Demon Lord V - God Realm (22 page)

Torvaran
smiled. "I am well educated."

Kayos stifled
another yawn. After more than a week of constant battling, his need
for sleep was growing and his reflexes were slowing. Bane was
certainly taking his time recovering, but that was to be expected,
and as yet Kayos was not worried. He wondered what Torvaran planned
next, and whether it was not perhaps time to retreat into his
shields and wait for Bane. Three fire demons stood nearby, the
remnants of the last twenty Torvaran had summoned to keep Kayos
occupied while he went to Gather more power. Torvaran raised his
arms, and Kayos prepared himself for the next phase of the
battle.

Bane jerked
awake as someone shook him, and Sarrin whispered, "Lord, there is
something you should see."

For five days
they had wandered in the God Realm, their numbers dwindling as dark
beasts picked off stragglers or they fell prey to natural hazards
and traps. They had slain two dark beasts, whose meat sustained
them, but they were all hungry except for Bane and those who had
the courage to share his ambrosia. Since they had to drink it from
the cup he held, only his group, Artan and some of his men partook.
The rest stayed as far away from him as they could, despite the
fact that they needed his protection. There was much disagreement
amongst them as to whether Bane was bad, good, or somewhere in
between.

Even though he
had cast out the shadows, they feared him. While this did not
surprise Bane, it did annoy him, and he had no sympathy for those
who would not trust him after he had clearly demonstrated his good
intentions. It seemed the stigma of a dark god was such that even
his actions were dismissed by some as ploys to gain their trust for
some other, evil intention. Ethra had regained her strength after
three days on a litter that four men from Frendar's town
carried.

Bane had
called the steeds, and rode behind Mirra on Kess. His ankle still
hurt, and only a little of his strength had returned. Mirra's lapse
of consciousness had not affected her health, possibly due to her
healing powers, even though the last of it had been used to save
her from the vampire's attack.

From what
Mirra and Sarrin had told him, the terrain had remained reasonably
innocuous. They had avoided areas that looked dangerous, but had
not found a domain. Not even a dead one, which made Bane wonder
what they were doing wrong. With no real days to mark the time, the
people slept when they grew tired and ate when they had food. Bane
rubbed the bandages over his eyes, which itched.

"What is
it?"

"Two people,
Lord. I think they are gods. A man and a woman."

Bane sat up
and stretched. "What makes you think they are gods?"

"The man looks
strange, and the woman is wondrously fair."

Bane tried to
relieve an itch under the stone cast, frowning when he could not
reach it. Itches plagued him, and he hated the dirt that had worked
its way into his clothes. "That does not mean they are gods."

"The man
clings to her, and she seems... distressed. She weeps, Lord, and he
mocks her. If she is a light goddess, and you free her, she might
heal you."

Bane sighed.
"More likely she will flee. I am a dark god too, after all."

"But if you
free her..."

"She will
think I am trying to steal her."

"Is there not
still a chance that she will help you?"

He shrugged,
scratching the cast in frustration. "I doubt it. I would like to
help, but I do not think I should confront another dark god right
now."

"Will you not
at least look?"

Bane
considered. For the last few days he had been wondering what was
happening to Kayos, and it would be good to know that the Grey God
was all right, even if he could not help him yet. If he summoned
enough power to far-see, he could do both.

"Very
well."

"Thank you,
Lord."

Bane stood up,
favouring his sprained ankle, and summoned the dark power. It
trickled into him, so slight that he strained to pull anything from
the surroundings, which could only mean that they were in a light
place. It took several minutes to Gather enough to far-see, then
sight returned with a rush of bright colour that made his head
spin. He sank down on a rock and surveyed the drab, barren ridges
of buff stone that surrounded them. Artan had probably chosen to
travel this way because the region was so innocuous.

