Demon Lord III - Grey God (6 page)

Kayos stopped
several yards away. "Greetings, Demon Lord. Do you know who I
am?"

Bane nodded.
"You are a light god, most probably Lyriasharin's father,
Kayos."

"Correct. I
have returned from the God Realm after a thousand years."

"Welcome
back."

Kayos tilted
his head. "I am displeased to find a dark god at large in the
Overworld."

"I do it no
harm."

"Your presence
offends me."

Bane turned
his head as if detecting the faint fragrance of flowers that gave
away Lyriasharin's presence. "Lyriasharin does not mind."

"This is my
domain, not my daughter's."

"You have no
reason to fear me."

"Nor do I have
any reason to trust you."

Bane shrugged.
"What do you intend to do?"

Kayos gazed at
him, puzzled. "If I asked you to leave my domain, what would you
do?"

"I would ask
where you wished me to go."

"Into the God
Realm."

"I have never
been there. I was born here, and this is my home. I have given you
no reason to cast me out."

Kayos frowned.
"What you are gives me reason. You are a threat to my domain."

"I did not ask
to be what I am, nor do I pose a threat to you."

"Your words do
not comfort me. Dark gods are liars."

"I am not
lying." Bane's tone was mild, but his eyes glinted. "You have no
right to judge me."

Kayos looked
at his daughter and relinquished the cloak of invisibility with
which he had hidden her. The Lady appeared in a shimmer of light,
and Bane stood up, turning to face her.

Lyriasharin
placed a pale hand on Bane's arm, smiling at him. "Bane."

"Lyriasharin."

Kayos frowned,
concerned for his daughter's safety. "Lyria, come away."

"No, Father. I
do not fear Bane. He has never attempted to take hold of me. I will
not banish him. You have done nothing except try to anger him, and
even that has not worked. Ask him if he will help us."

"I would not
waste my time on such a useless exercise."

"Test him
then," she challenged.

"He will not
allow it."

"He will."

Bane eyed
Kayos. "Do as you wish."

Kayos closed
his eyes for a moment, his brows rising as he studied the
blue-white purity of the young man's soul, untarnished despite his
use of the darkness. An idea occurred to him that caused his breath
to catch and his heart to pound. Lyriasharin watched him with
puzzled eyes. Was it possible that such a marvel had been born in
his domain? A light god, even one as powerful as he, would not come
within touching distance of a dark one, yet Lyriasharin's
fearlessness, along with the purity of Bane's soul and the fact
that he carried no dark power, reassured the Elder God.

Kayos
approached Bane, whose flawless features bespoke a tremendous use
of the dark power, yet his demeanour was placid. Stopping within a
pace of him, Kayos hesitated, age old instincts clamouring for the
safety of distance between them. He found himself forced to look up
at the young god, who was half a head taller. Putting aside his
doubts, he raised a hand and touched the Demon Lord's chest,
opening himself to his senses. After a moment he stepped back,
frowning to hide the surge of excitement and wonder that rushed
through him.

"You are
tar'merin."

"What is
that?" Bane enquired.

"It means you
are uncorrupted. Your soul has resisted the dark power." Kayos
turned and walked away, beckoning to Lyriasharin. "Come, Daughter,
let us return to Eternity, I would speak to you."

The Lady cast
Bane a smile and followed her father. Their power lingered in the
earth where they had been standing, causing it to shimmer and
burgeon with lush grass. Bane wondered what aid Lyriasharin needed.
He liked the goddess; she had given Mirra back to him when the
droge, Dorel, had killed her. Turning away from the patch of
glowing ground, he went the cabin, where he found Mirra grinding
nuts for the evening meal. Everything she prepared was strictly
vegetarian, so when he, Grem and Mithran wanted meat, they hunted
and cooked it in the forest. She looked up with a smile as he
entered the kitchen.

Blue fire
sheathed the inside of the cabin, providing light and warmth as
well as several other magical conveniences. He had found the blue
magic easy to use once he had discovered its source between the
white light above and the darkness below. The cloud bed he had
created on their wedding night had been only the latest in a long
list of things he had made with the blue power. It also channelled
water into the house from a nearby stream, the flow controlled by a
simple gesture.

