Demon Lord IV - Lord of Shadows (16 page)

She looked
away. "I find him frightening."

"That is only
natural. He frightens most people, and a lot of gods too. It is
wise to treat him with a great deal of respect while he wields the
dark power."

Tygon shivered
and pulled his coat closer. "Could we go home now?"

"Certainly."

Kayos rose,
then swung around as Shrea gasped. A black circle had formed just
beyond the seventh ward, spreading rapidly, its edges flaring with
foul fire. An earth demon rose from the centre in a rush of soil.
It stared at them, then turned to face the ward, tilting its head
back to study it. Shrea cursed and stepped forward, but Tygon
grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Leave it," he
said.

"But -"

"Tygon is
right," Kayos said, eyeing the demon. "It can do nothing to the
ward. Doubtless the black mages will soon follow, but they can do
nothing to it either."

Even as he
spoke, a warlock appeared, doubling over as he retched after his
Move. Another followed within a few moments, and when they had
recovered, they too looked up at the ward, then at the trio who
stood beside the wall.

"We should
leave now," Kayos murmured. "These are for Bane to deal with."

One of the
mages spoke to the demon, and it sank back into the ground. The
mages started a discussion, ignoring the trio.

"A message
will be sent to Jishka," Kayos said. "I fear that Bane might not
have as much time to sleep as he craves."

Shrea shot him
a horrified glance. "The dark goddess is still above the
wards?"

"Bane could
hardly take them both below at the same time."

"But then she
is trapped here!"

"Only so long
as she has power. Bane will strip it from her and cast her down. A
damned soul can pass through the wards even when all seven are
active. The seventh ward alone only bars true gods, four more will
stop demons, the last two will lock away the demon steeds and
hounds."

Shrea looked
puzzled. "I thought Bane was a true god?"

"No, he is
mortal."

Two more
warlocks appeared, followed by six earth demons. The mages carried
wood, and lighted a fire so that fire demons could join them. Kayos
placed his hands on the blue mages' shoulders, and warm light
swallowed them. They reappeared in the city chapel. The mages
reeled and blinked, and Kayos released them and Moved again.

Shrea glanced
around as the bright spots faded from her eyes, discovering that
Kayos had vanished. Tygon headed for the door, and she followed.
They found Kyan in a well-appointed sitting room, in discussion
with the Blue Council. She rose with a cry of joy when he entered
the room, her expression becoming anguished as he approached.

"Goddess!" She
flung herself into his arms, weeping with happiness and
distress.

"Do I look so
ill-used?"

"But you are
alive."

"Yes." He
kissed her hair. "And with you once more. That is all that
matters."

The rest of
the Blue Council gathered around Shrea.

"Has Drayshina
been freed yet?" one asked.

"No.
Apparently the Demon Lord requires rest."

"Rest?" The
old mage's voice quavered with outrage. "Our goddess must be
freed!"

"That might
have to wait. He faces another battle, with Jishka."

The mage
clasped his brow, and his cohorts groaned. "Goddess! Jishka can
destroy the wards. How many have been activated?"

"Two so far, I
think Kayos has gone to tell Kimera and Bashir to activate
theirs."

"Then the
Demon Lord must seek her out and destroy her immediately."

Shrea bridled.
"Perhaps you would like to be the one who gives him that order,
Drazo?"

He shook his
head. "He should be doing it even now, not resting."

Shrea tended
to agree, but refused to be drawn into an argument, or even an
agreement, with him. Instead, she left the mages to argue amongst
themselves and went to find Bane. She wanted to know whether or not
he was truly resting and whether or not, in her opinion, he needed
it. She stopped a passing priest and got directions to a room in
the east wing, where she hesitated outside the door for several
minutes, plucking up the courage to enter. When at last she pushed
it open, she found two women seated beside the bed, and a slender
girl curled up next to Bane. They looked up at her with smiles, and
one, whom she recognised as Tarris, raised a finger to her
lips.

