He frowned. "I don't know. But if this works, we're going to have a problem. The other trolls are going to want to be human as well, and we only have two gems. If we can't … purify … this one, then we can only heal two."
Brianna frowned. Maybe they had only delayed the battle, not prevented it. "But we don't necessarily need to use the gems, you said any magical item would do."
Lyall nodded. "Perhaps. But that still leaves us with the problem of what to do with it. I don't think this sort of thing should be left lying around. To any ordinary person, it would look like just an object, but if they picked it up … "
His voice trailed off, and Brianna suppressed a shiver. She glanced down at her fingers, relieved again to see that they were normal and human. This stuff was dangerous and needed to be destroyed. Somehow.
Suddenly, the troll mage was at Brianna's elbow, his huge bulk startling her. "My turn," he growled.
Brianna took a step backwards, then glanced towards the woman, lying on the mattress, not moving. "We need to wait and see if she is wakes up first," she protested. "This might not be safe, she still could die."
"My turn," the troll repeated. "If curse cannot be lifted, I no want to live. This no life for a man."
"There might be a better way," Brianna insisted. "You should wait."
The troll put his hands on Brianna's shoulders and shook her. He probably considered the shake gentle, but it rattled the teeth in Brianna's head. "My turn!" he roared.
"Here now, take your hands off her," Lyall demanded. "No one is going to help you if you threaten us."
Brianna looked up at the troll, her heart thumping in her chest. He was twice her size, and even without a weapon, he could break her in two easily. She saw the war playing out across his face-his cursed violent instincts battling with the man who was trapped inside.
He took a deep breath and released her shoulders. "Sorry. No mean to hurt. Please. My turn."
"We have a problem." The troll turned at Lyall's quiet words. "We used the gem to … store … the curse from your wife. But we only have two. We may not be able to cure any more than two trolls."
The troll shook his head. "What? No cure all of us? No. That not acceptable. You cure everyone."
"We'll certainly try," Lyall agreed. "But we can't guarantee it. Before Brianna tries to remove the curse from you, we had to tell you that."
The troll nodded slowly. "Me understand. We will find a way."
Brianna nodded and held out her hand for the gem. Lyall passed it to her, and she set to work, winding the dark tendrils from around the troll mage.
By the time she pulled away the last bit, she was swaying on her feet with exhaustion. Lyall caught her as the troll mage hit the ground, his whole body wracked with convulsions as he transformed.
Brianna couldn't tear her eyes away as his human form, with brown eyes and hair, emerged before her. Who would have guessed that a troll could actually be good looking under all that green skin?
A tingle slid across her skin and it took her a few moments to work out what it was.
"The magical barrier is dissolving," Lyall said in disbelief. He looked down at the two gems, sitting on the floor. "The curse is preventing the gems from creating whatever sort of field they used to shield the village."
Mianna paled. "We're not protected anymore."
"We don't need protecting now," Lyall reminded her.
Brianna glanced over at the two trolls. She needed to start thinking of them as human now, how weird. Both were pale and unmoving. "So long as they survive," she said grimly.
Screams echoed throughout the valley, many screams, curdling Brianna's blood. Were the trolls attacking already?
But when they raced out the door and stared across the field, there were no trolls, even though the screams still echoed through the pass.
Brianna and Lyall exchanged a glance, then without needing to speak, they both ran for the pass through the ridge, the need to know overriding caution.
When they arrived on the other side of the pass, a shocking sight met their eyes. All around them, humans writhed on the ground where trolls had once stood.
"The curse is lifted for everyone," Brianna whispered. "Why?"
"The gems," Lyall said. "They were the key. Once the curse had been lifted twice, using both of them, it broke the spell."
Brianna shook her head.
It was hard to believe it was over.
The sharp rapping at the door drew Lyall away from the gems where he'd been studying the black mist. He still had no idea what it was, or how he could destroy it. He stood and stretched, and sighed.
Mianna beat him to the door, even though she'd been on her feet for the last few hours, directing the guards and mages moving the trolls … no, they were humans now, into village houses, where they could be cared for until they regained consciousness.
If they regained consciousness.
"What happened? Is the battle over?" His father's strident voice caused Lyall to wince.
Mianna glanced backwards towards him, and Lyall stepped forwards. "After a fashion," he said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the king demanded.
"We removed the curse that turned the other mages into trolls. Now they're all unconscious."
His father stared at him. "Good, that makes it easy for us to remove the threat. Permanently."
Lyall wasn't surprised at his father's reaction, he'd heard stories of how evil the other mages had been since he was a child. Lyall hadn't even thought to question it himself until he had seen the murals on the crypt. Then seeing the troll pause in his magic when he could have killed them reinforced the idea. It was much harder to discount an enemy as simply evil when you realised that they were people with thoughts and feelings, just like you.
"How dare you walk into my home and threaten people who are unable to defend themselves!" Brianna stood next to Lyall, hands on her hips, glaring at his father. "Do you have no honour?"
To Lyall's surprise, his father paused. His voice was quieter when he said, "You, of all people, should know the damage these mages can cause. Haven't they killed enough of your own people that you want to remove the threat once and for all?"
"And we've killed enough of them. In fact, there's been more than enough killing on both sides. Now it's time we learn about each other and work out if that hatred is justified. I, for one, don't think it is."
"So what, you expect us to call a truce with these … " He looked around, staring at all the unconscious men and women that lined Brianna's living room, their too big clothes an obvious clue as to their heritage. " … these, people?"
"I don't care what you do," Lyall said quietly. "But I have already called a truce with them, and I intend to honour it. To the point of defending them if necessary."
His father visibly wilted at Lyall's words. He sat down in the nearest unoccupied chair with a sigh and waved his hand. "Do whatever you want then. It's not like you're going to listen to what I say. What do my years of experience count against youth and enthusiasm?"
For the first time since Lyall had known him, his father looked exhausted.
"Where are Lylis and Kylis?" he asked, suddenly realising that they weren't with his father.
"Urster is looking after them. I didn't know if it was safe to bring them back yet. Anyway, I'm no match for them. They ganged up on me, and one went left, the other right, and I didn't know which to chase. I'm too old for this."
Mianna gave a giggle, and the king glared at her.
Brianna gave an unwilling smile. "Mia, maybe you and Terion should go rescue Urster."
Mianna and Terion exchanged looks, then nodded in unison and left the room.
As soon as the door closed behind them, his father asked, "So have you made any progress on the twin marriage?"
"It won't be happening," Lyall said flatly. He took a step closer to Brianna, and took her hand. "I'm staying here with Brianna, but I have no wish to marry her sister, even if she would have me."
His father frowned. "It's against the law," he said, but his heart wasn't in it.
"Then change the law, and make it official," a young, surprisingly cultured voice said behind them.
Lyall turned, jaw dropping, to see the troll mage, the one who seemed to lead the others, sitting up and looking at his father.
"Why should I?" his father blustered. "That law has stood for centuries, why change it now?"
"Because you should be able to see that love is more important than power. And that's the only reason for the twin law, power. Are you going to let your need for power be greater than your love for your son, and his love for this woman?"