Twirling Tails #7 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  Title Page

  Chapter ONE

  Chapter TWO

  Chapter THREE

  Chapter FOUR

  Chapter FIVE

  Chapter SIX

  Chapter SEVEN

  Chapter EIGHT

  Chapter NINE

  About the Author

  Magic Puppy

  To Scarlet—sweet spotty girl with the funny Dally grin

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  eISBN : 978-1-101-42971-6

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  Prologue

  As a terrifying howl rose into the night air, the young, silver-gray wolf froze.

  “Shadow!” Storm gasped. The evil lone wolf who had attacked the Moon-claw pack was very close.

  Storm scanned the snow-covered hillside with scared, midnight blue eyes. He should have known it was dangerous to come back home. He needed to act quickly.

  Sparks crackled in the young wolf’s thick fur and there was a flash of bright gold light. Where Storm had stood, there now crouched a tiny light brown puppy with a stocky body and shaggy fur.

  Storm’s little puppy heart beat fast as he leaped forward and ran across the frozen ground. He hoped this disguise would protect him until he found somewhere to hide.

  There were some snow-covered bushes nearby. Storm wriggled under a low branch and lay there trembling. A rustling sound came from farther back in the bushes and icy snow fell onto the tiny puppy. As the branches parted to reveal the shape of a large wolf, Storm froze and his midnight blue eyes widened in terror. Shadow had found him!

  “I am glad to see you, my son. But it is not safe for you to be here,” the wolf rumbled softly.

  “Mother!” Storm yipped in relief. His whole body wriggled and he wagged his sturdy little tail as he squirmed toward her.

  Canista reached out one huge paw and pulled her disguised cub close. She whined fondly as she licked his little square muzzle and low-set ears, but her gold eyes filled with concern.

  “You cannot stay. You are the only cub left in the Moon-claw pack. Shadow wants to be leader, but the others have scattered and will not follow him while you live.”

  Storm growled softly and his midnight blue eyes glowed with fury as he thought of the fierce wolf who had killed his father and three litter brothers.

  “I am tired of hiding. I will fight Shadow now!” he yapped.

  Canista shook her head slowly. “Bravely said. But Shadow is too strong for you and I am still too weak from his poisoned bite to help you. Go back to the other world. Return when you are stronger and wiser and lead the Moon-claw pack.” As she stopped speaking, her gentle eyes clouded with pain.

  Storm whined softly. He leaned close and huffed out a warm breath of shimmering gold sparks. They swirled around Canista’s paw like golden smoke before disappearing into her gray fur.

  Canista gave a long sigh. “Thank you, Storm. The pain is lessening.”

  But before Storm could finish healing her wound, another deafening howl rang out. The sound of mighty paws thudding on the frozen ground came closer.

  “Shadow knows you are here! Go now. Save yourself,” Canista urged.

  Bright gold sparks bloomed in the tiny puppy’s shaggy, light brown fur.

  Storm whined softly as he felt the power building inside him. The glow of golden light around him grew brighter. And brighter . . .

  Chapter ONE

  Kirsten Blake twirled her baton high into the air as she marched around the gym. She caught the baton perfectly without missing a beat of her routine.

  “Yes,” she whispered to herself, delighted that all her practice was beginning to pay off.

  Swinging her arms, Kirsten kept perfect time with the other Limelight Majorettes as they wheeled and interwove in time to the music.

  “Shoulders back, heads up. Looking good!” Molly the trainer cried. Kirsten’s blond hair was tied back and she wore shorts and a blue T-shirt with “LM” in glittery letters on the front.

  As the music ended, all the majorettes stopped at exactly the same moment.

  “Good job, everyone,” Molly praised. “Take a break now. After you get yourselves a drink, can we all gather together, please? I want to talk to you.”

  Kirsten wiped her face on a towel and then went to get a drink from the machine.

  Molly was already there. She leaned down to take a can from the chute.

  “You’ve really improved lately, Kirsten,” she said smiling.

  Kirsten felt a glow of pride. “Thanks. I love baton twirling. I even march all around the house doing it. Dad says it’s a wonder I’m not twirling in my sleep!”

  Molly laughed. “That would be one way to get more practice in. But I can’t say I recommend it!”

  The gym door opened and a girl wearing jeans and a fleece sauntered in carrying a sports bag. She went over to a corner and dumped her bag.

  It was Tracy Owen, Kirsten’s best friend.

  Kirsten and Tracy were in the same class at school and usually walked to majorette practice together. But tonight, Tracy had told Kirsten that she’d meet her there.

  Kirsten noticed Molly looking across at Tracy. The trainer was shaking her head with annoyance.

  Kirsten quickly got a second can from the machine and hurried straight over to Tracy. “Here you are. I got you this. Molly’s on the warpath about you being late,” she warned her. “Where have you been, anyway?”

