The Twilight Lord

by Bertrice Small

  Afterwards they cuddled in a mutual embrace until finally Lara said, “The sun is setting, my darling, and we promised the children that when we were all home together we would eat the evening meal together. I know they have not forgotten. They will be expecting us.”

  Grumbling, he arose from the bed, gathered up his garments and departed through the door that connected his private chamber with hers. Watching him go, Lara smiled to herself. She loved him so very much. Rising, she went to the silver ewer on the table and poured some perfumed water into it from the matching pitcher. Lara bathed herself free of his juices, then called to Mila to bring her a suitable gown. Once dressed, she sat down to restore her hair into a semblance of order once again.

  But as she brushed her tresses she thought back to just a short while before. When he had pierced her rear channel with that single finger a wisp of something—was it a memory?—had assaulted her. There was something wrong but she did not know what it was. If Kaliq would not answer her call then she must go to her mother. Whatever was troubling her, Ilona would know, for she and the Shadow Prince were hand in glove. Reaching down, her fingers touched the crystal star that hung between her breasts. Ethne, she called out with her mind to the protective spirit her mother had given her.

  I am here, my child.

  I have lost something, Ethne.

  For a brief moment Ethne was silent and then she said, I know.

  What is it? Lara begged her spirit protector.

  ’Tis not for me to enlighten you, if indeed you should be enlightened at all, Ethne responded quietly.

  Kaliq will not answer me, Lara said.

  Ethne laughed softly. He is a man for all he is a great and magical lord, my child. He wishes to protect you, for he loves you dearly.

  Then I must go to my mother and learn what I need to know, Lara replied. My dreams are restless. Haunted. I go to the Dream Plain, and I can see no one though I sense someone is there. I do not know whether to be frightened or not, Ethne.

  The golden flame in the crystal star flickered and then Ethne spoke again. Then you must certainly go to Queen Ilona and learn what it is that troubles you, my child. But do not tell the Dominus why you are going to visit her. Use whatever excuse you must to justify your decision.

  Joining her family for the evening meal Lara was quick to notice how happy the three children were to see her and the Dominus. They had been so involved in preventing this war with Hetar that the children had taken second place in their lives. Lara felt badly about it, but this was important to the future of her offspring. She and Magnus needed to know they were safe. And she needed a peaceful time in which to give her husband a son. She was pleased to see how close Vartan’s children were to their stepfather. Dillon was growing faster in his wisdom. She had always been able to speak to him as an equal. She would miss him when he went to study with the Shadow Princes. Anoush, having no memory of Vartan, adored Magnus as any daughter would her father. She and her little sister, Zagiri, had be come very close. It had been the right decision to bring the children to the castle of the Dominus. Their meal together was a happy one. After tucking the three children into their beds Lara and Magnus sat together in their dayroom.

  “I want to visit my mother,” Lara told her husband. “I will not stay long.”

  “You have been away so much of late,” he complained. “I missed you. The children have missed you. Did you not see how happy they were tonight?”

  “I will stay only a few hours,” she promised, “while they are all at their studies and you are going about the business of running your kingdom.”

  “Ask your mother to come here,” he suggested.

  “Nay,” Lara told him. “I need her advice on the Hetar dilemma and it is only polite that I go to her to seek it, Magnus. Besides, I have never seen her palace and am curious. I will go tomorrow. While I am gone you will write to Rendor and update him on our situation.”

  “I suppose I cannot stop you,” he grumbled.

  “Nay, you cannot,” she agreed cheerfully with a mischievous grin. “I will bring you back faerie sweets,” Lara promised. “You have never tasted their like.”

  When morning came, and the children were settled with Master Bashkar, Lara went to the hidden private chamber she used for summoning. “Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries, I would come to you,” she said three times. Then she waited and almost immediately the wall before her opened to reveal a short golden tunnel beyond which a green forest beckoned. Lara stepped through, walking the length of the tunnel and as she stepped forth into the late winter woodland, she found herself within a room with invisible walls that shimmered in the moonlight of evening.

