Lara nodded. “I have already missed so much of Anoush,” she whispered. Then she asked, “Will the Outlands remain safe, Kaliq?”

He shook his head. “Even our powers cannot hold off the invasion much longer, Lara. Gaius Prospero has been elected emperor of Hetar. He has made many promises that he must keep, or lose his power and his place. Perhaps even his life. He will do whatever he needs to do to survive, my love.”

“I have a plan,” she began.

“I know,” he said. “And you must execute it as soon as you can.”

“I am not sure I can convince Magnus,” Lara told him.

“You must!” the Shadow Prince said forcefully. “Make it a condition of your marriage to him, Lara. It is for our world.”

“Do you still love me, Kaliq?” she asked him cruelly.

“I will always love you, Lara,” he replied sadly. “But I am not your destiny.”

“Is Magnus Hauk?” she countered.

“For now, aye!” he told her. “You know I speak the truth. You bloom within his arms. You flourish with his love for you.”

“How can you know it?” she demanded of him.

“I know everything there is to know about you, Lara. Am I not your mentor and your friend? Did not my brothers and I teach you to know when to trust?”

Lara laughed softly at the remembrance of a single night long ago. “Aye, you taught me well,” she said.

“Then unlock your faerie heart, my love, and give it to Magnus Hauk,” he told her with a small smile. “You know I am right.”

“He says he will tame me,” Lara murmured.

“Rather you will tame each other,” Kaliq said quietly. “Magnus Hauk is a mortal upon whom you may rely, Lara. His heart is good, and he has strong principles. You will find you are much alike.” He took her in his arms, and kissed her brow. “I will be with you when you enter the tower, Lara,” he said to her, and she suddenly found herself slipping from the dream world into a deep sleep. How typical of her Shadow Prince, she thought. He would not say goodbye.

WHEN LARA AWOKE it was a startlingly beautiful day, and she felt more rested than she had in weeks. Slipping from her bed she looked out her window, and watched the sunrise staining the morning skies in a plethora of vibrant colors. The air was warm, and fragrant with the scent of roses. She breathed it in deeply, and realized that she felt strong. Thank you, Kaliq, she said silently. Then going to the bath in the Women’s Quarters she bathed slowly and carefully, washing her long golden hair as well. She was drying it in the bath courtyard when Sirvat joined her.

“Did you dream well?”

“I did, and today I will enter Usi’s tower,” Lara told her.

“Will you let Magnus go with you? He wants to, you know,” Sirvat said.

“He must not, cannot come with me,” Lara told the Dominus’s sister. “Kaliq has warned me that Usi could attempt to steal Magnus’s body in an attempt to reincarnate himself.”

“Could he not steal your body?” Sirvat worried.

“Nay. I am well protected – not simply by my heritage, but because Kaliq will be there. Besides, Usi would not want to be a woman, I am quite certain.” She did not tell Sirvat of her encounter with the sorcerer’s shade in the dream world. There was no need to frighten her friend. She arose. “I must dress, and then see your brother.”

“You will need food for strength,” Sirvat fretted.

“I will eat when I have completed my task,” Lara told Sirvat. Then she hurried back to her own chamber. She dressed herself in her leather warrior’s garb, strapping Andraste upon her back, pulling on her boots.

“Am I not to come, too?” Verica demanded in a testy voice.

“No male or male spirit shall enter the tower,” Lara told him. “I met the sorcerer’s specter last night on the dream plane. I fear he might attempt to reincarnate in a male spirit, so you must remain where you are safe, Verica. Andraste is female, and I may need her protection.”

“Be cautious, Mistress,” the staff warned her. “This is a very evil spirit.”

“I will be,” Lara promised, as she left her chamber and hurried to the Dominus’s apartments.

Magnus Hauk looked her over carefully. “You are garbed for battle, Lara,” he said quietly. “You know I would go with you.”

“You must not,” Lara said sternly.

“I know. Your Shadow Prince came to me while I slept, and warned me himself. He said he did not want you wasting your energies in argument with me,” the Dominus chuckled.

Lara laughed. “He is very protective of me,” she answered.

“Should I be jealous?” Magnus asked her.

“Nay. You have no cause, my lord Dominus.” Her hand rested a moment upon his arm. “Let me do this thing, and then we will speak on matters closer to us both. This I promise you, Magnus.” She moved away from him as he reached for her. “You must not kiss me, for your kisses have the oddest effect upon me. They weaken me, and nothing must sap my strength this day, my lord Dominus.”

“How unlike you to admit to a weakness,” he said with a teasing smile.

“I must go,” Lara said, and hurried from his apartments. Just being with him was beginning to drain her. She walked slowly through the gardens overlooking the fjord, the sky reflecting its color into the waters. She took slow deep breaths as she moved. Perhaps Kaliq was right and Magnus was a part of her destiny. She was going to need his cooperation if her unspoken plan was to succeed. And when she reached her destiny would it reveal itself to her? Or must she continue to bumble along, following the voice within and always wondering if she was doing the right thing?

You will know it, she heard Ethne’s voice reassuring her.

Lara felt the strength pouring back into her body. Ahead of her, the northwest tower of Usi loomed dark and threatening. Even on this glorious day there was something sinister about it. She shivered but walked onward, noticing that the closer she got to the tower the more bleak the ground beneath her feet was. There was no green here, she realized, only rock and dirt. Reaching the small door that opened into the tower Lara stopped, realizing she had no key.

“Use your magic,” Kaliq’s voice instructed her. He was not visible to her.

“Open portal,” Lara said to the door. The small door creaked open with difficulty.

