It would be a great undertaking, and they had just enough time in which to complete it. But there could be some who sided with his beloved, and would waste time trying to save that which could not be saved. Kaliq sighed. He had hoped for a little time in which he and Lara might enjoy a peaceful existence together. Coilen would not be returning to the Dark Lands. It was too dangerous now, for Kolgrim would allow nothing to deter him from his purpose, which was to take a bride from the House of Ahasferus. A virgin with Ulla’s magic at her command. But the poor girl would have no knowledge of her power, and Kolgrim would take it from her unknowing. The girl’s single purpose, poor creature, was to give Kolgrim his only son and his heir.

Lara was suddenly by his side again. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. She smelled of sunshine, fresh air and horse.

Kaliq wrapped his arm about her. “I watched you ride. You were happy again.”

“Aye, ’twas like old times before this all began,” Lara replied. “It was nice to go back, my lord, if only briefly. Now we have work to do.”

“We will not send Coilen back for it is too dangerous,” Kaliq told her. “We will simply have to wait for Kolgrim to make his first move. He must have the girl to wife, but how he obtains her is another matter.”

“Do you think he will go to war?” Lara wondered. “He might simply kidnap her.”

“Nay, I doubt he will go to war. It is a waste of his resources,” Kaliq replied.

“We must know who this girl is. There are three of them, almost exactly alike. The one who is the chosen still retains her virginity. What if we tempted her with an irresistible lover, Kaliq. Most Hetarian girls take lovers once they have passed their fourteenth year. Why, I wonder, has this girl waited?”

“It doesn’t matter why she waited,” Kaliq said, “but she has.”

“One of mother’s faerie men could tempt her perhaps,” Lara said slowly.

“But first we must learn which of these three girls it is,” Kaliq reminded her.

“That is simple enough. Mother can choose three young faerie men to seduce the trio of cousins. The two who either have lovers or can be easily seduced will prove themselves not the girl in question. Once we know which of them it is, we can act,” Lara told him. “But we must move quickly, for my son will not dally now that he knows what he must do in order to assure the darkness comes.”

BUT KOLGRIM HAD already decided how he would gain his fated bride. His army was small, for the benefit of soldiering for the Twilight Lord was more often death than anything else. He had a small standing force just large enough to prevent anyone attempting to invade his lands. He would not go to The City, an army at his back. He might steal the girl, but he did not know who she was. He needed time to ascertain that. Nay. There was another, a more skillful way, and he would employ it.

He chuckled as he considered it. His imprisoned father would appreciate what Kolgrim was about to do, but Kol’s companion, who was the young Twilight Lord’s twin brother, would not. Now and again Kolgrim would take his reflecting bowl to observe his sire and his sibling. Kol was a sad figure, weakened by the loss of his magic, and the decades he had spent in the windowless dank stone cell. Kolbein, however, alternated between stamping about his prison swearing as he sought a means of escape, and sitting in a corner whimpering with his frustration. Kolgrim always enjoyed seeing him thus. But when the Twilight Lord finally triumphed and brought the darkness to the world of Hetar, he would transmit that knowledge to his father via his thoughts. Kol had never done him any harm, and indeed had favored him over his twin. He deserved that small bit of happiness in his declining years.

6

IN THE CITY THE LORD HIGH RULER PALBEN II was enjoying the Springtime. The Icy Season had concluded, and the early flowers, all shades of yellow from the palest to the deepest, were at their most vibrant. The flowering trees in the Golden District and the Garden District were in full and glorious bloom, their shades of pink, peach and white perfuming the air. The skies were a clear bright blue each day, and the sun warm upon his back. The breeze from the south was soothing.

Lord High Ruler Palben was a tall, slender man in his middle fifties with dark eyes and hair. He knew from the portrait that hung in the royal palace that he very much resembled his grandfather, Jonah, who had been Lord High Ruler some eighty years ago.

By rights Palben should not have been Hetar’s Lord High Ruler. His grandfather, Jonah, had a son, Egon, from a first marriage. Egon, it had been predicted, would be a great soldier, but in the last war he had been too young to either fight or lead. And there had been no more wars. Egon turned to the pursuit of knowledge. It consumed him to the point of neglecting everything else. While he was a frequent visitor to the Pleasure Houses, he did not marry, nor did he produce any progeny. Hence, it was Egon’s half brother, Palben I, who had inherited the throne of the Lord High Ruler when Jonah died.

