Crown of Destiny (10 page)

"My golden locks remind everyone who my mother is," he said with a smile. "I believe that to be a good thing, coupled with my father's features. Why have you come?"

Lara turned her eyes on the very elderly chancellor. "Greetings, Alfrigg. I would have thought you retired by now."

The old dwarf bowed low. "Greetings, Domina. Regretfully I can find no one who suits my lord, though, by Krell, I have tried hard."

Lara looked at Kolgrim. "If he dies, what will you do?" she asked.

"He will not die," Kolgrim replied. "I have put a spell upon him. I need him."

"You are truly a monster like your father," Lara said, feeling sorry for Alfrigg.

"Why have you come to visit me?" he repeated. "I doubt not there is a purpose in your sudden appearance." He smiled at her, and briefly Lara was reminded of his father, who now lay imprisoned beneath his own castle. Kolgrim was a handsome man. Tall with lightly tanned skin, his cheekbones were high, his nose long and straight and his mouth wide and sensuous. His had thick bushy black eyebrows above his dark gray eyes, which had long dark eyelashes tipped in gold. Like his predecessor, his eyes turned black with his deep thoughts. While his father's handsome face was more beautiful and his twin, Kolbein, looked just like Kol, Kolgrim's visage was stronger, more masculine. He favored the dark robes his father had once worn.

"I am told," Lara said, "that you seek to take a bride and sire your heir. I thought that Ciarda, your half sister, had been given that privilege."

The Twilight Lord's eyes grew black with his displeasure. "The bitch failed me. She was filled with a sense of her own importance but her womb was barren. And she never stopped nagging me. Her bones lie bleached and white below the ravine bridge. I can point them out to you if you wish to see them."

"It was too soon for you to sire an heir," Lara told him, controlling her urge to shudder at his dispassionate explanation.

"You are right, Mother! If only you had said so to me then," Kolgrim exclaimed.

"You would not have listened," Lara told him. "Children seldom listen when they set their minds to something."

Alfrigg smiled a small grim smile. Kolgrim was a great Twilight Lord, but had his mother taken any interest in him at all he would have been a greater one.

"Are you planning to marry?" Lara said again.

Kolgrim smiled slyly at her. "Perhaps," he said.

"What does the Book of Rule say?" she asked bluntly.

The Twilight Lord shrugged. "I would show you, but you couldn't read the words for they are in our ancient language," he told her.

"I do not need your book. All I require from you is an answer. Do you plan to wed, Kolgrim?" Lara demanded for a third time.

"I have already answered you, Mother.
Perhaps,
" Kolgrim said.

"
Perhaps
is not an answer. Eventually you must wed in order to sire an heir. The rumor currently making its way about our worlds is that you intend to take a bride soon. Where will this unfortunate bride come from, Kolgrim?" Lara's gaze met his and did not waver. She was stronger than he was, and she wanted to remind him of this salient point.

Kolgrim finally looked away from his mother, irritated. The faerie-woman mother was more powerful than ever, he thought. If he could but have that power! "The Book of Rule has not revealed the chosen maiden to me yet," he answered her honestly. Then his eyes danced devilishly. "Will you come to the wedding, Mother, and give us your faerie blessing? I promise you the grandchild I sire on this unknown will honor you as your Terahn and Hetarian grandchildren and great-grandchildren have not."

The barb stung but Lara struck back. "'Tis true they do not honor me, but my Belmairian descendants do.
My son's
wife has borne him beautiful children."

"I am your son, too!" Kolgrim cried out.

"You are your father's son," Lara said cruelly. "Farewell, my lord!"

She quickly stepped back, feeling Kaliq next to her. He knew what she wanted, and his cloak immediately made her invisible. She did not speak in even their silent language for if she had, Kolgrim would have known that someone else was there, as he was capable of hearing and speaking that tongue himself. The Shadow Prince simply transported them back home to Shunnar.

"He is every bit as devious as his damnable father," Lara said angrily.

"But he speaks the truth," Kaliq said. "If the book had already instructed him to the unfortunate who is to be chosen, he would have told you. He wants you to know that he is capable of being every bit the Twilight Lord his father was."

"He never really knew Kol, and he did not know me until he was grown, but other than his golden hair, he is all Kol. His instincts for evil are all there, Kaliq. But we must learn who the bride is before he has a chance to wed her."

