Demon Lord IV - Lord of Shadows (24 page)

"This Gate
swings open to admit each good soul that flies here upon their
demise, unlike those who go below. After the soul has entered, it
closes again. Only a good soul may open it. When the Gate is closed
and the wards are in place, it will strike down anything that is
tainted by the dark power."

"What happened
here?" Bane gestured to the scorch marks.

"When Vorkon
corrupted my priestess she became his slave, unable to disobey him.
Her soul was still inherently good, but not good enough to open the
Gate, yet it could not strike her down. Vorkon had instructed her
to open it, so she was forced to throw herself upon it. When she
touched it, the taint of evil in her soul triggered the wards, but
her goodness opened it. She was destroyed, so she did not enter,
and therefore the Gate did not close and the wards did not
reactivate."

Drayshina
stroked the damaged Gate as she spoke, and the scorch marks melted
away under her fingers. When the damage had been repaired, she
moved to the other Gate and did the same, smoothing away the marks
that marred its dappled surface. While she worked, Bane studied the
strange landscape within the Gate. It consisted of a cloud garden
much like those that surrounded the gazebo where she dwelt, but
just inside the Gate were two distinct paths made of sparkling
white sand, like diamond dust, leading off into the mist. He walked
closer, scrutinising the mist wall to which the Gate was attached,
and found that it was webbed with shining filaments of white
fire.

Drayshina
looked up from her task. "Someone comes."

Bane glanced
around to find two ghostly figures approaching from the left hand
fork of the path. A woman and a man, holding hands, their faces
serene. When they spotted Drayshina they waved, smiling, and she
smiled back. Their smiles became a little hesitant when they
glanced at Bane, and he did not return them. The two spirits
stopped just within the Gate, and as they did so, a streak of white
light shot up from below and stopped on the threshold.

The point of
blinding brilliance expanded and transformed into the ghostly form
of a ten-year-old girl. The couple, whom Bane assumed were her
parents, held out their arms to her, and the child walked through
the Gate to embrace them. There was no grief in their greeting, no
sadness at her premature demise, only a profound, serene joy. When
the child had hugged her parents, she walked over to Drayshina and
embraced her too, with no worship in her demeanour. The child
returned to her parents and took their hands, walking between them
down the left hand path.

Drayshina
gazed after them. "That path leads to the Forever City."

"They no
longer show you worship?"

"When they
die, they remember that they are part of me, and there is no need
for worship. The living are not required to worship me, they have
their own reasons for doing it. Faith is of course a different
matter; they must have that, for it protects them from evil."

Bane gazed at
the spot where the spirits had vanished into the mist, wondering
who would meet Mirra when she entered Eternity, if she chose not to
accept his gift. Would her true mother await her, or Ellese? The
prospect that she might not accept his gift still troubled him,
although he tried not to dwell upon it. Surely she would. He raised
a hand to his brow, and Drayshina cast him a concerned look, then
turned her attention to the Gates once more. Stepping back, a move
that brought her almost to Bane's side, she faced the Gates, and in
doing so turned her back to him.

Bane was
surprised that her new found trust extended so far that she allowed
herself to be so vulnerable. Drayshina raised her arms, spreading
them wide, and spoke a few soft, lilting words, then brought her
hands together slowly. The Gates shimmered, then swung closed with
majestic torpor, their vast golden expanse flashing in the white
power's brilliance. As their edges touched, a flash of light
engulfed the joining, and a soft chime rang out. The torrent of
white power was reduced to a steady flow through the openings at
the base of the Gates. A web of wards sprang into being, lines of
white power that hissed from the Gates and formed an impenetrable
mesh before them. Bane stepped back as some came close to him, but
they did not react to his presence.

Drayshina
turned to him and smiled. "You must be tired."

"A
little."

"Your mortal
form requires rest." She studied him. "Kayos has informed me that
you requested the aid of an angel. She will be eager to claim her
reward, but we will delay her until you are ready."

