Demon Lord III - Grey God (15 page)

"I am Tarris,
priestess of Drayshina, beloved Goddess of Arvanion, mid-realm of
her domain."

"I am
Kayos."

She gasped.
"One of the Seven!"

"Yes."

"I am indeed
honoured, Lord. I beg your aid. Without it, I despair, my world
will be destroyed."

"A dark
god?"

Tarris nodded.
"He has risen from the Darkworld to wreak havoc and death amongst
our people."

"I fear I can
do little to help your goddess, save perhaps to aid her
flight."

"She cannot
flee. Demons and a dark goddess guard the Realm Gate."

Kayos frowned.
"She remains free?"

"For the
moment. He hunts her, but she eludes him. That is how I came to be
here. She placed a glamour upon me, to give me her own appearance.
Vorkon hunted me for weeks before he caught me, and then he was so
enraged he had me thrown out of the Gate."

"You are brave
and loyal. Your goddess should be proud to have such a friend as
you."

Tarris shook
her head. "I failed her, Lord."

"I would like
to help, but I cannot. Light gods cannot fight the darkness, else
your goddess would have done it already."

Her expression
grew despairing. "She will be enslaved."

"She told you
everything, I see."

"I am her
priestess. She confided in me when she placed her glamour upon me.
She feared I would be slain in her service."

"Unusual. But
there may be a chance to save your goddess. There is one who can
help, if you can persuade him."

A tremulous
smile tugged at her lips, and she blinked rapidly, her eyes
glimmering. "Speak his name, great lord, and I shall pray to him
with all the fervour in my heart."

"Indeed I
shall, but you have no need to pray. He sits on yon rock behind me,
and his name is Bane, the Demon Lord." Kayos indicated Bane with a
tilt of his head.

She studied
Bane with a frown. "Is he a black mage? How can he help us?"

"He is not a
black mage, child, he is a dark god."

Her eyes
widened and her mouth twisted. "Lord, you are enslaved?"

"No." He
smiled. "He is tar'merin. He walks in the light."

Tarris stared
at Bane, who snorted and sipped his ambrosia, disliking the
attention. "Tar'merin?"

"Incorruptible. He can help you."

"But will he?
I know of no dark god who fights for the light."

Kayos nodded.
"There have been a few over the aeons, but the last died so long
ago that only the gods who knew him and called him friend remember
his name. I was not one of them, but I have heard of him. His
legend lives still. This one is a mortal youth, but powerful."

"Vorkon too is
young and powerful, Lord, but not mortal." Her eyes flicked to
Mirra, seated in the crook of Bane's arm, a mixture of amazement
and pity in their depths. "I fear I lack the skill to persuade him.
Will you not speak for me, Lord?"

"Nay, child,
it is your duty."

"I fear
him."

Kayos shook
his head. "He will not harm you. But first we will rest and eat.
You need to regain your strength and ponder your plea. He will also
be in a better mood when he has rested."

She looked
relieved, and nodded. "I thirst, Lord."

Kayos handed
her the flask, then scooped up a double handful of sand and
murmured several lyrical words. A flash of white light engulfed his
hands, and a plump roasted fowl replaced the sand. Tarris stared at
it with ravenous eyes, setting down the flask to take it when he
offered it to her.

"Lord, you are
good and generous. I praise your name. Kayos, one of the Seven,
High Lord of the Universe, Creator of the God Realm."

"I was not
alone in that task."

"Praise be to
the Grey Gods. Ordur, Liyet, Hayet, Vayter, Erath and Airen."

Kayos inclined
his head. "They will be glad of your praise."

Tarris tore at
the fowl, washing it down with water. Kayos left her to join Bane,
raising a stone seat near his. The Demon Lord turned to him with a
slight frown.

"I thought you
wanted to free Ashynaria?"

"I do, but she
has been enslaved for nigh on a thousand years. A few more days
will not harm her. I know Drayshina, she is a daughter of Ordur,
and she teaches her followers the old ways."

Bane grunted.
"Your blue mage knows more than I. Who are these Seven?"

