The Twilight Lord (41 page)

All remained silent about him and then Og realized that his sire was probably not used to be addressed thusly.

“Skrymir of the Forest Giants, I need you to come and speak with me,” he said.

“Who calls me?” his father’s deep strong voice answered.

“Your son, Og, horse master to the Shadow Princes,” Og replied and then he saw Skrymir striding through the mist toward him.

“What is it you want of me, Og?” his father asked as they now stood face-to-face.

“I bring you an offer from Magnus Hauk, Dominus of Terah,” Og began.

“Who is this Dominus of Terah?”

“He is the ruler of the vast territory beneath the mountains of the Dark Lands. His wife was my savior and is my dearest friend to this day. My lord father, you know that the greatest of the Shadow Princes, Kaliq by name, is my master and patron. He knows that the nature of our race is a gentle and kind one. He believes the harshness that you must now exhibit is what has kept you alive since the treachery of the Forest Lords changed our way of life. But my master also believes that given the chance, you would return to your former selves. And it is through him that the Dominus makes this offer. It is a good offer, my lord father.

“Leave the Dark Lands. Eschew the Twilight Lord’s influence and again become the race we once were. The Dominus will give to you and our people all the lands beneath the Black Mountains from the Obscura to beyond infinity if you will reject Kol and his plans for conquest. The land is not harsh like the mountains you now inhabit. The land is rolling, forested hills with broad fertile valleys. It is a good place,” Og said.

Skrymir’s amber eyes grew almost misty at the thought of such a land, but then he said, “When my liege lord conquers Terah, those lands can be ours if we ask him.”

“The Twilight Lord will never conquer Terah,” Og replied. “Without a faerie woman he has not the power to do so. And he must watch his back more carefully than ever before, for there are those who would seek to place one or the other of his sons on his throne. The Dark Lands borders on civil war, my lord father.”

“My lord Kol’s faerie mate gives him all the power he needs for his conquest,” Skrymir boasted.

“She is no longer by his side, my lord father,” Og told his sire. “Lord Kol stole the faerie wife of the Dominus of Terah, but only after stealing her memories so she would not know who she was.” Then Og went on to tell Lara’s tale to Skrymir. He told him that Kaliq had restored her memories and that the beautiful faerie used her magic to create two sons from the one. “It was all planned in advance,” Og said. “The Domina Lara was sent deliberately by the Council of the Magic Kingdoms to bring this chaos to the Dark Lands. It was a part of the great destiny she has. Without her, your master cannot accomplish all he desires. Lord Kol attempts to wreck the perfect balance between the light and the dark. But he will not be allowed to do it.

“Now he seeks out the lady Lara on the Dream Plain for Prince Kaliq has penned him within his castle for the next hundred years. He cannot leave it to lead his armies. He cannot leave it to even visit his House of Women or teach his sons how to ride one day when they are old enough. So he makes his feeble attempts to draw the Domina back into the darkness so he may use her powers, but he will never succeed. The lady Lara is the very essence of light, my lord father. Tell me, how do you communicate with him?”

Skrymir’s large but slow brain absorbed all that he heard from Og. The last time they had spoken he had fled his son with a terrible headache, but this time he swallowed down the pain of so much information and considered Og’s words. Finally he said, “The Chancellor Alfrigg has built a new reception hall. The end where he stands is an original part of the castle. The new end is where petitioners and liegemen go, yet they are connected and appear to be one chamber. It is here we listen to the Twilight Lord’s directives and receive our orders from him.”

“And no one goes to the foot of the throne of Lord Kol?” Og queried gently.

“There is a filigreed silver railing across the room and none may move past it,” Skrymir said slowly. “Is that because we
cannot
get past it, my son?”

“Indeed, my lord father, I believe it is,” Og replied. “This chamber has been fashioned to make it appear as if all is well, but it is not. Still, ’tis cleverly done.”

“So we may have no fear that the Twilight Lord will punish us if we desert him?” Skrymir wanted to know.

“My master, Prince Kaliq, will weave a protection spell about each of the Forest Giants and about your new lands,” Og said.

“If we take this chance and go against Lord Kol, we must leave everything we have behind,” Skrymir noted. “We will have no goods nor homes to call our own. We will be little better off than when we fled the Forest Lords all those years ago.”

