Chosen Sister (7 page)

The Gold Wizard’s eyes watered, and he looked away.

“He killed someone you loved?” Reina asked tentatively.

The Gold Wizard wiped away his tears. “My father, the last Gold Wizard. He was so strong, a wonderful wizard; I can hardly believe that at a simple command by the Red Wizard, he dropped dead.” The wizard cleared his throat. “He had the talent of seeing the future. He gave me the prophecy about the Child Warrior. See, the Child Warrior—that’s you, Austyn—has a special magic that can withstand and destroy the power of the Red Wizard, that will prevent him from sending his death wish into you. You, and you alone can destroy him. That’s why learning your magic is so important.”

“What do the medallion and the sword in the prophecy have to do with it?” Reina asked.

“Well, the medallion I believe provides a focus for the magic, while, um, the sword, I, uh, think, will actually destroy the Red Wizard. Or, um, perhaps Austyn will use it in a spell that will destroy him.”

“You don’t even know!” Reina couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
I’m not going to let him take us to fight the Red Wizard without knowing what we have to do!
“Why are you taking us into danger if you don’t even know?”

The Gold Wizard reddened. “I know we need it, and by the time we have it, I’ll have deciphered more of the prophecy. Or, in getting it, we will learn what to do with it. I didn’t know how the medallion would identify the Child Warrior before I found it—that was revealed in the process.” He puffed up his chest, in an attempt, Reina guessed, to look like he knew more than he did. “Prophecies are just brief glimpses given to the seer—images, words, meant for those who follow them to decipher and ponder.”

All the same, Reina wouldn’t let him risk their lives like that until they knew what they were doing.

“But how do you know you read them the right way?” Austyn asked.

“Look, that’s enough talking,” the Gold Wizard said. “I need to go eat something.” He got up and walked across the room. “Where’d you put everything, anyway?”

Reina huffed. “Back in the cupboards where it belongs.” She followed him over, but he’d already found what remained of the food. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you to clean things up?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “We had servants. My mother was a lady, a cousin of the king himself.”

“That’s no excuse.” She looked him over as he ignored her and ate. “How old are you, anyway?”

He answered while chewing. “That’s not a polite question to ask an adult.”

Neither is talking with your mouth full.
She glared at him until he cracked.

“I’ll be eighteen this fall, little girl. But age doesn’t matter—my father taught me loads of stuff.”

Reina refrained from mentioning the immaturity of saying how old he was going to be, rather than how old he was. “You’re hardly grown! Why didn’t the Green Wizard come and find the Child Warrior instead—or is he a boy as well?”

The Gold Wizard waved his hands in the air, his face angry. “I’m the son of the Gold Wizard, and it’s my job to be the next Gold Wizard.” He banged his fist on the table, and his voice rose. “I’m taking down that murdering Red Wizard who slaughtered my family, and you, little girl—”

“Stop calling me that!” Fury at how the Gold Wizard’s pride had put Austyn in danger filled her.

Within moments, they were both yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. A triumphant shriek rent the air, and they both dropped silent. Claws scraped against the roof and door of the cottage, and the howling of snakewolves sounded eerily all around them. Reina and the Gold Wizard stared at each other in horror; they made a dash for Austyn and the trap door.

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As they raced through the dark tunnel, a crash behind them told Reina that the snakewolves had entered the house. The trap door might stop them for a moment, but the harpies would be able to open it.

“Faster!” hissed the Gold Wizard. The same thought must have occurred to him.

He came to an abrupt stop at the end of the tunnel, and she crashed into his back. The Gold Wizard didn’t comment, just slammed his staff down until sunlight poured down, almost blinding them. A wrenching noise behind them, along with the clear call of the snakewolves, announced they had entered the tunnel.

Reina dragged Austyn up the steps, but he stumbled, unable to keep pace. She tripped on the last step, and they both fell; she held Austyn to her and rolled away. The Gold Wizard closed the door after them, and the ground shook. Reina scrambled to her feet. She heard the angry noise of the snakewolves trapped underground.

“This way,” gasped the Gold Wizard.