  “Thanks.” Tracy took the drink and popped the tab. “Nowhere,” she said in answer to Kirsten’s question. “I don’t know why Molly’s in such a huff. There’s not exactly much going on here.”

  “That’s only because we’re having a break, silly,” Kirsten said, giving her a friendly dig. “We’ve all been practicing like maniacs. You should have seen me. I just did the most mega-high twirl and I managed to catch the baton!”

  “Good for you,” Tracy murmured without enthusiasm.

  Kirsten’s high spirits wavered a bit. Tracy seemed to be in a strange mood. She saw that Molly was coming over.

  “Hello, Tr
acy,” Molly said. “I expected you to come straight over to me. Don’t you have something you want to say?”

  Tracy flushed. “Um . . . I suppose so. Sorry I’m a little late.”

  “You’re over an hour late! And it’s not the first time. I think you owe me an explanation,” Molly said.

  Tracy shuffled her feet and looked at the floor. “I went to see one of my classmates. She’s . . . er . . . really sick. We got talking and I didn’t notice the time.”

  Kirsten was puzzled. Why hadn’t Tracy told her that? And she couldn’t think of any girls in their class who were out sick. She threw Tracy a questioning look, but her friend didn’t meet her eye.

  Molly sighed. “We’ll say no more about it. But will you make sure that you get here on time from now on?”

  Tracy nodded.

  “Good. Finish getting changed and then come and sit with the others. I’m about to make an announcement,” Molly said as she walked away.

  “She’s really bossy,” Tracy grumbled, pulling on her sneakers. “I’m fed up with her ordering us all around like we’re little kids.”

  “Well, she is the trainer. That’s what they do,” Kirsten said reasonably.

  Tracy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well. She should lighten up. So I was late. It’s not a crime, is it?” She stomped moodily over to a pile of gym mats.

  Kirsten followed her and they sat down to listen to Molly, who was already speaking.

  “. . . and as you know, the new shopping mall on Main Street is almost finished. In two weeks, it’s going to be officially opened by the mayor. There’ll be street performers, jugglers, and a fair in the market square. And we’ve been asked to lead the Grand Parade. The Limelight Majorettes will be marching along to the music of a brass band!” Molly said with a smile.

  “Wow! That’s cool!” Kirsten said, as excited chatter broke out all around her and even Tracy looked impressed.

  It was Kirsten’s dream to perform with the Limelight Majorettes, but only the A team marched in public and went to competitions. She and Tracy were still on the B team.

  Molly smiled around at all the eager faces. “This is a great chance for us to show everyone what we can do. I want as many as possible of you to take part. So I’m going to move those of you who are ready onto the A team.

  “. . . Annie and Rosa. And Jacqui you’ll all be moving up. And last but not least . . . Kirsten, you’ll be joining the A team.”

  “Me? Yay! That’s fantastic!” Kirsten cried, delightedly bouncing up and down on the springy gym mats.

  Tracy sat there with her arms folded, saying nothing.

  Kirsten’s high spirits took a dive as she realized that her friend’s name hadn’t been called.

  Molly clapped her hands. “Okay, everyone. Let’s have another run-through.”

  As the others dispersed, Kirsten stood up and pulled Tracy to her feet.

  “Molly, I think you’ve forgotten someone—Tracy!” she whispered urgently.

  Molly shook her head. “I didn’t forget. I’m just not sure that Tracy wants to give one hundred percent to the LMs right now. But I’d be happy to be proven wrong,” she said more gently, giving Tracy a meaningful look before she walked away.

  Tracy watched her go without speaking.

  Kirsten looked at her friend. “Did you hear that? Molly more or less said that if you work really hard at practice now, you’ll get onto the A team, too!” she said eagerly.

  Tracy shrugged. “Who cares? Maybe Helena’s right. Dressing up like a chocolate soldier is pretty stupid—” She stopped suddenly. “I’d better start work before Molly has a fit.” Tracy went to join some girls who were doing warm-ups.

  Kirsten frowned. Did Tracy mean Helena Simpson, the new girl in class? Helena was popular with everyone and gave noisy opinions about everything. Kirsten didn’t think Tracy even knew her that well.

  A suspicion came over her. What if Tracy had just been at Helena’s house? But that couldn’t be right because Tracy said her classmate had been sick and Helena had been fine at school earlier. Unless Tracy was lying . . .

  Kirsten didn’t want to believe it. She wandered miserably into the bathroom. There was no one else in there as she splashed her face at a sink. But as she looked back up into the mirrors, a dazzling flash of bright gold light lit up the whole room behind her.

  “Oh!” Kirsten took a step backward, rubbing at her eyes. When her sight cleared, she turned to see a tiny puppy standing about a foot away on the tiled floor. It had light brown shaggy fur, a little square muzzle, and enormous midnight blue eyes.

