Chosen Sister Read Online Free PDF

they approached it, and the harpies gained on them. One of them raked its claws across the Gold Wizard’s shoulder. Austyn screamed.
    Then darkness closed in upon them, and trees whizzed past at a terrifyingly close range. They were again in the woods, safe from the harpies, but the Gold Wizard seemed to have lost control. Branches caught at them, and they headed straight toward a huge tree trunk. Reina screamed, trying to tear her hand out of the Gold Wizard’s grip.
    Her yanking seemed to wake him up out of whatever trance the spell had put him in. He groaned, the wind ceased, and inches before crashing into the tree, they fell instead. The wizard landed first, Reina and Austyn on top of him. They rolled off onto the mossy ground. Reina hit a bush that scratched her down one cheek, making it burn. She struggled up, looking for Austyn. He had fared better and landed in a patch of ferns.
    The Gold Wizard lay there for a long moment among the roots of the tree and then sat up with a moan, rubbing his head. He looked incredibly young, his expression dazed and his black hair standing straight up. Anger bubbled up inside of Reina. He wasn’t old or wise at all, but a young idiot!
    “I feel terrible.” He stretched his other arm and yelped in pain. Reina noticed red staining the fabric and his bloody shoulder peeking through the tear. She felt a rush of sympathy and was even more annoyed. She didn’t want to feel sorry for him—she wanted to stay angry.
    “You’re not old!” She stood up and shook her finger at him. “You lied to us!”
    He grimaced and leaned against the tree trunk. “No, I didn’t lie about anything. I never said I was old—you just assumed.”
    “But…” spluttered Reina. “You had a fake beard. You talked all old and everything. That’s just the same.”
    The Gold Wizard smiled. “No, it isn’t. People expect wizards to be old. They want wizards to be old, because they think that makes them wiser and more powerful. If I looked young no one would believe I was a wizard, or at least not a good one. So I give people what they want, let them see what they believe a wizard is. I’m the same person I’ve always been.” He grimaced again and gingerly touched his shoulder. “This isn’t good.”
    Reina found it even harder to stay angry. He looked so … innocent, childlike. She wanted to tell him she still considered that lying to people, but couldn’t find the words to articulate why he was wrong and she was right. However, he was wounded, and he’d just saved them. She searched her mind for more angry words, but before she could continue, Austyn came up to her and touched her shoulder. She turned. He shook his head, silently telling her to be nice, and the words dissolved unsaid.
    “I’m sorry it bothers you, about my appearance,” the Gold Wizard said. He looked a little sickly. “But I did tell you the truth about the medallion, the sword, and the prophecy. That’s what’s important—defeating the Red Wizard and his monsters. Does it really matter whether old or young people do it? Every year, things get worse.” He gave Reina a stern look. “Even you can see it. How the farmers have less and less, how the harpies come more often…. “He looked like he might cry.
    “All the children they take,” Reina whispered, finishing the sentence for him. For the first time since their leaving, all her fears for Austyn retreated, and she felt the great need for the Child Warrior, the importance of defeating the Red Wizard. She had to help Austyn do it, not just to protect him, but for everyone else—her parents, her friends, and all the other innocent people in the country. Determination rose in her: she would find a way to help Austyn kill the Red Wizard and yet protect him at the same time.
    The Gold Wizard pulled a pouch from his robes. He wet a rag with a flask of something and then beckoned to her. “Here, let me wash that scratch on your face. We don’t want it to get