TRIAL BY FIRE

  Copyright © 2012 Red Sky Entertainment, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except where permitted by law.

  Electronic Edition

  Published by Premier Digital Publishing, Inc.

  Made in the U.S.A.

  ISBN-10: 1938582608

  ISBN-13: 978-1-938582-60-8

  Cover and interior illustrations by Allison Strom

  DARK CLOUDS SLID over twin moons, covering the night like a blanket. Behind the swirling mist, stars fell like tears as earth, mountain, and sky faded away.

  A lone howl pierced the blackness.

  Once tens of thousands strong, the pack now numbered little over one hundred. Since the erosion of magic from Aldenmor, the mistwolves had been hunted, feared as enemies, and slaughtered by creatures that had risen in the shadows of darkness. With his ears pressed back, Moonshadow felt what his ancestors had once felt. He knew what they had known. The mistwolves were strong, proud protectors. Then, as now, they were the guardians of Aldenmor.

  Above, colors rippled across the heavens as if strewn by some painter’s wild brush. Fiery red, ocean blue, brilliant yellow, and deep forest green curled and danced, a pulsating patchwork that flowed across the sky.

  Faint howls, a chorus of spirits, echoed from the past, rising into one song, the collective song of ages: the wolfsong.

  The night trembled as mistwolves, hundreds, then thousands strong, thundered down the spirit trail.

  “Run with us!”

  Swept into the song of the mistwolves, the power of the mystical vision grew and Moonshadow ran. Towering canyons, fertile plains, immense forests full of life swept past as the spirit pack came upon the land’s edge, where sand and sea met, where worlds joined. Thousands of mistwolves stood upon the beachhead, ghostly forms glistening before the crystal city. Sparkling towers rose, catching glints of sun and spray. Creatures of untold power and magic inhabited the city, sharing its wonders with the world of humans. Families of griffins and dragons circled the skies. Unicorns big and small ran free through the resplendent gardens playing with human students of magic. Sea dragons and merfolk crested the tides, waving and smiling as the pack stood at the edge of forever.

  “My spirit sings to be with you!” the lone mistwolf cried out.

  “Take from the past and lead us into the future, Moonshadow.”

  Lightning flashed—the broken city lay in pieces. And in the half-light, every tower was covered in webs. Spiders climbed over the ruins, weaving darkness onto the magic web itself. He could hear the pack singing, mournful weeping howls, as they faded. Now holding only memories, the home of magic closed like a tomb.

  Moonshadow, leader of the mistwolves, sat alone on the peak of Mount Hope. Tilting his head toward Aldenmor’s rising sun, the mighty packleader tried to draw as much strength from his ancestors as he could. But the vision had ended.

  At last, the mistwolf opened his golden eyes. Moonshadow’s heart ached. The once glorious realm of Aldenmor lay before him in ruins—ravaged by Black Fire, devoid of trees and grass, burnt and scarred by the dark magic.

  Moonshadow howled into the wind, crying for what was lost. His cry lingered, echoing across the Shadowlands. Then all was silent.

  For a moment, sweet smells of fresh grass, cool springs, and new life filled the air. Moonshadow knew then what his spirit vision meant. Even in the darkest hour, the spirit pack’s images spoke of hope, of humans and magical creatures working together as in ancient times. Moonshadow held the promise of hope to his chest as he shook morning dew from his coat. He felt the cool object dangling around his neck. The fairy map, a magical talisman given to him by the Fairimentals and Adriane, his human wolf sister. He’d been using the fairy map to guide the pack through the portals on Aldenmor in an attempt to defend the land from the Dark Sorceress. She was rapidly destroying the planet, stealing magic from the animals and storing it in giant crystals. Controlling so much dark magic was extremely difficult—her earlier attempts had failed, causing massive Black Fire fallout. But now she had three stable crystals—waiting for an influx of magic.

  Even with the help of the fairy map, the battle to protect Aldenmor was slowly being lost. Time and magic were running out.

