A Distant Tomorrow

carry her. Anoush! Lara felt her heart contract at the sight of her daughter. It had been easier to leave her son, for Dillon was old enough to know who she was. “Put your crystal away,” Lara said with a sigh. “I have seen what I needed to see. My children are well and safe.”

“The loss of your daughter pains you most,” Kaliq said quietly.

Lara nodded. “I have already missed so much of Anoush,” she whispered. Then she asked, “Will the Outlands remain safe, Kaliq?”

He shook his head. “Even our powers cannot hold off the invasion much longer, Lara. Gaius Prospero has been elected emperor of Hetar. He has made many promises that he must keep, or lose his power and his place. Perhaps even his life. He will do whatever he needs to do to survive, my love.”

“I have a plan,” she began.

“I know,” he said. “And you must execute it as soon as you can.”

“I am not sure I can convince Magnus,” Lara told him.

“You must!” the Shadow Prince said forcefully. “Make it a condition of your marriage to him, Lara. It is for our world.”

“Do you still love me, Kaliq?” she asked him cruelly.

“I will always love you, Lara,” he replied sadly. “But I am not your destiny.”

“Is Magnus Hauk?” she countered.

“For now, aye!” he told her. “You know I speak the truth. You bloom within his arms. You flourish with his love for you.”

“How can you know it?” she demanded of him.

“I know everything there is to know about you, Lara. Am I not your mentor and your friend? Did not my brothers and I teach you to know when to trust?”

Lara laughed softly at the remembrance of a single night long ago. “Aye, you taught me well,” she said.

“Then unlock your faerie heart, my love, and give it to Magnus Hauk,” he told her with a small smile. “You know I am right.”

“He says he will tame me,” Lara murmured.

“Rather you will tame each other,” Kaliq said quietly. “Magnus Hauk is a mortal upon whom you may rely, Lara. His heart is good, and he has strong principles. You will find you are much alike.” He took her in his arms, and kissed her brow. “I will be with you when you enter the tower, Lara,” he said to her, and she suddenly found herself slipping from the dream world into a deep sleep. How typical of her Shadow Prince, she thought. He would not say goodbye.

WHEN LARA AWOKE it was a startlingly beautiful day, and she felt more rested than she had in weeks. Slipping from her bed she looked out her window, and watched the sunrise staining the morning skies in a plethora of vibrant colors. The air was warm, and fragrant with the scent of roses. She breathed it in deeply, and realized that she felt strong. Thank you, Kaliq, she said silently. Then going to the bath in the Women’s Quarters she bathed slowly and carefully, washing her long golden hair as well. She was drying it in the bath courtyard when Sirvat joined her.

“Did you dream well?”

“I did, and today I will enter Usi’s tower,” Lara told her.

“Will you let Magnus go with you? He wants to, you know,” Sirvat said.

“He must not, cannot come with me,” Lara told the Dominus’s sister. “Kaliq has warned me that Usi could attempt to steal Magnus’s body in an attempt to reincarnate himself.”

“Could he not steal your body?” Sirvat worried.

“Nay. I am well protected – not simply by my heritage, but because Kaliq will be there. Besides, Usi would not want to be a woman, I am quite certain.” She did not tell Sirvat of her encounter with the sorcerer’s shade in the dream world. There was no need to frighten her friend. She arose. “I must dress, and then see your brother.”

“You will need food for strength,” Sirvat fretted.

“I will eat when I have completed my task,” Lara told Sirvat. Then she hurried back to her own chamber. She dressed herself in her leather warrior’s garb, strapping Andraste upon her back, pulling on her boots.

“Am I not to come, too?” Verica demanded in a testy voice.

“No male or male spirit shall enter the tower,” Lara told him. “I met the sorcerer’s specter last night on the dream plane. I fear he might attempt to reincarnate in a male spirit, so you must remain where you are safe, Verica. Andraste is female, and I may need her protection.”

“Be cautious, Mistress,” the staff warned her. “This is a very evil spirit.”

“I will be,” Lara promised, as she left her chamber and hurried to the Dominus’s apartments.

Magnus Hauk looked her over carefully. “You are garbed for battle, Lara,” he said quietly. “You know I would go with you.”

“You must not,” Lara said sternly.

“I know. Your Shadow Prince came to me while I slept, and warned me himself. He said he did not want you wasting your energies in argument with me,” the Dominus chuckled.

Lara laughed. “He is very protective of me,” she answered.

“Should I be jealous?” Magnus asked her.

“Nay. You have no cause, my lord Dominus.” Her hand rested a moment upon his arm. “Let me do this thing, and then we will speak on matters closer to us both. This I promise you, Magnus.” She moved away from him as he reached for her. “You must not kiss me, for your kisses have the oddest effect upon me. They weaken me, and nothing must sap my strength this day, my lord Dominus.”

“How unlike you to admit to a weakness,” he said with a teasing smile.

“I must go,” Lara said, and hurried from his apartments. Just being with him was beginning to drain her. She walked slowly through the gardens overlooking the fjord, the sky reflecting its color into the waters. She took slow deep breaths as she moved. Perhaps Kaliq was right and Magnus was a part of her destiny. She was going to need his cooperation if her unspoken plan was to succeed. And when she reached her destiny would it reveal itself to her? Or must she continue to bumble along, following the voice within and always wondering if she was doing the right thing?

You will know it, she heard Ethne’s voice reassuring her.

Lara felt the strength pouring back into her body. Ahead of her, the northwest tower of Usi loomed dark and threatening. Even on this glorious day there was something sinister about it. She shivered but walked onward, noticing that the closer she got to the tower the more bleak the ground beneath her feet was. There was no green here, she realized, only rock and dirt. Reaching the small door that opened into the tower Lara stopped, realizing she had no key.

“Use your magic,” Kaliq’s voice instructed her. He was not visible to her.

“Open portal,” Lara said to the door. The small door creaked open with difficulty.

LARA AWOKE, and it was a startlingly beautiful day. Slipping from her bed she looked out her window, and watched the sunrise staining the morning skies in a plethora of vibrant colors. The air was warm and fragrant with the scent of roses – Wait! Had not this all happened before? Then she realized that the dark magic of Usi the sorcerer was attempting to keep her from entering his tower. “Repel, spell!” she cried and was once more before the small door, the sound of its creaking still in her ears.

It had not been opened in nearly five hundred years. She ducked as a small black flying creature flew out of the tower, and almost shrieked as several rats scampered past her, one over her very feet. Then drawing a deep breath, Lara stepped into the tower, walking toward the stone stairs just beyond the open door – which now shut itself with a loud bang. The sound of dark laughter sent a ripple down her spine, but she realized that she was not afraid.

“You are clever, Lara. I had thought to hold you off longer,” his voice said to her out of the darkness. Yet he had no form that she could discern, a fact that was very unnerving.

Ignoring him, she let her eyes adjust to the tower’s darkness. To acknowledge him would only rob her of her strength, and she needed all of her strength for what lay ahead. “Torch!” she said, and a small torch appeared in her hand, casting a weak glow into the gloom. To her left was a door. “Portal open,” Lara commanded. The door creaked open to reveal a flight of stairs that obviously led to a dungeon. The air was fetid and damp, and a despairing moaning issued from deep below. She quickly chanted, “Portal close!” More ghosts than Usi’s lived here.