The Twilight Lord (39 page)

“It is that damned faerie woman again!” the emperor snapped. “If I had known what troubles that exquisite girl I once sold was going to create for me, I would have taken my pleasure of her and seen her strangled afterwards!”

“Alas, my lord, hindsight is no real gift,” Jonah said dryly.

Gaius Prospero looked sharply at his good right hand, but Jonah’s face was its usual emotionless mask. The emperor wondered if Vilia took pleasures with her new husband. He somehow could not see Jonah sweaty with passion.

There was a soft knock upon the door and Jonah’s servant, Lionel, entered. “Forgive me, my lord emperor, my lord, for interrupting, but an urgent message has just been brought from Squire Darah of the Midlands.”

“What is it?” Gaius Prospero demanded to know.

Lionel beckoned to a shadowed figure in the door and a man entered into the chamber. “My lord, the messenger,” Lionel said.

“Well, what have you to say?” Gaius Prospero shouted impatiently.

“My master, Squire Darah, sends me to tell you that creatures he believes to be Wolfyn are streaming forth from the forest and laying waste to our Midlands. Fields are being fired, livestock slaughtered, women and children carried off. Squire Darah requests your aid, my lord emperor. We are doing our best to hold them off, but our men are few, and most are old. They cannot fight these creatures.”

Gaius Prospero looked surprised. “I thought the Wolfyn were but a legend me ant to frighten naughty children,” he said to Jonah.

“All legend is rooted in fact, my lord,” Jonah answered. This was not good. He had hoped to use the disaster in the Coastal Province to help him unseat Gaius Prospero.

“I cannot help your master,” Gaius Prospero finally said. “All of our mercenaries are in the Coastal Kingdom, for the invasion has begun. There are less than a thousand Crusader Knights here in The City and they are mostly elderly. Besides, we will need them to defend us should these Wolfyn come here.”

Squire Darah’s messenger look both outraged and devastated.

“What the emperor means,” Jonah quickly put in, “is that we must prepare The City for any attack by these Wolfyn, but we could spare you one hundred Crusader Knights to help you mount your own defenses and train your few men. Is that not so, my lord?” Jonah looked encouragingly at the emperor.

And to his credit Gaius Prospero understood his good right hand. “Yes! Yes! Of course I will send you a small force to help out,” he said.

The Squire’s messenger knelt and kissed the emperor’s hand fervently. “Thank you, my lord! Thank you!”

“Lionel,” Jonah said sharply. “Make the arrangements.”

“Yes, my lord,” came the answer. Lionel escorted the messenger out.

“Well, now,” Gaius Prospero said, “what mischief is this and why did the Forest Lords not warn us of this new peril? We must quickly recall our forces from the coast. And send to Lord Enda, the Head Forester, for an explanation.”

“At once, my lord,” Jonah said. He bowed to his master and then hurried out. He had to apprise Vilia of this new and sudden danger that faced them all. They would have to decide how to use it to their own best advantage. Gaius Prospero’s time was fast coming to an end. Jonah smiled one of his rare smiles. He could almost taste the power that would soon be his.

“H
OW COULD YOU
allow all those men to die?” Lara demanded of her mother. She had just learned the depth of the tragedy that had afflicted the Hetarian fleet.

“You have one weakness, my daughter,” Ilona replied. “You yet have mortal compassion in your heart, even for your enemies. Destroying that fleet was necessary to protect Terah. And only half the fleet had put to sea. The second half was meant to follow after Hetar reached Terah.”

“Was my father among those you slew?” Lara asked.

“Nay. He was on the vessel that was spared,” Ilona said. “I suppose some part of me still cares for him or perhaps my love for you caused me to keep him safe.”

“Well, some good has come of it all,” Magnus Hauk said.

“What possible good could come from the deaths of over eight thousand men?” Lara wanted to know.

“Hetar is now very afraid of us,” the Dominus replied. “They have recalled their armies. It is not likely they will consider attacking us again until the memory of what has happened fades from their history.”

“You have a greater problem now,” Ilona said. “The reason Hetar recalled their troops is that they cannot fight a war on two fronts. The Twilight Lord has sent the Wolfyn into Hetar. He put them by means of his magic into the forest and from there they spread out into the Midlands. The City is already scrambling to protect itself.”

Lara grew pale, and feeling faint, clutched at a chair to steady herself.

Seeing this the Dominus asked, “What is it, my darling? What is distressing you so?” He reached out to put an arm about her, but Lara pulled away.

Mother!
She spoke silently to her parent.
My secret cannot be kept any longer. Kol is following through on his threat, and eventually he and Magnus will meet. He will tell the Dominus of our time together, of the sons I bore him, and even if I deny it Magnus will always have some doubts. It is the nature of mortal man, and my husband may never trust me again. I must tell him of that lost time, for if I do not he will always believe me untruthful.

Do not tell him quite yet,
Ilona said.
Not until you are carrying his son. That way what will at first seem to him a betrayal will be softened.

