Demon Lord V - God Realm (11 page)

"We might have
found some."

Ethra snorted.
"I think we have just as much chance of finding food here as we did
there."

"And if you're
wrong we all die."

"I said I
would go on alone. It was your decision to come with me."

"This is
folly."

"So you keep
saying."

A shout from
behind made Ethra swing around. Sarrin pointed off to the right,
her face alight with hope.

"Look!" she
cried again. "It is him!"

A glimmer of
pearly light shone like a beacon in the distance, and Ethra ran
towards it with a glad cry. The rocky terrain became more
treacherous as she neared the light source, forcing her to slow to
a trot lest she twist an ankle in its convolutions. It seemed to
take an age to reach him, and when she did, her heart sank. Bane
lay on his side in a pool of blood, his face deathly pale. She
skirted the blood and knelt beside him as Artan panted up, his
expression becoming despairing as he gazed down at Bane.

"Is he
dead?"

She touched
his neck, finding a weak pulse. "No."

Artan squatted
beside her, and, with his help, she rolled Bane onto his back. His
wrists were slashed, and oozed blood. Ethra clasped one to stem the
flow, and her stomach heaved, forcing her to release him and
recoil.

"What is it?"
Artan demanded.

"To touch him
sickens me."

Sarrin
stumbled to a halt beside them, the two soldiers helping her. "It
is his blood. Do not touch it."

"But he's
bleeding."

"I can see
that." Sarrin knelt and dug in her pack for a spare robe, handing
it to Artan. "Tear strips off this. We will use them to bind his
wounds."

Artan snatched
the robe and ripped it up, handing the strips to Sarrin and Ethra.
They wound the cloth around Bane's wrists, avoiding contact with
his blood, and pulled it tight. The fabric turned red, and they
continued to bind the wounds until it stopped. Sarrin sat back, her
face grey with fatigue, and brushed a straggle of hair from her
brow. Ethra placed her fingers on Bane's neck again to assure
herself that he still lived, then looked at Sarrin.

"Why did
touching his blood make me ill?"

"I think it is
full of dark power. I know nothing about mortal dark gods, but I
would imagine that this is not normal. I think the shackles have
forced the power into his blood, which is why it is making him so
sick."

Ethra glanced
at the pool of blood. "Then he has purged some of it at least."

"Probably not
enough to do much good."

"Do you think
he cut himself to let out the evil?"

"No. I would
imagine it would take several decades of regular bloodletting
before his power was significantly reduced. Perhaps he sought to
end his suffering."

Artan frowned.
"If so, he won't be happy when he wakes."

"He could not
have made those cuts, he has no weapon," Ethra pointed out.

"Perhaps he
found something sharp."

"There's
nothing here, except that." Ethra nodded at the crumbling
bones.

Artan glanced
around. "What strikes me about this place is its emptiness, yet
where he lies there's a skeleton. Odd, don't you think?"

"It's
ancient."

"Not much in
this place is what it seems."

Ethra snorted.
"So you think he was attacked by a skeleton?"

"Perhaps it
wasn't a skeleton when it attacked him."

"Oh, so what
was it then?"

Sarrin held up
her hands. "Shall we make camp and have some food? I am
hungry."

"Yes." Artan
rose and strode over to the pack he had dumped when they had
arrived, untying the bundle of wood. The men set up camp, and Artan
returned to drag Bane away from the blood, laying him beside the
fire. Sarrin glanced around at the red-tinged gloom and shivered,
rubbing her arms.

"This place is
creepy."

Ethra nodded.
"I noticed it too, but whatever was here is gone now."

"I think he
fought a battle and destroyed something here."

"The fire we
saw?"

Sarrin nodded.
"Perhaps Artan was not so wrong to suggest that the bones might
have been something dangerous before Bane destroyed whatever it
was."

Ethra squatted
by the fire and dug some food out of the packs, handing it out.
"How long do you think it will be before he wakes?"

Sarrin gazed
at Bane. "I am not certain, but probably a while. It would be
better if he could eat something. What made you change your mind
about him?"

