LITMIR.BIZ

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“You are a hard man, Alfrigg,” his master told him with a small smile.

       “Thank you, my lord,” the chancellor said with a short bow to his master.

       The Twilight Lord returned his gaze to the surface of the water. Krell, Lord of Darkness, he thought to himself, I can hardly wait to have her! He felt his rod twitch beneath his robes, and fought back down the feelings of desire that threatened to overwhelm him. Just a little while longer, he reminded himself.

       “My lord.” A serving man was bowing before him. “They have come.”

       The Twilight Lord nodded. “Let them enter,” he said and then turned to Alfrigg. “Secrete yourself behind my throne and listen, but do not reveal yourself.”

       Alfrigg nodded and did as he had been bid.

       The doors to the chamber opened again; suddenly the room was cold. Kol sat motionless watching the Munin as they drifted to the foot of his throne. He had never before seen them and he was amazed by their appearance. They were spectral creatures, almost like shadows. They seemed to have no legs, but he was able to distinguish the arms, hands and faces of the Munin, who ranged in color from the palest to the darkest gray. They traveled toward him in a cluster.

       The largest of them now detached from the assemblage, bowed politely and asked in a high, wispy voice, “How may my brethren and I serve you, great Twilight Lord? Your kind has never before called upon us.”

       “Thank you for coming, and welcome,” Kol greeted them politely. “I would ask a great favor of you, lords of the Munin.”

       “And what will you give us in return for this favor, Twilight Lord?” the Munin murmured.

       “You have no home,” Kol replied. “You wander the worlds with no place to call your own. Help me and I will give you the valley we call Penumbras for your own. It is set between two of our tallest mountains where the sun’s rays never reach. It is a cold, dark and secret place. It will be yours for all time.”

       “Will you build us a castle there?” the Munin lord demanded.

       “A castle and a place beneath the earth where you may store your treasures,” Kol promised them.

       “The favor you seek from us must be great. Tell me what you desire of us that you would be willing to part with some of your own lands?” the Munin lord said.

       “Do you know of the faerie woman, Lara of Hetar, who was first wed to Vartan of the Fiacre and is now the wife of Magnus Hauk, the Dominus of Terah?”

       “The daughter of Ilona of the Forest Faeries and the mortal man John Swiftsword? She who undid the curse of Usi upon the men of Terah?”

       “The same,” Kol replied. “I want you to steal her memories and store them here in this jar that sits by my throne.”

       A humming sound erupted from among the Munin and then the Munin lord said but one word. “Why?”

       “You are aware that the Twilight Lords possess the Book of Rule, brought to us centuries ago by our common ancestress, Jorunn. With each new Twilight Lord, the words and instructions within the book change. It has been predicted since the days of Jorunn that the twelfth generation after Khalfani would take for his mate a woman, half-human, half-faerie, with great powers. Her powers combined with his would allow him to rule over all the lands. Lara is that woman,” Kol said.

       “Lara of Hetar is wife to Magnus Hauk and Domina over Terah,” the Munin lord said. “She is allied with and almost worshiped by the eight Outland clan families. Her mother is the most powerful of all the faerie queens. Kaliq of the Shadow Princes is her mentor. Even Hetar’s emperor fears her. Do you mean to steal her, Twilight Lord? She will not come willingly to you. You had best examine your Book of Rule again.”

       “The book is clear. Lara is to be the mother of the next Twilight Lord. And I know she will not come willingly. That is why I need you to steal her memories and store them in my jar. I will ask you to restore certain of those memories as she comes to trust me. But one memory I would bid you leave her—her memory of how much she enjoys pleasures, for it is not my intent to frighten her when we mate.”

       “Then, when we have taken her memories, you will steal her and bring her here to your castle of Kolbyr,” the Munin lord said slowly. “Her disappearance will cause an uproar throughout both Terah and Hetar, though for different reasons. A search will be mounted and the Shadow Princes will become involved. And Ilona will not sit by quietly with her daughter missing. There must be no chance of them discovering that we have been involved in your treachery, Twilight Lord. Our powers are small compared to yours and those whom you will go up against. Sooner or later it will be discovered that you have stolen the faerie woman. Magnus Hauk will not restrain himself if you mate with his beloved wife to gain a son. If we agree to help you, Twilight Lord, you must first build us our refuge, for when we have done your bidding we will hide ourselves away there until the matter is finally settled between the Dark Lands, Terah and Hetar. If.”

       “My powers can build you your castle in seven days’ time,” Kol told them.

       An excited murmur arose again from the cluster of Munin as the Munin lord turned back to them to discuss the matter. Some were eager to accept the Twilight Lord’s offer. Others considered his plan too dangerous and worried about being blamed publicly for their involvement in Kol’s perfidy. But the offer of a castle built for them in a secret valley far from all, with their own vault in which to hoard the memories they stole, was too tempting for them to resist. Even if their participation in Kol’s plan was finally discovered, no one would be able to find them. Those belonging to Hetar and Terah did not venture into the Dark Lands. Not even the magic folk.

       “Then we are agreed,” the Munin lord said to his companions in their own tongue.

       “We are,” they murmured back.

       The Munin lord turned to Kol. “Very well, Twilight Lord. Build us our home. We will give you the specifications as to what will suit us. When it is done you will tell us where to find Lara and then we will do your bidding. But not before.”

       “I shall start tomorrow,” Kol told them. “When it is finished and you have approved it, we will speak again and I will tell you how and when.” He stood up and bowed from his waist.

       “You have but to call us when you are ready,” the Munin lord said, and then the Munin faded away before the Twilight Lord’s dark eyes. “You may come out now,” he said to his chancellor and Alfrigg crept from behind the throne. “You heard it all?”

       “It is a bold plan, my lord,” Alfrigg answered him. “How clever of you to know what it was that the Munin wanted. And the Penumbras is a perfect spot for them.”

       “Aye,” Kol said, a small smile touching his lips. “And as they have said, Alfrigg, my power is greater than theirs. Once they have done my bidding, once they have settled in my kingdom, the Munin are mine forever. No longer will they be able to wander at will. I will cast a spell on the valley of Penumbras, so they will not be able to leave it without my authority.” He chuckled darkly. “How simple they are. Their weakness is their desire for their own home. That is the trick, Alfrigg, when dealing with others. You learn their deepest desire, and then you use it against them.”

       The old dwarf looked up admiringly at his master. “Your wisdom is great, my lord,” he said. “You will surely be the greatest of the Twilight Lords.”

       Kol smiled at his chancellor’s words and walked across the chamber to stand between the black marble pillars so he might look out over his kingdom. The reddish sky was now turning purple and black. Bolts of silver lightning leapt from cloud to cloud; his ears caught the distant growl of thunder. Kolbyr, his castle, was built into the highest mountain of the Dark Lands. From its turrets and colonnaded porches you could see nothing but mountains and sky. But beyond those mountains lay Terah and Hetar. Rich kingdoms ripe for the taking. And he would master them all.

       Hetar would be first, for its emperor, Gaius Prospero, had already

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