Demon Lord III - Grey God (26 page)

"The council
is in audience, high priestess."

"Let me pass,"
Sharri said. "I have urgent news for them, it cannot wait."

"After the
audience -"

"No. Now. This
is for just such a meeting; our timing is excellent. Stand
aside."

"Our orders
-"

"I do not give
a fig for your orders, soldier. Stand aside or face the Queen's
wrath for delaying us."

The guard
hesitated. "On what authority -"

"The highest.
The goddess herself."

The guard eyed
her, then turned and flung the door open to reveal a vast pillared
room.

"A high
priestess to see the Queen, with a message from our beloved
goddess, Drayshina!" he proclaimed in ringing tones.

A throng of
nobles, all bearing the tattoos of blue mages, swung to stare at
Sharri and Tarris. The priestess walked into a white marble throne
room, its walls inlaid with jade and gold designs. Gracefully
draped blue velvet cloths trimmed with gold embroidery covered part
of the walls, and more jade and gold inlay adorned the fluted
pillars. A broad strip of crimson carpet edged with gold designs
led to a raised dais upon which a sleek golden throne stood, and
seated on it, a young woman of surpassing beauty.

The Queen's
white gown swept the floor, a web of diamonds covered her
shoulders, and a pearl headdress framed her face, long strands
falling to her shoulders. Thick dark lashes framed clear grey eyes
set in a delicate visage with flawless creamy skin and a curved
pink mouth. Despite her regal bearing, she looked little more than
a child, and she raised her chin at the high priestess' abrupt
entrance.

The doors
boomed shut behind them, and a thick silence accompanied Sharri's
steps towards the throne. If she was nervous she did not show it,
but Tarris looked distinctly ill at ease, and kept her eyes down.
Sharri reached the dais and dropped into a deep curtsy, as did
Tarris.

Queen Kyan
gestured. "Rise, high priestess, and tell us the meaning of this
brash intrusion."

"Forgive me,
Majesty. News of the utmost importance."

"Speak."

Sharri licked
her lips. "Our beloved goddess has fallen."

A concerted
gasp went through the ranks of noble mages, many groaning and
covering their faces. The Queen paled and recoiled as if
slapped.

"How do you
know this?"

"I was visited
by a stranger to our domain, one from the God Realm."

"A god?"

Sharri nodded.
"Indeed Majesty, the greatest god of all, whose name is spoken only
with the utmost reverence, even by our lady herself. He is one of
the Seven."

Another gasp
went through the mages, and most looked disbelieving. Kyan stilled
their whispering with a flick of her fingers. "Who is he?"

"He is the
eldest of the Seven Grey Gods, the Father of All Things, the great
Lord Kayos, Majesty."

Bane moved
around the assembly to get a better view of the proceedings, and
leant against a pillar close to the throne. A deathly hush greeted
Sharri's words, then an old mage clad in flowing blue robes stepped
forward.

"Impossible,
Majesty, Kayos is a myth. Our esteemed high priestess is misled,
perhaps by Vorkon himself."

Sharri glanced
at him. "No. I spoke to him. He wishes to aid us."

The old mage
shook his head. "A light god can do nothing against one such as
Vorkon."

"This is true.
But I speak the truth." She touched Tarris' shoulder. "This
priestess found him in the God Realm."

All eyes
switched to Tarris, who cringed and murmured, "He saved my
life."

A younger mage
with piercing black eyes, whom Bane recognised as a demon, snorted.
"It is a lie, Majesty; they seek to give you false hope."

Bane swept the
throng with an intent gaze, spotting four more demons amongst
them.

Kyan looked
irresolute. "What proof of these outrageous claims can you produce,
high priestess?"

"It is
trickery!" another demon-mage shouted.

Sharri shot
him a brief glare. "He is with me, My Queen."

"I see no
one," Kyan said, and some of the mages snickered.

Sharri stepped
aside and gestured grandly to the empty space behind her. "I
present the great god Kayos, foremost of the Seven Originators,
creator of the God Realm, friend of Drayshina."

