Demon Lord III - Grey God (11 page)

"That is
pointless."

"Not to them.
They exist for the joy of destruction and death. Occasionally you
will find one who is content to dwell in the dark realm and wreak
havoc in the mid realm. The light gods of these worlds can do
little to prevent this, though some devise clever ways of trapping
the dark god, as Lyriasharin did. With your help, she came close to
destroying Arkonen, but you lacked the skill to use the white fire
to trap and destroy his soul."

Bane stopped,
and Kayos turned to face him. "Is this is how you intend to use me
to destroy Telvaron?"

"Not unless
there is no other way. I know how painful it would be for you.
Ashynaria's domain has a mid-realm and a light realm, all under
Telvaron's rule. If you have to fight him, you must Move him into
one of those realms, where it will be easier for you to defeat
him."

Bane walked
on. "Have you any idea how dangerous it is for me to get close
enough to a dark god to Move him?"

"More than you
know. But it is your best hope of defeating him. You just need the
skill to do it."

"I tried that
with Arkonen, but he just Moved back into the darkness."

"Because you
did not begin a Gather as soon as you had him in the light, so he
could not."

Bane snorted.
"I had to take him above the clouds. I cannot Gather and air walk
at the same time."

"You could not
enter the light realm, but in Ashynaria's domain there are no
wards."

"You make it
sound easy."

"That is not
my intention. A great many things can go wrong, and Telvaron can
employ many strategies. He is much older and more skilled than you,
but he is not as powerful."

Bane cast the
Elder God a curious glance. "How can you judge my power? You have
not seen me use it."

"I do not have
to; I can sense your potential."

"What makes me
more powerful than others? Why are we not all equal, save in
skill?"

Kayos
shrugged. "Why is one man short and another tall? Or one woman
beautiful and another plain? None of us are equal. Arkonen created
you as his equal, but you have far surpassed him. He chose you
because you had potential, but he miscalculated, or perhaps he did
not care, since he planned your death. Perhaps that is why he tried
to kill you that way, because he knew you would outstrip him, or
maybe he just did not know."

"It seems
Lyriasharin told you the whole story."

"Naturally."

The grey
desert's ice and chill gave way to another area of darkness, this
time lighted by a dull red glow. A series of canyons crossed their
path, and they stopped at the edge of an apparently bottomless
abyss. Bane knew he would have to fly to the other side, which was
too far away to see, but the ridges between the rifts offered
places to stop and Gather. The trio of riders dismounted, eyeing
the obstacle, and Mirra came to stand beside Bane.

"Can demon
steeds fly?"

"No."

Kayos turned
to them. "I will carry you."

"Thank you, My
Lord,” Mirra said, “but I would prefer my husband to carry me."

Bane shook his
head. "It will sicken you. It is better if Kayos -"

"No. I do not
care about a little sickness."

"It will be
worse than a Move. It may take several hours to cross this
place."

"Why can you
not protect me from your power as you do from that which surrounds
us?"

He hesitated.
"I have not tried, but I suppose it is possible."

"So try."

"I may have to
stop and Gather."

She shrugged.
"Then you will have to protect me from that too."

A wry smile
tugged at his lips. "You have a lot of faith in me."

"Naturally."

Kayos said,
"You must learn to fly without using the darkness, Bane. It is one
of your inborn powers."

"Then it is
one that has yet to manifest."

"So it would
seem." The Grey God turned to Mithran and Grem, holding out his
hands. "Take hold. So long as you touch me, you will fly beside
me."

They
hesitated, looking uncertain and a little reluctant, then Grem
gripped Kayos' wrist. Mithran followed his example, although the
need to touch the sacred person of a Grey God clearly discomfited
him. Kayos stepped over the edge and drifted away, Mithran and Grem
floating beside him. Bane scooped Mirra up and followed, a column
of black fire supporting him, invisible in the gloom. Kayos flew
swiftly, and Bane was glad he did, not wishing to prolong Mirra's
ordeal.

