“Is his lover beautiful, my precious?” Kol asked Lara.

“Oh yes, very beautiful! I have planned a delicious entertainment for us when we take The City, my lord. Before we kill him we will bind this fat emperor to his throne and make him watch as this pretty creature he loves is forced to give pleasures to you as Hetar’s conqueror. And you will use both your dominant and lesser rods with the girl. Then you will pass her to the Wolfyn chief, the Dwarf chief and finally to Skrymir. If his love rod does not split her in two then we will give her to whichever of your legions fought the hardest. Her screams should drive the fat emperor mad,” Lara laughed.

Kol smiled broadly. “My precious, what delicious darkness bubbles within you. May our son inherit it. But what of the emperor’s unfaithful wife? Should she not also be punished for her naughtiness?”

“Not as severely, for her wickedness is dark. Is that not good, my lord?” Lara purred. “Let her be forced to take pleasures with her lover in the emperor’s sight. And then we will kill the fat slug. But slowly. We will cut his rod and balls from his body. I will prevent him from feeling the pain of it. Then we will roast them over a slow fire and force him to eat them.” She giggled. “With each bite he takes he will feel the pain. His screams, however, will become tedious then, my lord, and so we will have to garotte him.” She caressed his cheek. “Do you like my program, my lord?”

“Aye, I do, you charming witch. How I wish we might take pleasures together, for when you speak of such delightful evil I am filled with my lust for you, Lara, my precious. But my son must be protected.” He lay his hand on her belly and smiled into her icy green eyes. “You are such perfection, Lara. I adore you!”

“I am so glad the knowledge of my magic has returned,” Lara told him, smiling back into his eyes. “Now, my lord, there is something we must discuss. I will need a wet nurse for this child. A healthy woman with big breasts overfull with milk to suckle our son, for I will have no time for such common labors. Find me such a woman and have her ready for the day I give birth. Tell her to wean her own child within the next two months. Then she must come to the castle and you will suckle her daily until your son is birthed. It will keep her milk fresh and sweet, her breasts overflowing and ready to nourish your son. Is that not a perfect idea?”

Kol found himself more and more astounded by Lara as each day passed. The faerie woman of Hetar and Terah was known for her kindness, her goodness. But Lara, devoid of all of her personal memories, this Lara that he was helping to shape and create was a creature of pure darkness. She was indeed his mate and for the next several hundred years they would enjoy one another, for it appeared the mortal in her had been overridden by her magic. She would not die young as humans did.

IN THE WORLD BEYOND the Dark Land the spring passed, another summer came and Magnus Hauk grew more and more despondent. His magical allies appeared to be completely stymied by Lara’s mysterious disappearance and their inability to find her was maddening. The Dominus’s only solace was the three children in his home. Zagiri was now four years old and would have forgotten her mother had it not been for her half sister, Anoush. The Dominus had come to love Lara’s two offspring by Vartan, but he especially loved Anoush, for even with little real personal knowledge herself of her mother, the girl wove a history of Lara that kept her alive for Zagiri.

“When will our mother return to us?” Magnus Hauk heard his daughter ask her half sister one day.

“Very soon, I am sure, little Zagiri,” Anoush assured her younger sibling. “Her destiny will soon be realized and she will return to us.”

“Really? Truly?” Zagiri asked wide-eyed.

“Oh yes,” Anoush replied with certainty.

“How do you know that?” Zagiri said.

“I just do,” Anoush responded. “Do not forget, Zagiri, that our mother is a magical being and we have all inherited certain of her talents, I am sure.”

Dillon, who had been standing in the shadows with his stepfather, smiled and said softly, “Aye, and now I see that Anoush has been given the gift of sight along with her budding abilities as a healer.”

Magnus Hauk drew in a sharp breath. “And Zagiri. What will her talent be?”

“I do not know, Magnus,” the boy replied. “It is too soon.”

“Walk with me,” the Dominus said. “We need to talk. It’s almost a year now since your mother was stolen away. Answer me honestly. Do you believe that Kaliq does not know where she is? And what of Ilona? It has been weeks since I have heard from either of them and when I do, they say naught but that there is no hint of where Lara is. I think that they lie and I wonder why it is that they do. My suspicions grow daily.”

Dillon nodded. “I cannot say that I do not agree with you, Magnus. It has seemed odd to me that the Shadow Princes, the most powerful beings in our world, are ignorant of my mother’s fate. But I am yet a boy and my talents have not been trained. Still, I believe it is now time for you to request Prince Kaliq’s presence. Ask him directly what it is he knows and why he has kept it from us. We have all been patient but we are all suffering from Mother’s absence. Verica, my mother’s staff, has ceased speaking even to me. Andraste, her sword, hums incessantly from her place above the hearth in my mother’s rooms. Dasras yet sulks in the New Outlands with Sakira, and the clan families mourn without ceasing and blame themselves. But we know that they are not responsible for Mother’s disappearance.”

“Is it, do you think, her destiny?” the Dominus asked his stepson fearfully.

“It must be, but we will not know until we have summoned Kaliq,” the boy said. “You must do it, Magnus. You must call for the Shadow Prince to come to us.”

Magnus Hauk nodded. “Then let us go to the interior chamber from where your mother and I summon him. It is private.”

“First let us see the girls tucked into their beds,” Dillon suggested. “It will be better for us all in the quiet of the night when we are less apt to be disturbed. I will find Mila and see it done.”

