The sea was calm and the wind was brisk, the day should have been one of peace and beauty for the two little girls travelling aboard the great ship. The kind sailors were taking them to an island; a place of sorcery where they were to learn to control their powers, for they were filled with the power of white magic, and they were both to be trained in the white arts. To them this island had been a thing of mythical beauty for they had been told stories of it’s wizardry from the time they were very tiny. But instead of being a day of glory, it had indeed become a day of great horrors.

"Maura!" one little girl screamed in terror, reaching for the other frantically as the captain scooped her into his arms and headed below deck for safety. Her tiny read head turned to see Maura being grabbed by a large pirate and dragged back to the attacking ship. "Maura, please!" she cried out again, with both her physical voice and her mind voice.

"Sister!" Maura’s mind voice reached out to her, laced with panic, hardly understanding what was happening. "Don’t leave me!"

"Maura!" her ten year old heart broke as the captain forced her into the shelter of his cabin, and the last thing she saw of her sister were the pirates beating her into submission as she fought to come back.

Maura’s mind voice grew weak as she neared unconsciousness. "Sister, we will meet again, I promise you."

"Oh, Maura, I love you!"

"I love you too, Maeve." Maeve felt Maura pass into the realm of unconsciousness, and began to cry for the loss of her twin.

*********************************

A lone figure stood upon the deck of the Nomad, her cloak swaying gently in the breeze, watching the sun rise on the distant horizon. Still, for the moment, darkness enveloped her, and she welcomed it’s silky comforts.

The dream had come unbidden into her night, waking her with the gentle caress of her tears. "Sweet Maura," she whispered, "Where have you gone of to?" Fifteen years had passed since the day the sister she had loved so well had been taken from her so violently, and over the years times and situations had changed greatly. She wished that she could see Maura again, now, to show her what she had made of her life. Slowly she reached out with her mind, as she had done every day of her life, scanning the distances for the familiar touch of her twin’s soul, but just like every other night, there was nothing but silence from her sister.

"I love you, Maura," she whispered, sending that love out into the night, hoping her sister would realize she would never give up searching.

"Maeve?" his voice was like a gentle caress, easing away her sorrows for yet another moment.

She turned to meet the gaze of those sea blue eyes, eyes that sparkled like new saphires in the torch light, a gaze she had come to know better than her own heart. She smiled at the beautiful man standing before her, drinking in the sight of his sleep rumpled sandy brown hair, and his lean, muscular chest showing through the opening in his white pirate’s shirt. He hadn’t put his vest on yet,she glanced down, nor had he donned his boots; he must have just woke up.

"Hello, Sinbad."

"Unable to sleep, again, Maeve?"

Maeve shook her head, "I’ll be all right."

"Maeve, are you ever going to tell me what your dream is about? You have been suffering with it every night for over a month now. Perhaps if you were to talk about it, what’s bothering you would be easier to overcome."

"Sinbad, one day perhaps we’ll sit down and discuss some of the things you don’t know about me." Her eyes strayed over to Dermott, the large, beautiful hawk perched upon the rail of the Nomad. "But I’m not ready for that today."

Sinbad could only nod as Maeve turned, her cloak sailing out behind her, and went below deck. He knew she was upset, he could feel the pain radiating off of her, but could do nothing as he was ignorant of the cause. He turned to face Dermott and raised an eyebrow at the bird.

"What’s wrong with her, Dermott?" he queried.

The bird only shook his head and ruffled his feathers; he couldn’t answer his friend without betraying his sister, so he remained silent.

Sinbad sighed at the silence of the hawk and returned to his quarters. Only Dermott caught the sweeping wave of sadness that emminated from the very edges of the night. The bird shifted slowly, welcoming the familiar touch into his mind; he reached out to it.

"Sister."

**********************************

Maeve turned over in her hammock, curling into a ball on her side. Her tears wet her soft pillow as the memories came flooding back into her mind. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to travel back.

She was thirteen years old; her sister had been missing for two and a half years, yet still she missed Maura terribly. She stood in a rapidly darkening field of grass, staring out at the stars in the night sky.

Master Dim-Dim’s arms were wrapped around her as she reached her mind out in search of Maura; she was quickly becoming disheartened at her lack of sucess; Maura had always had the stronger voice of the two.

Tonight Dim-Dim added his own voice to hers, and together they sent their call for Maura out into the night. It was Maeve who first sensed her presence, first heard her voice; her voice was wavery like a sail in a weak wind, and it was laced with pain and misery, but it was Maura, of that Maeve was sure.

"Maeve," the whispered touch wound around Maeve’s small heart. "Maeve, where are you?"

