Austyn screamed and ducked, forgetting about using his sword, and Reina jumped in front of him, trusting her sword to show her when to block. The sword flashed forward and sideways with lightning speed. With another crack, gold light erupted from the Gold Wizard. Balls of fire skyrocketed in every direction. Reina pushed Austyn flat as she threw herself to the ground. A fireball sizzled right by her head, singeing her hair.
“Stop it!” she shouted at the Gold Wizard. “You’re going to kill us!”
Another bathawk came screeching out of the sky at them, and, unable to get up in time, Reina, rolled while still holding onto Austyn. Clutching their swords above their heads and thus clear of each other, their other arm around each other’s body, they tumbled down the hill. Reina scrambled to her feet and picked up her sword, scanning the sky for more bathawks. She saw something fly past the moon and realized there was an entire flock flying towards them.
“Let’s run,” she said, catching Austyn’s arm. “We need somewhere not so open.”
They dashed across the field in front of them. Reina noticed the glow of a town ahead of them. She didn’t care anymore about staying hidden and headed towards it. The Red Wizard had already found them—the bathawks would tell him their location. They needed cover.
But the creatures’ approach forced her to stop, halfway across the field, and turn to meet the first onslaught. Four bathawks dove at her, three at Austyn. The Unicorn Sword flashed out, driving them back. Austyn turned, holding his sword high, and white light flashed from it. The bathawks screeched in dismay. Light burst outwards from the sword, making the bathawks fall from the sky into the field with a series of thumps.
Reina didn’t know if they were dead or only unconscious, but she didn’t want to wait to find out. The paling horizon in the east showed more bathawks flying towards them.
“Good magic, Austyn,” she panted. “Let’s get to that town.” They turned and dashed onward.
Light shone from a doorway ahead, the first house in the town. A figure stood in it, waving at them. “Over here!” it shouted.
Reina changed course, racing towards the door. She dashed through it, Austyn right behind her, and the man slammed it shut just in time. She heard claws slash at the door and the frustrated shrieks of the bathawks. She collapsed on a wooden floor, trying to catch her breath. The door burst open, knocking the person standing by it aside, and Reina glanced up. The Gold Wizard ran through.
“What were you thinking?” he gasped.
“I’m only trying to help you,” a strange, rough voice said. A man with a dark beard dusted off his shirt as he regained his feet.
The Gold Wizard glared at him. “Why should I trust you?”
“Because I just helped those children escape the bathawks,” the man snapped. His face grew angry. “Last night they took my Tyler. I’m tired of standing by while they rob us of our children. Tomorrow, I and those of this village who stand with me plan to attack the Red Wizard.”
Reina gaped at him.
The man gave her a sympathetic look. “I know it’s suicide, but we had no warning. They took all eleven children. If I can’t rescue my Tyler, at least I can die trying!”
The Gold Wizard’s whole expression changed. “Sir, that’s exactly what we need!”
The man wrinkled his brow.
“This,” the Gold Wizard pointed dramatically at Austyn, “is the Child Warrior. All we need is something to distract the Red Wizard while we break into his fortress and destroy his heart. We will go with you, and with all luck, Austyn will end the Red Wizard’s reign for good. Perhaps it’s not too late to save the children!”
“Then let’s go at once. The bathawks will retreat at the first light of the sun, but the harpies will show up for you soon enough. Wait here—I’ll be back in a moment.”
The man rushed from the room, and Austyn slumped to the floor with a little groan. Reina remembered his shoulder and bent down with a gasp.
“I’m okay,” Austyn said in a quiet voice, but he yelped when Reina tried to look at it.
“Let me do that,” the Gold Wizard said, taking out some bandages. He frowned as he spread some cream on the scratches. “It’s not deep—you should be fine.” His worried expression didn’t match his words. Reina tried looking around him but couldn’t get a good view. When he finished, she followed him, with the intent of cornering him on the subject.
“Is he really all right?” she asked him in a whisper. “And don’t you try lying to me.”
