Chosen Sister

by Ardyth DeBruyn

  A large green-gray shape leaped out of the water and crashed into her. Reina screamed as she struck out at it. The creature had a head like a shark, with a large fin sticking up its back, but knobby legs and a long pointed tail like an alligator. The current dashed them into another rock and tossed Reina away from the sharkgator. Three dorsal fins tailed her, battling the current to get at her. The current pulled her under again.

  She opened her eyes, and the water swirled her around. She peered through the murky depths at a sharkgator swimming straight at her. Its wide, toothy mouth gleamed in the dull light. She thrust forward with the unicorn sword, and it caught the sharkgator along the gills. Blood stained the water.

  Reina kicked off a rock, putting some distance between her and the monster, and fought to the surface again. The other sharkgators attacked the wounded one, and more blood colored the water. Reina swam hard for the shore, the river tugging at her. Water pounded in her ears, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Finally her feet scraped the bottom of the river, and she fought the current to reach the shore.

  She collapsed on the bank. “Reina!” Austyn came running along the bank to help her to her feet. Exhausted, she dragged herself into the bushes. How far up from the river do those monsters come? Part of her was too tired to care. Then she realized she still held the sword. It had dried now and glinted in the sun, looking more beautiful than ever. She sheathed it.

  “Here comes the Gold Wizard.” Austyn pointed to where he clambered along the bank to join them.

  “Are you well enough to get moving?” The Gold Wizard asked. “I don’t want to stay by the river, even though some of the people chasing us passed and didn’t see us. It might still be dangerous.”

  Reina nodded, getting to her feet. Her legs felt a bit wobbly, but she hoped they’d work that out if she started walking. The Gold Wizard led the way through the small forest at the edge of the river. Ahead, the mountains rose directly above them, tall and foreboding.

  “Mt. Iseeney.” The Gold Wizard pointed to one of the mountains with a cleft top. “That’s where we’re headed.”

  It looked so far away, Reina couldn’t imagine actually getting there. But she nodded anyway, because she didn’t want to discourage Austyn.

  “There’s a path around here somewhere,” the Gold Wizard muttered.

  A few hours later, the Gold Wizard succeeded in finding it. They camped by the trail that night and continued on the next morning. Unlike the forest paths, this trail crisscrossed and hatched back as it wandered up one foothill and down another. The majority of the walking was uphill—and exhausting. The Gold Wizard had to stop periodically and wait, gasping for air, while they caught up to him. They were all tired.

  The land was beautiful. Trees stretched below them, rocky crags above. Mountain flowers, ferns, and mossy rocks lined the trail. Despite the cold air, the climb kept them warm. With each new crest, more endless hills and mountains stretched out to the horizon. When they faced back the way they’d come, she noticed the twisting river far below, and beyond it, their entire country. To the east, the woods formed a long, dark blur. Colorful patches of farmland stretched out to the west.

  Surveying at the landscape far below, the wind whirling around her, Reina wished she could fly. Hawks circled the mountaintops before launching out over the valley, their calls strange and beautiful on the wind. How she longed to be one of them! Part of her wanted to ask the Gold Wizard if he could fly them all up into the air, like he had when they’d escaped the harpies that first night. But she suspected that had been more by accident than design and didn’t dare ask him. Oh, how she wished she had magic too!

  A low growl distracted her from her musings. She turned towards it, the hair on her arms and neck standing up. She had to bite her lip not to scream when she saw the animal regarding her. It had the body of a reddish lion—long, lean, with dangerous claws on the ends of its feet—but its head was somewhat human. The face had normal human eyes, nose, and even bushy, reddish hair, but the mouth was enormous, grinning practically ear to ear, and full of long needle-like sharp teeth. Its long tail thrashed back and forth, the end of it bearing long spikes.

  Austyn shrunk against her, and the Gold Wizard gasped, but she didn’t dare look at him. The creature took a step forward, its eyes narrowed at them, its teeth glistening. It crouched, and Reina realized it would soon pounce. She broke free of her shock and shoved Austyn up the path.