Palben I had been the son of Jonah’s second marriage to the Terahn princess, Zagiri. Zagiri was the daughter of the Dominus of Terah Magnus Hauk, and his wife. His great-grandmother was reputed to be a powerful faerie, but Lord High Ruler Palben didn’t believe that for an instant. In fact, he did not believe in magic at all. He had never met his great-grandmother for after his grandmother Zagiri died she never came to Hetar again. It was rumored that she had been born in Hetar. He didn’t really know, and she would be long dead by now, but his great-grandmother had been responsible for opening up the previously insulated Terah to Hetar.

The Lord High Ruler Palben’s mood was a particularly good one this morning. He had, to his amazement, received a missive from the Twilight Lord of the Dark Lands. It had been delivered to his secretary, who had brought it to his master immediately. The Twilight Lord asked his permission to visit Hetar for talks he assured Palben would be mutually beneficial to both their lands.

Palben did not believe there had been any contact with the Dark Lands in more than a century. If the vague history he had been taught was to be believed, the Twilight Lords in the past had launched an unprovoked attack upon Hetar and Terah. They were, of course, a savage uncultivated group of ignorant barbarians. Still, the message he had been sent was exquisitely worded and beyond polite. Palben was curious.

He dictated a reply to his secretary.

“We would welcome a visit from the Twilight Lord Kolgrim. We will prepare for your arrival, and will await your coming in the month of the Full Summer Moons. Palben II, Lord High Ruler of Hetar.”

“How shall I have it delivered?” the Lord High Ruler’s secretary asked his master.

Palben looked confused then he said, “How was it brought to us?”

“I don’t know,” the man replied. “I found the envelope with the message on my desk when I arrived this morning, my lord.”

“Put it in the same place then tonight before you leave,” Palben said. “Whoever brought it came carefully, not certain of their reception. He will most likely return for the reply, but come secretly again. If the letter is still here in the morning, we will seek another way of answering my fellow monarch.” He laughed. “It is all quite mysterious.”

The Lord High Ruler kept peeking into his secretary’s chamber until he finally retired for the night. The letter remained propped up on the desk to his great chagrin, but when he hurried to see if it was still there in the morning he found it gone. Most curious, he thought. He knew there was a mail service called faerie post, but he never used it. It was a silly name, and there were no such things as faeries. At least he had never seen one.

KOLGRIM HAD NOT USED faerie post. He had simply sent his missive via magic. He opened the message from the Lord High Ruler Palben, read it and smiled with evil satisfaction. He would be interested in meeting this mortal. They were distantly related actually for his half sister Zagiri, was Palben’s grandmother. He wondered what Palben would think of that fact. The month of the Full Summer Moons would be a perfect time for wooing and seducing a maiden.

As the time grew closer for Kolgrim to make his visit, he sent messages to the Lord High Ruler requesting a northern exposure for his guest apartments. He would expect his servants’ quarters to be nearby. And there must be a kitchen quarter for he was frequently hungry late at night. He did not like flowers, and so there must be none near him or in the chambers that he would occupy. His favorite frine was distilled from blackberries, he informed his host. And he was so looking forward to their meeting.

THE LORD HIGH RULER PALBEN gave his majordomo orders based upon his guest’s preferences. He wondered if the Twilight Lord would bring a concubine or a wife with him. He decided not, as no mention was made of it. But would he enjoy having a Pleasure Woman at his beck and call? That could be decided once he met the man.

As the month of the Full Summer Moons drew near Palben grew more curious.

“I am told he is a dark lord,” the First Lady of Hetar, who was named Laureen, said. “Is it wise to entertain such a man?”

“He has done nothing to incur our wrath,” Palben replied. “He has politely requested permission to visit us. I see no danger in that.”

“But why does he seek to meet with Hetar?” Laureen queried her husband.

“You ask too many questions, wife,” Palben said. “Whatever he seeks of us, it is not your affair. He is coming to see me, not a mere woman. Attend to your household, to our children and grandchildren. That is your province, not diplomacy.”