The Gold Wizard sighed, and then grinned at her. “I haven’t lied to you yet, Reina.” He shook his head. “His shoulder’s fine, but I’m just worried, because it’s unlucky to go into battle already wounded.” He held up his hands to stop her protest. “No, he’s not going into a battle if we can help it, but you never know what might happen when facing the Red Wizard himself.”
Reina gave him a stern look. “So why are we doing this?”
“There isn’t another way. We have to try! You heard that villager—they took eleven children! That’s the most they’ve ever found at once. He’s getting better at finding them, and worse, now he’s just doing it to be cruel because he knows I’ve got the real Child Warrior with me.”
“What if this is a trap?”
The Gold Wizard shrugged. “Seeing as he knows where we are, what else can we do?”
That sounded illogical to Reina, but the villager returned at that moment. “It’s dawn. We’re ready to go after our children. Are you still coming?”
Reina turned to see that the sun had indeed broken over the horizon. It looked like the beginning of a beautiful day, but her stomach felt like lead. No matter what the Gold Wizard might say, this would be the most dangerous thing they had done yet. Her hand tightened around the Unicorn Sword. Austyn is destined to do this. Everything will be fine. But at this moment, the prophecy did not comfort her. What do prophecies really know, anyway? It never said in the prophecy that they’d be fine afterwards, only that the Red Wizard would die.
The Gold Wizard stood up. “Yes, let us off to one side before you attack, and we’ll try to sneak in and kill the wizard. Let’s go, children.”
The man led the way out, yelling to the men of the village. People gathered in the center of town. Women held the bridles of horses as men checked their weapons and climbed onto them. The man who had helped them led them over to a couple of horses to one side of the group. He mounted a horse, and the Gold Wizard boosted Reina up in front of the man.
“You’re coming too, little girl?” he asked. She could hear his surprise.
“I’m not letting Austyn go alone,” she said. “I have the Unicorn Sword—it will protect me.” She patted the scabbard.
“Ah, little warrior, you must be the Chosen Sister.”
She heard the smile in his voice and laughed. “Yes, I suppose I am.”
He squeezed the sides of his horse, and it leapt forward into a gallop.
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Chapter Twenty-One: At the Red Wizard’s Dark Castle
Traveling at night had meant that the horizon was dark and didn’t offer much of a view of what was ahead. Reina was surprised to see, now that it was day, the silhouette of a large castle directly ahead of them. While no one had ever described the Red Wizard’s castle to her, she had always pictured a squat sort of fortress, with perhaps thick spiked walls covered in guards or something. Nothing had prepared her for the castle that now lay ahead of them.
The rising sun sparkled off its many towers, with little pointy roofs on each one. Black flags flew from them, but they still looked daintier than she would have expected. The towers weren’t on each corner of a thick wall, but instead rose up inside of it, around large windows and balconies. A wall surrounded it all, but in lieu of spikes, it had decorative arches. The castle looked majestic, beautiful, and huge. She hadn’t thought someone so evil could live somewhere so pretty.
The horses pounded towards the castle, and when they had almost r
eached the front gate, the three also carrying Reina, Austyn, and the Gold Wizard pulled to the side. Reina slipped off the horse with a quick thank you to the man. He winked at her. “Good luck, Chosen Sister.”
“You too!” she called after him as he rode away.
Austyn gasped, and Reina looked up at the castle. Harpies poured out of the towers of the castle and swarmed at the riders. The man who had carried her drew his sword and charged forward, slashing at them, but another man behind him wasn’t quick enough. The harpies grabbed him by his shirt and tried to lift him out of his saddle. Reina took a step towards them, wanting to help.
“We’d better hurry,” the Gold Wizard said, reminding her of their mission. “They can’t distract the Red Wizard for long, and they’re counting on us to destroy his heart as quickly as possible.”
Reina tore her eyes away from the fight and focused on the gate of the castle. “Let’s get going, then.”
They hurried towards the gate. It rose high above them and appeared to be locked.
“I’ll get it with a spell,” the Gold Wizard said. “Just stand aside.”