"I’m here, Maura, I’m with Master Dim-Dim." Maeve reached her hand out into the empty air. "Where are you, Maura?"

Maeve heard her sister’s tiny sob. "I don’t know, Maeve! I don’t know! They don’t let me out!"

Dim-Dim stepped in. "Tell us what you see, child, describe where you are."

"Nothing! I see nothing! It’s dark here, Maeve! It’s dark and I’m alone... help me... please...."

Dim-Dim whispered into Maeve’s ear, "Send to her an image of our home, my child. Show her where we are so that she too may see what we see."

Maeve did as she was commanded, sending Maura the picture of the field of grass in which she was standing, the aged beautiful trees surrounding her, the cottage where she lived with Dim-Dim, her tiny room, her magic books, everything she could think of to show Maura her home.

Dim-Dim reached out for Maura’s mind. "Child, you have great power to be able to reach your sister, you must act upon that power!"

"How??!! They’re coming back!! Oh, please, Maeve, don’t let them hurt me anymore! Please!" Maura’s voice was tinged with desperation, and Maeve felt her back herself into a corner, hiding in the shadows.

"Maura!" Maeve cried out, mirroring her twin’s desperation and fear, "Master Dim-Dim, please help her! Please save my sister!"

"Maura, feel the powers within you, the powers that allow you to speak with us. Take that energy and picture our home. Concentrate on us, allow your body to relax and send your mind to us. We are waiting for you, Maura, we want you here with us."

"Maeve!" Maura’s frightened mind reached out, grasping onto the essence of her sister, pulling on the presence of Maeve’s soul, trying to bring herself to the island.

Dim-Dim reached quickly, trying to grasp onto Maeve as Maura began pulling her sister to where she was instead of the other way. "No, Maura, child, stop! You’re bringing Maeve to you!" Thinking fast, Dim-Dim began chanting an incantation, trying to keep Maeve with him, at the same time as trying to pull Maura to join them both. The link created between the twins was just enough for him to grasp onto the frightened child, and with a final thought, haul both girls back into the physical world of the island.

Maeve looked up in surprise as she materialized back into Master Dim-Dim’s arms, and then the form that appeared not twelve feet in front of her caught her full attention. "Maura." She whispered.

The other little girl was curled up into a ball on her side, her once brilliant red hair falling in faded strings around her face, her clothing was no more than rags, only barely covering her. Blood streaked Maura’s clothing, and her body was bruised and battered. Very slowly, as if the tiny movement were agony to her, Maura looked up. Her skin almost hung from her body as every bone could be clearly seen, everything about her was fragile and weak. Her once all seeing, depths of the world brown eyes had dulled, she wore very little expression upon her tortured face.

Maeve ran over to her sister, picking her up and cradling Maura’s fragile frame in her arms. She hesitated as the girl cried out and tried to pull away. "No, Maura, it’s Maeve, I won’t hurt you... I wouldn’t ever hurt you!"

Maura was too weak to resist as Maeve rocked her back and forth; she had had little energy to begin with, and trying such a great work of sorcery as teleportation had drained her of everything she had left. Now she lay shaking in her sister’s arms, slowly fading from consciousness, and back into the comforting darkness she had come to know so well.

**********************************

Maeve’s head snapped up as a sharp knock sounded on the door to her cabin. She called for her visitor to enter, and raised one arm, shading her eyes from the brilliant light of the sun flooding her cabin.

"Maeve, Sinbad sent me to see if you were all right. When you showed up for neither breakfast or lunch, we got worried that you had taken ill."

Maeve smiled at Firouz; the scientist was always overly concerned about every matter, always having to put his opinion forward, but all the same, always capturing everyone’s hearts. Firouz was the true meaning of the word sweetheart; no one’s heart could be any bigger, nor more so pure, than that of the inventor. "I am fine, Firouz, really. I suppose I was just tired and fell asleep."

Firouz frowned. "But, Maeve, it’s two hours past lunch, it is highly unusual for you to sleep such a great length of time."

Maeve sighed, if she had to confide in somebody, it may as well be Firouz. She would run no risk of her story being repeated, nor would he judge her behaviour once the whole tale had been told. Still, was she ready to tell the whole tale? And shouldn’t she tell Sinbad first? She shook her head, one question at a time. "Firouz, if I were to tell you part of a story, would you keep it to yourself and not press me for any details further than what I give?"

"Certainly, my dear."

They moved out of her cabin, sitting at the table below deck where they could keep an eye out for any approaching listeners.

Maeve took a deep breath, and began. "Firouz, I have a sister, a twin, another half to my soul...."

