Twin Curse(15)

The harbour grew smaller in the distance. Boats that had been towering  above Lyall's ship now looked like the toys that boys made of wood and  floated in the pond. She stared at the scene for a moment. Was this the  last time she would see it? Then she turned and looked over the boat.

One small triangular sail was raised at the front of the boat, but the  large mast above her was empty. "Wouldn't we get there faster with all  the sails up?"         

     



 

"Are you in a hurry?" Lyall asked, his voice suggestive.

She giggled, a touch nervously. "I haven't decided yet."

Lyall grinned back at her. "I can't put the main sails up until we've  negotiated the rocks at the entrance to the harbour. We're far more  manoeuvrable with just the jib."

Brianna nodded as though she understood what he was saying. "That makes perfect sense," she agreed.

Lyall laughed at her again and bent and kissed her. She had no idea how  he kept his feet, she was sure the boat was just about tip over, but he  didn't even waver. He did, however, sit down beside her, his lips not  leaving hers, and slip an arm around her waist.

When he finally pulled back and they stared at each other, breathless,  Brianna asked softly, "Where are we going with this Lyall?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "All I know is that I can't seem to  stop kissing you. I hope you don't mind," he said apologetically.

She laughed softly and reached a hand up to touch his cheek. "I should.  But no, I don't. I can't seem to stop thinking about you either."

He hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I don't want to rush  things Brianna. I know you have someone in your past, and I want you to  be really sure before we take things any further."

"I think that is a really good idea," Brianna agreed. "For both of us." She got the feeling he was as unsure as she was.

He smiled ruefully. "You could have a point there. We both need to know  what we want before we take a step that can't be reversed."

He had left himself open for her next question. "Can I ask you something Lyall?"

He sighed. "I think I know what it might be."

"Will I be your first?" she asked curiously. "If we go that far of course," she added hurriedly.

Lyall blushed a little, but met her eyes without wavering. "Yes, you would."

"Me too," Brianna said with a smile.

She was glad in a way, but also a little surprised. Though it was  relatively normal in her village, where everyone knew everyone, to be a  virgin on your wedding night, she gathered from the little she had heard  since coming to the city that it was far less common here. Lyall was a  little older than the average marriageable age in her village too,  making his admission even more unusual.

"We'll be home in a few days," Lyall said. "Hopefully things will be clearer, for both of us then."

His home, not hers. Although perhaps it would become hers. It was a  strange thought. "I guess we'll see." The thought of being in a city  full of mages was strange. Even more strange, she wasn't as afraid of it  as she had been. "What is it like, being a mage?" she asked curiously.

He stared off over the water to the retreating harbour for a moment,  then shrugged. "That's kind of like me asking you what it's like to be a  girl. Being a mage is who I am. It's as much a part of me as anything  else. I've been one for as long as I can remember, so I don't have  anything to compare it to."

"So you knew you were a mage when you were a child?" Brianna asked.

Lyall nodded. "We routinely test children in the first year of primary  school, and any who show magical power, which is pretty much everyone,  take special classes to help them learn to use their magic throughout  school."

Many other questions tumbled around in Brianna's mind, wondering what he  could do with magic, what learning to use it involved, and if she would  be able to learn this late in life, but there was one that was more  important than any of the others. "Lyall, why is magic so feared on the  mainland? When you first mentioned being a mage, all I could think of  was all the stories I've been told about mages abusing their power. But I  can't imagine you doing any of that. So why aren't there as many  stories about the good magic can do? It can do good, can't it?" she  added, suddenly unsure.

"Of course it can. Magic can heal, rebuild and create. But yes, it can  also be abused, and destroy whole civilisations." He was silent for a  moment, then said softly, "Without going into details, there was a war, a  big war, many years before our time, where magic was flung  indiscriminately on both sides, and unfortunately, many normal people  were caught in the middle. That is why we retreated to the island."

"What about the mages on the other side?"

"They retreated too. We're not sure where they went, but they haven't  bothered anyone since as far as I know. We keep an eye out for them,  that's what I was doing on my first visit to the inn, but we haven't  seen any sign that they're still alive." He paused, then added, "I think  they all died out long ago."         

     



 

Brianna shuddered a little, despite the warm sun and decided she didn't want to know any more.

Lyall looked like he'd rather not continue the conversation either.  "Time to raise the sail," he said instead. "Are you all right here?"

Brianna nodded, quite happy to watch him as he walked across the deck as  though it wasn't moving at all and pulled on several ropes. Moments  later, the sails billowed with wind as they rose up the mast, and the  boat gave a little jump forward, as though eager to get on its way.

Lyall was busy with ropes and sails for a while, so Brianna watched the  harbour receding until it was no longer visible. Lyall came up behind  her and said nothing for a while, then asked, "How are you going?"

"Feeling a little lost," she said honestly and turned to look up at him.

He smiled, and bent to brush the hair from her eyes. "It will all work out somehow, Brianna, I promise."

"You have that much power, do you?" she teased.

"No, I just …  uh … " He was so cute when he was at a loss for words.

She reached up to take his hand and he readily sat down beside her. They  were alone on the ocean, with at least two days ahead of them. But her  mind couldn't focus on the possibilities of that time.

All she could think about was arriving at the mage's island. What would she find there?





Brianna heaved a sigh as the thin line of land on the horizon grew  larger and more distinct with each passing minute. Pink tinged the sky  above it, signifying not only the end of the day, but the end of their  days on the boat. It seemed such a pity that the quiet time at sea had  to end.

Lyall lowered the main sails and hoisted the small triangular one at the  front of the boat to give him the manoeuvrability to pull into the  docks. Brianna rose from her seat to help him. She might not understand  which ropes to tie off yet, but she knew enough about knots to tie them  when and where he asked.

They were far more comfortable together after the three days at sea than  they had been at the start of the journey. Initially, she'd doubted  their ability to wait until they were on the island, but it was as if  that agreement lifted some of the uncertainty from their minds. They had  kissed and cuddled constantly, but without any pressure to take things  further.

It had felt like the right decision at the time, but now she wondered. A  shiver ran down her back as she stared at the growing island, bathed in  shadow as the sun sank below the mountains. What she was going to  discover here, about both herself and Lyall, could change things  dramatically.

It was too late to go back now though. The ship slid alongside the dock  and Lyall leapt across to tie her off. He glanced up at the setting sun,  and then jumped back onto the deck. "Perhaps it would be better to wait  until morning to introduce you to my family?"

Brianna couldn't help it, as soon as he made the suggestion, she  suddenly wanted one more night with just Lyall. "That might be best,"  she agreed.

Lyall smiled widely and slipped his arms around her, kissing the tip of  her nose lightly. "You know, perhaps I won't introduce you to them. We  could just cast off again and spend the rest of our lives sailing  aimlessly around the ocean."

Brianna smiled. "Sounds nice," She leaned into his tall presence, and  allowed herself to dream, for just a few moments. Then reality intruded.  "Except, we'd run out of food pretty quickly."

"We could eat fish," Lyall filled in. "I could catch them."

"Fish could get a little boring after a while," Brianna suggested with a smile.

"Seaweed?" Lyall offered.

Brianna giggled and hugged him.

Neither of them said anything more. They knew that nice as it would be,  it wasn't really an option. Lyall led her downstairs and cuddled up  beside her in the narrow bunk.