A dull grey
sky stretched away to darker regions on either side, and ahead it
brightened. When he had travelled with Kayos, all the interesting
places, and especially the domains, had been in dark, dangerous
areas. That might explain why they had encountered no domains, but
he was in no condition to insist that the group venture into a
dangerous area on the off chance that it might find a domain. Nor
was he in any condition to take on a dark god. Even the slight
amount of dark power he had summoned gnawed at him, and he longed
to cast it out again.

The people
were gaunt, bedraggled and despondent, covered in dust and streaked
with sweat. Mirra gazed at him with a slight smile, looking a
little thinner, her hair bound in a practical plait. Ethra also
smiled at him, her eyes hollow with fatigue, and Sarrin had lost
weight. If they carried on stumbling around in the God Realm, they
were all going to die.

"This way,
Lord," Sarrin urged, walking towards a rocky outcrop. Artan, Grem
and Mithran lay on the sloping stone, gazing at something below
them. Bane shook his head and expanded the far-see beyond the
barrier.

A man in a
blood-red robe strode across a dusty bowl towards them. A slight
woman stumbled beside him, her head bowed, skeins of shining white
hair hiding her face. Bane expanded the vision to study the woman's
shimmering gown, which appeared to be made of diamond lace. He
switched his attention back to the man, who had reddish skin and
glowing green eyes beneath heavy brow ridges that swept up into
short horns. Most of his scalp was bald, save for a fringe of grey
hair at the back. Black lines marked his face in a symmetrical
pattern, outlined his eyes and flat nose, bracketed his mouth and
ran down his chin from his lower lip. A faint blue nimbus
surrounded him, and blue fire blazed where he gripped the woman's
arm in a clawed hand.

Bane returned
his far-see to Sarrin, who watched him. "You are right, they are
gods. It looks like he has captured her, and is taking her
somewhere, to a domain perhaps, or in search of a realm seed so she
can create one for him to rule."

"Will you help
her?"

Bane shook his
head. "Much as I would like to, it would only weaken me further,
and she will not help me."

"You do not
know that. We are all going to die if we carry on like this. We are
tired, and starving. Twelve people have already perished. You alone
can survive in this place, but, try as you might, you cannot
provide for us or protect us. We know you are sick and injured,
which is why we need her to heal you, then you will be able to take
care of us, or perhaps she will allow us to go to her domain. We
could pray to her, tell her that you mean her no harm, but will
free her."

"You do not
know her name." Bane rubbed his brow. "We will stop and rest."

"We have no
food."

"If these
people would trust me, they would not be hungry. It is their own
foolishness that..." He sighed, shaking his head.

"Why are you
so afraid to fight him?"

"There is no
point."

"Why not ask
her if she will help us, and if she agrees, free her."

"You think it
so easy?"

"Your doubts
weaken you. You are afraid of the dark power, are you not?"

Bane scratched
the cast again, frowning, and she swung away, her expression
despairing. He glanced at his wife, who also looked away, biting
her lip. Clearly she was torn between her wish for him to save the
goddess, and fear for his life.

Artan sat up
and shouted, "Ethra!"

Bane raised
his head and focussed the far-see on the girl, who ran across the
dusty valley towards the dark god and his companion. Sarrin ran to
Artan's side and would have gone after the girl, but he grabbed her
arm.

"Let me go! We
have to go after her!" Sarrin struggled.

"Don't be an
idiot," Artan said. "That's suicide." He gestured at the two
distant figures. "That's a dark god."

"That is why
we have to get her back!"

"It's too
late. He must have seen her by now."

"You are just
going to let her die?"

Artan glanced
at Bane. "There's nothing we can do."

The Demon lord
cursed and strode past them, becoming invisible just before he
stepped out from behind the ridge. Ethra was halfway to the couple,
who seemed to have made little progress towards the ridge. Bane
broke into a trot, his ankle protesting.

Alarms broke
the stillness of the stealth ship Retribution's main observation
room, and vigilantor Montar stiffened, staring at his screen. The
two other crewmembers who manned the complex equipment in the
observation room looked at him, their faces tense with anticipation
and excitement, mixed with trepidation. He frowned and rolled his
chair over to another console, studying the glowing screen on it.
Commander Nikira came over to view the screen he had just left.
Montar glanced up at her, his heart pounding with excitement.

