Demon Lord III - Grey God (13 page)

The Naribis
emerged first, and Bane chopped off his head. He sprouted a new
one, and his droge form protected him from the dull sunlight that
probed through the forest roof. Bane burnt part the dark god's
newly formed face away, and the Naribis howled. His goddess, who
had freed herself, vanished.

Bane attacked
the place where she had been with a lash of dark fire, but struck
nothing. Spinning to face the Naribis again, he brought the sword
scything down, slicing deep into the dark god's back. The Naribis
howled again as his droge shell lost its solidity, exposing his
dark form to the light. Evidently he was not sufficiently powerful
to regenerate fast enough to repair the damage Bane inflicted. With
a hiss of fury, the Narabis vanished.

Bane chopped
at the place where he had been a few times, his sword meeting no
resistance. He waited for the dark god to reveal himself if he was
still around, but no frisson of dark power indicated his presence.
Kayos waved a hand, snuffing out the fires. When a minute passed
without any sign of his foes, Bane lowered his sword and turned to
face Kayos.

The Grey God
watched him, his shield dangling in one hand, shrunken to the size
of a dinner plate. He released it, and it winked out of existence.
A wave of weakness washed over Bane, and he dropped the sword with
a clatter, sinking to his knees. He pulled open his blood-soaked
shirt to inspect the deep, oozing wound in his side. Shadows seeped
from his hands and sank into the ground. He let it flow, easing the
burning in his flesh while he gasped. Sweat beaded his brow and ran
down his cheeks, and his muscles ached from the intense exertion to
which he had just subjected them.

Kayos
approached, looking concerned. Bane let the power flow out for a
few more minutes, then leashed the rest into his bones. The rune
scars on his chest stopped glowing, and he leant back on his hands,
easing himself onto the ground. Kayos met Bane's eyes with a look
that spoke volumes of his reluctance to touch a dark god, but Bane
had already gathered that this was something light gods did not
do.

Although
Lyriasharin had touched him lightly several times, he had not
attempted to touch her, sensing that she would find it unsettling.
It seemed that light gods counted themselves safe in a dark god's
presence as long as he could not take hold of them. He bowed his
head, then lay back, wondering how long Kayos would take to decide
to trust him. The Grey God struggled to overcome an age-old
aversion, judging by the frown that furrowed his brow. Bane's skin
turned chilly as shock set in, and his strength dwindled.

"Bane!" Mirra
scrambled over the smoking remnants of a wall and ran to his side,
shaking off Grem, who tried to hold her back, his eyes darting
around for danger. She fell to her knees beside Bane, pushing aside
his hands to reveal his wound, her expression shocked and
anguished. Mithran followed her, while Grem stopped a few paces
away, grim-faced, his sword ready. Mirra laid her hands upon Bane's
injury and let her healing power flow. A flare of blue fire made
her recoil with a yelp as the dark power just under Bane's skin,
his body shields, repulsed her power. She cast Kayos a despairing
glance, then leant forward to try again.

Grey God
stepped closer, shaking his head. "Leave it, child, you cannot heal
him. I will do it."

Mirra sat back
and gazed down at Bane with glimmering eyes, biting her lip as she
forced a tremulous smile and stroked his cheek.

Kayos knelt
beside him, overcoming his reluctance at last, although it shone in
his eyes. Clearly, touching Bane while he was powerless was one
thing, but laying his hands on a dark god filled with shadows was
quite another. Kayos placed his hands on the wound, blue light
flaring between them.

The golden
healing flowed like glowing mist, pushing against Bane's shields,
which reacted viciously, hot blue flames engulfing Kayos' hands. He
persisted, his healing magic pushing back Bane's shields, and Bane
tried to leash it further. Several tense moments passed before the
wound closed. White flames licked over Kayos' hands as he
straightened. Bane levered himself onto his elbows and studied the
faint scar, then glanced up at the Grey God.

"Are you all
right?" Kayos enquired.

"I will be. It
is just shock."

"Having never
owned a flesh body, I cannot imagine what it must be like to be
injured thus."

