Demon Lord VI - Son of Chaos Read online

  “Drontar drugged him and stole his blood,” Nikira said.

  “He was doing his job! If you hadn’t destroyed the first samples, he wouldn’t have had to do that. But that’s all beside the point now, isn’t it? Tomorrow, you’re going to be executed for high treason.”

  She sank down on the bench as her legs turned to jelly. “You’re wrong, Predoran. They’ll re-open the Gate.”

  “I don’t care if they do! No one’s going in there to be slaughtered; we’re safer out here now. Think about what you’ve done while you can, Commander. Tomorrow, you pay for your crimes.”

  “But I’ve had no trial.”

  “We don’t need a trial to prove your guilt,” he said, and strode out of the cell. The guard locked the door behind him, and Nikira stared at the floor, her mind numb with shock and dread, her faith shaken to the core. Had Bane betrayed her? He had warned her that the Dorilan Dome was in the path of the Gate’s weapons, but she had not thought they would allow it to be destroyed.

  ***

  Kayos gazed across the cloud garden, his expression bleak. “I am a fool. I should have realised.”

  “None of us thought of it then. We just wanted to help these people, and the child goddess trapped in her birthing chamber,” Drevarin pointed out.

  “So we leave,” Bane said. “These people will be glad to have their Gate open again, and when the domain dies they have the means to produce food and light with their machines. They will not perish.”

  Kayos shook his head. “It is not right, abandoning them, but light gods have ever fled the darkness. It is nothing new. But that is not what concerns me.”

  “What is the problem?”

  “Sherinias is a child. She cannot leave her domain until she is mature, it feeds her until then. She will die.”

  Drevarin frowned. “I did not know that. Could another domain sustain her?”

  “No. It must be the one she was born in.”

  Bane swung away, glaring at the hapless clouds. “Damn.”

  “If she closes the World Gate, perhaps it will protect her until she can leave,” Drevarin suggested.

  “Two hundred years?” Kayos asked. “Doubtful. Those three will plot to enslave her, and with three of them, it will not take that long for them to corrupt a pure person and make a key.”

  “If they can find a pure person in this domain,” Bane said.

  “They will, because once the World Gate is closed, the children will all be born pure.”

  Drevarin said, “I suppose it would be better for her to be enslaved than to die.”

  Bane turned to him. “Do you really think I will let them enslave her?”

  “You cannot fight three of them.”

  “He is right,” Kayos said. “You cannot risk your life, you are too important. This was my mistake. I am to blame for not thinking of this possibility, and she is my daughter. We will close the World Gate and hope she is mature enough by the time they breach it to enter her shield sphere.”

  “And then what?” Bane demanded. “She will be trapped in it forever. They will guard it.”

  Kayos gripped his arm. “I will not sacrifice you.”

  “It is not your decision.”

  “In this, you will obey me, Bane.”

  He jerked free. “No. If they kill me, I will rise as a spirit god.”

  “You will lose all the gifts your mortality bestows.”

  “I can defeat them. None of them is as powerful as Torvaran was, and I destroyed him. I shall set wards and cast them down.”

  “It is too dangerous. When you create a ward, they will attack you.”

  “I will not fight them. I will leave and wait for them to separate. They will not be able to destroy a dark ward.”

  “Three of them might,” Kayos said.

  “Then I will cast one down before I create the ward, or even two if I can. I will have sunlight to help me. Hell, I could even bring them to the light realm. Remember how easily I cast Jishka down?”

  “She was weak, and you took her by surprise. As soon as you attack one, the others will come to his aid. They will know their strength is in unity when they find out that you are tar’merin. It is too dangerous.”

  “Every time I fight a dark god it is dangerous,” Bane said.

  “And you were never this eager to do it.”

  “I am not eager. I do not enjoy being hurt, but it seems to come with the territory.”

  Drevarin looked up from his glum perusal of his feet. “What if we do not close the World Gate? One of us could lure one of them here, and Bane could surprise him.”

