Free Song of the Unicorns (Avalon: Web of Magic #7) by Rachel Roberts

into the stall. “You have to stay here until we can figure out what to do.”
    “If those elemental monsters found them in the desert, they’ll find them here,” Adriane pointed out. “The unicorns are sitting ducks without the protection shield.”
    “What’s a duck?” Electra asked, flopping over a hay bale.
    “How do we recharge the amulet, Tweek?” Emily said.
    “You’d need unicorn magic,” Tweek said.
    “PhoOOT!”
    “But that’s out of the question,” the E.F. continued. “Without their horns, there’s no way for them to focus their magic. It’ll just go wild like it did in the cave.”
    “What if we could focus the unicorns’ magic?” Emily asked.
    Tweek eyed her suspiciously. “How would you do that?”
    “You said it was tuned to Kara’s unicorn jewel,” Emily said. “Maybe we can help the unicorns.”
    “That might work—” Tweek began.
    “Nuh-uh.” Kara closed her hand around her jewel and sighed. “Okay, you guys, I admit it. I don’t know what I’m doing with it.”
    “We’ll help you, Kara,” Emily pressed.
    The unicorns sat up listening.
    “It’s too dangerous!” Tweek rattled, twigs flying.
    “It’s worth a shot,” Adriane said.
    “Let’s all form a circle,” Emily instructed.
    Scuffling and bumping into one another, the unicorns managed to form a ring in the center of the barn. Ozzie marched around, pushing or pulling here and there to make the circle even.
    Tweek stood in the center holding the amulet containing the shield in his twigs. “This is highly irregular.”
    Radiant gold arced from Adriane’s wolf stone, surrounding the amulet. Summoning a dazzling beam of pure blue, Emily’s healing magic swirled around the warrior’s.
    Holding out her gem and pointing it at the amulet, Kara shut her eyes. Blazing white magic exploded from the unicorn jewel, engulfing Emily and Adriane’s steady light.
    Kara shrieked—her hand had morphed into a giant, hairy ogre hand!
    “Ewww!”
    “ That’s gross!”
    The blond girl coiled huge stubby fingers around her jewel, face tense with determination. In a flash she had her hand back, with a bonus: freshly polished pink nails.
    “The unicorn jewel is completely flooie!” Tweek announced.
    “Unicorns can use music to focus magic,” Emily said excitedly to her friends, remembering she had helped heal Lorelei with a special song.
    “Spellsinging,” Kara finished Emily’s train of thought.
    “That’s strong fairy magic,” Tweek said, astonished. “How do you know about—never mind, I don’t want to know.”
    Emily faced the herd. “I’ll hum a note, and you follow. Ready?”
    “Yay!”
    “Oooo, fun!”
    “Me, me, me first!”
    “This is silly! I’m not singing!” Riannan stamped her foot down.
    “Riannan’s a ’fraidy corn!” one of the others teased.
    “Am not!” she shot back.
    Holding up her jeweled wrist, Emily pressed her lips together and hummed a single note.
    A deafening racket of blaring noise rattled the barn.
    “Stop!” Ozzie yelled.
    “ BlaaRp?”
    Emily smiled. “You have to follow the music. Let it flow.” Remembering the beautiful song she and Lorelei had sung together, she hummed the first verse. Pollo’s little squawk joined her, wavering an octave too high, but in tune.
    “Good. Now you try it.” Emily nodded toward another.
    “WEEEEAHHHHHHH!” Spruce blasted in an abrasive tenor.
    “Spruce!” Dante frowned.
    “Concentrate on singing together,” Emily told the unicorns. “Listen to everybody around you.”
    Clio and Snowflake started tooting.
    Violet added a soft, shaky note.
    “That’s nice, Violet,” Emily complimented the unicorn.
    “Easy there, guys,” Kara said nervously, watching her jewel pulse with light.
    Dante, Electra, and Ralfie tootled and honked. Not to be outdone, Calliope joined in with a bell-like tinkling. Soon every unicorn jingled, jangled, yodeled, and yelped. Except for Riannan, who stuck her nose in the air and huffed.
    Power flared