Song of the Unicorns (Avalon: Web of Magic #7) by Rachel Roberts Read Free Book Online

Dreamer and Ozzie hanging anxiously over her shoulder.
    “Hey, no sweat. I’ve been driving lawnmowers since I was seven.”
    The cart jumped backward.
    “Okay, eight.” The cart lurched forward, crunching along the gravel-covered path that wound between clusters of cabins.
    “The trail starts beyond that big rock.” Emily pointed.
    Adriane swung the cart off the main road, jostling over small rocks and brush.
    The last purple glow of sunset had disappeared, swallowing the desert in darkness. Adriane switched the headlights on, projecting a bright circle of light. They rode through an earthy sea of rolling hills and vast plains. Emily and Ozzie directed them by landmarks spotted earlier that day as they moved into wide open desert.
    “There’s Echo Ridge.” Emily pointed to a shadowy wall looming in the distance. “Follow the ridgeline east.” She moved her finger. “The canyon’s about a mile… over there.”
    Adriane steered the cart toward the canyon. The rising moon cast its ghostly white glow over the land, making everything stand out in stark relief.
    At the wide entrance to the canyon, Adriane brought the cart to a stop.
    Mages, Ozzie, and Dreamer sat listening to the night sounds of the desert. Insects chirped and buzzed, a coyote yipped in the distance.
    “There’s a big cave on the far side of the canyon,” Ozzie said.
    The warrior looked at her jewel. It lay quietly on her wrist.
    Dreamer raised his nose in the air and sniffed. With a bark, he leaped from the cart.
    “What you got?” Adriane asked.
    “Magic.”
    “Okay, but stay close.”
    With Dreamer leading the way, eagerly sniffing the night air, Adriane drove the cart into the canyon.
    “Mage?”
    A soft voice crept into Emily’s head.
    “Yes, I’m here.”
    “Are you really a mage?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then what’s my name?”
    “Quiet, Clio! Don’t speak to strangers!”
    “Clio,” Emily answered.
    “Ooo, you hear that, Riannon?”
    “She heard me say that you bubblebrain!”
    “Another message?” Adriane asked, sensing Emily’s thoughts.
    “Yes, let’s hurry.”
    Emily’s jumbled thoughts settled on the memory of a beautiful white unicorn.
    Lorelei was her name. The Dark Sorceress had captured Lorelei and cut off her horn in an effort to steal the unicorn’s magic. Emily shuddered, not wanting to think about what they were going to find. It was her job to feel that pain and heal it.
    “Emily!” Adriane whispered, holding up her wolf stone. It blazed with a warning light.
    The healer’s hazel eyes shone, reflecting the deep red of her pulsing gem.
    “Where’s it coming from?” Ozzie looked all around, his stone also ablaze with a magical warning.
    Dreamer sent an image of sand.
    Adriane focused a beam of light across the surrounding sands. Nothing moved in the silvery desert dreamscape. “I don’t see anything.”
    The mistwolf’s hackles rose, and he whirled around, growling.
    The cart suddenly rose and lowered as if cresting a wave.
    “Whoa!” Ozzie said. “Look!”
    Behind them, the desert floor billowed and rolled like a stormy sea.
    Emily held on tight, then stood, her jewel radiating light. The threat was all around them. “Faster, Adriane!”
    “We’re going as fast as we can!” Her foot was flat against the cart’s floor.
    “I think I see— ooof! ”
    Emily landed on the ground, face first in sand. She twisted around and looked up. The cart careened into the air. Spinning head over wheels, it landed with a dull thud.
    Pushing to her knees, she frantically looked for Adriane.
    A blaze of golden light caught Emily’s eye as she saw the warrior’s wolf stone spark to fire.
    “Emily! Are you all right?”
    “I think so.” She tried to clear her head and squinted. The sands swelled with movement. Something was swimming in there. A sharp fin rose, slicing its way toward her. She couldn’t outrun it, it was too fast.
    The monster erupted from the sands not three feet in front of her! For an