Demon Lord III - Grey God Read online

  Her father had tried to fight when the dark creatures had invaded their house, stabbing one with a kitchen knife. Shevra had flung fire at them, but the monsters had rushed at her, and her mother had told her to run. Their screams had followed her as she had raced away, and after that she had hidden and fled until the men had caught her. Was Derrin dead, too, and Marik?

  Shevra gazed around at the devastation; the streets filled with ashen shapes and smoke rising from smouldering houses. Where had the dark god gone? The Demon Lord. His name made her shiver, yet he had not. Rising, she walked down the ruined street towards her house, the ashen men and beasts crumbling as she passed. How was it possible for anyone to wield so much power?

  Her house was a gutted ruin, and she searched within it for her parents, stumbling amongst the charred debris until she found their burnt corpses. The bodies of two dark creatures lay nearby, testament to the fight that her father had put up, and her mother's body lay close to his, as if he had striven to protect her to the last. She knelt beside them and wept as she prayed for their swift journey to the safety of the goddess' realm.

  After covering them with a sheet she found on a neighbour's washing line, wishing she had the strength to bury them, she went in search of Derrin. His house was burnt out too, but she found the trapdoor that led to the cellars, shattered. After calling his name several times, she descended the stairs, dreading what she would find.

  In the gloom, the still shapes of Derrin and his mother lay together in their final embrace, their faces pale and waxen in death. Shevra gave a strangled cry and ran, weeping afresh. Back in the street, she stumbled in a daze until her shivers forced her to enter a house and purloin a shabby grey gown and an ugly brown shawl. She wandered amongst the horde’s ashen shapes, averting her eyes from the disembowelled corpses that hung from lamp posts and doorways.

  The stench of death and scorched flesh filled the ruined town, and she headed for the road that led out of it. There was nothing for her here now, not even food, for the black fire the Demon Lord had unleashed would have destroyed all the supplies, no matter how well stored they were. The city would take her in; they could not turn anyone away who came from a destroyed town. All she had to do was travel there.

  When Bane Moved, he tapped into the new font of knowledge that had opened in his mind, and, recalling not only the place that he wished to go, but also the time, he returned only a moment after he had left. Bashir came over to him, looking puzzled.

  "What happened?"

  Bane cocked his head. "Why do you ask?"

  "You... faded for a moment, then reappeared."

  "Ah. Nothing untoward." He approached Tygon. "If you are ready, we should leave."

  "Yes, of course," Tygon said, and signalled to the officers, who bellowed orders at the soldiers. The men formed up into ranks and filed out, followed by the officers, Tygon, Shrea and Bane. Bashir and Kimera headed back the way they had come, presumably to seek the shelter of hallowed ground.

  Outside the opposite end of the hall, three carriages waited, one much like the ones Bane had ridden in, only grander, the other two larger, like wagons. The soldiers climbed aboard the wagons, and the blue mages entered the carriage. Bane sat opposite again, his back to the driver. The vehicles hummed and moved off, passing through another set of tall iron gates manned by four soldiers.

  They followed a wide road that headed for the light wall, one wagon ahead of the carriage, the other behind. The glowing blue barrier loomed ahead, and the vehicles passed through, its touch sending a shiver through Bane as its power tingled in his flesh.

  Kayos waved the Eye out of existence and sat back in his chair, a frown furrowing his brow. The domain had trembled when Bane had destroyed the dark army, and again when he had Moved against time. Mirra, Grem and Mithran sat on the bed, engrossed in a whispered conversation.

  "Syrin!" Kayos called.

  The angel stepped from the air, clasping her arm. A slight frown marred her smooth, serene features. The trio of humans gaped at her in shock and wonder. Kayos glared at her.

  "What have you done? What in the name of chaos did you think you were doing?"

  "Helping. He hurt me!" Her perfect mouth turned down.

  "It serves you right." Kayos shook his head. "I warned you to leave him alone, did I not? You do not know what you are dealing with, stupid child."

  "He is tar'merin. How could he strike me?"

  "I told you that he could hurt you. He is a dark god, he is evil." Kayos sighed, shooting Mirra an apologetic look. "And good. He is fundamentally good, but influenced by evil, unpredictable and dangerous. You put him in a situation that he is not yet equipped to deal with. You could have destroyed him."

  She tilted her head. "How so?"

