Chosen Sister (3 page)

“You have to go, sweetie,” she said. “It’s your destiny. You’ll like it….”

Reina resisted rolling her eyes at the comment. Austyn, bawling harder than ever, ran away from Mama and clutched onto Reina instead. Instinctively, she put her arms around him.

“Don’t let him take me; don’t let him, Reina!”

“It’s going to be all right.” She smoothed down his curls. “The Gold Wizard tells nice stories, remember?”

Austyn wiped his tears on her dress and looked up at her. “But I’m too scared to go alone. What if the harpies come again?”

“Well, the Gold Wizard has lots of magic, remember?” Reina’s worry grew. What if Austyn was right? What if the Gold Wizard couldn’t take proper care of him? She glanced at the wizard and noticed him frowning.

“Now, now, that’s enough,” he said, waggling his finger at them. “Time to get going, Young Warrior. We’ve got a long ways to go and a lot for you to learn.”

Reina felt Austyn’s breath catch in his chest—he remained glued to her side. Her worry turned into anger. No one but her even thought about how dangerous this would be for Austyn. She was the one who always looked out for him, who knew what he needed. Even her parents were ready to just shove him off on some strange wizard. Well, she wasn’t.

“I’m going with him.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could think them through, but she didn’t care. Someone needed to look out for Austyn.

“Now, little girl—”

Reina stood up taller and glared at the Gold Wizard. “Austyn asked me to come with him, and since he’s the Child Warrior, his request should be honored.” She ignored the gasps of the crowd and kept her eyes fixed on the Gold Wizard. His fingers played with his beard, and his bushy white eyebrows drew together as he frowned at her. “Austyn wants me along, so I’m going. And that’s final.” She nudged Austyn, hoping he’d back her up if he actually wanted her along.

“I’m not going anywhere without Reina,” he said in a small, tearful voice.

Reina hoped it would be enough. She glanced at her parents. Papa looked worried, and Mama still blushed with embarrassment. She found herself annoyed at them for not sticking up for her. She fixed her gaze again on the Gold Wizard, hoping to persuade him. “Austyn’s used to me taking care of him, and he’s really young. You’ll need help looking after him for a bit until he gets more confident. If I’m with him, he’ll be more comfortable sooner too. And I’m a really good cook. I could make the meals…. “She trailed off, unable to think of more good arguments.

Austyn wrapped his warm, sticky fingers into hers, a comforting assurance that she was doing what was best for him.
Of course, if Mama and Papa could come, that would be even better.
However, Reina guessed that for some complicated adult reason, the Gold Wizard wouldn’t like that idea.

The Gold Wizard’s expression softened a little, but his voice remained firm. “Will you do exactly what I say, when I tell you?”

Reina nodded. While she didn’t like the idea, he was a wizard and an adult. She hoped he would turn out reliable.

“Then, if the Child Warrior insists, I will allow you to travel with us, so long as you obey me.”

“Reina’s a good girl,” her father said.

Joy filled Reina; Papa supported her.

Mama bustled over to them. “Now, you both must do exactly as the Gold Wizard tells you.” She straightened Austyn’s bunched clothing. “Be respectful.” Then she put a hand on Reina’s shoulder. “And make sure Austyn stays out of trouble.”

Reina gave her a hug and then lifted Austyn up into the back of the Gold Wizard’s cart. She scrambled up beside him, and the two of them sat in the back, careful not to squish the mysterious wrapped objects next to them.

The Gold Wizard’s robes shimmered in the bright sunlight as he swung into the driver seat of the cart. He clucked at the horse, and it started forward. Mama and Papa waved.

“Goodbye!” called Austyn, waving back.

The other children ran alongside the cart for a few paces, calling out their goodbyes.

“Goodbye, Straw-hair! Don’t let a harpy eat you!” called Kylen.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, Cow-pie!” Reina shouted back.

And then they rode out of the little village where Reina had lived her whole life. The road cut through green and brown farm fields, the scenery still the familiar countryside, but it felt different. They were leaving. Reina gazed at the simple thatched huts as they grew smaller. Would she ever see them all again?

She glanced at her brother. Leaning against her, he gazed in wonder at the fields going by, a smile on his face. “We’re going to have an adventure, right?” he asked. “Just like you told me last night, only better, ‘cause you’re here too.”

