When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) (23 page)

“You must move away,” Bane
informed her. “I have to cast out my power.”

“What ails you? You are not
badly injured, but you are so weak.”

“The angels… Kayos will restore some of my strength once I cast out the shadows.”

Mirra nodded and eased his head onto the sand again, rose and moved away. Bane forced the darkness from his bones, and it streamed from him in a blue glow. Kayos returned to his side, and, when the blue fire faded, placed his hands on Bane’s chest again. Strength flowed into Bane, and several minutes passed before Kayos removed his hands and sat back on his haunches. Bane levered himself up on one elbow as the archangel wiped his cheeks and rose to his feet, swaying a little. Mirra reclaimed her place at Bane’s side, and Kayos stood up and stepped away. Majelin faced Bane, raised his wings and sank to one knee, bowing his head.

“
Words cannot express my gratitude for my redemption, Demon Lord. May the light ever guide and comfort you, and the gods ever smile upon you. May your days be blessed with peace and joy, and all that you desire be yours. I pledge myself to your service from this day forth, until the end of my life. It is an honour to be in your debt.”

Bane snorted, shaking his head. “You saved me too, Majelin. I think we are quits.”

“Accept it, Bane,” Kayos advised.

Bane looked up at him. “Is it required?”

“Yes. To reject him now is to disgrace him beyond measure. He gave his life in defence of a god, which is his calling. You gave it back to him, so it is now yours.”

“But you did that.”

“Because you asked me to, or I would not have interfered.”

“Fine, but I accept only because Sarmalin made the same promise for saving him.
”

Majelin
straightened. “To save the life of an immortal is no small thing.”

“Immortals should not be able to die. Is that not what ‘immortal’ means?”

“It means we live forever, unless we are killed. Nothing is truly immortal. The universe itself had a beginning, and it will have an end.”

Bane grunted
and tried to sit up, but Mirra had to help him. “The dark angels attacked you too, did they not?”

The archangel nodded. “They did.”

“Yet you still found the strength to shield me from the white fire, and you…” He looked at Kayos. “What did you mean, when you said he rejected the healing?”

“In order to shield you, he had to ward off the white fire, so it did not heal him.”

Bane shook his head. “You are both mad. You summoned me, did you not? Where is Sherinias?”

“
She is in the gazebo, resting.”

“You should not have done that.”

“I had no choice, Bane. Majelin died in a few moments. The summoning reached you but an instant later. The Forbidding was unmade only after Carthius’ demise, by which time you would have been dead, since you formed no shields.”

“I
did not have the strength.”

“Yes, the dark angels sought to
weaken you so Carthius’ fire would kill you, although you would not have survived in any case, unless you had Moved in time.”

“
I did not have the strength for that, either. Carthius’ fire only killed the three who attacked me. The rest fled. They might have survived.”

“Then we will hunt them down.”

“You would have sacrificed Sherinias.”

Kayos nodded. “
If you think I would let you die, you are sadly mistaken.”

Drevarin said,
“Do not reprimand him, Bane. He shed his blood for you.”

“Of course
,” Bane murmured. “A blood sacrifice is required to summon a mortal. I did not know it could be the summoner’s blood.”

“Only when the summoner is a Grey God
,” Kayos said.

“Right. You lot break all the rules.”

“No, we just have a few different ones.”

Bane turned to the archangel. “
Do you not have a wife eager to be reunited with you after five centuries, Majelin? Are you not impatient to go home?”

“Of course.”

“Then what are you waiting for? Go!”

Majelin smiled and bowed.

“Wait,” Kayos said.

The archangel
turned to him. “Lord?”

“You are to tell no one of Bane.”

His brow wrinkled. “Surely his existence deserves celebration at Airedene?”

“No. I command you to keep silent, and your wife, too. Instruct her so.”

“I shall, although the reason for it escapes me.”

“You know the fate of the previous four?”

“I do.”

“Then you know why I command this.”

Majelin glanced at Bane. “You fear for him.”

“I will not have him share their fate. When he has fulfilled his promise to free my granddaughter, he will live in obscurity and enjoy whatever life he chooses.”

“There is much need for a warrior of the light such as him, Lord.”

“Yes.”

“You seek to protect your most precious son,” Majelin said. “Too many have you seen slaughtered and enslaved. Worlds will end and gods and angels will fall, but the fifth tar’merin will stand outside of fate and be preserved.”

“Yes. I command it, and so it shall be.”

“Allow me to whisper to him of suffering.”

“No.”

The archangel bowed, his palms pressed together. “As you command, so shall it be.”

“See to it.”

“I swear it, Lord.”

“Inform Ordur of
Arvandeth’s destruction, and that several dark angels may have escaped.”

“How will I explain how it happened?”

“Just tell him that Carthius died. It was going to happen one day, anyhow.”

Majelin
inclined his head, stepped into the air and vanished.

Kayos gazed after him for a moment, then turned to Bane.
“He will be a powerful ally.”

“I am not so sure. I think he is a bit of a dimwit, to say nothing of being a snob.”

Kayos laughed. “I know you jest, Bane. It is good to have you back. I was concerned.”

“So was I. A pox on all Grey Gods for creating a trap even I could not escape
without destroying it.”

“I think you will require bigger boots, soon.”

“It is a good thing you do not wear a hat.”

Mirra giggled. “You are both egomaniacs.”

Kayos smiled. “And your little wife read me the riot act.”

