The Black Morass

by Gerald Lambert

  Will, I'm waiting! cried Lena's voice—her beautiful voice, which he hadn't heard in so many months! You came for me!

  "Ah," Will gasped, clutching the back of the chair as his knees buckled. His eyes filled with tears, and he continued in a whisper, "Lena. Of course I came, honey. I would do

  anything for you. Anything."

  He struggled for a few seconds to regain his composure. Then he looked up at Brom. "Thank you, Brom. I can't even describe what it meant for me to hear that."

  Brom nodded, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "Almost there, Will. She's still fine."

  "Yes, and I'll see her again in a couple days. Only two more days."

  That night, Brom tossed again in his hammock on the boys' end of the berth cabin. He had laid down to sleep two hours earlier, but sleep still hadn't found him. And was it really

  any surprise? That morning they had spotted Vroengard on the horizon. By dusk, they were closer still. They expected to reach the island within two days' time.

  Brom had extended his awareness to learn anything he could of what they might expect once they arrived, and just as he had once guessed, Lena and Tenga were not alone on the

  island. At least a hundred other people lived there.

  Brom had been using his mind to determine what to make of these others. As far as he could tell, they were all magicians. And they didn't seem to have many, if any, wards

  protecting them. Why that would be, Brom couldn't say. But something about them seemed wrong. Terribly wrong. How could they have lived any length of time on Vroengard

  without being affected by the poison in the air? Had Tenga somehow protected them?

  Brom's thoughts strayed back to what he had shared with Will earlier that afternoon. He squirmed slightly that he had omitted to share what happened to Lena right after she cried

  out, but he wouldn't do that to his friend.

  Though outwardly calm, Brom sensed how crazed Will had become. He barely slept at all, and Brom knew Will was out at the helm right then, madly making his way to the side of

  the girl he loved, desperate to reach her before there was a chance her life could end.

  And thinking about Will rescuing Lena took Brom's mind right back to the real reason sleep was eluding him. Brin.

  Brom knew she was ready—and had been for a couple of months now—to get married. But as irony would have it, Brom had ultimately been the one to insist they wait. After their

  confrontation with the Shade, Brom had felt that they must not allow themselves to get distracted by marriage. But now he worried they had waited too long. Granted, they were more prepared than before, but what if one of them died when they got to Vroengard? Brin had almost died, and Brom still shuddered to think of it.

  On top of that, Brin's unwavering focus on honing her fighting skills had only led to greater mastery during their duels. No matter how he tried, Brom had not yet managed to bring

  her into submission, and part of him still stubbornly insisted on proving his worthiness according to Urgralish custom.

  Brom somehow knew when the hour turned and a new day began at midnight.

  Happy birthday, he bitterly thought. He was twenty now. And might be dead by the end of the week. But no amount of birthday wishing had ever changed his circumstances with

  Brin, nor would wishing now help him defeat her.

  Even sweeter than that, he sarcastically continued, once we get to Vroengard, I'll likely face the hardest test of my life. And if I fail, all of my friends, including Brin, will die.

  Brom exhaled in hopeless frustration and abruptly rolled out of his hammock. He glanced toward the girls' side of the cabin, distinguishing Brin's breathing from the others. She

  wasn't asleep. How he wanted to go to her! But he silently left the cabin and climbed to the main deck, wearing nothing but his pants. Though it was still early spring, the air was

  warm and muggy.

  As expected, Will was captaining the ship and staring off into the distance. But was he? No, his eyes were closed. Brom went to the quarter deck and realized Will had fallen asleep

  standing up.

  "Will," he said in a low voice when he reached his friend.

  Will startled awake.

  "Go down and get some sleep," Brom firmly insisted. "It's my turn soon, but I couldn't sleep anyway. You'll be useless if you're dead on your feet."

  Brom was slightly surprised but mostly grateful that Will didn't object. He dragged himself down the stairs to the main deck and through the hatch.

