Demon Lord III - Grey God (12 page)

"I have
thwarted dark gods before, but I will not engage you in a pointless
duel."

Kayos raised a
hand, and the Naribis' eyes narrowed, which Kayos knew meant Bane
had shed his invisibility.

The Naribis'
expression filled with distaste and frustration as he eyed the
Demon Lord, gauging his power. Kayos glanced around. Bane studied
the Naribis with hard, calculating eyes, but his youth was obvious
and he clearly lacked confidence. The Naribis looked annoyed, but
his lips stretched in a false smile.

"Welcome,
Brother. Enter and enjoy my hospitality."

"I think not.
We will journey on."

"As you wish.
But you will find nowhere else to rest for some considerable
time."

"I will take
my chances."

The Naribis
gestured at Kayos. "He is your captive?"

"Yes."

"Quite a feat
for one so young to capture a Grey God."

Bane shrugged
and beckoned to Kayos. "Let us go."

"Perhaps we
will meet again," the Naribis called after him as he turned
away.

Bane
approached the trio, which rose and fell in behind him. Mirra came
to Bane's side and slipped her hand into his. After they had walked
a short distance, there came a soft boom as the Gate closed.

"How would you
have escaped him if you had been alone?" Bane asked Kayos.

"I would not
have sought shelter within that domain, for one thing. And if I
had, he would not have captured me, I assure you."

"You must have
had many narrow escapes wandering around in here for a thousand
years. If hiding inside a rock is one of your more popular methods,
it is little wonder it took you so long to find your
granddaughter."

"That is a
defence I use only against beasts whose attention span is short. To
use it against a god would be foolish."

"I suppose,
given enough time, they could break through it?"

Kayos nodded.
"What I used against the dark beast was only a shield wall. I would
not employ it to keep a god at bay. For that I would use a shield
sphere, which is impregnable. But that would be a last resort. I
would not want to spend thousands of years trapped inside with a
dark god waiting for me to emerge."

"I suppose
not. So what are we going to do now?"

"I know of a
dead domain. We can go there. It is not as safe as a light god's
domain, but it is safer than here."

Bane glanced
down at Mirra, who stifled a yawn and shot him a bright smile that
belied the weariness in her eyes. Grem and Mithran also looked
exhausted, though they had not walked as far as he had. He wondered
where the demon steeds were, and a short time later they emerged
from the blue curtains as if in answer to his wish. He helped Mirra
to mount Kess, and she sagged.

They left the
flowing blueness and entered a region of uniform greyness like a
frozen, illusory snow storm. The blue nimbus around Bane
brightened, indicating the presence of the white fire in more
profusion. Kayos' pace quickened, and Bane's fatigue increased.
Just as he was about to call a halt, a wall of black stone
appeared, and Kayos headed for it. They walked beside it for some
distance before they found the Gate, which stood open, its wards
long since dead or destroyed. No light shone out of it, and the
Gate looked aged and abused, its surface covered with dust and
crazed with tiny cracks. Bane paused to study it, and Kayos waited
for him, looking impatient.

"What happened
here?"

"A long
story," Kayos replied. "I thought you were tired."

"I am."

"Then let us
find a place where you can sleep, so we may continue our journey
sooner rather than later."

Bane shot him
an irritated look and passed through the portal, then stopped in
surprise. Stars surrounded him. The vista was unsettling,
especially since it continued under his feet, as if he stood in the
great void itself. Kayos turned to him.

"We will go to
the mid-realm, which here is called Dayworld. The goddess who
created this domain equated darkness with evil, so Dayworld has no
night. By doing this, she created an intolerable imbalance."

"The
Underworld has no day," Bane pointed out.

"It does not
need day, as Eternity has no night, but the mid-realm must have all
things in equal quantity, or there is imbalance. She was young and
idealistic. She thought she could bend the rules."

"Is that what
led to her downfall?"

"No, it led to
chaos in Dayworld, and in the end it killed the inhabitants."

Bane's brows
rose. "How could daylight kill people?"

