Demon Lord IV - Lord of Shadows (21 page)

"Will you do
as I asked?"

Bane's eyes
glinted, but he inclined his head. "Very well."

"Good."

Bane stood up,
and Kayos rose to face him. Drayshina's eyes widened as Kayos held
out his hand. "Good luck."

The Demon Lord
glanced down at the proffered hand. A slight, arrogant smile curled
his lips, then he clasped it in a flash of blue light. Mirra rose
and approached him, her expression sad but resolved. Bane took her
hands and raised one, pressing it to his lips in a gesture that
spoke volumes of affection and gentleness that was totally out of
character for a powerful dark god. Releasing her hands, he cupped
her cheek and bent to whisper something in her ear, and she nodded
as he straightened. Bane walked to the far side of the room and
turned. Casting a mocking smile at Drayshina, he vanished.

Kayos sighed
and sat on the bed beside the goddess, who studied him. "What does
he need with luck?" she asked. "Surely Jishka poses no threat to
him? He has already vanquished her once with ease."

"Ordinarily,
no, but in order to get close enough to her to cast her down, he
must go to her powerless."

"Is that not
dangerous?"

"Extremely."

A flash of
concern crossed her features, swiftly hidden, then she rose. "I
must inform my priestesses of my return, and heal the land."

Kayos nodded.
"Yes, it is safe to do so. Jishka will not dare to attack you while
Bane protects you. The fires in your temples require
relighting."

"I did not
intend to insult him. It is just..."

"I know. But
as you have seen, it is perfectly safe to offer him your hand in
friendship."

"And I shall,
when I can."

He said, "Do
it soon, for his sake, and do not wait until he has no power."

Drayshina
nodded, folded her hands and vanished. Kayos created an Eye with
which he could watch Bane until he moved into the sphere of
Jishka's influence. Mirra sat down beside Mithran with a sigh, and
he put an arm around her shoulders, murmuring comforting words.

Bane
reappeared atop a rocky hillock that thrust up from a clearing deep
within the dark, forbidding forest that covered most of Daord.
Several leagues to the north, the city of Draynon nestled within
the craggy arms of four vast mountains. The peaks blocked out the
sun for most of the day, filling the canyon with shadows and chill
mist. The city had been built around a number of rich gold mines,
and straddled a cold, swift river. Its remote location and gloomy
character made it a perfect home for a dark god, which was
undoubtedly why Vorkon had chosen it.

The Source had
goaded the mountains into action, and they belched clouds of black,
sulphurous smoke, rivers of glowing lava lighting their slopes. The
clouds hung thick and dark above Bane, and dark power filled the
air with its chill frisson. Jishka, if she was true to the nature
of a dark goddess, would have made the city a hotbed of debauchery
and death, the evil that she carried fuelling her penchant for such
things.

Bane descended
to the base of the hillock, where huge dead trees loomed over him,
streamers of rotting moss hanging from their twisted branches,
unmoving in the foetid air. He glanced around, lighted a fire amid
the dead leaves with a trickle of power and spoke the word of
summoning, followed by a name that the dark power whispered in his
mind. The flames roared up, turning sickly green and purple as a
demon took shape within it. The fiend towered eight feet tall, and
formed arms, legs and burning eyes before stepping from the fire to
bow to Bane.

"Dark Lord,"
it said in a grating voice.

"Vraynish. I
am the Demon Lord. You will protect me from any and all threats,
and remain at my side unless I indicate otherwise, thus." Bane
flicked his fingers.

The demon
nodded. "As you command, Demon Lord."

Bane summoned
a second fire demon, two earth demons and an air demon, giving them
the same instructions, then turned away.

"Syrin."

The angel
stepped from the air, glancing at the demons, who glared at her.
She smiled coyly at Bane.

"You need my
help, Demon Lord?"

"A small
favour."

"Ask."

"Come with me
to the city, and watch over me. Do not let anyone see you. If I am
badly hurt, inform Kayos."

Her smile
widened. "A guardian angel. Truly I have performed all the
time-honoured roles of my kind now."

"Indeed,
reward enough, to have such deeds to your credit."

She giggled.
"I think not, but it pleases me."