Reina turned to step away from it when she heard a low hiss.
“Oh no!” she yelled. “Wait!”
Snakewolves rose up out of the grass, surrounding them in a semi-circle, trapping them with the gate at their backs. The gates ground open with a low groan, and Reina glanced behind her. Four manticores, grinning their sharp teeth from ear to ear, stood in the doorway.
“It was a trap,” she hissed to the Gold Wizard.
“I can see that!” he snapped back. “Austyn, use your magic on the manticores, I’ll take the—”
A dark, formless cloud rose from the ground behind the snakewolves, and they parted to let it through. The shadowsoul then started swirling around into different shapes: a bear, a wolf, a bat, a cloaked figure. The Gold Wizard’s face turned green, but he gritted his teeth and shoved Austyn behind him and into Reina, who didn’t wish to step backwards into the manticore’s waiting jaws. Reina’s jaw dropped as the Gold Wizard stepped forward to meet the shadowsoul and struck his staff down in the dirt directly before it.
“None shall pass!” he roared, sounding impressive for once. Gold light shone around him, blazing in the early morning light.
The shadowsoul, in the shape of a cloaked man, hesitated for a moment, looming above him, before it passed through him like the insubstantial mist it was and advanced on Reina and Austyn. The Gold Wizard’s face went gray, and he slumped forward and threw up on the ground, dropping his staff.
Reina shook the Unicorn Sword in her hand. “Go on, change, change!” But the sword remained just a sword. Austyn screamed and clutched at Reina. The sword wouldn’t save them this time; despair rushed through her. This was it—the shadowsoul was going to get them, and somehow she didn’t think it would pass right over them, or at least not Austyn. It wanted to kill him.
Rage mixed with her fear, just like that very first day with the harpy that had revealed Austyn’s power. She wouldn’t let it get him. They shouldn’t have to be so terrified and trapped. With a cry of anger, she jumped forward and swung the Unicorn Sword into the shadowsoul.
An enormous BANG rang through the air, and the shadowsoul disappeared. A wind burst out of the place where it had stood, knocking over the gasping Gold Wizard and all the snakewolves. Then the wind moved out farther, dashing harpies to the ground and flattening horses and warriors alike. Squinting her eyes against it, Reina leaned forward and managed not to fall over. Austyn, still clutching her side, was swept off his feet but regained them by holding tight to her.
Utter silence followed. No one moved. Reina slowly turned around to see the manticores also lying flat on the ground.
“Is he dead?” sobbed Austyn.
Reina stepped forward to the prone figure of the Gold Wizard. She held her left hand above his nose, relieved to feel a little puff of air. “I think he’s just unconscious.” She shook him for a moment, but he didn’t wake up. She glanced at all the snakewolves sprawled on the ground behind him. “I think they’re all unconscious.”
A thought struck her. “What if the Red Wizard is also unconscious?” Now was their chance to find his heart and kill him before anyone else awoke, and thus save the lives of not only the Gold Wizard, but all the brave men from the town who were willing to fight to the death. She grabbed Austyn’s hand and pulled him towards the castle. “We have to find that heart!”
In the courtyard, they walked around more unconscious manticores. Just looking at them all made Reina swallow hard. Even without the shadowsoul, they’d be doomed if all of these creatures awoke. Not even the Unicorn Sword could fend them all off if they attacked her, and Austyn wasn’t good enough with a sword to protect himself on his own. The doors of the castle rose up in front of them, open just a crack. Reina pried the door open a little wider, and they entered the castle itself.
At one time, Reina thought, this castle might have been beautiful inside as well. Hangings, ripped or falling, were tacked on the walls. In some place stood smashed or neglected pieces of furniture or worn rugs. It gave her the distinct feeling that someone who cared more about their living space than the Red Wizard had once occupied this castle. Each corridor seemed the same as the one before, and soon she lost all sense of direction. They didn’t have much time, so she ripped door after door open, frantically searching for wherever the Red Wizard might hide his heart. That stupid Gold Wizard should have been specific.
