Brianna glanced at Lyall and a frown etched across his face. Together, they moved onto the next panel. Here, words spilled from the left woman's mouth, a poem of love and forever as she stared at the man. But Brianna's attention was held by the other woman, who stood beside them, still a picture of misery. She had all Brianna's sympathy.
In the next panel, the now married couple stared as the second twin fled the scene, her hands over her face. They frowned at her retreating back.
"Why is she leaving?" Lyall's question sounded rhetorical, but Brianna answered it anyway.
"Because she doesn't want to marry the same man her twin does." Following the second twin's escape, she could see something else in the picture. She pointed. "I think she might be in love with that man."
"What are you both talking about?" Urster asked suspiciously.
They both turned to him and spoke at the same time. "The pictures on the panels."
Urster frowned. "There's nothing there, it's all faded."
This time, Brianna let Lyall answer. He opened a gap between his hand and Brianna's and showed the stone to Urster. "We found this in the crypt and it somehow breaks through the magic barrier. The magic allows us to see the picture clearly."
"Then keep it away from her, if it lets her use magic." Urster didn't even bother to hide his distrust. "She's probably just waiting for a chance for you to be distracted so she can wrest control from you. Remember, since you're only bonded to one twin, she's more powerful than you."
His words hurt, but she couldn't blame him.
Lyall though, laughed. "Brianna is not going to hurt me."
Urster's scowl deepened. "That's just what she wants you to think. You're a fool for a pretty face, Lyall."
Lyall stared at Urster for a moment, his face taut. Then he turned to Brianna deliberately, and handed her the gem. He smiled down at her, and Brianna's heart warmed at the fact that he trusted her so completely.
Then he turned back to Urster. "Do we need to have this out again?"
Urster glanced back and forth between her and Lyall, his face a picture of uncertainty. He clearly thought she would attack Lyall any minute, and he wasn't sure which threat was worse, her, or his superior's clear displeasure.
When she made no move to attack anyone, he made his choice. "No, sir. Of course not." And he stepped back.
Lyall watched him for a few more moments, then nodded, and turned back to Brianna. "Shall we look at the next one?"
She nodded, and Lyall's hand closed over hers again as they stepped towards the next panel.
The two twins stood facing each other, anger on their faces. Each one held the hand of a different man. Around them, a circle of people, dressed in their best, waved their fists.
"What's going to happen?" Brianna asked softly.
Lyall just moved towards the next panel, around the corner now. Brianna followed, just as eager to know. Had the villagers accepted the girl's choice of two separate husbands? Somehow, she doubted it.
And her doubts were confirmed. The next scene showed the villagers trying to pull apart the second twin and her man as they held each other's hands tightly. Brianna glanced at the first twin who was frowning.
Lyall hurried her on. There were only two scenes on the back of the crypt, but the next one was even more disturbing than the first. The second twin held up her hands and lightning flew from them towards the first twin and her husband. Brianna's hand flew to her mouth.
Their hands clasped around the gem, Brianna and Lyall hurried around the corner to the next panel.
In this one, all hell broke loose. Lightning flew in all directions from both sets of twins and some of the onlookers. The magic filled the entire panel right to the edges. How far had it gone? Could it possibly be the source of all the stories of people randomly killed by magic so many years ago? Was this Lyall's ‘Great War'? It took a minute to sort through the confusion, but Brianna's gaze was drawn to the first twin's husband who was encased by some sort of shield, that the lightning bounced off. The second twin shoved her partner behind her as they tried to escape into the trees.
They weren't going to make it. Brianna's eyes slid to the next panel, where the twins both hurled lightning directly at each other, anger in their eyes. Lyall's grip tightened on hers and both of them stepped towards the next panel, knowing what they would see.
Both twins lay on the grass, blood staining their white dresses. The two men stood behind them, and the villagers stared at all of them. The lightning was gone, though dark clouds rolled overhead.
There were two more panels, one on this side, and another at the front, and Brianna dreaded what they would find. The twins had killed each other over men, how much worse could it get?
A lot worse apparently. The next panel showed the two men, now facing each other, hands raised in anger. No magic was thrown here, but Brianna didn't think it was far below the surface. The villagers arrayed themselves evenly behind the men, choosing sides.
Brianna hardly dared look at the final panel but the need to know drove her steps. She and Lyall stared together.
Magic flew across the image, and beyond. Within the image, the two men faced each other. One of them, the first one, had claimed both twin bodies and the second tried to push past him. But the first held up his fist, and Brianna could see what the second man, focused on the body of his beloved, could not. Slowly, starting at the back of the villagers on that man's side, their colour and shape was changing. The actual outcome wasn't clear from the images, but it was enough for Brianna to be sure.
"He turned them into the trolls." Her voice was hushed by horror.
Lyall's lips were tight. "They are the mages then. And the war between them was started by...."
" … a stupid law that won't allow people to make their own choices," Brianna finished.
Lyall pulled his eyes from the picture to stare at her. "But why did they fall in love with different men, if the law clearly forbids it?"
Brianna raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, because they aren't the same person. Twins may look the same, but that doesn't mean they are the same underneath. Mianna and I are different people. She likes to stay home and sew and knit, while I'd rather be out riding or practicing sword-fighting. Why would we fall in love with the same man?"
Lyall stared at her for a few moments, then nodded. "Perhaps it is good that we haven't had any twins born on Isla de Magi in years. It seems that their confrontations can get a little … messy."
Brianna laughed. "They can. But Mianna and I usually don't throw lightning at each other!"
"I'm glad to hear it."
Lyall turned back to the panel and stared at it again. "This man is my many times great grandfather," he said softly. "The King's lineage started from the man who won the great war."
Brianna looked at the other, and frowned. "Well, I'm not a troll, so I don't think I'm descended from this man. Where did my people come from?"
Lyall frowned for a minute. "I don't think you're from either side. I wonder … " He walked around the panels again, checking each one. Then he stopped. "Where is the other panel that stood next to this one? That grey one isn't the original, is it?"
"No, of course not. The original was destroyed by the trolls, we couldn't repair it. But the pieces are at the stonesmiths, waiting to be recycled."
"Lead the way," Lyall said.
Brianna hurried to the stonesmith's store, and Lyall summarily told the man he was done for the day and to go home. He obeyed, though he did look suspiciously at Brianna and Lyall's still linked hands. At this point, Brianna didn't care.
"It's here." Brianna pointed.
Because they hadn't known there was anything special about the stone, or the pictures on it, the broken pieces had been stored in a jumble, and Lyall had to call several of his men to lift the three separate bits into place.
Then taking a deep breath, they both looked at the final piece of the puzzle.
Twelve villagers stood in a circle in front of the crypt, where the bodies of the twins, now alone, lay. There was no sign of either of the men, or the rest of the villagers, and around them, destruction had wreaked havoc. Their expressions serious, they wove gentle magic around the two stones held in the palm of the central woman's hand.
Underneath they could now read the inscription-
Magic brought them together, and magic tore them apart. May this shield protect us, and them, from the men who destroyed them.
"She must be my ancestor," Brianna said softly.
The door to the stonesmiths slammed open. "Just what is going on here?"
Brianna stared at her twin. What was she doing here? Then she remembered the stonesmith's expression as he slunk away. He must have told Mianna. Aware how compromising her position looked, she hurried to explain. "We've discovered that there's a story on the crypt, about twi-"