Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain Read online

  Bane’s head jerked around. “That is asking a bit much.”

  “It is the best way.”

  “That is like telling her to put her hand into a basket of snakes.”

  “Yes,” Kayos said, “and when she finds that they do not bite, her fear goes away.”

  “Your method of teaching children leaves a lot to be desired.”

  “I have raised twenty-seven children, and she is a goddess.”

  “She is a child,” Bane said. “She is only one day old.”

  “Will you stop interfering?”

  “Fine. You can clean up the mess.”

  Kayos faced Sherinias again. “Obey me.”

  “Am I to be his slave, Father?” she asked in a trembling voice. “Is that why he does not harm you? Have you given me to him in return for your freedom?”

  “Do you really think I would do such a thing, Sherinias?”

  She looked stricken, shaking her head. “But I would understand it, and I would be honoured to sacrifice myself for you.”

  “I have told you that he will not harm you.”

  “The darkness lies, Father. He has deceived you.”

  “I understand your fear, so do it because I tell you to, and for no other reason.”

  Sherinias stared at Bane with flinching, horror-filled eyes, and Kayos gave her a push towards him. She took a step and halted, frozen again.

  Bane flung Kayos an angry look. “If you want to frighten her to death, do not use me.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Yes, leave me alone.” Bane strode away.

  “Bane!”

  The Demon Lord walked on for several strides, then slowed, raising his fists with a growl of frustration as he stopped and swung to face the Grey God, who glared at him. Bane marched back, flicking the edges of his cloak over his shoulders. “I do not enjoy frightening little girls.”

  “I understand. This is hard for you.”

  “It is a lot worse for her.”

  “Do you want her to be afraid of you?”

  “No.”

  “Then do as I say,” Kayos advised. “I know what I am doing. Do you remember how your power reacted to her insolence?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then harden your heart. You are too soft.”

  “Tell her that,” Bane said.

  “At this juncture, words will not convince her. Have you heard that actions speak louder?”

  “Of course. Then come with her.”

  The Grey God shook his head. “Then she will fear you when I am absent.”

  “I do not want to do this.”

  “You must.” Kayos looked at Sherinias once more. “Go and take your brother’s hand.”

  “Why did you call him back when he was leaving?” she asked. “I do not understand.”

  “I did it because you must do as I say. He will not harm you.”

  Sherinias cast Bane a despairing glance and walked towards him with stiff, jerky steps. He looked away, unable to meet her desperate, pleading gaze, which begged for his mercy.

  Once he had revelled in the terror he inspired in others, and the darkness sought to twist his self-loathing into contempt. The dark power mocked his weakness and sought to overcome his hatred of its depraved teachings by offering a font of pleasure from her fear, and he fought against it.

  Kayos watched his dark son with deep concern, noting the expressions that chased each other across Bane’s face. His human side warred with the darkness within him, and this would test his ability to overcome its influence. Once he had been its slave, and it had made him kill, torture and humiliate many innocents. Kayos was sure Bane had not forgiven himself for that, even if Mirra had.

  Bane frowned into the distance, but every so often he glanced at Sherinias and his lip curled in contempt. Then his face became a mask as he regained a little control, and he averted his gaze. Kayos longed to go to him and embrace him, give him the love and trust he needed and deserved. Sherinias had to trust Bane, and this was the only way. For Bane, being a dark god was a burden he longed to shed, but could not while his powers were needed.

  Drevarin’s friendship was good for Bane, bolstering his self-image, but Sherinias’ fear did grave harm to his self-esteem. Kayos feared that Bane would do something rash and self-destructive to counter it.

  Bane glanced at Sherinias, who met his eyes with a beseeching gaze, her breath coming in jerky gasps.

  Kayos said, “She was born with an inherent fear of the darkness. Only irrefutable proof of your friendship will allay her terror.”

  “If she does not drop dead of it before she gets here.”

  “She will not. Do not approach her. She must come to you.”