"Unpleasant."
Bane shot Mirra a smile, and she returned it, wiping her eyes.

Kayos stood
up, and a column of rock rose to form a seat, which he settled
upon. "I am impressed. Defeating two dark gods is no mean
feat."

"He killed
me," Bane said. "If not for you, I would be dying even now."

"Yes. You have
power but not skill. I will have to teach you."

Bane snorted.
"What do you know about fighting? All you can do is defend
yourself."

"And that is
what you lack. Your shielding is crude, no more than an instinctive
use of your power, a weak deflection that even demons can affect
with their blows. A solid shield would be far more effective."

"And far more
difficult to create, to say nothing of the amount of power it would
require."

Kayos
shrugged. "A small price to pay for good protection, and you need
it more than an immortal. If you practice it enough, it will become
as instinctive as your body shields, and you have power to
spare."

Bane sat up as
a little strength seeped back into him. "What will happen to me if
I die here? Will I still go to Eternity?"

"No, your
spirit will be drawn to the nearest light realm."

"Then what
will happen?"

Kayos looked
thoughtful. "You are a paradox, for your soul is pure but your
power is dark. You will not be bound to the light realm as other
souls are. You will be able to leave, then you will acquire a dark
form."

"And if I stay
there?"

"Then you
would remain virtually powerless. Essentially you would almost be
as the mortal dead are."

"I am mortal,"
Bane said.

"But as a god
you are entitled to wield tremendous power. Why would you choose to
give that up?"

"I never
wanted it."

Kayos sighed.
"But you have it, and you can do a lot of good with it."

"Like freeing
your granddaughter?"

"That is a
start."

"I have no
wish to be a dark crusader, Kayos."

"What else do
you have to do with the next thousand years?"

"I will not
have a thousand if I go looking for trouble."

"You might if
you practice your shields."

Bane smiled.
"I shall listen to your teachings."

"Good."

The Demon Lord
rose to his feet, and Mirra helped him to his couch, where he lay
down with a sigh. She sat beside him, and Grem sheathed his sword.
Mithran settled on the floor, looking shaken but relieved. Bane
took Mirra's hand and studied her.

"You were not
harmed?"

She shook her
head. "I am well. We all are. We hid behind a tree."

Bane closed
his eyes and tried to relax, but his blood thrummed and his eyes
sprang open of their own accord.

He looked at
Kayos. "Lyriasharin told me a god cannot change his power, but
Arkonen did. He was a light god who became dark."

"He was a
light god with a tainted soul who was restored to his mortal form,
becoming a man again. When he was killed and went to the Land of
the Dead, he gathered the dark power and made himself into a dark
god. He did not change from light to dark as a god. You cannot
become an ordinary man because you never were one. You were born a
god and as such you will always remain."

"I was not
born a dark god."

"True. But a
mortal cannot wield the white fire. Not even you, although your
flesh can withstand it to a degree, as was proven when Lyriasharin
channelled her power into you, but it harmed even you. You cannot
hold it in your flesh, that is impossible."

"And when I
die?"

"As a spirit
you will be far more powerful than the souls of ordinary mortals,
but you will only become a light god if you are made one by another
light god."

Bane frowned.
"Why is that?"

"Because you
will lack a form. A dark god creates his own, lifeless form, but
light gods are alive. Only a light god can give you a living
form."

Bane pondered
this. "So when Lyriasharin returned Arkonen to his mortal form, she
killed him."

"In a manner
of speaking, yes, and in doing so she lost most of her power."
Kayos sighed and stared into the distance. "When she raised him up,
I refused to help her. I warned her of the danger, but she was
determined, so she created his form herself, and bestowed half her
power upon him. He was not as powerful as her. His spirit was only
that of a mortal man. Since you were made a god before you were
born, your spirit was enhanced as well as your flesh."

"So after I
die, I could become a light god."

Kayos
hesitated, frowning. "Yes."

"You do not
seem pleased with the idea."

"As a
tar'merin, you have the power to save domains. As a light god, you
would be as powerless to fight the darkness as I am."