LARA AWOKE, and it was a startlingly beautiful day. Slipping from her bed she looked out her window, and watched the sunrise staining the morning skies in a plethora of vibrant colors. The air was warm and fragrant with the scent of roses – Wait! Had not this all happened before? Then she realized that the dark magic of Usi the sorcerer was attempting to keep her from entering his tower. “Repel, spell!” she cried and was once more before the small door, the sound of its creaking still in her ears.

It had not been opened in nearly five hundred years. She ducked as a small black flying creature flew out of the tower, and almost shrieked as several rats scampered past her, one over her very feet. Then drawing a deep breath, Lara stepped into the tower, walking toward the stone stairs just beyond the open door – which now shut itself with a loud bang. The sound of dark laughter sent a ripple down her spine, but she realized that she was not afraid.

“You are clever, Lara. I had thought to hold you off longer,” his voice said to her out of the darkness. Yet he had no form that she could discern, a fact that was very unnerving.

Ignoring him, she let her eyes adjust to the tower’s darkness. To acknowledge him would only rob her of her strength, and she needed all of her strength for what lay ahead. “Torch!” she said, and a small torch appeared in her hand, casting a weak glow into the gloom. To her left was a door. “Portal open,” Lara commanded. The door creaked open to reveal a flight of stairs that obviously led to a dungeon. The air was fetid and damp, and a despairing moaning issued from deep below. She quickly chanted, “Portal close!” More ghosts than Usi’s lived here.

She turned back and mounted the winding staircase. The stone steps beneath her boots were worn, and now and again her foot slipped on some slick substance beneath it. She dared not lower her light to see what it was. She would not permit Usi to distract her from her purpose, which was his complete and utter destruction. Now the tower was so silent she could hear her own heart beating loudly in her ears. Her legs felt suddenly heavy. She could hardly lift her feet one after the other. Lara gained the first landing, where she saw a small door to her right. Curious, she opened it, and gasped with shock. The wall before her was hung with the bones of Usi’s victims. Long hair in various hues – browns, blondes, reds and black – still clung to the skulls. Suddenly the skeletons began to dance jerkily, their bones rattling together.

Tears sprang into her eyes and she slammed the door shut. It was then she heard the crack of a whip. The piteous screams of a woman being brutally beaten filled the air, accompanied by the maniacal laughter of the sorcerer. Lara watched, fascinated yet horrified, as from beneath the closed door a rivulet of blood began to flow out onto the landing. She quickly turned away, and began to climb the second flight of steps up the tower but the screams followed her as she struggled upward.

Good, she heard Kaliq’s voice say. Keep moving, Lara. When you give any thought to what happened in this accursed place, you give it momentary life again. Concentrate only on getting to the chamber at the top of this tower! The soul you now hear in torment long ago went to her Creator.

Lara swallowed hard, and forced her legs to move upward. Unexpectedly a tremendous wind began to blow down from the heights of the tower. She fell onto the stone stairs, striving to get up. Her torch flickered dangerously. Suddenly angry, Lara forced herself to her feet, and tucking her head into her chest she fought her way back up the staircase. One step. Then another. One step at a time. But always forward, for she was now more determined than ever to reach the sorcerer’s chamber. Just three more steps. One. Two. A shriek of rage almost sent her tumbling back again, but Lara pushed herself up the final step, crying as she did, “Portal open!”

The door opened slowly, slowly. The ferocious wind had now disappeared, but as she stepped into the chamber Lara could feel the sorcerer’s evil presence. It would remain to harm her unless she could bring light into the room. “Kaliq, help me!” she called.

“He cannot help you, Lara. I am master here, and you will soon be in my power, my beautiful faerie woman,” Usi murmured, the sound so close she felt the moist heat of his breath in her ear. “Yield to me,” the voice caressed her seductively. “Yield, and together we will control our worlds, and know the pleasures denied mortals.”

His words weakened her. She could almost feel his hands on her, touching her breasts, her face, her pure golden hair. The darkness swirled about her, beckoning her into its deepest heart. Her strength was beginning to drain away now. She could feel herself surrendering in spite of herself. Lara gasped for breath, for it seemed as if all the air in the room was being sucked away. One breath. The second deeper, the third deeper yet, and her head began to clear. Power began flowing back into her body. “No!” she cried. “You will not defeat me. I will defeat you! Where once light flowed let it flow again!” she cried loudly, pointing to the place where the tower window should be.

She heard the crack of brick against stone. “Welcome light! Welcome warmth! Cleanse this chamber with your goodness,” Lara said opening her arms wide. “Banish evil in whatever form it may take!” A faint ray of sunshine crept slowly across the stone floor from a large crack in the wall before her. “Window open!” Lara cried with a loud voice, and the mortar and bricks that had blocked the tower window suddenly exploded, falling into the room as the golden sunlight poured into the dark space as it had not been done for centuries.

“Arrgh!”

Lara whirled to see the smoky shade of Usi writhing as the warm light began to devour him. Briefly she saw him as he had once been – tall, young and very handsome, his dark eyes compelling, his very beauty belying his cruel and wicked character.

“Faerie woman!” he gasped. “Save me!” Beautiful hands with long elegant fingers reached out toward her as Lara backed away from him. “Help me!”

“Begone, and never again return to this realm or any other!” Lara cried, pointing, and the lightning from her hand cracked, destroying the sorcerer forever.

“Well done!” Kaliq said appearing beside her. “You have banished him.”

“My faerie powers grow stronger,” Lara marveled.

“Only because you use them for good,” Kaliq told her.