Twin Curse(47)

"Relax, Brianna. Let me help you." Lyall's voice seemed to echo in her  brain rather than her ears. She took a deep breath and stopped resisting  the pulling. This time, she felt it as Lyall drew her up. She felt the  tug of her body as her consciousness slid away from it with a wriggle,  almost like the night Lylis had slipped from her body.

Then she was floating near the ceiling in the kitchen, staring down at  their slumped bodies. It was the strangest thing she'd ever done, even  stranger than seeing Mianna on her wedding night or jumping from place  to place when she returned here.

Their bodies were so defenceless, so alone. If someone came while they were gone …

"Have they left?" Mianna's voice was faint and she looked at Terion in concern.

Her husband shrugged. "Don't ask me, I don't know anything about this  magic stuff." He stayed on the other side of the table, away from Lyall  and Brianna's slumped bodies.

Her twin crossed around to stand behind them, staring at their clasped  hands fiercely. Then she looked up, almost directly at Brianna. "Take  care," she said into the air.

Feeling reassured, Brianna turned to Lyall. "What next?"

"We head for the ridge. Are you ready?"

There was really nothing else to do but nod. Brianna winced as Lyall  pulled her right through the wall as though it wasn't there. The ground  flew by below them, and moments later, she found herself hovering above  the menacing black rocks.

It was a strange perspective. Brianna had only ever seen the ridge from  the ground before, and though she knew it stretched from sea to sea in  both directions, seeing it streaking through the countryside like a  black ribbon was something else.

Lyall's hand pulled her up and over. She had the feeling of being  somewhere forbidden, of sneaking out past bedtime, which the darkness  only accentuated. They edged down the other side of the ridge, near the  pass, and slowly, pinpricks of light appeared out of the darkness.

First, just a couple, then more and more. Brianna drew in a breath.  There must be a hundred fires. Just how many trolls were there?

Just as she was about to panic and flee back to the village, Lyall's  voice whispered into her mind. "Remember, they won't all have magic.  Only one will. They'll pick their most powerful mage of course, but he  still won't be a match for us."

She took a deep breath and nodded. They threaded their way through the  camps littering the ground on this side, and Brianna found her  reassurance slipping. So many ugly green faces, sharpening their swords,  grunting to each other. How could they ever fight this many, even with  magic? She should mention her earlier thought of sealing the pass to  Lyall. It would be far better if they never reached the village.

"There," Lyall said and pointed with his other hand.

In the middle of the camp stood one tent, larger than the others and  pure white. A troll sat outside it on a chair built of sticks and animal  furs, and in his hand, he twirled the pair to Brianna's gem.

Lyall inched closer, but Brianna held back. This troll was the one they  needed to worry about, the one with magic, the only one who could sense  them. There was …  something familiar about him. Then she saw it. Ethean's  book, sitting in his lap, open.

Anger flared. "We could take him out now before he even realised we were here," she whispered.

"Maybe, but I need to see how powerful he is," Lyall said back in a normal voice. "We need to get just a little closer … "

The troll's head jerked up, and he stared straight at the air where they hovered. Then he gave a guttural yell.

Brianna's heart thudded as another troll emerged from the hut behind  him, and put her hand on his shoulder. Vibrant colours swirled around  both of them.

"Get out of here," Lyall hissed, pushing her in front of him.

Panic flooded her. She had no idea how to even move. Lyall had  controlled their journey here, she'd just been along for the ride. Lyall  pushed her firmly, and that unlocked something, sending her whizzing  forwards.

Lyall lurched behind her. Once, then again. His hand jerked out of hers,  the connection lost. It took her a few moments to manage to slow her  movement without the friction of the ground, and she turned around  slowly, afraid of what she might see. Did losing the connection here  mean they had lost it at home? Was Lyall still connected to the gem?         

     



 

The troll reached out, his magic extending far past the reach of his  physical arm, and raked his claws across Lyall's stomach, leaving raw  red marks. Brianna sucked in a breath. He was still alive but not for  long.

"Go, Brianna," Lyall screamed.

But she couldn't leave him. She searched deep down inside for every bit  of anger she'd ever felt against the trolls. For claiming the life of  the father she'd never known, her mother, Kylis, Ethean, and all her  friends and family. It swelled through her then blasted out as white hot  light.

The troll stumbled back. Extra power surged through her from somewhere, and she blasted all of them.

And suddenly, Lyall's hand was in hers.

"Go!" he shouted.

Not stopping to look back, Brianna fled towards the ridge.





"I can't believe you trust him." Terion stood staring at Lyall, his arms crossed.

"Brianna knows him and trusts him, that's good enough for me." Mianna  took one more look at their hands, but they were still firmly clasped.  So she took a step around the table and wrapped her arms around her  husband. "But you're still the only one I want."

"He's more powerful than I am, and a prince as well. He'd do a much  better job of protecting both of you." Terion's voice was quiet.

"I don't need protecting," Mianna said. She sounded like Brianna, and  suddenly she understood why her twin had always objected to Terion.  Brianna had never wanted to be protected, but Mianna had always loved  the way Terion wanted to look after her.

Except when he thought looking after her meant stepping back.

He stayed stiff, not leaning into her hug. "Yes, you do. The whole village does. And I can't do anything to help."

"We're helping now, by watching over them," Mianna said softly.

"That's not really helping," Terion scoffed. "It's staying out of the way and letting someone else do the work."

Mianna looked up at him, searching his face. Terion had always been  happy to stay in the background, like she had, and help from there. What  had changed?

He stared at Brianna and Lyall, his face twisted, and she realised what  it was. "We don't have to be apart for them to be together," she said  softly.

"Don't we? How do you figure it's going to happen then? The rest of the  village will never accept dissolution of the twin law, you know they  won't. And even if they did, that king isn't going to let the extra  power you can bring his son slip through his hands. So both of you are  going to have to choose, him or me-and he's the better choice. He can  protect you and the village in ways I'll never be able to."

Mianna opened her mouth to deny his words when the prince gave a  gurgling sound. She turned her head swiftly to see him slump out of the  chair, his hand breaking contact with Brianna's. She pulled out of  Terion's arms and fumbled around the table. Which hand held the gem, his  or Brianna's?

Lyall's hand was empty and slack, and a red stain blossomed across his  chest, spreading rapidly from three ragged tears. A troll claw. His face  was ashen, and his body didn't so much as twitch. His shallow breathing  was ragged and intermittent. Mianna stared in horror, then her gaze  raced to her sister who still sat upright, her eyes closed.

The sight was only partially reassuring. Her sister was out there,  alone, with the same troll who had done this to Lyall. And Mianna could  do nothing to protect her. The trolls weren't even here for her to  fight, yet apparently they could still wound her sister's body.

"Help me get him up! We need to connect him to the gem again." She  pulled at Lyall's shirt, panic lending her strength, but still not  enough to wrestle his unconscious weight back into the chair.

After a moment of wrestling by herself, she looked up at Terion. Was he  going to help her, or leave a man to die? Surely, he wasn't that  jealous.

Her husband's hand was at his mouth, staring at the red stain. "Is there any point? Surely, he's dead."

"His heart's still beating. And Brianna needs him. She's out there by herself with those trolls!"

Her words spurred her husband to action and he tugged and pulled with  her, until Lyall sat in the chair, his face slumped on the table. Mianna  took his hand, and wound it around Brianna's. His fingers remained  slack, and wouldn't stay where she had wound them, so she knelt between  them, holding their hands together. They had to survive. They had to.

Terion stared at her, his face white. "I didn't mean … " he broke off.  Then tried again. "I would never want him to die, I just …  I froze … "