Twin Curse

by Rinelle Grey

  The other little girl, trapped by her high chair, held out her arms to Brianna. “Mama!” she said imperiously.

  Brianna shot a worried look at him and he nodded to her. She skirted around the table and picked up the toddler. “Shh, sweetheart.”

  “I weed more pantakes,” the tiny voice said. “And I toodn’t reach them.”

  She put her thumb in her mouth and sucked it, looking over at him curiously. Unlike her elders, she wasn’t afraid and he found the intense stare a little disconcerting.

  And she wasn’t the only one. Terion had noticed him now and was staring at him with a mixture of fear and disgust. Standing at the stove, Mianna’s glare wasn’t much different, reminding him that he wasn’t here to meet Brianna’s family, he was here to interrogate them.

  With that thought in mind, he ignored Brianna settling the child back into her chair and spreading her pancake with jam, and sat in the empty seat at the opposite end of the table, helping himself to several pancakes.

  To his surprise, after a moment’s hesitation, Mianna brought him a plate and knife. “Would you like some orange juice?” Her voice was quiet, uncertain, and her kindness threw him for a moment. “Yes, please,” he managed, knowing his voice was far too soft for the image he was presenting, but unable to help himself.

  Brianna threw him a warning glare, and he stared down at his pancakes, pretending he needed to concentrate to spread the thick butter and jam.

  It would be easy to be at home here. Easy to confess that he had no wish to conquer this village, or hurt its inhabitants, and that he just wanted to be a part of Brianna’s life.

  Except he had promised her he wouldn’t.

  He ate half a pancake, but it suddenly tasted like sawdust, clogging his throat. He stood up abruptly, the sound of the chair scraping on the floor causing everyone to stare at him. “I don’t have time for this,” he growled. “We have work to do. I assume you keep records of the village, Brianna? Show them to me.”

  Brianna glared at him, her expression so similar to the tiny girl she stood over that it softened his heart just a little. She pointedly ignored him and cut the pancake in front of the toddler carefully into quarters. “There you are. I need to help the nasty man for a minute. Terion will cut your next pancake for you.”

  “But Daddy gets it wong.”

  The disappointment in the tiny voice wrung an unwilling smile of sympathy from Lyall. “Your aunt will be back in a few moments to cut your pancake. I only need her to show me where the records are,” he offered.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mianna’s mouth open, as if she was about to say something, but Brianna’s glare stopped her.

  Lyall’s attention though, was caught by the little girl, who stared at him solemnly, slowly reaching for the first piece of pancake with her jammy fist. She nodded her head once. “Dat good,” she pronounced, then turned all her attention to the pancakes in front of her.

  Brianna hurried around the table and all but pushed him out of the room and into the hallway.

  “Maybe next time, you can give people a chance to finish breakfast before you show up and start making their lives miserable,” she said acidly.

  He reached out and cupped her cheek, feeling the inevitable spark that flared between them. “I’m not here to make your life miserable, Anna,” he said softly.

  He felt her tremble under his hand, and she swayed towards him just a little. Then she shook herself and stepped back. “Don’t,” she said roughly. “Don’t try to pretend this is anything other than what it is—you invading my village and frightening everyone.”

  Before he could say another word, she turned away and opened the door across the hall, leading into the study he had been in last night. He watched her cross to a shelf, where she pulled down the first book in a row of leather bound tomes. “These are the village records. You won’t find much in them, but they’re all here. Enjoy yourself.”

  Lyall opened his mouth. There was so much he wanted to say to her, so much he wanted to hear her say to him, but her glare stopped him. She thumped the book down on the desk, making it shake. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

  Lyall could only nod. What point was there in speaking? She obviously wasn’t ready to listen. So after she slammed the door behind her, he heaved a sigh, sat down at the desk and opened the first page of the book in front of him.

  It didn’t take him long to realise that the books contained little of note. Harvest records, building registers, orders from the city, relations with nearby villages, and the usual records of births and marriages. He flipped to the front of the book, suddenly curious. Mianna’s marriage was recorded as Brianna had said, two years ago, on the date that he and Brianna had first slept together. He was pleased to see that it was noted at five in the evening, at least an hour after his encounter with Brianna.

  He was not pleased to see Brianna’s name scrawled next to Mianna’s. Obviously it had been done after the fact, but it still irked him. If he’d had a knife, he would have scraped it off.

  Since he didn’t, he flicked to the next page, not wanting to look at any evidence that suggested Brianna was married to that man.

  And saw Brianna’s name, not an afterthought this time, listed above the name Lylis, right next to Mianna above Kylis. Terion’s name stood between them, linked to both on either side, leaving a sick feeling in the pit of Lyall’s stomach.

  His heart froze. Brianna had lied. She had slept with her sister’s husband. Her husband as well, in the eyes of the village.

  “Brianna!” he roared, standing up and thumping the desk with both fists. It didn’t help reduce the anger and jealousy surging through him one little bit. When the door didn’t immediately open, he roared again, “Brianna!”

  The door flew open, and she glared at him. “Stop it, you’re scaring the babies.”

