"The spell was on both the portrait and Zagiri," Kaliq explained. "When she looked upon Jonah of Hetar's face she became ensorcelled. She was meant to desire him so greatly that she would find a way to go to him."

"No!" Lara cried out.

Kaliq sighed reluctantly. "The Lady Vilia has died," he told Lara. "Word came several days ago from the Shadow Princes on the High Council. It was not unexpected."

"He has taken my daughter!" Lara cried out. "But how? How did he manage to steal Zagiri away?" She turned to her twins. "Tell me exactly the last time you saw your sister. What time was it?"

"It was early evening," Marzina said. "We had finished our meal. Taj and I decided to play a game of Herder. Zagiri said she was going to bed. That was the last we saw of her. She had earlier told us she would walk to Grandmother Persis's house so when she did not appear for the first meal of the day we thought she had already gone."

"And so she had," Kaliq said humorously.

"This is not amusing, my lord," Lara cried. "How has Hetar managed to gain possession of my daughter? How?"

"I would think it was obvious, my love," he answered her. "They have somehow managed to use magic, but from where they obtained this magic I do not know. But I will, I assure you. You must accept, however, that the Lord High Ruler has probably already taken your daughter for his bride. Vilia's mourning period would be but a week or so, Lara. The question is, if Zagiri is content to remain with the Lord High Ruler, do you want to bring her back to Terah?"

"You say she has been bewitched," Lara said slowly. "Then none of it is of her own free will. I will not have her enslaved in Hetar as I was once enslaved!" She was struggling to hold back her tears. Her daughter! Magnus's daughter! Their beautiful golden girl! Jonah of Hetar would not have her! No! No! No!

Kaliq could see the anger, the fear, the despair as it lit her face. "Lara," he said gently. "They have taken Zagiri to Hetar by means of magic, it is true. And the portrait of Jonah was enchanted to enchant her. But once she saw him then the magic would be gone. She would regain her free will. If she wants this man then you have no cause to bring her back. She is seventeen, my love. Do you really think a nice Terahn lad will do for Zagiri now? What could such a young man offer a girl who is in love with a powerful man? And who surely by now has been given pleasures beyond her wildest dreams by that man. You know better."

"Jonah has done this to gain Terah's allegiance," Lara replied.

"You are undoubtedly right," Kaliq agreed.

"Why does he need us?" Lara wondered. "What threatens him that he would go to such lengths to steal a Terahn princess? Why does he need Zagiri?"

"I do not know, but I think we had best find out," Kaliq told her. "Let me visit our council members, and see what I can learn." And before she might answer Kaliq was gone, disappearing into the shadows of the chamber. He reappeared in the apartment of the two Shadow Princes currently on the Hetarian High Council. "Lothair, Eskil, good evening to you both."

"Kaliq! What brings you to Hetar?" Lothair arose to greet his old friend. "You have just caught us. We are shortly to go out."

"There is magic in Hetar that there should not be," Kaliq said. "Over a week ago Princess Zagiri of Terah was stolen away. The culprit is, I am certain, the Lord High Ruler himself. He had sought her hand, but been refused not once, but twice. Only magic could have taken this girl from Terah, and as we know, the Hetarians don't have enough magic of their own to have done this. What have you heard, my brothers?"

"Lara must be furious and devastated by turns," Lothair said. "She will not be pleased by what I am about to tell you. Listen, Kaliq. Do you hear the music in the streets? Hetar celebrates this night the marriage of the Lord High Ruler. The bride's identity has not been revealed, however. Eskil and I had intended to later join the wedding party as we were invited. Come with us."

Kaliq nodded. "I will, but I will remain invisible to all but you and the bride. That way I can bring Lara my own eye-witness account."

"Then let us be gone," Lothair said and the three Shadow Princes stepped into the shadows of the chamber to emerge in the midst of the wedding feast.

Seeing them a majordomo hurried to lead the two princes to their table. The hall was lit by the light of a thousand beeswax candles and tapers. The air was heavy with the scent of rose and lily. There were flowers everywhere. There was a High Board, and below it a dozen trestles were set. All the tables were covered in a fine white linen edged in golden lace. Gold candelabra decorated with flowering vines were set at intervals along the tables. The guests ate upon silver plates with silver cutlery. They drank from silver goblets. Liveried servants stood behind each guest. Kaliq, invisible except to his brothers, sat on the very end of a bench. Eskil had spread his robes over it so no one else would attempt to sit there. Light music was being played by musicians in a gallery above the hall where the feast was being held.