*****************************

The girls were dueling in the grassy field as Dim-Dim watched on. It was good to see a smile on Maura’s face, even as Maeve managed to knock her back with her powers. To see Maura defeated was a rarity, and Dim-Dim had the feeling that she was holding back to give Maeve the opportuinity to win. Dim-Dim shook his head; they shared such a simple comraderie; in the near three years Maura had been with them, she had settled in well. The first year had been the hardest with the tortured soul waking up every night screaming in agony and terror; she would hardly eat, and what she did eat was rejected by her body almost immediatly. Dim-Dim actually believed for a while that they were going to lose her to the disease and depression ravishing her delicate body; he doubted if she were to recover that she would ever be as strong as Maeve. But one day for no apparant reason, her stomach held down her breakfast, and for the first time since she had got there, her body stopped quivering constantly; soon she began to put on weight and some strength returned to her body.

All these years later, Dim-Dim actually had to look closely at the two to be able to tell them apart; Maura was the exact duplicate of Maeve in every way now, except without clothing. Only then could someone tell which girl was which, for Maura had deep scars running up her back from the lashes she had received, and she had tiny scars all over her body from the teeth and nails of those filthy beings that had captured her. Dim-Dim searched every day to find an incantation that would remove those scars, but what ever he tried had failed completely; that surprised him, the incantations should have worked wonders on Maura’s body, but didn’t even fade the marks. He could only surmise that the girl’s inner turmoil was manifesting itself through the use of her powers; she was scarred on the inside, so she felt she should remain scarred on the outside as well, and her powers kept her that way.

As Maura fell to the ground, Maeve collapsed giggling atop of her sister, playfully they wrestled each other, so matched in their physical strength that neither had the upper hand. They were laughing too hard to be serious however, so Dim-Dim called for their attention.

"How would you girls like to take a trip off the island for a few days? We will travel into Malegrany, visit the market where you both may pick out one new outfit to wear while we are purchasing supplies, and then we will return."

The eyes of both girls lit up; even in that day and age, sixteen year old girls could not resist the urge to shop. "Oh, yes, Master Dim-Dim, we would love that!" Maeve smiled.

"Would we ever!" Maura nodded.

So they left their little island, heading towards the markets of Malegrany; Maura’s first time out in public since she had been rescued from the pirates. Nobody notice her face pale the closer to land their ship came; her nerves were taking over.

Once they landed at Malegrany, Maeve ran across the beach towards the city, dragging a hesitant Maura behind her.

"Come on, sister! We only have one day, we have to make the best of it!"

"Oh, Maeve," Maura shivered, "Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all..."

"Maura! We’re fine, Master Dim-Dim’s not a mind call away, nothing can happen to us! He and I come here all the time, now relax!"

Maeve dragged Maura over to one of the fabulous stalls in the market selling beautiful outfits. They peered carefully through all the silk dresses, delicate scarves and shirts, but niether girl could bring themselves to particularily care for the any of the apparel, and sighed in dissapointment.

It was then that Maura glanced into the stall, and noticed, laying away in the darkness, several sacs of suede and soft material. Both girls drew in a deep, gasping breath, and they turned to the stall keeper, their pleading eyes drawing him in.

The keeper was unable to deny the girls as he got lost in their soulfull brown eyes, sinking deeper into their trance. "May we look at the clothing you have in the back?" Maura asked, never breaking eye contact.

The keeper nodded, and opened the curtain. Both girls didn’t hesitate as they sifted into the pile of clothing, hoping that there was something there that they could each love. At the exact same moment each girl held up a suede vest, Maeve holding out a brown vest, Maura a white one. They giggled at their identical choices, and then moved to find accessories; again at the same moment they held up long shirts of a very light cloth. They each laughed again for they had chosen opposites once more; Maura had chosed a very delicate light brown color for her shirt, and Maeve had chosen pure white. They shook their heads as they peered at each other’s choices, they were so totally the same, yet so completely opposite at the same time.

Drawing the curtain to a close, each girl tried on their new outfits, wondering if perhaps they shouldn’t be looking for skirts to go along with the shirt and vest; but the shirts came down to mid thigh, and the vests only an inch or two higher than that, so they decided to leave what they had. Neither girl needed a mirror; all they did was gaze at each other, and they each knew exactly how they looked. Giggling excitedly, both girls burst out of the booth, right into Dim-Dim’s arms.

"Oh!" Maura cried out in surprise as she inadvertantly came in contact with her master. She didn’t like being touched by anyone except Maeve.

