Bertrice Small - The Twilight Lord

“If I could be one,” Fernir said, “I would choose to be all wolf.”

“You have not the balls to be the Alpha wolf,” Ulf remarked insultingly.

“I wouldn’t want to be the Alpha wolf,” Fernir surprised them all by saying. “I don’t want responsibility for the pack. I want to run free with it, fighting over and mounting the females, taking my share of the kill. This human body I am encumbered with is too difficult to control and maintain. In my heart of hearts I am more wolf than Wolfyn. And I know that some of the others feel the same way, too. Would you choose if you could to be one or the other of our interbred species, Ulf?”

Ulf thought for a long moment and then he nodded. “Aye, I should rather be mortal-as long as my face were as handsome as it is now,” he opined.

The other young Wolfyn laughed at that remark.

“I’d stay as I am,” another said. “Wolfyn have bigger rods than mortals.”

“Not necessarily,” Ulf said. “Their rods are all of various sizes. Some bigger than others. They are no different than we are.”

“I’d like to have two rods like the Twilight Lord,” chuckled a Wolfyn named Hrote. “Imagine the pleasure you could give with two rods to a woman.”

Prince Kaliq, clutching his cloak about him, stepped back into the shadows once again and removing the garment, was back in his own chambers. He was not interested in the young Wolfyn’s fantasies, but he had learned all that he needed to know. The Wolfyn, like any other species, could be tempted by something that they dearly desired. Now he must devise a way to reach each of them. And when he did, he would make the Wolfyn an offer that some of them would be unable to refuse. Hrolleif, the Wolfyn lord, had just so many fighters. If even a quarter of them preferred being all wolf or all mortal, and were willing to accept the prince’s offer to make that dream come true, then the Wolfyn horde would be weakened.

Lara had struggled to stop any bloodshed. He and his brothers had made equal attempts. But the Twilight Lord would not be denied. He wanted more power than he had any right to have. He wanted Lara. He would have neither in the end, but he would cause a great deal of carnage in the effort. Prince Kaliq sighed. Mortals were bad enough when they were at odds with one another. But when the magic kingdoms fought it was far worse because magic folk really did know better. And Kol knew that the balance between the light and the dark must be kept. Neither Hetar or Terah could be allowed to fall into darkness lest the balance be tipped.

LORD JONAH’S WIFE, Vilia, looked directly at Lara. “You are more beautiful than ever, if such a thing is possible,” she said.

“Thank you,” Lara replied politely, “but we are not here to discuss my beauty.”

“Then why have you asked for this meeting?” Vilia wanted to know.

“You love Hetar, do you not?”

Vilia nodded. She sat with Lara in Lady Gillian’s privy chamber.

“And you know that Gaius Prospero is a fool.” It was a statement, not a query.

Vilia burst out laughing and nodded. Then growing more serious she said, “Aye, he is a fool but a powerful fool. One who has managed to gain the support of the magnates and can manipulate the High Council to his ends.”

“True,” Lara agreed. “But he cannot win against the forces of the Twilight Lord without the aid of Terah. You are not silly enough to believe that Terah has ever been a threat to Hetar, Lady Vilia. If Terah was the threat that Gaius Prospero claims, then why would we have insisted on our trading vessels meeting in midsea, and forbidden Hetar from even coming in sight of our shores for all the centuries these two nations have been involved? Until the past few years, neither Hetar’s government nor its people, save for the Coastal Kings, even knew of Terah’s existence. Terah wishes to remain as it always has, untainted by foreign influence and at peace.”

Vilia sighed. “What is it you want of me, Domina?” she asked.

“You yet have influence with your former husband,” Lara began. “We need you to convince the emperor that without Terah, Hetar will fall. And when it falls it will enter into the darkness that surrounds the Twilight Lord. Gaius Prospero, so adept at escaping the consequences of his actions for all these years, will not escape Lord Kol. The Twilight Lord will execute him, for he knows the kind of man that the emperor is, and not one of his allies will step forward to speak for Gaius Prospero. And then Kol will put one of his own in the emperor’s place to rule Hetar for him. His laws will be harsh and he is not a creature given over to merciful behavior.”

“How is it that you know so much about the Twilight Lord?” Vilia asked.

Lara took a deep breath and began to speak. When she had finished telling her tale, Vilia’s beautiful face was a mixture of both shock and admiration.

Finally she spoke. “I think you are far more powerful than you have ever been to have survived so terrible an adventure. I think your husband is a brave and compassionate man that he can live with the knowledge of what you had to do and yet still loves you. But why does he care what happens to Hetar?”

“Kol’s plans were always to dominate our worlds,” Lara replied. “But he also wants me back. He has come to me upon the Dream Plain and threatened Magnus Hauk and our children if I will not return to him. He attacks Hetar first to show me that he will not deviate from his plans. He wants me to see the destruction he will wreak upon Hetar, and then he will attempt to convince me that if I return to him he will show mercy to Terah. But he will not. He will destroy it even as he does Hetar. The Twilight Lord represents the darkness, but there must always be a balance between the darkness and the light. If Kol is allowed to conquer our worlds that balance will be lost. We cannot permit that to happen. Hetar’s forces are split right now, and those who survived its misadventure in the Coastal Kingdom will have to fight their way across the Midlands in order to reach The City. The Wolfyn are fierce adversaries. You will lose more men before they get here, and those fighting men remaining in the Quarter and the Garden District are old and no longer the soldiers they once were. With the Wolfyn guarding The City’s gates from without, how will those who return be able to even get into The City?”

“Then how can you possibly help?” Vilia wanted to know. This was terrible. She and Jonah had to find a way to escape The City as soon as possible or they would die. Dying was not a part of their plans.

