Demon Lord V - God Realm (12 page)

Sarrin bowed
her head. "Our god is dead."

"Because he
was foolish enough to try to use these." Kayos shook the shackles
at her, making them chime musically. "And through your stupidity,
you have put me in danger."

"You, Lord?"
Sarrin looked amazed.

"Yes. A dark
god pursues me, and Bane was to have been my salvation, but thanks
to your foolishness he will not be able to protect me until he has
recovered."

Ethra glanced
around, and Sarrin looked at Bane. The shadows continued to pour
from him, forming a pool of darkness around him, some of it sinking
into the stone.

"Can you not
heal him, Lord?"

"When he is
purged, but it will take time, and I have little. You must carry
him away from here, for if the dark god finds you he will kill you
all. I shall ascend to the next level and make my stand there. When
Bane is well enough, he must free me."

"You intend to
fight this dark god, Lord?"

Kayos snorted.
"Certainly not, that would be folly. I shall defend myself." He
turned to frown at Artan, who lay where he had fallen, nursed his
jaw and watched Kayos with fearful eyes. "Get up."

The stocky
warrior obeyed, bowed his head and clasped his hands before him in
an attitude of worship. Kayos walked over to him and touched his
brow, a flash of golden light forming under his palm. Artan's burns
vanished, and he staggered back.

"You will obey
the Demon Lord, and serve him well," Kayos ordered.

Artan bowed.
"As you command, Lord."

The Grey God
glanced around, then at Bane, who was still engulfed in shadows. He
strode into the pool of darkness, a blue nimbus appearing around
him, and knelt beside the Demon Lord. Sarrin tried to follow, but
the darkness' icy touch forced her to retreat, pale-faced.

Bane opened
his eyes as Kayos leant over him and asked, "How goes your
purge?"

"Quick, but
painful. For once, the dark power is eager to leave me, after being
trapped for so long."

"I am pursued.
When I have healed you, I shall ascend to the next level and await
you there. Do not come until you are strong enough to defeat a dark
god."

Bane grimaced.
"That could take a while, unless you can restore my strength
too."

"That would
take too long; I do not have much time."

"Slow it down
then."

Kayos shook
his head. "That would do little good, since a dark god can counter
it."

Bane sighed
and closed his eyes. The dark power drained from him effortlessly,
taking with it a great deal of his strength. As the last of it
seeped from him, he opened his eyes, finding Kayos still beside
him, watching him.

"It is
done."

Kayos laid his
hands on Bane's chest, and golden light flared under his palms.
Without the dark power to obstruct him, he healed Bane swiftly and
sat back. "Find somewhere safe to rest."

"How will I
find you?"

"Follow your
instincts, or summon a Hound."

Kayos started
to stand up, but Bane gripped his sleeve. "Could you not stay and
shield us all until I have recovered, or find a domain where we
would all be safe?"

The Grey God
looked pensive. "I am tempted to, but I used a lot of power to find
you, and have not been able to replace it. This place is neutral,
so the light is hard to Gather here. My shield would be weak,
especially if I have to protect so many, and I do not think we
would find a domain before my pursuer caught up. It is too risky.
You must be fully recovered if you are to defeat another god. If
you try too soon, you will fail."

Bane nodded
and released him, and Kayos rose, glancing at the scruffy group.
"Take him from here. Go that way."

Kayos pointed
in the direction in which they had been travelling, then turned and
strode off in the opposite direction. They bowed to him as he
passed, and Mirra ran to Bane's side and knelt to embrace him,
Mithran following to gaze down at his son. Bane raised a hand to
clasp her cheek as she sobbed, clinging to him.

"Hush. I am
well enough. Do not weep."

"I was so
worried about you."

"It is all
right now. You have found me."

Mirra hugged
him tighter, burying her face in the side of his neck. "I was so
afraid I would lose you."

"You will
never lose me." His lips curved in a sad smile. "Hush now."

Mithran
touched her shoulder. "Come, we have to go."

She sat up,
wiping her eyes. "Kess will carry you, Bane."

"No." He shook
his head. "I am not strong enough to ride. Tell the priestess,
Sarrin, to come here."