  As he took over at the wheel, Brom gazed straight up toward the heavens. The sky directly above was clear and twinkled with a million million stars. But farther ahead a storm

  threatened, and ominous thunder rumbled into the night.

  Though she couldn't hear him, Brin sensed when Brom left, for she too was awake. Moments later, she heard Will's obvious arrival. He must have collapsed into his hammock

  already asleep.

  Brin turned onto her side and curled her arm under her head. She knew why Brom hadn't been able to sleep. Anxiety was eating at him. More even than that, however, was his

  desire for her. And her longing was now just as strong.

  But he still hadn't defeated her in a fight, and Brin knew he would never consider himself worthy of her unless he could. As a peal of thunder rolled through the darkness, Brin felt a

  sharp pain in the right side of her lower abdomen. It faded into a dull ache. She knew what had just happened and that she needed to act now, so she noiselessly left her hammock,

  wearing only her supportive undershirt and sleeping pants, which ended just below her knees. She grabbed her sword—and Brom's, as she passed his hammock—and went up to the

  deck.

  Brin closed the hatch behind her, already feeling the weight of Brom's stare upon her. She quickly climbed the stairs to the quarter deck and stopped beside him.

  "Happy birthday, Brom."

  "You remembered?" Brom asked in a strained voice.

  "Yep," Brin lightly replied, though the lightness was forced. "Nice night," she added in a conversational tone. "Pretty stars."

  "I noticed. But there's a storm ahead."

  "I think I know why," Brin muttered.

  Just then a shooting star streaked across the sky. Brom's eyes also followed it.

  "Make a wish, Brom."

  "You know my wish."

  "Is it your birthday wish too?"

  "Always," Brom answered. Then in a bitter voice he added, "But wishing on stars has never made it come true. What's your wish?"

  "I'll tell you if you can defeat me," Brin tempted, holding out his sword. "Fight me, Brom."

  "I don't want to fight you," Brom angrily retorted.

  "I know what you want, Brom!" Brin cried, just as heatedly. "And you know I want it too. Stop wishing for it and earn it! Fight for me! And win your prize! I know you'll never feel

  worthy before then. If you can defeat me, I'll make all of your wishes come true."

  Brom steadily stared at her. The stars provided enough light for them to see by. He looped a length of rope around the wheel to hold it in place and stepped away from it to face

  her.

  He accepted his sword and drew it. "Don't go easy on me."

  "Never," Brin vowed, drawing her own sword and casting the sheath aside.

  And they began to fight. More determinedly than ever before. They first ranged back and forth across the quarter deck, but Brom soon drove her down the stairs. Brin quickly

  retreated, and he flipped over her head to the main deck behind her.

  Brin pivoted on her heel to face him and blocked his slash. "Show off," she accused with a tight grin.

  Brom returned her smile while jabbing at her belly. Brin swayed to dodge the blade, and their dance continued on. Over ropes, under sails, around the long boat stored on the main

  deck.

  Brin could see Brom's resolve. He would conquer tonig
ht. And she was glad. But she wasn't going to make it easy for him. He would earn his prize, just as she had suggested. So

  she continued to evade him, aggressively retaliating until they were both sporting many bruises and aches.

  For over an hour they fought, and the ship continued its course toward the storm. A flash of lightning stabbed through the darkness, closely followed by a deep crash of thunder.

  Brin jumped in surprise, and Brom disarmed her without hesitation, fully utilizing the advantage her brief startle gave him.

  His sword clattered to the deck on top of hers, and Brin fell to her knees before she registered that Brom had swept her feet out from under her. But by then he was behind her. He

  had grabbed one of her hands on his way back and snatched the other as he surrounded her, folding her arms tightly across her chest and pinning them to her torso with one arm.

  One of his legs clamped over the top of her lap in the same instant, and he leaned his chest against her back to keep her from rearing backward. He slid his free arm under one of

  her horns and grabbed the other with that hand. Using his forearm to apply firm pressure, he forced her chin all the way down to her chest.

