Demon Lord V - God Realm (2 page)

"He lies. He
enjoyed it."

The
copper-skinned man frowned, and Bane wondered what would happen if
he tried to Move. Kayos had warned him not to do it in the God
Realm, and he had to assume that he was still in it.

"He still
might be useful," the leader muttered. "If he becomes a problem,
we'll feed him to the monsters, and if he kills a few of them, so
much the better. In the meantime, we'll watch him."

"You should
kill him now, and be done with it," the girl said.

He appeared to
consider this. "We'll let him live for now."

"A mistake,
Artan."

He scowled.
"I'm the leader by right of prowess, so if you wish to lead us,
best me, until then, you'll accept my decisions."

The girl
glared at him, then turned her back in a gesture of disdain. Bane
grimaced and raised his hands to clasp his pounding head, noticing
that the metal that bound his wrists was a peculiar blue-tinted
silver. His guards tensed as he rubbed his brow, then Artan relaxed
and hunkered down beside him, while the other man kept his weapon
trained on Bane's heart.

"Have you a
name?"

"Bane."

"Who would
name you a curse?"

Bane sat up
slowly, keeping an eye on the nervous guard. "One who hated
me."

"Undoubtedly a
fascinating tale. How did you come to be here?"

Bane shook his
head, wincing. "I am unsure. I was walking, then I fell."

Artan glanced
up at the pitch darkness above them. "How could you survive such a
fall?"

"I do not
know. Where am I?"

"In a dark
place. We found you atop a pile of bones, over yonder." Artan
jerked his chin at the darkness beside Bane.

"Why did you
not leave me there?"

"You were
alive."

"Why am I
bound?"

Artan glanced
at the girl. "Ethra warned us that you were dangerous. She says
you're filled with darkness. From that I assume you're some sort of
black mage or dark priest, but we need all the men we can get. In
here, prejudice has no purpose, our survival is at stake."

"What good is
a bound man in your defence?"

Artan
shrugged. "That will be remedied when we know whether or not we can
trust you, or if we require your help in our defence. Until then,
you stay bound."

Bane studied
the metal cuffs again. "Where did you get these?"

"Our world
died. A dark god entered it and slew our lord Armorgan, but only
after a battle that lasted many centuries. When we left, we
travelled through a strange place, and there we found those.
According to the priestesses, it was Armorgan's realm, and they
witnessed his demise at the hands of the dark god."

Bane glanced
at the priestesses, who sat with their heads bowed, their
expressions dejected.

"There were
more of us then," Artan went on. "An entire platoon of King
Ferron's finest, but that of course means nothing to you. There
were two hundred of us, now we're all that are left. When our world
darkened, our king ordered us to seek out Armorgan in person, to
beg his aid, and sent us to a place where our god was known to
dwell. We found the portal that guarded his realm open, twisted and
burnt. The priestesses told us of his demise, and we found another
gate that led into this dark place."

"Why did you
come here?"

"We were
hungry, and there seemed no point in returning to inform the king
that Armorgan was dead. There was no food in our world
anymore."

"Your king
sent soldiers to beg your god's aid?"

Artan shook
his head. "We had five priestesses, but they have since perished.
Now we only have the two we met in the god place. These others we
found wandering in the dark."

"How long have
you been here?"

"You ask a lot
of questions, stranger." Artan gazed into the darkness. "There's no
way to calculate how long we've been here, but it seems like an
eternity."

"Then you have
found food."

"We eat the
creatures we kill, or the corpses we find, so long as they aren't
human. Beasts attack us from the darkness, but they fear the
light."

Bane pondered
Artan's words, amazed that this scruffy group had survived for a
time in what was clearly a place ruled by the dark power in the God
Realm. The beasts that attacked them were creatures of darkness,
more sensitive to light than those that dwelt in the Overworld,
living as they did in complete darkness. Without the light of their
fires, the group would have been overwhelmed swiftly. He wondered
if the dark beasts would continue to attack once they sensed his
presence, but that seemed likely. They depended upon unfortunate
wanderers such as these for their livelihood, and the only thing
they truly feared was light. Hunger would force them to attack.

