Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12) (16 page)

“Well, I—!” the ferret sputtered. “But I’m just a weasel.”

Neerie continued. “Ozzie is much more than a disguised weasel. As a ferret, Ozzie could not be killed and his magic could not be turned. That
is
his magic.”

“Good job, ferret.” Kara patted his furry head.

“And I never fully became the dark mage.” Emily finally understood. “That’s what broke the cycle.”

“We bow to Sir Ozzie!” The guys bowed deeply before the surprised ferret.

“Ha! I knew it all along.” Ozzie puffed out his chest.

“You did not,” Emily teased.

Ozzie gestured and Emily bent low to hear him whisper. “Truth is, I got to meet you and that’s all that matters to me.”

“Me too, Ozzie.” She kissed his furry head.

“Rewind! So why didn’t the Fairimentals tell us that?” Kara demanded.

“The Fairimentals asked Ozzie to find three mages,” Neerie explained. “But they did not
choose
him.”

“Well, who did?” Ozzie asked, perplexed.

“Your paladin. He created your transformation spell.”

“Oh, there, you see—what?!”

“Who is Ozzie’s paladin?” Emily asked, astonished.

A cloud of rainbow twinkles erupted in the glade as a giant purple bear-looking creature sat like a furry Buddha. A wide smile adorned his huge, serene face.

“Phel.” Emily ran over and threw her arms as far as they would go around the extra-wide fairy creature.

Kara regarded him warmly. “Welcome home, Phel.”

“Good to have you back.” Adriane smiled.

“You’re my paladin?” Ozzie stormed over and kicked the great creature. “You big lump! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked.”

The fairy creature raised a paw and a flurry of rainbow magic floated over the shocked ferret’s head.

Neerie twirled, sending widening circles flowing over the smooth lake. “From Ravenswood, you are directly connected to every realm on the web.”

An image appeared in the swirling waters: The Garden of Aldenmor, where the Fairimentals stood on the grassy lakeshore, surrounded by hundreds of magical animals.

“Thanks to you, mages, all the animals and creatures of Aldenmor are safe,” Gwigg said, his leaves brighter than ever.

Ambia floated into view, a smile sparkling on her beautiful face. “You have done more than we ever hoped.”

Marina glimmered on the lake’s surface. “Congratulations, mages.”

“Thanks, but we miss all our friends here at Ravenswood,” Kara told the fairy creatures.

“You mean us?” Rasha and Ronif squawked from behind the trees. All the animals of Ravenswood barreled out of the forest in a rush of beaks, wings, hoofs, and feathers.

The mages, dazzled and delighted, hugged them all, even as the animals dove on top of Ozzie to get to them.

The lake rippled and an image of the enchanted forests of the Fairy Realms formed. The kings and queens of the Five Kingdoms stood in the fairy ring, surrounded by the fairy creatures that had come to know and love the mages.

“Thank you, mages and Sir Ozzie!” Queen Selinda smiled.

“Rock on, mages!” a crowd of dwarves shouted.

Then the image morphed to white-capped oceans, and the floating city of Aquatania came into view. Sea dragons burst from the waters, riders upon their backs. The beach was filled with baby sea dragons and their bondeds, waving to the mages and their friends.

Red mountains and the sun-drenched deserts of Dragon Home appeared next. Hundreds of massive dragons stomped in an ancient dragon dance, making the ground tremble.

“Hey, mages!”
a black dragon roared.

“Hi, Gwyx!” Adriane waved back.

“You can call me Web Warrior now. I saved the entire web!”

“Good job.” Kara rolled her eyes.

A big red dragon leaped belly first into the boisterous crowd.

“Hi, Mama!”

“Drake!” Adriane called out. “Be home by ten! Have fun.”

Emily looked at Neerie, puzzled. “How is all this possible? What happened to all the shadow creatures?”

Moonlight glistened off Neerie’s smile as she spun another circle. The misty crags of the Otherworlds came into focus. Emily cried out happily at the sight of hundreds of strangely shaped spiky creatures that regarded the mages. Beside them stood the bear-like kobolds.

“You have saved us again, healer.” The kobold leader grinned, sharp teeth gleaming. “We have found true magic thanks to the bondeds you sent to us.”

“Good job, Emily.” Kara patted the healer’s back.

Emily looked puzzled. “But I don’t remember matching the kobolds with bondeds.”

A knobby, four-legged beasty leaped into view, wagging his big spiky tail.

“Buttercup!” Emily cried.

“Home,” he yowled, hopping up and down.

