"I should not have disturbed you. I shall be on my way."
"You wish shelter? Enter, and enjoy my hospitality. I will not harm you." The Naribis spoke in a sibilant tone.
"I must decline."
"Regrettable," the Naribis husked. "Foolish of you to seek shelter in an unknown domain, and surprising for one who should possess more wisdom."
"I have wisdom to spare, and would not be here if you were a threat to me."
"You think not? I speak the truth. I mean you no harm, if you do not seek to thwart me. I offer a peaceful existence and protection from your enemies, for a small price."
Kayos frowned. "I know the ways of your kind, Naribis."
"Then you should know better than to attempt to flee. It will be pointless."
"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.
The Naribis emerged first, and Bane chopped off his head. He sprouted a new one, and his droge form protected him from the dull sunlight that probed through the forest roof. Bane burnt part the dark god's newly formed face away, and the Naribis howled. His goddess, who had freed herself, vanished.
Bane attacked the place where she had been with a lash of dark fire, but struck nothing. Spinning to face the Naribis again, he brought the sword scything down, slicing deep into the dark god's back. The Naribis howled again as his droge shell lost its solidity, exposing his dark form to the light. Evidently he was not sufficiently powerful to regenerate fast enough to repair the damage Bane inflicted. With a hiss of fury, the Narabis vanished.
Bane chopped at the place where he had been a few times, his sword meeting no resistance. He waited for the dark god to reveal himself if he was still around, but no frisson of dark power indicated his presence. Kayos waved a hand, snuffing out the fires. When a minute passed without any sign of his foes, Bane lowered his sword and turned to face Kayos.
The Grey God watched him, his shield dangling in one hand, shrunken to the size of a dinner plate. He released it, and it winked out of existence. A wave of weakness washed over Bane, and he dropped the sword with a clatter, sinking to his knees. He pulled open his blood-soaked shirt to inspect the deep, oozing wound in his side. Shadows seeped from his hands and sank into the ground. He let it flow, easing the burning in his flesh while he gasped. Sweat beaded his brow and ran down his cheeks, and his muscles ached from the intense exertion to which he had just subjected them.
Kayos approached, looking concerned. Bane let the power flow out for a few more minutes, then leashed the rest into his bones. The rune scars on his chest stopped glowing, and he leant back on his hands, easing himself onto the ground. Kayos met Bane's eyes with a look that spoke volumes of his reluctance to touch a dark god, but Bane had already gathered that this was something light gods did not do.
Although Lyriasharin had touched him lightly several times, he had not attempted to touch her, sensing that she would find it unsettling. It seemed that light gods counted themselves safe in a dark god's presence as long as he could not take hold of them. He bowed his head, then lay back, wondering how long Kayos
would take to decide to trust him. The Grey God struggled to overcome an age-old aversion, judging by the frown that furrowed his brow. Bane's skin turned chilly as shock set in, and his strength dwindled.
"Bane!" Mirra scrambled over the smoking remnants of a wall and ran to his side, shaking off Grem, who tried to hold her back, his eyes darting around for danger. She fell to her knees beside Bane, pushing aside his hands to reveal his wound, her expression shocked and anguished. Mithran followed her, while Grem stopped a few paces away, grim-faced, his sword ready. Mirra laid her hands upon Bane's injury and let her healing power flow. A flare of blue fire made her recoil with a yelp as the dark power just under Bane's skin, his body shields, repulsed her power. She cast Kayos a despairing glance, then leant forward to try again.
Grey God stepped closer, shaking his head. "Leave it, child, you cannot heal him. I will do it."
Mirra sat back and gazed down at Bane with glimmering eyes, biting her lip as she forced a tremulous smile and stroked his cheek.
Kayos knelt beside him, overcoming his reluctance at last, although it shone in his eyes. Clearly, touching Bane while he was powerless was one thing, but laying his hands on a dark god filled with shadows was quite another. Kayos placed his hands on the wound, blue light flaring between them.
The golden healing flowed like glowing mist, pushing against Bane's shields, which reacted viciously, hot blue flames engulfing Kayos' hands. He persisted, his healing magic pushing back Bane's shields, and Bane tried to leash it further. Several tense moments passed before the wound closed. White flames licked over Kayos' hands as he straightened. Bane levered himself onto his elbows and studied the faint scar, then glanced up at the Grey God.
Demon Lord III - Grey God Page 9