Twin Curse(5)

Involuntarily, his hand snaked out and grasped her wrist. She glanced  down at him and he was surprised to see no fear in her eyes, only  annoyance. "I'm not on the menu."

"No, I … " Lyall was surprised to find himself embarrassed by her  misunderstanding. The truth was, he had no idea why he had grabbed her  like that, only that he wanted to.

She frowned at him and he realised he still had hold of her wrist. Reluctantly, he released it. "I'm sorry," he said lamely.

She glared at him one last time before stalking off.

Lyall opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He'd  already made a bad first impression, he needed to stop and think out his  next move, even though he wanted to chase after her then and there and  demand answers.

Who was she and what was she doing here? Even though she'd left the  room, the scent of her magic lingered, and Lyall had to stop himself  inhaling deeply. The echo of her aura had left an imprint in his brain,  one that wouldn't be shaken, almost overpowering her physical presence.  He tried to bring the image to mind but could conjure up little more  than a thick, dark braid hanging down her back and a dirty white apron.  He needed to see her again, to get a fuller picture in his mind.

He gave himself a shake. He needed to focus. He was here for a reason,  and her presence screamed to every part of it. She shouldn't be here,  and he needed to find out where she'd come from.

There were no mages on the mainland. That was a long accepted truth.  Every single mage, even those with only a hint of magic in their  bloodline, had left the mainland over a thousand years ago. They kept an  eye on the people remaining here periodically-it was exactly such a  mission that had brought him here today-but until now, no reports of  anyone with any magical ability at all had been heard. Not even a hint  of their rivals who had also disappeared to places unknown.         

     



 

Even stranger than her existence, if that were possible, was that she  wasn't just a flash in the pan. From her scent and her glowing aura, she  was powerful, possibly even more powerful than he was, and he came from  one of the leading magical families on the Isla de Magi.

Who was she and what was she doing here? Were their rivals also watching for any sign of a return?

To his disappointment, she didn't appear again that night. He did,  however, manage to catch Syrid, the inn owner, when he came to clear  away the table.

"Good evening, Lyall, haven't seen you around in a while," the man said  in his usual manner. Lyall didn't think he'd ever seen Syrid be anything  other than friendly.

"It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of visiting this fine town," Lyall rejoined.

"Well, you haven't missed much, nothing changes around here."

"Except that you have a new serving maid?" He was being far too obvious, but his need to know overcame his usual reticence.

"Brianna?" Syrid asked. "She's been here a couple of months now. Country  girl thinking she'd try a taste of the big city. I'm not too sure it's  living up to her expectations, but she doesn't seem ready to go home  yet."

Obviously it hadn't occurred to the barkeep that the girl was more than  she let on. Lyall filed the information away for future reference and  decided that, personal interest aside, the girl merited his remaining  for a few days to find out more about her. He nodded as disinterestedly  as he could to Syrid's disclosure and asked, "Do you have a vacant  room?"

Syrid nodded easily. "Sure, always do for you." He ambled over to the  bar with Lyall's empty plates, and then wiped his hands on his apron and  handed Lyall a key. "Up the stairs, third door on your left."

Lyall paid for his meal and the room, chatted for a few minutes about the weather, then excused himself and headed upstairs.

Alone in his room, he pulled off his mud splattered boots and slung his  dark woollen cape over the end of the bed, wondering where to go from  here. He needed to be cautious. If Syrid's story was true, and she was  just a country bumpkin, there was little chance that she even knew of  her magical power, let alone knew how to use it. If not, if she was, in  fact, a magical spy of some kind, then she could already be on to him.

He thought again of her face. She was too young, too …  real, to be one of them.

Much as he wanted to believe that, years of training had taught him not  to take chances. So before settling down for the night, he placed  several enchantments on the door, the window, and the walls. If anyone  so much as tried to peep into his room, he would know about it.

Satisfied that he had taken every precaution, he lay down to rest.

But sleep eluded him. He found himself unable to stop thinking about her  and all the scenarios that could have led to her presence here.  Finally, after nearly an hour of staring at the ceiling wondering, he  sighed and sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the side. Might as well  be doing something useful.

Magical snooping usually posed no risks here on the mainland, but with  another mage in the vicinity, he needed to be more cautious than usual.  Instead of leaving his body to enter the astral realms, he stepped out  his door and walked down the corridor physically.

A hand, laid briefly on each door, was enough to confirm the absence of  any magical protections with minimal risk. His sensitive nose sniffed  for any wisp of magical power.

He was all the way along the corridor and almost back to his own room,  but on the opposite side, before he smelled it. He stood in front of the  door, his resting hand telling him of no enchantments. The vanilla  scent was stronger here. She was inside.

He hesitated, just standing outside her door, hand resting on it,  breathing in her unique smell. For how long he didn't know. He felt the  urge to knock on the door, but he had no idea what he would say. And he  was a little afraid of making a fool out of himself as he had done in  the common room earlier.

It wasn't as if he were a total novice when it came to girls. He'd  attended many dances and parties and, he hoped, was considered a friend  by many girls. This, though, was different. This girl didn't know  anything about him, just as he knew nothing about her. The idea was  terrifying and nerve-wracking.

And incredibly exhilarating.

He lifted his hand and knocked, once. As soon as his hand hit the door,  he knew he'd made a mistake. What if she really was one of the others,  and he ended up in a magical battle? What if she wasn't but thought he  was a fool to continue to pursue her when she'd made it clear she wasn't  interested. The urge to retreat to the safety of his room was strong,  but something stronger kept him standing there as the door opened.         

     



 

As soon as she saw him, she began to slam it shut again, but he managed  to get his foot in the gap. "Please, give me a chance to explain."

She hesitated and her expression changed slightly. She nodded curtly. "I'm listening."

Words deserted him. "I just wanted to apologise," he said lamely. "In  the common room earlier. I'm sorry for grabbing you like that. I didn't  mean anything by it."

Great, he'd gone from not knowing what to say, to blabbering. He  wouldn't blame her if she slammed the door in his face. In fact, he  moved his foot, expecting her to do just that.

A range of emotions flitted across her face as she hesitated. "Why did you do it then?"

That, he couldn't explain. He couldn't mention her magic until he found  out whether she knew about it herself. But that was only one side of his  reason anyway. Something else drew him to her, in addition to her  magic. That, he could explain.

"I don't know. I just …  well, something about you … " he broke off and felt  his face heat. That hadn't come out quite the way he'd planned. He  should have left. That would have at least saved him the embarrassment  of acting so stupidly.

She raised an eyebrow, her face amused. "I get that a lot."

Her point was obvious. "I guess you probably do," he admitted ruefully,  trying to ignore the fact that her brush off stung. "Anyway, I'm sorry  for disturbing you, I just wanted to apologise." He took a step back,  even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He was obviously too  tired from the day's travel to be intelligent and charming tonight.

"How did you know which room was mine?" she asked, catching him off guard.

He looked up at her and something of what he was feeling was reflected  in her eyes. That, as much as his lack of ability to explain, caused him  to stammer his answer. "I …  um …  I knocked on each one," he admitted.

She smiled and the expression changed her face completely. "I'm  Brianna," she offered, holding out her hand in the universal gesture of  friendship.

He couldn't resist the urge to touch her again. "Lyall," he returned automatically, and let his hand slip into hers.

The inevitable spark of one mage touching another shot through him, magnified by the attraction he felt towards her.