  “Run!” She kicked the Gold Wizard in the shin, distracting his attention from the creature’s gaze. “Use some magic,” she hissed.

  The creature flicked out its tail in her direction, sending sharp spines flying at her. Reina drew the Unicorn Sword, and it slashed across the air, pulling her hand forward. It cut through the spines, knocking them to the ground. Magic cracked next to her, and fire flashed from the Gold Wizard’s hands. However, unlike the harpies, the lion creature seemed unafraid of the fire. It leapt at them.

  Dangerous claws raked through the air. The Unicorn Sword brought Reina’s arm up just in time, deflecting them. The sword danced to one side, slicing the creature down the front leg. It roared and tried to bite her. Again, the sword shifted and blocked, and the teeth scraped against the blade with an earsplitting squeak. With a flash of rose-colored light, magic crashed into both Reina and the creature. Reina fell to the ground, and the creature was blasted off the section of mountain and sent tumbling down the mountainside.

  Panting heavily, the Gold Wizard offered a hand to Reina and pulled her to her feet.

  “Sorry about that,” he gasped.

  Reina looked down the mountain. The creature had regained its feet and started bounding up the mountainside.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Reina ran up the path. She gasped for air, and her chest ached. Rocks slipped beneath her feet, rolling behind her as she scrambled upwards. She heard the Gold Wizard running behind her. Reina skidded to an abrupt stop, almost crashing into Austyn. The path was no longer there—only a yawning drop-off directly in front of them.

  Reina glanced behind her. The lion monster still bounded up the side of the mountain, trying to regain its height. The Gold Wizard looked up the cliff face on their right, then down the sickening drop-off.

  “There’s only one way to go. Up!”

  Reina stared at him in amazement. She looked up again. Perhaps—if he could make it work right—the Gold Wizard could make them float up the cliff. She shivered, imagining them rising up the side of the cliff. One wrong move, and they’d tumble into oblivion.

  “Okay, if we do this together, the magic has a better chance of working.” The Gold Wizard bent down to look Austyn in the eye. “I know you’re struggling with controlling the magic, but if that manticore down there gets up here next to us, we don’t have much of a chance. I’ll do the tricky part—all you have to do is help me with the power.”

  Austyn’s eyes widened. “But I couldn’t get it to work when we lost Reina in the river,” he whispered. “What if it won’t come?”

  Reina put her hands on his shoulder. “You can do this, Austyn. I’m right next to you, and I know you can.”

  “Good,” the Gold Wizard said. “We don’t have much time. Call up the magic and send it towards me to power my spell.”

  The Gold Wizard started to chant, and yellow light circled him. Reina longed for magic herself so she could help them. But she pushed aside her yearning, willing Austyn’s success with every bit of her mind. Austyn closed his eyes, and the warmth of the magic gathered around them. The medallion started to glow a silver light. It grew, surrounding the Gold Wizard as well. He gasped and turned to stare at them. A thrill went through Reina. Austyn was doing it!

  “Lift us up that cliff,” she whispered to him. Austyn seemed a thousand times more powerful than the Gold Wizard! Pride rushed through her. Her feet lifted off the ground, and they started rising, just as she had imagined earlier. The Gold Wizard gaped in amazement, glancing up and down, and Reina grinned widely. It really was Au
styn, not the wizard, this time.

  Suddenly, a familiar screech filled the air, and Reina drew her breath in sharply—harpies! They dropped a few inches. Austyn had lost his concentration.

  “Keep going, you can do it,” she whispered, fighting the natural inclination to look down. Seeing nothing beneath her would not help at this moment. They crested the top of the cliff, their feet touching the ground. Austyn let out a long breath of air and shuddered in relief. Reina whipped around. Six harpies dove out of the sky towards them.

  The Gold Wizard grabbed a long stick from the ground, and Reina noticed for the first time that his fancy staff must have gotten lost in the river. She drew the Unicorn Sword.

  “Get back,” the wizard ordered Austyn.