Kayos bent and
scooped up more sand, turning it into nuts for Mirra, who took them
with a grateful smile. "The Seven Originators, who formed from star
dust and fell into the burning wastes that became the God Realm. I
was the first to awaken. I saw that there was matter and set it
into motion, creating chaos. The others each took one part of that
chaos and formed it to their will, creating the elements. With
their help, Ordur bound it together and made the God Realm. From
our tasks we took our names."

Bane sipped
his ambrosia, considering this. "That would make you the most
senior of the Grey Gods? And the most powerful?"

"The oldest,
yes, but Ordur is my equal, the others a little less so."

"You want me
to help her?"

Kayos created
roasted meat and potatoes on a pottery platter for Mithran and
Grem, who came forward to take it. "That is for you to decide, but
I will not object. Listen well to Tarris' plea and judge the merit
of her words. You know nothing of the old ways, but she is well
versed in them."

"I agreed to
try to free your granddaughter, not save every damned domain along
the way."

Kayos nodded.
"I know. I am not asking it of you."

Bane glanced
at Tarris, who averted her eyes, a flush reddening her cheeks. She
looked to be in her thirties, slight signs of age marking her face,
although she was slim and fit. He had not seen a woman wear
trousers before, and found the way the soft cloth moulded her
shapely legs a little disturbing. Her tattoos interested him, for
he did not remember seeing such markings on the blue mage he had
killed on the Isle of Lume.

He turned to
Kayos, who sipped a cup of ambrosia. "What purpose do the tattoos
serve?"

Kayos
shrugged. "Every culture has its traditions. They probably serve a
similar function to your rune scars, which allowed you to master
the dark power at such a young age. For most it takes at least four
hundred years to reach your level, even for those who are born
gods."

"And if you
come to the domain with me, and I am killed, will you not be in
danger of being enslaved like Drayshina?"

The Grey God
chuckled. "I think not, never fear. Even if you are killed, it will
not take you long to recover sufficiently to leave the light realm,
then you will be able to wield the dark power once more. Vorkon
will search the Land of the Dead for your soul, not the light
realm. I do not intend to let you be killed, however. You are far
too valuable. I shall be nearby when you fight him, to heal your
wounds."

"There will
not be anything to heal if he chops off my head."

"But that is
all he can do. All his power does him no good when he faces you."
Kayos shook his head. "What it must be, to meet a dark god as an
equal."

"Damned
terrifying." Bane sipped his ambrosia, glancing at Tarris again.
The blue mage had sucked the fowl's bones clean, and knelt with her
hands clasped in prayer.

"To whom does
she pray?"

"Probably
Drayshina."

Tarris
finished her whispered prayer and made a sign, then turned to face
them with an air of determination. Rising to her feet, she tottered
over to them. Kayos rose and moved away, turned his back and stared
into the distance. Mirra slid off his knee and joined Grem and
Mithran. Tarris stopped before Bane, her head bowed, then sank to
her knees and pressed her brow to the sand.

"Lord, I
praise your name, long may it reside in legend. Bane, Demon Lord,
Protector of the Innocent, Saviour of the Goddess Drayshina,
beloved of the people of Arvanion." Her worshipful stance made her
words a little muffled.

"Get up," he
said, annoyed.

She
straightened and sat back on her haunches, looking nervous and
confused. "I offend you, Lord?"

"You do not
worship me, so do not act as if you do. Stand up."

She hesitated,
looking uncertain, then did as he instructed, keeping her head
bowed and her eyes fixed on the ground. After several moments of
tense silence, she continued her plea.

"My goddess is
in dire peril, and one of the Seven vouches that you walk in the
light even as you summon the shadows to do your will. You have the
power to save her, and, by doing so, an entire domain. If you do
this great thing, your name will be sung in our churches and live
on in legend for all time in our domain. Some may even worship you,
and Drayshina will not object, if you are her saviour. She will be
in your debt, forever your friend and ally. I beg you, Lord, with
all my heart and soul, save us, ask any price and it shall be
paid."

Bane
considered her words, ignoring the sneering of the dark power
within him, which urged him to laugh in her face and scorn her
plea.