  "He is young, inexperienced, and still full of doubts. He hates himself, and the dark power mocks him. He has not yet learnt to control it, and its influence over him grows stronger with every moment that he carries it, and redoubles whenever he uses it.

  "You thrust him into a situation that the dark power enjoys, but that he knows is wrong, and his nature was at odds with it, something I have tried to avoid. When you speak to him, you must also speak to the dark power within him, so there is no conflict between its wishes and his. If he sets himself against it, the evil could consume him. Fortunately, he was able to rationalise his deed in a way that was acceptable to the dark power."

  "Consume him?" Syrin looked puzzled.

  "The same way it consumed the evil in that village at his behest. It can kill him." Kayos paused, considering. "The first time he was purged it must have hurt him enormously. It took a great deal of courage to do it. The dark power does not easily give up its hold. I was watching him this time, and I would have saved him had it attacked him. He is too valuable to lose, and you have no right to meddle, Syrin."

  She cast him a coy look. "But he was not consumed, and he Moved through time."

  "Yes. He is stronger than I thought. It should have taken hundreds of years for him to reach the stage that he has now, and yet in other ways his powers are stunted. But if he had found himself incapable of feeling horror at that carnage, it might have tipped him over the edge, and it is a dangerous fall from where he is perched precariously between good and evil."

  "He can cease to be tar'merin?"

  "No. He could be driven mad. I am sure I do not need to tell you how dangerous that would be."

  Syrin shuddered. "But you would have saved him."

  "Not from madness, that is beyond my power. I could have saved him if the dark power had tried to consume him, but I would have had to go there and drive it out. Then it would have been weeks, perhaps months before he could take it up again, and that would have been disastrous."

  "He told me that he did not know how to Move through time, yet when he returned from the village, he did."

  "Yes." Kayos tapped the table. "It seems he confronted the dark power, and triumphed, which has opened a part of his mind that he has not been able to access before, and should not have for hundreds of years yet.

  "He has acquired his God Sight. He used it to destroy the evil in that town, leaving the innocent untouched. Until now, he could only see demons amongst people, but now he can see the good and the damned. He requires guidance, but I cannot provide it until Vorkon is trapped below. And you will leave him alone from now on."

  Syrin looked down at her arm, removing her hand to reveal a greyish mark on her glowing skin. "This hurts."

  "I hope it taught you a valuable lesson." He chuckled. "Trying to stop him from speaking. What foolishness. Even I would not dare." He leant forward. "No one can prevent a dark god from doing what he wishes, unless it is through persuasion. Normally we would not come into contact with one of them, but always remember, when you have any dealings with Bane, and I recommend that you do not, that you speak to both him, and the evil he holds.

  "He will never master it, no one can, but he will get it under better control as he gets older. For the first
four years that he wielded it, it ruled him, and my daughter knew that the only thing that would save him from it, that was strong enough to turn him from that dark path, was love."

  She rubbed her arm and held it out, looking hopeful.

  He eyed her. "I should let you suffer a little longer, so you learn your lesson well. Next time, he might strike harder. That was no more than a slap."

  "I have learnt my lesson."

  "Good." He touched her arm, and the grey spot vanished.

  Kayos settled back and considered the young dark god he had come to know only a little on the journey here. He suspected Bane of having many deep, dark secrets from his horrific childhood in a dark realm, which he hid well. How those traumas would affect his personality and decisions remained to be seen, and Kayos hoped his scars were not so deep that they would make the dark power’s influence unbearable. The fate of Drayshina’s domain, and everything that dwelt within it, was in the hands of a powerful youth with a twisted heart and a wounded mind.

  *****

  The tale continues in Book IV, Lord of Shadows, followed by Book V, God Realm, and Book VI, Son of Chaos.

  About the author

  T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa.

  T. C. Southwell has written over forty novels and five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she earns a living in the IT industry.

  All illustrations and cover designs were done by the author.

  Visit the Demon Lord blogspot: http://www.demon-lord-book.blogspot.com

  Acknowledgements

  Mike Baum and Janet Longman, former employers, for their support, encouragement, and help. My mother, without whose financial support I could not have dedicated myself to writing for ten years. Isabel Cooke, former agent, whose encouragement and enthusiasm led to many more books being written, including this one. Suzanne Stephan, former agent, who has helped me so much over the past six years, and Vanessa Finaughty, good friend and business partner, for her support, encouragement and editing skills.