  Ilona came forward smiling. “Daughter! To what do I owe the honor of your visit?” The queen took her into her arms and kissed her. “Are you well? Is Magnus well? And the children?”

  “I need your counsel, mother,” Lara said.

  “Come,” the queen replied, leading Lara to a comfortable seating area. “It must be serious, for never before have you come into my realm.” The two women sat and reaching out, Ilona took a cup that had appeared in midair and gave it to Lara before taking one for herself. “Sip your faerie wine slowly,” Ilona said. “It is very potent, my daughter. Then tell me what it is that has brought you to me.”

  Lara sipped the liquid in her cup. It was delicious, and tasted of raspberries. “Of late, Mother, my sleep is troubled,” she began. “I hear a deep and dark voice calling my name. I am brought to the Dream Plain, but though I sense someone, I can see no one. There is something that has been taken from me, but I know not what it is.”

  Ilona had grown pale. Tears sprang up in her beautiful emerald eyes. “You are more faerie than even I had realized,” she said. “You must have faerie blood from your father that we did not know about. This is why you are as you are, Lara.” The queen sighed. “You were born, my daughter, for several purposes. You have a destiny. You have fulfilled part of that destiny, but because it was such a difficult task, Kaliq and I called the Munin lords to remove your memories of those months.”

  “What was the task?” Lara asked.

  “I fear to tell you, my daughter,” Ilona responded. “There is still enough mortal blood in you that you will react with loathing, guilt and shame. Kaliq and I want to protect you, Lara. You still have much to do to bring peace to Terah and Hetar. We cannot have you discouraged and deterred by what was necessary and is now past. We need you to be strong.”

  “If you took my memories from me, Mother, then why does my mind seek for them?” Lara asked quietly.

  “The memories of faerie folk should not be stolen. Because we believed your blood was half-mortal and half-faerie, we believed we could take those memories and hide them away where they could not harm you anymore. But it would seem your blood is more than half-faerie, my daughter. It might not have sought to regain your memories were he not calling out to you.”

  “My memories must be returned to me, Mother, and who is he that seeks me?”

  “There must always, as you know, be a balance between the light and the dark,” Ilona began. “But sometimes the dark grows stronger and stronger, threatening to overcome the light and all that is good. Part of the reason for your birth was to push back that darkness and the evil that it brings. To do this it was necessary that you go to the Dark Lands and mate with its lord.”

  Lara shrank back, horrified, but then her faerie nature took control. “Tell me,” she said.

  “The Dark Lands is ruled by the Twilight Lord, and each Twilight Lord’s path is dictated by the Book of Rule which has been handed down to them for five hundred years. The masters of this realm can only produce one son in each generation. The book speaks differently to each Twilight Lord. In this case it told its master that you were the wife he must take and that the son you bore him would conquer both Hetar and Terah, bringing them into the darkness.”

  “Why did you not protect me from this creature?” Lara demanded. She was not certain if she
should be angry or just sad at being manipulated.

  “Because it was necessary for you to fulfill the Twilight Lord’s destiny as laid out in the Book of Rule. He is a cruel creature and he stole you away, Lara, after having the Munin remove the memories of who you were. When you awoke with no memory, he convinced you that you were his wife and that you had been ill. Little by little he returned the knowledge to you that you needed, everything but who you were and your family. He impregnated you, and because you believed you loved him, you carried his child. And then Kaliq came to you and restored all of your memories, explaining why we had allowed you to be used in this manner. You cast a spell creating two sons from the one child. And when you gave birth to identical twin sons, the Twilight Lord was horrified, but the Book of Rule would not permit the spilling of one child’s blood in favor of the other. These children are chaos personified and they have already set the Dark Lands against itself. Factions have formed around each of these boys, for who knows which of them will be the next lord? This is what was meant to be in order to defeat the darkness for the next hundred years, Lara. And only you could do this for us all. I am sorry,” the queen concluded.

