Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain (19 page)

Bane smiled.
“And what does that tell you?”

“That maybe
you’re not evil, unless this is a bloody good act and she’s your
puppet.”

The girl
scowled. “I’m
not
a puppet!”

The lift doors
opened, and Sarjan led the way down a short corridor to a spacious,
spotless white room lined with beds. White-clad medical personnel
hurried up and down the aisle, tending to their patients. Mirra
went to the closest injured man and placed her hands on his
bandaged chest, and within moments he opened his eyes, gasping a
little. Bane knew how wonderful it was to be healed, and understood
the awe and amazement on the man’s face. Mirra made her way from
bed to bed, and the doctors followed, releasing the men from the
tubes and needles that fed them medicine.

Sarjan shook
his head in wonder. “That’s… a miracle.”

“Yes,” Bane
agreed. “A pity I cannot do that. It would doubtless convince you
of my good intentions. Perhaps I can bask in my wife’s reflected
glory.”

After watching
Mirra for a few minutes, Sarjan said, “Perhaps we should go and
have a look at the damaged areas now, while your wife’s busy.”

“I will wait
for her.”

“She’ll be
quite safe, I assure you.”

“I am not
concerned about her safety.”

Sarjan was
clearly puzzled by this, and Bane thought he would enquire about
the reason for Bane’s lack of concern, but then he merely said, “Of
course.”

“Are you going
to kowtow to me now, Sarjan?”

“Is it
required?”

Ethra
snorted.

Bane shot her a
quelling look. “Not by me.”

The rest of
Bane’s little group joined them, and after a further ten minutes
Mirra returned, her task complete. All the former patients were
sitting up or rising to don their uniforms, while the doctors and
medics stood in a murmuring group.

Sarjan led the
way along several corridors to an area that fire had ravaged, where
he turned to Bane with an expectant expression. Evidently the
ship’s skeleton crew could not spare men to clear away the wreckage
and make even temporary repairs. Bane wondered what Sarjan thought
he was about to see, and whether what would happen would fulfil the
commander’s expectations.

Bane studied
the melted walls, scorched floor and warped ceiling for several
moments before he closed his eyes and stretched forth his senses.
His awareness brushed metal alloys, peculiar, unnatural materials
and others derived from plants and animals. He so rarely used his
inborn powers that his lack of experience made what should have
been an easy task harder. Causing substances to burn was probably
the simplest use of his natural abilities. Remaking destroyed
structures was a lot more complicated. When he had used the dark
power to do this in the past, it had just been a matter of
commanding it to do his bidding, now he had to remake the corridor
himself.

Opening his
eyes, he spread his hands towards the destruction. The air filled
with a deep, vibrating hum as he took hold of the substance of
reality, and the floor shivered. Bane envisaged the damaged area as
it must have once looked, just like the rest of the ship, and
commanded the matter to return into its former shape and state. The
hum intensified, then, with a rush of movement, air and a soft
crunch, the ruined corridor reformed.

Sarjan’s mouth
dropped open, and Ethra crowed with delight. Mithran and Grem
beamed, Sarrin clasped her hands and Mirra giggled at Sarjan’s
stunned expression. Nikira gazed at Bane with wide, awe-stricken
eyes.

Sarjan closed
his mouth. “How did you do that?”

Bane shrugged.
“I command all matter.”

“So you
just…”

“Commanded it
to return to its former state.”

“Like turning
back time, almost.”

“Almost.”

The commander
faced Bane. “Okay, you’ve convinced me that you’re not a dra’voren.
I don’t believe you’re a god, either, but you’re certainly
strange.”

Bane nodded at
Drevarin. “Do you believe he’s a creator?”

“Maybe.”

“You are a hard
man to convince, Sarjan, as, I suspect, the rest of your people
will be. They do not want to believe in gods. They prefer to think
they have the ultimate power. Unfortunately for them, they do not.
They are pitting themselves against us, and they will lose. The
sooner they realise that, the better.” Bane wandered away along the
corridor, Mirra beside him, the rest tagging along behind.

Sarjan fell
into step with him. “Will you fix the other damaged areas now?”

