Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain (25 page)

Bane rose to
his feet, facing the intruders.

One bent to
peer at him. “You’re quick, for a mortal. A blue mage,
perhaps?”

“No. What the
hell are you?”

The
man-creature guffawed, nudging his companion, who grinned,
revealing shark-like teeth.

Bane jumped as
a familiar voice spoke beside him.

“They are demon
gods.” Kayos met Bane’s glance with a warning one.

One of the
demon gods bowed, pretending to doff his bull helm. “Well guessed,
light god. Even you don’t know for sure, since our kind is so
rare.”

“With good
reason,” Kayos replied. “You are abominations. But I do know for
sure, since I have encountered your kind before.”

“Ah! One of the
elders, then.”

“Kayos.”

“Spank me
silly,” the demon god with the spiked helm said, “I do declare
we’re in the presence of royalty, Dramon.”

“Nay, Nomard,
more like celestial bigotry,” the other god replied.

“True.”

Bane glanced at
Kayos. “Is Mirra all right?”

“She is
unhurt.”

“How dangerous
are they?”

“Hard to say.
If they choose to be, extremely, but demon gods are even less
inclined to get into a fight than demons. These two are twins, from
their names, which means they were once one god who split himself
in two in order to have someone to talk to, or to argue with, more
likely. They are probably merely looking for sport.”

Dramon, who
wore the bull-faced helm, leant closer again. “Indeed we are,
Silver God, and this little mage is quick. If he runs really fast,
we might have to trot to catch him.”

“You will not
find sport in this domain,” Kayos said. “You should seek it
elsewhere.”

“Ha, trying to
warn us off, is it?” Dramon looked at Drevarin. “Two light gods
here, eh? And a realm gate standing open. Why, I wonder?” He
glanced up as a craft flew overhead. “Huh. Clever people, too. I’m
intrigued. How about you, Nomard?”

“Fascinated.”
Nomard appeared less impressed. “Let’s find a good alehouse, old
boy, my whistle needs wetting.”

“Nay, there’s
more to this than meets the eye. A Silver God and a young… make
that two young light gods.”

Bane shot a
glance at Drevarin, finding that Sherinias now stood beside
him.

Dramon eyed
her. “This domain’s owner, if I’m not mistaken.”

“So,” Nomard
said, “all of us here are gods, except… you.”

Bane met his
jet eyes. “Do not be so sure of your assumptions.”

Dramon waved
his club. “I tell you what, little mage, if you run, we’ll chase
you, and that will be sport. You managed to pull off poor old
Spot’s head, and that takes a bit of doing, so you might prove to
be fun. What do you say?”

“Take me to the
mid realm, and I will consider it.”

“Bane…” Kayos
cast him a worried frown. “Do not underestimate these two. They may
act like clowns, but they are not to be toyed with.”

“Him, toy with
us?” Dramon chortled.

“How did you
get up here, if you need help to get down?” Nomard enquired.

“I flew,” Bane
said.

“Ah, and he’s a
liar, to boot,” Dramon remarked.

“My kind of
mage,” Nomard declared, grinning again.

“Well, this
lot’s no fun,” Dramon said, glancing at the light gods. “Especially
the old grey one. I vote for a stint in the sun.”

“I’m with
you.”

Nomard’s hand
flashed out and gripped Bane’s arm, and fire engulfed him. He
wrenched free as it vanished, reeling a little. He stood in a
sunlit field bordered by stands of cultivated forest. Dramon sat on
the grass, brushing dust from his sleeves. Nomard stood beside him,
gazing around.

“Bit of a bumpy
ride, old chap,” Dramon grumbled.

“Sorry, old
bean.”

The four demon
hounds appeared a few yards away and sat down, watching their
masters with yellow eyes. In the sunlight, their droge shells
hardened to protect their dark forms, which made them shrink
somewhat. Bane spread his hands and summoned the dark power. It
rose from the ground and snaked from the forest in ropes of shadow,
soaking into his flesh and bones, four of the scars on his chest
igniting under his shirt. As the darkness invaded his flesh, the
light stabbed his eyes and his skin crawled in the sun’s warmth,
making him long to seek the trees’ shade.

Dramon climbed
to his feet, gaped at him and nudged Nomard. “What do you think of
that?”

“Bugger
me.”