The Demon Lord
was deeply asleep, judging by his soft, slow breaths. A blanket
covered most of him, but four rune scars were visible above it. She
studied his peaceful face, a little shocked by what she saw. Faint
blue shadows circled his eyes, and his lean cheeks were sunken. The
scars on his chest looked freshly burnt. The angular symbols were
dark red, stark against his pale skin. She had not seen them
before, and the agony that their cutting must have caused him made
her bile rise. Many other scars marred his skin, most of them faded
to white lines, except for a pink, fresh looking one on his
shoulder.

Casting a
smile at his attendants, she crept out, closing the door and
leaning against it. Being in his presence made her knees weak, even
when he was asleep. Clearly he needed the rest, and after seeing
him, she did not begrudge it. She was also exhausted, and she had
not fought Vorkon, only a demon that Bane could have destroyed with
a flick of his hand. She headed back to the sitting room to tell
the Blue Council.

Bashir jumped
when Kayos appeared in the dark, dusty room. His tense expression
relaxed into a glad smile as he rose from his seat on the floor.
Kayos glanced at the five illusory wards hanging above the carved
one on the floor, nodding his approval.

"All is well,
Lord?" Bashir enquired anxiously.

"Indeed.
Activate your ward."

Bashir rubbed
his hands. "With pleasure."

The blue mage
pointed at the powder in the solid ward's grooves, and blue fire
spat from his fingers, igniting it in a flare of brilliance. A
faint, sweet chime rang out, and a sixth ward appeared above the
lowest two, filling the gap left there for it, indistinguishable
from the other five. Bashir clasped his hands and gazed at it
proudly, smiling. Creating illusory wards that would last forever
required a great deal of skill and power, and the labour had left
him exhausted. Also, his food had run out the day before, and he
had been afraid to sleep lest the demon send more illusions to
torment him. The illusory wards would not fool a god for long, even
though he had placed an illusion of power within them too. That he
had done after watching Bane pass his hand through the illusions,
and realised that he could detect the real one by its power.

Kayos turned
to him. "Your work here is done." He held out his hand. Bashir took
it, and the room vanished in a flash of warm white light.

Kimera jumped
up with a glad cry when Kayos and Bashir appeared. She hurried over
to embrace Bashir, who returned it, looking a trifle embarrassed.
Releasing him, she curtsied to Kayos, who nodded and walked over to
her ward, scrutinising the runes. He looked satisfied, and Kimera
beamed.

"Is it time,
Lord?"

"It is."

Kimera
approached the ward and passed her hands over the runes, which
lighted and faded as she activated them. Clasped her hands, she
drew them apart, and soft blue fire cascaded from them, igniting
the blue powder. It flared, and a glowing pentagram shimmered into
being above the solid ward. A sweet chime rang out, shivering the
air. Kimera gazed at it, then turned to Kayos.

"Are the
others all right?"

He nodded.
"All are well."

"And
Bane?"

"He is well
enough." He held out his hands. "Come."

Kimera smiled
as she took his hand. "I feel like I have been here for aeons."

Bashir and
Kimera were reunited with their fellow mages with much
back-slapping and congratulations, and hid their shock at Tygon's
appearance as they offered their praise for his efforts. Wine was
passed around, and although Tygon looked fit to drop from
exhaustion, he insisted on drinking a cup before he retired. Kyan
watched him with deep concern, as did the trio of doctors who had
examined him. After watching their celebrations for a few moments
without becoming visible, Kayos Moved to an empty room and created
an Eye.

The seventh
ward stood like a stone sentinel on the frozen tundra. Five black
mages and at least a hundred demons surrounded it. They waited for
Jishka, their only hope of freeing their master from the Darkworld.
The seventh ward would not be their first target, however, they had
three wards to break before it now. Kayos settled in a chair and
summoned a cup of ambrosia. Jishka, he suspected, would be
reluctant to take up this challenge, thereby attracting the ire of
the Demon Lord, whom she knew was too powerful for her to fight.
Would she abandon Vorkon and flee the domain, or would she send
mages or mortals to slay Bane? The latter seemed more likely. She
would be reluctant to face the dangers of the God Realm.