  Bane flung him a scathing look. “I am not a fool. She is defenceless, not so?”

  “At this age, utterly.”

  “That makes it even worse.”

  Sherinias approached Bane like an automaton, and he doubted that she heard a word they said, her mind numb with fright. He wondered if he should smile, but that would probably be as threatening as a frown to her. Stones made her stagger, and he fought the urge to help her. The darkness within him revelled in her fear and tried to fill him with smug gloating, but he thrust it aside. Her faltering steps brought her to within two strides of him, and her eyes flicked down to his hand, which hung at his side, hidden by his cloak.

  “Hold out your hand,” Kayos instructed.

  Bane stretched out his left hand, which was the one she looked at. He wondered if the reason for her choice was that the left hand was usually the weaker one. Sherinias hesitated, gathering her courage, he suspected, before she took the last few steps and looked up at him, her expression one of extreme trepidation. He met her gaze, then looked away, hardly able to stomach it. Her hand touched his, and her fingers closed around it. He glanced down to find her gazing back at Kayos, silently begging for her ordeal to be over.

  Kayos shook his head. “Stay there, Sherinias. Bane, talk to her.”

  “Sherinias.” Bane tried to make his voice soft and reassuring.

  The young goddess looked up at him, her expression despairing. He took hold of her hand, drew her closer and stroked her cheek. Blue fire sparkled where his fingers brushed her skin, and she flinched, closing her eyes. Bane frowned as a pang of intense pity shot through him, mingled with deep self-loathing. In an attempt to ease her fears somewhat, he sank down on one knee.

  “Sherinias, look at me.”

  Her eyes opened and roamed over his face. “What are you going to do to me?”

  “Nothing; I am your brother.”

  “You are a dark god. You lie.”

  He inclined his head. “Sometimes, but I am not lying now.”

  “Prove it.”

  “How?”

  “Let me go.”

  “No,” Kayos said.

  Bane ignored him. “I will let you go if you promise not to run away.”

  She appeared uncertain, then nodded, and he released her hand. “You do not have to touch me to hurt me, do you?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Then fleeing would do me no good. When I asked to be released, I did not mean merely my hand. I asked for my freedom. This is not something you would grant, is it?”

  “I have not enslaved you,” Bane said. “You came to me because Kayos told you to.”

  “Father fears you too.”

  “No, he does not. I have been with you since you were born. I was there at your birth, and I have not harmed you, have I?”

  “You had no power.”

  He nodded. “I cast it out so you would not be afraid of me, and we would have told you when you were older. I do not want you to fear me. You may do whatever you wish to assure yourself that I will not harm you.”

  “Kill you?”

  He smiled. “You are courageous. This is hard for you, and you do not have the power to kill me, but if you did, would you be less afraid of me?”

  “Yes.”

  Bane g
estured, and a silver dagger appeared in his hand. Sherinias gasped, gazing at it with wonder and hope. He held it out, hilt towards her. “Now we are equals, for you have the means to kill me.”

  She took the weapon and clutched it to her chest. Her expression changed to anxious curiosity. “You could kill me first.”

  “Maybe; maybe not. I would wager that you are faster than me, for I am only a mortal.”

  “You are a dark god. They move faster than us, even if they are mortal.”

  “Who told you that?” he enquired.

  “The Oracle.”

  “Does the Oracle know what ‘tar’merin’ means?”

  “No.”

  Bane glanced at Kayos, who watched them with a frown. “Do you remember what Father said it was?”

  “No.” Her eyes filled with puzzlement. “How can you be my brother?”

  “I was born in Kayos’ domain, so I am his spirit son.”

  “You would not let me kill you, would you?”

  He gazed up at her. “What would it take, to make you trust me?”

  “Let me kill you.”

  “Then I would be dead.”

  “And I would trust you.”

  Bane smiled. “The logic of a child, or at least, a child goddess. Mortal children do not usually want to kill their brothers; not at your age, anyway.”

