Read Secret of the Unicorn (Avalon: Web of Magic #4) for Free Online

careful,” Zach was saying. “One of the mistwolves said he saw a suspicious creature go through the portal. He said it reeked of evil.”
    “Evil,” Adriane breathed, tensing. “Did he say what kind of creature?”
    Zach shook his head. “It went through too fast. Just be on the lookout.”
    “Okay, thanks.” Adriane said.
    “Adriane, I’m real glad to see you,” Zach said.
    “Me, too.”
    “I—”
    “Me, too,” Adriane smiled and blushed.
    Zach grinned back
    “How cute is this?” Kara said with a sugary smile. “Just make sure she’s home by ten!”
    At that moment, the dragonflies flew apart in a flurry of squawks and chitters. The portal blinked out of existence.
    “You ditz!” Adriane yelled. “Didn’t you hear what he said?”
    “Dragon stone, huh! How come he has a magic jewel?”
    “Forget the stone! Something evil might have snuck in when the portal opened!” Adriane exclaimed.
    “Oh, that.”
    “And it’s loose out there,” Adriane finished.
    Together the girls turned their gaze to the edge of the glade. Beyond the tall firs that encircled the glade, an ocean of trees stretched into the blackness of deep forest.
    A monster. And Emily was out in the woods tracking it down right now!

“ I ’VE FOUND ANOTHER print, healer .”
    Emily hurried to peer over Stormbringer’s shoulder. A patch of sunlight illuminated a hoofprint pressed into the moist dirt near the edge of the path. The mistwolf had already discovered half a dozen similar prints, beginning at the edge of the woods back in the meadow.
    “Same size and shape as the others,” Emily mused, studying the print. “Could be jeeran.” She leaned closer as the faintest hint of sound flashed through her. Music? No, more like those off-kilter chords she’d heard earlier. She listened closely, but the sound was gone, leaving behind a lingering sense of anguish and defeat.
    Ozzie stepped forward and peered at the print. “Jerran are herd beasts with little magic. I still say pegasus,” he guessed. “Or maybe something like a centaur or even a large kelpie. What do you think, Storm?”
    Instead of answering, Storm stood stock-still, her limbs rigid and her eyes half closed. The tip of her bushy tail twitched slightly.
    “What is it?” Emily asked anxiously.
    Storm remained silent for several more seconds. Finally, she blinked her golden eyes and gazed at Emily somberly. “ The warrior just sent me a message ,” she said.
    Adriane and the mistwolf shared such a strong bond that they could communicate mind to mind across almost any distance. “What did she say?”
    “ She has contacted Aldenmor ,” Storm told her. “ Something evil may have crossed over with the others .”
    Emily felt a chill pass through her as she glanced down at the print again. One thing they had learned since discovering magic was that evil could take many forms. Something horrible could be out here with them right now. Behind a tree, listening to them, waiting. . . She took a step closer to Storm, drawing comfort from the mistwolf’s powerful presence.
    Ozzie looked worried. “What if we’re following a satyr?”
    “A what?” Emily asked.
    Storm snuffled derisively. “ A satyr hardly warrants dangerous ,’” she said. “ They are mischievous troublemakers, healer, half goat and half goblin. More of a nuisance than anything .”
    “A night stallion!” Ozzie declared excitedly. “Big steeds black as midnight, snorting fire. One can take out a dozen trolls all by itself and—”
    “The tracks head this way,” Emily broke in. “Let’s keep going. Whatever it is, we need to find it.”
    “Right,” Ozzie muttered, breaking into a jog to keep up with the much longer legs of the others. “Unless, of course, it’s a basilisk, in which case our best plan of attack might be to run very, very fast in the opposite direction.”
    Storm shot the ferret a glance. “ Mistwolves fear nothing ,” she reminded him. “ Not even basilisks