  Kayos eyed the young light god. “That might work. They do not know about Bane. With the element of surprise, it would be far easier for him to cast one of them down from here. But once they are in the Land of the Dead, they will send messengers to the other two. It would only work once.”

  “So we will start with the most powerful, Tolrar,” Bane said.

  “No. If he is too powerful, he will Move you both back down to the mid realm, or the dark realm, and we will lose the advantage. We start with the weakest, which will be the goddess.”

  “She is Tolrar’s mistress. She may alert him instead of giving chase herself. It should be Scryon.”

  Kayos nodded. “All right. I will be the bait.”

  “I will accompany you. If he takes hold of you...”

  “He is a weak dark god pitted against a Grey God. I can Move him here myself. He will not fight it, since he will not know you are here.”

  “But if he is holding you when I attack him...”

  “I will suffer.” Kayos met his eyes. “I know.”

  “I shall not harm you.”

  “I will do it then,” Drevarin said.

  Bane raised his brows at the young light god. “What makes you think I would be any happier about harming you?”

  “I am not your father.”

  “You are my friend.”

  Kayos held up his hands. “Enough. Drevarin, you have not the power for it. Even if you succeeded in Moving Scryon here, Bane would probably kill you.”

  “But he Gathers from them. How can that kill me?”

  “When I bring him here, Bane will burn away part of his droge body so the light will consume his dark form. You do not want to be in the way when Bane unleashes his full power, believe me.”

  Bane said, “But you will have your shields.”

  “Not if Scryon is holding me. Then I will only have my body shields.”

  “How much harm will it do to you?”

  “That depends on how accurate you are. But as long as you are not aiming at me, I will only be caught in the backlash. It might kill Drevarin, but not me.”

  “I dislike it,” Bane said. “If he is holding you, I will not burn him. I will take hold of him and draw off his power.”

  “That would be more dangerous for you.”

  “But safer for you.”

  Kayos inclined his head and smiled. “Yes. But I am quite prepared to suffer. Why should you be the only one who does? Anyway, I am certain I will be able to Move before he takes hold of me. I am not that old and slow.”

  “Old you most certainly are, but slow, probably not.”

  Kayos clasped Bane’s shoulders. “I am proud of you, Son.” Bane looked away in embarrassment, and Kayos released him.

  “As soon as Scryon is cast down,” Bane said, “we close the World Gate.”

  “How long will it take Scryon to send messengers to the other two?” Drevarin asked.

  Bane shrugged. “That depends on how quickly he recovers from the shock of his defeat and Gathers enough power to summon a demon. Perhaps a day at the most.”

  “In that time, we could lure the others here the same way.”

  “Maybe. It depends on how soon they take the bait,” Kayos said. “If they are cautious, they might wait too long.”

  “Then we close the Gate a day after Scryon is cast down.”

  Kayos nodded. “Agreed. I will
send Sherinias to her birthing chamber. She will be safe there, and I do not want her to find out about Bane yet, she is not ready. We should do this soon, else one may come here looking for us before we are ready for them.”

  “Tomorrow. I want to make some preparations,” Bane said.

  “All right.” Kayos led the way back to the gazebo, where Sherinias sat before her Eye, looking miffed. The three sank down on their couches and went back to watching the adventures of the mid realm. She pouted, clearly annoyed at being left out.

  ***

  Nikira looked up as two guards entered her cell. Her heart plummeted and sick dread churned her stomach. Sleep had eluded her since Predoran had informed her of her death sentence, and she had been unable to eat. The unfairness of the situation angered her. She longed to pray to Bane for help, but after what Predoran had told her, some of her doubts had returned. What if he really was a dra’voren, and had duped her with the aid of another dra’voren, Drevarin? Was it possible that everything she had seen had been an illusion? Could it all have been an elaborate ruse to gain her trust and bend her to their will?

  As the governor had pointed out, no one knew how powerful a dra’voren was, but if they could destroy entire worlds, they must be powerful indeed. If he was right, she had brought about the destruction of her world, and deserved to die. Another part of her railed against these assumptions, and her faith in Bane remained, though shaken. The death of the people in the Dorilan Dome was on her hands, however, whether or not Bane was evil.

