The ship slowed as the pilot tapped her controls, and the engines’ soft hum died away. Retribution halted, and the ops relaxed, most watching the screen, some glancing at Nikira. Bane Moved to the gate hall beside the trio, which broke off their discussion and turned to face him.
Sherinias inclined her head. “My Lord.”
“My Lady.”
Kayos and Drevarin smiled, and Kayos asked, “Everything ready?”
“Yes. Sherinias may open the gate.”
The young goddess drew her key from the folds of her gown and approached the mighty portal, her expression sad, but determined. She was still too young to be left in charge of a domain, but they had no choice. Kayos had spent a lot of time with her over the past few days, teaching her how to cope, Bane presumed. The fact that it was a dark domain made it worse, for she would want to right the wrongs, and she could not. Sherinias pressed her key to the rune cluster just within her reach at the centre of the gate. Pearly light filled the runes as the gate began to glow, then the sweet chimes echoed around the hall. The grating of the giant stone lock disengaging came, and the gate began to swing open with stately sloth.
Bane formed an Eye and searched for Dramon and Nomard. The image that formed was of another dim, sweaty nightclub with flashing lights and drugged patrons. The demon gods sat at a table in the foreground, and raised their tankards towards the Eye. Bane dismissed it and Moved. Rematerialising beside the table, he grasped the twins’ shoulders.
“Time to go, boys.”
Bane Moved again, to Retribution’s hold, and released the demon gods, who, since they had been sitting down, landed on their rumps with a double crash. Nomard’s ale slopped over his wrist, and Dramon’s spilt down his chest.
Nomard switched hands and shook the wet one. “Steady on, old boy. No need for boorishness.”
Dramon climbed to his feet and gazed around, then took a slurp of ale. “What’s this, a dungeon?”
“A hold,” Bane said, “where you will stay for the duration of the trip. I do not want you two wandering around the ship.”
“No fair, old bean, we want to explore. Interesting things, ships. We haven’t been aboard one before.”
Bane knew he had no chance of preventing the demon gods from doing pretty much as they wished, and shrugged. “Fine, but harm one human, and things get ugly.”
Four demon hounds appeared in a gloomy corner, following their masters. Since hellhounds did not easily escape dark realms, and when they did, they were weak and these were all powerful, Bane concluded that they had been summoned at some stage, and their summoners had perished, freeing the hounds.
He gestured to them. “Begone!”
The hellhounds froze, then melted away, their shadows sinking into the floor.
Nomard jumped up. “Hey! What happened to ‘no harm to you and yours’?”
“I did not harm them.”
“You bloody well dismissed them!”
“You really think I am going to leave them loose aboard this ship?”
“Yes!”
Bane snorted. “Think again. I will summon them when your task is done, and if you behave yourselves, I might even give you control of them. How would you like that?”
The twins glanced at each other, and Nomard shrugged. “That would be… okay.”
“I will bet.”
Bane Moved back to the gate hall, where the gate was almost open, and Kayos hugged his weeping daughter. Drevarin turned to Bane and pulled a wry face, and the two waited while the Grey God patted Sherinias’ back and murmured soft, comforting words. Bane went to the gateway and gazed at the abandoned city outside. The fire dome, or what was left of it, was gone, and the buildings were dark. As he contemplated it, a few lights appeared on the far side of the city, rose and flew towards them. When they drew nearer, he made out the sleek silver shape of a stealth ship. So, one had been left in the Wastes. It was just as well they had opened the gate one last time.
The scan-op said, “There’s a ship outside, Commander. Its beacon identity is… Defiance.”
Nikira nodded. “She was left outside.”
The coms board hissed and a tinny voice said, “Bayona base, this is Defiance, please respond.”
Nikira keyed a com-link. “Defiance, this is Commander Nikira of Retribution.”
“Retribution!” The coms-op’s voice held a wealth of relief. “What the hell happened to Sarlan City? How did the Great Gate close, and why did no one respond to our calls?”
“It’s a long story, Defiance. Enter Cloud World, but don’t take any hostile action if you detect dark forms, or a dark form. You’ll be transported to Darjahan when you enter.”
“We’ve already detected one, just inside the gate.”
“Right. Leave it alone. It won’t attack you.”
“What’s going on, Nikira?” a new, authoritative voice demanded, and she recognised Commander Loxan’s deep tones.
“Too much for me to explain now. If you want a truthful report, contact Sarjan when you get to Bayona, and he’ll fill you in.”
“And if we want a bullshit report?”
“You’ll get that from Bayona base.”
“What about this… dark form? It appears to be fiend.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nikira said. “It’s not hostile.”
“That’s a first, but, since you’re unharmed…”
Nikira could imagine the confusion aboard Defiance, whose alarms would be blaring warnings into its crew’s ears. Those were hard to ignore, she knew from experience. Stealth ship commanders had an unspoken fellowship, however, which ensured Loxan would heed her advice rather than act on his scanners’ information. He would probably also contact Sarjan instead of the authorities. Stealth ship commanders trusted each other above all others, due to the bonds of a shared perilous profession, and she knew Loxan quite well.
“Reverse one hundred yards,” she ordered the pilot. “Let’s give them some room.”
Retribution drifted away from the gate, and Defiance sailed in through it, gleaming in Cloud World’s brilliance. They would find a great many things had changed about their world, and they had only been on a six-week mission. As Defiance passed over the quartet in the gate hall, Sherinias raised a hand, and the ship vanished. A moment later, Loxan’s startled voice issued from the coms console.
“What the hell?”
Nikira smiled. “Relax, Loxan. You’re safely home, and there won’t be any more missions in the Wastes. Ask Sarjan.”
