The_Legacy_by_Mychael_Black

Chapter 1 1564 Cymru (Wales) William Reynallt watched the night sky. Lightning tore the heavens apart, setting the horizon ablaze with blue-white flashes. Thunder crashed all around the countryside, and he knew, in the village down below, the peasants were terrified. This was no ordinary storm. He looked back up as another bolt of lightning shot through the clouds above the tower. In the distance, another man stood on a hill, arms raised toward the turbulent skies. He held a staff of white oak in one hand. His white robe fluttered behind him, stirred by the wind. Stark white hair, streaked with silver, whipped wildly around his head. The man resembled a celestial being of light, but William knew better. The man on the cliff’s edge was his own brother. Evan was simply a sorcerer. Everyone knew his nature, and many avoided him. Yet for all the fear he stirred up, he roused an equal amount of passion. No woman could breathe his name without swooning; many men did the same, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Despite the magic that flowed through his veins, however, Evan loved trickery—to tease the senses, the mind, the body with whatever he had at his disposal, all the while slipping a coinpurse into his pocket with naught but a sweet kiss to replace the memory of it. Just as quickly as the storm had begun, it stopped. William watched Evan walk slowly back to the tower. A wry grin creased the sorcerer’s lips. William knew that expression well. His brother was ready to get out of the tower and inevitably into trouble. When Evan reached the tower door, his grin widened. “You look like a cat that has swallowed the lord’s prized bird,” William remarked. “I’ve swallowed many wondrous things belonging to lords and their sons, but never a bird.” William clapped his hands over his ears and shook his head. “I did not want to know that.” “But I do have a need to go out tonight.” Evan pulled one of William’s hands down. “I’m in the mood for some sport.” “Evan,” William sighed. “Is it not enough to scare the life out of the peasants in the village by tampering with the weather?” Evan c****d his head slightly to one side as if he were actually contemplating the question. “No.” The clouds above parted, and the light from the moon filtered down onto them, setting the silver in Evan’s hair ablaze. “The weather is such fun, but I seek tamer game tonight.” William knew his twin well enough to know ‘tamer’ never meant the fairer s*x. Evan had an unholy penchant for men. The mere fact had been enough to send William to his knees to pray for his brother’s soul many times, but no amount of begging deterred Evan from the sinful pleasures he loved. William groaned and sank down to the ground outside the door. “Dear brother,” Evan teased. “You keep yourself cloistered in this tower for so long, I fear you will become part of the structure itself.” William glanced up at Evan. No wonder Evan had taken up life as a rogue. The man could talk the sun into leaving the heavens. William sighed and extended his hand for his brother to help him up. Evan’s grin was nothing short of blatantly triumphant. He patted William on the back as they went into the tower. They entered the ground-floor room where Evan slept, and William wondered if they would need money. He then felt utterly foolish for thinking such a thing. As the sorcerer’s robe slipped to the floor, leaving Evan bare as a newborn babe, the man’s unnatural allure made it clear they needed no money. Evan had a way of getting whatever he damn well pleased, whether it was by seduction or thievery. Evan knelt down to put out the fire in the hearth. The sorcerer moved his hand over it, and the flames licked his fingers without leaving so much as a single mark upon them. When Evan drew his hand back, a small flame lingered in his palm. He rolled his hand in the air, twisting his wrist this way and that, playing with the flame as it slid over his hand and between his slender fingers. A few seconds later, the flame snuffed itself out. Then he went to the chest at the foot of his bed and opened the heavy lid with a gentleness that belied his true strength. With a simple change of clothes, the sorcerer gave way to the thief. He stepped into a pair of black breeches and laced them tightly around his middle. Over his head, he slipped on a black tunic. For a brief moment, he looked as if he were something more than a mere human. Stark white hair brushed along his waist, contrasting sharply with the darkness of his clothes. Due to his ethereal, angelic appearance, Evan needed only to step out their door for trouble to find him. “Has it ever occurred to you that you’re digging a deeper grave with the things you do?” Evan turned and lifted a pale eyebrow. “I might as well enjoy myself while I’m alive.” William laughed to hide a touch of nervousness. Evan’s nonchalant regard for his own soul baffled William to no end. “Have you found anything more on your book?” Evan buckled a black leather belt around his waist. A small dagger hung on his right and a short sword on his left. “No,” he muttered. “It seems I am on my own.” “You have me.” Evan looked up and