“Some, but it
is tiring, and I have yet to regain my full strength.”

“How do you do
it?”

“With my
mind.”

Ethra said, “He
can also take control of -”

“Ethra…”

“
What
?”

Mirra giggled
at the girl’s indignant tone.

Bane smiled.
“How about you let me give the explanations?”

“You aren’t
doing a very good job of it.”

Sarjan
chuckled, shaking his head. “Was she ever afraid of you?”

“No. She hated
me at first. She wanted to kill me, and she tried a couple of
times, too.”

“I was misled!”
Ethra said.

“You stopped
her?” Sarjan asked Bane.

“No. She could
not go through with it, apparently.”

“Sherinias had
a bash at that, too,” Drevarin commented from the rear of the
group.

“And Nikira,”
Bane added.

“That wasn’t my
idea,” the former commander protested. “I didn’t want to.”

“I suppose most
people will want to remove a perceived threat to their lives,”
Sarjan said.

“That was
certainly Sherinias’ motivation,” Bane agreed. “I only know one
person who has never feared me and very few who have not tried to
kill me.”

Mirra smiled
and slipped her arm through his. “I instantly fell in love with
you.”

“Was that
before or after I tried to burn you to a crisp?”

“Before, of
course, but it did not change my feelings.”

He turned his
head to smile at her. “At least I gave you reason to fear me, but
it seems to come naturally to everyone else.”

“That is
because they do not know you, you big dolt.”

“You see what I
have to put up with, Sarjan? A cheeky child and a wife who bullies
me, a bossy spirit father and a spoilt sister.”

Sarjan nodded.
“You certainly come across as nothing more than a man. Why did you
want to prove to me that you’re not a dra’voren?”

“You have
earned my respect.”

After a brief
silence, Sarjan asked, “Who wasn’t scared of you?”

Bane’s smile
broadened. “Drevarin.”

Sarjan cast a
look of deep respect back at the light god. They arrived at another
damaged area, worse than the last. Smoke rose from a hole in the
floor, and the melted walls around it slumped into hardened pools
of metal. Above it, another hole in the ceiling revealed that this
was where one of Tolrar’s conduits of black fire had penetrated the
ship, seeking vital areas to destroy.

Sarjan went to
the edge of the hole and peered into it. “It goes right down to the
engine room.”

Bane closed his
eyes, spread his hands towards the affected area and reached out
with his mind to examine the areas below and above the damaged
floor, following the trail of destruction Tolrar’s fire had left.
Just like when he summoned substance from afar, he used his
expanded awareness to sense things he could not see. A far-see was
another way of doing this, although not quite the same and not
available to him without the dark power. Spreading his hands helped
his concentration, for, unlike when he summoned bits of a mountain
or magma from deep underground, he needed to understand the
intricate nature of the structure he wished to remake. The air
thrummed, then the damage vanished with a flash of movement, a
whisper of air and dull thud.

Sarjan stared
at the remade corridor. “Can you do that to anything?”

“Yes.”

“Could you
destroy something the same way?”

“Yes.”

“Have you
-?”

“No.” Bane
strolled on down the corridor. “I am tired now. I will restore the
rest tomorrow.”

The commander
stepped aside to allow the others to pass, and they turned into a
side corridor to return to the mess hall. Bane and Mirra continued
to their cabin, where he flopped down on the sofa, rubbing his
brow.

Mirra sat
beside him, her eyes full of concern. “That takes a lot out of you,
does it not?”

“I am still
weak, but yes, it does.”

“You should lie
down.”

“I will be all
right.” He lowered his hand and smiled at her.

“We should
adopt Ethra.”

He stared at
her in surprise. “What?”

“Come on, Bane,
you know you love her too.”

He snorted.
“You jest. She is a nuisance.”

“She is trying
to impress you, and be useful. She thinks it will persuade you not
to leave her in Drevarin’s domain.”

He groaned. “I
cannot keep accumulating hangers on. She is a child.”

“She is clever
and resourceful, and she loves you.”

“You truly want
this?”

“Yes. Artan and
Sarrin have asked to stay with us, too.”

