The sound of voices. I thought they might be ar- guing. Then more footsteps. The lock was opened and the door swung in.

I put my hand up against the sudden brightness of a lamp. A rustle of fabric. Any moment now I would feel the bum of the blade.

"You may leave us now," a voice said.

A voice I knew.

I dropped my hand and blinked. It couldn't be, yet it was.

Standing across from me, robed in heavy velvet and fur, was Alachia.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

She frowned. "You never have learned any man- ners," she said. "Do you not know that you are to rise in the presence of a queen?"

I snorted. "Blood Wood is long gone," I said. "Its ashes have been forgotten more times than either of us can remember. You're no more a queen than I."

"You never were ambitious," she said.

"No, just not foolish and vain."

Her frown deepened. Even with such a withering expression on her face, she was still beautiful. The skin was as pale, the hair as fiery red, and the eyes as blue. Not as stunning as she'd been, but part of that was due to the changes in the magic. Now her beauty was more human. 46

"You are an annoyance," she said. "But you are my cross to bear. Isn't that an amusing expression? Tell me, aren't you curious as to why I am visiting you?"

I didn't answer. I knew it would annoy her. How odd that even after all this time we fell back into our old patterns.

"Well, I'll tell you," she said. Her voice was glee- ful and fairly danced with excitement. "In a fort- night, I am again to gain a throne. Admittedly, not as impressive as those I've left behind me, but it will do in the meantime."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked. "Mary is dying and Elizabeth is to be crowned queen. Don't you think Henry is turning over in his grave? Killing off that poor girl's mother because she couldn't give him sons. Brutal bastard."

"What has that to do with you?"

"Why, my dear, haven't you guessed yet?"

I stared at her for a moment, then, through the dullness of my mind, comprehension.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she said coyly.

I was staggered. She'd been interfering for years in things that weren't our business-but this-this was too-much.

"How do you propose to achieve this miracle?" I asked. "Don't you think people will see the differ- ence between you?"

"Ah, I have been planning this for years," she said. "It has taken an immense amount of time and energy. Do you think that I just popped up yester- day? Oh no, I have been Elizabeth for quite some time."

"But her servants, teachers, surely someone…"

"A simple enough matter to arrange. A spell here, a spell there… and patience. Such patience as you have never known. And now, at last, I'm in a posi- tion where I can do something."

I could only stare at her. It was madness-sheer and utter madness. How she could possibly think she could maintain such a farce was beyond me.

"Aina," she said, "you have always been so short- sighted. We can control what happens over the next thousand years. Make the world over in our image. Think of it-the power will come back again. Not this trickle, but a deluge of energy to rip loose the moorings of the world-unless we make certain of the proper order of things. Humans are sheep. We will always rule them.

"The legends and tales you strew about aren't enough. We must have more. We must control them. This is our destiny."

Even had I wanted to stand, I didn't think my legs would hold me. What she was proposing was mon- strous. It went against everything I believed about our place. Our purpose. We had a duty to perform. We were to keep the world safe so that the knowl- edge would survive from age to age.

She knew what I did-how could she discard it all for so clumsy a form of power? But then, power had always entranced her. And so much of her mind would never be known to me. She was far older than I.

And I have lived so long that Sisyphus's chore looked like a blessing to me.

"You pervert what we are," I said.

"This pious attitude is quite boring, Aina," she said. "I think I liked you better before you lost your faithful companion. He certainly would never have tolerated such an attitude. And he could goad you into so many things."

I felt the blood draining from my face and blessed my dark skin. Cruelty was her hallmark. How could I have let my guard down for even a second? The energy drained from me then. I didn't have the strength now to battle with her.

"What has all this to do with me?" I asked.

She walked closer to me. The wide span of her skirts just touched the ragged hem of my cloak.

"I want your assurance that you won't interfere with my plans," she said. "I know you could make things difficult for me and I won't have it. There has been too much time and energy devoted to this for you to create problems."

"How did you know I was in England?" I asked.

"That was a happy accident," she said. "For the last few years I've made it my business to keep abreast of any rumors of witchcraft. When I heard about a dark-skinned woman with white hair who'd been arrested for sorcery, well, I assumed it must be you."

"Have you known all along that I've been here?" I asked.

"Of course," she said. "I just couldn't take any action on it for a while. Besides, I wanted you out of the way until I decided what to do with you."

I closed my eyes. Knowing Alachia, she could keep me here for decades before letting me go. By that time I might well have lost my mind.

"What do you propose?" I asked.

"Just what I said. You keep out of my way in this matter. I will act as queen to this tiny nation."

"This is madness, Alachia," I said. "Why would you want this?"

"Because I need to rule," she said.

"And if I don't agree?"

"I'll find someplace where I can leave you to rot," she said. "You won't die, unfortunately. But you'll certainly wish you had. That is, if you still have your sanity intact after all those years locked up and alone. It's really not much of a choice, is it?"

She had me there. I couldn't stop her from what she was about. But I could certainly see my way clear to making her life difficult once she let me out.

"Very well," I said. "I agree."

She came to the throne on November 17, 1558 and ruled for an astonishing forty-five years. And at every turn I made her way as difficult as possible. Oh I didn't act directly; that has never been my way. But I knew people on both sides, and it was a simple matter to sow the seeds of distrust and paranoia. All I had to do was stir the pot. Between juggling the French and Spanish, she was forced to look to the welfare of the country.

Besides, it was a source of constant amusement to me that she was referred to as the Virgin Queen.

That wasn't the first, nor would it be the last, time she did such a thing. But the brazenness with which she acted in this matter always amazed me. And af- ter that time, I always made sure to stop her when- ever I could.

Do you think you'll escape me through the past?

Do you think that by telling them you'll be safe?

Don't you know that I've been waiting-as patient as time itself? Don't you know you can never stop me?

"I tried to stop her," I said.

"What?" asked Caimbeul.

I hadn't realized I'd spoken aloud.

"Nothing," I said. With a quick snap of my wrist I pulled the drapes together and shut out the storm. "I suppose I should pack."

There was the creak of leather as he settled back into my chair.

"So," he said, "you're going to tell them. Where will you go first?"

"The Seelie Court," I said. "It should be the least hostile reception."

"If you can find them."

This made me laugh.

"Ah, Caimbeul," I said. "That will be the easy part."