Sarjan went to the edge of the hole and peered into it. “It goes right down to the engine room.”
Bane closed his eyes, spread his hands towards the affected area and reached out with his mind to examine the areas below and above the damaged floor, following the trail of destruction Tolrar’s fire had left. Just like when he summoned substance from afar, he used his expanded awareness to sense things he could not see. A far-see was another way of doing this, although not quite the same and not available to him without the dark power. Spreading his hands helped his concentration, for, unlike when he summoned bits of a mountain or magma from deep underground, he needed to understand the intricate nature of the structure he wished to remake. The air thrummed, then the damage vanished with a flash of movement, a whisper of air and dull thud.
Sarjan stared at the remade corridor. “Can you do that to anything?”
“Yes.”
“Could you destroy something the same way?”
“Yes.”
“Have you -?”
“No.” Bane strolled on down the corridor. “I am tired now. I will restore the rest tomorrow.”
The commander stepped aside to allow the others to pass, and they turned into a side corridor to return to the mess hall. Bane and Mirra continued to their cabin, where he flopped down on the sofa, rubbing his brow.
Mirra sat beside him, her eyes full of concern. “That takes a lot out of you, does it not?”
“I am still weak, but yes, it does.”
“You should lie down.”
“I will be all right.” He lowered his hand and smiled at her.
“We should adopt Ethra.”
He stared at her in surprise. “What?”
“Come on, Bane, you know you love her too.”
He snorted. “You jest. She is a nuisance.”
“She is trying to impress you, and be useful. She thinks it will persuade you not to leave her in Drevarin’s domain.”
He groaned. “I cannot keep accumulating hangers on. She is a child.”
“She is clever and resourceful, and she loves you.”
“You truly want this?”
“Yes. Artan and Sarrin have asked to stay with us, too.”
He groaned again. “Soon I will have an entire village traipsing after me, demanding food, protection and shelter.”
“I think that is part of being a god.”
“Do not start.”
She climbed onto his lap and clasped his face, kissed him and drew back to stroke the wings of hair from his brow. “She will be a good daughter, and help me when we have children of our own.”
“I will help you… and you are not planning on doing that any time soon, I hope?”
“Do you not want children?”
“Not while we are traipsing through the God Realm with a ragtag bunch of vagabonds in tow.”
“When we get home.”
He smiled. “I look forward to it. How many would you like?”
“Three, I think.”
“I want a dozen.”
“Then you can have the other nine yourself.”
He quelled a chuckle and feigned a shocked expression. “Are you shirking your wifely duty?”
“That had better be a joke.”
“A compromise, then: seven and a half.”
“Counting Ethra?”
“No.”
She giggled and hugged him, burying her face in his hair. “Promise me you will not do anything dangerous for a while?”
“I will do my best.”
“Good.” She sighed and snuggled up to him.
He bent his head and whispered, “How about six?”
She giggled again. “Three.”
“Five?”
“Three.”
“Spoilsport.”
Chapter Nine
Attack
Commander Sarjan jerked awake as the com-unit beside his bed beeped. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and glanced at the clock, which showed that it was two in the morning, ship’s time.
He keyed the com-unit. “What is it?”
“There’s a ship approaching, sir,” the night duty officer’s tinny voice replied. “It’s Retribution, and she’s in stealth mode.”
Sarjan frowned. “Why would they…? They know we can detect them.” He tried to kick-start his sleep-fogged mind. “They think the… our guests can’t sense them in stealth mode.”
“Can they, sir?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you want us to do?”
Sarjan rubbed his eyes again. “Evade them.”
“Yes sir.” The officer sounded doubtful.
Sarjan slid out of bed and pulled on his uniform, then stood irresolute, wondering who he should alert. Drevarin was more accessible, since Bane would be asleep in his cabin with his wife and would probably not appreciate being disturbed. Sarjan was fairly sure Drevarin could handle Retribution. If not, he could wake Bane and suffer the consequences, if any. Despite his apparent friendliness and lack of power, Bane still made Sarjan uneasy. He headed for number three mess hall, where Drevarin had chosen to rest, and stopped in surprise when the door slid open. Drevarin lay on a cloud couch, sipped from a golden goblet and gazed into a glowing oval portal that displayed a scene from Bayona.
He looked up and smiled. “Greetings, Commander.”
Sarjan approached, fascinated by the floating vision, or whatever it was. “Sir…” He wondered when he had started considering Drevarin his superior. “There’s another stealth ship approaching us. I think they want to capture Bane. I’ve ordered my men to evade her trap, just in case he’s using the dark power again.”
“As far as I know, he is not.”
“Were you aware of it?”
Drevarin looked at the floating vision in front of him, and the scene in it changed to an area of the cloud gardens. “It appears to be invisible, correct?”
“Yes, she’s in stealth mode.”
“How can you see it, then?”
“We can’t, but all stealth ships have beacons, so we can detect others, to prevent collisions.”
“Very wise. I was not aware of it.” Drevarin studied the scenery in his viewing portal, which changed as the ship manoeuvred to avoid Retribution’s trap. “How can we dissuade them from this course of action?”