Bane wondered
if Kayos would be in the right place, but after an instant the air
shimmered, and he appeared. The Blue Council stood frozen in shock,
then fell to their knees in unison, two elderly mages collapsing in
swoons. The Queen slipped from her throne and dropped to her knees,
as did Tarris and Sharri. Kayos swept them with a bland gaze, which
lingered on the demons, then gestured for them to rise.

The Queen
stood, her face as pale as the marble walls, her hands bunched in
her dress. She swallowed loudly in the tense silence.

"Greetings,
Great Lord. We are honoured by your presence."

"Greetings,
child." He studied her. "I grieve for your domain, and the plight
of your goddess. I come to aid you, but your mage is correct, I can
do nothing to a dark god."

"Is our lady
truly fallen?"

"Yes. But I
bring you hope, although you will not like its form. When I found
Tarris in the God Realm, I was not alone. I had a companion, one
who can help you, and has agreed to do so. But we need your help to
trap Vorkon in the Darkworld."

Kyan spread
her hands, appeared to become aware that she had been wringing her
skirt, and smoothed it. "Whatever we can do, we will."

"It will be
dangerous. Some of you may perish."

"If nothing is
done, we all will, Lord. So long as it is not in vain, we will give
our lives gladly."

"It will not
be, but only if you accept and trust my companion."

The old mage
stepped forward. "What manner of being can defeat a dark god, Great
Lord?"

"You know the
answer to that."

"As far as I
know, only another dark god could, but one such would not do such a
thing to help mortals to win their freedom. They would only do it
to replace the first monster."

Kayos nodded.
"You are correct, but there is one exception to that rule. Have you
heard of a tar'merin?"

"No, Lord,
forgive my ignorance."

"A tar'merin
is a dark god whose heart is uncorrupted. They are capable of good
deeds when offered the right incentives, and they have no wish to
rule domains or destroy them. For the most part, they languish in
sloth and do nothing. There have been only a few over the eons, and
some of them did nothing to help others, but lived peacefully in
self-imposed exile.

"But a few, no
more than four, were persuaded to aid those in need, and their
deeds live in legend amongst gods. There was Druvan, Fire Lord, who
destroyed four dark gods and saved seven domains. And Varian, also
known as the Son of Darkness, who rescued Liyet from the dark god
who had enslaved her, and was destroyed himself in the battle.

"The third was
Wrath, Night Lord, who walked at Vayter's side for many aeons, and
destroyed seven dark gods before he was destroyed himself. A fourth
is rumoured to have aided several light gods before vanishing, the
most mysterious of all. None of them did I know myself, and I
regret that I did not have the privilege. But I have now met
one."

Bane snorted,
and two mages at the back of the throng glanced around.

Kayos
continued, "He is young, but already he has saved a domain and cast
two dark gods down. He has driven off a Narabis and his goddess,
and when he entered this domain, he cast down Jishka, Vorkon's
goddess."

Kyan sank down
on her throne, looking sick. "He is here?"

"He is here to
help you, young queen. You will fear him, but that is natural. He
is the bearer of unimaginable power, and he is a dark god."

Bane snorted
again, and the mages closest to him sidled away.

Kayos glanced
around. "I command you to trust him."

The old mage
coughed. "Lord, how can we be sure -?"

"Because I say
that it is so. Do you dare to doubt me?" He frowned at the mage.
"He has spoken to Drayshina, and he has agreed to help her and free
this domain. At first he was not willing to go up against a dark
god, since this is not his world, or his fight. Drayshina persuaded
him to help you, after he had freed the Realm Gate so she could
flee. She chose to stay, but only he can save you. Tarris and
Sharri have met him."

All eyes
turned to the priestesses again. Kyan beckoned Sharri closer, and
the priestess approached. The Queen leant forward to mutter, "What
is he like?"

Sharri
shivered. "Frightening, Majesty."

"Yes, you will
find him frightening," Kayos said. "But you have more in common
with him than you think. He is mortal, a human, like you."

The mages
looked startled, and Kyan's eyes widened. Two of the demon mages
edged towards the door, and Bane watched them.

Kayos smiled.
"Will you meet him now, Majesty, with the respect that he
deserves?"

The Queen drew
herself up, and Sharri retreated at her signal. "What does he want
from us?"

