Free Full Circle (Avalon: Web of Magic #12) by Rachel Roberts

do we get rid of the shadow creatures?”
    Logan sighed. “They’re voracious parasites who feed on whatever magic they can find.”
    Emily gasped as a mournful cry echoed in her ears. She whirled around, but no one else seemed to have heard it. Lyra and Dreamer pressed close to her side, sensing her distress.
    “How does the sorceress control them?” Adriane asked impatiently.
    “She binds them to her, similar to the way warlocks control their minions. Like Dimwiddie and me.”
    “Ugh.” Kara shuddered.
    “Look, if Kara killed one shadow dragon, it must be possible to kill them all,” the warrior insisted.
    “You’re thinking too much like mages,” Logan chuckled. “All you need to kill shadow creatures is dark magic.” He gestured toward Emily. “And you happen to have the dark mage right here.”
    Emily barely heard him. She was making her way to a lone glass cage sitting on the bottom of a metal shelf. Though it appeared empty, she knew something was inside: a creature in terrible pain.
    She looked closer and an aura suddenly blossomed, a jumbled knot of color writhing in the center of the cage. Silky strands reached for her like ghostly fingers.
    Without thinking, Emily put her hands on the glass. Her jewel flooded red as something grabbed her magic like a vise.
    “Don’t touch that!” Logan shouted.
    Adriane and Kara spun around.
    “What’s in there?” Kara demanded, her jewel sparking to fire.
    “A shadow creature, a real mean one. I couldn’t even deliver it,” Logan stammered. “I was waiting for the warlocks to destroy it.”
    As it fed on Emily’s magic, spikes and gleaming teeth shifted into view. Darkness welled up from the creature, but Emily did not pull back. Something stirred deep in the heart of her magic. She could never turn her back on a creature who needed the touch of a healer. She let the empathic connection grow stronger. Black spots dotted her vision as the air left her lungs. The pain was so intense she thought she might faint. But she held on, refusing to let go as the creature’s cries built to a wrenching howl.
    “Emily, don’t do it!” Adriane rushed to her friend’s side.
    “Stay away!” Emily screamed.
    In a terrible flash, the magic detonated.
    Shards of glass flew everywhere. The shadow creature was on Emily so fast she hadn’t even seen it move. Freed from its prison, the creature greedily clawed at her pure healing magic.
    Silver fire snaked up the warrior’s arms.
    Dreamer and Lyra sprang to the healer’s defense.
    “It’ll take all your magic!” Kara warned.
    “Stay away!” the healer repeated.
    Connected to the shadow creature, something dark and fierce rose up inside Emily. She couldn’t feel her healing powers, just an overwhelming urge to take the creature’s twisted magic for herself. She was slipping away to a place where nothing mattered. No more fear. No more hurt. It would all go away if she just took the shadow creature’s magic.
    “Kara!” Adriane shouted.
    “We’re here, Emily.” The blazing star’s magic lit the room in a bright haze.
    The auras of her friends, radiant pink and glittering silver, swirled in her periphery. Latching onto their strength, she tried to pull back from the darkness. But the one who could help her was no longer there. How could she ever really heal without Ozzie by her side?
    The creature shrieked. Blinding colors of fear and anguish swirled in Emily’s mind, binding into a tight cord of white light. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The thing had not released its grip, but it wasn’t stealing her magic any longer. Instead, it was helping her, steadying her. And in that instant, Emily knew what she had to do. Everything Phel had taught her came down to one thing. She had to open her heart, no matter how painful it might be. That is what a healer does.
    Emily opened herself completely, letting the creature’s magic meld with her own. What she found was not malevolence, but desperate