He sank down
on a chair at the well-scrubbed table. "I just spoke to
Lyriasharin."

Mirra swung
around with a gasp, scattering nuts. "How wonderful! What did she
say?"

Bane related
the tale, and she sat on the chair beside him, her expression awe
stricken. When he had finished, she shook her head in amazement.
"You met Kayos. He has returned after a thousand years. This is
momentous news, I must tell Elder Mother at once."

Mirra jumped
up and ran into the bedroom, where she kept her scrying glass, and
Bane sighed, filching some nuts from her ingredients as he pondered
the encounter.

Kayos stood on
the cliff and gazed down at the Eternal City, lost in thought.
Lyriasharin waited beside him, idly running her fingers through a
cloud of glowing white fire filled with twinkling star flowers.
After several minutes he turned to her, his silver eyes
piercing.

"A tar'merin
is not merely uncorrupted, he is incorruptible. That is why he was
not seduced by the darkness, even after four years under its
influence. His soul is so pure he could take up the dark power
forever and not be soiled. His kind is legendary, but I never
thought to meet one, for they are exceedingly rare. They are
amongst the most powerful of all the gods, but I have not heard of
a mortal one before. Only four others have ever existed, and I
learnt all that I could about them, for they were truly
miraculous.

"Imagine it,
Lyria. A dark god who will fight for the light; who will use his
immense destructive powers to defeat his own kind and save ours."
He cupped her cheek. "You did well to save him, my child. He is
incredibly valuable, and, had your healer not persuaded him to cast
Arkonen down, I have no doubt Arkonen would have slain him and
destroyed his soul, even though I doubt your spouse knows his true
nature. When he made Bane a god, he not only sealed his own doom,
but that of many others of his kind, I hope." Kayos looked pensive,
gazing down at the city again.

"Unfortunately, he still might not help us. He will not want to
leave his wife, and he will care nothing for a goddess he has not
met. But one as rare and as valuable as he cannot be allowed to
languish in sloth. We must persuade him to use his powers for
good." Kayos sighed. "Have you brought him here before?"

She nodded,
lowering her eyes, and he shook his head in gentle reproof. "That
was foolish. And you did not tell me."

"An
oversight."

"An omission,
because you knew it was wrong."

"I would not
have brought him here if I had not been certain I could trust
him."

"Perhaps your
instincts are good, but you lack the power and knowledge to know
that he is tar'merin, therefore you took a risk. We do not
fraternise with dark gods, Lyria, no matter how pleasant they may
seem. They are liars and tricksters." She drew in a sharp breath to
protest, and he held up a hand. "No, not your Demon Lord; he is
different, though he is not above lying, if it serves him. You were
indeed fortunate in your choice."

"He could have
come here through the World Gate, had he been truly evil."

Kayos frowned.
"The world gates are far too weak. When I created the first there
were no dark gods, and no possibility that a good person could be
corrupted and their soul used as a key. Now it happens all too
often, and the world gates swing open in dozens of domains,
allowing dark gods to invade the light realms and enslave our kind,
or force them to flee into the God Realm." He ran a hand over his
short hair. "But Bane is welcome here. Ask him to join us; I would
like to test his power."

"And ask him
if he will help?"

He smiled.
"Yes. He must be dragged from his tranquillity, and perhaps his
affection for you will aid us to that end."

"The dark
power does affect him when he uses it. He will be unwilling to take
it up again."

"Of course it
does. No one can carry the evil without its influence. That is why
he must be asked when he has it."

She nodded,
folded her hands, and vanished.

Bane looked up
as the Lady appeared before him, gilded by the golden light of the
sunset he had been watching with Mirra at his side. Mirra started
to scramble to her knees, but Lyriasharin stopped her with a
calming gesture and sank down on the grass, casting them a
smile.

"Greetings, My
Lord, My Lady." Mirra looked startled, and Lyriasharin's smile
widened. "Do not look so surprised, Mirra. That is your title now.
As the bride of a mortal god, you now have equal status."

