Prologue

Prologue

"Queen Etain is ready for you now," the guard said, his face stoic and unmoving, the staff held upright in his smooth, slender hand.

Reijo stood from the stone bench and straightened his shoulders and his back, his face an emotionless mask, a facade of conceited arrogance that concealed the increasing fear that swirled around inside of him. He followed the guard into the glittering gold court room, where the High Queen and King, Etain and Midir, sat on their thrones, awaiting to deal out their judgment for his unforgivable crime.

He thought it completely ridiculous that he should be tried here, amongst the noble, blessed Tuatha De Danann, instead of by his own people, the damned ones who emanated not a golden glowing aura, but a sometimes frightening ghostly-grey vapor. The shimmering, golden double doors opened and he saw the royal couple sitting on their thrones, Queen Etain's sharp, azure-blue eyes narrowed into slits, and he was certain that he could feel the fury that she undoubtedly felt inside emanating from them. He looked then to King Midir but found no solace in the king's icy stare. King Midir's shimmering blue eyes looked only straight ahead.

The guard stopped just a couple of feet from the towering, shimmering thrones and stepped aside. Queen Etain opened her eyes wide, and Reijo found himself helpless to look away, though those eyes held for him only fury and vengeance. "Reijo of the Incubi, do you know why you have been summoned here today," she said, her crystalline voice echoing throughout the wide, open chamber.

Reijo looked into the queen's eyes and smiled. "Yes. For the seduction and murder of our Princess, Elora," he said, a hint of amusement resounding in his deep, baritone voice.

Queen Etain's eyes flinched, her golden ringlets spilling down her back and over her shoulders like a shimmering shroud. She had heard and judged many cases such as this, but none so close to her heart. Her judgement would not be dealt lightly, given that Reijo had murdered her only mortal daughter. "Yes. Do you have anything to say before you are sentenced?"

Reijo couldn't help but turn one corner of his mouth up in a semi-vicious grin. "Oh, there are many things that I would like to say. But nothing that can be said here, within these hallowed walls. Let me say this. I did only what it is in my nature to do, my Queen. That is all."

His dark, onyx-like eyes stared straight into the queen's without hesitation. The smoky, ghostly grey aura that surrounded him, and all incubi, radiated proudly from his hazy, barely tangible form. To show remorse or weakness now would be the undoing of the Incubi, and he would not allow the defeat of his brethren to be his doing.

"Very well," King Midir said, looking first at his queen, then to Reijo, his eyes cold and decisive. "Reijo of the Incubi, you have been found guilty of the seduction and murder of Princess Elora Moore. Your punishment has been especially designed to fit your crime."

Queen Etain smiled wickedly, her bronzed skin glowing with triumph. "Because you have taken someone so dear to the hearts of those residing within Tir-na-nog, I have devised a proper punishment for you, Reijo of the Incubi. To your cold, dead demon's heart and body, I will give warmth."

Reijo's brow furrowed in confusion. "I do not understand, my Queen."

Queen Etain smiled. "No. I suppose not. Your kind knows nothing of warmth or love. But you will. From this moment forward, you are stripped of your status, of all your daemonic abilities, and until you have known true love, you will not be allowed to return to Tir-na-nog."

Her lips curved into a wicked, plotting grin, and her jewel-blue eyes twinkled triumphantly. "However, once you have known true love, and the warmth of your lover's touch, you will be restored to your true incubus form, and you will be uncontrollably forced to drain the spiritual essence from she whom you love. That is my punishment."

"To make me mortal?" Reijo asked incredulously, his eyebrows upturned in confused bewilderment. "That is your punishment?"

"Yes. To make you mortal. To make you love. And to make you know the pain of losing that love." Queen Etain observed Reijo's eyes for a moment, waiting for his reaction.

He only smiled, his black eyes dancing with amusement. "Fine. Make me mortal. We shall see which of us is cleverer." His dark, curling hair fell over his shoulders as he met the queen's eyes with his own. The game had begun. She thought that she could break him? Let her try. "When do I go?"

Etain smiled again. "Immediately. You shall return to the physical plane at exactly the age at which you left it. You will live among the humans, and you will fall in love."

Reijo stared back at her, his lips still curved into a mischievous grin. "I'm really going to enjoy this."

Etain met his eyes, her expression cold. "We shall see."

It took several years for the Tuatha to work their magic, to restore Reijo's long forgotten human form. But once the magic was complete, and his humanity was restored, he stood before them in all of his frail, human glory, naked and shivering. His hair hung down around his shoulders, dark and shimmering in the golden light of Tir-na-nog, and his skin was golden-brown.. Etain took his chin between one thumb and forefinger and looked him over, a wicked grin stretching her lips.

"This will do," she said, smirking. "No human girl will be able to resist him. Now, send him back through the gate."

"To where, my queen?" Etain's guards stood ready, their shoulders squared and their eyes fixed but watching.

Etain looked Reijo over again. "Just send him through the gate. His soul will decide his destination."