Within the Shadow

Chapter 4

Nova bit her lip as she watched Cassandra and Caspar train. She already knew that she could never fight like that.

" They might as well knock me out right now," she said to herself. She looked down at the bow Cassandra had given her. She was grateful, but the chances of her breaking it were too high.

" Nova, come show me what you got!" Cassandra called. Nova gulped and took up the bow. She could already feel her heart racing as she stepped four away from the target.

" Are you sure I can do this?" she asked. Cassandra nodded confidently.

" You did it right before, just concentrate on the target and shoot, but just don't hit Austin this time." Nova rolled her eyes. Yes, she did hit Austin with the arrow, but it didn't do any damage to his body, except maybe him bleeding.

Austin nodded as he down on the grass. " Honestly, that hurt Nova."

" How many times do I have to say sorry?" she asked.
" As how long the bleeding kept going," he replied coldly. Nova rolled her eyes. She listened to Cassandra and tried to concentrate all her energy on the arrow once more, but something was off. As she released it, it went to the right of it, landing in the grass.

Cassandra laughed nervously. " Maybe you didn't concentrate hard enough?"

" It's hopeless," Nova said. " The last time I did it, I had so much energy, but now...It feels like all of it is sucked out of my body."

" I wondered what happened. Any ideas there sister?" Caspar asked. Cassandra put her hand on her chin, thinking. However, nothing came to her mind.

" I don't know Caspar. Though, your energy fading away like that has to be serious. Perhaps I could ask Father about that later. Austin, have you mastered your magic yet?"

Austin turned to face his sister, though he wasn't pleased.

" Austin...has magic?" Nova asked. Caspar nodded.

" Yep, quite unusual here in Holden. I think he's the only one who has magic in this town."

" What happened to the others?"

" Well, our town was attacked when we were younger and they wiped them all out," he explained. Nova's grip on the bow became tighter. " And you're not afraid if the same thing happens once again?"

Cassandra shook her head. " Holden is always in the middle of certain situations. There was a battle right outside this town."

" Sounds like you're living in a tough time. Sadly, I can't do anything about it. I wish this war would end."

Cassandra frowned. " If you're talking about the Demon Sisters, then you are correct. They have destroyed yet another village, and there is another group that has destroyed a town. There was suppose to be a festival occurring there, for not being attacked."

Nova felt sick to her stomach. " How bad are these groups?" she asked. Cassandra bit her lip.

" Terrifying enough that everyone is afraid to even talk bad about them," she admitted. Her body started to shake. " Even I am afraid of speaking about them. They have killed even more than the Demon Sisters, and they have been alive for years."

Nova gulped. " I see," she said, almost like a whisper. " Then, what I'm hearing is the result of beating them...is impossible."

" Not at all," Caspar joined in. " They can be defeated, but it will take a lot of magic to do so. As for the Demon Sisters...Well, we can leave that to Princess Faith."

" The Princess can defeat such horrendous monsters?" Nova asked.

" She is strong," Cassandra told her. " No one would deny such a thing, and her Mother and Father have disappeared since her birth. Surly, she is strong."