"It caused an
unrestrained growth of plants, and they gave off too much oxygen,
which at first was beneficial, but eventually the people could no
longer adapt to it. They tunnelled into the earth to try to escape
it, but in the end most of them died out."

"Why could she
not correct her mistake?"

"Because once
a domain is created it cannot be changed. When she left, however,
the white power died, and Dayworld could now be called
Twilightworld. A few beasts survive in it, and demons, of
course."

Bane grimaced.
"Sounds delightful."

"It is safe.
That is all we need." Kayos turned to Grem and Mithran, who had
dismounted and waited, gazing around at the scenery. Mirra
approached Bane and took his hand, smiling up at him in the
innocent, trusting manner that twisted his heart. She knew the
consequences of her choice, but made it anyway. Grem and Mithran
took hold of Kayos' wrists, and they vanished with a surge of
power.

Bane ordered
the demon steeds to wait by the Gate, then followed, reappearing in
a jungle of huge trees that towered many hundreds of feet high,
their vast trunks the circumference of castles. Mirra doubled over
as her stomach rebelled after the Move, and Bane supported her,
gazing around. Most of the trees were dead, their bark peeling off
in huge sheets, home to a plethora of beetles and grubs. Some
forest giants had survived by developing leaves the size of
umbrellas to absorb the orange sky's dull luminescence.

Ferns and
fungi ruled the forest floor, growing lushly in the detritus of the
giant trees' downfall. Bane's boots sank into a thick layer of
fecund humus, the result of the forest's aeons of flourishing.
Massive trunks blocked the view in every direction, yet Kayos set
off purposefully. Orchids and parasitic plants festooned the dead
trees, filling the air with fragrance and the eyes with their
beauty. The rich air made Bane a little light-headed, but also gave
him more energy.

Kayos led them
to a log cabin nestled amongst the trees, its roof partially caved
in by a fallen branch, a thick layer of leaves covering it. Forcing
open the warped, rotten door, he led them into its dim confines.
Bane raised a curious brow when the Elder God pushed the door
closed again with a screech of tortured wood.

"What is that
supposed to keep out?"

"Beasts. Some
of them are truly horrific, escapees of Nightworld, warped by the
dark power. They do not pose a threat, just an annoyance if they
hunted us."

Bane sighed
and rubbed his eyes. "It does not sound like this place is
particularly safe either."

"Nowhere is
truly safe except a light domain, and entering one of those is
difficult, which is why they are safe."

"You have been
here before?"

Kayos nodded.
"I rested here last time." He turned to survey the dusty cabin and
its rotten furniture. "We will take turns to sleep. The Naribis
might come looking for me with a few of his minions."

Bane glanced
around for his wife, who was curled up on the floor with Mithran
and Grem, their exhaustion clearly too intense to allow them stay
awake a moment longer. Creating a black cloud couch with a wave of
his hand, Bane sank down on it, yawning.

"A Naribis? Is
that what he was? Ugly bastard."

"Yes.
Creations of Tartanua, who thinks their form delightful to the eye,
and wears it himself."

"How would he
find us?"

"This is the
next logical place for us to come, and once inside the domain he
can easily find us."

"Wonderful."
Bane yawned again and closed his eyes.

Chapter Six

The Battle

Kayos' yell
woke Bane at the same moment that the hut's door imploded with a
terrific bang. He rolled off the couch, landing on his feet. A
monstrous fire demon in man form charged in and sliced the couch in
two with a curved scimitar, making Bane glad he had quit it. He
directed a lash of power at it, and it exploded in a blaze of
bright fire, then he spun, his hands raised. Kayos held two earth
demons in true form at bay with a shield of blinding white fire,
which made their fists crumble to dust when they struck it.

Mirra cowered
in the furthest corner, her wide eyes filled with shock and terror.
Mithran and Grem guarded her with drawn swords, their expressions
grim and scared. The demons ignored the little group, intent on
Bane and Kayos.

"Get out of
here!" Bane shouted.