"He told me
about his wife."

"And you are
convinced it was not a lie?"

"He was
delirious at the time."

Sarrin smiled.
"So, we have a legend in our midst."

Kayos waded
through an area of dense shadow, a brilliant blue nimbus
surrounding him. The Hound was close behind him now, invisible in
the darkness. His recent descent had drained much of his power, and
there was no light here to draw upon to replenish it. The loss was
not yet dangerous, but it weakened him. He sensed something other
than the Hound in the darkness, approaching him swiftly from the
side. Turning to face it, he raised an arm, and a shining light
shield formed in his hand.

The entity
struck the shield and recoiled, making Kayos stagger back. The
being writhed on the ground for a moment, hurt by the power in his
shield, then crawled away. There was not much that could challenge
a light god of his stature, but shadow beasts of great power were
inclined to try. When he was certain that the being had retreated,
he reabsorbed the shield and walked on, glancing back at the tired
trio that rode after him, pale and hollow eyed, within the
protection of his power. None of them had asked him to stop and
rest, although they were clearly at the end of their strength,
their concern for Bane forced them to continue. The real danger was
somewhere behind him, but as yet he could not sense the dark god
who pursued him.

Bane woke with
a jerk, his cheek stinging. Ethra drew back, lowering her hand, and
Sarrin leant closer as if to distract him. For several moments he
was utterly disorientated, and struggled to sit up as a host of
unpleasant memories assailed him. He discovered that he was too
weak to achieve this simple goal, and Sarrin had to help him.
Raising a shaking hand to his brow, he gazed around in confusion as
wave of dizzying darkness, sparkling with bright lights, washed
over him. Sarrin pressed a cup to his lips, and water sloshed out
of it as he recoiled in surprise.

"Drink, Bane,
you need to replace the blood you lost."

Bane shook his
head, gazing bemusedly at the rest of the group, who sat close by,
watching him. He tried to speak, but only a whisper issued from his
dry throat, and he coughed. Sarrin pressed the cup to his lips
again, and this time he sipped from it, his stomach knotting.

"What are you
doing here?" he croaked. "How did you get here?"

"Ethra
insisted that we find you, so we climbed down after you."

Bane frowned
at his bandaged wrists. "You climbed down?"

"There was a
staircase."

"Why?"

Sarrin smiled.
"We believe that you are what you claim to be."

Bane bowed his
head, taking stock of himself. The dark power sulked malignantly in
his bones and gnawed at his flesh, making his stomach knot. His
heart laboured and his head pounded, his limbs shook with as if
with palsy.

"I am no use
to you now. I will only burden you."

"You said you
could find another domain where we would be safe."

"I can no
longer walk."

"Then we will
carry you." Sarrin glanced at the four men who sat around the fire,
and they grimaced, but nodded.

"Domains are
few and far between. And even if we find one we may not be able to
get in."

"It is our
only hope."

Bane gazed at
their gaunt, dirty faces, their eyes filled with despair. "A slim
one."

"But better
than none."

He closed his
eyes and lay back with a sigh. "The choice is yours, but I may not
live long enough to help you."

"How long do
you have?"

"A few days at
most, probably less."

"Then we
should set off at once."

The group
broke camp, shouldering their meagre supplies, then used strips of
cloth like the ones that bound his wrists to make slings. These
they threaded under his arms and tied to his ankles. The four men
lifted him, and they set off across the stone landscape. Ethra led
them back to the staircase, and then struck off along the cliff
face.

Kayos stepped
through a thin barrier of noxious gas into a world of grey stone
that a seething red sky lighted. He paused, sniffing the stale air,
which was filled with the stench of a dromon. Such semi sentient
areas of the God Realm were exceedingly dangerous, and he searched
for its brooding presence. Failing to find it, he examined the
ground more closely. Fire had recently swept through it, and he
guessed that someone had destroyed the dromon that had dwelt
here.