  Nikira stood up as the guards placed shackles on her wrists and ankles, not meeting her eyes. As they led her along the corridors, she wondered what method of execution had been chosen for her. She hoped that it was reasonably quick and painless, although torturous executions were sometimes performed. These were inflicted on the perpetrators of abhorrent crimes that involved the suffering of their victims, like rapist murderers. In her case it was not required, but the decision lay with the governor, and if she was blamed for the destruction of their world, he might well choose something terrible.

  They entered the bare, sterile execution chamber, its walls and floors covered with smooth white plastic, a drain in one corner and a faint smell of antiseptic in the air. A number of witnesses sat in the observation gallery, Predaron in the front row, his expression a study of official grimness. Nikira gaped at the brawny, hooded man who awaited her, and her blood turned cold at the sight of the curved knife he held. Disembowelment was the worst execution, and it often took the victim many hours, sometimes a day, to die, if it was done correctly. Nikira dug in her heels as the guards dragged her towards the cross-shaped steel frame to which she was to be bound.

  “No!” she shouted. “You cannot do this! I didn’t cause suffering!”

  Predaron scowled. “Through your traitorous actions, millions of people will suffer and die. Our world will be destroyed. What makes you think you deserve a merciful death?”

  “Even if I have caused the destruction of our world, which I don’t believe, I didn’t do it on purpose. I was a helpless pawn. How could I have stopped them from doing whatever they wished?”

  “You could have refused to bring them here.”

  “He had already been here, when I brought him to you for study!”

  “That makes it even worse,” Predoran said. “You knowingly brought a dra’voren here, giving him the location of our base.”

  “He was my prisoner then, no threat to us.”

  “Commander, you’ve been found guilty. This doesn’t help.”

  Nikira struggled as the guards strapped her wrists to the cross-piece, their faces blank. “I didn’t do anything wrong! You have to believe me!”

  “No, we don’t, and we choose not to.”

  Nikira cast an imploring glance at the witnesses. “I’m innocent!”

  Their hard, uncaring expressions mocked her as the guards shackled her ankles to the base of the frame. Cold, numbing terror washed through her, and she bowed her head and closed her eyes.

  “Demon Lord, please help me. They’re going to kill me.”

  ***

  Bane sat up and rubbed his brow. The prayer that had disturbed his slumber came again, and he listened, for he had not heard the words that had woken him. The whispered plea cleared the last dregs of sleep that fogged his mind, and he rose to his feet. Sherinias slept on her couch, as did Kayos and Drevarin. Bane went over and shook her awake, and her eyes sprang open in surprise.

  “Sherinias, open the Realm Gate.”

  She looked puzzled. “Why?”

  “Just do it, now!”

  Kayos and Drevarin sat up on their couches, their expressions confused and curious. Kayos shot Sherinias a hard look. “Do as he says, child.”

  “But Father...”

  “I told you to obey him, did I not?”

  “Yes, Father.” She rose and walked towards the Realm Gate, clearly unhappy.

  Bane turned to Drevarin. “Show me Nikira.”

  The light god waved an Eye into being, and an image formed. The stealth ship commander was strapped to a frame in a bright white room. Two uniformed men fastened her ankles to it, while a hooded man stood close by, holding a curved blade. Bane frowned, wondering why she had waited so long to beg his aid. Drevarin expanded the image, showing Bane that the execution room was in the same building where he had taken her from her cell, only a few floors higher. Bane strode to the Realm Gate, where many ships still hovered, waiting for it to open perhaps, or recording it for posterity. Sherinias stood in front of it, the key in her hand, but had not yet pressed it to the portal.

  “Hurry, Sherinias.”

  The young goddess glanced back at him. “This is dangerous, Bane. We do not know what is out there. Maybe a dark god.”

  “I shall risk it. Open it.”

  “That is all very well for you, but what about my domain?”

  “There is no dark god out there, Sherinias.”

