Demon Lord IV - Lord of Shadows (12 page)

Patrin watched
her with a slight smile. "You're a Darklander, aren't you? Is this
the first time you've seen the sun?"

Shevra nodded.
"It's so beautiful."

"Yes. Let's
hope it's not snuffed out forever."

Shevra turned
as the door opened, and several elderly, wise-looking men clad in
well-cut clothes entered. A group of younger men followed them,
carrying bags and bowls. One of the older men frowned at her and
Patrin.

"Who are
you?"

Shevra glanced
at Bane. "We're his... attendants."

"Stay out of
the way."

"Yes,
sir."

The men, whom
she assumed must be the doctors sent to wake Bane, approached the
bed with obvious misgivings, some making warding signs or muttering
mantras of protection. Mirra rose and faced them, frowning. The
eldest of them gestured rudely at her.

"Stand aside,
girl."

Grem stepped
forward, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'd advise you to keep
a civil tongue in your head, old man."

The doctors
looked unimpressed, and the eldest scowled at him. "We have orders
from the Queen, and if you get in our way, you will be removed. Her
too."

"No, we won't.
We have every right to be here, especially Mirra, and if she wishes
it, you'll be the ones leaving."

"We do not
have time to bicker with overzealous servants, soldier."

Grem smiled,
but it did not reach his eyes. "You really should ask for
introductions before making assumptions."

The doctor
looked impatient, and several of his companions snorted or rolled
their eyes. "Very well, who are you then?"

"I'm only his
friend, but that entitles me to some respect. Mirra, on the other
hand, commands it, for she is his wife."

Shevra stifled
a gasp as a cold spasm gripped her heart, and she stared at the
slight blond girl. No wonder she was so important. She appeared to
be a nothing more than a mortal girl who possessed a fragile
beauty, yet she was wed to a god. Did Bane love her as she loved
him? That possibility sent a wave of sorrow through her, and she
blinked, feeling foolish. Had she really imagined that so handsome
a man would not be taken? In truth, she had hoped it, she knew, and
the realisation that her romantic dreams were futile was a crushing
blow. Of course he must care for Mirra, else he would not have wed
her. She frowned, her heart heavy as she turned her attention back
to the confrontation. The doctors shifted and muttered, then the
spokesman performed a sketchy bow.

"My apologies,
Lady Mirra, we were not informed."

"It seems that
Lord Kayos is too busy to perform introductions, Doctor."

"With your
permission?" The doctor waved a hand at Bane.

"Be
careful."

"Of
course."

Shevra glanced
at Patrin as he whispered, "Who would have thought that one such as
he would have a wife?"

"Not I."

"Me
either."

The doctors
set out an assortment of bottles and jars on the bedside table, and
Shevra turned away to gaze out at the wondrous sunshine. Her world
seemed to have darkened now that she knew the futility of her
foolish hope that Bane might one day come to care for her. The
depths of her sadness after such a brief acquaintance surprised
her, yet the combination of what he was, the fact that he had saved
her twice, and his devastating allure was potent. She did not doubt
that many women had fallen under his spell, and many more would in
times to come. She glanced at Mirra, a painful pang of jealousy
shooting through her. It was so unfair.

Vorkon shouted
vile curses, his face twisted with fury as he paced up and down
outside his temple. He flung bolts of shadow at nearby buildings,
crushing walls and sending their occupants fleeing for their lives.
The people of the city of Draynon worshipped him, but he cared
little for them. The seven warlocks cowered before him, their brows
pressed to the ground, while demons and droges hid in the shadows.
After several minutes Vorkon flung himself into the black stone
throne that rose from the ground at a gesture of his hand, glaring
at the unfortunate mages.

"You will go
there, all of you, with slaves. I want that flame extinguished! I
want that tar'merin's head!" He turned to a cowering fire demon.
"Has the army been sent to Avadorn?"

"They make all
speed, Lord."

"Make them go
faster. I want that city crushed!"

"Yes,
Lord."