  “Why take my memories of this, Mother? Did you think me so weak that I could not do what needed to be done?” Lara demanded to know.

  “You were gone a year, Lara. The clan families were in despair that you had disappeared while there. They felt responsible for your loss. Magnus and your children were frantic and heartbroken. When we stole you back we put a spell on the Twilight Lord to prevent him from coming after you. We took the memory of that year from everyone in Terah and Hetar. Do you truly believe your husband could have overlooked what happened to you? Do you believe he would have ever forgotten that you gave twin sons to another man, an evil man, especially when he wants a son of you himself? He could not have forgiven you, even knowing the circumstances of your abduction, for he loves you beyond reason, Lara. It is the nature of his mortal soul. To assuage his honor he would have declared war upon the Twilight Lord, a magical being, and brought destruction upon Terah even as Hetar was planning to attack you. It is very unwise to fight a war on two fronts, my daughter.”

  “I understand all you tell me, Mother, but I want my memories of that time returned to me. It is obviously this Twilight Lord who calls to me in my dreams. How can I fight him if I know nothing of him or our time together? You have said I am stronger than either you or Kaliq knew. I am. The prince has been avoiding me, Mother. We must go to him together and convince him to return what is mine.”

  “But when those memories return you will suffer with the knowledge of the time you spent with the Twilight Lord. Like all magical beings he is far more carnal than mortal men.”

  “And being faerie, I responded enthusiastically,” Lara remarked dryly.

  Ilona was forced to laugh. “He possesses two manhoods,” she said, “and sometimes he used both together.”

  “Ahh,” Lara replied. “That is why…” She remembered her lovemaking session with Magnus the day before.

  “Why what?” her mother asked.

  Lara briefly explained.

  “And that touched a chord in you, as well?” Ilona inquired.

  “Aye, it did,” Lara responded.

  “Then I must go with you to Kaliq,” Ilona said. “Your memories must be restored. If we do not those memories may attempt to rebuild themselves and do you harm.”

  “I promised Magnus that I would only remain away a few hours,” Lara said.

  “Go home then,” her mother advised. “This can wait another day. Tell Magnus that you are going to visit Kaliq with me because we wish to discuss Dillon’s schooling next year. That I have decided to involve myself in my grandson’s education, but that you need to set everything in advance so I cannot overrule your wishes,” Ilona said with a wicked smile.

  “That at least will be true,” Lara replied and Ilona laughed. Then, before Lara, the shining tunnel opened again and she could see the lamp she had left flickering in her hidden chamber. She arose, as did the queen. Lara kissed her mother’s cheeks. “Thank you,” she told her. “Sometimes I think of my father keeping us apart when I was a child and I grow angry at him again, but it was meant to be, wasn’t it?”

  Ilona nodded. “When you are ready to leave, call my name, Daughter. The tunnel will open for you and at its end will be the Great Corridor of Shunnar. I will meet you there.” She returned Lara’s kisses, then giving her a little push watched her depart, the tunnel closing behind her as she went until no trace of it remained. Then the queen of the Forest Faeries said, “Well, Kaliq, we have no choice. We must return Lara’s memories of her time with Kol to her and hope she is strong enough to bear the burden.”

  The prince stepped forth from the shadows where he had been standing and listening. “Did you know Swiftsword had faerie blood in him?” he asked her.

  Ilona shook her head in the negative. “I did not. Now I must look in the Faerie Record to learn how far back it is. It will not appear in any of his sons, for their mother is pure mortal I am certain. She is too dull and Hetarian to be otherwise.”

  “What, Ilona, is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” Kaliq asked wickedly.

