David Gemmell - Dark Prince

'I am here,' she answered aloud.

Something shimmered at the edge of her vision and she saw two ghostly shapes — faint, almost transparent — standing before her on the hillside. It was difficult to make out their features, though she could see that one was male and the other female.

'Who are you?' she asked.

'Close your eyes,' came the faraway voice. 'Use your powers.'

'I have no powers.'

'Trust me. Close your eyes and draw us in.'

Fear sprang into her heart, but she quelled it. What harm could they do to her? Was she not a Spartan, strong and proud? Closing her eyes she concentrated on the voice. It grew a little stronger and she recognized the magus , Chiron.

'I have someone with me,' he said, 'and I have a favour to ask.'

'Name it,' she told him.

'I want you to open your mind and allow her to enter your heart.'

'No!' answered Derae, suddenly fearful.

'She will leave when you request it,' he assured her.

'Why are you doing this?'

'For love,' he told her.

Instantly she became aware of the second spirit. 'It is her! You are trying to kill me. It was all a trick, wasn't it?

Parmenion loved her and now she wishes to steal my body. Well, she cannot have it! You hear me?'

'That is not true,' he said gently. 'But it is your choice, Derae. Look into your own heart. Would you steal the body of another?'

'No,' she admitted.

'Not even to save your life?'

She hesitated. 'No,' she said firmly. 'Not even for that.'

'Then why would she?'

'What do you want of me?'

'Let her come to you. Speak with her. She will ask nothing from you. But through her memories you will see Parmenion — his life, his dreams.'

'And then?'

'If you wish it, she will depart from you and I will take her to another place.'

'She's dead, isn't she?'

'Yes.'

Derae fell silent, then opened her eyes to look once more upon the stone Gateway through which her love had passed.

'I will speak to her,' she said softly.

A great warmth flowed through her, images tumbling into her mind — a different Sparta, another life, a temple, a turbulent ocean of sick, injured, diseased or dying people, begging, praying, a lifelong struggle against the evil of Kadmilos. Derae reeled under the weight of those memories and felt herself slipping into a daze.

Light blazed, the sun shining high above a hillside.

'Thank you,' said another voice and Derae blinked, for sitting beside her was a woman in white, young and beautiful, with red-gold hair and wide green eyes.

'You are me,' said Derae.

'No — not quite,' the woman replied.

'Why have you come?'

'Aristotle. . Chiron. . found me. He said it would warm my soul to know you. He was right.'

Derae felt a great sadness growing within her. 'Your dreams were never realized, were they?'

The woman shrugged. 'Some were. But there are those who walk through life and never know love. They are the ones to pity.'

'He is coming back to me,' said Derae. 'But it is you he wanted, you he loved. I am only a… copy.'

'Not at all,' the woman assured her. 'You are everything he could want; you will be happy.'

'Why did Chiron bring you to me? What does he want me to do?'

'He wants us to become one.'

'Two spirits in one body?'

'No. There can be only one. He believes we can merge, one soul with two paths of memory.'

'Is that possible?' Derae asked.

The woman spread her hands. 'I do not know. But if you have doubts, then do not attempt it. There is no need for you to do this for me. Parmenion will soon be here, and your lives together will be rich and fulfilled.'

Derae looked at her twin and reached out her hand. 'Let us try,' she said.

The woman looked surprised. 'Why? Why would you do this?'

'Would you not do it for me?'

The woman smiled. 'Yes, I would.' Their hands met and the light faded.

Derae found herself sitting once more in the moonlight in the shadows of the Gateway. There were no ghosts and no voices, and the stars were bright above her. Taking a deep breath, she summoned her memories.

For a time she sat unmoving. The corridors of the past were branched now and there were two histories to scan. She remembered her life as a child in the Sparta of the Enchantment, and also as a young woman in the world of Parmenion. The years spiralled on, from youth to the first grey hairs, and she recalled with a shiver her arthritic joints, felt again the constant pains of old age, the fading of her powers. Her powers? I had no powers, she thought.

Of course I did, she reminded herself. They were developed by Tamis when first I came to the Temple. But I had to give my sight to acquire them.

I have never been blind! An edge of panic touched her, but the memories flowed on, filling her mind, covering her like the warm blankets of childhood.

'Which one am I?' she asked aloud, but there was no answer. The memories were all hers — and identity was based, she knew, on memory.

It was not just the years of healing at the Temple that she could recall, but all the emotions and yearnings that had accompanied those years. Yet, similarly, she could remember vividly her time as Sparta's Queen with the first Parmenion, and her childhood with Leonidas.

'Which one?' she asked again.

Glancing down she saw a small white flower with fading petals, its time finished, its beauty disappearing. Reaching out, she held her hand above it; the petals swelled with new life. All confusion left her then.

'We are One,' she whispered. 'We are Derae.'

The panic faded, to be replaced by a quiet longing. Her gaze swung to the hill above her and the twin columns of stone.

The Gateway shimmered with golden light and a tall young man stepped out on to the hillside.

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