"Until the Book of Rule reveals her to Kolgrim, we have no chance of knowing," the Shadow Prince replied. "This is a game of patience we have begun to play."

"We have to know when he knows," Lara said.

"I wish we could. There is something protecting the book," Kaliq told her. "I attempted to put a small spell upon it that would alert us each time the book was opened, but my charm was repulsed."

"It is powerful magic that would repel a Shadow Prince," Lara said slowly.

Kaliq shook his head. "It was a simple spell. I dared not create a stronger one lest Kolgrim be warned. Marzina at the age of six could have repelled my spell. The Book of Rule, however, is a living thing. If it felt it could not defend itself, it would cry out to its master for help. Coilen will remain in the Dark Lands within the castle. He will know when Kolgrim discovers who his bride is to be, and then we will know."

"We will have to be satisfied with that," Lara replied.

M
ARZINA RETURNED
several days later. Her naturally pale skin was bronzed, and her violet eyes sparkled in her face. "Oh, I love the sun!" she told her mother. "Thank you so much for sharing Zeroun with me. I feel much better."

"And you will remain with Kaliq and me?" Lara asked.

"I will consider that I have a home here in Shunnar, aye," Marzina said, "but the mountains of Hetar above the northern end of the forests are where I have made a home for myself, and raised up a small castle. It sits high on the heights, and the view of our world is wonderful, Mother. You have never seen Fairevue, and I should like you and Kaliq to visit me one day when you can."

"You are safe there?"

"I have lived there for the last fifty years, Mother," Marzina said with a little smile.

"Alone?" Lara asked.

"Sometimes, and sometimes not. But I have servants, and a bevy of forest creatures who serve as my guardians," Marzina explained.

"Let me learn what I must about this prospective bride for Kolgrim," Lara said. "And then I will come and visit you," she promised.

"I am forgiven then," Marzina said pointedly.

"Aye, you are forgiven," her mother responded.

The beautiful young faerie kissed her mother's cheek. "Then I am gone," she said, and as she stepped away from Lara pale lavender mist enveloped the girl. When it cleared she was no longer there.

"I am glad you two are reunited with one another," Kaliq said, stepping from the shadows of Lara's day room. "Especially given the knowledge she now possesses."

Lara shook her head. "I fear her curiosity is going to get the better of her, my lord. She is going to want to slip into the Dark Lands and see her brother for herself. I can reason with Marzina to a certain point, but I live in terror of Kolgrim learning of her existence. He will use her to his own advantage if he discovers who she is."

"If we take her with us once, we will be able to control that situation," Kaliq replied.

Lara nodded. "You are right," she agreed.

"She will manage her own behavior for a time, my love," Kaliq said in sure tones. "It gives us time to learn what we must. Once we do, we will offer to show her Kolgrim."

"If I know my daughter, she will conjure him up in her reflecting bowl first," Lara told him. "But she will control her curiosity for a brief time." She leaned against him. "It will be soon, Kaliq. I can feel the change in the very air. It builds as if to a crescendo. From where will this bride come?"

"Be patient," Kaliq advised Lara. "Coilen will inform us when the Book of Rule speaks, and then we can act. But not before."

I
N THE
D
ARK
L
ANDS
the Shadow Prince known as Coilen stood invisible and silent in the Throne Room of the Twilight Lord, watching. Each morning Kolgrim came and opened the book. But nothing was written upon the fresh clean vellum page. Several weeks passed, and Kolgrim grew more and more impatient. Then one day when fierce storms battered the Dark Lands with great booms of thunder, and jagged sheets of lightning tore through the purplish skies outside the Throne Room's balustrade, Kolgrim came and opened the book.

Coilen could see from his vantage point directly behind the young Twilight Lord the words written upon the smooth paper. The Shadow Prince knew and read the mysterious ancient language of the Twilight Lords. Few could. Now his eyes scanned the page anxiously, surprised by what he translated. He put it into his memory so he might repeat it as it was written to Kaliq and Lara. Then he waited for Kolgrim's reaction to the Book of Rule's directive.

"Guard!" Kolgrim shouted, and a man-at-arms immediately stepped into the chamber. "Go and fetch the chancellor immediately," the Twilight Lord said.

"Yes, my lord," the man said, and he ran off.

Kolgrim was smiling and chuckling to himself. He could hardly wait to let Alfrigg see what wisdom the book had imparted to him. He waited impatiently, but knowing his master, the dwarf came swiftly.

