this bad here, then how bad off was it everywhere else?
There was no sign of the unicorns or their magic—but there was something else.
Sparkles flickered across Kara’s face as her unicorn jewel flashed bright red. She felt a familiar pull—unmistakably strong magic.
“Power crystal!” she whooped. “Over on one of those strands, I can feel it!”
Goldie buzzed to Kara’s ear, stopping the blazing star in her tracks.
Tasha’s staticky voice cried, “Base to Star One, come in Star One!”
“Hi, I’m on the web,” Kara replied.
“Incredifulous!” Tweek crackled excitedly.
“No biggie. We’re right outside Dalriada.”
“No, you’re not,” Tasha exclaimed. “You just jumped clear across the web from Dalriada!”
“We don’t know where the twig you are!” Tweek screamed joyfully.
Kara stopped short. “I thought you said the power crystal was near Dalriada.”
“It is… was…” Tasha said, confused.
“You’re probably picking up crystal residue from the portal we just used.” Kara scanned the web, her internal radar switching to danger mode.
“Brilliant energy flux theory,” Tweek approved. “I’m triangulating the portal shifts.”
“Got the PC, Star One,” Tasha broke in. “You’re practically right on top of it. It’s just sitting there.”
Suddenly a wave of magic rushed through Kara. Brilliant colors sparkled behind her eyes, as if she were connected to the crystal already. And its power was beyond glorious.
“Hey,” Kara suddenly realized. “I bet the power crystal lured the unicorns here!”
“Aren’t the unicorns at the academy?” Tasha asked.
“They’re all missing,” Lyra reported.
Emily’s concerned voice popped in. “What do you mean missing?”
But Kara barely heard them. The magic of the power crystal tingled from her toes to her nose.
“Kara, you have to find the unicorns,” Emily insisted. “I have a feeling something terrible has happened.”
“Power crystal first, unicorns second. Comprende? We’re wasting time, Star One out!” Kara shouted.
She poked Goldie in the belly to hang up.
“Pfft!” the d-fly squeaked.
Kara huffed as she strode down the green-tinged pathway. There was a power crystal at stake here and she wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers. This was her chance to prove to everyone she could do it right! And if the whole unicorn population really was in trouble, Kara was going to need some back-up magic anyway.
“Sorry, G-fly.” She scratched Goldie’s head as the mini settled on her shoulder.
Lyra trotted beside her. Kara could tell her bonded was disturbed. She hoped Lyra wouldn’t say anything.
“Emily has a special connection with unicorns,” Lyra said gently.
“So do I.” Kara stopped, spreading her arms wide. “Do you see them anywhere?”
“No.”
“But the crystal is right here. Maybe it isn’t moving because someone else is about to grab it, huh, huh? Did anyone think about that?”
“Still, the unicorns could be in danger.”
“I bet the extra magic of a power crystal can help us find them,” Kara pointed out.
“That makes sense,” Lyra agreed.
“Good.” Kara felt better until she looked down. She lifted her boot and gasped.
“Ewww!” Goldie winced. “Gummy boot.”
Green slime stuck to the polished heel of her tan leather boots.
“My new Renaldos!”
Lyra padded gingerly ahead, her paws sticking to a thin layer of green slime. “ It’s all over.”
Kara tiptoed along the strand, getting as little of her boots in the guck as possible. But the ooze was getting thicker, clinging like—
Kara bent down to examine the substance. “I know this ick!”
Vivid memories of escaping the Spider Witch’s lair with Lorren flew through her mind.
Lyra tensed. “We’re on the Spider Witch’s web.”
Kara studied the web closer. Unlike the weaker strands of the old web, this section was tightly woven, green light pulsing ominously along a thick spidery
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