“I’ll do that. Defiance out.”
“Approach the gate again,” Nikira ordered her pilot.
The Demon Lord sighed and shifted, wishing Kayos would end his daughter’s long drawn out farewell, but the Grey God seemed inclined to allow the girl all the time she wanted. Retribution returned to hover just outside the gate hall again. Sherinias finally released her father, drew herself up and looked at Bane and Drevarin. Tears shimmered in her eyes and a tremulous smile tugged at her lips. Bane knew flowery speeches and rigmaroles were in the offing, and braced himself to bear it with good grace.
The young goddess addressed Kayos first. “Lord Kayos, first of the Seven and father of my life. My gratitude to you for bringing me into the world and instructing me so diligently with your wisdom knows no bounds. I shall forever honour you and strive to be a worthy daughter. I shall be proud to tell any who ask that I am the daughter of Kayos. Your name will be praised in my churches, sung in hymns and used in blessings with the utmost reverence.” She sank to her knees and pressed her brow to the sand.
When she rose, he took her hands. “Sherinias, child of my power. Already I am proud to call you my daughter. You have proven yourself worthy. You are brave and loyal, obedient and trustworthy. I could not ask for better. My heart bleeds to leave you so soon after your birth, but alas, I have no choice. Know that you have the ability to call upon me for two hundred more years, and if you do, I will come.”
“Thank you, Father.” She turned to Bane
. “Lord Bane, my mortal brother. I am honoured to be your sister, and will tell all who ask that you are my spirit brother and second only to my father in my eyes. Should you ever return, I will welcome you with great joy, and your name will be sung with reverence and gratitude in my churches. Words cannot express my gratitude for all you have done.” She took his hands and pressed the backs of them to her forehead.
Bane nodded. “It is an honour, Lady Sherinias. I hope your life is long and happy.”
She smiled and faced Drevarin. “Lord Drevarin, witness to my birth. I am privileged to have known you. Your presence here has brought me happiness, and will again, should you choose to visit. Your name, too, will be praised in my churches.”
“I am proud to have known you, Lady Sherinias, and will forever remember our adventures together with great fondness. Your light brightens this world, and I wish you joy, peace and love for all eternity.”
Bane strode towards the ship, glad that all the genuflecting was over. It stuck in his craw, or perhaps the dark power’s craw, but whoever’s craw it stuck in, it irked him. Several paces from the light gods, he Moved, reappearing at the back of the bridge. The officers were oblivious to him. Nikira sat on her command chair, chewing her fingernails.
After a moment, Drevarin vanished from the gate hall, then Kayos gave his daughter a final hug and disappeared. Sherinias gazed at the ship, and the gate chimed again as it started to close.
“Leave this world, Commander Nikira,” Bane ordered.
She jumped and whipped around to peer into the gloom. “Lord?”
“I told you to stop calling me that. Fly through the gate, Commander.”
“Yes… sir.” Nikira signalled to the pilot, and the ship glided towards the realm gate, gaining speed as it passed through it. The gate was at ninety degrees to the cliff, halfway closed, and moved with stately splendour. One of the smaller screens showed an image of the shrinking gateway as the ship sailed over the dead, abandoned city. Bane watched the oblong of white light shrink until the tiny figure of the young girl who stood in it, gazing wistfully after the ship, was swallowed up by the radiance. The gate closed with a soft boom, and white wards hissed into being in a network over it, glimmered there for a minute, then vanished as they deactivated. The area in front of the realm gate was plunged into gloom, and the ship sailed away across a black river and headed into the God Realm.
Bane started as Drevarin stepped through the wall beside him. The light god came to stand at his side, and, after a moment, said, “You know, I have been thinking. Your adventures are a lot of fun, and I would like to partake in them. Would you object if I asked to join this quest?”
Bane raised his eyebrows. “No. Why would I object? But what about your domain?”
“Oh, it will not suffer from my absence for a hundred years. There is nothing of import afoot there. The place is dead boring.”
“We had intended to drop off the refugees there.”
“Right, of course; you still can.”
Bane nodded. “You had better tell Nikira how to get there, then.”
“Certainly.” The light god went over to Nikira, who gazed up at him and nodded when he bent to give her directions. She instructed the pilot, and the ship turned and crossed the black river again, heading in the opposite direction from the way it had arrived after capturing Bane. It seemed like a long time ago, but in fact it had only been a few weeks. So much had happened that time had seemed to pass slowly. Drevarin’s wish to join the quest pleased Bane, who would have missed him, had he left.
Bane was relieved to quit the strange domain and its troublesome people before some other disaster reared its ugly head. When people became so advanced and assured of their own cleverness, they also grew difficult. He disliked irreverence and rebellion. Cynicism bred arrogance, and they were far too convinced of their own superiority. To them, everything had to be logical, practical and explicable, or they would not accept it.
The Demon Lord left the bridge and went in search of his family and friends. The demon gods would doubtless cause trouble, but perhaps the promise of giving them control of the hellhounds would prove a powerful incentive for them to behave better than they otherwise would have. He hoped so. Being cooped up in a ship with two demon gods was a lot less appealing now that it was a reality, but he had kept Setiss on hand to spy for him. Dealing with demon gods was like sticking his hand into a basket of venomous snakes: inadvisable at best, and potentially injurious.
The tale will continue in Book IX…
About the author
T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles with her family 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 thirty novels and five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she is now a full-time writer.
All illustrations and cover designs by the author.
Contact the author at [email protected]
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 helped me so much, and Vanessa Finaughty, best friend and former business partner, for her support, encouragement and editing skills.
When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) Page 29