All That Glitters (Avalon: Web of Magic #2) by Rachel Roberts Page A

Wildlife Preservation Society, isn’t that cool? I know you will be so proud. Oh, and don’t freak out when you see my hair, it’s symbolic. I’ll explain later. That’s where we are on the RWPS for now.
    Kara sat in study hall, laptop open in front of her. But her eyes kept wandering toward the window in search of unidentified flying animals. Ravenswood was on the map now whether she liked it or not. Everyone knew about it. But wasn’t that the point? Wasn’t that why the town council had allowed the girls to keep the preserve open and get the website up?
    Of course it was, and she was doing a fantastic job. Even Emily and Adriane had to admit it. So why couldn’t they just fit in with her group? Why did she have to do this juggling act? No matter what she did, it seemed someone got hurt. And that made her feel . . . awful.
    Emily was sweet and pretty sharp. Kara was growing to like her more and more, and after that amazing save this morning, she owed Emily big time. And Kara got the feeling Emily wouldn’t hold it over her, wouldn’t expect anything in return except to be treated with respect and an open mind. Is that what made a real friend?
    But Adriane—Kara and that girl would never get along, end of story. They were just too different, they had nothing in common. Kara twisted the sparkling jewel in her hand. Except this: magic.
    Kara sighed and went back to her e-mail. Funny—the words looked wrong. She rubbed her eyes. The letters seemed weird. She looked closer. Words were stretching and starting to move around the screen. How bizarre!
    Suddenly she felt her stone pulsing like a heartbeat.
    The words on the screen were stretching, shifting around like pieces of a puzzle.
    I
    The letter turned red and started to melt down the screen.
    know
    Words from her e-mail were fading . . .
    who
    . . . leaving only a few that turned red.
    you
    The last words remained . . .
    are
    . . . dripping like blood.
    Fear crept up her spine. She shivered, quickly hitting keys to try to clear the screen. Nothing worked. Who was sending this?
    Blood-red letters melted down the screen around two hard, cold eyes that stared at Kara. They were magnetic and vicious—half-human, half-animal. Kara froze. It was the same evil face she’d seen in the mirror.
    The animal-woman pointed a finger and the laptop screen seemed to stretch, bulging outward. Kara’s stomach knotted in fear as a sharp silver claw pushed through the screen, reaching for her.
    She gasped and slammed the laptop closed.
    I know who you are.



“T HAT’S IT!” KARA stormed into the Ravenswood Manor library. Emily and Adriane were sitting before the computer screen, scrolling through information. Balthazar, Ozzie, and Ronif peered over the girls’ shoulders.
    “Something is in my computer,” Kara announced angrily.
    They all turned to stare at Kara.
    “Your computer?” Emily echoed.
    Kara dumped her backpack on a table, pulled out her pink laptop, and handed it to Emily. “Look!” she said. “Please.”
    Emily flipped open the laptop and turned it on. Adriane came around to watch. Kara backed away, nervously twirling a strand of purple hair in her fingers.
    “Oh, no!” Adriane exclaimed in horror.
    Kara jumped back. “Be careful! I told you!”
    Adriane turned the computer toward Kara. The screen displayed her desktop with the new Linny Lewis wallpaper she had made.
    “Linny Lewis is after you?” Adriane laughed.
    “ No! Lemme see that!” Kara marched over to look.
    To her relief, the screen was perfectly normal. “Something weird is going on around here,” she said.
    “You mean weirder than normal?” Adriane asked.
    “Yeeaaah . . .” Kara said, looking into the faces of a talking ferret, two quiffles, and a pegasus.
    “Maybe your computer has a virus,” Emily ventured.
    Kara shook her head. “Someone left a message.”
    “What message?”
    “It said, ‘ I know who you are.’” Kara shivered. “How creepy is that?”
    “Maybe it read