“I am certain the Domina Lara would use her magic to see that everything you lost was replaced,” Og promised.

“I had a large hall in the old forest,” Skrymir murmured slyly.

There was a tinkle of laughter that startled them both and then Lara appeared through the mists of the Dream Plain. “Greetings, Skrymir, lord of the Forest Giants,” she said smiling at him. “Darling Og, take me up in your hand so your father and I may speak face-to-face.” When the giant had done so and Lara was settled comfortably in his palm she continued. “A large hall with a great stone fireplace and sleeping spaces for your retainers would suit you, I am certain. And a fine chamber behind the hall with its own fireplace for you to sleep in. It should have a good-sized bed for I am certain that once you have been safely resettled you will want to take pleasures with a new wife. The giant woman, Thrym, pleases you but you have never felt safe enough in the Dark Lands to offer her your protection.”

“How can you know these things, my lady?” Skrymir wanted to learn. He looked at her closely. Aye! It was the same beautiful woman Kol had told them all was his mate. But she was not. Kol had used this beautiful creature for his own ends. If she were not powerful, with powerful friends, he could have destroyed her, for Skrymir could see that Lara was no part of the darkness. Indeed, even here upon the Dream Plain where much was muted, she glowed with a radiance that could only come of good.

“I am Lara, daughter of Swiftsword and Ilona, queen of the Forest Faeries,” Lara said gently. “I know much, my lord.”

“You are Maeve’s granddaughter?” Skrymir suddenly knelt. “She was a great lady and I can see that you take after her. Will you follow your mother one day, my lady Lara?” he asked her.

“Nay, my half brother Cirillo will follow our mother. I cannot, for I am not all faerie,” Lara explained. She reached out and touched Skrymir’s russet head. “Help us defeat Kol of the Twilight, my lord. You will not suffer for it.”

Skrymir looked up into Lara’s beautiful green eyes as he knelt. “I know that I can trust Maeve’s granddaughter,” he said. “The Forest Giants, those of us who remain, are yours to command, my lady Lara.”

“When you awaken, my lord, gather your people and depart the Dark Lands as quickly as you can. Once you have crossed its borders into Terah, my mother’s people, with whom you are familiar, will meet you and guide you to your new home. Og did not finish what needed to be said, however. You must acknowledge the Dominus of Terah as your overlord. Once a year he will visit you and you will offer your fealty to him by whatever means you choose among yourselves. It is the only thing he will require for the lands he cedes to the Forest Giants,” Lara explained.

“The Dominus is your husband,” Skrymir said.

“He is, and a finer mortal you have never met. Nor are you likely to meet a better man,” Lara told him with a little smile.

“It is little enough to ask of us,” Skrymir said. “I will swear fealty for us all. And the land is ours and our descendants’ to do with as we please, my lady Domina?”

“The land is yours but you cannot destroy it,” Lara said.

“We did not destroy the old forests in which our kind lived for so many centuries. We tended that forest. We will cherish and tend this new forest that your lord husband gives us.”

“Rise then, Skrymir, and take my faerie blessing with you when you awaken. The Forest Faeries will await you,” Lara told him. “Be cautious, however, that you are not caught as you make your escape,” she warned him. “Remember, take nothing with you but the clothing on your back. You do not wish any part of the darkness intruding upon your new life. This will be difficult for some of your people, but make certain they leave all behind them lest you bring discord into your new life.”

“What of our weapons?” he asked her.

“Take only those you brought with you, my lord. And now I will leave you to bid your son farewell,” Lara said. “Please put me down now, Og.”

Og set Lara gently back upon the ground of the Dream Plain, bending as he did so to murmur, “Thank you, my lady.”

Lara smiled up at him. “Forgive me for intruding, but our time is short, dearest Og. I like your father.” Then she kissed his ruddy cheek and turned back into the mist of the Dream Plain to disappear from his sight.

“I like Maeve’s granddaughter,” Skrymir said.

Og straightened up and nodded at his father. “She is a good faerie, my lord.”

“I will keep my promise to her,” Skrymir nodded. “Come and visit your kin in our new home, Og. You will be welcome.” Then the giant lord turned and walked away, the tendrils of the gauzy gray mist obscuring him quickly from his son’s view.