"My lord, you sent for me?"

"The Book of Rule has a message for me this day," Kolgrim said. "Read it!"

Alfrigg stepped up onto the small step by the trifooted book holder. His rheumy old eyes scanned the lines written. Then he looked up, smiling at his master. "It is genius, all praise to Krell, Lord of Darkness, who guides us so wisely," Alfrigg said, smiling at his master. "We have never done something like this, but with the charm you have inherited from both your mother and your father you will accomplish your goal easily, my lord.
And,
" he added, "with no loss of life or resources to us." He shook his head wonderingly. "It is too perfect, is it not?" His smile grew broader.

"Aye, perfect, Alfrigg. But will Hetar cooperate with us, do you think?"

"I believe that they will, my lord. Hetar has fallen back into its old decadence, with one exception. They learned from that fraud the Hierarch a hundred years ago not to permit their underclass to suffer want and privation. They have kept them fed, housed and entertained ever since. It has cost them little enough to do it. And it permitted them to slide back into debauchery and greed. They want no wars with anyone. And if you can take Hetar without destroying its people and resources, so much the better."

KOLGRIM WALKED OUT ONTO THE COVERED balustrade to view the storm as Alfrigg hurried off to attend to business. Prince Coilen of the Shadows brought himself back to Shunnar with a whispered command. Several weeks had passed since he had last checked in with no news. Now he sent out a silent signal to all of his brothers, materializing in Kaliq's banqueting hall as the others came. Kaliq and Lara were already there.

"We must wait for everyone," Coilen said.

Finally the Shadow Princes were all in the hall. Even the oldest of them, Cronan, who had come from Belmair, hobbling through a Golden tunnel for the distance was so great, and he was frailer than ever. Several of his brothers helped him to a straight-backed chair with sturdy carved arms and a cushioned seat. Then as if a silent signal had been given, they all looked to Kaliq, Lara and Coilen.

"Our brother has brought us disturbing news," Kaliq began. He turned to Coilen. "Tell them what you have seen and heard."

"For weeks I have stood in the Throne Room of the Twilight Lord, waiting for the Book of Rule to inform Kolgrim, the son of Kol, of his next move," Coilen began.

Lara was grateful he did not identify Kolgrim as the son of Kol and Lara although all the Shadow Princes knew she had borne him.

"Today the book finally revealed its plans, my brothers, Lara. It said, and I quote it exactly,

"That is exactly what was written," Coilen said.

For a brief moment there was silence in the hall, and then old Cronan said, "It is time for the Shadow Princes to leave Hetar, my brothers. You must seek a new home. King Dillon will welcome you to Belmair until you have time to find this new home. Your valley will slowly disappear, and your palaces crumble."

Lara was shocked. "Why must this be, my lord?" she asked Cronan.

He turned his gaze to her and smiled. "There was always a chance that the darkness would finally come and swallow Hetar. This happens now and again when the light simply cannot prevail, though it tries its hardest to do so, my daughter."

"We have beaten back the darkness before," Lara responded.

He nodded. "Aye, you have."

"We can do it again!" she insisted.

"Not this time, Lara," Cronan said. "If Kolgrim weds this maiden, the child they spawn will be all-powerful. Even Kolgrim will not be able to withstand him."

"Then we must find the girl first, and prevent her marriage to Kolgrim," Lara said.

"We must try," Kaliq agreed.

Cronan smiled a sad smile at them. Then he sighed. "Sometimes," he said, "even goodness and light such as yours cannot overcome evil, my brother. You know this to be truth, but it does not mean we will ever stop trying." He turned back to Lara. "My daughter, we planned your existence carefully centuries ago. Your pedigree had to be exact with faerie blood outweighing mortal. You had to be so pure of heart that your faerie magic would be stronger than any before you. You were created for a dual purpose. To cause chaos in the Dark Lands by bearing Kol twin sons, and to create a new world that might be safe from the darkness for mortals. You have performed your task so far quite magnificently, but we creatures called Shadow Princes knew long ago that Hetar would eventually be overcome by the darkness. Your magic gave them the last opportunity they had to save themselves. They have not taken it."

"If you knew I would not succeed," Lara cried, "then what has been the point of all of this?" She could not quite believe what he had just said. There were many good people yet in the world of Hetar, in Terah, in the New Outlands. Still... She sighed a deep reluctant sigh. Cronan was extraordinarily wise, and not given to braggadocio.

