Wigg stood. "Then I suggest we all try to get some rest. It seems that in a few hours, we may need it."

Testing the sleepy muscles in his legs, Tristan also stood. He felt as if he had been awake his entire lifetime. After retrieving his weapons from the back of his chair, he walked over to Shailiha and Celeste and gave them each a kiss.

"It's good to have you home," Celeste whispered into his ear. "And when you have the time, there is something I would like to tell you." She hugged him again and held him close, as if never wanting to let him go. The myrrh in her hair drifted up to him, reminding him of so much he had thought he might lose forever.

"It's good to be back," he answered her sleepily. "You'll send someone to wake me?"

Smiling at him, Celeste nodded.

He walked to the door, turned to smile at them all again, then gratefully left the room, his dreggan and throwing knives draped loosely over one shoulder. The serpentine hallways of the palace yawned back at him as he went. The heels of his knee boots rang out sharply, reminding him of how lonely life could sometimes be in this massive, overpowering place. And of how many people had once constantly come and gone through these beautiful halls, and of how relatively few did now. From time to time he would come across a lone Minion sentry, silently standing guard at one of the many hallway intersections. Each sentry bowed and snapped his heels together as Tristan passed, but it was all he could do to nod back in return. Finally he found himself back at his own quarters.

Dropping his weapons into a nearby chair, he pulled off his clothes and tossed them aside. Then he walked to the open stained-glass windows and looked out for a moment. The first rays of dawn were finally scratching their way up over the horizon, and the birds had begun to sing. Smoke rose lazily from the Minion campfires, curling its way into the sky. Finally closing the windows, he drew the heavy, red velvet draperies across them.

Naked, he slipped in between the cool, silk sheets of his bed. Paradise, he thought.

In mere moments, the Chosen One was fast asleep.

CHAPTER

Fifty-four

"C ome with me, my love," Wulfgar said to his queen. "There is still more I wish you to see."

Dawn had broken over the Citadel several hours earlier, bringing with it the promise of a fine day. The sea was high again, and the white sails of the constantly patrolling warships dotted the ocean like so many floating daisy petals.

After sharing their evening meal with Krassus the previous night, both Wulfgar and Serena were now fully aware of all the details of their impending mission. As he walked alongside his queen, the new lord of the Citadel could feel his endowed blood almost sing with the promises such a venture held. And soon, very soon now, it could all begin.

Wulfgar led Serena across the magnificent gardens of the inner ward. As they passed down one of the many stone walkways, bees buzzed, birds sang, and the beautifully blooming flowers, trees, and shrubs filled the air with their scents. Finally reaching the western side of the compound, Wulfgar walked along the shaded portico lining the inner wall, then came to a stop before two imposing doors guarded by armed demonslavers. As he and Serena approached, the slavers bowed deeply. Calling upon the craft, Wulfgar caused the doors to open. He took his queen by the hand, and they walked in.

Serena had seen many wondrous things here at the Citadel, but none compared to the splendor that lay before her now. The room was huge, and its entire western side lay open from floor to ceiling to reveal both the sky above and the sea below. The floor was fashioned of dark green marble, shot through with swirls of the palest gray. A series of black columns rose from the floor, to support the rather low ceiling. In one corner of the room stood Krassus, in his blue-and-gray robe. Turning his thoughtful gaze from the sea, he bowed. Serena acknowledged his presence with a nod.

Then she heard the sounds of splashing water. Looking to her right, she saw several women of about her own age, naked except for the flowers in their hair, happily bathing in a descending series of ornate marble pools. The scented water splashed down from a wide, curved trough in the wall above.

Seeing Serena, the women stopped what they were doing, stood, and bowed to her. Turning, Serena looked questioningly back to Wulfgar.

"They are your new handmaidens," he said to her. "I selected them myself, from the few R'talis slaves who remain alive. Their minds are now ours, and they have been granted the benefits of the time enchantments. They are yours to command for all of eternity."

"My lord's gifts are truly great," she said, smiling. She took one of his strong hands into hers and kissed it gently.

"Come," he said, beckoning to her. "There is more."

He led her toward the open side of the room, where two thrones of black marble sat overlooking the sea. On either side of the thrones stood a huge, freestanding column of dark red marble. Each of them was circled by garlands of violet flowers, and topped by a shallow black urn in which burned a bright flame.

From the edge of the shiny floor a series of wide, dark green marble steps led down to the sea. The stairway was lined by more freestanding columns, each topped with a flaming urn. The steps emptied out onto a broad terrace that lay just above the waves that continuously rolled over its leading edge. The clean, salty sea air drifted up to Serena and stirred her dark ringlets.

The train of her magnificent black gown snaking along behind her as she went, Wulfgar's queen walked tentatively over to touch the smooth, cool marble of one of the thrones. As she did, it was as if the massive seat of power suddenly sparked something deep inside her. She could feel her R'talis blood, graced as it was by the presence of so many Forestallments of the Vagaries, begin to swirl hotly, quickly through her veins. And like her lord, she was filled with the urgent need for their sacred mission to begin.

Krassus walked over to touch Serena's arm, bringing her back to the moment. Smiling, the wizard walked her back over to Wulfgar, and the three of them looked out over the sea.

"Come," Krassus said to them simply, and they descended the marble steps to the terrace. There, Serena could see that their entire fleet of slaver warships had stopped patrolling and had formed a massive, protective ring in the sea before them. Within the ring lay a great expanse of open water.

"Bring them, Wulfgar," Krassus said quietly. "Bring them all. They're yours to command now, by way of the gifts I have imbued into your blood. Bring them, so that your queen may know the many that now do your bidding."

With a nod to the wizard, Wulfgar turned to face the sea and raised his arms.

Almost immediately the vacant area of ocean surrounded by the demonslaver vessels seemed to come alive with huge, swirling eddies. Then the watery tornadoes rose from the ocean and into the air: dark, impenetrable maelstroms. As Serena watched breathlessly, they started to glow and turn colors, spinning so fast that they became fluid riots of alternating hues. Wulfgar spread his fingers.

As he did, several of the screechlings that made up one of the packs spun off and flew to where the three of them were standing. After circling them for several moments, the screechlings returned to the maelstroms that continued to whirl just above the waves.

Suddenly, another area of the sea began to churn, and Serena saw hundreds of menacing serpentine heads rise up slowly out of the sea. Their eyes were yellow and slanted with vertical black pupils. Each of the menacing heads was covered with dark red scales, and was a good two meters across. Pink, forked tongues slipped in and out of mouth slits as the creatures tested the air. Occasionally the beasts' forked tails would rise up out of the water, only to submerge again as they slithered their way through the waves.