Grem turned to
smash through the window behind them, taking Mirra's wrist to help
her scramble through it. Bane swung around. The Naribis stood just
outside the door, directing the demons, a goddess at his side. His
eyes lingered on Kayos, sparing Bane an occasional hard-eyed look.
The goddess had a cold, reptilian beauty, bright red hair piled
atop her head, a slight smirk curling her thin lips. Bane glanced
around at the empty corner to assure himself the trio was safe
before turning to face the Narabis again.

Conjuring a
sword, he destroyed the cabin wall with a blast of shadow and leapt
at the Naribis, but two fire demons charged forward to protect
their master. Bane destroyed one with a bolt of dark fire, then the
other hit his shields with incandescent eyes. Two more earth demons
shot up, and Bane dropped the sword to direct a lash of fire at
them. They slumped to scattered soil, and he turned to the fire
demon as three more stepped from the fire the Naribis had lighted
outside the hut.

One of the
earth demons that pounded on Kayos' shield crumbled, but two more
rose behind him. He spun and smashed them back with his shield,
chunks of soil crumbling from them. Bane drew power from the
shadows and sent it at the fire demons with a sweep of his arms,
extinguishing them, but more stepped from the flames to replace
them. Bane knew that as long as the Naribis remained unchallenged
he would continue to summon demons, of which he had a vast
supply.

The dark power
whispered names in Bane's mind, and he spoke the words of
summoning. The demon that stepped from the Naribis' fire attacked
the dark god at Bane's command, and the Naribis destroyed it as
Bane summoned another. An earth demon quit the battle with Kayos to
attack Bane, sending him staggering with a glancing blow as he
leapt aside. He destroyed it, but more rose all around him. Diving
between them, he scooped up his sword and charged the Naribis, who
conjured a weapon and met Bane's blade with scything stroke that
showered him with fat yellow sparks.

The goddess
summoned demons in his place, and Bane unleashed a swathe of
unfocused dark power to cut them down as his sword clashed with the
Naribis' again. The hut burst into flames, as did several dead
trees nearby, causing a twinge of concern to go through Bane as he
wondered if Mirra, Grem and Mithran were far enough away, or behind
cover.

The goddess'
presence angered him. She was an added danger he did not need. One
god was bad enough, two were overwhelming. He whipped around and
sliced off one of her arms. She shrieked and staggered back, her
face twisted with rage. Bane spun and struck at the Naribis again,
forcing him to jump back as the sword slashed under his weapon and
opened a deep gash in his droge body.

Bane spoke the
words of summoning, and two earth demons rose to attack the
goddess. She destroyed one, but the other sent her sprawling with a
scream of fury. Bane summoned two more and sent them at the
Naribis, who spun to destroy them. Bane thrust his sword into the
Naribis' back, unleashing a swathe of fire as two demons rose
behind him.

The Naribis
howled and turned, causing the sword to slice through him, almost
cutting him in two. He stabbed his weapon into Bane's side, and the
Demon Lord grunted, doubling over before he jerked his weapon free
and sliced off the Naribis' arms. The Naribis staggered back, his
arms regenerating. The goddess had also replaced her arm, and
continued to summon demons.

The Demon Lord
glanced at Kayos, who held three earth demons at bay, and did not
seem to be in too much trouble. The hut's rotten timbers burnt
fiercely. Bane glanced down at the sword protruding from his flank,
gripped it and pulled it out. Blood soaked his shirt as he leapt at
the Naribis again, his sword scything towards his foe's throat. The
dark god conjured another weapon to meet Bane's stroke, and he
destroyed the three earth demons that attacked him from behind with
a pulse of dark fire.

Again he spun
and slashed at the goddess, almost cutting her in half. She fell
with a shriek, crawling away as the Naribis attacked Bane from
behind. He turned in time to deflect a blow aimed at his neck,
speaking the words of summoning again. Fire demons stepped from the
flames to attack the Naribis with burning eyes and fiery fists. He
destroyed them, then leapt at Bane, who parried his strokes and
countered with some of his own, forcing the Naribis to jump aside.
Changing tactics, Bane summoned tons of lava from deep within the
earth and dumped it on the Naribis and his goddess. They shouted
the word of power as it engulfed them, and their momentary
imprisonment gave Bane time to destroy the rest of their
demons.