Get ready for betrayal! Part #3

Oh. My. Goodness.
I'd like to say I totally called it.
But WOW.

Plot: Dark Sorceress is torturing Henry Gardener, and seems convinced that Kara will be the DARK MAGE.
Except Kara WON'T, because that would be WAY too obvious.
Because it's going to be Emily.

Kara finds out that the crystal she discovered is a WISHING crystal. Whatever she WISHES comes true. She wishes for another power crystal, but of course that doesn't work. The jeweler tells her to talk to a somewhat sketchy club owner named Logan if she wants a power crystal. Logan deals in the ARCANE ARTS, which are basically a nice name for the dark arts. He and Kara get a crystal container all primed and ready. PERFECT! Now all Kara needs is the magic of a magical creature!
...
In order to get a creature's magic, you need to kill it.
OR you just need to know its name.
Wow, hello, plothole.
But KARA overlooks this little tidbit and kidnaps Drake in order to use HIS magic.

SPEAKING OF DRAKE, Adriane, Dreamer, and Drake accompany their new friend Gwyx to the lair of the SHADOW DRAGON. The SHADOW DRAGON has tainted the power crystal. There's an epic battle, in which Gwyx does absolutely nothing. All of sudden, the shadow dragon vanishes! Adriane is somehow possessed by the power crystal, which traps her in mist form.
...okaaaaaay.
She and Dreamer take an emergency trip to the Spirit Trail, while Drake joins Gwyx as he traverses to the Dragon Home, where HUNDREDS OF OTHER DRAGONS LIVE. Adriane is afraid she'll lose Drake to all these lovely dragons, but WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You know the purple light/splotch/aura that I thought was Phel? Well, it's not Phel. It's Indi, Emily's paladin! Indi rescues Emily and they end up at the Spider Witch's lair. Turns out I was wrong, the unicorns are very much alive, but their magic has been turned eeeeeeevil.
And it's all Emily's fault.
You see, when Emily rewove the magic web in "Heart of Avalon" (and again, in my last post), her magic called to all these magical animals, who willingly answered and were CAUGHT IN THE SPIDER WITCH'S TRAP.
Smooth move, Exlax.
So Emily does the smart thing.
SHE REWEAVES THE WEB SO THE GATES OF AVALON ARE CONNECTED TO IT.
THEN SHE TAKES THE EVIL UNICORNS THERE.
HOW IS THIS A GOOD PLAN? Dark mage.

Conveniently, everyone else has located the remaining power crystals and they bring them all to the gates of Avalon.
Kara still needs an animal's magic, so she KILLS DRAKE.
Adriane FLIPS OUT, and she and Kara have the MOTHER of all CATFIGHTS.
Meanwhile, Emily is trying to weave some more magic into the Spider Witch's web. ENOUGH WITH THE WEAVING, ALREADY.
Ozzie, noticing something is wrong with his friend, promises to help her and never, ever leave her.
So Emily kills him.
I KNOW.
Kara and Adriane finally stop fighting and notice what's going on.
The Dark Sorceress arrives just in time to see the gates of Avalon open. She pops on in, but offers Kara the chance to join her.
You know, seeing as Kara is now the dark mage.
But, in a SHOCKING TWIST, Kara ISN'T the dark mage.
It turns out Drake isn't dead after all. He'd been possessed by that tricksy shadow dragon, and Kara killed him in order to use his power for the crystal.
So who's the dark mage?
EMILY.
Laughing maniacally, the Dark Sorceress enters Avalon and locks the mages out.

More notes:
"BlarPH!" Goldie blarphed.

Kara starts wishing like a maniac. "I wish it would rain popcorn! I wish for an iPod and a new stereo, a wide screen laptop, a Wii-"
Rain popcorn...? WHY?

Jeweler: Logan. He's the most nefarious, notorious, nebuluous purveyor of the dark arts.
Really? SOUNDS LEGIT. LET'S GO.

Oh, and he hangs out at a club called the Black Rose.
Kara, haven't you LEARNED ANYTHING?

Ugh. "Who let the cat out? Who? Who? Who? Who?"

"She could make out a pair of pale hands illuminated by flickering lights. Black polish gleamed on the nails of long white fingers. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she noticed several ornate rings that caught the light. Some kind of tribal tattoo snaked from the back of his wrist under a silky white shirt and black velvet jacket."
Okay, sounds kind of hot...
"This was no old, wizened crony. THe flickering lights illuminated a teenage face, only a few years older than she was. His longish blonde hair was streaked with three shades of pale highlights-"
Never mind. Not into blondes.

Ooooh, and then he asks to buy Goldie the d-fly. Classy fellow.

There's this crackling sexual tension between him and Kara. WHAT. ABOUT. LORREN.

As far as paladins go, I wasn't a huge fan of Stormbringer, but she and Adriane had a shared past, so their bond is fairly believable.
Starfire and Kara had that nifty quest, and I was sad when he died.
But Indi? He has NO personality. He basically just does whatever Emily wants. Not a fan.

The Spider Witch turns Indi evil, too. Oops.

Logan deals in shadow creatures! He sometimes sells them to clients. WHY AREN'T YOU RUNNING? Is LYRA the only one with common sense?

Lorren and Kara have a BIG FIGHT.
Lorren's jealous of Logan, and he's afraid that Kara doesn't love him anymore because he CAN'T. USE. MAGIC.
Oh, the angst.

All the power crystals they found are evil.
Soooo maybe you shouldn't use them?

Dark Sorceress kills Henry Gardener.

Emily: Don't leave me, I'm so scared.
Ozzie: I'll never leave you. You take care of me. I take care of you.
SO SHE RIPS AWAY HIS MAGIC AND KILLS HIM.

Remember the Prophecy of Three?
One will follow her heart
(Adriane...because she found her home at Ravenswood. Okay, I guess...)
One will change utterly and completely
(Kara...enough said.)
One will see in darkness
"Emily had seen in darkness. She had seen dark magic. And now she had become the dark mage."

Wow. Pretty intense. I feel bad about making light of Ozzie's death.
But I didn't cry.
Plus, the next book...
It's kind of ridiculous.
Dried any potential tears up right away.
But you'll find out soon enough.