  “Which one is yours?” he demanded. “How dare you lie to me and say you didn’t sleep with him?”

  Brianna gave one glance at the book open on the desk in front of him and stepped inside, closing the door behind her softly. “Keep your voice down,” she said, more quietly this time. “Do you want everyone to think you sound like a jealous husband?”

  He took two steps around the desk and gripped her shoulders, not even deterred by her wince. “Why did you tell me you didn’t sleep with him?” His voice was rough, but he did attempt to keep it to a level that wouldn’t leave the room.

  “Because I wasn’t sure what you would do if I didn’t,” Brianna said honestly.

  His heart constricted at her words, and for a moment he couldn’t see for the red haze in front of his eyes.

  “And because it was the truth, I didn’t.”

  It took a few more moments for her second quiet sentence to penetrate his consciousness. The constriction around his heart eased a little. Then the implication of her words hit him. “Then… Lylis,” the name was strange on his tongue, though it shouldn’t be, it was so close to his own name, “she’s…”

  “Yours,” Brianna said with a soft sigh. Her shoulders slumped under his hands. Tears started in her eyes. “I wanted to tell you, Lyall, but you were so far away, and I couldn’t leave Mianna. I thought you’d come, but you didn’t. And then when you did…”

  And when he did, he’d marched into her village as though he owned it. He released her shoulders and pulled her close. “I’m sorry,” he said into her hair. “I wanted to find you, searching every village for the mages has only been made bearable by the fact that I could search for you too. Syrid and Elsian wouldn’t tell me where you had gone, so I had no idea where to start. If I had known, I would have been here earlier, I promise.”

  A child. His child. He was a father.

  The thought was both terrifying and exhilarating. And yet, he had missed so much of his daughter’s childhood already. And if he didn’t convince Brianna otherwise, he might not get a chance to make it up to her.

  Brianna pulled back, wiping her eyes on her slee
ve. “It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “This doesn’t change anything. Everyone here thinks Lylis is Terion’s daughter, and it’s going to stay that way.” She threw the words at him, almost as a challenge.

  Lyall opened his mouth to deny them, to say that he intended to make sure everyone in the village knew the child was his. One look at her flashing eyes, and he closed it again. He couldn’t do that to her, not now. Not when the whole village thought he was a monster. They would start to look at Brianna the same way, and wonder if she had betrayed them. That would hurt her more than he could bear.

  So instead, he nodded. “If that’s what you want,” he said softly.

  His acceptance took the wind out of her sails. She stared at him for a moment, bewildered, and he hid a smile. Then she nodded once. “I’m going back to breakfast,” she added. “If you find anything that might help you find your mages then call me. More quietly this time,” she added.

  Lyall nodded and watched as she hesitated again, then when he said nothing, left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

  He stared at the closed door, the revelation swirling through him. One of those little curly haired toddlers in the other room was his daughter. An image of the one who had called Brianna mama flashed in front of his eyes. The way she’d looked at him, only confirmed it.

  A small smile settled on his lips even though the situation was far from ideal. The little girl had caught his heart already and held onto it tight with her jammy little hands.

  The book under his elbows reminded him of the job he had to do. The sooner he could get it done and out of the way, the sooner he could sort out this mess with Brianna. He was beginning to think the mages and the magic spike were a figment of his father’s imagination. He’d seen no sign of them and there was nowhere else on the mainland left to search. Once he had investigated this village thoroughly, he was done.

  That thought sent him back to the books. He worked his way through them, from most recent to oldest, finding nothing at all out of the ordinary, confirming his thoughts that this village was just a normal, ordinary farming village. Except, of course, for the mysterious magic shield.

  He closed the book and reached for the next, only to find there was none. He’d looked at them all. Lyall stared at the stack of books on the desk. Such complete records, every building and every transaction logged. Then they just stopped. He scanned the room, but there were no other volumes.

  He picked up the books and began to flip through them again, paying more attention to the entries now. There was no mention of the town hall’s construction or the twin’s house. In fact, there were only two village buildings and half a dozen houses mentioned. He read over the first entry again and noticed that it began without introduction, as though the reader would already know what it was about.

  And even more odd, they ended at almost the exact date that had been recorded for the end of the mage war.

  It was possible that the early founding of the village hadn’t been recorded, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence. Perhaps the earlier books were stored somewhere else?

  He needed to ask Brianna. But instead of calling her, he rose from the desk, and went quietly back into the kitchen.

  Since no one noticed his presence, he watched the happy scene from the doorway. Mianna stood behind Terion, her hand on his shoulder, both of them laughing at Brianna and the two little girls. One of them hung off each wrist, and she lifted them easily, their feet off the ground, as they looked up at her and giggled as only young children can.

  Brianna looked up and saw him, and her expression froze. Mianna and Terrion turned towards where he stood, their laughter cutting off abruptly. The moment was over—He was a monster in their eyes. Could he ever be anything else?

  He cleared his throat, and Brianna set both girls carefully on the floor. They seemed to notice the change of mood in the room because they didn’t beg for more as he had expected they would.

  He couldn’t bear the silence. “Are there any more books?” he asked, just to break it.

