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

.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Ozzie retorted. “Well, ferrets—er, I mean, elves—fear nothing, either. Cousin Brommy took on a golem all by himself—tricked it into falling down a ravine. And golems are much tougher than your average evil creature.”
    “ Golems are strong, ugly, and brutal, but not very intelligent ,” Storm agreed. “ Werebeasts, on the other hand . . .”
    “Werebeasts! Now those are monsters!” Ozzie agreed “And you don’t die if one rips you to pieces—you just turn onto a creeping, howling, bloodthirsty, were—”
    “Do we really have to talk about this right now?” Emily interrupted. Their conversation was starting to spook her. She was seriously hoping to avoid running into anything that fit into the evil, creepy, and larger than Storm category.
    “ It is best to know the enemy one is facing, healer, ” Storm said, sniffing the air near a thick stand of trees.
    Emily flashed on the image of the ghastly face she’d seen at the football game but shook it off quickly. “I just think we— ahh! ” She almost doubled over as a sudden burst of magic energy barreled into her like a punch in the gut. Colored lights ignited in her brain like flashbulbs; blue, red, gold streaked across her vision like shooting stars.
    Storm was at her side in an instant.
    “Emily, what’s wrong?” Ozzie’s worried face looked up at her.
    Wheezing, she glanced around. “Look!” she gasped.
    She pointed to a break in the trees just ahead.
    Flash! A streak of bright blue flickered behind a cluster of evergreens.
    “Over there!” Ozzie yelled, pointing in a different direction.
    Flash!
    Emily whirled around. A short distance away, between two tree trunks, a burst of vivid red appeared.
    Flash! This time, clear yellow.
    Suddenly a screeching sound echoed off the rocks and leaves. It was all around them, coming from everywhere and nowhere. Emily slapped her hands over her ears. “That noise!”
    Storm was tense, ears alert, tail straight out behind her, hackles rising.
    The sounds built to a crescendo, piercing the woods like a hurricane, and then vanished, eerily echoing away into silence. Emily straightened up and took a deep breath.
    “Which way did they go?” Ozzie cried, spinning around wildly. “Where are they?”
    Emily spun around, too, trying to find the colors.
    Flash! A hint of emerald green disappeared over a hillock farther down the trail.
    “ That way. ” Storm set off down the path at a brisk trot. Ozzie scampered after her, chattering about a color-changing enchanted gnome he’d once known.
    Emily lagged behind, still breathing hard. The burst of magic she’d felt had been so sudden, so powerful. And that sound. . .
    What was that sound?
    Her steps slowed. Wrinkling her brow, she strained to hear. Gradually she became aware of sweet tones singing in her ears, beautiful, exotic music that floated into her head as easily as if it had always been there, always belonged there.
    Where. . . is. . . that. . . coming. . . from? Emily wondered, stopping in her tracks. She hardly noticed that Storm and Ozzie were almost out of sight ahead of her. She had to hear more.
    She started to turn, swaying as the music wrapped around her. Arms outstretched, she weaved from side to side. Streams of sunlight fell in patterns of shifting light and shadows as the sweet sound snuck into her head. That melody, so enchanting, teasing, reaching out to her. Leaves tumbled around her as she danced through sunbeams.
    Something was moving with her. It was between two large trees. She couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it might be—its face and body were vague. All she could focus on was its eyes. Deep, dark pools of bliss, watching her. They seemed to hold all the love, wisdom, and certainty of the world. Within those eyes, nothing changed—ever. All was still, calm, perfect. . .
    “Come closssserrr. . .”
    The words were barely a whisper in her mind, a graceful counterpoint to the haunting melody that