As her anxiety increased, so did her confusion. Why didn’t the unicorn come and show them the way? Her panic grew with each dead end or bedchamber or closet or other useless find. She rounded the next corridor; it opened up into a great hall with an enormous staircase. There seemed hundreds of choices as to where they might go. Reina took a deep breath and paused for a moment.
The sword knows the way, but it won’t show me; why? The sword had destroyed the shadowsoul, but only when she had attacked, not when it defended them on its own. It wants me to do this myself. Reina drew the sword again and held it in front of her. She shut her eyes, trying not to think about Austyn or time or the Gold Wizard’s advice.
“Where do we need to go?” she whispered, trying to sense the sword and its magic like the Gold Wizard kept explaining to Austyn.
To her surprise, she felt something stirring within her, like heat waves, spreading through her body. The sword grew warm, and she opened her eyes to see it glowing with white light and almost dropped it. I’m using magic! Eleia was right.
She looked up the stairs and knew that was the way she should go. “Come on!” She dashed forward, only barely noticing Austyn’s wide-eyed look. The stairs led up to a room with large windows and a balcony. It was light and airy, with a skylight in the middle, letting the sunlight spill down into the room in a long golden beam. It lit up a single chest that stood on a small table in the center of the room.
“This has gotta be it,” Reina said.
Austyn nodded.
However, the emptiness and silence made Reina nervous. “I’ll stand guard. Hurry, open it.”
Austyn shook his head. “But Reina—”
“There isn’t time!” she snapped. “Go open it.”
Austyn frowned but walked over to the chest. He fiddled with it for a moment. “It won’t open.”
Reina examined it. It had no physical lock, yet it wouldn’t budge. “You probably need to use magic. Quick!”
“But I’ve gotta tell you something first—”
A low chuckle sounded in the room, and Reina whirled around, Unicorn Sword in her hand. In the doorway stood someone who could only be the Red Wizard. He was tall, with a long black beard, and wore a long red robe and pointed red hat. He looked very much like what Reina thought a wizard should look like, although she couldn’t tell from just looking if the beard was real. Only his eyes were flat and unsympathetic, his expression stony, and she found herself missing the Gold Wizard’s rather endearing homeliness.
&
nbsp; He looked them over and laughed again. “I’ve spent so much effort trying to find the Child Warrior, and lo and behold, he walks right into my own home.” His eyes narrowed. “Where’s that fool Dwayne?”
“Unconscious,” Reina said loudly to try and distract the Red Wizard from Austyn, who stood there shaking, holding his sword. He’d drawn it but seemed unable to raise it—the point hovered only a few inches from the ground.
“Pathetic,” the Red Wizard said, shaking his head. “Truly pathetic.” He took a step towards Austyn, his hand outstretched.
“Hey!” yelled Reina. “I knocked the rest of them unconscious too! All your more pathetic monsters are just as knocked out.”
“Ah, well,” the Red Wizard said, completely ignoring her, his eyes fixed on Austyn, whose face had turned extremely pale, his breathing shallow.
“Austyn!” The cry was ripped from Reina’s mouth, and her chest burned. “Fight him. The magic, Austyn, the magic! Fight him.” She rushed to his side, trying to block him from the Red Wizard, and clutched his shoulders. “Fight him!” Tears streamed down her face.
Austyn struggled for his breath, and Reina remembered all the Gold Wizard had said about the death magic. “You can’t die, Austyn!” she shouted in his face. “I need you to live. You have to live. Use the magic to fight him.”
Austyn gasped, his body jerked, and he fell backwards to the floor. His chest didn’t move; his body had gone completely limp. Reina shook him, shouting his name, but she knew anyway what she didn’t want to know. Austyn was dead.
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Chapter Twenty-two: The Child Warrior
It can’t be; he can’t be. Reina’s thoughts repeated over and over in her head, yet she knew it was true. Austyn was dead. A sob escaped her—she shook him again, still calling his name.
Chosen Sister Page 14