"He has
already met Vorkon, but neither won the battle. He proposes that
your greatest mages set wards here in the Lightworld, then he will
cast Vorkon down and the wards will trap him. To destroy Vorkon
would take more skill than he currently possesses, as he is a mere
youth. First, however, he will kill the black mages who guard you,
so that you can set the wards safely."

"He has agreed
to this?"

"Yes."

Kyan raised
her chin. "Then I shall greet him with the respect that he
deserves, Lord."

A demon-mage
stepped forward. "No! He is evil! Darkworld scum! We do not need
his help."

The Queen
frowned at him. "I did not seek your council, Ventin."

"Majesty, you
cannot bring one such into our midst. He cannot be trusted, it is a
trick!"

"Kayos has
vouched for him."

"He lies! He
is a slave!"

Kyan glanced
at Kayos, who eyed Ventin, and he shook his head. "I am not
enslaved. No dark god can hold me without touching me or placing
shackles upon me."

"Then you are
not who you claim to be! You are a charlatan, a demon in
disguise."

"Demons cannot
become invisible. You should know this."

"Air demons
are, and you should know that!"

Kayos nodded.
"Air demons also stink. Do you sense a stench in here?"

The
demon-mage's eyes darted, and he nodded. "Now that you mention it,
there is a certain redolence that was not here before you
arrived."

Kayos snorted,
shaking his head. "You are lying."

The two
demon-mages reached the doors, and Bane straightened, frowning.
They were trying leave to preserve their disguises, but once
outside they would go below and inform Vorkon of their plans,
ruining everything. If he warned the mages of the demons' true
identities, they would go below before anyone could stop them. As
one of them turned the door handle, he raised his hands.

Black fire
spat from his fingers and arced across the room, striking the
demon-mages in the back. They slumped into heaps of scattered soil
beneath settling clouds of dust, and Bane pointed at the three
mages in the crowd. Two flew apart in sprays of foul soil, the
third, Ventin, exploded in a gush of sickly fire. The mages nearest
to the fire demon recoiled with screams, raising their arms, blue
shields forming around them to ward off the flames. Kyan shrieked
and clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Kayos looked
furious, and Bane wondered why. The mages glanced around with wide
eyes, and Kyan lowered her hand.

"He is here,
Lord? In the room?"

"Yes. He has
just destroyed the five demons that stood amongst your mages,
spying on you. Had he allowed them to leave, they would have told
Vorkon of our plans."

"I beg you,
command him to show himself." Her voice was a little shrill.

Kayos smiled.
"Alas, I cannot command him to do anything, young queen. But I will
introduce him, although I have no idea where he will appear." He
shot a wry smile at Sharri, who blushed. "I present Bane, the Demon
Lord."

Everyone
glanced around, searching the shadows. Bane sighed and shed his
cloak of invisibility, appearing next to the pillar beside the
throne. A mage gave a cry and pointed, drawing everyone's eyes to
him. Kyan rose and backed away.

Bane flipped
the edges of his cloak over his shoulders, revealing the crimson
lining, and walked closer to the Queen. Kyan bumped into a pillar
and stopped. Bane halted before her and held out his hand. She
stared at him, her face slack with fear.

Bane raised a
mocking brow, a slight smile curling his lips. Kayos walked closer,
frowning, to stand beside the Queen, who seemed to draw courage
from his presence. She glanced at him, then placed her hand in
Bane's. His smile widened, mocking her bravery, and he clasped her
hand.

"Queen
Kyan."

She forced a
wan smile, but snatched her hand away when he released it, rubbing
it surreptitiously. "My Lord."

"You are
brave."

"Thank
you."

"Do you find
me frightening?"

She nodded.
"Terrifying, My Lord."

He gestured at
the heaps of soil on the marble floor. "The mages they were
emulating are long dead."

"Thank you for
destroying them."

"It was a
pleasure."

Kyan tried to
stifle a shudder. Bane glanced at the doors, which one of the mages
had opened. Several soldiers armed with silver tubes sidled in,
eyeing him.

"These are
here to protect you? To kill me?"

She shook her
head. "I did not summon them."