Bane cocked his
head. “So, do you still want to chase me?”

“More than
ever,” Dramon said.

“Probably not a
good idea, though,” Nomard commented.

Bane sifted
through the information the dark power bestowed, learning a lot
more about demon gods than he wanted to, he discovered. They were
amongst the strangest of all the gods, and considered neither dark
nor neutral, but a type all their own – weird. They were always
many thousands of years old, and were basically the embodiment of
boredom. Having spent so much time as demons, they found little to
amuse them by the time they evolved into gods, and spent all their
time in search of sport. Anything that fled was fair game, but,
like demons, they rarely killed. They left that to the Hellhounds
that always accompanied them. The hounds were not summoned by them,
but obeyed them most of the time. The odd relationship was born out
of a mutual need for excitement and, in the case of the hounds,
death and destruction. The demon gods were spectators. They were
definitely not welcome in a domain, however, and spent most of
their existence in the God Realm.

Nomard drew his
broadsword. “Hey, do you think you could blow his head off?” he
asked Bane, indicating Dramon with a jab of his weapon.

“Steady on, old
boy,” Dramon protested. “I’m rather fond of my head.”

“You should
leave this domain,” Bane said.

“Oh,
indubitably,” Nomard agreed, “but we’d both like to see you make
us.”

“Very much,”
Dramon chimed in.

The dark power
within Bane seethed, but it warned him, too, just as Kayos had
done. He sensed that trying to evict them would be futile, and
fighting them would prove ineffective. They were simply too
powerful. Dramon and Nomard watched him, their heads cocked.
Apparently he was the most interesting thing they had encountered
for some time, but he did not want two demon gods following him
around. He wondered what a demon would have to say about them.

“Eslason, come
to me.”

Nomard nudged
his brother. “This could get interesting.”

A black circle
formed in the grass beside Bane, and the earth demon shot up from
it, a writhing mud-form that transformed into a burly man with
black eyes and a thatch of dark hair, clad in a red shirt and brown
leather jacket and trousers.

He bowed to
Bane, his eyes flicking to the two jokers. “Lord.”

Bane jerked his
chin at the demon gods. “What do you know about their kind?”

“They are a
curse upon demons and men alike, Lord.”

“You do not
worship them?”

Eslason shook
his head. “No, Lord. We hate them.”

“How do I get
rid of them?”

“There is no
way, unless you can destroy them or drive them out of this domain.
Their power is different from yours, so they will not be easily
destroyed.”

Bane frowned,
beginning to realise just how much of a curse being followed by two
meddling demon gods could be. He had much to do, and these two
could become a serious hindrance. He dismissed Eslason and pondered
the problem. Dramon yawned and Nomard scratched his armpit. Bane
wondered how long it would take for them to become bored and leave,
if he did nothing. They had declared the light gods to be no fun,
and he was hardly any better, surely, being a dark god. They could
not chase him, as they had planned, and the Hellhounds would not
attack him.

Bane waited as
minutes ticked past. Nomard and Dramon glanced at each other.
Nomard vanished and reappeared beside Bane, his broadsword
whistling down, aimed to cleave Bane in two. The Demon Lord Moved,
rematerialising beside Dramon as the demon god swung his spiked
club. Bane unleashed a blast of black fire at Dramon’s head and
Moved again, out of reach. Dramon reeled, half his head burnt away,
his bull-head helm glowing red hot.

Nomard doubled
over with mirth, slapping his knee. “I knew he could do it,
Dramon.”

Dramon regained
his equilibrium, and his head reformed. Smoke rose from his scalp,
and he patted his sizzling helm. “Quite impressive, I must
say.”

“You two would
be well advised to leave me be,” Bane said.

“Oh? And why is
that?” Nomard enquired.

“I am not
inclined to be your plaything, or playmate. Consider me as boring
as the light gods.”

“But you’re
not. All they do is lie on their couches and watch their Eyes.
You’re up to something, I can tell.”

“Do you usually
harass dark gods?”

“We’ve been
known to harass a few,” Dramon said. “But you’re not a true dark
god, or you wouldn’t keep the company of light gods. You’re
something else. Something we haven’t encountered before.”