Mirra retched,
burying her face in his chest to hide her distress, and he strived
to protect her from his power, which proved more difficult than he
had imagined. Whenever he diverted power from his air walk to
strengthen the shields around her, his flight faltered and he lost
altitude. Restoring the power to his air walk brought back Mirra's
sickness, though she tried to hide it. He could shield her from
vast amounts of dark power, but when he was in contact with her,
preventing that which coursed through him from sickening her seemed
impossible.

"You should
have gone with Kayos," he muttered.

She shook her
head, her arms tightening. "I do not care, so long as I am with
you."

"Well I
do."

"I am all
right."

"You do not
look all right to me. You are as white as a sheet and green around
the edges."

She giggled
and gulped. "Fly faster then."

Canyons
flashed past below, and after half an hour Bane landed on a ridge,
his power almost depleted. He sank to one knee and seated Mirra on
the other, and she sighed and smiled as her sickness ebbed.

Bane frowned
at her. "When Kayos returns, go with him."

"No."

"I cannot
protect you. I tried."

"It does not
matter. It is not so bad."

He shook his
head. "Why do you make me hurt you?"

"You are not.
I choose to stay with you, no matter what."

Kayos landed
nearby, releasing his charges, who staggered a little, looking
bemused.

"It is not
good to linger here for long," he warned.

"I must
perform another Gather."

"Ah. The
constraints of a mortal body."

"An
unfortunate drawback."

"One of many,
but still outweighed by the rewards."

Mirra went to
stand with Mithran and Grem, allowing Bane to rise to his feet. The
Demon Lord glanced at his father, then raised his arms and summoned
the shadows. Evil thickened the air, as it had outside the Realm
Gate, and it poured into him with a faint, high pitched screaming,
like distant banshees. Four of the runes on his chest shone through
his shirt, and Kayos eyed them.

Mithran turned
away, and Mirra put a comforting hand on his arm. Bane cut the
Gather, lowered his arms and grimaced as his stomach clenched.
Kayos held out his hands to Grem and Mithran, and Bane scooped up
Mirra and followed. Although he could not protect her entirely from
it, he found that if he balanced the two uses of his power it
lessened its effect on her without losing control of his flight,
but it took a great deal of concentration.

By the time
they reached the far side, Bane's power was almost used up again,
and he paused to Gather more. The demon steeds would take a while
to catch up, even with their great speed, so for the moment they
all had to walk. Kayos signalled for silence, and Bane gazed
around, sharpening his sight to penetrate the gloom.

The ruddy glow
became a backdrop to a series of massive shapes crouched on either
side of them. They appeared to be statues of hideous, tusked
monsters, their bodies swollen and misshapen, their grim visages
knobbly and ridged with bony growths. Their eyes were closed, and
after a few minutes he became aware of a soft susurration, deep
breaths being drawn in and exhaled. His hackles rose and his steps
quickened. They passed twelve dark shapes before moving into an
area of brighter redness, which appeared to be empty.

When he
calculated it was safe to do so, Bane leant closer to Kayos and
whispered, "What were those things?"

"Troll
gods."

"Did we have
to walk right through the middle of them?"

"Unfortunately, yes. This is the path I know. If I stray I will be
lost. There was no real danger, they are asleep."

"How did you
know they would not be awake this time?"

Kayos
shrugged. "I did not, but I had no choice. I think they have been
asleep for aeons, and the likelihood of them waking up at the
moment when we passed them was extremely small."

"You might
have warned me."

"I did not
think you would see them."

"Well I did."
Bane gazed around. "How much further until we can stop?"

"Do you
require more rest?"

Bane glanced
at Mirra. "We all need some sleep. We must have walked for more
than two days now."

"Probably."

Bane eyed the
Elder God. "Something else you do not need, I suppose?"

"Actually I
do, but not as much as you. Unfortunately, safe places are hard to
come by here."

"We could take
turns to stand guard while the rest sleep."

Kayos shook
his head. "To spend too much time in one place is to invite
attack."

"Then I hope
you have a better idea."