  He rested his forehead against the middle of her upper back, gasping furiously to regain his breath before speaking. Brin struggled futilely against his powerful body, but she was

  completely trapped and unable to move a muscle. Brom was using all of his strength, something she guessed he had never before done, judging by how it felt. He was holding her

  so tightly that she couldn't fully fill her lungs.

  "I can't breathe!" Brin urgently panted, her heart still racing from their long duel.

  "Can you escape?" Brom demanded.

  "No! I submit! You've defeated me. Now let me breathe! It hurts!"

  Brom immediately loosened his hold, and Brin gasped in a greedy breath.

  "Tell me your wish," Brom whispered against her neck. He had only loosened his hold, but his arms and one leg were still around her.

  "I wished . . ." Brin breathlessly began, ". . . that I would fall asleep in your arms with your kiss on my lips. As your wife. And that I'd wake up in the morning with your arms still

  around me and your child growing inside of me. I just ovulated, Brom. I can feel it happen every cycle—some girls can—and I'm as fertile as I possibly can be. We need to do this

  now. We need a reason—bigger than ourselves—not to give up when we're facing what's ahead. I think the hardest battle will fall to you, and protecting you will fall to me. I want

  you, Brom. Ask me."

  Brom slid his leg off and knelt back over his ankles. Brin turned, and he pulled her onto his lap.

  "It is my job to ask, isn't it?" he softly asked, stroking her face.

  Brin nodded. The first drops of warm rain streaked down her face as they fell, some splattering her arms and his shoulders, which were already glistening with sweat.

  "But you didn't seem to be in any hurry," Brom continued, his hands now moving along her back and through her hair.

  Brin smiled. "I can't believe you remember that. You stole my line. But I've been waiting for you more recently. Again."

  Brom also smiled with his face dangerously close to hers. "I remember everything, Brin. But especially anything to do with you. At least in this case there aren't just so

  lined up to ask you."

  Still smiling, Brin shook her head. "There weren't then either, if you remember. But I'm in a hurry now. And this is your last chance."

  "Really?" Brom wondered with mock anxiety. "Better not miss it. Brin, will you marry me?"

  "Yes!" she exclaimed with a joyous laugh. "With all my heart. I love you, Brom."

  "And I love you, beautiful Brin. Even though I've been married to you in my mind ever since you confessed that part of you liked me, we'll try to do this the right way."

  "Not much by way of a fulfilling marriage, then."

  Brom shook his head. "But I think it's about to get a whole lot better." He teasingly cleared his throat, speaking in a voice artificially deeper than his own. "Brom son of Eragon and

  Brin daughter of Breetuk, we—the moon, stars, and waves of the ocean—gather together to witness your union as man and wife. Do you have anything to say to one another?"

  He paused before speaking again in his normal voice. "I do," he volunteered.

  Brin giggled, and he kissed her cheek before continuing, "I've loved you for as long as I can remember, Brin. First as a friend, now as a lover. I may not be an Urgal ram, but I'm

  strong enough to subdue you and I'll do everything in my power to protect and love you for as long as we both shall live. I'll always fight for you, Brin." He next kissed her

  forehead. "You're worth it."

  The rain fell more swiftly, and Brin's tears mingled with the drops on her face. "Thank you, Brom," she whispered. "For so long I've felt unworthy of you, which was my biggest

  hesitation. Then, strangely enough, we reversed roles. You're amazing in every way. I'm so honored you love me. I'm so grateful you waited for me. I'm so excited to be your wife.

  You've always made me feel special. I'll fight for you too, Brom. There's no one else I'd rather defend, no one else I'd rather die for, if that's what it comes to." She kissed his nose.

  "It won't," Brom promised in a rough voice on the verge of breaking with emotion. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a steadying breath. When he reopened them, he once again

  spoke in his tone of pretended authority. "By the power vested in me as a retired Dragon Rider—" Brin laughed again, "—I now pronounce you, Brom son of Eragon and Brin

  daughter of Breetuk, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

  Brom changed his voice to his own and finished, "Thank you. Don't mind if I do."