“We can stay out of range, but they can’t detect Bane while he has no power.”
“So they are no threat to him?”
“No sir.”
“Good.” Drevarin paused, pondering. “Do you think Nikira could take command of Retribution again? Is her crew still loyal to her?”
Sarjan nodded. “I think so.”
“Excellent.”
“But how will Nikira get aboard?”
“I will take her,” Drevarin said, “if you would be so kind as to summon her here.”
Sarjan went over to the com-unit by the door and keyed it. After several moments, Nikira’s sleepy voice issued from it. “Yes?”
“Nikira, we need you in number three mess hall.”
“On my way.”
Sarjan shifted while he waited, a little ill at ease alone in the presence of a being he was becoming more and more convinced was a creator. To his relief, Nikira arrived after just a couple of minutes, tugging at her uniform and tidying her hair. He explained the situation and the plan, and at the end of his discourse she smiled at Drevarin.
“I’m glad you thought of that, Lord,” she said. “I’d have suggested it myself if I’d been here.”
“Good,” Drevarin replied. “Then we just need Retribution’s exact location.”
Sarjan keyed the com-unit again, this time connecting with the bridge. “Lieutenant, give me Retribution’s position.”
“She’s two hundred yards off our port flank, sir, trying to get closer.”
Sarjan faced Drevarin and gestured to his left. “That way.”
Drevarin dismissed the floating vision, rose and held out his hand to Nikira, who hesitat
ed for only a moment before taking it. They vanished, and Sarjan left the mess hall, heading for the bridge.
Nikira reeled a little as the warm light released her, steadied by Drevarin’s hold on her hand. Apparently he only needed an approximate position to Move to, and everything else came about naturally, ensuring he did not end up as part of a wall, floor or furniture item. Not that it would have been a problem, since he could pass through solid matter. She cast the light god a nervous smile before glancing around at the officers who manned the bridge, who ignored them.
Drevarin said, “They cannot hear or see us. Who is the commander?”
She pointed at a stocky man with pale blond crew cut and a leathery face whom she recognised as Commander Balen. He stood beside one of the consoles, glaring at the monitor atop it.
“Why the blazes are they avoiding us?” he muttered.
“Perhaps Commander Sarjan isn’t in charge anymore, sir,” Donavan, Nikira’s former second in command, suggested.
“Either that, or he’s turned as treasonous as Nikira.”
Drevarin gestured. “Sleep.”
The commander slumped to the floor, and the officers gaped at him for several thunderstruck seconds, then Donavan rose and went over to squat beside him and shake his shoulder. The men swung to stare at Nikira, two jumping up in alarm, which told her that Drevarin had released her from the light shield.
“He’s all right,” she informed them. “He’s just asleep.”
Donavan rose, his expression stunned. “What the… Commander! How the hell did you get here?”
“I had help.”
Donavan glanced around, as did the other officers. “He’s here?”
Nikira smiled. “No, not Bane; Drevarin. You remember him, right?”
“Who could forget? It’s good to see you, Commander, and in one piece, too.”
“The feeling’s mutual. It’s good to be back.”
“So what are you doing here? How did you get away from that idiot, Predoran? Last we heard, you vanished from the execution room. Neat trick, that.”
“Again, I had help.”
“From the dra… Bane?” Donavan enquired.
“That time, yes.”
“That must have been bloody amazing. I’d love to have seen the looks on their faces, especially Predoran. He was just looking for a scapegoat, charging you with treason. Hell, if you were guilty, we all were. I lodged a complaint with high command, trying to at least get you a trial, but the governor rushed through your conviction before they could act.”
“I appreciate that, Donavan.”
“We were all on your side, Commander. We still are. So were some of the other stealth ship commanders. So, if you want your ship back, we’re with you. Just say the word.”
Nikira wanted to hug him. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say; that’s why I’m here.”
“I’m guessing the tar’merin’s not using any dark power at the moment, and that’s why we can’t find him, right?”
“Yes.”
“We figured, and we weren’t looking all that hard. The obstechs wouldn’t have told Balen even if they’d found him. We didn’t tell Balen he could do that, although if he’d studied the data recordings he’d have known. Sarjan did a good job of evading us, too. I take it he’s on board with the whole tar’merin thing?”
“Yes,” Nikira replied. “Bane saved him and his crew from one of the dra’voren, who was destroying Miraculous. He saved our world from four dra’voren, one of which almost killed him. I’ll ask Sarjan to send over the reports and recordings. They’re pretty amazing.”
“Predoran’s not going to take our defection lying down, Commander. Apparently he’s furious at the loss of Miraculous.”
“I know, but if he sends warships after us, they’ll never find us.”
“We found you,” Donavan said. “I guess Sarjan forgot to switch his beacon off.”
“Yes, he was a bit busy after the dra’voren almost destroyed his ship.”
Donavan glanced around at the rest of the officers. “So what are we going to be doing?”