“Convince Gaius Prospero for his own sake, for the sake of the thousands in The City, to ally with Terah. My magic can bring enough soldiers into The City to help with its defense. And then our other legions can join with the Hetarian troops making their way back from the coast. With the aid of the Shadow Princes we can quickly place our combined armies both before and behind the Wolfyn, catching them in a pincer movement that will allow us to destroy them.”

“You would save Gaius Prospero’s little empire then,” Vilia said. “’Tis most generous considering his treatment of you, Domina.”

“Everything comes with a price, Lady Vilia,” Lara replied. “And even an emperor must pay. You will be aided in your attempt to convince Gaius Prospero to ally with Terah. The young empress, Shifra, will agree with you and you know that the emperor can deny her naught. Between you he can be convinced. But you must work quickly.”

“What is the price he will pay?” Vilia wanted to know.

“You have never forgiven him for not crowning you empress, have you?” Lara said. “And you mean to have your revenge on him by taking his throne from him.”

Vilia gasped, but then she realized that she shouldn’t be surprised. The faerie woman was all-powerful. Her hard heart hardened more. “Aye,” she answered. “To both of your questions, Domina, for to lie to you would be useless, wouldn’t it?”

Lara smiled. “It would,” she agreed. “Now trust me that you will have your revenge, Vilia of the House of Ahasferus. But before you can, we need to defeat the Twilight Lord.”

“Surely Kol has more allies than just the Wolfyn,” Vilia said.

“Aye, he does, but one group of his allies have already left him and will not partake in this war or help him ever again. And between us, Hetar and Terah will destroy the Wolfyn. His remaining forces will then refuse to leave the Dark Lands for Kol’s heirs-the twin sons I gave him-must be protected so that one of them can one day take his father’s place as Twilight Lord. But unless we can destroy the Wolfyn, Kol will prevail over Hetar, and the plans that you and Lord Jonah have made will come to nothing,” Lara murmured softly. “I understand your desire for power, Vilia. It is good to be a queen, an empress, or a Domina.” She smiled knowingly at her companion.

Vilia shivered. Lara frightened her, for she seemed to see right into one’s very heart. Still, Vilia believed that the faerie woman was to be trusted if only because her own interests were threatened. “You still have not told me how Gaius Prospero will be punished,” she said softly. “I need to know.”

Lara smiled a small smile. “His heart will be broken, as for the first time in his life, he is truly in love,” she said. “Now ask no more of me, Vilia. But make certain when that event occurs that your husband is prepared and his own allies are in place.”

Vilia wanted to know more of just how Gaius Prospero’s punishment would be accomplished but instead she said, “I expect your husband has sent you to treat with me on this mission. However, I wish I might look into his eyes to see if it is truth you bring me. You are faerie and I cannot be certain of you although my instincts tell me to trust you. But he is a mortal like me, and I have always been good at reading another’s thoughts and heart. Especially those of men.”

“Magnus thought you might want to meet him again,” Lara said.

Then the handsome Dominus of Terah stepped forth from the dark corner where he had been listening to the two women in their discourse. He bowed to Vilia, kissing her hand and then drawing her to him. “My heart is true, Lady Vilia. What Lara has told you are not just her words, but our words. I wish no harm to befall Hetar, land of my beloved’s birth. Terah wishes to remain as it has always been. We need no conquests to feed our people or keep them content. Let us help Hetar in our mutual defense and then we will be gone again. If you are wise, you will forget us.”

Vilia felt her legs go weak as she gazed into Magnus Hauk’s beautiful turquoise eyes. Never had she seen eyes like that. The color was so clear, and as she looked at him she saw the incredible strength and nobility of the man before her. Had not his grip upon her hand been so firm she might have collapsed at his feet, Vilia thought. She managed to nod to him, then said in an almost trembling voice, “I must speak with my husband first. I agree with what the Domina has said, but Jonah is a proud man, and should I act without his approval he would not be happy.”

“I understand,” Magnus Hauk said. “You are quite obviously a good wife to Lord Jonah, but then so were you a good wife to Gaius Prospero. That he deceived you so and then cast you off tells me that he was not worthy of you, Lady Vilia. Time, however, is most precious to us, so I would beg you to go quickly to him.” He kissed her hand again, and then certain she could now remain upright on her own he released her.

“Let me transport you,” Lara said and without waiting for an answer she waved her hand over Vilia, who then disappeared.

“What do you think?” the Dominus asked his wife.

“I believe we have instilled in her just the right amount of fear and awe,” Lara said with a little grin. “She is truly a most intelligent woman. And easy to read. It is Jonah with whom we must be concerned. He is ambitious beyond all and an extremely wily man. He cannot be trusted. To have seduced Vilia under Gaius Prospero’s nose was very daring. And to not get caught in all the years he was taking pleasures with her was more than good luck. It was cleverness. His daring intrigues her.” Lara chuckled.

“Will he be emperor of Hetar?” Magnus Hauk asked his wife.

“I do not know if Hetar will want another emperor after the debacle of Gaius Prospero’s reign,” Lara answered him. “Jonah is master of the Merchants’ Guild, as well as the emperor’s right hand. He fills both positions well, but it will not be enough for him once Gaius Prospero is finished. Still, he is cautious and will not make any move until he is certain of his own success. I do not believe he has enough support right now to make his grab for complete power. He has his mother in a high place-the Mistress of the Pleasure Guilds wields a great influence. And perhaps some of the magnates are looking to Jonah since Aubin Prospero has refused to pursue his father’s throne and the empress has not borne a child. But I believe that the powers that be will be wary about choosing just one man to lead them again, at least for a while. But ’tis only my opinion. As my faerie blood grows stronger, my mortal advantages seem to fade a bit.”