The Dominus nodded and sought the little chamber to wait for Dillon. Lara! Her name echoed softly in his head. What had happened to his beloved wife? Where could she be? His first thoughts were that Hetar had somehow managed to gain custody of her. If so, he was ready to go to war over it. But Kaliq assured him it was not and Magnus Hauk had trusted Kaliq-although now he was not certain that he still should. And if the great Shadow Prince knew where Lara was, why had he kept the knowledge to himself? Questions, questions. He had far more questions than he had answers.

Finally his stepson joined him.

“All is secure. It is a quiet night, Magnus.”

“Then we are ready to summon Kaliq.” He turned and faced a blank wall opposite the door to the chamber. “Kaliq of the Shadows, heed my call. Come to me from out yon wall,” the Dominus intoned.

“Good evening, Magnus. Dillon,” the Shadow Prince said as he stepped through the wall and into the chamber. “It has been some weeks since we last spoke. You are both looking well, I am pleased to see.”

He was as handsome as ever, Dillon thought. The Shadow Prince’s bright blue eyes blazed with light. His ebony hair showed no silver despite his many centuries.

“We are not well,” the Dominus replied. “None of us. We all suffer Lara’s loss. Our children. The clan families. Dasras, Andraste, Verica, the Terahn people. I think you know where my wife is, Kaliq, and the time has come for you to be forthright with me.”

Kaliq’s eyes touched Dillon lightly. “And you, young Dillon? What think you?” he asked the boy.

“I agree with my stepfather, my lord prince. While I realize you have your reasons for keeping silent, I also think it is past time for us to know the truth.”

Kaliq smiled a small smile. “Use your instincts, young Dillon,” he said. “Concentrate and use them now! Tell me where Lara is!”

Dillon’s eyes closed slowly. He was silent for some few minutes and then opening his eyes he said, “My mother is in the Dark Lands, my lord.”

Kaliq nodded. “She is,” he agreed.

Magnus Hauk felt hot anger welling up within him. Forcing that anger back he said, “If you knew Lara was in the Dark Lands, why did you not tell us a year ago?”

“Come now, Magnus, you know the answer to that as well as I do. You would have mounted an expedition and warred with the Dark Landers. We could not allow it. Had you attacked them you would have loosed the forces of darkness upon both Terah and Hetar. Your worlds would not have known real peace for centuries. The darkness must always be contained, Magnus. We cannot wipe it out entirely for there must always be a certain balance between good and evil, but we can contain the worst of it. When we do not, war, pestilence, cruelty and famine roam the worlds and cause havoc.”

“But the Dark Land has always remained to itself,” Magnus Hauk said.

“Yes, but as there is prophecy here and in Hetar, so there is prophecy in the Dark Lands. Lara has always known that she had a special destiny. Part of that destiny is in the Dark Lands. When she has fulfilled it she will be returned to you. Shortly, that part of her destiny will be met. And it must be met or the worlds of Hetar and Terah will suffer. That is why you could not know where she was. You must trust me in this. I will allow no harm to come to Lara. I would forfeit my own life first.”

“When she returns to us, will she tell us of where she had been and what she has done?” Dillon asked the prince.

“Nay, young Dillon, she will not. Her memory of her time in the Dark Lands will be completely gone from her, and it is better that it is. She will be told that part of her destiny has been implemented and she will be satisfied with that knowledge,” the prince explained.

“Why will you not tell us what she is doing?” Magnus Hauk asked.

“Because it is not necessary that you know,” Kaliq responded quietly. “I will tell you only that Lara is helping us to keep the balance between the darkness and the light. Anything else would be too much for you to bear, Magnus Hauk. Why are you so suddenly insistent on meddling in matters of magic?”

“Because it is my wife whom you are using as your tool,” the Dominus said angrily.

Kaliq laughed aloud although he had tried not to. “Ah, my poor friend. How fortunate Lara is to have you for her husband. No other mortal could possibly love her as you do.” He put a comforting arm about the Dominus’s broad shoulders. “Please trust me, Magnus. Your time of separation is almost over. I swear it.”

“It would seem I have no choice unless it is to amass my armies and go into the Dark Lands,” the Dominus replied.

“You would be advised not to do that for many reasons but probably the one that would concern you the most is Hetar’s plan to attack Terah shortly. They believe that you have been weakened by Lara’s disappearance and they have convinced their people that Terah poses a threat to Hetar. Their proposed war against you is being undertaken to protect Hetar, or so it is being said. The Coastal Kings have been building great ships of war. I suspect you had best prepare to defend your own kingdom while Lara completes her destiny and balances the light and the darkness.”

“So that is why we have seen so little of Jonah of late,” the Dominus muttered. “Can you close the portal so he may not return? That way he cannot report when we reinforce our defenses along the sea and at the fjord entrances.”

Kaliq smiled. “The portal is already closed, Magnus. And now I must go. I wish to take Dillon with me for a time-with your permission, of course. I will return him shortly,” Kaliq promised.

Dillon’s green eyes grew wide with his excitement. “I am to be allowed to go to Shunnar?” he said and then his look swung to the Dominus. “Magnus?”

“I do not know,” Magnus Hauk replied. “Your mother did not want you going until you were twelve, Dillon.”

“Going to be taught,” the prince quickly interjected, “and I certainly agree with Lara, but this is just a little visit to quell Dillon’s curiosity and to ease his anxiety over his mother. I will return him in three days’ time, I promise you.”

“Oh, please, Magnus!” the boy begged. “Please!”

“No more than three days, Kaliq, for I need him by my side,” the Dominus said.

Kaliq nodded. “I understand,” he said, and he did. Dillon with his budding magic was the closest thing Magnus Hauk had to Lara now.

“Very well then, but three days only, Dillon. Do you understand?” the Dominus told his stepson. “If your mother returned while you were gone I should have a great deal of explaining to do about this.”