“Well, Sarjan hasn’t agreed to help Bane any more than he already has, and if he doesn’t, Bane will release his ship. I’m not sure what his plans are, but I’m hoping he’ll ask us to take him on his journey when he continues to wherever he’s going. We’ll explore deeper into the Wastes than a stealth ship has ever gone before, and I bet we’ll see the most amazing things. Plus we’ll be able to learn more about Bane, and the creators. And we’ll be perfectly safe with him to protect us.”
“Okay, there’s just one problem,” Donavan said. “What about our families? Some of the crew might not be willing to abandon them and vanish into the Wastes for who knows how long. Do you know how long it’ll take?”
“No, but this won’t be a normal mission, so they might be allowed to bring their families, or, if not, they can stay behind. I only need enough crewmen to run the ship.”
“Will we be destroying dra’voren?” the navigation officer asked.
Nikira hesitated. “I don’t think so, since we now know the shredder doesn’t destroy them. I say we do whatever Bane needs us to do, but mostly provide him with safe, fast transport so he can reach his destination and carry out his mission, which is to free an enslaved creator from a dra’voren. That’s the ultimate mission for a stealth ship.”
Several men nodded, most looking excited while a few appeared a little uncertain. Donavan said, “What about when we come back? We might be arrested and charged with treason, like you were.”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. We’ll have some mind-blowing info, and lots of amazing recordings of the things we encounter out there. But even if the authorities still accuse us, we have powerful allies, who, I believe, will help us if we help them.” She looked at the spot where Drevarin had been a few minutes earlier. “Am I right, Lord?”
He appeared, leaning against a console, making the men start again. “You are. No harm will come to your crewmen or their families. Sherinias will be delighted to see to it.”
Donavan stared at him for several thunderstruck seconds, as did the rest of the bridge crew, then he turned to Nikira again. “There might be some who don’t like the idea, Commander.”
“Then we’ll drop them off somewhere safe. I have a feeling a lot of things are going to change in Bayona very soon, and we’re going to be on the right side when they do.”
“Okay then. We’re all with you, and I reckon most of the crew will be willing to go on your little expedition, too.”
“Good. Predoran gave the order to hunt Bane, didn’t he?” At Donavan’s nod, she said, “All right, lock Commander Balen in a cabin. We’ll drop him off with anyone else who wants to leave.”
Two men picked up the comatose commander and carried him into the lift, and the doors slid shut behind them.
An officer glanced up at Donavan. “Sir, the warships are firing on Miraculous.”
Nikira looked at the main screen, where four missiles streaked towards Miraculous, leaving trails of smoke that were almost invisible in Cloud World’s mists. The missiles hit the stealth ship just behind her aft generators, and balls of fire blossomed from her hull.
Nikira muttered, “What the hell?”
The deep thunder of the explosions reached them a split second later, and Retribution rocked in the shockwave. Miraculous’ bow dipped, and it veered as it fell, smoke and flames pouring from the holes in its hull. Nikira held her breath as it plunged into the clouds, dispersing them somewhat. Its bow struck the diamond sand and ploughed into it, digging a furrow as the forward momentum gained by the ship’s fall carried it for several yards, then it stopped and its stern sank onto the sand. A moment later, a translucent blue-white sheath of light spread over Miraculous’ hull, just before another four missiles exploded against it with no effect on the stealth ship. The explosions swept away all the clouds in the area, however, stripping several silver trees of their misty foliage.
 
; “Is Kayos protecting them?” she asked Drevarin, since she did not think he would be able to do so from so far away.
He nodded. “He was in the gazebo.”
Nikira looked at the screen again. Black smoke poured from Miraculous’ vents, and she wondered how many of Sarjan’s surviving crewmen had been killed or injured.
Donavan shot her a guilty look. “Two frigates are out of range of Miraculous’ scanners. They have orders to shoot her down if we can’t capture Bane. Looks like they’ve decided we’ve been at it long enough.”
“And you were relaying the scanner info.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Nikira shook her head in horrified disbelief. Predoran was either insane or desperate, or both, but two could play at that game, and she had an unassailable advantage. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to remind her crew of just how invulnerable a ship was with a creator aboard to protect it. “Load missiles and set course for the frigates.”
“But…” Donavan glanced at Drevarin. “Yes, Commander.”
Bane jerked awake as a massive boom shook the ship, and air rushed into the cabin, then was sucked out again, making his hearing go dull. Beside him, Mirra woke with a gasp. The ship’s engines’ soft hum rose to a discordant drone, and the cabin tilted, forcing him to grab her as she rolled off the bed.
The engines’ drone rose to a blood-chilling howl, and he experienced a sickening sensation of falling. The movement ended with a grating rumble, and the ship shuddered again. Bane enfolded Mirra in his arms as they were flung across the room. He hit the wall with a grunt, banging his head, the air punched from his lungs. The ship’s frame groaned under a mammoth strain, and distant bangs, booms and crashes came from its bowels. The floor levelled off as more explosions made the vessel quiver, and smoke billowed in through the air vents.
Bane shook his throbbing head to dispel the dazedness that clogged his mind and the stars that flashed in his eyes. Mirra freed herself from his arms and sat up, her expression anguished.
Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain Page 15