Free Spellsinger (Avalon: Web of Magic #5) by Rachel Roberts Page B

see Ozzie, or Ariel, or Storm, or any of the other animals, and the way they look at me, they way they love me and you and Adriane… I just know it’s the right thing to help them. Because we’re friends and we love them.”
    “Yeah…” Kara agreed.
    “That’s one thing that will never change.”
    Kara sighed and walked to the window, looking for a pair of golden wings. “I wish I could believe that.”
    “Your magic is different than the rest of ours,” Emily continued. “It’s special. We all know that. But only you can choose how to change. And we’ll stick by you no matter what happens.” Emily smiled.
    Kara gave her a quick smile in return. “I’d better not change into a flobbin!”
    The two friends laughed.
    “I have to go,” Emily said. “But look over the spells and we’ll meet tomorrow at the glade to talk about what we do next. Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    Emily gave Kara a hug, then left.
    Kara smiled. She was lucky to have Emily as a friend. Suddenly the locket around Kara’s neck glowed and her mind began to drift. Kara knew she should have come clean about the unicorn horn, but she still needed it. She looked over the pages Emily had copied for her. There were spells and lessons on how to use singing to control magic. Here’s an interesting one: “Spell of Silence”—I’d like to use that on Adriane, Kara mused.
    Then she thought about the power she had unleashed behind the school. If her one little rhyme had been so powerful, especially when combined with the unicorn horn, maybe these real spells could help her make the finals.
    She wished she could get her hands on the book itself, but this would have to do.
    Kara clutched the locket close to her heart.
    She was changing, all right. And it looked like everything was going to turn her way after all.

K ARA STOOD BACKSTAGE at the school auditorium, nervously twirling a lock of long, blond hair. After running through a half dozen outfits, Kara settled on a sequined tank top, brown suede pants, and her new Valero boots. One moment she thought the outfit looked stylish beyond compare—and the next, she was convinced it was hideous. She hadn’t been truly satisfied with anything she’d tried on. Nothing would be good enough, Kara was beginning to think... especially herself.
    Even more frustrating, she had gone through every page of the spellsinging book Emily had copied for her and hadn’t been able to find a single rhyme that could make her magically enhanced singing voice last. The spells all seemed to have been created for some other purpose. She had tried to sing as soon as she had gotten up and discovered that her voice was back to normal—horrible! But not for long. She pulled her shirt down over the unicorn horn concealed in her back pocket.
    Kara stole a quick peek at the audience. Inky, who was presiding over this round of the competition, was chitchatting with reporters. Johnny was talking with folks in the front row, mostly members of the Town Council and their families, along with teachers and a few representatives of the school board. Web cam operators had set up their equipment to capture the entire event.
    Johnny suddenly turned and looked right at Kara. The instant their gazes met, she felt the locket tingle and her fear melted away, replaced by excitement. A barrage of flashes illuminated Kara against the curtain as half a dozen photographers swung their cameras into action. She produced her perfect Kara smile for the crowd.
    Touching the locket, she felt more determined than ever to be a winner and make him proud.
    A group of girls gathered around Kara.
    “That is so cool, Johnny gave you his locket!” a girl from her homeroom said.
    “Can I see it?”
    Some were just excited, and wanted to touch it, or try it on—not that Kara would let them. Several others really were jealous and shot daggers at her for wearing the locket at all.
    Good, Kara thought. Maybe some of them would get psyched out, that would make it