“Good for her!”
Bane said.

Kayos extended a hand. “Come; let us
go to the gazebo, where you can rest.”

Bane grasped the Grey God’s hand,
and Kayos hauled him to his feet and supported him when his legs buckled. He Moved to the gazebo, where Sherinias lay on a cloud couch, her eyes closed. She opened them and sat up when the pair shuffled in, her expression concerned.

“My Lord, are you all right?”

“Just weaker than a newborn lamb,” Bane replied. “I am glad you are well, too.”

Kayos lowered him onto a cloud couch, and he lay back with a sigh. Drevarin arrived with Mirra, who sat beside Bane, and the light gods sank onto their own couches.

“What happened?” Sherinias asked.

Bane gave her a brief account of what had happened while she had been senseless, he assumed, after relinquishing the Oracle. She listened raptly, her eyes shining. At the end of it, she said, “I am glad Father saved you.”

“So am I, although I wish he had not had to do what he did.”

“I was
honoured to help, My Lord.”

“I am gra
teful to you, and you, Father.”

Kayos smiled and summoned a cup of ambrosia. Bane and Drevarin followed suit, and they sipped the
nectar in silence until Bane asked, “What are you trying to protect me from?”

“Those who would make use of you
,” Kayos replied. “There are so many who need your aid. Clearly, whispers of your existence and location have reached Airedene. Another angel scried you before Sarmalin appeared; doubtless the one she spoke of. I blocked him, and made my displeasure at his spying clear. More gods will find out about you.”

“I do not have to do as they ask.”

“You do, Bane. Your spirit is pure. If you deny them, the guilt will destroy you. If the archangels spread the word about you – and they would have – you will be inundated with pleas for aid. You cannot possibly save them all, but scores of angels seeking you out and begging your help will make your life tiresome and guilt-ridden. If you help even some of them, a dark god will eventually destroy you. This happened to all the other tar’merin. You will not be an exception. The only way to protect you is to ensure no one knows about you. I will not ask more of you once you have freed Ashynaria.”

“But you said that if the quest to free Ashynaria was hopeless, we would abandon her so I could save others.”

“Yes. One more, I will ask of you. An important one, for the bargain we made.”

“Who?”

“My son, Lezarion.”

Bane sighed. “What has happened to him?”

“He is enslaved. I agreed to ask you to free Ashynaria for Lyriasharin’s sake, since she protected and befriended you. I owed her that much.”

“And if I free Ashynaria,
Lezarion continues to languish in slavery?”

“Yes. You see, already the guilt eats at you, and I have not even asked you to save him. Nor will I, if
you free Ashynaria. That, and those you have saved on this journey, will be enough, Bane. Her life buys your freedom from the ordeals of being tar’merin, as far as I am concerned.”

“I still have the guilt of knowing gods will fall, whom I could save,” Bane said.

“If you try to save them all, you will not have a life with Mirra. No family, no peace, no normality. I thought you wanted that?”

“I do.”

“Well, you cannot have both. I have given you a choice. No one will seek you out if they do not know about you, so whether or not you help others is up to you. I hope you choose to save some, but it is not only the other Grey Gods you must remain hidden from. Some dark gods, if they find out about you, will hunt you down.”

“So I must hide for the rest of my life?”

“Just live as a man, which is what you want. Then no one will ever suspect.”

“
A few angels already know about me.”

Kayos chuckled. “Ah, yes, the meddlers. They will tell no one. They will want to keep you for themselves, to earn favours. Now that you have Majelin and Sarmalin, you will no longer need the aid of angels.”

“You seem to respect archangels.”

“I do. They were created after angels, and they have dedicated themselves to serve the light, while angels seek to help men. Archangels will help people too, occasionally, but they help gods more often. They are formidable, when filled with the light.”

Bane asked, “Formidable enough to fight a dark god?”

“Enough to try, and be a dire distraction. They can take on many aspects, and certainly kill a mortal god with the Sword of Vengeance.”

“So could an angel.”

Kayos shook his head. “I doubt one would have the courage to try, and even if he did, he would likely fail.”

“I am surprised you would hide me, thereby condemning light gods, including your own son.”

“You are my son too, Bane. You know there are many who need saving, but without being asked to do it, you will not feel so guilty. It is saying ‘no’ that brings a wealth of
remorse. People, angels and gods perish and are born. That is the way of the universe. But we have a pressing problem now. Y
our terrible twins have stirred up a great deal of trouble.”

“What sort?” Bane asked.

“Somehow, they have convinced the humans to hunt demons. We cannot become embroiled in another conflict here. The demands will be endless, and w
e have far to go, since we must travel back to the place where you fell into that trap to pick up my original trail again.”

“That is far.”

“Indeed. It is fortunate that we now have a ship. As soon as you have created the wards, and perhaps had a few days of rest, we will leave.”

Bane dismissed his goblet. “Speaking of rest, I am going to get some. I feel as if I have not slept for a week.”
He rose to his feet with a little support from Mirra.

Drevarin
stood up and placed his hand on Bane’s shoulder, Moved them to Retribution and left them outside their cabin. Mirra helped Bane to the bed, and he sat down on it. She stripped off his boots and cloak, and he lay back and closed his eyes.

“I forbid you to do that again, Bane,” she burst out.

He opened one eye. She stood beside the bed, arms akimbo, brows knotted. “What?”

“Go running off to who knows where to save someone. You almost died!”