She didn’t have the heart to share her worries. She smiled back. “That’s right.” Then she launched into one of her stories for him, although she couldn’t really believe in them at the moment. Leaving home hurt too much. As the day wore on, Austyn nodded off, and the rhythm of the cart lulled Reina to sleep as well.

Reina woke with a stiff neck when the cart bumped over a particularly nasty rut in the road. Austyn, sprawled out on the straw, dozed on. Holding the side of the cart, Reina stood up to stretch her legs, then scrambled across the bundles to the seat where the Gold Wizard perched. He glanced back at her, frowned, and looked back at the road. Reina settled behind and to one side of him, where the back of the cart met the headboard.

“Where’re we going?”

“Little girl, there’s no need to worry about such things.” While his tone was kind enough, Reina didn’t like its patronizing quality.

“I’m not worried, but I still want to know.” She wracked her brain for a good reason. “Austyn will want to know, and I can’t reassure him if I don’t know.”

The Gold Wizard cleared his throat. “I was reluctant to take you along for precisely this sort of thing. The boy cannot become a warrior hero if you keep coddling him.”

Well, he didn’t object when Austyn cried in front of the entire town.
Her face burned hot with indignation. “Austyn is only six. He’s not old enough to be a warrior anything. You can’t yank him away from his whole family and not tell him where he’s going. It’s … it’s … not fair.”

The Gold Wizard blushed and kept his eyes on the road. “Um, well … er, I don’t suppose it would hurt to explain. There’s a prophecy, and your brother must fulfill the pieces of it. It mentions both the medallion and a sword, the Sword of Chivalry. Anyway, I’ve discovered the sword is in a cave to the northeast of here, at the source of the Stream of Eternal Pouring, and so we’re going to find it. On the way, I will teach Austyn how to use his magic, as he will need it to retrieve the sword. Once we have both the sword and the medallion, Austyn can use them to destroy the Red Wizard.”

“But Austyn’s so young,” she objected. “Why can’t you wait until he’s older?”

The Gold Wizard puffed up his chest. “Little girl, the time and place of prophecies are not to be questioned and are beyond—”

Austyn moaned and sat up. His hair stuck up at funny angles and had bits of straw in it. Reina suppressed a giggle. He looked as un-hero-like as anything she could imagine.

“Reina, I’m hungry,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Ask the Gold Wizard for food then,” she retorted. “
I
don’t have anything.” Immediately she regretted her rudeness. Austyn hadn’t asked to be the Child Warrior, and probably if he could, he would let her be the Chosen One. Once again, she pushed away her jealousy.

“Just a few minutes more,” the Gold Wizard said, scratching under his beard. “And then we’ll camp for the evening.”

By the time the Gold Wizard stopped the cart, Reina was also starving. The Gold Wizard selected a small grove of trees and climbed down to tend the horse.

“Get me a pile of dry wood, and we’ll have a meal going in no time.”

Reina pulled Austyn into the trees. “You find the kindling, and I’ll get the big pieces of wood, just like at home.”

Austyn nodded and started working, and soon they had a good pile ready for a fire. The Gold Wizard had unharnessed and tethered the horse, and he worked on lighting the fire while Reina unloaded the food from the cart. She handed an apple she found to Austyn—the Gold Wizard was too busy to notice. He blew over some moss as he knocked steel against a stone. He seemed to have no luck at getting a fire—it went out every time he actually got a small flame.

“Drat,” he mumbled as the moss again crumbled into ashes without bursting into flame.

“Why don’t you just use magic to start it?” Reina asked, sitting down next to him.

He gave her a dark look. “I, um, er, don’t want to alert the Red Wizard to our position by using magic.” The Gold Wizard no longer sounded slick and practiced, but instead stumbled over his words, looking embarrassed. He tried again, only to have sparks go out without catching the moss alight. “This is, er … well, it’s just difficult moss. Hey, stop staring at me and do something useful, or I’m never going to get it done.”

He accidentally missed the knife blade and crushed his finger with the stone. With a yelp, he dropped both and sucked on his hand. “This is hopeless. It’s not the right kind of flint. We’re better off without a fire anyway.”

“Well, how about you let me try it a moment and you unpack.”

“Fine, but it’s pointless. It’s not going to work.” He got up, still rubbing his hand, and stomped off.