Reina grabbed Austyn’s hand, the Gold Wizard his other, and they dashed forward, half-dragging poor Austyn along. The trees grew hazy, and Reina’s side ached. When she thought she wouldn’t be able to keep up, the Gold Wizard slowed and peered around them. “I think we lost them.”

They slowed to a walk, and Reina held her aching side. After about half an hour, they emerged on a path. The Gold Wizard brightened. “I know this place. We go this way, west, and we’ll be at the Green Wizard’s house in no time.”

Austyn leaned against Reina, and she sensed his exhaustion. The Gold Wizard wiped his brow. “We have to keep going, in case they pick up our trail. Once we get to the Green Wizard’s, we can rest.”

Reina nodded, too tired to speak, and took Austyn’s hand again. The Gold Wizard started down the path, but she couldn’t keep up with his pace anymore, and Austyn stumbled next to her. “Be strong, Austyn—we can do it,” she said, although she felt like sitting down and giving up.

“I can’t, Reina, I’m too tired.”

She paused to consider him. His red face and tear-stained eyes stared up at her, and he looked ready to collapse. She had to find some way to keep him going.

“What’s the holdup?” the Gold Wizard called.

“Wait a second,” Reina replied and searched around the sides of the path until she found a stick about Austyn’s height. “Here, this staff will help you.”

Austyn gave her a weak smile. Yet the staff seemed to help. Although still slow, he continued onward. Reina sighed in relief. She started telling a story about what a wonderful house the Green Wizard had and how nice and powerful a wizard he was. Gradually, Austyn’s dull expression faded into a smile, and he picked up his pace a little.

Something rustled in the bushes off to Reina’s left, and icy apprehension ran down her spine. She heard a low hiss. She laid a hand on Austyn’s shoulder to stop him.

“Listen,” she whispered.

They heard another hiss, and Austyn’s eyes widened. He clutched his stick tighter. Reina scanned the path and found a stick of her own. It was too long, so she stepped on it, breaking off a piece about as long as her arm. The Gold Wizard, now several yards ahead, glanced over his shoulder at them.

“What’s wrong?”

A snakewolf burst from the underbrush and leapt straight at Austyn’s throat. He hit at it with his stick, and it broke against the sharp fangs. Austyn thrust the sharp, broken end at the snakewolf’s nose. At the same time, Reina brought her stick down on its head, knocking it out. Then she smashed her stick into its eye to kill it. Austyn turned a bit green and looked away, and the blood oozing out of the eye socket made Reina feel sick as well.

She didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because several more snakewolves leapt onto the path, separating them from the Gold Wizard. He lifted his staff, and fire poured from the end of it, setting the tree above him on fire, but missing the snakewolves entirely. He angled his staff, searing several of them with the flames, but more snakewolves appeared to take their place.

“Use magic,” Reina ordered Austyn, waving her stick to keep them back.

Austyn clutched his broken stick and shook his head. “I c—can’t.”

“Then run!” Reina pushed him into the side of the woods away from the snakewolves. She hit one of them on the head, but another jumped at her side, its claws raking down her left arm. She wasn’t going to last long. Kicking another snakewolf in the jaw, she turned and ran.

“I’ll catch you up!” the Gold Wizard yelled.

A loud bang echoed behind her, and she hoped the Gold Wizard could prevent the snakewolves from following.

A snakewolf leapt on her from behind, sending her falling forward. She expected to feel its fangs sink into the back of her neck, but they didn’t. Instead, she heard Austyn yell, then the noise of a rock hitting the snakewolf. It turned to face him, and she rolled to her back, seized another rock, and swung it at the snakewolf’s eyes. Together they knocked it out. Reina struggled to her feet, and Austyn grabbed her hand, pulling her farther into the woods. They ran into a little stream. Remembering how water had helped them earlier, Reina started scrambling upstream.

Ahead rose a steep hill. Too tired to speak, she pointed it out to Austyn. They left the stream and headed towards the rocky outcrop. Boulders covered the entire slope. She boosted Austyn up to the top of the first huge rock and clambered up behind him. Halfway up the hill, they found a small dip in the rock, making a little grotto. If they sat at the back, it offered shelter as well as hiding them from sight. Back the way they’d come Reina couldn’t see any snakewolves, and they were too tired to run any farther. She leaned against the back of the alcove, and Austyn collapsed next to her.