We are about to be forced into a terrible war. Is this really the time to give Magnus his son?
Lara asked her mother.

Under the circumstances, it is the best time,
Ilona told her daughter.
And Kaliq and I will explain to Magnus why this part of your destiny was necessary, not so much for you, but for our worlds. He may not be happy with what has happened, but it will seem a less treacherous act.

Last night we had a most passionate encounter, and I thought it was a perfect moment to conceive a son were it not for this threat of war,
Lara admitted to her mother.

Ilona looked closely at her daughter, and then she smiled.
It
was
a perfect moment,
she said with a small emphatic smile.
If we love, sometimes the moment is chosen for us.

Do you mean…Oh, Mother, thank you!

“Are you all right, my darling?” the Dominus asked his wife.

Lara nodded in the affirmative. “I just grew dizzy for a moment,” she said.

Immediately Magnus Hauk became alert. “Do you think…Is it possible?” He didn’t dare to finish the sentence. But his face was hopeful.

Lara blushed. “Perhaps,” she said. “My mother seems to think so.”

“It would certainly account for your overreaction to the sinking of Hetar’s fleet,” Ilona remarked. “I mean, really Lara, these people were out to violate Terah’s sovereignty and attack your people. Surely you remember what happened the last time Hetar annexed territory that was not their own. The Tormod and the Piaras clan families suffered greatly.”

“It is a son?” he asked.

“It will be a son,” Lara promised her husband. “Mother, we need Kaliq now.”

“Now?”
Ilona questioned her daughter sharply.

“Now,” Lara replied.

Kaliq! Come to us!
the queen called and when the prince appeared, his white robes swirling about him, Ilona silently explained the discussion that had taken place earlier between her and Lara.

And she would tell him now of Kol?
the prince said.

She has no choice,
Ilona responded.
Terah will need to help Hetar and to do that both Lara and Magnus must stand together. My daughter cannot do that if she is living in fear of Kol revealing his relationship with her. He hopes by doing so to separate Lara from Magnus. To give her no choice but to return to him.

Even if Lara lost Magnus,
the prince said,
she would never return to Kol.

I know that and you know that,
Ilona answered,
but Kol, for all his evil, is in love.

Lara greeted the prince with a kiss upon the cheek, then she invited them all to sit down. “My lord,” she addressed her husband, “there is something that you must know. I have not wanted to tell you this, for I fear your love for me will die once you have learned it. But I have never intentionally lied to you, Magnus. And I cannot now, no matter the consequences.” She reached out and took his big hand between her two small ones. “You know of the Dark Lands beyond the New Outlands. That placed is ruled by pure evil in the person of a creature known as the Twilight Lord.”

Magnus Hauk remained silent, listening carefully, absorbing her words.

“I was lost to you for a year, Magnus, although your memory of that time has been taken from you to protect me, to protect you, to protect us all. Taken from everyone in both Hetar and Terah. Taken even from myself, for a time. When I was returned to the New Outlands from whence I was stolen, it appeared to you, to everyone, that you had come to bring me and the children home as you always did. But the year before that the Munin lords came in the night and stole my memories from me and then when I awakened I was in the bed of Kol, the Twilight Lord.”

“How can this be?” Magnus Hauk wanted to know.

“In time I will do my best to explain it,” Lara said. “For now just let me tell the tale. Without my memories I knew not who I was. Kol told me I was his mate and wove a pretty story about how that had come about. The Twilight Lords are guided by something known as the Book of Rule. Kol was told by the Book of Rule that his mate—she who would give him a son—was a faerie woman. Twilight Lords only sire a single son a generation. He had looked into the reflecting bowl and seen me many times. He interpreted that to mean that I was the faerie woman meant to be his mate.”

“Did you give him his son?” the Dominus asked her in a tight voice.

“It was part of my destiny to do so,” Lara said, aching at the hurt and anger she saw in his turquoise eyes. “But before my time came, Kaliq came, and had the Munin restore all of my memories. I was horrified by where I was. More horrified at my growing belly. And most horrified by the fact that this bit of my destiny would hurt you should you ever learn. I never wanted you to know.”

Magnus Hauk looked at the prince and at his mother-in-law. “Tell me what purpose was served by whoring my wife to another?” he asked them coldly.

Ilona looked infuriated by his words, but wisely held her tongue.

Kaliq, however, spoke calmly to the Dominus. “At intervals of several hundred years,” he began, “the balance between the light and the dark begins to shift to the darkness. And when that happens something must be done to restore that balance. The last time this happened, Terah was almost rent asunder by the sorcerer Usi. Only the bravery of Geltruda saved your land and your people. And it was five hundred years before Lara came to you and removed the curse of Usi completely. This Twilight Lord is Usi’s direct descendant, Magnus. The Book of Rule was written by Usi. He could look into the future, which he did, and see what was necessary.”

“But why my wife? Are there not others like Lara who might have served this purpose?” the Dominus asked.

