Chosen Sister by Ardyth DeBruyn Page B

that the two wizards would train Austyn, and then the two of them could destroy anything together, even the Red Wizard.
    At first, Reina didn’t notice the darkness. When she did, it seemed a bit like twilight, and it didn’t register that it wasn’t yet midday. The wind picked up, creating a chill, but she just quickened their pace. Finally once heavy mists blocked out most of the sunlight, and she glanced at Austyn and noticed his arms around his body and his teeth chattering. Only then did she have the first inclination something was wrong.
    She glanced at a nearby bush. Frost formed on its branches. She shivered, confused. It shouldn’t be this cold . With that realization came a terrible feeling of foreboding. Something terrible stalked them. Reina turned to find the trees behind them cloaked entirely in shadow.
    “Austyn,” she whispered, her breath coming out frosty white. Her eyes went wide. “Run!”
    She grabbed his hand and started running. With terror coursing through her, they dashed through the woods, trying to escape the dark and cold. They crashed through bushes, branches tearing at their arms and legs. Reina led them weaving around trees and rocks, scrambling under logs or over boulders. Now, and then she glanced back, but the dark and cold seemed to be gaining.
    Her final look cost her—she fell flat. Austyn’s tear-stained face stared down at her.
    “Keep running!” she yelled at him, struggling to get to her feet, but he didn’t. He just stood there, eyes wide and face pale.
    Once on her feet, she realized it was too late. Dark clouds surrounded them. How do you fight darkness? It started twisting and changing. It took the form of a dark bear, then a bat, then a vulture. Reina and Austyn backed up until they hit a tree as the shadow moved closer.
    “What is it?” Austyn whispered.
    The darkness seemed to whisper back, “Shadowsoul.”
    A deep, consuming hunger emanated from it, and Reina felt its desire to devour them. Then the darkness changed shape again, into a tall, black human figure with a cape, and she instinctively knew it was the shape of the Red Wizard. Unlike the monsters they had met before, she felt no determination to survive as it drew near. It held her, mesmerized and shaking.
    White erupted between them and the shadowsoul. Reina gasped. A unicorn appeared before them. Its long silver horn flashed, and light broke through where it stood, expanding to include both children in its circle. The shadowsoul broke form into an undefined mass of darkness, and the unicorn charged at it. The shadowsoul flew, with the unicorn chasing after it, back into the woods. Reina blinked several times, feeling lost. The sun came back, and the woods warmed. She glanced at Austyn; he looked dazed too.
    She heard footsteps and looked up again. The unicorn had returned. It lowered its head until its horn pointed right at her forehead.
    Fear not. The words echoed in her head, and then the unicorn disappeared. Something on the ground sparkled, and Reina looked down and gave a cry of surprise. The sword, her sword, lay on the ground in front of her, the tip facing her. She clapped her hand to the scabbard. Sure enough, it was empty. She shook her head to clear it; she didn’t remember drawing the sword. What was it doing there?
    She stepped forward and grabbed the handle. A tingle ran down her arm, and she almost dropped the sword.
    “Weird,” she muttered. “We’d better get moving.”
    Austyn, still silent, nodded and followed.
    The woods seemed to go on forever. Austyn didn’t look very well either—his face had turned a sickly, pale color. When they came across a stump, Reina sat down on it and patted the place next to it.
    “Let’s take a rest.”
    Austyn shook his head. “The shadowsoul is still following us. I can feel it trying to find us again. We have to keep going.”
    “What?” Reina gave him a confused look.
    “I said, I can feel it!” Austyn stamped his foot. “Like a big