"But I could
create domains."

Kayos smiled.
"And watch them destroyed. It is a thankless task, I am
afraid."

"Why am I a
tar'merin?"

"Not even I
know how tar'merin came to be. If I did, I would ensure that many
were born to fight the darkness. It is a twist of fate, a special
quality you have, and perhaps many mortals do, but unless they
become dark gods there is no way to discover it. There are many
kinds of gods, demigods and spirit forms, good, bad and
neutral."

"Could I kill
you?"

Kayos
chuckled. "Yes, but, since you are mortal, I can also kill you. I
could not destroy your soul though. You would become a spirit god,
and I would not give you a second chance, since I cannot prevail
against a true dark god."

Bane's eyes
roamed the ruined cabin. "How do you know what happened in this
domain?"

"The last time
I was here, I went to see the Oracle. It holds the history of this
domain, and any others it was before."

Bane sighed.
"Is there not a faster way to travel through the God Realm? It
seems ridiculous that we should have to walk."

"No. The God
Realm is a treacherous place, and caution is necessary. A wrong
step and we would be lost, so I must follow the trail I left the
last time I was here. I cannot ride a demon steed, my touch would
snuff out its fire and free its soul to fly to a light realm."

"Is there
nothing you could ride?"

Kayos inclined
his head. "There is, but it would serve little purpose since I can
travel just as fast on my own."

"And you do
not tire."

"No."

"Yet you have
to eat."

Kayos smiled.
"The ambrosia is purely for pleasure amongst true gods. Only you
require it as sustenance."

"Is there
anything you do require?"

"Only the
white fire, if I must expend it. If not, I could survive for aeons
with nothing. The same will be true of you, when you cease to be
mortal one day."

Bane yawned,
and his eyes drifted closed as fatigue won the battle against
adrenaline.

When he woke,
Kayos still sat on his crude chair, staring into the middle
distance, his expression blank. Bane sat up and swung his legs off
the couch, finding a little of his strength returned and most of
his tiredness gone. Mirra slept beside him, and Grem and Mithran
snored on the floor, their heads pillowed on their rolled up
jackets. Kayos' eyes focussed on Bane as he yawned and stretched,
then conjured a cup of ambrosia to slake his hunger and thirst. The
Grey God joined him, and they sipped the nectar in companionable
silence for a while.

"So, the
Naribis did not return," Bane commented.

"Having tested
you, I did not think he would."

"Unless he had
friends to call upon for aid."

"Highly
unlikely."

Bane gazed
around. "What kind of people lived here?"

"Humans, you
would call them."

"And what
happened to the goddess of this domain?"

Kayos
shrugged. "I suppose she created another."

"Was she a
friend of yours?"

"I have never
met her."

"Do light gods
have friends?"

Kayos nodded.
"We are all friends. Should we chance to meet, it is in brotherly
camaraderie. Dark gods, on the other hand, are all enemies, rivals,
except for those of the opposite gender who sometimes become
allies. Or they might create a partner by inflicting their
corruption upon a mortal. On rare occasions, dark gods have been
known to band together in an uneasy brotherhood, but they usually
end up turning on each other."

Bane glanced
down at Mirra as she stirred and sighed, her cheeks flushed with
sleep, her lips pouting. Smiling, he stroked her hair, and she
squirmed closer to him, a faint frown puckering her brow. Kayos
watched him with a smile.

"You love her
very much."

"She died for
me," Bane murmured, not looking up. "And I would die for her."

"Dorel's bolt
would not have killed you. Arkonen sent her only to annoy you."

"That does not
change what she did, and she saved my life before that, as you
know."

"Yes. The
universe owes her a great debt."

Mirra opened
her eyes and yawned, then smiled and snuggled closer to her
husband, sliding her arms around his waist. "How are you
feeling?"

Bane shrugged.
"Well enough. Are you rested?"

"Yes." She sat
up and stretched, casting Kayos a shy smile. "My Lord."

"Healer." He
glanced at the snoring men. "We should be moving on."