“The magic of your jewels did something else,” Neerie told the mages. “The shadow creatures were healed. They have finally taken their true forms.”

“That’s amazing!” Marlin was impressed.

“Buttercup led the shadow creatures to the Otherworlds,” Adriane realized.

“Good job, Buttercup!” Kara patted Emily’s back.

“So everyone is safe,” Emily breathed.

“You did it, Emily!” Adriane exclaimed.

“We all did it, together.” Emily grinned. “The shadow creatures will never steal magic again.”

“They won’t need to,” Ozzie told the healer, pride shining in his eyes. “Now they can make magic with their bondeds.”

Emily could see the auras glittering around the kobolds and their new bonded friends. Their magic was dark, but they were using it to help each other.

“Adriane.” Zach gently turned her around to face the forest. Rays of light fell between the trees as a magnificent silver mistwolf took form next to Dreamer. Once again, Stormbringer’s magic shone upon the preserve, brighter and stronger than ever.

Adriane hugged her bondeds. “I love our home.”

The packmates raised their heads and howled the wolf song, sending their magic to mix with their wolf brothers and sisters. They were answered by hundreds of mistwolves as the image in the lake shifted to the snowy peaks of Aldenmor’s magnificent mountain ranges. Along the low hills and verdant forests, the pack stood strong led by Moonshadow and his mate Dawnrunner. Two fuzzy wolf pups shyly peered from between their legs.

“Wolf sister, our hearts sing with your victory,”
Moonshadow’s gruff voice was filled with pride.
“We will run together in the great forests.”

“With our pups.”
Dawnrunner nudged forward a midnight black pup and his sunny golden sister.

Adriane, Kara, and Emily were giddy with joy. The newest members of the pack were adorable.

“Good job, papa and mama!” Kara cried.

Everyone cheered as the glade lit up with twinkly magic.

Neerie swirled to a stop. “In spite of the terrible visions of your dreams, you gave up everything to help others. That is what a true mage is. You are the guardians of the magic now.”

On the shore, two stallions appeared in a burst of fiery orange and purple magic. Indi and Starfire stood beside Stormbringer and Phel. Before them floated four sparkling objects. Jewels.

The gems had changed once again. Elemental magic of earth, water, fire, and air, added new depth and color to the dazzling facets.

“What is lost becomes found again,” Neerie said. “A perfect circle.”

Adriane, Emily, Kara, and Ozzie understood. They accepted their jewels, their magic blossoming brighter than ever.

“Thank you,” Emily spoke to all her friends, all her bondeds.

“May I have this dance, Princess?” Lorren bowed before the blazing star.

“I think you may,” Kara answered with a curtsey.

“Emily?” Marlin held out his hand.

“Thank you, charming prince.”

Zach winked at Adriane. The dark haired mage took his hand and moved into his arms. Their jewels flashed, perfectly in sync.

The moon rose over Ravenswood as music filled the air.

Ozzie sat on a log next to Lyra and Dreamer. The ferret sighed. “It turned out all right, didn’t it?”

“Oh, I forgot something.” Lorren gestured for the girls to wait as he walked over to Ozzie. “The Fairimentals sent you something, too.”

“I hope it’s a new brush.” Ozzie scratched his rear.

From behind a tall oak, bathed in moonlight, stood another ferret. She had beautiful green eyes and a pink bow upon her head.

“Gah!” Ozzie’s mouth fell open.

“Hi, Ozzie,” Esmerelda said.

“Essie!” Ozzie sprang to attention trying to compose himself. “But how, why, but, but, but, but—”

“Shhh,” she touched his lips with her dainty paw. “The Fairimentals said I could come here for the night. Is it okay?”

“Is it okay?!” Ozzie cried. “Of course it’s okay!”

Ozzie whirled Esmerelda into a ferret-stomping wigjig any elf would be proud of.

“By the great tree!” Tweek’s twigs stuck out in surprise. “A new age of magic has begun on Earth.”

The twiggymental yelped as Ariel swooped from a tall fir and tossed him onto her back, turquoise wingtips glittering in the starlight.

“O’ me twig!” Tweek cried out.

And in that exquisite hour of magic, when time stood still, captured forever like a perfect picture, the mages discovered that Avalon had never been the eternal wellspring of magic. The home of magic was inside them all along.

The mages danced beneath a river of stars, flowing ever on, as roads gleaming like the magic web spread before them, waiting to be discovered. And whichever path each chose to follow, these friends would always find each other. Because when it comes down to what’s real, in the heart of Avalon, all that matters is love.

They would remember this night forever. A magical moment to fill their hearts with enough love to last a lifetime.