  Brin smiled radiantly and leaned forward at the same time as Brom, closing the gap between their lips. A bolt of lightning once again lit up the darkness, simultaneously illuminating

  their faces and rending the sky open in front of a torrent of rain as they kissed for the first time. And the electricity sizzling through the air seized them at the same moment.

  Brin gasped into his mouth as Brom growled in desperation. Before the thunder even began, Brin's shirt was two torn pieces on the deck behind her. As the loud rumble filled the

  stormy night, their pants joined her shirt in short order. And when the last of the boom faded away, they were joined together as husband and wife.

  Brom wasn't an Urgal ram, but that night he might as well have been. For hours they blissfully continued, never tiring of one another. The storm raged around them—not windy, but

  wild just the same—as wild and fierce as the love of the two on the ship. But the charge in the air never rivaled the one they shared as they satisfied their pentup longing.

  When they finally lay still, Brom opened his mouth with his face toward the sky so the rain would fill it. "So thirsty," he croaked after he swallowed. He cleared his throat and

  added, "But so worth it," then opened his mouth for a refill.

  Brin murmured her agreement from on top of him, gathering her sodden hair in one hand and pulling it aside. "I'm glad it rinsed me off after all that sweating."

  "It's slowing down," Brom observed. "You'd better get some if you want it."

  "I'll just lick it off your skin," Brin teased in a naughty tone as she followed her own suggestion. "Or suck it out of your hair." She ran her fingers through his glistening wet curls.

  "Besides, I'm not thirsty. I got plenty of water while your mouth was . . . otherwise occupied. It seemed much busier than mine."

  His lips turned up against her neck, but he paused his current efforts with his mouth long enough to say, "You made me so hungry for you, Brin. I think I might only be on my fourth

  course. But this kind of feasting is far more exhausting than the other. Especially with your fantastic starter."

  "Fighting isn't your idea of a
good appetizer?" Brin innocently wondered. She laughed before adding, "I knew that's what the storm meant. That was an explosion of passion."

  "Exactly."

  "Who needs an Urgal ram as a mate when there are humanelf half breeds on the loose?" Brin mischievously joked. "I'd ask if I granted all of your wishes, Brom, but I'm now

  feeling a little concerned I might not have even come close. At least you can rest easy knowing you made all of my dreams come true, including the ones I didn't even know I had.

  You seemed quite the expert at pleasuring me."

  Brom laughed softly, sliding his hands down her wet skin, all the way down as far as he could reach. "You could say I practiced a lot in my dreams, which most definitely came true

  tonight. I'll put more stock in wishing on shooting stars next time. And I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it as much as I did."

  He moved his mouth to her ear, "You might also like to know that your wishes came true, specifically your second. And I'll make sure your first does too. But our child is already

  conceived in your body. I can feel it with my mind." He kissed the side of her mouth. They had already learned that they could never resist the demands following a kiss on the lips.

  Not that they had tried.

  Brin smiled joyfully and kissed him in the same place, experiencing a shiver of longing at how close their lips were. "I'm so thrilled, Brom. It will be a son, I'm sure of it."

  "Most likely. A cousin for Zadí's baby. That will be fun." Brin nodded.

  Brom moved his hands up her back, drifting down along her sides as he went. "You're so beautiful, Brin. Your body is perfect. So strong, so lithe, so feminine. Just perfect. It feels

  like I'll never get enough of you."

  "That's what I get for making you wait so long," Brin murmured with mock regret. "A just punishment."

  She squirmed as he tickled her and shifted slightly to one side, though not all the way off, so she could run her fingers over his chest. "Nice chest hair."

  Brom sniffed as if affronted and replied, "I'm only now twenty. A lot of men don't get thicker chest hair until they're older."

  "Is that what it is?" Brin questioned with mock naiveté. "A measure of manliness? Poor Nefin."