met William’s gaze. “Aye,” he said with a soft smile, “and I thank you for it with every breath I take.” William grasped Evan’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t leave your side if my life depended on it.” He grinned. “Although with you, sometimes common sense demands otherwise. Now let’s get out of here, and please try not to get into too much trouble.” Evan nodded, but William knew damn well it was too much to ask of his twin. At the north side of the tower, a path wound through the forest surrounding the tower’s hill. The perfect defense, Evan had always said, and William didn’t disagree. A host of wild animals roamed the forest, keeping intruders away from the tower. The denizens of the forest, strangely enough, paid no attention to either of them. William often wondered if perhaps Evan’s magic had something to do with it. There had been many times in which they had met a lone wolf or a bear, but a wave of Evan’s hand would send the animal off, giving them leave to pass untouched. Evan had confided in William, after their parents had passed on, that he searched for a book. Written long ago, it spoke of a prophecy, one in which Evan played a major part. William had thought his brother crazy at first, but then Evan had found mention of the manuscript in an abbey outside Cardiff. The prophecy did indeed exist and, frighteningly enough, made mention of a ‘twin-born sorcerer’ as one of its catalysts. William hadn’t wanted to believe the reference meant his brother until Evan showed him an inscription that matched a mark Evan bore on his inner right wrist. Seeing the strange sigil had been enough to convince William of the truth of it. He swore then to help Evan find anything they could on the prophecy, but the book itself still eluded them. The air was crisp and clear with the much-anticipated arrival of spring. Fresh buds were beginning to form on the trees. When the time was right, they would open into the sweetest bouquets of white and purple. Despite the beauty of the forest, however, it was the village below that drew William and Evan out of the tower. Evan loved the outdoors and was quite fond of standing on the cliff under the blazing sun or during a lightning storm, but William knew his brother’s mind was set on something more tangible this evening. They neared the town, and Evan caught sight of this evening’s quarry: a young man stacking empty ale barrels behind a tavern. The man looked up, brushed a swath of wavy blond hair from his eyes, and flashed Evan a smile. William rolled his eyes and led the way to the front door. Once inside the small tavern, he found a table and waited. He looked around, taking note of their surroundings, should Evan get in trouble. It was a rare occurrence when he got himself into a bind he could not escape, but still possible. Evan stood at the bar with one foot up on a crate and his arms folded over his thigh. He chatted with the barkeep, but his attention seemed to be elsewhere. William followed Evan’s gaze to an open doorway leading back to the kitchen. The man from outside, younger than Evan’s twenty-three, bustled about, casting Evan coy glances and smiles. Evan’s mouth curled into a smile, the smallest trace of a sparkle in his eye. Evan had already found his ‘tamer’ game. The barkeep handed two mugs to Evan and waved over the young man from the kitchen. William couldn’t hear what was said, but the barkeep slipped his arm around the young man and gave a proud grin only a father could produce. Dear God Almighty, Evan treaded on dangerous ground with this one. Evan bowed his head briefly, gave the young man a quick, discreet wink, and started back to the table. William narrowed his eyes and scowled. “What?” Evan asked as he slid a mug across the wooden table. “Have you no sense?” William hissed under his breath. Evan looked to the bar and then back to William. “Yes,” he countered. “But it was not what it looked like.” “Oh? Are you trying to convince me that you were not making eyes at the barkeep’s son?” “Actually,” Evan whispered as he leaned closer, “they both want me.” William’s jaw dropped open. “Crist,” he muttered. “Evan…” Evan leaned back in his chair and threw one booted foot up onto the corner of the table. “This is my affair. You need not worry.” William shook his head, not wanting to hear any more. “Don’t tell me,” he said, raising his hand to stop Evan just as the sorcerer opened his mouth to explain. “Sometimes ignorance is preferable. If you don’t tell me, then I won’t have to lie later on when you’re in hot water up to your damned neck.” Evan lifted an eyebrow at him, but said nothing more. William remained happy in his blissful ignorance, and perhaps it was for the best. He was ignorant of a lot of things concerning his brother. For that, he couldn’t help but be grateful. He watched with wariness as Evan glanced back to the kitchen door where the young cook appeared briefly. William knew there would be no talking Evan out of this. Evan took another swallow of his ale. “I’ll be back,” he said as he set his emptied mug on the table. William looked up, but he made no move to stop his brother. Evan made no attempt at explanations.