"How did you
come to be in here?" Artan asked, breaking into his reverie.

"A similar
story to yours."

"So what are
you, a black mage or worshipper of a dark god?"

"Both."

Artan studied
him. "What god do you worship?"

Bane frowned,
unwilling to enter into such a pretence. "I am forbidden to speak
his name."

"I hope he's
not the one who destroyed my world, or your life would be forfeit.
Despite our need for more men, we would feed you to the beasts
now."

"He is
not."

"How would you
know?"

"He dwells far
from here."

Artan snorted.
"Gods can move instantly from one place to another. Distance is
nothing to them."

"Not through
this place."

"You seem to
know a lot. What is this place?"

"It is known
as the God Realm. It is the place between worlds."

Artan leant
closer, his demeanour intent. "Do you know how we can escape
it?"

"You must find
another world and enter it, which will be difficult." Bane looked
down at the shackles on his wrists again, sensing that the white
power within the metal would make them immune to his own. He
wondered why Armorgan had made them. Perhaps to bind a dark god in
his droge form, if they had the power to prevent him from shucking
it, or perhaps when he was unable to do so due to the presence of
light. Then, however, surely he would be able to Move to a dark
place? Or did the cuffs prevent that too? Would they stop him from
using his power?

Artan broke
into his thoughts again. "Can you help us to find and enter another
world?"

"I would be
more inclined to help you if you released me."

Artan glanced
at Ethra, who listened to their conversation shamelessly. She
snorted, her lip curling. He shook his head. "Not until you
convince us that you mean us no harm."

"Why would I
wish to harm you?"

"Ethra thinks
you want to, for whatever reason, but we cannot risk ignoring her.
She has warned us of danger in the past, and she's been right.
Perhaps for your own sick pleasure, who knows?"

Bane cast an
angry look at Ethra, the source of his woes. She paled, her brows
knotting, then yanked a long rusty dagger from her belt and lunged
at him. Bane flung himself sideways, his bound wrists hampering
him. Artan sprang to his defence, grabbing the girl as she lunged
at Bane again. She landed a few well-aimed blows on Artan's head
before he trapped her wrists and wrenched the weapon from her hand.
He cursed and hopped when she kicked him in the shin, then slapped
her, putting an end to her struggles.

Artan glared
down at her. "Until I decide to kill him, you leave him alone."

"He's
evil!"

"He can help
us."

"He won't!
He'll lead us into danger."

The warrior
glanced at Bane. "Then we won't follow him."

"Then what
good is he?"

"He can help
us fight the monsters."

"He's more
likely to stab you in the back during the battle."

"Then I'll
kill him myself."

Her eyes
glinted. "You'll be dead!"

"He isn't
armed."

"That won't
stop him."

Artan pushed
her away, making her stagger back. "I'm not going to argue with
you. He stays alive until I say otherwise, and if you try to kill
him again I'll leave you here for the monsters, understand?"

"You can't do
that!"

"Why not?"

"The others
won't let you."

Artan cast an
eye over the group. "They can stay with you if they wish, but my
men go where I go and do as I say."

Ethra glared
at him, her chest heaving, then stalked away to the edge of the
light. Artan walked over to Bane and squatted beside him again.

"Did she cut
you?"

"No."

"I didn't
think so. You move pretty fast."

Bane
suppressed a smile at the understatement. "Would you really leave
her behind?"

Artan sighed.
"I wouldn't like to, but if she undermines my authority it will
affect our survival, and that I can't allow." Bane nodded, and
Artan stood up. "Can you walk?"

Casting a
glance at the guard who still kept a bead on his heart, Bane rose
to his feet. Artan studied him, frowning.

"Well you're
certainly big enough. Can you fight?"

"I know how to
use a sword."

"A pity you
don't have one then."

"Indeed."