“There are indeed others, but none as pure of heart and as strong of will as Lara. None who could do what needed to be done,” Kaliq said.

“What needed to be done that only Lara might do?” Magnus demanded.

“When I came and restored her memories,” Kaliq responded, “and explained to her that only a single son was born each generation to the Twilight Lord and why, Lara cast a spell that separated the infant in her womb and created of it twin boys. When they were born, their births created chaos in the Dark Lands, which we hoped would prevent Kol’s plans to dominate our worlds. You see, no one at the birth could recall which of the twins was born first. They were identical, of course. Their father has now marked them so he may tell them apart, but with each birthday they celebrate those marks shall be faded entirely in order to keep the confusion. No prince of the Twilight may be harmed in any way by their own, and so Kol is forced to raise both of his sons.”

“But why was it necessary that Lara bear these children? And how could she conceive if she did not love him?” Magnus wanted to know. He was trying to understand for although he could barely look at his wife now a quick glance revealed her pain.

“That was one of the many reasons her memories were stolen from her. She did not know she was faerie or remember faerie ways,” Ilona quickly put in. “She became like any mortal female and Kol was fated to impregnate her.”

“And remember, Magnus,” Kaliq said, “that the Book of Rule directed this.”
Fool!
Kaliq thought.
You do not deserve her, but she loves you, and so I will do whatever I have to do to make this right between you.

The Dominus turned to his wife, his face a mask of anguish. “Why do you tell me this now, Lara?” he asked her. “You have kept your secret since your return. Why now?”

She reached out to touch him, but he drew away and it was like a knife to her heart. Curse Kol of the Twilight! If only he had accepted that she was not his, nor would she ever return. But instead he was behaving like a spoiled child; if he could not have Lara then no other man would. “Kaliq felt the memories of my time in the Dark Lands would be too painful for me to bear. He arranged to have those memories taken by the Munin lords and stored away in their vault beneath the Obscura. But Kol’s memories were intact and he began to invade my dreams, attempting to reach me upon the Dream Plain. I did not know who was haunting me, or why, but I realized something was wrong. That is why I went to Kaliq. He explained he had taken certain memories from me that would pain me and make our life together difficult. But I insisted those memories be returned, for I could not fight whoever was trying to get to me upon the Dream Plain without full knowledge of what had happened to me in the first place.

“The knowing has been painful to me because I knew how hurtful it would be to you, Magnus. Know that the creature I am did not betray you. I love you and I always will love you, my dear lord. I never knew that this terrible trial that was visited upon me would be a part of my destiny. I could not have imagined such a thing. Kaliq has said that the worst of it is now over. I should have never shared this with you but that the Twilight Lord has refused to accept that I do not love him, nor want him, nor will I return to the Dark Lands by his side. He has begun a war with Hetar who would have begun a war with us. And now we must go to Hetar’s aid, Magnus.”

“But why,” he demanded again, “did you choose this time to share your misadventure with me, Lara?”

“Kol threatened to seek you out upon the Dream Plain and tell you of that lost year,” Lara explained. “I thought it better you learned of it from me than from that evil creature. My destiny has not been an easy one, Magnus, and it is not yet totally fulfilled. Ask me what you will about that year. Satisfy your curiosity.”

“You do not ask my forgiveness,” he said softly and he heard Ilona gasp, shocked.

“Do I need your forgiveness, my lord?” Lara answered him in equally soft tones. “I did not know what was planned to happen to me. I should have never gone willingly into the Dark Lands to be the Twilight Lord’s mate. I did not even have the memories of that terrible year until Kol began to haunt me and I needed to have them back so I might do battle with him. Why do I need your forgiveness?”

“Could you not have protected her better?” Magnus Hauk demanded angrily of the prince. “You love her, too. I know that, and yet you let that damned evil reach out to Lara. Why did you not take better care of her? Now we must both contend with the memories of that year and I don’t know if it can ever be the same between us.”

“Ohh, arrogant mortal!” Ilona exploded with her anger. “How dare you whine over your wounded pride when my daughter has done our worlds such a great and terrible service? Though Kaliq penned the Twilight Lord in his castle for a hundred years and took away his reflecting bowls, Kol is yet managing to give orders to his minions from his castle. Regretfully we cannot put evil to sleep for that century. The balance would be destroyed entirely, but you do not understand that, do you?” Her green eyes were icy with her disdain. “If my daughter did not love you so deeply I should turn you to stone, Magnus Hauk! Beware if you should make my daughter unhappy!” And then in a clap of thunder and a flash of light, Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries, was gone in a burst of deep purple smoke which indicated her anger at her son-in-law.

“Magnus,” Kaliq said gently, “none of what has happened is Lara’s fault nor is it of her making. Your pride is hurt as any man’s would be, but you cannot hold this against her, my friend. She loves you.”

“Your sons,” the Dominus said to his wife. “How were you able to leave them so easily? You make a habit of leaving your children, I note.”