Only a dark
god had the power to do that, but he could find no trace of shadows
lingering in the stone, which meant that the person who had
destroyed it had used true fire. The ability to summon true fire
was confined to mortal gods and fire demons, but fire demons could
not command the elements like a god, which made him hope that the
dromon slayer was Bane. Kayos set off across the rocky terrain, and
the Hound emerged from the grey wall behind him. Kayos rose into
the air and speeded across the rocky terrain, the steeds galloping
below, the ground flying beneath him.

Chapter Six

Release

Something made
Ethra glance back, and she yelped and whirled, her hand dropping to
her dagger. A grey man strode towards them, his silver hair
gleaming in the dull light. The rest of the group turned, dumping
Bane on the ground as they reached for their weapons. Ethra stared
at the grey man, who moved with amazing speed. His silver eyes
flicked over them and came to rest on Bane. Ignoring the latent
threat of the crossbows aimed at his heart, he brushed past Ethra
and Sarrin and fell to his knees beside Bane. His hands flashed out
to grip the shining rings on Bane's wrists, and the metal flared at
his touch. With a swift tug, he pulled them through Bane's flesh,
coming away with two intact cuffs. The grey man leant over Bane and
clasped his face, blue light flaring where they touched.

The dark god's
eyes opened, and Ethra held her breath as the two regarded each
other. Then Bane smiled and the grey man nodded.

"You are
free."

Releasing
Bane, the grey man rose to his feet and stepped back, a move that
the four men who had been carrying Bane emulated. Ethra became
aware that the temperature was dropping swiftly, and cast a nervous
glance at Sarrin, but the priestess stared at the grey man. Ethra
looked at Bane again, and gasped. Shadows oozed from his skin and
swirled around him like smoke, pouring through his clothes in a
tide of intense evil that made her gut clench and her skin prickle.
She retreated from its influence with a hand raised to her mouth,
as did Sarrin, her face pale. The grey man walked away to gaze
across the stone landscape, the shackles in one hand.

Ethra noticed
the three people who had approached while they had been watching
the grey man, and gazed at Bane. A pale, golden-haired girl stood
within the comforting arm of an older man, a hand over her mouth,
her eyes shimmering with tears. The older man looked intensely
relieved, and beyond them, a warrior fondled his sword hilt, a
frown furrowing his brow. Three magnificent horses stood like
statues nearby, and she wondered how such beasts could survive in
this blighted place.

Sarrin
approached the grey man, her hands clasped, and Ethra followed,
curious. He turned, and Sarrin fell to her knees, bowing her
head.

"Lord."

"You are the
one who prayed to me."

"Yes,
Lord."

"Your concern
for my son is laudable."

Sarrin raised
her head. "You are the one he spoke of, Lord? You are one of the
Seven?"

"Yes. I am
Kayos."

Sarrin flung
herself down at his feet in an abject prostration. "Great Lord.
Eldest of the Seven Grey Gods."

Ethra
belatedly sank to her knees, dumbstruck, and Kayos made a curt
gesture as the other members of the group began to do the same.
"Get up, all of you. Do not bow to me, whoever placed these
shackles upon the Demon Lord."

Sarrin stood
up, her face twisted with contrition and despair. "We did not know
he was tar'merin, Lord, we beg forgiveness."

Kayos' brows
almost met above blazing silver eyes, and he raised the glowing
shackles. "You have not the right to use these, or to judge upon
whom they are placed. You have broken one of the highest laws
placed upon mortals."

Artan stepped
forward. "I put them on him, Lord."

Rage emanated
from the Grey God in palpable waves, and he reached Artan in a
stride, knocking him down with a powerful blow.

"No!" Ethra
ran forward, then stopped, stricken with fear. "I told him to do
it."

Kayos turned
to her, and she cringed. "You are but a child."

Sarrin held
out a pleading hand. "It was the demi goddess, Rinath, who
influenced her. She is blameless."

"Where is this
Rinath?"

"Dead. Artan
helped to slay her, and was burnt. The other man is dead. We tried
to remove the shackles, once we realised our mistake. We thought
him a black mage."

Kayos glared
at her. "My anger is justified. Using these is forbidden. You
almost killed him, through your ignorance. Your god is a fool to
create such as you."