They waited for several hours. Reina’s stomach started to ache with hunger, and the sun sank lower in the sky. Where was the Gold Wizard? She hid her worry until Austyn fell asleep. Then she climbed a rock that stuck out from the side of the hill to get a good view. Endless trees spread out before her—no sign of either the snakewolves or the Gold Wizard anywhere.
He’s just a bit slow. He’ll be along any moment.

Austyn woke fretful and worried. There was still no sign of the Gold Wizard, even though evening had come. Reina decided they should climb down and find something to eat. They didn’t have much luck, just some berries, and they were both hungry and cold. Reina had no steel and flint to start a fire—she seemed to have dropped it during their flight. She decided they’d be better off up in the grotto for the night.

“The Gold Wizard will come back by the morning,” she consoled Austyn.

But the Gold Wizard didn’t show in the morning either. By noon, both of them had grown nearly frantic.

“What are we going to do?” Austyn asked, a tear running down his face. “What if he’s dead?”

“He’s not dead,” Reina said with more conviction than she felt. “He’s got magic, remember. Maybe they’re still chasing him and he doesn’t dare go after us.”
Or he could have gotten lost again
. It seemed the most likely theory.

“Then what do we do?” Austyn asked. “What if he never finds us?”

Apparently, Austyn had come to the same conclusion. Reina gave him a hug.

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep going west and north, like he said, and we’ll meet him at the Green Wizard’s house. If we keep going, we’ll be sure to run into it.”
Or at least find somewhere else safe.
“Then when we get there, we can do some magic, and the Gold Wizard can use that to track us down. Remember, that’s how he found you in the first place—by the magic you used when we killed the harpy.”

Austyn shook his head. “I didn’t use any magic.”

“Yes, you did. I felt it when our hands met, right before I threw the rock.” Reina squinted at the sun. “I think northwest is this way.” She started off through the woods. Turning back to smile at Austyn, Reina stuffed her fears down deep, trying to ignore the fact that it seemed highly unlikely they’d find either the Green Wizard or the Gold one. She didn’t know what they’d do if they didn’t, but she didn’t want to think about it. Doing anything was better than just sitting there. “Come on—the sooner we get going, the sooner we get there.”

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The dense canopy made it difficult to follow the sun northwest. Reina had to keep finding open spots to get her bearings. After three hours of walking, they ended up at a trail. It didn’t run northwest, but rather north and south, so she picked what looked like north and tried to stay cheerful.

“If we just keep following this, we’ll end up somewhere for sure,” she told Austyn.

As they continued on, the forest got denser. Huge trees blocked out almost all the sunlight, and the bushes grew thick on either side of the path. They rounded the next bend, and Reina gasped. In front of them stood an enormous stone castle surrounded by massive trees.

Moss and lichen-covered stones rose dark and formidable at the end of the path, which stopped at the drawbridge lowered over a moat of green, slimy mush. A dark opening on the other side yawned at them, more threatening than inviting. Tall spikes of metal lined the walls—not that Reina could imagine anyone climbing them, as slippery and smooth as they looked. Green streaks of ick stained the bottom of the castle, right where it met the moat.

“Well, I bet this is the Green Wizard’s home,” Reina said, trying to sound confident. It did look like an enchantment-ridden place where a wizard might live.

“It doesn’t look very friendly,” Austyn said. “Maybe he doesn’t want visitors.”

“We’ll just tell him we’re friends of the Gold Wizard, and he ought to welcome us.” Truthfully, Reina felt inclined to agree with Austyn, but they didn’t have much choice. The path didn’t seem to lead anywhere else. “Maybe the Gold Wizard is already there, waiting for us.”

“I guess.” Austyn still sounded worried, and Reina had to admit she didn’t feel too comfortable with this castle herself.

Still, she squared her shoulders and marched up to the end of the drawbridge. It looked solid enough, so she walked onto it. Her feet made a dull thud on the wood. She peered into the black passageway at the end.

“What’s that?”

She turned as Austyn raced across the drawbridge to her side, pointing down in the moat. Black scales slid along the surface, then disappeared.

“Nothing we want to meet,” she muttered. “Let’s get in there.”