"Your goddess
gave you permission to speak in her name?"

"Nay, Lord,
although I have prayed to her and told her of the hope you offer.
She will honour my words, I swear."

Bane glanced
at Kayos, who continued to peruse the scenery. "You make bold
promises, mage, but I have no need of worshippers, or a yen to have
my name live in legend forever. Your offer does not interest
me."

Tarris looked
stricken, then flung herself at his feet, crawling closer. "Please!
I beg you, help us!"

"Stop
grovelling, and do not touch me."

She raised her
head, her eyes shimmering with tears. "She will be enslaved, at his
mercy for aeons, and our world will die. Millions of people,
Lord!"

"This is
supposed to concern me?"

Two tears ran
down her cheeks as she gazed up at him, then cast a quick,
despairing glance at Kayos' back. Bane followed her eyes, noticing
that the Grey God's shoulders had slumped. Tarris swallowed hard,
bowing her head once more.

"Tell me what
you want, and you shall have it."

"I want
nothing."

Her face
twisted. "Then I offer myself as a sacrifice, to save my goddess
and my domain."

"I have no
interest in sacrifices, mage, willing or otherwise, and since you
are dead anyway if I do not help you, it is not such a great thing
you offer. You may be well versed in the old ways, but you know
nothing about me, and you do not know what you ask of me."

"You command
power beyond imagining -"

"So does
he."

Tarris raised
her hands in a gesture of pleading. "Ask what you will of us, Lord,
and it shall be yours. You are the only one who can save us.
Please! Have mercy, I beseech you."

Bane gazed
into the distance. "Begging sickens me."

"Drayshina
cannot escape him, Lord. Her fate is sealed. At the very least, you
could allow her to flee, so she might be spared our terrible fate.
This I ask of you."

Bane's
piercing eyes flicked to her face, and she met them, although her
shoulders sagged and her face twisted as she fought to control her
anguish. She looked down at her dirty hands and whispered, "Just
free the Realm Gate, Lord, nothing more. Just let her go. That is
not much to ask. A mere moment of your time. A gesture of your
hand, to save the life of a goddess."

"Who guards
the Gate?"

"A dark
goddess and some demons, but she will pose no threat to one of your
power."

"You know
nothing of my power, mage. If I attack this goddess, she will warn
Vorkon."

"Her demon
messenger will take time to reach him, but I can call to my goddess
in a moment, and she will come swiftly. I could even tell her of
your intervention before you attack the goddess. Drayshina needs
but a moment to escape, Lord."

A touch on
Bane's arm made him glance around.

Mirra stood
beside him, frowning. "Bane..."

"What?"

"Do you not
think she has grovelled enough?"

"It is not
about -"

"Oh, I know it
is. The dark power enjoys humiliating others, and you know it as
well as me."

Tarris gaped
at Mirra. A slight smile tugged at Bane's lips, and he raised a
hand to stroke his wife's cheek, noticing, out of the corner of his
eye, Kayos turn slightly towards them.

"If you were
without the shadows, you would want to help her," Mirra went
on.

"If I was
powerless, I would be unable to do so."

She nodded.
"But the only reason you do not want to is because of its
influence."

"It may also
have something to do with the dark god who could kill all of
us."

"Kayos will
not let that happen."

"He may not be
able to prevent it. It will be dangerous, even with his help."

"It will also
make you stronger, as your battle with Arkonen did. If Telvaron is
old and powerful, it may be a good thing to hone your skills on a
lesser man before you face him, if it comes to that. If all you
need do is free the Gate, surely it is not so dangerous, and you
will be saving a goddess."

"I understand
your wish for me to save her, but I am surprised you want me to
face unnecessary danger."

Mirra laid a
hand on his arm. "I have no wish for you to come to harm, you know
that. But when we are called upon to do a deed for the light, we
must not turn away. It is our duty to serve it."

Bane sighed,
considering his petite wife, whose deep need to help others would
probably, he mused, be the death of him. He owed her a huge debt,
however, and pleasing her was his greatest wish, so much so that it
silenced the dark power's mockery. He turned to Tarris.