Mirra beckoned
to the elderly woman, who came over to kneel beside her. Bane
turned his head to look at her. "Sarrin. Those three horses are
demon steeds. You must tell your people not do anything that may be
perceived as a threat to my wife, my father or my friend."

Sarrin shot
Mirra a startled glance, then looked up at Mithran before casting
the steeds a nervous look. "demon steeds?"

"Yes. Do not
be concerned, they will not harm you as long as they do not
perceive you as a threat."

Sarrin nodded,
then rose and went over to Artan.

Kayos glanced
back as the four men picked Bane up and set off along the wall at a
swift shuffle. Mirra walked beside him, holding his hand. The Hound
followed him, its glowing eyes boring into his back. He had two
choices now. He could continue to flee and perhaps find a domain to
shelter in, or he could find a light place, raise his shields and
wait for Bane. The former was more appealing, for he disliked the
idea of cowering within his shields, and there was the possibility
that something might happen to Bane. His decision to leave him had
been a hard one, for the young god was vulnerable now, and would
remain so until he had recovered his strength, a perilous state to
be in, when in the God Realm.

Arriving at
the bottom of the staircase, he started up it, the Hound close
behind.

Ethra stared
at the glowing river that flowed across their path with despairing
eyes. They stood at the bottom of a sheer-sided canyon, and the way
ahead was blocked. The lava river emerged from a tunnel on one side
of the canyon and vanished into another on the other, impassable.
The men had laid the Demon Lord down, and also pondered the lava
with bitter expressions. The prospect of backtracking for five days
travel did not hold much appeal, and their food was running out.
There was no guarantee that anything better lay on the far side of
the molten river, but at least there was hope ahead, while there
was none behind.

Their new
companions, whose kinship to Bane had won them instant respect,
stood gazing across the river. Mirra had hardly left his side since
she had joined them, and had taken over the task of caring for him.
Ethra had been amazed to learn that he had a mortal wife and
father, as well as a devoted friend. The steeds followed the group,
and sometimes the three newcomers rode them. Their presence made
her nervous, to say the least. Sarrin kept well away from them,
while Artan often shot them suspicious, calculating glances. No one
from Ethra's group wanted to ride the steeds, despite their
tiredness.

Ethra
approached Bane and squatted beside him. He was asleep, as he had
been for most of the last five days, and especially since they had
found more wood and fashioned a litter for him. She touched his
shoulder, and his eyes opened.

"The way ahead
is blocked," she said. "What should we do?"

Sarrin
hastened over. "Ethra, do not disturb him."

Ethra glanced
up at her with a frown. "Unless his lordship helps, we're stuck
here with no food. He won't starve, but we will."

"Do not be
disrespectful."

Bane raised a
hand. "Enough. She is right." He sat up and turned to gaze at the
obstruction. The rest had restored some of his strength, and his
appearance had improved, but he remained weak and drained. He
climbed to his feet and joined Artan, who stood with the other men,
gazing at the molten flow, the intense heat preventing them from
going any closer.

Artan turned
to him. "Can you help?"

Bane nodded,
then smiled down at Mirra as she came to his side and slipped her
hand into his. Mithran approached and clasped his shoulder in a
brief gesture of affection. Grem walked closer, his eyes bright
with anticipation.

Bane raised
his hands and spread them towards the lava river, closing his eyes.
"Cold."

The air around
him frosted, and Artan retreated, his breath steaming in the sudden
chill. Mirra shivered and moved away, rubbing her arms. The edge of
the lava river solidified in a curving platform of rock, pushing
out into the flowing stone. The bridge of rock slowly extended
across the river, the lava flowing under it. As soon as it touched
the far side, Bane muttered, "Go across now."

Artan and his
men picked up the litter and supplies and sprinted across the stone
bridge, Ethra and Sarrin close behind. The heat at the centre of
the bridge was intense, making her skin and eyes burn. Mirra,
Mithran and Grem followed. When they were safely on the other side,
they turned to watch Bane walk across, keeping his hands spread
towards the rock bridge. As he stepped off it, he let his hands
fall, and the bridge melted away. The group moved away from the
river, and Bane followed more slowly, but when they offered him the
litter, he waved it away.