  The facets of the talisman flashed and twinkled in the rays of the morning sun. Moonshadow thought of his vision and suddenly wondered if the map had been given to him for a different purpose altogether. Yes, he was sure of it. This fairy map, given to him to protect, was a key to the salvation of Aldenmor—and of Avalon.

  If only he could contact the Fairimentals. They would know what he was supposed to do, but the Fairy Glen had been cut off. No one had been able to reach it or the Fairimentals for weeks.

  Suddenly, the fur on the back of Moonshadow’s neck stood up. He sniffed at the air. Something smelled foul. Perhaps wafts of further decay from the Shadowlands—the howl cut through his thoughts as a giant gray mistwolf broke through the brush.

  “Come quickly,” the wolf called. “The mistwolves are under attack!”

  Moonshadow leaped to his feet and turned toward his approaching wolf brother. “Who dares to attack the mistwolves?” the packleader asked.

  “I do,” the mistwolf replied, baring long, sharp teeth.

  Moonshadow tensed. But before he could move, searing pain lanced into his shoulder. He fell to his knees as another lash tore across his back, pain washing over him in waves of agony. Snarling and short of breath, he saw the riders appear, as if out of thin air. Thick bodies sat heavily on their mounts, eyes gleaming menacing green through the ports of steel helmets. Sharp, serrated teeth grinned wildly from stout heads with pointed ears. They wore leather armor and spiked boots, and held long whips that dripped green venom. Goblins. And they were riding night stallions. The fiendish giant mounts snorted bursts of fire as their eyes glowed demon red. Two goblins dangled a glowing net between them.

  Ropes could not hold a mistwolf—even this traitor should know that. Moonshadow concentrated on releasing his spirit from his physical body. He closed his eyes and summoned his magic, waiting for the feeling of lightness that came when he turned to mist. But he couldn’t. He was locked in place, as if something was controlling his magic.

  The net flew over the mighty wolf. He felt fire digging into his sides, tightening around his neck. He desperately tried to turn to mist, but every struggle increased the net’s hold over him.

  “White Fang! Dawnrunner!” Moonshadow howled in fury for his packmates.

  “Don’t bother,” the gray wolf snarled at the packleader. “We already have the others. You are the last.”

  The riders shouted in oblique, rough tongues as their night stallions snorted, encircling the wolf. The packleader made no further move to escape, knowing it would only suffocate him. Instead, he slowed his panting and moved his mind away from the pain. Growling, he struggled to see past the night stallions’ long legs. He needed to identify the traitor.

  Moonshadow locked eyes with the wolf that had dared to betray the pack. The net was yanked tight as the goblin riders pulled the wolf leader down hard. But Moonshadow no longer felt the pain. He kept his eyes on the traitor wolf.

  The goblin riders jeered before kicking their mounts, dragging Moonshadow behind them.

  Alone on the peak, the traitor watched the riders disappear into the valley of dark shadows below. Golden eyes flickered fiery red as smooth fur shimmered, dissolving into scales. The wolf’s body flowed and twisted as it rose up on its two hind legs. A lizard-shaped head twisted free with a mouthful of pointed teeth. Long scaly legs with splayed feet stood tall, and webbed nails sharpened into claws as the Skultum assumed his true form.

  KARA DAVIES WATCHED the fire dance behind the ornate wrought-iron screen. The fireplace tools stood to the right in a metal basket tipped with animal claws. The sides of the hearth were trimmed with stone wings. Just about everything in Ravenswood Manor had been inspired or influenced by animals. Some were easily recognizable, like the famous wildlife paintings of lions hunting the Serengeti, Siberian tigers from India, massive grizzlies from the Canadian northwest, wild horses running across the open Dakota plains. Other objects hinted at more unusual creatures: a unicorn engraving in the wood paneling, a dragonhead of ebony set on chair arms. If you didn’t know better, these were merely decorative touches inspired by fanciful myths and legends.

  But Kara Davies, Emily Fletcher, and Adriane Charday knew that fantastic creatures like these still existed. At one time, these amazing creatures were plentiful. But like so many great species of Earth caught forever frozen in paintings and pieces of ornamental art, there were very few, if any, real ones left.