"Master Dim-Dim!" Maeve gasped, as she backed away. "We’ve chosen our clothing! What do you think?"

Dim-Dim raised an eyebrow as he peered at the scantily clad teenagers; their skirts cut too high, and their shirts too low for his liking, but they did look happy. He sighed and turned to the stall keeper. "How much do I owe you?" Listening to the man’s reply, his eyes opened widely, but another glance at the girl’s wide smiles, especially Maura’s, made him open his purse and hand over the payment.

The girls looked at him sheepishly as they followed him through the masses of people towards a tavern. He carried in one arm a cloth wrapped bundle that he delicately sat upon a table as they reached it.

"What’s in the package, Master Dim-Dim?" Maeve asked curiously. Maura turned her head to listen to her master’s reply.

"Supplies for your next lessons in the art, my children. I will teach you how to animate clay objects." Dim-Dim smiled at the excitement on their faces; they did indeed love learning.

Ordering drink and food for his wards, Dim-Dim sat down in front of them; he was facing the bar while the twins were facing the door, that is why he never noticed what Maura did.

Dim-Dim never saw the small band of rough looking men walk into the tavern, what he saw was the look of recognition and absolute terror cross Maura’s face as she began to whimper and shake. "Maura?" Dim-Dim asked, turning to Maeve.

So strong was Maeve’s telepathic link with her sister, that she too paled. Both the twins shook violently as Dim-Dim began scanning the tavern for the cause. His eyes settled on the group of pirates, and realization dawned on him. "Maura, is that the crew that attacked you?"

The teenager’s eyes were glazed and she was unable to respond as the captain rose to his feet, and with a wicked smile began walking over to where the girls sat. "I can’t tell which one of you is mine, but I always say, two is better than one." He grabbed a hold of Maura’s arm, and began dragging her towards the door.

She came alive then, kicking and screaming, all her magic having fled from her mind as terror took over her motions. "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!" Maura began screaming over and over again.

Dim-Dim rose to his feet to begin conjuring a spell to aid his tortured apprentice, but Maeve shoved past him and launched herself upon the pirate’s back. Her nails dug into his face, drawing back six long, gaping wounds, three on either side of his face. The pirate screamed in pain, releasing Maura, grabbing Maeve off his back and began shaking her. Laying on the ground, Maura watched as her beloved sister was being accosted by the cause of her endless nightmares.

Just as Dim-Dim perpared to cast his spell, he glanced over at Maura, who had suddenly began to glow. Allowing the flow of magic to fade for a moment, he watched to see what his young apprentice was going to do.

A pure white aura surrounded Maura, and her eyes began to glow red as raw magical power coursed through her veins. The pirates all stoped in action, and turned to stare at the glowing child they had abused so thoroughly for three years of her life. Each pirate backed slowly out the door, fear washing over them.

"Cap’n! Cap’n! Cap’n!" one final brave pirate called to his captain. "Leave ‘em, Cap’n, sumting’s wrong wit that’n." Then he too bolted for the door before Maura exploded.

The pirate captain noticed, just in time to drop Maeve, the activity going on around Maura, and an unreadable expression flickered through his eyes. Maura narrowed her eyes as she gamely met his gaze, and she let her uncontrolled magic rip free from her body, slamming straight on into his.

The pirate flew across the tavern, his body punching through the crowd of onlookers, and straight through the back wall. Maura followed him, ignoring Dim-Dim’s call for her to stand down. As the pirate struggled to stand, Maura again blasted him, this time sending the pirate crashing into a solid wall, listening with glee to the crunch of his bones. Her glowing gaze literally burned into his skin as his clothing began to smoke with the heat radiating from her mind. In an instant it had burst aflame, and the pirate screamed in agony as his flesh began to smolder.

Dim-Dim flew past Maura, dousing the pirate with a counter spell, and stifling Maura’s magical energy with a shield. She would be dangerous if she wasn’t trained properly. Calling to Maeve to bring their days purchases, Dim-Dim hurried the girls back to their ship, and back to their island.

Maura sat down in a corner of the cabin she shared with her sister, curled her knees up to her chest, and began rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face, her body still quaking from shock and fear.

Maeve looked at Dim-Dim in fear, as Dim-Dim himself looked on in concern. They both feared that this trip had cost them any progress they had made with Maura in the last three years, and neither could tell if they were going to be able to get through to her again.

Maeve reached into Maura’s mind, searching for her sister’s presence, trying to draw her out, but she found only darkness. Maura had shut herself down once more.

****************************

Continued in Sorcerer's Blood: Part One, Section Two

Sorcerer's Blood: Part One, Section Two

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