  “The darkness is my enemy.”

  “Yes, that is hard for me to counter. Very well, you may kill me.”

  Kayos muttered, “Bane...”

  “Would you like that?” Bane asked Sherinias.

  She nodded, looking uncertain.

  Bane unbuttoned his tunic and pulled it open, then his shirt, baring his chest. He indicated the spot over his heart. “This is the place.”

  A frown creased her brow. “Yes, it is.”

  “So, you know that. I did not lie.”

  “You could still stop me.”

  “But I will not.”

  Her eyes met his. “You are a dark god -”

  “A liar, yes, I know.” He sighed. “And I could stop you even with my hands tied behind my back. Very easily. But I will not.”

  Sherinias hesitated, then reached out and ran her fingers down his chest to the spot over his heart. Slowly she lifted the dagger and placed the point against his skin in exactly the right place.

  Kayos made a choking sound, and Bane raised a hand to stop him striding up to them. “Stay there.”

  Sherinias met Bane’s eyes again, the puzzlement in hers now tinged with hope and wonder. Her hand tightened on the dagger hilt, and she pressed on it. He winced as blood oozed from the shallow wound, and a scarlet line ran down his chest.

  Her face twisted with despair as she stared at the crimson streak. “You will rise again as a spirit god.”

  “Yes.”

  “But you would let me kill you.”

  The dark fire seethed with fury within him. He knew he could save himself, and she probably did too. That was not the point. He had allowed her to hurt him without censure or retaliation, something a true dark god would not do. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want you to trust me, and this is the only way, is it not?”

  “Yes.”

  Kayos said, “If he does not stop you, child, I will. He is my son, and I love him. He has saved me from the darkness, and defeated many dark gods fighting for the light.”

  She shot him a quick, bewildered frown. The mind-numbing terror had evidently left her, and rational thought now prevailed. “Why would he do that, Father?”

  “He is tar’merin.”

  She lifted the dagger and cast it away, meeting Bane’s eyes. “You are a thousand times more powerful than I, and you could kill me with a single thought, yet you let me harm you.” She pressed her hand to the wound, and golden light ignited under her palm, but his power blocked her healing.

  Bane shook his head. “You cannot heal me.”

  Sherinias gazed at the blood on her hand, and then stroked his cheek. He smiled, and she returned it, her expression still a little uncertain. “Now I understand why Father told me to respect and obey you. He is right, of course.”

  Kayos approached. “Bane, stand up.”

  Bane cast him an exasperated look. “Will you leave us alone?”

  “There is something Sherinias must be told, and now is the time.”

  Bane rose to his feet with a sigh, and Kayos touched the young light goddess’ shoulder, drawing her attention. “Your brother’s title is the Demon Lord. He is Torvaran’s destroyer.”

  Sherinias’ expression became awe-stricken, and her eyes glimmered. She bowed her head and sank to her knees to press her brow to Bane’s boots.

  He shot Kayos a murderous look, unable to move and keenly embarrassed. “Did you have to tell her that?”

  “It is her right. She wanted to thank whoever destroyed Pretarin’s murderer.”

  “You gods are a strange lot, with your rigmaroles and rules.”

  Sherinias sat back. Tears ran down her face to fall in sparkling drops onto Bane’s boots.

  He gripped her arm and hauled her to her feet. “Do that again, and I will put you over my knee.”

  “For avenging the death of my first father, I thank you, Demon Lord.”

  “Stay the hell away from my damn boots.” He swung away, but Kayos caught his arm and halted him, placing his hand on the cut on Bane’s chest. Golden light flared under his palm, and when he lifted it, the injury was healed. Bane glowered at him. “You are getting far too fond of pushing me around.”

  “What will you do, burn off my arm?”

  “Do not tempt me.” Bane brushed past him and marched towards the gate.

  Kayos chuckled and said to Sherinias, “He would not, of course. You put him through quite an ordeal, child.”