"How long
before they reach it?"

"Two days,
Lord."

Vorkon
scowled. "Too slow. I will create a Portal."

One of the
warlocks raised his head. "Lord, they will have soldiers in the
church, protecting the white flame. Our slaves will have no chance
of reaching it."

Vorkon tapped
his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Yes, you are probably right."
He considered. "Which of you are necromancers?" Two mages raised
their heads, and Vorkon gazed at them. "The soldiers will all be
protecting the church. You will be safe in the city now. Go and
raise the dead."

Chapter Six

Necromancer

Kayos studied
the ranks of soldiers that stood around the altar, silver weapons
ready. The chapel windows darkened in the gathering dusk, and two
priestesses walked the aisles, lighting the glowing blue spheres
with long tapers tipped with tiny, fizzing sparks.

Queen Kyan
stood at his side, and he glanced at her as she said, "No one will
get past them. And more stand guard outside the church."

"The black
mages will bring the slaves in here. The attacks should have
started by now, which makes me think he is up to something
else."

"Perhaps he
waits for his army?"

"He will be
afraid that Bane will wake before they get here. He will try
something quicker."

"If not the
black mages, then what?"

Kayos shook
his head. "Dark gods have many powers. There are other options open
to him."

"Still the
Demon Lord does not awake. The doctors have tried bad smells, loud
noises, and ice, to no avail."

"He will wake
when he is ready."

Kayos turned
and left the chapel, walking along the corridor that led to Bane's
room. Kyan fell into step beside him.

"Is there
nothing you can do?"

"No. He is a
strange combination, frail flesh and indomitable spirit. Being what
he is takes a great deal out of him, physically, just as it does
you when you wield your power, only worse. But, by the same token,
his flesh is stronger. The limits of his strength and tolerance are
unknown to me, but he has them."

"Being struck
on the head with a stone seems a small injury to lead to such a
grave condition."

"His condition
is not grave, only our need of him. The injury might seem minor,
but he would have died of it had I not healed him."

They stopped
in the doorway of Bane's room. Mirra sat on a chair beside the bed,
holding Bane's hand, and Grem stood behind her. Patrin and Shevra
stood by the window, and a group of doctors muttered at the foot of
the bed. They bowed to Kyan and Kayos and shook their heads.

"Let us not
forget," Kayos said, "that he was struck down only a few short
hours ago. It is only that our peril has become so dire since then
that our need for him to wake is so great. Also, he was scarred by
the dark god who made him what he is, and that might contribute to
his current state."

"You mean the
ones on his chest?" She glanced at Bane, whose shirt remained
open.

"No, although
Arkonen gave him those scars too. His brain was damaged. Parts of
it were weakened so that he would die achieving the final part of
his task. The healers of my domain undid the damage, but the scars
remain."

"What task was
that?"

Kayos smiled.
"Breaking the seven blue wards that bound Arkonen in the
Underworld."

"I did not
think that was possible."

"It is not,
except for a god. Even the mages who create them cannot break
them."

She frowned.
"I trust that you have not forgotten the dark goddess who guards
the light realm?"

"I have not.
She is not powerful. She is merely a beautiful woman whom Vorkon
corrupted and killed, then raised up to be his goddess. That she
has risen again so soon after Bane vanquished her can only be
because Vorkon helped her, but Bane will cast her down again once
Vorkon is trapped."

"If he ever
wakes up."

"He will."

"What if it is
too late?"

He shook his
head. "My dear young queen, there is no point in entertaining such
doubts. Trust in fate."

"You have seen
the future?"

Kayos
grimaced. "Generally, I try not to. All is changeable, so it really
does little good. A certain path may be avoided, but that often
leads to the taking of a worse one. When my daughter foresaw Bane's
birth, she took action to prevent him from achieving his goal, and
she succeeded. But she did not know that he was tar'merin, and had
he not been, her plan would have failed. The fact that he was
tar'merin was decided by fate. You see?"

"But surely
fate is the will of the gods?"

