“If you are certain you are all right,” he said slowly.

“Whatever I dreamed,” she told him, “I sense I need to move about a bit to calm my nerves.” She forced a small laugh. “It really must have been quite dreadful to put me into such a state, Magnus.” Bending she kissed his lips lightly. “I’ll be fine, my love. Perhaps a warm bath and a stroll in our gardens.”

“If you are certain,” he repeated, lying back, his eyes already heavy.

“I will be fine shortly,” Lara replied and then making a great effort not to hurry, she walked from their bedchamber through the passage that led to her private bath. She was already naked, for sleeping garments were but an impediment to the frequent lovemaking she and her husband shared. No attendant was about for it was obviously still the middle of the night. Lara washed herself in the small sunken shell, rinsed and took a large thick towel from the shelf nearby. She did feel better, but she was still seriously concerned by what had happened. She wafted herself to her private room so as not to disturb Magnus or be seen by the guardsmen. “Prince Kaliq, heed my call,” she said. “Come to me from out yon wall.”

Immediately the Shadow Prince appeared within the little chamber. He raised an eyebrow seeing her garbed in but a towel and he grinned. “My love, your attire is quite fetching, but I do not think the Dominus would approve of our meeting under these circumstances.” Then seeing her face, he quickly amended his tone. “What is it, Lara?”

“I met Kol upon the Dream Plain tonight, Kaliq. We talked and I told him in no uncertain terms I would not return to the Dark Lands. He threatened Magnus and the children. I told him I would kill him if he touched them. But then suddenly he was by my side, touching me, kissing me. And…” She hesitated, going very pale. “He…he…”

“Say no more, my love, I understand,” the Shadow Prince said. “You do not have to kill him, for I will. I have done something extremely foolish and underestimated his powers, even bottled up in Kolbyr as he is.”

“Kaliq, how could this have happened upon the Dream Plain? He should not have been able to touch me at all, yet he did,” Lara said.

“He took the power of an incubus into him,” the prince said. “They are creatures of the darkness who can make reality of dreams. Your encounter would have killed it once Kol awoke, but he will undoubtedly have another he can use.”

“Kaliq, he is so determined to regain my person,” Lara told the Shadow Prince. “I am actually afraid of him, which I never was before.”

“You are wise to fear evil. Did you tell Magnus of your dream?” the prince asked.

“I told him I could not remember it,” Lara answered. “I do not know if he believed me. I have never really lied to him. I wish I had had Andraste with me. I think I would have sliced Kol’s head from his shoulders but I could not have, could I?”

“If you treat with him again,” Kaliq advised, “you must purge yourself of all emotions, Lara, my love. He and his incubus grew stronger because they fed off of your anger and then your fear,” the prince explained. “The Dream Plain is neutral, but even it can be set awry by intense feelings.”

“I will never deal with him upon the Dream Plain again,” Lara said firmly. “He is too dangerous there, especially if I am prevented from fighting back. Kaliq, he made me feel pleasures! He is evil incarnate. He must die so that the Dark Lands can be set into even greater confusion than the birth of his sons caused. No one will dare to kill either of the twins, so they will have to wait until the Book of Rule dictates which of them is to be the next Twilight Lord. Alfrigg will see to it, for he is a stickler about the rules, and his dwarfs will follow his lead. The giants may be swayed to relinquish their loyalty to the Dark Lands if Kol is dead and we can offer them another home. It is the Wolfyn that I am most concerned about, for I suspect their fealty is to themselves first.”

Kaliq nodded in agreement. “Aye,” he said, “the Wolfyn will either challenge the Twilight twins for supremacy of the Dark Lands or they will run rampant out of that land to cause havoc among Terah or Hetar. They have no true civilization. They exist solely to feed their various appetites.” He grew thoughtful for several long moments. “The clan families have not expanded their territories from those which Magnus Hauk gave them, have they?” Kaliq asked Lara.

“Nay, they have not, for each of them received double the lands that they had held in the old Outlands. Why?”

“If the last of the Forest Giants would relinquish their loyalty to Kol, then we could settle them in the forests beneath the mountains of the Dark Lands. It is part of Terah’s New Outlands. The clan families do not stray from their own territories. They are not explorers by nature. And Terah is so large in land mass that even your husband does not know all he possesses, or what or who exists in those far places. We could resettle the giants in those far woods and as they are a solitary people, who would even know?”

“From the little Og has told us I do not believe that Skrymir and his giants will slough off their loyalty to Kol, but once he is gone from the picture it could be a different matter altogether,” Lara responded. “These giants are not warlike by nature. I do not believe they will want to involve themselves in the quarrel that will erupt between the factions supporting Kolbein and Kolgrim. It will be many years before either is old enough to take up their father’s mantle.”

“Then we are agreed,” Kaliq said quietly. “Kol must, like a poisonous viper, be defanged if we are to preserve peace in our world.”

Lara nodded but then she said, “Kaliq, you know far more than you tell. Is it meant that Magnus Hauk remain my husband? If Kol can indeed reach out to him, the union I treasure can be destroyed. I do not want my family torn apart because of this damned destiny with which I have been saddled. It isn’t fair, Kaliq, and while I know that life is not always fair, does not my sacrifice earn me a small bit of happiness?”