Artan smiled.
"Prove that we can trust you, and I might give you one."

Bane opened
his mouth to ask how he was supposed to gain their trust, but Artan
swung away, gesturing to the others. "Pack up, we're moving
out."

The group
broke camp with the speed and efficiency of long time travellers,
packing their few belongings into several packs that were
distributed amongst the non-combatants. One of the soldiers thrust
a leather satchel into Bane's hands, and he slung it over his
shoulder.

The four armed
men took up positions on the outskirts of the group, next to the
four torch-bearing members, who were the demon, his female
companion, the burly man and the young seeress. The two priestesses
walked in the centre of the group with the girl child, keeping
their distance from Bane. He was glad that he was no longer the
target of the soldier's crossbow, which was now pointed at the
darkness around them. Even the wood that had fuelled the fire had
been stamped out and collected.

As they
walked, Bane considered his situation, disliking it. He wondered
where Kayos was, and what he was doing.

The Grey God
studied the spot where Bane had vanished. The Demon Lord's faint
trail led into the ground at that point, which had solidified again
after it had swallowed him. Kayos had avoided the same fate by a
hair's breadth, and wished that he had not. Finding Bane in the God
Realm was not going to be easy. The trap was one of many that dark
gods had set in their wanderings. It had not been there the last
time that he had come this way, for his old trail passed right over
it. He considered triggering it again in an attempt to follow Bane,
but traps were unpredictable in the God Realm, and it was more
likely that he would be flung into a different place. The rune that
marked the trap had been skilfully concealed with a glamour, which
hid it even from a god's sight.

The only clue
he had as to Bane's whereabouts was the direction in which he had
gone, significant in this many-layered realm. Following the trail
downwards did not guarantee that he would find Bane, but there was
no other option. With a gesture, he summoned an Eye and sought
Bane's image within it. The Eye remained dark for several minutes,
then filled with swirling sparkles. He touched its frame to
increase its power. It cleared, and he studied the image that
formed. Someone had tried to block him, but lacked the power to
prevent him from penetrating their shield.

Bane would not
block him, and if he did, Kayos would not have been able to break
through. He scrutinised the group that walked within the Eye,
wondering which of them had tried to block him. Bane glanced up,
sensing the Eye, as did a scruffy young girl carrying a torch on
the edge of the group. Kayos watched her, but she gave no
indication that she had sensed him, and her glance might have been
following Bane's. Dismissing her as insignificant, he turned his
attention to the Demon Lord. Bane appeared unharmed, but his hands
were bound in front of him with slender bands of pale bluish-silver
metal. Kayos adjusted the Eye's focus to examine the cuffs more
closely, dismay chilling him. Faint, glowing words were inscribed
in the metal, invisible to anyone but a light god, although Bane
might be able to discern part of them, if he looked closely enough.
Even so, he would not be able to read them.

Kayos frowned.
A light god had forged the shackles Bane wore, and they were made
from adamante, a metal found only in light realms. Such artefacts
were only made when a light god battled a dark one, which was rare,
and usually only happened when the light god was unable to flee his
domain. They were a last ditch effort to save himself from capture
or destruction during the final confrontation with his foe. If he
could snap the shackles about the wrists of the dark god, he would
win. Kayos had never heard of the tactic working, since once he was
that close to his foe, a light god was doomed. Many were too proud
to accept defeat and retreat into the safety of their shields, and
foolishly tried to overcome their foe with such an artefact. Such
light gods were young, and their names were soon added to the
roster of the dead. Three of his sons had perished in such a
manner, despite his warnings.

Had a light
god ever succeeded in placing such an artefact upon his foe,
however, the outcome would have been certain. The dark god would
lose his ability to wield his power, and become virtually helpless.
One who was born a god, such as Bane, would retain his inborn
powers, but most dark gods were self-made. As long as Bane wore the
cuffs, he would be unable to use the dark power, not even to cast
it out. If he could do that the cuffs would fall off of their own
accord, but the words written upon them spelt his doom.