Bane's brows
rose. "I hardly think that she is in any position to make demands
of me."

"Yet she will.
Unfortunately the meddlesome children of the six who tried to
create perfection can and do make demands upon us, and if we do not
fulfil them they can become troublesome. Lesser gods are even
judged and brought to penance by them."

"Lesser
gods?"

Drayshina
nodded. "You are young, and know little of the world, but all
manner of things exist beyond your ken. Those who gain godhood
through the charity of a greater god are lesser gods, such as
Arkonen was before Lyriasharin returned him to his mortal
existence. When he rose again as a dark god he became far more
powerful, and made himself a greater god."

"So what am
I?"

She smiled. "A
foolish question, My Lord. You were born a god."

"But I was
made one too."

"With the
exception of the Seven, so were we all, in one way or another. I am
the natural child of Ordur and his beloved Laryinias, daughter of
Kayos. Lesser gods are those who are granted godhood after their
birth, or are sired by a mortal god upon a woman."

"Are there any
such in your domain?"

She inclined
her head. "There were a few, but how many have survived Vorkon's
reign is unknown as yet."

"Strange that
I have not encountered any."

"Not strange
at all, My Lord, they would fear you greatly." She walked to the
edge and gazed down at the sea. "Even I, who am a greater god, fear
you still. The lesser gods are not powerful, and if they return to
the Forever they lose their godhood, which is why most choose to
stay in the Lightworld, where they have the power to clothe
themselves in illusory forms."

"Why did you
make them gods?"

"They each
performed a great service, or became my friends, or both. I offered
it as a reward, some accepted, others did not."

"And they are
all light gods?"

She laughed.
"No, My Lord. They are good, but they cannot control the white
fire. Only a greater god can do that. They use the blue power and
command the elements, that is all."

"As I do when
I cast out the evil."

"Yes." She
turned to face him. "But even then you have far more power than
them."

Bane sighed
and rubbed his brow again, closing his eyes as fatigue settled into
his bones like lead. "I must rest."

"Of course.
Shall I return us?"

"No. I wish to
be alone."

Drayshina
nodded, looking concerned, then stepped back as he Moved in a
chilling surge of dark power.

The goddess
folded her hands and reappeared in the cell where Kayos sat before
the Eye, Syrin lounging on the bed behind him. He rose and greeted
her with a smile, taking her hands to draw her close and kiss her
brow. When he stepped back, he looked deep into her eyes.

"Well done,
sweet child. I trust you were not too greatly distressed?"

She suppressed
a faint shiver. "I find him unnerving still, and his power
frightens me, but his proximity was not as loathsome as I had
feared."

"That is good.
Your acceptance of him will help to undo all the wrongs that have
been done to him in the past. When he casts out the power, meet
with him again."

"I shall." She
disengaged her hands and cast him a coy smile. "He is
beautiful."

Kayos raised
his brows. "More so than I?"

"You are my
grandfather, my dearest lord. Besides my father, you are the finest
of all the gods in my eyes."

"As it should
be."

"Do you know
where he has gone?"

Kayos glanced
at the Eye, which was filled with swirling sparkles. "He is
blocking me, from which I deduce a need on his part for
privacy."

She nodded.
"He said as much. He is resting."

Syrin stood
up. "I can find him."

Drayshina
turned to the angel. "You will leave him be until he has
rested."

Syrin glanced
at Kayos. "My task for him requires the use of his power, if he
casts it out -"

"Then he will
Gather it again if he chooses to do as you ask."

She sank back
down on the bed. "Very well."

Drayshina
turned to Kayos. "Do you think that he will?"

"Who knows
what a dark god will do? I cannot predict him."

"You know him
better than any other here."

Kayos nodded.
"I think he will be more amenable if he is allowed to rest from the
influence of the evil for a time."

Syrin stood up
again. "The task must be performed soon, or it will be too late. I
shall watch over him until he wakes."

