Twin Curse(39)

Mianna interrupted her. "I don't care what you've discovered! What are  you doing holding hands with that man? Have you forgotten that you're a  married woman?"

Looking down at her hands, Brianna felt a stab of guilt.

When she'd finally admitted her pregnancy, and thus the fact that she  had slept with someone, Mianna had taken it calmly. She'd known that  Brianna didn't love Terion the way she did, and she hadn't ever tried to  make her. But the truth was, no matter how much the twins were  different, people saw them as the same. If news got around the village  that Brianna was fawning over the conquering stranger, it would reflect  badly on Mianna.

And look at what had happened last time twins had tried to love  different men-it had caused a war so huge it almost destroyed their  village.

This though, wasn't about her and Lyall, it was about the magic in the stones. But would that be any easier to explain?

She had to try. "It's not what it looks like," she said quickly. "This  stone," she pulled her hand back from Lyall's to hold it out to show  Mianna, "is magic and it allows us to see the paintings that used to be  on the outside of the big crypt."

Mianna looked at her suspiciously.

"Come and try," Brianna urged. Then she thought of something. "Will she be able to see?" she asked Lyall.

He shrugged. "Maybe."

Mianna looked at her with horror. "I don't do magic," she said flatly.

"It's not doing magic, Mia. It's using a stone to see a picture. It won't hurt you."

It was hard for Brianna to remember a time when she had been afraid of  magic. It seemed so long ago. She wondered what Mianna would say if she  found out that both of them, and Terion too, were mages. What about the  whole village?

According to the images on the crypt, those twelve villagers had been  all that had remained behind. Chances were, most of the village could  claim one or more of them as an ancestor, meaning most of the village  were probably mages. "This is our history, you should see it."

Her twin hesitated, then took one step forwards. Brianna held out the  stone encouragingly. Mianna touched it with one finger, then jerked back  as if burned. "It feels, weird … "         

     



 

Brianna nodded. "I had colours swirling everywhere. But it goes away, I promise."

Lyall watched them, his eyes narrowed, but to Brianna's relief, he said nothing.

Mianna reached out to the stone again, this time leaving her finger  there for a bit longer. She closed her eyes for a minute, then when she  opened them again, she stared at Brianna, wonder and disbelief in her  eyes. "This is amazing."

Brianna smiled. "Look at the panel," she urged.

Mianna turned her face towards the broken panel lying on the ground, and  frowned. "There's a picture, some people standing around the crypt. But  what does it mean?"

"It's the last one in the series," Brianna said. "I guess you have to see the first ones to understand it."

Mianna followed them eagerly back to the graveyard and looked at each  picture, her face slowly moving from serious to horrified. She refused  to look inside the crypt, instead saying, "Seal it back up, no one  should be inside there." She looked around at all the men standing  watching and shook her head. "And no one who isn't from our village  should be here in the graveyard. Everyone out."

The men ignored her and looked to Lyall who nodded his head. "You heard the lady, everyone out."

There were some quiet mutters, but in a matter of moments, the graveyard was quiet and peaceful again.

It didn't make Brianna feel any better.

"You too," Mianna glared at Lyall.

He stared back at her, refusing to budge. "I need that stone," he said quietly.

So that was what he wanted. Brianna swallowed her disappointment. She  needed to get over these feelings she had for Lyall, it would only end  in heartache, or worse. The images from the panels flashed in front of  her eyes. Magic flying everywhere, people cursed or dead. And twins  killing each other over a man. She suppressed a shudder.

"No," Mianna said flatly. "That stone is part of our heritage and the history of our village. You can't have it."

"You're being foolish," Lyall said through gritted teeth. "Brianna said  the trolls have also taken a stone from this crypt, last time they  attacked. You've seen the panels, you know that those trolls are  powerful mages as well. It's amazing they haven't attacked again before  now. If they attack again, the only hope of stopping them is going to be  an equally powerful force. One I have."

Her twin turned to her. "What do you mean, the trolls took a stone? How would you know that?"

"Well … " Brianna fumbled. She didn't think now was the time to explain  how she had known something was wrong, that she had seen the entire  fight, including scenes Mianna knew nothing about. "They broke into the  crypt didn't they? You saw the pictures, there should have been two  stones, but we only found one. They had to have taken the other."

"Why would they want a gemstone that allows them to see the panels?" Mianna asked. "And why does it matter if they have it?"

Brianna looked to Lyall. He was the one who wanted to keep the magic  shield around the village a secret so he would have to find a way to  answer that one to Mianna's satisfaction.

He stared back at her, then said smoothly, "We don't know how much the  stones can do yet. Perhaps there is more to them. They've had a couple  of years to study them, so they could very well do more than we are  aware of."

Mianna scowled at him. "And you think that means we're going to give one  to you? You're already too powerful for my liking. I don't think you  need any more power."

"And what if the trolls come back tomorrow?" Lyall countered. "With magical skills you know nothing about?"

"Our people have defended this village from the trolls for centuries,"  Mianna said flatly. "And we will continue to do so. Without your help."  She gave Lyall one more glare for good measure, and turned on her heel  and stalked back towards the village, pulling Brianna with her.

Leaving Lyall standing in the middle of the graveyard looking shocked.

Brianna was proud of her twin. Mianna had always been the meek one, the  one who hid behind her when a wild boar crashed through the forest  towards them, the one who crawled into her bed in the middle of the  night because she'd had a bad dream. This was a different side to her  twin, and she liked it.

But Mianna didn't know the whole truth about the stones or the barrier  around the village. What if the trolls did come back? The tiny bit of  magic Brianna had done had been through desperation and fear-she didn't  want to be relying on that if the trolls arrived again.         

     



 

But they'd been absent for two years, what were the chances they'd come back right now?

Still, she felt uneasy. While she admired her twin's determination, a  determination that had shocked Lyall so much he didn't have time to  object, she could also see the wisdom of his words. If the trolls did  come back, Lyall was the one who should be using the stone, not her.

And the feeling didn't improve when Mianna slammed the door to their  house behind them, and turned to face her, hands on her hips. "You need  to stay away from that man, Brianna."

"What do you mean? You're talking like I've been cosying up to him in  his tent! He's invaded our village, Mia. Saying, ‘I'm sorry, I don't  feel like seeing you, isn't really an option."

"It's more than that though, isn't it?" Mianna's voice was soft now. "I  know it's been a long time for you, Bri, since you left Lylis's father.  Being alone isn't easy. But you don't have to do it on your own. Terion  and I are here for you."

"What do you mean, more than that? What else could there be?" Brianna stammered. Had her sister guessed her secret?

"He's handsome, I'll give you that, and exciting too, I guess. But he's a  mage, and not a nice one at that. You don't need someone like him. You  need someone who's going to care about you in return."

Brianna's heart beat a little too fast. "You think I'm falling for the  mage who invaded our village? Because he's handsome and exciting? Why  would you think something like that?" She hoped that was what Mianna  thought. Surely the idea that Brianna had met him before, had travelled  to Isla de Magi with him, would be too fantastical to even occur to her  twin?

"You're acting strangely," Mianna said flatly. "Yes, he invaded our  village, and yes, he seems to be more than happy to bully people into  doing what he wants." She paused and considered, then gave a small  laugh. "I guess most people who invade villages are." Then she looked at  Brianna more seriously. "But I don't see you objecting much. You just  jump when he says jump, and that's not like you, Brianna."