"We have
one!"

Nikira peered
at the screen, which showed the barren sandy valley they had been
staking out for several weeks now. The holograms of the dra'voren
and his victim strode in the centre of it. A ragged, filthy girl
ran towards them, her gaunt face twisted with effort and
determination, her mouth open to gasp. She seemed to have little
strength, and stumbled frequently.

Nikira's brows
rose. "Her?"

"No. He's
invisible, a short distance behind her, in pursuit." Montar tapped
the screen. "I'm tracking him with the scanners."

"Can we save
her?"

Montar shook
his head. "He'll catch up with her before she enters the trap."

"Poor thing.
Where did he come from?"

"He appeared
from beyond that ridge of rock." Montar rolled his chair back and
indicated the screen she observed. It showed the live image from
the external cameras, and he pointed at a buff ridge at the edge of
the picture.

"Zoom in."

Montar ran his
fingers over the console's complex arrangement of glowing keys, and
the image expanded. A group of people hid behind the ridge, staring
down at the fleeing child.

"His
slaves?"

Montar rolled
his chair over to the other console again and awoke another screen.
His deft fingers animated it with swift touches on the glowing
areas of the board. "Possibly. They're just people. Although..." He
leant closer, frowning. "There are three creatures of darkness with
them. They look like horses."

"We'll have to
rescue them. Are you still tracking him?"

Montar's eyes
flicked to his primary scanner screen, and he nodded. "He's on his
way."

Commander
Nikira straightened and turned to the rest of the observation crew.
"All right, back to your stations. Notify containment to warm up
the shredders. We've got ourselves a dra'voren."

Bane slowed,
eyeing the dark god and his captive, who appeared to be oblivious
to Ethra, now only a few feet from them. The girl looked puzzled as
she approached them, panting from her wild run across the valley.
Still, the two gods gave no indication that they had noticed her,
and Bane wondered if they were merely ignoring her, or if they were
somehow unable to see her.

The horrors
and mysteries of the God Realm were manifold, he mused, but this
was perhaps the strangest phenomenon yet. He was almost close
enough now to extend his cloak of invisibility to Ethra, but
wondered if he needed to, since the two gods appeared to be unaware
of her. Ethra stopped and glanced back with a puzzled frown, then
walked closer to the couple. Bane longed to call her back, but that
would give away his presence, and he hoped to save her without a
confrontation.

Ethra sank to
her knees a few feet ahead and to one side of the captive goddess
and stretched out her hands in a gesture of pleading. "Help us,
great goddess! Here is one who can free you, if you will only
promise to heal him. Don't fear him, he's tar'merin." She glanced
back again. "He's around here somewhere, I'm sure. Just promise to
heal him, and he'll free you."

The goddess
and her captor ignored the girl, and Bane frowned, studying them.
Their legs moved, but they stayed in the same place, as if caught
up in some sort of trap that held them fast.

Nikira leant
over Montar's shoulder to gaze into the screen. "What's she
saying?"

"Can't
hear."

"Don't we have
any microphones out there?"

He shook his
head. "I would say that she's probably begging our lovely, but
long-dead Sharnian for help."

"Fat lot of
good that would have done her, even if they were real. The
dra'voren would have killed her already if they were. Where's the
new dra'voren?"

Montar scooted
across to the other console and consulted the scanner screen. "He's
close. He's stopped just outside the field area."

"You think
he's getting suspicious?"

"He's
certainly very cautious."

Nikira studied
the scanner screen, which showed the ghostly outline of a tall,
human-type man with an exceptionally fine physique, but that was
normal for a dra'voren. They were always the most perfectly formed
of their species. The only unusual thing about this one was his
utterly human appearance. He had no alien features at all. Just let
him take two more steps, she mused, and he would be on his way to
the shredders to be torn apart, ridding the universe of one more of
his foul kind.