Lara knew that Kol prepared to loose his armies on Hetar soon. It was now time for her to leave him and bring further confusion and discord to the Dark Lands. The twins, not even a month old yet, had already made adherents among the Dark-landers seeking to position themselves for the day when Kol would declare one of them his heir. That it was many years hence did not deter them from choosing sides. And Kol encouraged their behavior and their rich gifts to Kolbein and Kolgrim. Each petitioner was permitted to personally present his gift to the twin involved. Lara could have sworn that these infant boys knew exactly what was going on and were marking down their supporters within their memories. She found it disturbing.
Kol came to her each night now, and it was harder and harder for her to keep up the pretense of being his willing mate. She had to leave, yet something about this dark creature called out to her. She was having moments when she wondered if she could go. Finally one night she fought back the unseen forces she sensed about her and cried aloud, “Kaliq!” And he appeared before her just as Kol entered her bedchamber, stepping back stunned by the sudden brightness there.
The Twilight Lord’s dark eyes blazed with fury. “She is mine!” he roared at the Shadow Prince. “And you, creature of light, have no place in my kingdom! Begone!” His eyes hurt.
“Nor does Lara, daughter of Swiftsword and Ilona of the Forest Faeries have any place in your kingdom,” the Shadow Prince said quietly.
“She is my mate. The mother of my sons,” Kol replied. “She belongs to me! She is now my creature, Shadow Prince. Darkness fills her soul completely.”
“Not completely,” Kaliq replied. “You had the Munin rob her of her memories but for those you wanted her to have. But all of her memories have been returned to her, Twilight Lord. Now she will leave you and return to her world, which needs her more than you do.” He glowed with light.
“She will remain with me, Shadow Prince,” Kol said in a fierce voice. “Tell him, my precious! Tell him that you love me and will stay.”
“I do love you, Kol,” Lara said quietly, “but I will not remain with you. Did you not hear what Kaliq told you? I have my memories once more. You cannot hold me by the force of your magic any longer. I cannot bear another day in your dark and dreary kingdom. I am faerie. I need the heat of the sun upon me, a warm breeze blowing my hair. I need color, and flowers and most of all I need Magnus Hauk and our children!
“Do you really believe that you could have succeeded in your nefarious scheme had not higher powers than yours permitted it? All my life I have moved toward a destiny that I neither knew nor understood. Now I do. It was my destiny to give twin sons to a Twilight Lord whose predecessors could sire only one son in a lifetime. Your laws will not permit you to kill one of your offspring, Kol. And besides, you cannot be certain which one is the true heir and meant to follow you. Until you can learn that secret the Dark Land will be kept in a turmoil by Kolbein and Kolgrim as they struggle for supremacy. They may even seek to destroy you, for you will learn that in their quest for power they will not be governed by the rule of law.
“You sought to loose the forces of darkness upon our worlds, Kol, but there must always be a balance between the dark and the light. That balance is now restored and will remain so for some time,” Lara told him. “You have great magic, my lord, but so do I and without my magic you will not succeed with your plans to conquer either Hetar or Terah. I suggest you consider what you will tell your lords now as I am certain that they have been planning for the riches these conquests would bring them. You will have to placate them in some fashion if you hope to retain their loyalty.” Lara turned to Kaliq. “I am ready now,” she said and reached for his hand.
“No!” the Twilight Lord said. “I will seek you out again, Lara. You will return to me or I will kill you, for no other shall have you.”
Kaliq shook his head. “Your reflecting bowls are gone, for I have taken them. You will make no others, for that knowledge was lost to your kind centuries ago. My brothers and I have sealed off your kingdom from the rest of the worlds for at least a hundred years. Until then, neither you nor your body servant can leave Kolbyr. You are trapped here where you can do little harm. Farewell!” Kaliq wrapped his golden brocade cloak about Lara and together they disappeared in a shadowy mist, Kol’s shriek of fury echoing in their ears.
As Kaliq removed his cloak from his companion Lara slowly collapsed against him. “The strength has gone out of me,” she said and she began to sob.