  The harpies reached them. One dove at Reina, her fangs bared, an evil grin on her face. The Unicorn Sword held her hands steady, waiting and ready. At the very last second, the sword jumped in front of the harpy, thrusting Reina forward, and cut across the harpy’s face and neck. Reina gasped, never having killed something with a human face from such a close distance. Blood covered its face, and it dropped from the sky, plummeting towards the far-off ground. She couldn’t look down after it because the next harpy attacked.

  The Unicorn Sword yanked her arms upward in a defensive stroke, forcing her to keep her focus on the moment, not on the killing that had just happened. If I don’t kill these monsters, they’ll kill me.

  The second harpy circled her, more cautious than the first—it wouldn’t come within range of the Unicorn Sword. She heard a bang and saw out of the corner of her eyes that the Gold Wizard’s hair was smoking and his face blackened. Looks like that fire spell backfired on him. But Reina’s heart almost stopped at what she saw next.

  Austyn stood still near the edge of the cliff. He hadn’t gotten back like the wizard had told him. He’d shut his eyes tight and wrinkled his nose in concentration. She guessed he was trying to use his magic. Only with his eyes screwed shut, he couldn’t see two harpies diving straight at him.

  She yelled out, charging forward, but she couldn’t get there in time. The first harpy’s claws cut into Austyn, and he opened his eyes and screamed. The two of them tumbled off the edge of the cliff as the second one attacked. Falling, Austyn grabbed at the grass and rocks and clutched a bush near the edge. His fingers locked around a branch, but his legs slipped out and over the precipice.

  The Gold Wizard yelled in pain behind her, but she ignored him. She dashed forward. The two harpies raked Austyn with their claws, trying to tear him away from the edge. Visions of Austyn dropping into nothingness flashed past Reina’s eyes. She slashed at the harpies, catching one across the wing. It screeched and retreated, flapping to keep aloft.

  At that moment, the harpy she’d fought earlier went for her head, but the Unicorn Sword darted up, blocking it. She drove the sword into it with a killing stroke, and then she attacked the other one, which had Austyn by the foot, trying to pull him loose. He clung to the bush, his knuckles white, his face pale. The bush jerked, leaning out farther over the cliff. It was coming up by the roots!

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  Chapter Fourteen: Mt. Iseeney

  Reina swung at the harpy. She flapped backward, avoiding the blow, but her attack forced the creature to release Austyn. Reina dropped the unicorn sword and grabbed Austyn with both hands just before the bush gave way. He let it go, and it tumbled down the cliff. Reina fell backwards on safe ground, Austyn on top of her. The harpy attacked, dragging its claws across Austyn’s back. He screamed. Reina yelled, unable to protect him.

  Austyn gritted his teeth, a look of concentration on his face. An enormous explosion of flames burst out around them, burning the harpy to ash and spreading out to envelop those attacking the Gold Wizard. Reina gaped in amazement.

  Austyn, still lying on top of her, groaned. Sticky liquid oozed over Reina’s hands. Austyn tried to sit up and yelled in pain. Tears ran down his cheeks. Reina eased him off and saw her hands were covered in blood. He stiffened and moaned, and fear coursed through her. Reina turned around to find the Gold Wizard and demand he do something.

  The Gold Wizard, his face and hair still singed, sat holding his leg, which was also bleeding. A scratch ran down the side of his head, and he winced. He tried to get up, gasped in pain, and sat back down again with a thump. Reina turned back to Austyn to reassure him that everything would still turn out okay. He paled and fell forward in a faint. She caught him and eased him to the ground. More blood oozed from his back. What am I going to do? Tears welled up in Reina’s eyes. She felt totally alone. She looked around for the Unicorn Sword, although she didn’t know what good it might do; perhaps it could become the unicorn again and save them.

  It lay on the ground, still very much a sword, bloody and just out of reach. She would have to let go of Austyn to get it; but even then, she hadn’t done anything those other times to make it a unicorn. She didn’t know how to make it turn into one and help them, and as a sword it was totally useless. Austyn felt so fragile in her hands, and every second, he lost more blood. A sob escaped her.

  “Let me see, child.” A soft voice made her look up in surprise.