Bane snorted
and turned to the demons. "You will tell no one what you have seen
here, or who I am. You will tell them that I am a blue mage whom
you found in the forest, badly hurt. You will take me to Jishka as
a captured enemy; a prize to be given directly to her and only to
her, allow no one else to take me from you."

Vraynish
stepped forward. "But you are not a blue mage."

"I soon will
be."

"You intend to
destroy Jishka and all of our kind above the wards. What will be
our reward? Destruction?"

Bane's eyes
narrowed. "If I so choose."

"We ask to be
spared."

"I shall
consider it."

Vraynish
bowed. "Thank you, Lord."

Bane glanced
at Syrin, who tilted her head with a puzzled smile. While he had
commanded the demons, he had allowed the dark power to flow out
through his feet, unseen. Now all but the last dregs were gone, and
those were the most difficult to shed. Closing his eyes, he spread
his hands and relaxed the control that held the dark power chained
within his flesh, sensing its reluctance to relinquish him.
Although it was hard to store, the small amounts that corrupted
black mages and bad people was equally hard to shed.

Shadows
drifted from his fingers and sank into the ground, taking with it
the foulness of its presence and the burden of its evil. When he
had forced the last wisps out, he sighed and opened his eyes. The
dark power's immense weight was lifted from him, along with its
evil influence and its power. The sense of vulnerability that
always assailed him when he cast it out rushed in on him, but he
quelled it, fighting the impulse to Gather it again. Instead, he
spread his arms and let the innocuous blue fire soak into him,
although it did little to fill the void that the dark power
left.

When he looked
at Syrin again, he found her watching him with wide-eyed
fascination, her mouth open. Her eyes flicked to the demons, then
back to him, filled with inquiry.

"They cannot
break the bonds of their summoning, do not worry," he told her. "I
could still summon them, only it would take longer, and the ritual
is tedious and complicated."

He paused,
glancing down at himself. "I am not very good at creating illusions
with the blue power."

"Why did you
not use the darkness then?"

"Because the
glamour would have faded when I cast out the power."

She smiled.
"Never have I seen such a thing."

"Even you have
much to learn, then."

"From you,
yes."

Bane smiled,
then raised his hands and made the complex gestures that wove a
spell of illusion, muttering the words. His ebon clothes faded to
dark blue, save for his boots, belt and wrist guards.

"How does this
look?"

Syrin shook
her head. "You still look like a dark god. Your skin is too pale,
your face too perfect."

"I do not wish
to be ugly."

"Has Jishka
seen you?"

"Only
briefly."

She
considered. "Darken your skin a little, hide the widow's peak and
make your brows level."

"I shall make
myself look like my father."

Bane raised
his hands again, moving them around his face as he murmured the
incantation. His skin took on a healthy tan, his hair turned dark
brown and the peak faded, and his brows became level. The tattoos
of a blue mage appeared on his forehead and ran down his neck to
pattern his chest and arms, terminating at his fingertips.

Syrin nodded.
"Even I would not recognise you now."

"Good." Bane
unlaced his shirt and pulled it open to consider the rune scars,
then wove another spell of illusion to hide them. A long gash
appeared across his ribs, which oozed illusory blood. Satisfied, he
laced his shirt and bound the illusions into a tight bundle in his
mind. He cast it into his subconscious, which would hold them in
place even if he was knocked out. When he looked at Syrin again, he
found her watching him with deep concern.

"What you are
doing is very dangerous," she said.

"You are as
bad as Kayos. There is no other way."

"I will watch
over you diligently. I will not take my eyes from you for a moment,
and if necessary, I will defend you."

He shook his
head. "No, do not do that."

"Your life is
worth more than mine, tar'merin."

"Jishka would
kill you with a flick of her fingers."

Syrin smiled.
"I know. Even armed with the Sword of Vengeance, I would be nothing
more than a distraction, but perhaps that is all you will
need."

"The demons
will defend me if necessary. You just stay out of the way. If I am
injured badly, bring Kayos." He turned away before she could argue
and walked over to the demons. "Take me to Jishka."