The Shadow Prince quickly scooped Lara up in his arms and carried her out to the great open corridor where there was morning sun and warm air. For months she had been penned within Kol’s dark castle in the chill and dank. Such an atmosphere was anathema to her faerie soul and it had slowly begun to shrivel. Back in her own realm, however, she would soon be revived. “Breathe,” he instructed her.
Lara drew a deep breath and the scent of flowers filled her nostrils. “Roses,” she murmured with a sigh and relaxed against him. She sniffed again. “And lilies, and woodbine and yellow primroses, which are the sweetest.” The sunlight seemed to revive her and she said, “Put me down now. I think I can stand. I want to see the horses.”
Kaliq set her gently upon her feet and helped her to the balustrade, but his arm remained about her waist.
Lara looked down into the great green valley where the Shadow Princes’ herds grazed. It never failed to amaze her that in the center of the desert this magical place existed. “Is Og here?” she asked Kaliq. “Does he know what happened?”
“Og is here and so is your son, Dillon,” Kaliq informed her.
“Dillon should not be here yet,” Lara cried, turning to look up into his handsome face. “I said you might have him when he was twelve but not before, my lord.”
“I brought him to Shunnar but a short while back, Lara, and I did because he suddenly knew that you were in the Dark Lands. I needed to distract Dillon before your husband took him too seriously, marshaled his army and marched north. Hetar is threatening Terah. Your old friend Gaius Prospero has disposed of Anora and is divorcing Lady Vilia so he may wed his lover, a creature of our creation. But he will, I fear, be disappointed for all of his plans will come to naught. We will retrieve the lady Shifra when she has served her purpose for us.”
“And what has her purpose been, my lord?” Lara asked him, curious.
“To distract Gaius Prospero from his nefarious plans to invade Terah, which he believes weakened by your absence,” Kaliq told her. “And to break his heart.”
“Will Jonah take Vilia to wife?” Lara wondered aloud.
“Aye, he will and while it will greatly discomfit the emperor to learn of the marriage, he will believe Jonah’s explanation. That he has wed the lady only to prevent her from falling into the hands of those who would depose Gaius Prospero and to prevent her from being shamed and seeking to wreak revenge upon her former husband. Her family is a prominent and conservative one.”
“And the emperor will be grateful to his good right hand,” Lara replied with a small smile. “And then the creature you have given Gaius Prospero will disappear. Not right away, I hope. He needs to be punished for all his wickedness. If the emperor is content with this female then you have removed the curse I placed upon him, Kaliq, so he might enjoy pleasures with her. It is the only reason he would revere her, for his tastes have long since been jaded.”
“It was necessary,” Kaliq said, “and you should really have never plagued him in such a manner, Lara.” He scolded her with a smile.
“Magical or mortal,” Lara replied dryly, “all men stick together when it comes to matters of pleasure.”
The prince laughed. “You are feeling a little better,” he said.
“Aye, but I am also very tired, Kaliq.”
“I know,” he replied sympathetically. “Being in the Dark Lands for so many months has drained you of your strength. You will remain with me until you are fully recovered, my love.” His elegant fingers caressed her face.
“May I see Dillon?” she asked him.
“I do not think it wise,” he told her. “I am going to return him to Magnus today with the message that you will soon be home again. He knows now that your disappearance had to do with fulfilling your destiny.”
She nodded. “And when I do go back to my husband and children?”
“Your memories of those months spent in the Dark Lands will be gone, my love,” he said quietly. “As for those affected by your disappearance, they, too, will not remember. It will be as if you had never been gone, Lara. Magnus will remember coming for you in the New Outlands and bringing you home. The past months for you all will be recalled as any year in your lives. Nothing special will have happened. In Hetar, the war that Gaius Prospero plans will be based solely upon his fears of Terah and his need to do something to keep in favor,” Kaliq explained. “Your lives will go on as they should.”
“You can do this?” she said.