There was a flourish of trumpets, and the doors of the hall opened to reveal the Lord High Ruler of Hetar. He was garbed in a black and gold robe, its wide sleeves and hem furred in golden fox fur. Upon his dark head he wore a thin circlet of gold studded with small gemstones. He led by the hand a beautiful young woman in a gold and white silk brocade gown with flowing sleeves, and a low square neckline that revealed her pretty round breasts. Her long flowing hair looked as if it were of spun gold. Upon the third finger of her left hand all could see a heavy red-gold marriage ring.

A gasp arose from those assembled, for they had only been told they were invited to a great feast to celebrate a most special occasion. There had been rumors that Jonah would be quickly taking a new wife so some had thought it would be a bethrothal feast, and they wondered who the woman would be. Others thought perhaps that Jonah was giving a final feast to commemorate the life of the Lady Vilia. Her family had been quite certain of it. Now that they saw the young woman the Lord High Ruler led in so proudly they knew that they were wrong. And the marriage ring on her finger hinted at something else entirely, especially with Lady Farah following the couple and looking most smug.

They mounted the dais, and stood at their places at the High Board. The room grew silent with anticipation. It was at that moment Prince Kaliq chose to walk quietly from the bench where he had been seated and into the line of vision of Zagiri. Her green eyes widened slightly but she quickly realized that no one else could see the prince, and so she held her peace as Jonah began to speak.

"Good friends," he said. "Several days ago I lost my beloved wife, Vilia, to death. Vilia was a good wife, a model of perfection. And so it was before she died she chose for me my new wife. I introduce to you Princess Zagiri of Terah." Jonah drew the girl forward. "My bride. She is the daughter of our late friend Magnus Hauk, Dominus of Terah, and his wife, Lara, daughter of our own John Swiftsword. Her brother now rules in Terah, guided by the wisdom of his mother. Good friends, please greet Princess Zagiri, the First Lady of Hetar."

A great cheer arose from those assembled, and they clapped wildly as Zagiri stood before them. The girl with a proud smile on her lovely face stared out into the crowd of guests, but her eyes focused briefly upon Prince Kaliq, who stood leaning against one of the marble pillars of the hall, an amused smile upon his face. What was he doing here? Why could no one else but her see him? She looked away, not daring to say anything to Jonah. If Kaliq wanted to speak to her he would find an opportunity. Then suddenly everyone in the hall froze before Zagiri's startled eyes.

"What have you done, you foolish girl?" Kaliq asked her as he came forward.

"I have married a great ruler," Zagiri said defiantly. "What is so wrong with that, my lord Prince? Jonah is a wonderful man, and I am proud to be his wife."

"Your mother forbade this alliance, and yet you dared to go against her will," the prince said sternly. "And just how did you get to Hetar?"

Zagiri laughed. "I was brought across the Dream Plain, my lord Prince. You and my mother aren't the only ones to have magic."

Kaliq shook his head at her. "You are such a mortal, Zagiri. You have no real idea what lives in the realm of magic. Or the power that some of us command. You think because you have grown up with a faerie mother, because your grandmother Ilona comes and goes in a puff of smoke that that is all there is of magic. Ask yourself why Jonah wanted you for a wife. Why he was so desperate to bring you to Hetar with all possible haste. Ask him if you dare."

"Jonah loves me," Zagiri said. "He calls me his golden girl, and says I will bring peace to Hetar," the girl declared.

"Where is there discord in Hetar that peace is necessary? Hetar is at peace because the Dark Lands are tamed for the interim, and Terah wants nothing to do with Hetar," Prince Kaliq said scornfully. "Jonah wants you for his wife because you bring him prestige and honor among his own people. And those people have become restless of late. It is said that the Hierarch's coming is imminent. Jonah does not want to solve Hetar's problems. He wants to distract the people so they will forget the problems that beset this land. What better distraction than a beautiful princess for a wife?"

"You are wrong!" Zagiri cried. "Lady Vilia chose me to follow in her footsteps, and Jonah fell in love with me at first sight."

"Lady Vilia had to die because Jonah could not put such an openly loyal wife aside if he was to take you as a wife," Prince Kaliq said.

"Lady Vilia died to save her child," Zagiri told him. "I caught her essence in a bottle, and fed it to her son, Egon, who has for months been sickening. Within two days he was well again, my lord Prince! That good woman died so her child might live. And she picked a wife for Jonah who would follow in her footsteps. No matter what you say I will defend my husband, and stand by his side. I love him! Tell my mother that! Tell her I shall never return to Terah! That I rule a greater land than she does by the side of a husband who loves me!"