Og turned to go and then he heard a deep hypnotic voice calling from somewhere in the haze. The sound sent a shiver down his back.

“Lara! Come to me, my only one. You are mine! I will let no one else have you! Lara! Answer me! Come to me!”

The Twilight Lord!
Og realized. It had to be the Twilight Lord. He backed away from the sound, forcing himself to waken. He gasped and sat straight up in his bed. He was drenched in his own sweat and his great heart was hammering wildly.

“What is it?” the Shadow Prince sitting by his bedside asked.

Og told him all that had happened upon the Dream Plain. “And then, my prince, I heard a voice calling out for Lara. The very sound of it frightened me,” Og said. “And I have rarely if ever been frightened. Was it the Twilight Lord or was it my imagination playing upon my fears?”

“Nay, it was undoubtedly Kol,” Prince Kaliq said. “I have no doubt he lurks upon the Dream Plain waiting to sense Lara. The Keepers will not forbid him the Dream Plain.”

“Could he have heard our plans, my prince?” Og wondered.

“It is unlikely,” came the reply. “Kol’s only passion is for Lara, but he did not sense her until she had gone. And your amulet kept you safe from his detection.”

“If Lara had not come I might not have been able to convince my father to take our people and leave the Dark Land,” Og said. “I was relieved when she arrived. I am not a clever fellow, my lord. I am happier with my horses.”

The prince chuckled. “Whether you realize it or not, Og, you have the makings of a diplomat,” Kaliq told his horse master.

Og roared with laughter. “My prince, you cheer my soul but I know what I am. I am the finest horse master the Shadow Princes have ever had or ever will.”

“Indeed, Og, I am inclined to agree with you,” Kaliq responded with a grin. “I thank you for your efforts tonight. Now go back to your beloved creatures.”

Og bowed and hurried off.

T
HE
S
HADOW
P
RINCE SAT
amid the beauty of his personal garden, musing. A third of the Twilight Lord’s allies had been removed. Reaching for his reflecting bowl he gazed into the water at the castle of Kolbyr. It was night and a storm raged with great flashes of lightning crossing the black skies above it.
“Sleep. Deep.”
Kaliq murmured the small incantation. All in Kol’s castle would sleep until the Forest Giants had made their escape. Only when Kol wanted the giants would he discover that they were missing. It would be too late then for the giants would be gone and if Kol found them, the prince’s spell would be set in place. But now, Kaliq thought, they must turn their attention to the Wolfyn attacking The City. There had to be a way to destroy them. The prince put his mind to it.

The Wolfyn had all the worst characteristics of both man and wolf. But if they could choose between one species or the other, which would it be? Kaliq wondered. Some, of course, would prefer to remain as they were. Yet in any group of creatures there were always those who were dissatisfied with themselves.
It could be a way to weaken the Wolfyn,
Kaliq thought. And for now that was the best they might do.

He would have to walk among the Wolfyn himself to learn who was discontent. The prince set a cloak of invisibility about his shoulders and stepped into the shadows. When he stepped forth from the shadows he found himself in the Wolfyn encampment which was now set up in the home of Squire Darah, the governor of the Midlands, who had wisely fled the onslaught of savage invaders. Unfortunately, the squire had not informed his servants of his departure. Nor had he bothered to mention his plans to his pretty young wife who was now seated in the lap of the Wolfyn lord’s commander, a young Wolfyn named Ulf. The woman did not look happy as her captor vigorously kneaded one of her plump breasts, for his nails were long and they marked her skin.

“You are hurting me,” the woman complained as the nails drew blood.

“You have wonderful tits,” Ulf told her. “Our females do not.”

“Do not hoard the wench all to yourself,” another young Wolfyn complained.

“Would Hrolleif share such a prize?” Ulf demanded of his men who sat about Squire Darah’s hall. “There are plenty of women for you among the servants.”

“Just because the lord is your uncle,” grumbled another Wolfyn, “you think you are entitled to the cream because he made you commander of the invasion force. Why did not he lead us himself? I’ve never know Hrolleif to run from a battle.”

“He’ll be here when it is time to take The City,” Ulf replied. He pushed the woman from his lap. “I dislike it when you sulk, Fernir. Here, amuse yourself. You may all have her to play with if it pleases you.”