  She gave him a scathing look. “I was young, beautiful and eager to couple with a mortal. He was handsome and vigorous. I am still young and beautiful. He is older and dull. You know as well as I do, Kaliq, that that is how it is with a mortal-faerie affair. I had been chosen to have this daughter with a preordained destiny. John had a rustic charm and I knew his fate. He was the right father for Lara. But while I loved him then, I have not loved him in years. Now let me consult the Faerie Record to learn how Swiftsword gained faerie blood that even he did not know about.” The queen of the Forest Faeries called a serving maid to fetch what she required. Then she and Kaliq sat and waited.

  The Faerie Record finally arrived, brought into Ilona’s chamber by six sturdy faerie serving men. It was an enormous volume bound in gilt-covered leather, hinged in silver gilt, its cover decorated in multicolored gemstones and pearls. It was set upon a golden platform to which four silver and gold wheels were attached. The queen arose, dismissing the servants as she did. Then she walked over to the great book and commanded the platform to lower itself so she might more easily peruse the record.

  “How far back does it go?” Kaliq asked her, curious.

  “Before time as mortals document it,” Ilona answered. “Even the Peris in your family are here.” Then she looked at the book and said, “Lara, daughter of Ilona, granddaughter of Maeve. Show me the line of descent through her father, Swiftsword.”

  Slowly the book opened and the pages began to fly past until finally they stopped. Kaliq came to stand by Ilona’s side to view what the Faerie Record revealed. What they saw made Ilona laugh aloud and Kaliq cocked his head questioningly.

  “Swiftsword’s grandmother was my great-uncle Rufin’s lover briefly. She bore a son she believed was her husband’s, Swiftsword’s father,” Ilona said laughing. “That is where Swiftsword got his natural ability with the blade, for my great-uncle was famed among the faerie world for his skills with that weapon. How fascinating that Lara’s blood on both her mother and her father’s side comes from my family, the royal family of the Forest,” the queen remarked. “In a mortal, the blood weakens with each passing generation. But faerie blood strengthens with each new line born. Perhaps one of Swiftsword’s sons will have a talent after all. I will have to watch them.”

  “Then you believe Lara can bear the burden of knowing her time in the Dark Lands as Kol’s mate,” Kaliq said quietly.

  “Close now,” Ilona said to the book which quickly shut itself. “She believes she can, but I still fret that perhaps it is her curiosity that drives her on, my prince. You must question her carefully tomorrow when we meet at Shunnar.” Ilona sighed. “I wish we could have put a mortal woman into Kol’s eye, but no mortal could have created the two from the one.”

  “I am disturbed that h
e is able to reach out to her even with her memories hidden away,” the prince said thoughtfully. “Without those memories she is better protected.”

  Ilona reached out and took Kaliq’s hand in hers, squeezing it gently. “You cannot always protect her,” she told him softly. “She must tread her own path. And she still has more to do before her destiny is completely fulfilled.”

  His look was anguished. “So much responsibility upon such delicate shoulders,” hesaid. “I do not know how she bears it, Ilona.”

  “She bears it because she is my daughter,” the queen answered. “Because she is faerie. More faerie than even we knew, Kaliq. And we will always be here to aid her when she needs us. Always!”

  He nodded. “Aye, we will,” he agreed. Then he shook himself. “I must return to Shunnar. I will await your coming tomorrow.” And turning, he was gone into the shadows of the queen’s chamber.

  Ilona sat alone for a long time. Lara was strong. But the memories she demanded were going to pain her deeply. And she would have to keep them secret from her beloved Magnus. That, the queen knew, would be the hardest thing of all for her daughter. But then Ilona suddenly knew that her grandson, Dillon, would be there for his mother as he always was. He would sense her pain and comfort her. And she would be there. They would not allow Lara to suffer from the forbidden knowledge she was about to receive. There was too much more for her to do.

  12

  MAGNUS HAUK WAS PLEASED when his wife returned from visiting her mother in a relatively short time. He was not pleased when she told him that evening during their family meal that she would be leaving them again on the morrow.