And Prince Kaliq was suddenly gone, and the hall noisy with congratulations again. Jonah looked down at his new wife and smiled. Zagiri smiled back at him. She was First Lady of Hetar now. She would not allow anyone to take that or this man away from her. Not all the magic in the world would part them.

LARA WEPT WHEN KALIQ returned and spoke with her. "She is not enchanted," he said. "She knows exactly what she wants, and she knows what she is doing. What I want to know is who brought her across the Dream Plain, and I mean to find out. There is dark magic at work here, my love."

"How did she look?" Lara asked him.

"Beautiful. Proud. Young," he answered her.

"If Magnus were here..." Lara began. Then she put her head in her hands. "Oh, Kaliq! I have failed Magnus. Zagiri was our first child, and she was born out of great love. She has known nothing but love all her life. What will happen to her when she realizes that her husband is interested in preserving his own status, and has no heart despite his protestations to the contrary. Zagiri will soon feel the lack of love. It will destroy her, and I can do nothing to help.

"You tell me that my daughter has made this decision of her own free will. If indeed she did then how could I have known her so little? She is the first child I bore Magnus. She was created from our love, and yet now I find the child we loved and raised together is a stranger. Zagiri is gone from us now, from Terah. The daughter I knew, the sister her siblings knew never really existed."

"What if she seeks your help for Hetar?" Kaliq asked Lara.

"I don't know," Lara said. "My instinct is to say Terah will not give Hetar any aid of any kind. We want nothing to do with them. But what if this Hierarch appears? What will he want? How will he accomplish his mission? I always thought the Hierarch was nothing more than a legend. And when Hetar learns that Terah will not help them what will happen to my child, Kaliq? What will happen to Zagiri?"

"I must return to Shunnar and consider this," the prince told her. "Events both great and small happen for a reason, Lara. You know that is so. Now there are two questions I must answer. Who helped Jonah, and why is Zagiri so important to him? Where there are questions there are usually answers." He reached out and drew her into his arms. "Sometimes I wish life were simpler, don't you?"

Lara laughed weakly. "Aye," she agreed, "I do, but life isn't simple, Kaliq. For people like us it is convoluted, and ofttimes difficult." With a sigh she closed her eyes, and accepted the gentle kiss he pressed upon her lips. Then she said, "Oh, Kaliq, do you think he loves her?"

"I do not know," the Shadow Prince answered, "but she believes he does, and she loves him, Lara. Right now she will not leave him willingly, but you can be comforted knowing that she is safe. Zagiri possesses your passion, and your loyalty. Whatever Jonah really wants of her he does not have it yet."

"I am only just realizing that my daughter is recklessly ambitious," Lara responded slowly. "That will be Lady Persis's influence, but the old woman always spoiled Zagiri far more than her siblings. She will be heartbroken when she learns what has happened to her favorite grandchild."

"Let me leave you now, my love. We need to learn what is behind all of this," Kaliq told Lara. Giving her a quick kiss, he disappeared to reappear in his own palace of Shunnar where he found his brother Lothair waiting for him in his privy chamber.

"You have been with Lara?" he asked. "How is she?"

"Devastated, angry," Kaliq answered. "We must learn why the Lord High Ruler was so determined to have Lara's daughter as his wife. It certainly goes beyond his desire to gain Terah as an ally. Zagiri told me she was transported across the Dream Plain. Only magic could accomplish that, and as no one in Hetar has to my knowledge that kind of magic we must learn who did this great favor for the Lord High Ruler, and why. And, having granted such a boon to Jonah, they, whoever they are, will expect payment in kind," Kaliq said. "I thought we had closed off the darkness."

"Kaliq, Kaliq, there is always darkness lurking, and seeking to wreak havoc," Lothair responded. "Your concern for Lara clouds your vision, my brother."

"You are probably right," Kaliq admitted ruefully. "Now tell me what you have heard of the one they call the Hierarch."

"It's a legend that has no basis in fact," Lothair said. "But belief among the poor and the desperate often defies fact. It is said that when Hetar comes into its darkest days the Hierarch will appear to lead them back into the right path, and that path will bring Hetar back to prosperity and greatness. I cannot learn where this legend originally sprang from, but I believe we must know the source if we are to dispell it. I must go back into the history of Hetar to learn the truth."

"Go then, my brother," Kaliq said with a nod. "And while you take that direction I shall take another. I will seek out the magic that has been used here."

With a flourish of his white cape Lothair disappeared into the shadows.