One of the
earth demons stepped forward and picked him up, cradling him in its
massive arms. Bane found its proximity unpleasant. It stank of
sulphur, and dark power coursed through it like foul blood. The
earth demons pounded through the wood, eating up the leagues with
long strides, and the fire demons rode the air as flames behind
them. As they travelled, he perfected his illusions, making his
shirt wet with blood and adding a few bruises on his face and ribs.
By the time he was satisfied, the city had come into view ahead, a
sprawling metropolis of dark buildings and broad, torch-lighted
streets. The sun sank beyond the mountains, but the city had been
in shadow since mid-afternoon.

Chapter Eleven

Dark
Goddess

The demons
slowed as they entered the city, pounding up the main thoroughfare
towards a vast palace of black rock that stood at the foot of
Vorkon's gold-encrusted temple. From its seamless construction,
Bane knew that it had been raised with the dark power, and since it
had not been here when he had freed Drayshina, it was Jishka's
creation. He rested his head against the demon's chest and narrowed
his eyes to slits, pretending to be unconscious as they neared the
palace. Droves of droges, humans and demons in human form thronged
the palace grounds, some of the droges bearing platters of food or
torches to replace those that sputtered.

It seemed that
Jishka was having a party, and Bane hoped that he would be added to
the list of entertainment. The demons entered a vast courtyard
where bevies of naked droge dancers vied for the attention of the
lavishly dressed crowds, their erotic contortions performed to the
beat of massive drums. Tables laden with food stood around the
perimeter, and a number of animal carcasses roasted over fires. The
number of humans that Jishka was entertaining surprised Bane, all
of them black mages, dark priests, or high ranking worshippers of
evil. Her new allies. Most dark gods would scorn such company, but
for a weak one trapped in the mid realm, their help would be
welcome. Doubtless she conspired with them for a way to kill him,
and they would be her best chance of success.

The demon that
carried Bane pushed through the crowd, most of which stepped
quickly from its path. They arrived at the bottom of the steps that
led into the palace, at the top of which was a dais bearing a
jewel-encrusted golden throne, and upon it lounged the beautiful
dark goddess. A gown of shimmering gold silk clung to her slender
form, and diamonds sparkled on her fingers, wrists, ears and
throat.

Several naked
people were chained at the foot of the dais, their sweat-sheened
skin marked with whip-welts. Most likely prisoners captured from
nearby towns, or the dregs of her society, culled for sport and
sacrifice. Compared to them, he was a prize indeed. Several
black-robed priests flanked the throne, cowls shadowing their
faces, and a few overdressed droges lounged on the steps, fawning
for favours. The demon stopped at the foot of the steps and bowed,
dumping Bane onto the ground hard enough to make him grunt.
Jishka's eyes swept down and came to rest upon him, brightening
with delight. Two droges came forward, reaching for him, but the
demon sent them scurrying with a raised fist.

"He is for the
goddess," it grated.

Jishka raised
an imperious hand. "Bring him to me."

The demon
scooped Bane up and carried him to the foot of the dais, dropping
him again. Jishka rose and stepped down to examine him, a cruel
smile twisting her lush red lips.

"A blue mage.
Where did you find him?"

"In the
forest, great lady. He is injured."

"So I see. How
did it happen?"

The demon
shrugged. "We found him like this."

Jishka glanced
at the rest of the demons. "Good work. Go and enjoy yourselves, you
have earned good sport tonight."

Bane flicked
his fingers, and the demons bowed to Jishka before moving away. The
goddess bent to study Bane's face, and he thought that she would
touch him, and it would be over quickly. Instead she signalled to
two droges, who ran forward to prostrate themselves before her.

"Take him to
my chamber and chain him."

"Yes,
goddess."

The droges
gripped Bane's arms and dragged him around the dais, heading for a
dark corridor that led into the palace. They took him to a lavishly
furnished chamber whose walls were covered with runes and
depictions of demons and dark beasts. A fire roared in the hearth,
and a vast four poster bed, hung with silk and quilted with scarlet
satin, stood against the far wall. The droges found chains and
shackled Bane's wrists and ankles, then dumped him on the bed and
left. He settled down to wait, examining the runes, none of which
were a threat to him.