Drayshina
shook her head. "Do not wake him, he is exhausted."

"As you wish,
My Lady." The angel smiled and stepped into the air, vanishing.

Kayos
chuckled. "Are you the guardian of his sleep now, dear one?"

"He has earned
it." She turned away. "He seems so..." She gestured. "I do not know
how to describe it. He is so powerful, and yet..."

"So
mortal?"

"Yes.
Precisely. We associate mortality with our creations, and he is one
of yours. Lesser beings, weak and flawed, whose short lives are
mostly wasted on empty desires and thwarted dreams. Yet he is a
greater god who could destroy us, but at the same time, it is
within our power to end his mortal existence."

Kayos shook
his head and sat down. "To do so would be sheer folly. I for one
would certainly not wish to face his wrath when he regains his
power as a true dark god. Even though he is tar'merin, he is more
than capable of lashing out in anger."

"I did not say
that it would be wise to do so, only that it could be done."

"And from that
you deduce that we have some modicum of power over him?" Kayos
sighed and glanced at the Eye, then waved it out of existence.
"Yes, it could be done, but I shall strive to thwart any who
attempt it, and will punish them should they succeed. He is my
son."

Drayshina sank
down on the chair opposite. "If he did not require your aid to
raise up his beloved, do you think that he would protect you
also?"

Kayos’ silver
eyes glowed in the light of the lamp on the table. The silence
stretched for several minutes, during which time they remained as
still as stone. Finally he broke the tableau. "Yes."

"A little
while ago, you could not predict a dark god."

"Not when it
comes to the trivial demands of an angel, no."

"Yet if you
are certain, why did it take you so long to answer?"

Kayos smiled
and laced his fingers. "I did not say that I was certain. You asked
if I thought that he would, and I do. That is not a certainty,
merely a hypothesis."

Drayshina
leant back and summoned a cup of ambrosia. "A bold one."

Another goblet
appeared in Kayos' hand. "I will make an even bolder one, dear
child. I shall hypothesise that if your life was in danger, he
would protect you, too."

"Bold indeed.
On what basis?"

"He is
human."

"Ah. So you
rely upon his humanity, not that he is tar'merin."

Kayos sipped
his ambrosia. "Being tar'merin only preserves him from becoming
evil, not from its influence. I believe that his goodness of spirit
would triumph over the dark power's whisperings."

"Let us hope,
should you ever need his protection, that you are right."

He chuckled.
"I have managed fairly well on my own until now."

"But now you
venture into danger, seeking out a dark god to free your
granddaughter. Bane is powerful, but young and inexperienced. He
allowed Vorkon to capture me. It could happen to you as well."

Kayos' smiled
faded. "He also cast Vorkon down and freed you, let us not
forget."

"Vorkon did
not wish my destruction. Who is to say that this other dark god,
who is old and wise by your account, will not merely destroy
you?"

"I, too, am
old and wise, dear child, more so than you, Bane and Telvaron put
together. Do not fear for me."

Chapter Thirteen

The Curse

Syrin watched
Bane from the end of the bed, marvelling at the odd gentleness of
his features in repose. He had removed only his boots, and his
cloak spread around him in a glistening crimson pool. It had taken
her a long time to find him, since he had chosen to rest in an
empty room in Kyan's palace instead of the church, and the building
was vast. She had sought him in the church first, thinking that he
would seek the company of his wife and friends, but it seemed that
he wanted the restfulness of solitude. He still possessed his dark
aura, so evidently he had been too tired to cast out the power.

Bane sighed,
and his eyes flicked open, impaling her with their brilliance. His
brows drew together, and he stretched, tendons cracking, then sat
up, running a hand through his hair. Rubbing his face, he yawned
and shot her an irritated glance.

"Must you
hover over me constantly, Syrin?"

"I was merely
waiting for you to awaken, My Lord."

Bane glanced
at the window, through which sunlight poured. "How long have I
slept?"

"The entire
night and half of yesterday."