"But I am in
no way his equal, My Lady."

"In his eyes,
and the eyes of his peers, you are. You may not be a goddess, but
through your husband, you now have the power of a dark god. Did he
not explain that to you?"

"No." Mirra
glanced at Bane. "Did you know that?"

Lyriasharin
tilted her head, studying Bane, who looked uncomfortable. "It was
in my wedding vows," he said.

The goddess
nodded. "Indeed. When he gave you all that is his, it included his
title and powers. Although we do not require the gestures of
respect humans accord us, we appreciate them. But you are now
expected to make no obeisance to any god. You may incline your
head, like so..." Lyriasharin tilted her head slightly to the side
and down. "...But no more than that is expected."

Mirra looked
puzzled, eyeing Bane. "I can understand his title, but his power?
How can I ever own that?"

Lyriasharin
gave a soft, husky laugh. "Because he gave it to you. And I am
certain he offered it to you even before you were wed, am I
correct? Did he not offer to grant anything you wished, that was
within his power?"

"Yes."

"It does not
mean you can command him, although I suspect you may be able to in
many things, because he wishes to please you. So I would imagine
that in most things, he will obey you. Therefore, his power is
yours to command, is it not?"

Bane sighed
and leant back on his hands, smiled and shook his head. "The
plotting of scheming women."

Mirra turned
to him. "So if I told you to destroy that rock over there, you
would?"

He snorted.
"No."

"If I asked
you to?"

"I would want
to know why."

"And if I had
a good reason?"

He chuckled.
"Even if you merely pouted and stamped your foot."

Lyriasharin
leant closer to Mirra. "It is a sign of a truly powerful man, when
he allows his beloved to command him. Weak men, who long for petty
power, gain it by dominating those weaker than they. But Bane will
do all he can to empower you. It is one of the ways in which he
will show his love for you. It is also one of the marks of a god,
and inborn in him. Unlike people, we are truly monogamous. Bane is
incapable of ever loving another."

Mirra gazed at
him, her eyes filled with wonder. "Truly?"

He flopped
down on his back with a sigh. "It was in my vows too."

"'For all
eternity'... I remember."

Lyriasharin
smiled. "Those were not just pretty words, my dear."

"But I will
not live for all eternity..."

"Neither will
Bane. You will reincarnate, he will become a spirit god. Whilst you
are mortal, there will be a gulf between you, but while you dwell
in Eternity you will be together."

Bane growled,
"Did you come merely to educate my wife, Lyriasharin, or is there
another reason for your visit?"

She looked
away. "My father wishes to speak to you, My Lord."

"About
what?"

"He wishes to
ask for your aid, but must do it whilst you have your power."

His brow
wrinkled. "Because then I am more likely to say no?"

"Because
otherwise the darkness might change your mind."

"If this aid
requires that I use the shadows, my answer is no."

She sighed.
"Regrettably, it does."

"I will not
take up the dark power again."

"You have
nothing to fear from it. You are incorruptible. That is what
tar'merin means."

Bane sat up.
"I do not fear it, I hate it. It changes me."

"You cannot
refuse Lord Kayos, Bane." Mirra looked dismayed.

"You want me
to take up the power again?"

"No, of course
not."

"But I will
have to."

"Yes." She met
his eyes. "But you must help Lyriasharin."

"She is not
the one who seeks my aid."

"I am,"
Lyriasharin said. "My father wishes to ask you, but the aid is more
for my sake."

"I see." Bane
eyed her, frowning. "I still do not have to help you, or your
father."

"No, My Lord.
We ask only that you consider our request."

"At least find
out what it is before you decide," Mirra murmured.

"To do that, I
must take up the power."

She nodded,
looking away.

Lyriasharin
glanced at the setting sun and rose. "I ask only that you come to
Eternity to talk to my father, My Lord. I would consider it a
courtesy."

Bane inclined
his head, and she vanished, leaving behind fading sparkles of
silver light and a green shimmer in the ground. Mirra turned to
him.