The prince sighed. “There is something your mother has not told you, Lara, but you should know. Now that we have learned that you are more faerie than mortal it is a surety that you will live far beyond a mortal’s lifespan. You will be forced to stand by and watch those about you grow old, and eventually die. But the faerie race does not really grow old as mortals do. When you met your grandmother before she faded away you found her beautiful, yet she was hundreds of years old. You may not live as long as Maeve or your mother, Ilona, for you are not pure faerie, but you will live far longer than any mortal and you will have other loves in your life, Lara. For now, however, be certain that Magnus Hauk will love you until his death.”

Lara was thoughtful for a moment and then she smiled at him. “I cannot believe you have given me a straight answer, Kaliq. Usually when I ask questions like that you speak to me in riddles,” she gently teased him.

He chuckled but then grew serious. “This was not a time for being cryptic,” hesaid. “There is going to be a war, Lara. We cannot escape it for Kol will not allow it. His plans are twofold. He desires conquest to spread his darkness and evil. And he wants you back and thinks that he can make you believe that if you will come back, he will cease warring. He will not, however. I believe he will attack Hetar first as a warning to you. He hopes if he does, you will bargain with him to save Terah, but of course he means to have Terah, too. We cannot stop him, but we can keep it brief, my love.”

“I want to destroy his power,” Lara said, her voice gone hard.

“I do not see how that is possible,” Kaliq replied. “We cannot allow you to return to the Dark Lands. It is far too dangerous.”

“Then give me the power to do it upon the Dream Plain!” Lara begged him.

“That will take time,” Kaliq told her. “The Keepers of the Dream Plain must be consulted and give permission.” She would not destroy Kol. He would!

“If they gave Kol permission to assault me on their territory then surely they will give me permission to slay him,” Lara responded angrily.

“It is not likely the Dream Plain Keepers gave him any such permission,” the prince told her. “Do you really believe Kol would even ask such a thing?”

“I would slay Kol myself,” Lara said grimly. “Please, Kaliq, you must speak to the Keepers of the Dream Plain. I cannot go into the Dark Lands again while Kol lives and I am terrified of Magnus learning what has happened to me. If I am indeed to have a long faerie life then I would remain with the man I love for as long as he remains alive.”

“I will speak with the Keepers of the Dream Plain, but I do not believe they will give you permission to kill another, even one as evil as Kol, within their territory,” he told her.

“Then you must allow Kol to come forth from the Dark Lands,” Lara said. “You know as well as I do that he will continue to call to me until he gets his way or until I kill him. I will not go to him willingly again, but after what happened tonight I do not know what he will do and neither do you. If I sleep I cannot escape him now. And I must sleep sometime, Kaliq.”

“I will not persuade the Keepers to allow you permission to slay him there, but I will see if there is some way in which they can prevent him from entering there and disturbing your rest,” the Shadow Prince promised.

Lara nodded. “Very well,” she said quietly. “If I cannot have one, I must be satisfied with the other. Thank you, my dearest friend. Without you as my mentor I do not know what would happen to me.”

“I should go,” he said softly, running a finger across the top of her towel, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Aye,” Lara agreed, then she suddenly grinned at him. “I do not believe I have ever consulted with anyone attired thusly.”

“It is a most fetching garment, but I suspect Magnus would not approve. And how is it that you are more concerned he learn about Kol than you standing here in your towel discoursing upon weighty matters with me?”

“Good night, Kaliq,” Lara said, and she wafted herself back to her bedchamber where her husband lay sleeping. As she did, she could hear the echo of Kaliq’s laughter and she smiled. What would she do without him? she wondered. From the moment he had taken her from the desert, under his tutelage her life had been amazing. Once, he had warned her not to fall in love with him, but it was he who loved her and Lara knew it. He would have liked nothing better than for her to live by his side at Shunnar, but Lara could never have been content without children nor without the constant adventure her life had become. Tossing her towel aside she crept into bed next to Magnus Hauk.

He stirred and rolled over, his arms enclosing her. “Did you speak with Kaliq garbed only in your towel?” he surprised her by asking.

“How do you know I was speaking with Kaliq?” she countered, snuggling against him. “Have you developed the gift of second sight?”

“I do not sleep soundly if you are not by my side,” he said. “I awoke and you were not here. I arose and you were not in your bath although I could see you had been. I assumed that you had retreated to your private chamber and called the prince to you. Am I wrong, Lara?”

“Nay, you are not,” she answered.

“What was the nightmare that upset you so much?” he asked her softly, his kiss brushing her brow.

She could continue to lie to him, Lara thought, but Magnus would not believe her; or she could tell him a truth. Not the truth, but a truth. “I dreamed I was attacked upon the Dream Plain. It was very frightening because the Dream Plain is a neutral place and such things are not allowed to happen there. I needed to consult with Kaliq. He will speak with the Keepers of the Dream Plain for he believes an incubus managed to slip onto the Plain. It must be caught, of course, and punished or disposed of quickly. That, of course, is the province of the Keepers to decide. Forgive me for not telling you immediately, but I was so startled by what had happened I knew I must calm myself first and then go and speak with Kaliq.” Lara kissed her husband’s shoulder.

“What is this incubus?” the Dominus wanted to know.

“A small demon who likes to enter your dreams, change them and then feed off the emotions they create within their victims,” Lara told him.

“Oh,” was all he said, then, “But what were you dreaming about before this incubus crept into your dreams?”

“I honestly don’t remember,” Lara said casually. “Oh, Magnus, let us not discuss this any further. It was a most disturbing incident. I do not want to relive it.”