"Do not despair, Lara, my daughter. You yet have a destiny to fulfill," Cronan responded in kindly tones. "Be patient. All will be revealed in its time." The old Shadow Prince looked to Kaliq. "You know what must be done, my brother. It is time. Within the next year the magic that is light must be gone from Hetar lest it be caught in the conflagration to come." He looked out over the Shadow Princes assembled. "Are we in agreement, my brothers?"

"We are!" they responded with a single voice.

"Kaliq, I would speak with you privily," Cronan said.

Lothair came up to where they stood. "Come, Lara," he said quietly. "Andraste is ready for you to try once again." He led her off before she might protest.

"She will attempt to prevent what is written," Cronan said quietly. "Let her. She will fail, but she must try if she is to finally accept that Hetar has written its own fate."

"This has all been quite a shock to her," Kaliq said.

"Of course it is," the elderly Shadow Prince said. "She has come to believe over the years that her destiny was to unite all of this world beneath one banner and live in peace." He snorted with derision then continued, "You will need every ounce of patience you possess and more to contend with her disappointment, my brother. But Lara must fulfill her appointed destiny before you may have your eternity together."

Kaliq laughed softly. "Aye, she will not give up her dream easily, but while stubborn her intellect is sharp. Once she is convinced herself that your words, though disturbing, are truth, she will do what she has been fated to do."

"And you will be with her," Cronan nodded. "Her destiny is your destiny, too, Kaliq, but then you always suspected it, didn't you." He smiled at his companion.

Kaliq smiled back. "I fell in love with her at first sight," he admitted, "and then I knew. She is making her home here in Shunnar now."

"She should," Cronan said. "What is to come is too strong and will harm her powers if she remains in the mortal world. You must tell her that, Kaliq."

"I will," Kaliq promised.

"Then I must return to my tower on Belmair. Your brothers will rest there before seeking out their new home," Cronan said.

"Where is that place?" Kaliq asked the ancient Shadow Prince.

Cronan shook his head. "Even I do not know that, my brother, but I do know I will never see it. I was the third of us to come from the ether, and it will soon be time for me to move on into that other world to be reborn once again. I will not return as a creature of the Shadows. Your son, Dillon, is the last of us. His son has magic, but not
our
magic. Our kind is fated to disappear. But you and your brothers have centuries ahead of you before that happens. And you will spend those centuries with Lara.
That
I do know, Kaliq." He arose slowly from his chair, and with a wave of his gnarled hand he opened a Golden tunnel. "We may meet again before the end of Hetar's time, my brother," he said. Then leaning on his staff he hobbled into the bright shimmering opening and down the tunnel until he was out of sight.

When the glimmering vortex finally closed, Kaliq knew that Cronan had reached his destination. He sighed. Lara still had her destiny ahead of her, but bringing her to that destiny was going to prove difficult. She loved this world, and she had done so much good for it. Yet despite her bravery and sacrifices Hetar had relegated her to legend. They had not learned their lessons, and had now infected Terah and the New Outlands. Aye, there were good people among them, but even good people made bad choices. Kaliq sighed again, and then went to seek out Lara.

She was not with Lothair now. She had left Andraste, her singing sword with him and gone down into the valley of the horses, where their herds grazed. Looking down from the balustrade of his palace's main corridor, he saw her walking toward her old friend and companion, Og, the giant, who cared for the horses of the Shadow Princes. He might have listened to their conversation from where he stood so high above them. But Kaliq did not. Much of what was to come Lara would have to work out in her own mind, and in her own time. But he knew how very disturbed she was by Cronan's bleak pronouncements of what was to come.

Lara felt him watching her. Turning, she gazed up, but he was gone. She looked to the giant, calling his name. "Og!"

Og turned with a smile. Though small for a Forest Giant, due to an unfortunate childhood of near starvation, he was still a giant. His bright red hair was fading now, but his blue eyes were as sharp as ever. "Lara!" he greeted her with a smile, and then leaning down, he offered her his hand. Lara stepped into it, and Og raised it to his shoulder, setting her down gently where she might sit comfortably and speak with him. "I hear you have finally come to live with us here in Shunnar," Og said, sounding very pleased.

"It was time," Lara admitted, "and do not say past time, as so many have."

Og chuckled, for that was exactly what he had been about to say. "I would never even think such a thing," he prevaricated mischievously.