"I am strong
enough to walk for a while."

"You must not
tax yourself," Mirra protested.

"I will
not."

Artan walked
beside him, casting him occasional concerned glances, and Ethra
followed. Clearly Artan still felt guilty about putting the
shackles on Bane, and took every opportunity to make amends. She
had had a hand in it too, and shared his guilt to a lesser degree,
since Rinath had made her tell him to do it. Mirra walked beside
Bane, holding his hand, and Mithran followed just behind with Grem
beside him. Bane's measured tread slowed them, but Artan did not
complain, even though their food was almost finished. Ethra
wondered if the Demon Lord would be able to help with that too,
when it ran out. She trotted to catch up, and elbowed Artan aside
to take his place beside Bane.

"How does your
friend, the Grey God, fare?"

Bane glanced
at her. "I do not know. Without my power, I cannot form an
Eye."

"How long
before you'll be able to use it again?"

"Quite a
while."

"But he healed
you."

"He could not
replace the blood I lost, nor could he undo the exhaustion, which
is mostly what hampers me now."

Ethra frowned.
"Don't gods heal quicker than people?"

"Yes, but my
injuries would have killed a normal man a hundred times over, so
the after effects are profound."

"Our food is
almost finished."

"Ethra," Artan
said. "Enough."

"That is
regrettable," Bane murmured.

"Can you
help?"

"I might be
able to."

"How?"

"Ethra!" Artan
glared at the girl, who scowled at him.

Bane stopped,
and Ethra turned to him, casting Artan an uncertain glance. "At the
moment we have a more pressing problem."

Artan's hand
dropped to the hilt of his sword, then he followed Bane's gaze. In
the distance, the canyon walls drew together, joining in a jumble
of stones. Artan groaned and closed his eyes, his expression
despairing. Ethra stared at the dead end for a moment, and then
turned to Bane.

"What do we do
now?"

The Demon Lord
shrugged. "Let us look more closely at it."

They walk on,
and Ethra glanced up at Bane. "Can you fly?"

"I have not
tried without my power. Perhaps."

"Then you
could carry us over it." She frowned. "Is that how you survived
when you fell into the crevasse?"

"No. That was
before..."

"Before
what?"

"Enough
questions."

Ethra pouted,
and Artan shot her a triumphant look, while Mirra cast her a
sympathetic one. They drew close to the jumble of stones that
marked the end of the canyon, and Bane sank down on a convenient
rock, looking tired. Artan eyed the scree and the cliff above
it.

"We can't
climb that."

Bane sighed.
"No."

Sarrin
approached, frowning. "You should rest, Lord."

"First I have
to find a way past this barrier."

"That can
wait," Mirra stated. "Sarrin is right, you should rest now."

"My strength
will not return for a while, and a little rest will do nothing."
Bane summoned a cup of ambrosia.

"And taxing
yourself will slow your recovery."

"We must find
a safe place to rest. If we are attacked while I have no power, it
could be disastrous."

"We have the
steeds, and you can use blue magic."

Bane sipped
from the golden cup, then dismissed it. "That might not be enough.
Do not be concerned, I am well enough to solve this problem."

Bane looked up
at the cliff again, then rose and walked towards it, climbing over
the tumbled stones at its base. Reaching up, he laid his hands upon
the rock and bowed his head, closing his eyes. Ethra's mouth fell
open as cracks shot through the rock from his hands with dull
reports, crazing the stone, then the entire cliff crumbled away
from him with a grating roar.

Bane stumbled
back, tripped over a rock and sprawled, small stones striking him
as they fell from the disintegrating cliff. Mirra gave a cry of
concern and ran towards him as he was engulfed in a choking cloud
of dust, the others hot on her heels. Small stones hit Ethra as she
groped towards him, coughing and wiping her stinging eyes. The dust
settled swiftly, revealing Bane sitting on the ground holding his
head, covered with dirt. Mirra hurried to his side, her eyes
widening as he lowered his hand and studied the blood on it.