“My brothers and I, working with the Munin, can do this,” he replied. “The Munin owe us one more favor for rescuing them from Kol and the Dark Lands.”
“But Kol will not forget what has happened,” Lara said.
“Nay, he will not,” Kaliq answered her. “It is a punishment for him that he will remember that once he possessed a most beautiful faerie woman called Lara. No other will ever please him again. But he will be too busy with the sons you gave him to spend much time grieving. He must hold on to the Dark Kingdom from within his prison and in the face of the growing threat Kolbein and Kolgrim will present to him. And without the presence of their lord to hold them in check, the giants, the dwarfs and the Wolfyn will run rampant throughout the Dark Lands,” Kaliq said.
“Then I am safe,” Lara murmured. She was growing very tired and slumped against Kaliq’s shoulders. “I need to sleep,” she told him.
“Come,” he said and led her to the magnificent apartment that had once been hers.
“We will eat our evening meal in your garden.” Then he left her.
She was truly alone for the first time in months. And she was in a familiar place. Slowly Lara looked about her. She stood in the little antechamber where he had first brought her all those years ago. And then Noss had come in, and they had been so glad to have found one another again. Lara smiled with the memory. Could either she or Noss have ever imagined the future before them then? She doubted it.
Everything seemed to be the same within her apartment. It was a spacious accommodation with a dining chamber, a dayroom, a small bedroom where Noss had slept and a large bedchamber that had been hers for little over a year. There was also a small tiled bath with its own bathing pool. Lara looked down to see the same fine wool carpets in shades of ruby, sapphire, amethyst and emerald adorning the marble floors. The sheer, pale golden silk curtains blew in the soft warm breeze and beyond was a lovely green garden. Lara knew that Kaliq’s chambers were on the other side of that garden. The furniture was ebony accented with gold, as well as plush covered in silk, and was strewn with plump pillows. She walked into her bedchamber and smiled again. She had always loved this room with its pale wood walls painted with all manner of desert animals. Curious, she opened the wardrobe to see it filled as it had always been with silk robes and little leather sandals in just her size.
Her bed beckoned and pushing aside the gossamer draperies that shielded it, Lara lay down. Her destiny had been fulfilled and she was amazed by what had happened. Recalling how she had always disliked the oblique mysteriousness of her peers when that destiny was referred to, she had to laugh. Despite the magic in her, despite the powers she now possessed, Lara knew that had she ever been asked directly to do what needed to be done, she would have refused. She would not have left Magnus and her children.
And yet it had been necessary for her, for their worlds, that she fulfill that destiny. Without her the deception could not have been played out. She wondered if Kol’s Book of Rule had actually said that he would take a faerie woman for his mate, or if that had been but another part of the deception. Perhaps what had been written had not even mentioned a faerie woman at all. Perhaps that was just something that had been inserted by a power far greater than the Book of Rule’s magical author. And who had that author been? she wondered. His essence would have had to have been completely erased from memory for another to overcome the magic in the book. She had so many questions to ask Kaliq and she wondered whether she would ever receive her answers. Her eyes felt heavy suddenly, then Lara lapsed into a deep and healing sleep.
When Kaliq had left her he had gone down into the valley below to find his horse master and young Dillon. He found them in a paddock. In the few days his visitor had been in Shunnar, Og had helped the boy by getting the yearling Dillon had chosen to accept him as his master. Kaliq watched as Dillon, holding a long rein, cantered the animal about the enclosure. He had a natural ability with horses, the prince could see.
Spying the prince Dillon brought the animal to a halt. Together he and the horse bowed to Kaliq. “My lord prince,” Dillon said, “I thank you for my fine mount.” His hand reached up to rub the beast’s muzzle.
“What is his name?” Kaliq asked.
“Amir,” the boy replied. “It means king.”
“Dasras may have something to say about that,” the prince noted with a smile.
“He descends from Dasras!” Dillon said excitedly. “Both his sire and his dam were born from Dasras’s seed, although on different mares. I am certain Dasras will be very pleased to meet him!”