  An old woman stood next to her, her silver hair done up behind her head. She wore a plain navy blue dress with a pale blue apron. Reina gazed up at her face. Two blue eyes looked on Reina with kindness. They were young eyes, the clear and bright eyes of a girl. The woman’s mouth twitched in a half-smile, and she knelt by Reina, her hands moving over Austyn.

  Reina glanced at where the Unicorn Sword had lain, wondering if this woman was also part of it, but the Unicorn Sword still lay on the grass, as bloody as ever.

  “With a little care and much rest, the boy will be fine.” The woman smiled. “You help Dwayne and follow.”

  “Dwayne?” Reina gave her a puzzled look.

  The woman chuckled. “The young wizard.”

  “Oh,” Reina said, shocked to learn that he actually had a name. “Who are you?”

  “Eleia.” The woman gathered Austyn into her arms. “Come to my cottage, and we can mend these wounds there.”

  Reina wiped her bloody hands on the grass and picked up the Unicorn Sword. She couldn’t get all the blood off on the grass, so she cleaned the sword on her shirt before sheathing it. She walked over to where the Gold Wizard sat. With his dark hair plastered to his scalp with blood and the scratch across his face, he looked younger than ever—perhaps because Eleia was so old.

  “You’re Dwayne?”

  He blushed red. “It’s a stupid name for a wizard. I never use it.”

  Reina shrugged. Each time she learned more about him, he became less and less of what she thought of as a wizard—but she also knew by now that he actually cared about Austyn in his own way. She held out her hand. “We’d better follow Eleia. You’ll need that leg fixed.”

  He took her hand and, with a groan, managed to get to his feet. He couldn’t put any weight on his right leg, though. He put an arm around her shoulder, and they staggered after the old woman. They had to stop frequently to rest, and Eleia moved out of sight around the mountain. However, the Gold Wizard—Reina had trouble thinking of him as Dwayne—seemed to know the way and pointed her in the right direction. The rocks of the mountainside came together, and they walked through a narrow pathway. After a short while, the walkway opened up into a valley hidden between the steep sides of the mountain. A brook ran across it, and the path had a wonderful little wooden bridge going over it. Flowers and herbs scented the air, adding to the feeling of peacefulness here.

  Ahead stood a small thatched cottage, and behind it a barn. Flowers surrounded it, and it seemed to beckon to her, speaking of rest and safety. For the first time since beginning this adventure, she felt truly safe—even safer than at home. However, by the time they reached the door, she judged by the grimace on the Gold Wizard’s face that he was in a lot of pain.

  They made it into the cottage. Its one room had a stone fireplace, a la
rge wooden table, and lots of shelves stuffed with herbs, jars, and books. A couch sat against one wall, and Eleia had Austyn lay down on it. A cloth hung at the back of the room, and Reina guessed that Eleia’s bed and clothes must be behind it. She helped the Gold Wizard hop over to the rocking chair by the fireplace. He sat down with a sigh.

  She left him to go stand near Austyn, watching Eleia wash his back. Austyn woke with a yell, and Eleia held him down.

  “Hold still, dearie—I have to clean this.”

  Austyn whimpered, and Reina crouched by his head, running her hand through his hair and whispering words of comfort. After she finished cleaning and bandaging his cuts, Eleia went to the fire and made a hot cup of herb tea.

  “Drink this, child,” she said. “This will help with the pain and the healing.”

  Austyn wiped away his tears and drank it. Eleia turned to Reina.

  “He needs to sleep now—the medicine will help him.”

  Reina nodded and helped Austyn lie down again.

  “I hurt,” he whispered to her.

  She nodded. “Eleia will take care of us. With her, we are safe.”

  “Yes,” Austyn agreed and closed his eyes. Eleia came back with a blanket and tucked it around him.

  “How about you, child?”

  “Me?” Reina blinked, confused for a moment before realizing Eleia wondered if she was injured. She considered her body. “No, I’m fine.”

  Eleia smiled. “That you are, child. Well, then, can you get some more water from the well and put it back on the fire? I need to wash Dwayne’s wounds now.”

  Reina nodded and did as Eleia had asked. Coming back with the water, she stopped for a moment in the doorway, hearing Eleia speaking to the Gold Wizard.