Reina heard him shoving things inside the cart this way and that. She ignored him and created a small bed of moss and shredded bark between two pieces of wood, just like she did at home. She clinked steel against flint and within moments had a small tendril of flame. She fed it with the sticks Austyn had gathered, letting it grow until it consumed the larger pieces of wood. The whole task was ridiculously easy.

“Oh,” the Gold Wizard said as he turned around. “Well, then, looks like the moss was, er, finally warmed up enough to work.” He turned away again to produce a cooking pot from the cart. “I’ll, um, just get some water for this.”

Austyn grinned at her and leaned forward to whisper, “I don’t think the Gold Wizard is very good at making fires, but don’t tell him, or it might hurt his feelings.”

Reina giggled.

After his display with trying to light the fire, Reina had her doubts about the Gold Wizard’s cooking, but the end result that he scooped into bowls for them to eat, though looking rather brownish, didn’t taste bad. He seemed in a jollier mood after dinner, more like the storyteller they had so often looked forward to seeing at the village festival.

“Well, now, I suppose you two youngsters want to know the story of the Child Warrior prophecy, don’t you?” He waved his hands dramatically in the air, and a tattered piece of parchment appeared between them. “Here is the one and only copy of the prophecy, given to me by the former Gold Wizard, just hours before the Red Wizard killed him.” He turned it to face them; runes scribbled in black ink reflected in the firelight. “Within these runes lies the secret to the Red Wizard’s destruction.” His eyes flashed.

Austyn stared at it with wide eyes, and Reina had to admit it was impressive, seeing the actual prophecy.

“What does it say?” she asked.

“Um, eh, em, urm…. “The Gold Wizard cleared his throat. With some fancy hand motions, he made spectacles appear in a flash of gold sparks, rubbed them clean, rubbed his eyes, and put them on. Then he met their eyes as they stared at him in expectant fascination. “I shall read: The Child Warrior, with the, erm, medallion of bravery and the, eh em, sword of ch—chivalry, shall overcome with, um, heart, the magic of the Red Wizard.”

Austyn frowned. “But it doesn’t make any sense!”

“That, young man,” said the Gold Wizard as he refolded the paper and took off his spectacles, “is the nature of prophecy. It is by, um, nature, obscure.” He tucked both into his robes.

“Can I see it?” Austyn asked.

“What good would that do?” asked the Gold Wizard, giving him a stern look. “You can’t
read,
can you?”

“No, but I always wanted to learn. Please.” Austyn fluttered his eyelids and gave a sickeningly sweet smile. Reina struggled not to roll her eyes.

The Gold Wizard flushed. “Reading runes, is um, er, a very tricky and complicated business. I don’t have the time now to teach you such an, er, circumstantial activity. Perhaps after you learn to use your magic and have defeated the Red Wizard.” His face brightened with eagerness. “Hey, how about a magic lesson!”

Austyn’s face sagged in disappointment, and Reina didn’t think he’d be up to it. She knew how he loved to draw lines in the dirt and pretend they were runes. Little did the Gold Wizard know how heartlessly he had squashed Austyn’s eager interest.

“He’s tired,” she protested. “You can teach him tomorrow.”

The Gold Wizard didn’t look pleased. “It is, er … really important, little girl, that your brother learn to use his magic.”

“Quit calling me ‘little girl.’ My
name
is Reina.”

“Well, now,
Reina
—”

A piercing screech split the air, ending their argument. Reina recognized it all too well, and from Austyn’s white face, she could tell that he did too.

“Harpies!”

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The Gold Wizard shoved them away from the fire. “Quick, out of sight! I’ll handle them!”

Reina seized Austyn’s hand, and they dashed under the wheels of the cart. The horse, still tied to a nearby tree, stomped and shook his head. Reina peeked out between the wheels, looking for a better place to hide. The grove wasn’t very big, and endless open fields spread out on all sides around them. In the distance, off to the southeast, stood the woods.
Why did we wander so far from them?
She longed to hide in the soft, damp moss again. Austyn trembled next to her.

Six harpies, black, twisted shapes against the evening sky, swooped down toward their fire and the Gold Wizard.

“Well, now,” shrilled the first harpy, circling him. “Did you think you could use the medallion and not have my master feel it? You’ve done him a favor and found the Child Warrior as well as giving away your own location. Hand over the child, and perhaps your death will come quickly.”