Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

watch
everything around her. Not long had passed before another shadow skirted
through the trees. Instinct told her to stop moving and to fall quiet, yet she
did not allow herself to succumb. She only saw the shadows when moving, and
whilst singing. If she continued, perhaps she could see them better Aryaunna
hoped.
    It
wasn’t long before the shadows filled the trees, stealing the glistening light
that reflected on the snow from the sun above. Still fighting the magic that
fought to make her heart race, to frighten her beyond all limits of sanity, it
ate away at her willpower. She watched as the shadows whisped through the wood.
Dancing through the trees they snuffed out the light bit by bit until she
walked on in total darkness.
    Still
yet, the melody hummed through her chilled lips: Haunting, enchanting,
devastating, enthralling, powerful.
    Through
the surrounding darkness something played with her vision ahead. Had she seen a
cloak, maybe a dress? She fell silent. The trees seemed to bustle ahead of her.
Without realizing it, she’d stopped where she stood. The cold snaked in around
her, biting at her flesh where it could while frosting her clothes stiff. The
longer she stood still, the faster her hear beat, and the more her stomach
tightened.
    The
crackling of limbs could be heard as a branch broke and snapped under foot. It
wasn’t close. The sound seemed to come from ahead of her, where she’d thought
she’d seen the figure move through the trees and shadows which threatened to
consume the Dark Wood.
    “Aryaunna,
help me! Help me, please!” A blood curdling scream cut through the darkness,
pleading desperately. The voice could only belong to one.
    Without
hesitating Aryaunna took off running. Elizabeth must have woken and come after
her. With such little time to recover she’d be vulnerable and weak out here on
her own. Horrific possibilities played out through her mind. She couldn’t lose
her sister. Elizabeth was all she had left. The faster she ran, the thicker the
trees seemed to become. Fog hung so heavy in the air that her breathing became
strained, forcing her to rasp for breath.
    Limbs
cut and tore at her as she ran past them, snagging her clothes, and pulling her
back as she fought harder to move forward. “Elizabeth!” she cried out for her
sister, fearful she’d already lost her way. “Where are you,” Aryaunna screamed
to the forest.
    Faltered
steps brought her to meet the ground more than once. Firmly packed snow made
for no gentle landing. The ground would crunch and break against her weight,
crackling when her knees broke through the thin sheet of ice covering the pure
white.
    Running
harder, she pushed her body onward, despite how haggard she’d become. The wind
whipped past her, so violent that it seemed to take on a life of its own. Its
howl became a daunting moan that cackled at her pain and fright. Her sister’s
screams were scarce, and seemed to come from another direction each time she
heard it.
    Hot
tears splashed down her cheeks, and left her skin frigid as the winter’s wind
consumed them. An agonized moan tormented her ears as she stumbled over a branch,
hidden in the clouded dark. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I’m trying, I swear.”
Aryaunna had buckled. Elizabeth was all she had left in this world. The thought
of losing her was more agonizing than any storm.
    Aching
cold hands braced against the hard frost as she looked down. Dangling before
her hung her mother’s amethyst. Lifting herself to sit to her knees, she
clasped the heart tight in fingers so cold they’d nearly lost all feeling.
Bowing her head, she spoke to her mother, “Help me, mother. I can’t lose her,
too.”
    Closing
her eyes, she focused her every thought on her mother as she held the stone
tight in her grasp. Perhaps she’d been hoping for some great revelation, or for
her mother to speak to her and tell her what to do. It wasn’t like that though.
Nothing so clear and simple. A whisper of a memory