Read Branches of Time, The for Free Online Page A

eyes? Lil wondered.
    “In any case, Lil, we will need to attend to many things over the next few days, including finding food, taking care of the animals and the fields, and checking the houses of all those who have left us. But the most important thing is that we need to be sure that the magical protections of the island are not interrupted, ever, for any reason whatsoever. In order for this to happen, there need to be two priests once again!”
    Bashinoir! So that's why they were sitting in the kitchen, near the warmth of the hearth, the table laden down with all those delicacies. The priestess was trying to tell her that her husband would become a priest. But priests...don't have wives! They don't sleep in the same bed as women. They dedicate themselves to the Temple, to the rites, to magic. They have practically no ties to their family of origin. So the priestess was trying to tell her that her husband would no longer be her husband.
    Her mouth hanging open, Lil observed the woman sitting in front of her holding a mug of milk in her hands. She couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy. Miril is so gorgeous!
    Tall and regal, Miril had a timeless beauty to her. She had always seemed so natural while performing the rites, her movements graceful, as if she were a creature of pure spirit. Even during those sacred events, Lil hadn't been able to take her eyes off the elegance of her gestures, made even more fascinating by the white veils of her tunic.
    No, that can't be it. My husband is a clumsy lumberjack. Bashinoir could never take on such a role! But then, why was Miril talking to her about it? It wasn't at all necessary to ask for her permission: on that island, the law was written by the word and wishes of the priest, nothing more and nothing less. That was not about to change, even if there were only three of them left now. Or maybe Miril is only trying to be nice to me, asking me kindly to step aside?
    The two women sat in silence for a few moments. Lil was caught up in her thousand and one thoughts. Her fingers lingered near her mouth as she nervously bit her nails. The priestess, from time to time, glanced over at her, smiling, a knowing look in her eyes.
    “What do you think?” Miril asked her.
    “Priestess...I mean, Miril, I...I really don't know what to say. Of course, your will shall be done, I mean...what you say goes. If you think Bashinoir should become a priest, I will accept that and I won't get in the way.” A tear made its way down Lil's young face. “Yes, I'll accept it. As you wish, priestess – I mean, Miril.” Now it all made sense for Miril to be telling her all of this: she wanted Bashinoir to be free from distractions, and that she, as his ex-wife, would prepare him in the best way possible to start down that spiritual path.
    Miril smiled yet again. “Lil, Bashinoir will not be the new priest. You will.”

14
    The wizard Obolil staggered through the magic laboratory, leaning on a walking stick. His face wore a grim expression as his eyes darted quickly from one point to another. “Ah, Aldin, that fool! Look what he's done to this place. I wonder how anyone could get anything done with all this junk everywhere,” he wheezed.
    The apprentice Ilis stood in the center of the room, embarrassed, unsure of what to say, where to move, if he should sit or start cleaning.
    “Absolutely nothing. He understood absolutely nothing, from everything that I taught him. Look at what he surrounded himself with. And he thought he could break the barrier with this?” he said, sweeping his arm along the table and knocking off a bunch of precious objects. “Throw it all out in the garbage! I don't want to see any of this crap any more!”
    “But master...”
    Obolil turned around to look at the boy, his angry eyes framed by dark circles.
    “You'll speak when you're spoken to, boy. Do you understand me?”
    “Of course, master,” Ilis responded. He went to get a broom and dustpan in order to sweep away