  “You do not know that.”

  “Open the Gate!”

  Sherinias hesitated, glanced beyond him, and turned to press the key to the cluster of runes in the centre of the Gate. Bane looked back to find Kayos standing there, frowning. The Realm Gate began to chime, its sweet, haunting tones filling the hall with shivering echoes. Sherinias stepped back, tucked the key into her gown and cast him a reproachful look, then went over to Kayos.

  When the grating of the giant lock added its ominous sound to the sweet chimes, Bane went to the side of the Gate and ran his hand over the runes, reading them. Finding the right one, he activated it, and the two runes at the top of the Gate’s frame lighted, commanding it to stay open. Sherinias gave a soft gasp of dismay and glanced at Kayos, who ignored her. The grating ended as the lock disengaged, and the Gate swung open with stately sloth. Kayos took Sherinias’ hand and led her away, and, as soon as it had opened sufficiently, Bane slipped through the portal.

  Outside, he summoned the dark power and flew towards the glittering city, heading for the tower where Nikira was imprisoned. Becoming invisible, he swooped in through a wall close to her location, landed, and strode towards her, the walls slowing him only slightly. Her prayer hammered at his brain, filled with terror and despair.

  ***

  Nikira shouted for Bane to save her. Her cries rang in the small room, rising to shrieks of terror as tears ran down her cheeks. She stared at the hooded man, her stomach clenched as he held the curved blade against her belly, which had been bared by the slicing open of her clothes. That was part of the torture, making it last as long as possible. The executioner tensed, preparing to thrust the blade into her belly just below her ribs. He staggered aside with an exclamation of surprise, and warm hands gripped her waist.

  Bane appeared before her, his brow furrowed in a deep frown. She sobbed with relief as the shackles on her wrists and ankles parted, fell into his arms and clung to his neck. He swept her up, and her stomach heaved as he headed for the wall, muttering, “Tojackar.”

  Once a
gain she experienced the sickening sensation of passing through solid matter, much like walking through water, only worse.

  Nikira buried her face in his hair and inhaled his strange, warm odour, which bore no resemblance to normal body odour but was more like the scent of sun-heated stone. He carried her through three more walls while she gritted her teeth and swallowed hard. Cool wind brushed her skin, and she glanced down at the city that passed below. They flew away from the Great Gate, which stood open, and headed towards the place where they had left the refugees.

  Bane landed with a slight jolt and put her down, supporting her as she reeled, then she bent and retched. The refugees sat in disconsolate groups, talked and played games in the dust. Some rested or slept, others munched the dry rations that had been left for them. Several looked up with glad cries, from which she deduced that they were no longer invisible.

  Bane headed towards them, leaving her to follow, and Mirra ran to embrace him. Mithran and Grem greeted him with smiles and firm shoulder clasps, Sarrin and the others bowed their heads to him. Mirra took his hand, and he smiled at her, then at the rest of the group.

  “How do you fare?”

  Sarrin nodded. “Well enough, Lord.”

  “Good. If you have need of anything, you have only to pray.”

  “Thank you, Lord.”

  “Commander Nikira will be joining you. Her people were going to execute her.”

  Sarrin looked at Nikira. “You are welcome, Commander.”

  “Thank you,” Nikira mumbled, dismayed by Bane’s decision, but not daring to object.

  Mirra smiled up at him. “Will you stay for a little while?”

  “We have tea,” Sarrin said.

  “A short time only; I have much to do.”

  Mirra led him to a tent with a silver groundsheet spread before it, and the group settled upon it while the rest of the refugees looked on. Nikira wondered if it bothered him to be the object of so many intent eyes. Ethra demanded to know what had happened in the domain, which they could not see from the camp, and Bane related the tale in his usual curt manner. Sarrin brewed tea and handed him a cup. He barely glanced at Nikira, and she sensed that he was angry with her, probably because of her attempted seduction. Bane omitted to mention the destruction of the Dorilan Dome in his tale, and when he had finished his narrative, Ethra stared at him in dismay.