  Brianna’s nose wrinkled. “More books? About the village, you mean? No, they’re all there.”

  “No, they’re not. Are you certain you don’t know of any more?”

  Brianna shook her head. “No. We don’t have many books in the village. If there were others somewhere, I would know about them.”

  Instantly, he was reminded of one of their first conversations, at Petar’s bookstore, when she had seemed in awe of the books stacked to the ceiling. Brianna must have been thinking of it too, because her eyes met his and she smiled.

  Then remembering that they weren’t alone, her expression changed to a scowl. Lyall bit back a sigh. “Well, I suppose my men will have to search the village as soon as they get back from exploring the pass.”

  Brianna’s face paled. “The pass? They’re not going there, are they?”

  Lyall glanced at Mianna and Terion, only to find that their expression mirrored Brianna’s. So they did have something to hide.

  “What’s there?” he asked roughly. “Something you’ve been hiding from me? An army of mages, maybe?”

  “You have to stop them,” Brianna said urgently. “Or they’ll all die.”

  The fear and panic in her voice were real, not faked, and sparked a growing unease. “What could possibly be there that could harm them?”

  “Trolls!” Brianna spoke as if that should explain the situation, but it only confused him more.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You know, great big green monsters… that want to kill everything.” Brianna’s voice rose at the end. “You need to call them back right away. They’ve left us alone for the last few years, but if too many people go to the pass, it could spark another raid.”

  Lyall couldn’t believe it. “Stories told to frighten children,” he said scornfully. “Surely you don’t believe them?”

  Brianna stared at him, then started to laugh, the high pitched sound grating on his nerves. Then she stopped abruptly and stared at him. “For all your knowledge about the world and its history, you seem to have missed one important fact. Trolls are very real and very dangerous. I suggest you call your men back before you lose them.” She glanced over at her twin, then added, “Not that I care. In fact, why don’t you send them all over the ridge? Maybe you’ll find something exciting there.”

  Her words sounded genuine, and her fear was quite real. Lyall, though, couldn’t be convinced. Something was going on and until he found out what, caution might be best. “I’ll call them back,” he said roughly. “Show me the way.”

  Brianna looked at him a moment, then nodded and headed to the door. On the way through it, she reached for a sword, hanging in its scabbard near the door. So she took this seriously.

  Lyall hurried after her as she practically ran up the incline behind the village to another wall, this one even more fortified than the first. There they found his men, arguing with two villagers guarding the gate.

  “I don’t want to have to fight you,” Urster said, “but if you don’t stop talking nonsense and let me past, I’ll have no choice.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” the man, barely more than a boy, said stubbornly. “Brianna said no one was to go through the gates.”

  “Well Brianna isn’t in charge anymore,” Urster said flatly.

  Urster had his back to them, but the young man saw them. “Well, here she is, so why don’t you talk to her?”

  The words died on Urster’s lips as he turned around and saw Lyall and Brianna. His eyes went to Lyall, suspicion in them. “Surely you don’t believe them, sir, with their stories about trolls?”

  “I’m not sure what to believe,” Lyall said honestly, “but rushing into a potentially dangerous situation we know nothing about isn’t wise.”

  “They’re just trying to stop us going through the pass,” Urster insisted, “which means they must be hiding something over there. Probably their real city, where the rest of the mages
are.”

  Lyall looked around. The two men standing inside the gates were well armed with leather breastplates. On the towers on either side of the gates, men stood with bows and arrows on their backs. Whatever was going on, the villagers took it seriously. They were defending the village, not something outside. “I don’t think it’s that simple,” Lyall said slowly, something occurring to him.

  “You mean you’re willing to believe anything they said because you are so captivated by…” he broke off and stared at Brianna and the villagers.

  Lyall frowned at him. He’d already cautioned the man about mentioning his relationship with Brianna. It seemed he was so agitated he had forgotten.

  “By the idea of twins?” Brianna broke in. “Like any other man?” her voice was scornful, and if Lyall hadn’t known she was trying to cover up Urster’s slip, he would have objected.

  As it was, he interrupted with another thought, “No, actually, I think I saw something in the records this morning that might confirm her story. Or at least, confirm that something is happening.”

  Perhaps it was the mages who were hiding over the ridge, and they were using illusions of trolls to frighten the villagers?

  Urster still didn’t look convinced. “There is one way to find out,” he said flatly. “We go and see for ourselves.”

  “We will,” Lyall assured him. “But only after I’ve gathered a little more information. Without an idea of numbers and strength, we don’t know what we are going into.”

  Urster stared at him a few more moments, and Lyall met his gaze without backing down. The man understood that. After a brief staring contest, he backed down. “Whatever you say, sir.”

  Lyall nodded to Brianna. “Show us your defences.”

  Brianna frowned, but led them inside the left tower, up a ladder, to the platform at the top. Above his head, a brass bell hung with a rope to ring it.

  From here, they could see across the field to the dark menacing rocks. The path itself was worn bare by the passage of many feet. Why was that, if no one came here? He turned to Brianna. “Who goes up there?”