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

surrounded her. Feeling as if she existed in some wonderful, never-ending dream, Emily danced. Time was passing, each second seeming to take an eternity as she twirled closer to the magical sounds.
    “ Come to me. . .”
    She spun faster, closer. . .
    “ Healer! ”
    Storm’s urgent voice broke through the dreamlike fog, pulling Emily to an abrupt stop. The creature in front of her reacted, too, its eyes narrowing and its mouth opening in a vicious snarl. Emily gasped as the world slid back into focus and she realized she was staring at a pale white skull and gaunt cheekbones. A ghoulish grin twisted under haunting, evil eyes full of malice. It was the nightmare face from the football game!
    Emily screamed, the noise ripping out of her, shattering the last few strands of the eerie melody. Stumbling backward, she nearly lost her balance.
    There was a whoosh of cold, dank air and a deafening explosion of noise, like every note in the world played at once. Then she heard the more familiar sound of rushing feet.
    Stormbringer was at her side in an instant.
    “ Healer! What is it? ”
    “What? Did you see the monster?” Ozzie came running behind Storm. “I knew it! I told you it had to be a basilisk! See, she’s frozen in place! Now what are we going to do?”
    Emily tried to speak, to reassure them that she was all right. “Eerp” was all she could manage.
    Ozzie quickly clambered up her pant leg and hopped onto her shoulder to peer into her face. “Uh-oh,” he said. “Not a basilisk. Looks more like the work of a mind-muncher. Do you remember your name?” he shouted into her ear.
    Emily winced and pushed him off her shoulder. “Stop that!” she said. “I’m not deaf. And of course I know my name.”
    “ What did you see, healer? ” Storm asked, concerned.
    Emily glanced nervously toward the trees. But the spot where she’d seen the apparition was empty; only a few leaves and twigs hung there now. “It—it—I don’t know,” she stammered. “I mean, I think I saw—it was only there for a second.”
    She managed to point to the spot. Storm bounded over and circled the trees, carefully examining the ground with eyes, nose, and paws. “ There might have been something here, but it’s gone now, ” she said after a moment.
    Emily shook her head, trying to clear it of the lingering fog left by the monster’s eerie music. She had seen this thing twice now, and she still didn’t know what it was.
    “Listen, you two,” she began. “The thing I saw was—wait!”
    A note rang in her ear, the faint hint of sound, clean and pure.
    She slowly turned to a curtain of thick autumn leaves hanging between the trees. With Ozzie and Storm on each side, she carefully reached out and parted the curtain of colors.
    Screeeeeeeeee!
    Something large burst out of the woods straight at them, almost trampling Ozzie on its way. The explosion of sound was so sudden and overwhelming that Emily was knocked backward onto the ground. Off-key chords grated against one another, echoing through the woods and slicing into her head. Scrambling to her knees, she caught flashes of a horse-like shape. It had a bright turquoise hide and a mane and tail that shimmered silvery blue. She pointed and shouted, though her words were lost in the cacophony of sound.
    Storm was already after it.
    “Storm! No! Wait!” Emily paused just long enough to scoop Ozzie up before following, running wildly through the woods. Ahead, the creature dove into a thick patch of brambles and disappeared.
    “There!” Emily cried as the noise faded, leaving behind only faint, staticky reverberations. “It went that way!”
    A flash of movement rattled the far side of the thicket. Then a patch of fuchsia caught the sun as a large shape crashed through the shadowy underbrush. A second later, Emily caught a glimpse of garish purple.
    Storm started to run in that direction, but a huge, twisted shrub blocked her way. Panting, she darted around it. Emily shielded her