Dark Wood: Legends of the Guardians Read Online Free Page A

hidden. They were cast into darkness. The woods were quiet but for
the sound of labored breath, and the call of the ever watching owl. “Lena,
please, we have to stop.” Elizabeth was almost asleep on her feet as she leaned
against her sister. “Lena?” Aryaunna whispered into the night. Raising her
voice to a hiss, she called again, “Lena!”
    Elizabeth’s
cloak had fallen, though she’d been too tired to right it. Her exhausted gaze
looked upon her sister, revealing her pain and worry alike. “It’s all right,
Elizabeth. Sit.” Holding her arms around Elizabeth she eased her down against
the base of an oak. “Sit here and rest.” Pulling water from her satchel, she
placed the bota in her hands. “Drink.”
    “Why
do you think she called you Emissary?” Elizabeth asked after taking a drink.
    “I
don’t know.” Aryaunna’s hand clasped around the amethyst heart which hung from
her neck.
    “You
prayed to the Guardians, became sworn to them. It’s true, Aryaunna. And if the
Drow know, then more will.” Hanging the bota over her neck, Elizabeth held her
hands out. “Help me up. We have to find her.”
    “No.
You sit. I shall find her. You must rest.” Aryaunna couldn’t respond to her
otherwise. How could she admit that she doubted her sister’s words after
everything she had confessed to her just hours before? She didn’t feel strong
enough.
    Where
have you gone to, Lena? Have you left us? Aryaunna wondered as she walked
careful circles through the trees, always keeping an eye on Elizabeth with
every step. “Lena?” she whispered to the night.
    From
the corner of her eye she saw quick movement. “Lena?” she called louder before
she could catch herself. Her hand placed over her mouth, wishing she could take
it back. Again she saw it, this time from the right. A cloak billowed as it
disappeared through the trees. It was not Lena’s.
    Watching
carefully, she made her way back to Elizabeth. She had never fought before, but
she was not afraid to do so, especially to defend her sister. Again and again,
she watched the blur through the trees circle them. “Ary?” Elizabeth questioned
so much with just her sister’s name.
    “Stay
down,” Aryaunna warned as she watched what little she could see. It was strange
that in such darkness she could see the cloak as it moved through the trees, as
if it was a light of its own making. “I am not afraid of you!”
    “Are
you not?” a voice called from the darkness. It was not Lena.
    Deft
fingers unclasped the cloak upon her shoulders, laying it over Elizabeth. Her
right hand pulled a knife from the hem of her skirt. It was not a decorated
blade, but it was sharp and strong. A valuable aid in her work. “If you doubt
me, then approach.”
    “Sister,
don’t! You do not know what dwells in the woodlands,” Elizabeth called from
behind her as Aryaunna turned in slow pivots to watch the cloak circle.
    “Guardians
of the light heed me, give me your strength,” her voice was but a whisper to
the night air, though every word warmed her very soul. She could feel their
warmth, like a kind hand on her back, feeding her strength.
    As
she turned, Lena stood an arm’s length away, facing her. “I told you she was
strong,” she called to the trees.
    Without
hesitating Aryaunna brought the blade’s tip to her slender throat. “Where have
you brought us, Lena?”
    “We’re
still inside Thuringian. We have entered the edge-wood of the Hollow, Emissary.
I assure you, you are safe here.” Her hands held out, palms to the air as if
welcoming them to a pleasant countryside inn.
    The
cloak she had seen whispering through the woods emerged from her left.
Stretching out her arm, the tip of the knife touched Lena’s throat. “Stop where
you are.”
    “She
is brave, I will give you that,” his voice resonated through the trees and drew
Aryaunna’s gaze for just a second. That was all it took. As Aryaunna returned
her sight to Lena she had changed. Her fair cream