"I have come to bring you the news we have just received," Lara said, and then she went on to explain about Kolgrim, and what Cronan had said. "Of course he is the oldest, and the wisest of the princes," Lara admitted, "but I know we can overcome the darkness once again. And perhaps this time we must drive it from Hetar forever, even as Usi the Sorcerer was driven from Terah."

"I don't know, Lara," Og said thoughtfully. "If Cronan says Hetar is lost, then it is surely lost. The old fellow isn't one to make mistakes."

"The history of Hetar is not completely written, Og," Lara insisted. "With Kaliq's aid I can prevent the darkness from overcoming Hetar. Have we not done it before?"

"I wonder if the horses are to go," Og considered. "Would they take me with them? I shouldn't like to leave my horses, and what of my new helper, Lara?"

Lara shook her head. Og was a simple man with simple needs. "If they go, you will go with them, and Leof, too. What of your family?" she asked him.

"My wife and children are long dead, Lara. The few descendants remaining to me prefer living among my wife's desert folk. I do not know them anymore. The princes and my horses, they are my family," Og said. "And now I have the lad, too." He smiled.

"The princes would never leave their horses behind, and so it would seem they will not leave you behind, Og," Lara told him. "But I still believe such thoughts are premature, dear friend. We will save Hetar once again, and this time forever. The darkness may come, but the light will not be driven away. Remember there must always be a balance, Og. Balance is the key. We will leave the darkness a tiny corner."

"Perhaps you are right," he replied, encouraged by her assurance. "Now come and walk with me. Dasras has been awaiting your arrival. He is going to sire several more foals, Lara. He has taken at least five mares into his keeping. The other two stallions in the herd are not happy, but as he sired them they cannot complain." Og chuckled. He walked slowly although his strides were long, and they had covered half of the valley before he finished his thoughts. "Ah, there he is."

"Dasras!" Lara called, having seen her horse even before Og spoke.

The great white stallion with the creamy mane and tail raised his head, and seeing Lara perched upon Og's shoulder, trotted over to her. "Mistress! You have come at last." His dark eyes looked up at her. They were filled with love.

"You do not seem to have suffered much in my absence," Lara teased her horse.

"As usual you have chosen a harem of beautiful mares for yourself, you old rascal."

Dasras whinnied and tossed his head. "If I must return to the valley of my youth, and be put out to pasture, my lady Lara, I should be comfortable, and have congenial companions," he said.

"Just because we have returned to Shunnar," Lara responded, "does not mean we have retired from the world, Dasras. The darkness is on the move again, and my son, Kolgrim, threatens the peace. We will have much to do, I promise you."

"I am glad to hear it," Dasras replied. "When do we leave?"

"Not quite yet, old friend," Lara said. "You have time in which to enjoy your new wives. Where is Sakira?"

Sakira was Dasras's favorite mare and had borne several of his foals.

"There, among the new ones," Dasras said. "I have not been to the valley in so long, and she knows all the mares. She helped me choose the new ones."

"She loves you greatly, Dasras, that she would do so," Lara told him. "Where is Feroz?"

"My son is one of the two stallions remaining here in the valley," Dasras replied with a chuckle. "He is not pleased to see me for his appetite for mares is every bit as large as mine. The other stallion I sired, Tekli, is an amiable, lazy fellow who should have really been gelded, but he is so beautiful and perfect in form that the princes kept him as he was created. His dam was a magnificent creature, and his foals are truly fine."

"I am pleased to see you so well acclimated again to the valley. I will leave you now. Remember that I will need you. Og will tell you when."

"Let me take you for a ride, mistress," the stallion suggested.

Lara laughed. "Very well," she replied, leaping from Og's sturdy shoulder onto Dasras's broad back. As her knees clamped his sides and her hand wrapped itself about a hank of his mane, the stallion whinnied and then began to trot away from the giant.

The trot gave way to a slow, easy canter, which then moved into a gallop. The stallion raced down the long broad valley, his hooves barely disturbing the grass beneath them. He did not unfold his wings to fly. He wanted to gallop, and he knew the woman upon his back did, too. He had heard the tension in her voice, and seen the concern upon her beautiful face when she had spoken to him. She had not told him everything, but she would eventually. For now it was just the two of them, as it had once been, galloping across a swath of green for the pure joy of it. He had heard her laugh happily as he had increased his speed from the canter to the gallop.