  “I did not know that ones such as he existed, Father,” she replied.

  “You should have believed me when I told you, or better still, you should have believed him, but I know you could not. I am pleased that you accepted him so swiftly. You are brave.”

  “How could I not when he allowed me to draw his blood? He is strange, Father.”

  “Indeed he is,” Kayos agreed.

  “I would like to hear the tale of how he destroyed Torvaran.”

  “I will tell you one day.”

  When Bane stepped through the gate, Drevarin approached him, his expression concerned. Evidently he had been waiting in the gazebo while Kayos went to fetch Sherinias, and had been on his way to find out what was taking so long. He relaxed when Sherinias and Kayos entered the gate hall, then his eyes flicked to Bane, noting the blue aura that surrounded him in the light realm.

  “Sherinias knows?” Drevarin asked.

  “Yes.”

  Sherinias beamed at Drevarin. “Is my brother not marvellous, Lord Drevarin?”

  “He is, My Lady.”

  “I am privileged to be born into such an unusual and powerful family.”

  Bane turned to Kayos. “I was afraid she would Move out there, and be lost.”

  The Grey God smiled. “I should have told you, but I did not see the need.”

  “Told me what?”

  “A child her age cannot Move.”

  “So I could have just caught her and proved that I was not going to harm her?”

  “You could, but that would have been cruel.”

  “I would have bitten you,” Sherinias declared.

  Kayos nodded. “She has teeth.”

  “I am shaking in my boots.” Bane strode into the gazebo and flung himself down on a couch. Drevarin flopped onto the one next to it, Kayos took the third, and Sherinias sank onto hers in a shimmer of diamond skirts, gazing at Bane.

  “So what happened?” Drevarin enquired.

  Sherinias said, “I was so afraid I thought my heart would surely burst.”

  “I thought so too,” Bane drawled, summoning a cup of ambrosia.

  “Father made me go to him and take his han
d.”

  “And then she tried to kill me,” Bane said.

  Drevarin’s eyebrows shot up. “How?”

  She giggled. “He gave me a dagger.”

  “That was clever of him.”

  “Of course, I knew he would not allow me to do it, but it made me realise that he is as good as his spirit.”

  “You could have done it.” Bane sipped his ambrosia. “I was not going to stop you.”

  “That would have been foolish, My Lord.”

  “It was a question of trust. I trusted you not to kill me, and you did not. If I had intended to stop you, that would mean I did not trust you. If I expected you to trust me, I had to trust you first.”

  Kayos chuckled. “Your human side is showing, Bane.”

  “You make it sound like a bad thing.”

  “I did not intend to, but that is pure human logic. A god does not risk his life to prove to a foolish child that he means her no harm.”

  “I did not. I knew she would not do it.”

  The Grey God shook his head. “Then you knew more than I, for I was ready to leap across and heal you before your spirit fled. She was more than capable of killing you.”

  Bane looked at Sherinias. “Tell me he is wrong.”

  She lowered her eyes. “It grieves me now, but when I held the dagger to your heart, I intended to try to kill you, but I did not think you would let me.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “When I looked into your eyes, they were filled with sorrow and pity. The darkness does not know such things.”

  Bane nodded. “Clever girl.”

  “How did you come to be as you are?”

  “That tale is too long to tell you now, but one day I shall.”

  She inclined her head. “As you wish, My Lord.”

  Bane glanced up at the traffic humming overhead. “Do these idiots think the gate is going to stay open now?”

  Sherinias followed his gaze. “They have made no attempt to bring their people inside, if anything, the outbound traffic has increased.”

  “Nikira said they would do that. They think we are all dra’voren, here to destroy the domain.”

  Kayos sighed. “They are ignorant.”

  “And none pray to me,” Sherinias grumbled.

  “One day they will.”

  Bane realised that his shirt was still open and buttoned it, fastening his tunic. “We will leave the gate open for now.”