Kaliq sat down at a large wooden table he used as a desk. Leaning back, he closed his blue eyes, and began to consider the possibilities. Who would have had the power to transport a mortal girl from one realm to another using the Dream Plain? No faerie from any of the kingdoms would have taken Ilona's granddaughter. The Queen of the Forest Faeries was not a being to be trifled with under any circumstances. The giants were not clever enough, and besides, Lara had no quarrel with any among them. Who then was responsible for this mischief? It came to him suddenly!

Only a Darkling could do what had been done, but Darklings were few and usually kept to the Dark Lands where they were under the control of the Twilight Lord. But Kol, the Twilight Lord, was imprisoned for his crimes against Hetar, Terah and Lara herself. And the twin sons Lara had borne him were hidden away by the factions that had grown up about them and now fought an endless civil war over which of these two young men would rule in his father's place. They would be fifteen now, Kaliq realized, surprised. The time had gone much too quickly. He should have been looking toward that realm. The darkness was obviously beginning to rear its head again.

Kaliq reached out, saying the words of a spell as he did. "Darkling, Darkling, come to me. Though you would rather hidden be. A Shadow Prince calls you his way, and you cannot help but obey." He felt the creature struggling to evade him. "Appear or suffer my wrath!" Kaliq said harshly. "Now!"

There was a small flash, and a beautiful woman appeared before him. "My lord Prince," she said in a smoky voice, and she swept him a mock bow. Her hair was as black as a moonless night. Her eyes were purple, and her skin milky-white. She was tall and slender. "What is it you want of me?" she said.

"Tell me your name," Kaliq answered.

The Darkling laughed. "If I tell you my name you will have power over me."

"I already have power over you," he said, "so tell me your name, Darkling."

"Why have you called me to you?" she countered.

"Your name, or shall I drag it from you," Kaliq replied.

"I had heard that you were masterful, my lord Prince," she taunted him. "How will you impel me to reveal what I choose not to reveal? Will you impale me upon your great lance forcing me to pleasures?" Her smile was wicked, and her breasts swelled just slightly over the low neckline of her violet silk gown.

"You are beautiful, and I should certainly enjoy sharing pleasures with you, but I never make love to a woman I cannot address by name," he told her, amused at her blatant attempt to seduce him.

The Darkling stamped her foot. "You mock me!" she cried out. "Yet I am worthy of your respect, for I can cause such havoc in Hetar and in Terah as has never been seen."

"Why would you do that?" he inquired of her.

"Because I can!" she responded childishly.

She was young, he realized then. "Tell me your name, Darkling," he said with a small smile. "You know mine."

Now the Darkling smiled an arch almost coquettish smile at him. "My name is Ciarda," she said. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. "I did not mean to say it!"

"I told you I should have your name from you," Kaliq told her.

"How did you do it?" she wanted to know. "I should like to learn how to do such a thing."

"You are too young for such knowledge," Kaliq told her. "But tell me, Ciarda, why did you bring the Princess Zagiri to Hetar?"

"Because the Lord High Ruler wanted her," Ciarda responded. "The Hierarch is coming soon, and the Terahn girl will be necessary to help him keep his place as ruler."

"Indeed," Kaliq remarked dryly. "Your powers are great for one so young."

"I have been given the loan of all my sisters' powers," Ciarda said, proudly tossing her head so that her long ebony hair moved gracefully.

She was lying, and he knew it, Kaliq thought. "Why do you seek to harm Hetar?" he asked her.

"I shall not tell you why, my lord Prince," Ciarda said, and then she disappeared.

Kaliq cursed softly. He had underestimated Ciarda because he had believed her both young and naive. Her beauty had misled him. What in the name of Limbo was the matter with him? It was not like him to reveal his thoughts so easily. He might force her back to him, but she was prepared to resist him now, and he had lost the advantage. He was letting his passion for Lara weaken him, and he didn't like it. And he knew Lara would not have liked it, either. She would scold him for behaving like a boy, Kaliq thought with a small smile. And she would be right.

If he was to aid Lara then he had to pull himself together. He needed all of his strength and his powers to be of use. Allowing emotions to cloud his judgment and to weaken him was unlike a Shadow Prince. But the death of Magnus Hauk had allowed him to dream once again of having the faerie woman all to himself for eternity yet he had never thought such a thing possible. Indeed he believed it an impossible situation.

"Brother!" Lothair was once again in his presence. "I have found the source for the legend of the Hierarch. On her deathbed, Ulla, who had been Usi the sorcerer's concubine, the one who bore the daughter from whom Vilia Ahasferus descended, is said to have spoken these words. There will come a time in the future when Hetar grows weak and loses its path. When that time comes a leader will arise to bring Hetar back into the way of righteousness. He will be called the Hierarch.' I stood by Ulla's bed as she spoke these words," Lothair told Kaliq.

