again!” Emily squeezed the ferret in a hug and handed him to Adriane.

“That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.” She hugged him, too. “You’re okay, Ozzie.”

Ozzie opened his arms and reached for Kara.

She scrunched her nose at him. “Nice job, ferret.” With a quick glance to make sure Emily and Adriane weren’t watching, she kissed Ozzie. “You ever tell anyone I kissed a ferret, I’ll have you stuffed!”

Ozzie winked. “Our secret.”

The girls and Ozzie sat on Phel’s belly, looking out in total amazement. No one knew what to say. They were flying—being carried through the sky by a creature made of magic! Below, the streetlights and houses of Stonehill looked like exquisite toys.

“Hey!” Kara exclaimed suddenly, leaning over to the side. “I didn’t know the Feltners had a pool! And they never invited me over!” She sat back, crossed her arms, and pouted.