“Provided he acknowledges Dasras’s superiority, lad,” Og remarked. “Dasras is a great stallion. None finer.”
“My lord, does Amir have the gift of speech?” Dillon wondered.
“He will one day,” Prince Kaliq said. “He is still young. Now, Dillon, today you are to go home to Terah. You will carry a message to your stepfather for me. Amir will be here awaiting you when you come to me for a visit or for your schooling. You must tell your stepfather that your mother will shortly be returning home to you all.”
“She is here now,” the boy said. “I always sense when she is near.”
Kaliq was surprised by Dillon’s words, but then he said, “Yes, she is resting. You will not tell the Dominus she is here for she is in a weakened state and needs to remain in Shunnar for a short time in order to recover and regain her strength.”
“She was in the Dark Lands, wasn’t she?” the boy said quietly.
Kaliq nodded. “She was and for a faerie woman to exist in that dark, cold place is difficult. She has fulfilled part of the destiny to which she was born and when she is well she will be returned to Terah.” Telling Dillon the truth now did not matter for when the spell was woven to eradicate the year past he would not remember any more than Lara, who had lived it, would recall. But for now, the boy’s natural curiosity was satisfied. “It would be wise, however, if you did not repeat what I have told you to your stepfather. Magnus Hauk is a passionate man and his anger could lead him to act foolishly, I fear. All he needs to know is that Lara will soon be with him.”
Dillon nodded. “I understand,” he replied. “Magnus is a good man and his love for my mother is deep. While she is perfectly capable of handling any difficulty that comes her way, Magnus wants to protect her.” Dillon smiled. “Are all men in love like that, my lord Kaliq?”
Kaliq laughed. “Aye, to one extent or another, we are. You will be, too, one day when you fall in love. Love is paramount.”
“I hope that will not be for a long time, my lord,” the boy responded. “I have much magic to learn and I do not want to be distracted.”
“Then be content with lust, which can be a great deal of fun,” the prince chuckled.
“My lord!” Og gently scolded his master. “The lad is too young for such talk.”
Kaliq laughed again. “Come to my library in an hour, Dillon. I will give you the message for the Dominus then and send you home.”
“May I continue training Amir?” Dillon asked.
> “Yes,” the prince said. “Enjoy your time with him now, then say goodbye. He is a fine animal.” Kaliq patted the dapple gray yearling with a gentle hand.
When the boy had gone off into the valley with the animal, Og spoke. “She really is here, my lord? May I see her?”
“She is here, but she is exhausted by her ordeal in the Dark Lands. She needs to rest, but she does want to see you, Og. Perhaps tonight, briefly.”
“So her destiny is partly fulfilled,” the giant murmured. He was dying to ask the prince what this part of Lara’s destiny had been, but did not dare.
“It was necessary for Lara to restore the balance between the light and the dark in our worlds, Og,” Kaliq told him knowing the giant’s thoughts. “The dark was becoming stronger and would have soon reached out to overcome us all. Thanks to Lara, that danger has vanished for the immediate future.”
“But it will come again,” Og said quietly.
“Sadly it will,” the prince replied. “But not for many years. The Twilight Lord who rules the Dark Lands is now confined to his castle and without him little can be done. His subjects are at a loss without strong leadership, and will quarrel with one another.”
“It was a great task then that Lara undertook,” Og said thoughtfully.
“It was a terrible task,” Kaliq replied, “but she was successful.”
“Praise the Celestial Actuary for that,” Og answered.
“Come to my garden at moonrise,” the prince instructed the giant and then he left. Returning to his library he took out a parchment, picked up his stylus and considered what he would say to the Dominus of Terah. Finally he began to write. He kept it simple and to the point. Magnus Hauk was not an easy man and his love for Lara was great. Kaliq considered how the Dominus would feel in the years to come when he began to age as all mortals did and Lara, being faerie, did not. When he had completed his brief message he rolled the parchment tightly and sealed it closed with hot wax into which he had impressed his seal.
The Twilight Lord Page 18