  Perhaps that was why the guardians of the magical world of Aldenmor, known as Fairimentals, had sent for the girls, enfolding them in a mystery as profound as the magic itself. Three among millions had been chosen, gifted with the magic. Their lives were now bound forever with animals and creatures they used to think only lived in fairy tales.

  Shadows coiled across the rows of stacked books as Kara took in warmth and comfort from the Ravenswood Manor library. She gazed out the windows overlooking the great lawn behind the manor. Many creatures had come to Ravenswood for refuge. The animals out there were

n’t paintings, they were real. So many endangered and lost. How could she, Emily, and Adriane protect them when they were just learning about the magic themselves? How could she help them when she couldn’t even help herself?

  Lyra, the big orange spotted cat, arched her back and stretched long front legs. “You’re thinking again,” she purred.

  “I do have a brain, you know,” the blond-haired girl quipped. “Contrary to popular opinion.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  Kara regarded the furry ferret sitting at the computer station on one of the shelves of the library wall. When the girls were not using the library as their headquarters, the computer remained hidden behind a sliding bookcase.

  Ozzie, the fuzzy former elf, had become quite a pro on the computer. He loved dealing with all the email from the fans of Ravenswood. Ozzie had also found a very useful place for himself reviewing and cataloging the mass of information Mr. Gardener, the owner of Ravenswood, had left behind before vanishing.

  The list of animals scrolling down the screen had grown since the girls had first met the magical ferret back at the end of August. Some fifty creatures, big and small, now resided here along with deer, peacocks, and birds. There were a lot of animals to watch over. Winter was coming. Normally at this time of year, Kara was all about Thanksgiving with friends and family, Christmas trees, parties and presents, ice-skating, and hot chocolate. Now all she thought about was how they were going to feed so many hungry and cold creatures. Depressing thoughts. This was her responsibility. She had convinced her father, the mayor of Stonehill, to let the girls take care of Ravenswood. So many were counting on her, and so far, she had failed miserably.

  Though the room was toasty warm, Kara shivered at the memory of what had happened at the Ravenswood Benefit Concert last weekend. She had dabbled in a form of magic called spellsinging, and it had backfired big time. The Dark Sorceress had sent an evil shape-shifting Skultum who tricked Kara into opening the fairy map to Avalon, the mysterious goal of their quest.

  Her friends saved her. By spellsinging together, Emily and Adriane had broken the spell over Kara and helped her banish the shape-shifter. But not before the fairy map had revealed a pathway of portals. For all she knew, she had handed their enemy an open door to the home of all magic.

  Since then, Kara had fallen into despair, questioning her ability to do anything right and her role as the blazing star. And underneath it all was the fear that she was changing, careening away from her life as it had been before magic, plunging headlong into some weird other place.

  “I just finished unloading three truckloads of supplies!” Adriane’s voice cut through Kara’s thoughts as the tall, dark-haired girl bounded into the library followed by Stormbringer, the mistwolf. “Where were you?”

  “I was doing some homework.” Kara casually gestured to her pile of closed schoolbooks neatly stacked on the oak reading table.

  Adriane opened her mouth to comment, but Storm stopped her with a gentle nudge. The warrior shrugged and flopped onto one of the large velvet pillows on the sofa, pulling Storm into a big hug. The great silver mistwolf sprawled over the girl.

  “That was a good run.” Though she didn’t speak out loud, Adriane heard Storm clearly in her head. Lyra could communicate in the same way.

  “Gran’s had us running all over the place,” Adriane said. “Salt strips had to be set up for the deer, and I had to prepare food blends to include turkey, pheasants, quail… and quiffles.”

  Kara wasn’t listening. She just stared into the crackling fire.

  Adriane frowned. She had never seen Kara like this before. And she didn’t like it.

  They had come a long way together in a few months. When she’d first met Kara, she thought her shallow as a rain puddle. Now she knew that underneath that perfectly coordinated exterior was a real brain, a real heart, and some incredible magical power. Kara was truly a blazing star.