He groaned
again. “Soon I will have an entire village traipsing after me,
demanding food, protection and shelter.”

“I think that
is part of being a god.”

“Do not
start.”

She climbed
onto his lap and clasped his face, kissed him and drew back to
stroke the wings of hair from his brow. “She will be a good
daughter, and help me when we have children of our own.”

“I will help
you… and you are not planning on doing that any time soon, I
hope?”

“Do you not
want children?”

“Not while we
are traipsing through the God Realm with a ragtag bunch of
vagabonds in tow.”

“When we get
home.”

He smiled. “I
look forward to it. How many would you like?”

“Three, I
think.”

“I want a
dozen.”

“Then you can
have the other nine yourself.”

He quelled a
chuckle and feigned a shocked expression. “Are you shirking your
wifely duty?”

“That had
better be a joke.”

“A compromise,
then: seven and a half.”

“Counting
Ethra?”

“No.”

She giggled and
hugged him, burying her face in his hair. “Promise me you will not
do anything dangerous for a while?”

“I will do my
best.”

“Good.” She
sighed and snuggled up to him.

He bent his
head and whispered, “How about six?”

She giggled
again. “Three.”

“Five?”

“Three.”

“Spoilsport.”

Chapter
Nine

Attack

Commander
Sarjan jerked awake as the com-unit beside his bed beeped. He sat
up, rubbing his eyes, and glanced at the clock, which showed that
it was two in the morning, ship’s time.

He keyed the
com-unit. “What is it?”

“There’s a ship
approaching, sir,” the night duty officer’s tinny voice replied.
“It’s Retribution, and she’s in stealth mode.”

Sarjan frowned.
“Why would they…? They know we can detect them.” He tried to
kick-start his sleep-fogged mind. “They think the… our guests can’t
sense them in stealth mode.”

“Can they,
sir?”

“I don’t
know.”

“What do you
want us to do?”

Sarjan rubbed
his eyes again. “Evade them.”

“Yes sir.” The
officer sounded doubtful.

Sarjan slid out
of bed and pulled on his uniform, then stood irresolute, wondering
who he should alert. Drevarin was more accessible, since Bane would
be asleep in his cabin with his wife and would probably not
appreciate being disturbed. Sarjan was fairly sure Drevarin could
handle Retribution. If not, he could wake Bane and suffer the
consequences, if any. Despite his apparent friendliness and lack of
power, Bane still made Sarjan uneasy. He headed for number three
mess hall, where Drevarin had chosen to rest, and stopped in
surprise when the door slid open. Drevarin lay on a cloud couch,
sipped from a golden goblet and gazed into a glowing oval portal
that displayed a scene from Bayona.

He looked up
and smiled. “Greetings, Commander.”

Sarjan
approached, fascinated by the floating vision, or whatever it was.
“Sir…” He wondered when he had started considering Drevarin his
superior. “There’s another stealth ship approaching us. I think
they want to capture Bane. I’ve ordered my men to evade her trap,
just in case he’s using the dark power again.”

“As far as I
know, he is not.”

“Were you aware
of it?”

Drevarin looked
at the floating vision in front of him, and the scene in it changed
to an area of the cloud gardens. “It appears to be invisible,
correct?”

“Yes, she’s in
stealth mode.”

“How can you
see it, then?”

“We can’t, but
all stealth ships have beacons, so we can detect others, to prevent
collisions.”

“Very wise. I
was not aware of it.” Drevarin studied the scenery in his viewing
portal, which changed as the ship manoeuvred to avoid Retribution’s
trap. “How can we dissuade them from this course of action?”

“We can stay
out of range, but they can’t detect Bane while he has no
power.”

“So they are no
threat to him?”

“No sir.”

“Good.”
Drevarin paused, pondering. “Do you think Nikira could take command
of Retribution again? Is her crew still loyal to her?”

Sarjan nodded.
“I think so.”

“Excellent.”

“But how will
Nikira get aboard?”

“I will take
her,” Drevarin said, “if you would be so kind as to summon her
here.”

Sarjan went
over to the com-unit by the door and keyed it. After several
moments, Nikira’s sleepy voice issued from it. “Yes?”