Bane
considered. If the demon gods thought light gods were boring, he
could be just as dull. He Moved to the light realm, and the demon
gods appeared an instant later, glancing around with disappointed
expressions. Bane strolled towards the gazebo, hoping Mirra was
safely aboard the ship. Kayos and Drevarin reclined on their
couches, watching their Eyes, and looked up as he entered the
gazebo. The demon gods stopped just outside. Bane assumed Sherinias
was in the White City, evicting tainted souls, as she had been
doing for two days. Kayos eyed Dramon and Nomard, then turned his
attention to Bane as he sank down on a spare couch.

“I think they
might leave if I become as boring as a light god,” Bane said.

Kayos shook his
head. “Do not count on it.”

“I am not
fighting them if I can possibly avoid it. They are elementals. The
shadows call them freaks. The demons call them a curse with no
cure, save their own boredom.”

“They have been
known to liven things up when they grow bored.”

“Then let them.
Oddly enough, light gods are a threat to them, just as you are to
demons. That is why you do not fear them.”

The Grey God
sighed. “They are a complication we do not need.”

“What if we
closed the gates?” Bane asked. “They have no invitation to be
here.”

“They would
have to flee or be destroyed, but they may well choose to go to the
mid realm.”

“They might
also leave to avoid being trapped. At least it will get them out of
the light realm.”

Kayos inclined
his head. “Sherinias will be pleased.”

“They might
wreak havoc in the outer city, though,” Drevarin remarked.

Bane shrugged.
“There should not be anyone left there by now.”

“True,” Kayos
agreed. “We cannot have them following you around, interfering in
our plans, which they will doubtless do. We must try to get rid of
them.”

“Then I think
the light realm’s defences are the only way to do it.”

“What about
you?” Drevarin asked. “You have no invitation either, since the
inner wards have been dormant since we came here.”

“Sherinias will
invite him,” Kayos said.

Drevarin
nodded. “I will tell her to close the gates.”

“They might spy
on you, and they will try to stop her if they find out,” Bane
warned.

“Then you will
have to distract them.”

The Demon Lord
glanced at Dramon and Nomard, who watched him intently, as if
trying to goad him into action with their flinty stares. Drevarin
vanished, and the demon gods looked at each other. Dramon gestured,
forming an Eye. Bane raised a hand and directed a blast of black
fire at it, squinting in the flare of hissing blue light that
sheathed it. Dramon started as his Eye disintegrated in a flash of
sapphire flame. Nomard flickered out of sight.

Bane leapt up.
“He is going after Drevarin.”

“Go to the
world gate,” Kayos said.

Bane Moved.
Sherinias already stood in front of the gate, Drevarin at her side.
She raised her arms, her expression blissful and eyes closed, and
slowly moved her hands together. The massive golden gates, which
had stood open for so many aeons, began to swing closed. Nomard
appeared on the path that led to the portal, his form almost
invisible, and strode towards the young goddess. Bane stepped into
his path. Nomard drew his broadsword and raised it. Dramon appeared
behind him, his spiked club at his side. Bane flung twin bolts of
dark power at them, striking Nomard in the chest and Dramon in the
head. The blue flare almost blinded Bane, and he blinked bright
spots from his eyes as the demon gods staggered. Nomard had a deep
crater in his chest and Dramon was missing half his head again, but
they barely slowed. The reason demon gods were so formidable, Bane
realised, was not because they had a lot of power. They were
indestructible.

Bane summoned a
sword and swung it at Nomard’s head, chopping deep into the side of
his skull. Nomard lunged at Bane, his broadsword skimming past his
ribs as he swayed aside. Drevarin materialised close by, a shining
shield in one hand. Kayos appeared beyond Dramon and smashed a
glowing silver shield into his back, sending him rolling into the
clouds. Bane retreated, hacking at Nomard again, but he was doing
little to impede the demon god, who still strode towards the gates.
The only thing that would slow their advance was brute force.
Dropping his weapon, he confronted Nomard and gave him a shove that
sent him reeling backwards to land on his rump with a thud.

At the gate,
Sherinias’ hands were almost together. The great golden doors
flashed in the sun, dappled with the marks of a tiny hammer. A
flying vehicle was forced to stop outside as the gates sealed with
a flash of white fire, cutting off most of the power that streamed
through them like glowing mist. Sherinias turned to beam at Bane,
Kayos and Drevarin. Nomard picked himself up out of the clouds and
helped his brother to his feet, eyeing the closed portal.