"Was Ulla known to be clairvoyant? Or was this some mischief of Usi's?" Kaliq wondered aloud. "And Vilia was descended from Ulla's daughter, and the chosen one in her generation. Still she loved Jonah, and would have done nothing to harm him."

"Perhaps she was threatened," Lothair said thoughtfully. "She was happy with both her husband and the son she bore Jonah. The only thing that irritated her was that despite the strides the women of Hetar have made Jonah would not give her the title of consort. What if some dark being wished to bring Jonah down so that the Hierarch could arise, and take power here in Hetar? Despite her bloodline Vilia was not truly touched by the darkness. She was greedy and ambitious, it is true, but she was loyal to those loyal to her. If she was approached to help destroy her husband she would have refused. So they reached out to harm her son in an effort to force her to their will."

"But instead Vilia warned Jonah of what was coming, and chose an important bride for him that his stature be increased among the people of Hetar." Kaliq took up the thread of Lothair's idea. "And then using her own small powers healed her child with her own life force. I must admit to admiring such a bold tactic. It was both clever and brave."

"Still," Lothair said, "it was the Darkling who brought Zagiri across the Dream Plain. If the Darkling is the one who threatened Vilia in the first place why would she help her? There is more to this, brother."

"The Darkling's name is Ciarda," Kaliq said.

"The word itself means dark," Lothair remarked. "Is she beautiful?"

"Very," Kaliq replied. "I should have enjoyed taking pleasures with her but that she is an enemy. Her aura is violet, and it shimmers around her. She told me that her sisters had given her their powers, and then she was gone." He sighed. "I need to know more of this creature. I can scent wickedness in the very air, Lothair. It has penetrated even here to Shunnar. Gather those of our brothers who are strongest now, and go forth to seek any who would call himself the Hierarch. It is not like us to be caught off guard. Something evil is brewing, and I would know what it is."

"Agreed," Lothair said. Then he was gone from Kaliq's presence.

The great Shadow Prince sat for some time considering his next move. He could sense that this was the most dangerous game he had played in some time. He drew his cloak tightly about him and in the silent language of magic he spoke the spell. Take me to where the Darkling lies. Reveal me not before her eyes. He found himself in a small room. Ciarda sat brushing her long dark hair. Her beautiful coloring reminded him of Lara's youngest daughter, Marzina. And suddenly Kaliq knew. Ciarda was either a daughter or a sister of Kol, the imprisoned Twilight Lord.

Ciarda laid the hairbrush aside. She shrugged her diaphanous lavender robe aside, and said aloud, "Rolf, Rolf, hear my plea. Cease all else, and come to me."

And a young Wolfyn appeared before Ciarda. Yanking her into his arms, he kissed her greedily while his paw hand kneaded at one of her breasts. "Prepare for me!" he growled, and when she fell upon her hands and knees he quickly mounted her, thrusting into the Darkling, leaning forward to bite her neck. Ciarda moaned with open pleasure.

Hidden in the shadows, Kaliq watched impassively. Wolfyn were more animal than anything else. The creature would not be long, and then perhaps Kaliq would overhear something of interest. The Darkling continued to whimper, her cries finally rising with her needy satisfaction, and finally the Wolfyn howled his satisfaction before releasing Ciarda. He was young, Kaliq noted, and handsome for his kind.

"How are my brothers?" Ciarda asked her lover.

"Their factions cannot keep from quarrelling and causing trouble," Rolf replied. "You will have to return to the Dark Land, Ciarda, and correct this. Old Alfrigg has his hands full, and he just isn't up to the job. Did you get the princess for the Lord High Ruler? Remember you promised me I might have her when we destroy Hetar."

Ciarda drew on her robe again. "You will have her, Rolf," she promised. "And yes, he has made her his wife. Zagiri is Lord Jonah's weakness. He actually loves her. As for the girl, she is besotted by him, and so eager to please. She studies with two rather delicious sex slaves so she may give him the finest pleasures."

Rolf licked his lips with his long tongue. "I shall look forward to having her one day," he growled. "Let me see her, Ciarda! Please!"

Ciarda laughed, but she reached up and took down a small crystal globe from a shelf, handing it to him. "Gaze into it, and behold," she said.

Rolf looked down into the ball cradled in his hands. He could see the beautiful golden princess as she made love to, and was given pleasures in return by, Lord Jonah. He licked his lips again several times imagining the softness of her skin, the scent of her. His male member twitched eagerly.