  “I need to hide. Can you help me?” it woofed.

  Chapter TWO

  Kirsten’s jaw dropped and she stared at the puppy in total amazement. She must be more upset by the idea of Tracy and Helena meeting behind her back than she thought. She’d actually just imagined that the puppy had spoken to her!

  “Hello. Aren’t you a little cutie? Where did you just come from?” she crooned, bending down to talk to it. She’d never seen a puppy with such bright blue eyes before.

  The puppy pricked up its ears. It sat down and put its head to one side. “I have come from far away. I am Storm of the Moon-claw pack. What is your name?”

  “You really can talk!” Kirsten gasped, almost losing her balance and toppling backward onto her behind. She just managed to grab hold of a nearby sink and steady herself before rising to her feet.

  Kirsten felt like pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Talking puppies didn’t just appear out of thin air in gym bathrooms. They only existed in fairy tales.

  But Storm still sat there, looking up at her trustingly. The tiny puppy seemed to be waiting for her reply.

  “I’m Kirsten. Kirsten Blake,” she found herself saying. “I’m . . . er . . . one of the Limelight Majorettes. We practice here twice a week.”

  Storm dipped his head in a formal little bow. “I am honored to meet you, Kirsten.”

  “Um . . . me, too,” Kirsten said. Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her shock. Despite its tiny size, the cute puppy didn’t seem to be too scared of her.

  “What was that you said about a . . . Moon-something?” she asked him.

  Storm lifted his little head proudly. “The Moon-claw pack. My mother and father were the leaders. But Shadow, an evil lone wolf, attacked us. Now my father and litter brothers are dead and my mother is wounded. Shadow wants to be leader now, but the other wolves will not follow him. They are waiting for me.”

  Kirsten frowned as she took this in. “But how can you lead a wolf pack? You’re just a tiny pu-”

  He stood up. Bright gold sparks bloomed in his shaggy, light brown fur and there was another dazzling flash of light.

  Kirsten blinked hard as the light gradually faded. The tiny puppy was gone and in its place stood a majestic, young, silver-gray wolf with glowing midnight blue eyes. Its thick neck-ruff shimmered, as if it had been sprinkled all over with gold dust.

  “Storm?” As Kirsten eyed the wolf’s strong muscles, powerful, oversized paws, and long, sharp teeth, she started to back away.

  “Yes, it is me, Kirsten. Do not be afraid. I will not harm you,” Storm said in a deep, velvety growl.

  Kirsten hardly had time to get used to seeing Storm as his amazing real self before there was a final burst of bright light and a fountain of gold sparks sprinkled down around her and fizzed out as they hit the floor tiles. Storm stood there once again as a tiny, helpless puppy.

  “Wow!” she breathed in wonder. “That was incredible. No one would know that you’re really a wolf in disguise.”

  “Shadow will know if he finds me,” Storm woofed nervously. “Can you help me? I need to find somewhere safe to hide.”

  Kirsten could see that the puppy was beginning to tremble all over. She felt her heart melt. As his real self, Storm was stunning, but as a cute, dewy-eyed, little puppy he was the most adorable thing Kirsten had ever seen.

  She bent down and picked him up. As s
he stroked the fur on Storm’s deep little chest, he reached up and licked her. His whiskery little muzzle brushed her chin.

  “That really tickles!” Kirsten said, giggling and pulling back out of reach. “I’ve decided that you’re coming home with me. Mom and Dad won’t mind. We belong to Paws, an animal charity, and we’re always taking care of cats and dogs until they can be adopted.”

  “I would like to live with you very much!” Storm yapped eagerly. His little mouth opened in a doggy grin, revealing his sharp, white teeth.

  “I can’t wait to show you to Tracy,” Kirsten said, hoping that maybe this news would shake Tracy out of her odd mood and then their friendship could get back to normal. “She’s my best friend. She’s going to be so—” Kirsten began.

  “No, Kirsten!” Storm reared up to look into her face, his sparkling blue eyes suddenly serious. “I am sorry, but you cannot tell anyone about me. Promise me that you will keep my secret.”

  Kirsten felt disappointed that she couldn’t tell her friend the exciting news about Storm, but if it meant keeping Storm safe she decided she wouldn’t say anything. Besides, Tracy didn’t seem to be in the mood for sharing secrets right now.

  “Okay, I promise. Cross my heart,” she said.

  As Storm relaxed against her again, Kirsten had a sudden thought. “There are tons of people in the gym. How am I going to smuggle you out of here without anyone noticing?”

  Storm’s teeth showed in another doggy grin. “Do not worry. I will use my magic, so that only you will be able to see and hear me.”

  “You can make yourself invisible? That’s so cool!” Kirsten said. “Maybe you’d better do it now, before someone else comes in here.”

  Storm’s midnight blue eyes glinted and a few tiny sparks flared in his light brown fur. “It is done.”