"No. It is the
will of the universe. It is what brought gods into being. Anyone
may change it, even a fool with a stone."

Kyan shook her
head. "I am not sure that I understand."

"There are
laws in the universe, flows of power, good and evil. We can affect
it, but it always seeks balance. To upset that balance would
destroy reality as we know it. It cannot be done. Fate is that
flow, that balance being achieved. When we seek to change its
course, we risk sending ourselves on a worse course."

She nodded,
but still looked confused. "So you mean that if this situation is
to have a good outcome, Bane will awaken in time, and if not, he
will not."

"No. Just the
opposite. If Bane awakens in time, this situation might have a good
outcome, but the fact that he wakes does not guarantee it. There
are no guarantees, only the balance of fate."

"So you are
saying that it is all up to fate?"

"No." He
chuckled. "I am saying that it is best left up to fate. Meddling is
not always wise. You can make something happen, but if it is not
meant to happen, it affects the balance, and something worse will
happen to correct it."

"I see. Like
when a seeress foresaw a great earthquake that would destroy a
town, and warned the people to flee. They did, and were saved, but
the seeress died, and they rebuilt the town. Two years later, it
was destroyed by another earthquake."

"And they all
died."

"Almost."

He nodded.
"And the balance was restored. Those people had to die for it to
happen."

"Why?"

"I do not
know. I could make some educated guesses, but you would find it
confusing."

Kyan smiled.
"I agree. My mind is already quite steaming from the effort."

Kayos turned
at the sound of footsteps. An officer ran up, his pale face sweaty,
his wide eyes filled with horror. He bowed to them.

"Lord.
Majesty. We are under attack."

"Black mages?"
Kyan asked.

"No." He
hesitated. "People, Majesty. Hundreds of them. But... they are
all... dead."

Kayos frowned.
"Vorkon has unleashed his necromancers."

"And another
thing," the officer hurried on. "A great black... hole has appeared
outside the city, and a dark army emerges from it."

Kyan paled,
raising a hand to her mouth. "This does not sound like a good twist
of fate."

Kayos shook
his head. "This has nothing to do with fate. He has created a
Portal. He goes against fate, leaving nothing to chance." He
glanced at the officer. "Send soldiers to the graveyards, find the
mages who are raising the dead and kill them."

The officer
ran off, and Kyan turned to the Grey God. "What will fate do
now?"

"Find an
instrument to restore the balance, and there is only one powerful
enough here."

"The Demon
Lord will wake?"

"Let us hope
so."

"My Lord, you
are confusing me again. If fate sent those necromancers to raise
the dead, and the dark army, why should it also wake the Demon
Lord?"

"It will not.
But it did not. Fate does not work like that."

Kyan sighed.
"I hope you are right."

"I usually
am."

The Queen
turned away. "I must find the Blue Council, they will have to help
fight these... dead people."

"Zombies are
hard to stop; even small parts of them will continue to try to
achieve the goal set for them by the mages who raised them."

She swung back
to face him. "Then what do you suggest we do, My Lord, leave it up
to fate?"

"Certainly
not. Tell the mages to destroy the zombies' legs, that will slow
them down."

"Are you an
instrument of fate?"

"We all
are."

She eyed him.
"Surely gods stand outside fate?"

"If we choose
to, and we often do, because when we step into it, we affect the
balance greatly. When Vorkon rose to destroy this domain, fate
placed Tarris in our path to restore the balance. But if you keep
thinking like this, you can be driven mad. Just accept what happens
and hope for the best, young queen."

Kyan nodded
and hastened away down the corridor, leaving Kayos to gaze at the
young man who lay on the huge bed. If this domain was fated to be
ruled by Vorkon, their presence here was a mistake, and he was not
supposed to have found Tarris. Now their fates were inextricably
interwoven with that of the domain, and the consequences could be
dire for both of them. He refused to believe that, however. His
discovery of Tarris had been too providential, almost miraculous,
and fate worked like that.