Circles in the Stream (Avalon: Web of Magic #1) by Rachel Roberts Read Free Book Online

rumbling from her chest. The ferret rolled out from under the cat’s paws and fell on the floor with a thud . “This beast thinks I’m a rodent!”
    “Ferrets are not rodents, more like weasels,” Emily informed the ferret.
    “That’s comforting!”
    She walked over to the cat. “This mean ol’ ferret scare you?” She brushed her hand over the cat’s back. Most of the bandages had been removed but the terrible scars remained. The cat nudged Emily with her head, then rubbed against her. The growl turned into a purr that sounded like a lawnmower.
    “Glad to see you’re getting your normal appetite back,” Emily told her with a smile.
    “Don’t tell me she talks, too!” Adriane exclaimed incredulously.
    “Not exactly… I mean—this is so crazy! Animals don’t talk!”
    “Well, then,” Adriane said, “what about him?” She jerked her thumb at the ferret, which was poking around the room, exploring curiously.
    The ferret made his way to the side of a shiny metal cabinet. “Stupid thing thought I was a weasel.” His reflection glared back at him and he shrieked.
    “And what about Stormbringer?”
    Emily’s mind was whirling, trying to sort it all out. “I hear the wolf clearly—in my head. But the ferret actually talks out loud.”
    “What about the cat?” Adriane stroked the cat’s head with gentle fingertips.
    “She’s…like faint static. I can just barely make out a word here and there.” Emily shook her head. “But how can we hear them at all?”
    “I started hearing Storm when I found this.” Adriane rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a shiny stone. Shaped like a paw print, it was banded in gold, amber, and brown. “It’s a wolf stone.”
    Emily’s eyes went wide. “That is so weird.”
    “I kind of like it,” Adriane said defensively.
    Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out her own gemstone. “No, I mean, look at this.”
    Adriane stared in amazement. “Where did you find that?”
    “In this glade on the preserve. I saw some birds and some… weird deer.”
    “You saw animals there?” Adriane asked.
    “Yeah,” Emily said. She felt her pulse quicken at the memory of what had happened there. “Where did you find yours?” she asked.
    “In the woods near a big field.”
    “I wonder if there are any more,” Emily mused.
    Adriane shrugged. “I don’t know.
    The sound of a loud purr distracted them. They looked over to see the ferret scratching the big cat under her chin. The cat’s eyes were closed in pleasure.
    “I’m really an elf, you know,” the ferret was telling the cat.
    The cat stretched and licked the ferret’s head.
    “Blah!”
    “Emily, do you believe in magic?” Adriane asked.
    Emily shook her head. “If you asked me that yesterday, I would have thought you were nuts. Now…I don’t know.”
    The front door of the clinic banged open, and Emily heard Kevin’s familiar, clomping stride coming down the hall toward them.
    Instinctively, both girls stuffed their stones into their pockets. Emily went to the door and opened it. Kevin, holding a Fed-Ex envelope, came into the room. “Hey, Em,” he said.
    Then he saw Adriane behind her. “Oh, hey,” he said to her.
    “Hey, yourself,” she replied.
    “Yeah, whatever,” he said, waving the envelope at Emily. “This came for your mom.”
    Emily looked at it. The return address was the University of Pennsylvania. Curiosity got the better of her and she snatched the envelope. “She’s not here right now. I’ll give it to her later, okay?”
    Kevin frowned, but after a glance at Adriane, decided not to object. “I’ve got some shelves to stock,” he said, backing out of the room. “See you later.”
    “Yeah.” Adriane looked down.
    Emily stood there, holding the package.
    “The other kids around here don’t like me much,” Adriane said after Kevin was gone. “I’m used to it, though.”
    “They’re just being jerks.”
    “So what is it?” Adriane nodded at the envelope.
    “Lab