  Emily was a natural healer. In the beginning she helped Kara and Adriane see eye-to-eye, which hadn’t been easy. Kara certainly wasn’t afraid to express her opinions and Adriane’s warrior temper wasn’t easy to keep in check. But in the end, what mattered was that they had taken care of one another and, against all odds, forged a bond of friendship.

  Everyone was concerned about Kara’s unusual depression, aware of how deeply the Skultum’s spell had affected her. Even her friends at school had noticed Kara’s obvious retreat from the normal boisterous, self-assured, perfect being of total cool.

  Suddenly, the door burst open. “Mail call!” Emily Fletcher announced as she hurried inside. “Get yer latest copy of the Stonehill Gazette.”

  A small herd of creatures followed the bundled redheaded girl, including Ronif, Balthazar, Rommel, and Rasha, trusted magical friends. While the pegasi, quiffles, and wommels warmed themselves in front of the fire, Emily dropped her backpack to rub her hands together. Her cheeks were pink with cold. “How’s it going, Ozzie?” She looked over the ferret’s head as he pounded away on the keys.

  “I put all the new emails in your ‘to be answered’ file.”

  “Take a break. Look what I brought.” Emily pulled four boxes of graham crackers, a dozen chocolate bars, and a bag of marshmallows out of her backpack, dangling the goodies in front of Ozzie’s face.

  The ferret’s eyes practically bugged out of his furry head. “OooO! What’s that?”

  “Come on, I’ll show you,” Emily giggled, walking over to the fireplace.

  Ozzie followed her and the tantalizing bag of white marshmallows.

  Kara was still staring out the window.

  Emily glanced from Kara to Adriane as she pulled out a bunch of long wooden sticks from her pack, handing them to each of the animals.

  “The feed supplies arrived,” Adriane said, taking a stick and nestling herself between Rommel and Rasha. She deftly stuck a marshmallow onto the end of the stick as the others watched, fascinated.

  “Lemme see that.” Ozzie stuck his nose in the bag of mallows and speared four onto his stick at once.

  “Storm and I spotted whitetail, black, and mule deer,” Adriane continued. “With winter closing in, the food plots have to be set out constantly now along with salt strips. The animals are going to get very hungry.”

  Ozzie stuffed two marshmallows into his mouth. “Yum!”

  “Wait, Ozzie,” Emily instructed. “You have to toast the marshmallow and make a sandwich on the crackers.”

  Adriane, Emily, Ozzie, and the others gathered around the fireplace armed with wooden sticks. “With the new landmark status, the town council has allocated funds for food, but a lot of our animals are just not eating,” Adriane said to Ronif the quiffle.

  “They are restless and homesick,” Storm said.

  “And not everyone is used to cold weather,” Rasha added. “Most come from warmer climates.”

  Emily ruffled Rasha’s head feathers. “Hopefully, you’ll all be back home soon.”

  “Right back in the sorceress’s dungeon,” Kara grumbled.

  Adriane’s eyes flashed. “That’s positive thinking, Barbie.”

  Kara turned away, golden hair covering her face. “I believed in Johnny and got burned big time.”

  Emily sighed. “That wasn’t your fault.”

  “Dark fairy magic is very strong, especially from a trickster like the Skultum,” Rasha said.

  “We were all fooled,” Adriane reminded her. “The thing had me under its spell, too.”

  “Well, what do you think we should do?” Kara asked, suddenly aware of how much she hated feeling helpless and scared. “We can’t control our powers, we haven’t heard from the Fairimentals in weeks, and the Dark Sorceress could be in Avalon as we speak.”

  “We don’t know that, Kara,” Emily said. “We stopped the Skultum and took the map back.”

  The girls glanced at the glowing orb sitting on the reading table. Inside, a pattern of stars twinkled.

  “We can’t just keep sitting around waiting,” Adriane stated. “What if the sorceress attacks Ravenswood?”

  “DAhh!” Ozzie pulled a flaming stick out of the fire, waving it around his head.

  “Careful, Ozzie!” Adriane exclaimed, covering her hair.

  Ronif and Rasha weren’t faring much better, each losing their marshmallows to the hungry flames.

 

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