The Grey God
looked thoughtful. "There is a domain near here, but gaining access
will not be easy."

"Not
impossible, though."

"No."

"Did you visit
it last time you were here?"

"No."

"Then how do
you know it is not a dark domain?"

Kayos headed
off to his left. "I do not. If it is, tell them I am your
prisoner."

"Will they
believe it?"

"Yes. Dark and
light gods keep no other kind of company, and they will not know
you are tar'merin. If they ask you how you captured me, be evasive.
Dark gods do not share their knowledge, so they will not suspect
anything untoward."

"You think
there will be more than one?"

Kayos glanced
at him. "If it is a dark god's domain, there will be an enslaved
light god, and possible a dark goddess as well. If it is a light
domain, then possibly there will only be one."

"But if it is
a dark god's domain, surely it will not be safe to sleep
there?"

"No, then we
keep moving. Unfortunately, a dark god is more likely to open his
Gate than a light one, for obvious reasons. I will approach the
Gate; you remain invisible until I signal you."

"And if they
do not open the Gate?"

Kayos patted
his belt. "I have a Key. Not the one I used on my domain. This one
opens many gates, but not all."

Bane sighed.
"All for a bit of sleep."

The Elder God
led the way into an area of hazy blueness shot with silver gleams,
which gave the impression of streaming downwards like a waterfall.
They walked through it until they reached a wall of grey rock, into
which was set a massive, intricately carved Realm Gate. A faint
blue nimbus appeared around Bane, indicating the presence of the
white power, which he took to mean that the domain they approached
was a light one. As Kayos approached the Gate, a network of white
wards sprang into being. He stopped, not touching the lines, and
Bane made himself invisible beyond the scope of the wards.

The Gate
chimed, its sweet notes ringing dully in the God Realm's vastness.
Bane rested a leg, yawning. Mirra, Mithran and Grem sat down
further away, as they had been instructed. Bane's eyes drooped with
fatigue, his legs ached and his feet throbbed, and he wondered if
he should join Mirra on her demon steed when it returned. Stubborn
pride made him walk, determined to prove he could keep up with
Kayos. The chiming stopped, and Bane straightened. Something told
him the Gate opened too soon, and Kayos seemed to feel the same
way, for he stepped back.

The Gate swung
inwards with majestic torpor, the ghostly blue luminescence that
shone out of it riming Kayos with silver. A tall form stood in the
doorway, silhouetted against the light until he advanced down the
sloping ramp and stopped at the bottom, far enough from Kayos that
he was not a threat.

Kayos eyed the
grey-clad Naribis dark god, whose black eyes bored into his like
bottomless pits in a golden mask. Smooth taut skin moulded the
perfect features dark gods were inclined to possess. The shadows'
concept of perfection varied according to the species of its
wielder, and to Kayos' eyes the flat nose and thin lips were
reptilian and repellent.

A line of tiny
scales ran down his nose, and pointed ears protruded from his dark
grey hair. His long robe, belted at the waist with gold chains,
covered all save his head and hands. Kayos was glad he had not
sought shelter in this domain the last time he had come this way.
Naribis gods were usually powerful, and this one appeared old. The
Naribis eyed Kayos with ill-concealed avarice, but, even without
Bane, Kayos was far from defenceless, and the Naribis was cautious.
Kayos retreated another step.

"I should not
have disturbed you. I shall be on my way."

"You wish
shelter? Enter, and enjoy my hospitality. I will not harm you." The
Naribis spoke in a sibilant tone.

"I must
decline."

"Regrettable,"
the Naribis husked. "Foolish of you to seek shelter in an unknown
domain, and surprising for one who should possess more wisdom."

"I have wisdom
to spare, and would not be here if you were a threat to me."

"You think
not? I speak the truth. I mean you no harm, if you do not seek to
thwart me. I offer a peaceful existence and protection from your
enemies, for a small price."

Kayos frowned.
"I know the ways of your kind, Naribis."

"Then you
should know better than to attempt to flee. It will be
pointless."