Free Cry of the Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #3) by Rachel Roberts

ancient times, some connected the worlds.”
    “Some still do,” she said.
    They had left the populated area and were above forests so thick Adriane couldn’t make out individual trees. Windy’s breathing was labored, and he wobbled dangerously, trying to keep airborne.
    “We have to get him help!” Adriane yelled.
    Zach wiped sweat from his eyes as he peered down at the trees below. “There, Windy,” he commanded, leaning over and pointing.
    The griffin dove into green and everything went gray. They were in a blinding mist. Where had that come from? There had been no sign of it from above.
    The jolt shook Adriane as Windy landed hard. Zach was off the griffin in a flash, checking his wounds.
    Adriane slipped down to cool, moist earth and gently placed the egg on the ground. She recognized the place instantly. The magic glade at Ravenswood! She was home!
    Then she realized that this was not the place she knew after all. It only looked like it. This glade was much larger. A deep-blue lake lay before her, its surface broken by sparkles of sunlight, twinkling like diamonds. Along the shoreline, willows swept delicate branches across the water. Tall trees surrounded the glade like a wall. And the meadows around them were filled with the rainbow flowers that had been brought to Earth by the great fairy creature, Phelonius.
    “This is amazing!” She turned about in awe and stopped, her breath catching in her throat.
    Windy lay on the ground. He wasn’t moving. Zach was kneeling quietly by his side, gently wiping dirt away from the griffin’s eagle head. The creature’s once sharp, clear bird eyes were closed and he wasn’t breathing.
    “Oh no!” Adriane cried out.
    The boy looked up, his cheeks stained with tears. “He’s gone.”
    “But these flowers have healing magic!” She swept her arm over the field of rainbow flowers. “They can help him!”
    Zach shook his head. “It’s too late. The strain to get us here was too much.”
    Adriane ran to the griffin, forcing her magic stone to pulse with healing light. “Please,” she called in a hoarse whisper. “Emily, tell me what to do!”
    But there was no answer. The griffin was gone and her wolf stone could not call on the power of Emily’s healing jewel.
    “No!” She fell to her knees, crying.
    A sound like tinkling bells drifted over her.
    Adriane turned. A thin veil of mist lingered in the center of the lake, lit from behind by a single shaft of sunlight. She blinked. Through her tears, Adriane saw a girl standing about ten feet from shore— on the water. The figure was made of water, flowing blue and green, swirling up from the lake itself.
    “The griffin was a brave warrior,” the watery figure said. The clear, pure water caught glints of sunlight as if the magic within sparkled.
    Dust and dirt swirled behind Adriane. She covered her eyes. When she opened them, another figure stood next to her. It looked like tumbleweed woven together with twigs and leaves. Small branches stuck out at weird angles. “Sometimes magic can bring great loss,” the creature said in a rustling voice.
    “Who are you?” Adriane asked, looking at the fantastical creatures.
    “I am Gwigg, an Earth Fairimental,” the pile of twigs said, bits of leaves flying off it.
    “I am Marina, a Water Fairimental,” the water girl said, gracefully gliding to the shore’s edge.
    “You have come a long way.” A light, airy breeze brushed past Adriane. She caught the translucent shape of something moving, flowing and hovering near her. “I am Ambia, an Air Fairimental,” the breezy shape said.
    Zach stood up and approached the Fairimentals. “Windy died to get us here!” he yelled angrily. “Why couldn’t you help him?”
    “The spirit of the griffin has come back to the magic,” Marina said, her voice like silky chimes.
    “Spirits of the past will always guide us into our future,” Ambia whispered like the wind.
    “Why did Windy have to die?” Zach cried, wiping