The Grey God's
patience was rewarded an hour later, when Jishka appeared. She
studied the ward while the mages spoke to her urgently, making him
wish that he could hear what they were saying. The only way to do
that was to go there and listen, but that was risky, for although
he could become invisible, a dark goddess might sense him. His Eye
filled with swirling darkness as she blocked it, and he sat back
with a sigh of frustration.

Kayos wondered
if she would come up with a cunning plan. There were many options
open to her, and since she knew that she could not hope to defeat
Bane, she would not face him. One thing she could do, he realised
with a chill of dread, was threaten to kill Drayshina, or just do
it, out of spite, or revenge. Now that the Gate was no longer
guarded, he was free to leave, but perhaps she would not care if
the domain died.

If it did,
Vorkon would be freed when it collapsed. He had assured Bane that
Drayshina was in no danger, but that might not be true. With four
wards in place, Jishka knew that she stood no chance of breaking
them all before Bane caught her. They were bait that he could use
as traps, and she did not wish to be caught, of that Kayos was
certain. It was only a matter of time before she discarded all
other possibilities and came to the same conclusion that he just
had.

Kayos
dismissed the Eye and Moved, reappearing beside Bane's bed. The two
women who sat there gasped and fell to their knees. He signalled
for them to rise, then turned to Bane. Mirra lay curled up asleep
beside him, and Grem waited like a shadow in the corner. Kayos was
reluctant to wake Bane, but Drayshina's danger left him no choice,
and he bent to touch Bane's shoulder.

"Bane, wake
up."

The Demon
Lord's eyes opened slowly, filled with weariness. "What is it?"

"You must free
Drayshina now."

"You said
-"

"I have been
thinking. Jishka might decide to kill her. She will not try to
fight you, and she must know that you will protect the wards. Apart
from sending assassins, there is not much else she can do. If she
kills Drayshina, she will destroy this domain, since I will not
remain here to keep it alive. Vorkon will be freed when it
collapses."

Bane sat up,
rubbing his eyes. "In a few hundred years."

"To him that
is nothing. What else can she do?"

Bane yawned,
glancing at the women and running a hand through his hair. "I did
not think Jishka could kill Drayshina."

"Of course she
can. Vorkon only captured her to keep this domain alive, and to
torture her, but if Jishka decides that freeing him is worth
destroying it, she will do it."

Bane turned to
look down at his wife, a slow smile curling his lips as he stroked
her cheek, then leant down to kiss her brow. She sighed and
wriggled closer, reaching for him, but he moved away, leaving her
to sleep. Swinging his legs off the bed, he pulled his boots on,
then stood and stretched, his hands brushing the ceiling. He
glanced around for his cloak, and Shevra ran out to fetch it.
Tarris offered to bring him a bowl of food, but he waved her away.
When Shevra returned with his cloak, he clipped it on, then ran his
hands over his torn shirt, making the rips vanish before tugging at
his leather wrist guards.

"Where is
she?" he asked Kayos.

The Grey God
created an Eye, which filled with swirling colour while it hunted
for Drayshina, then an image formed within it. Kayos' expression
became grim as he studied it, and Bane moved behind him so that he
could see it too. Drayshina still lay in the clutches of the
malformed beast with many heads and limbs that had imprisoned her
at the bottom of the Fetch. The creature was chained in a shallow
pit, and some limp limbs and hanging heads showed that parts of it
were dead.

"A temple and
a Source." Kayos adjusted the focus to bring more of the
surroundings into the picture. "A city that worships Vorkon."

"Draynon,"
Tarris supplied.

Kayos
dismissed the Eye. "Draynon."

Bane nodded,
and they Moved together.

Shevra turned
to Tarris, her expression downcast. "He didn't recognise me."

Tarris put a
hand on her shoulder. "I am sure he did, but he was in a hurry.
They go to save Drayshina. That is more important than
anything."

"Of course!
It's just... You probably think me foolish, but a simple nod or a
word of greeting was all I wanted."

Tarris glanced
at Grem and took Shevra's hand, leading her to the door, where she
glanced back. The cell seemed cold and empty without Bane's
presence. In the corridor, she closed the door and turned to
Shevra.