Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain Read online

  Sherinias turned to Kayos. “I am confused, Father. The Oracle says that a Grey God outranks a dark one, yet you defer to Bane. Who is the superior?”

  Kayos smiled and sipped his ambrosia, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Bane. “I outrank him, but I cannot command him. He usually chooses to obey me, which is just as well, considering his youth.”

  Bane snorted and frowned into his cup, making Kayos and Drevarin grin at his discomfiture.

  Chapter Two

  Stealth Ship

  Governor Predoran’s military liaison officer, Major Ranjal, marched up to the governor’s desk and stood to attention, staring ahead, his face set in grim lines as he made his report. “Communication has been re-established with Bayona, Governor, and they say that nothing’s happened there. No sign of the dra’voren. The president wants the Great Gate kept open, though.”

  Predoran regarded the lean, handsome man with tired eyes, his head aching. “Of course he does. Anything to report on Commander Nikira’s disappearance?”

  “No sir.”

  “Then the dra’voren must have taken her.”

  “That’s the popular theory.”

  Predoran rubbed his brow. “She’ll tell him everything he wants to know about our technology. Despatch as many warships to the Great Gate as we can spare. Order them to destroy it. Stop civilian traffic to and from Bayona and send a stealth ship into Cloud World to find that damned dra’voren, and they’d better kill him this time.

  “According to Retribution’s contechs, he can’t be killed with light guns, but his physiology is much like ours, so tell them to use missiles. Send the stealth ship in before you attack the gate, in case the dra’voren close it again. Have there been any more sightings of them?”

  “No sir. They were last seen in the structure between the Great Gate and the Golden Gates.”

  “Send the ship there first. Let’s see if they’re still there.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The governor switched on his wall-mounted vidscreen as Major Ranjal left, settling back to watch the latest news from Bayona.

  Bane sighed and glanced up from his Eye. “It is about time that demon found something.”

  “What demon, My Lord?” Sherinias enquired.

  Kayos said, “We should not discuss such matters here.”

  Bane met his gaze. “It is safer if she knows. She has coped well so far.”

  “You ask a lot of her.”

  “They could come here at any time. She needs to know.”

  “You alarm me, My Lord,” Sherinias said. “What do I need to know?”

  “There is no need for you to be alarmed,” Kayos assured her. “Your brother will not allow you to come to harm. He has discovered that there are three dark gods residing in your domain, and he plans to cast them down and trap them below.”

  She raised a hand to her mouth. “Three?”

  Bane nodded. “That I know of. There could be more.”

  “Let us not frighten her any more than we have to,” Kayos said.

  Sherinias lowered her hand and drew herself up, trying to appear composed even though her nervousness was plain. “We must flee the domain.”

  “You cannot. Only your birthplace can sustain you until you reach maturity. It is my mistake. I should have asked Bane to see if there were any dark gods here before I woke you. But do not be concerned, the demon Bane spoke of is searching for them, and we will deal with them.”

  Sherinias gazed at Bane, who frowned at his Eye. “But three... Surely you cannot defeat all of them, My Lord?”

  “One at a time, hopefully,” Bane said.

  “Then...” She hesitated. “Why not find them with your Eye? Do you know their names?”

  “I do, but if I cast my Eye upon them, they will know I am here.”

  “Will they... come after me?”

  Bane looked up at her. “Yes. But they will have to deal with me first.”

  “I must close the world gate.”

  “No. Not yet. This is the best place for me to fight them, where the light will help. They must be allowed to follow Kayos here.”

  Sherinias’ eyes widened even more, and she cast Kayos a horrified look. “Father, you must not put yourself in danger.”

  “I will be all right. Bane will protect me.”

  “You trust him very much.”

  Kayos glanced at Bane, who gazed into his Eye again. “I do.”

  She gulped and looked down at her hands. “You are all risking yourselves for me. I... Perhaps I could help. If I find them, they will not know about -”

  “No.” Kayos frowned at her. “You will do exactly as I say, Sherinias. This is dangerous, and I will not allow you to make it worse. They must not know that any of us know about them, else they will come here when we are unprepared, invisible, and try to capture one of us.”

  “They could do that anyway,” Bane said.

  “But it is unlikely that they will. They will be making plans, creating a flesh beast, or several. As long as they do not know that we are aware of their presence, they will be in no hurry, for if we knew, we would surely flee. That is why they have not cast their Eyes upon us, nor will they.”

  “We are invisible, anyway.”

  “And we must remain so, for now. An Eye would still give them our location, but they must know where we are.” Kayos turned to Sherinias. “When the time comes, you will go to your birthing chamber and stay there until it is safe to come out.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  Bane looked up with a frown. “Why is it that there are no more vehicles flying over us, yet I can still hear humming?”

  Kayos cocked his head, and Drevarin nodded and said, “I hear it too. Perhaps it is one of those invisible ships passing by.”

  “Why would it be in here, and why would it be invisible? Unless...” Bane leapt up. “Move!”

  Drevarin vanished, and Kayos rose and swept up Sherinias, disappearing a moment later. Bane Moved closer to the source of the humming, recalling Nikira’s description of the location of a stealth ship’s trap.

  In the stealth ship Miraculous’ dimly lighted observation room, Commander Sarjan cursed and leant over the shoulder of his senior observation technician, glaring at the scanner screen.

  “Where the hell did he go?”

  “Don’t know, sir,” the obstech muttered.

  “Well find him!”

  “He must be out of scanner range, sir.”

  Sarjan straightened. The three-man observation crew peered at their screens, monitoring data and images from various sensors. Sarjan glanced at the live feed monitor, which showed an empty gazebo in Cloud World’s pale, billowing landscape.

  “Initiate a full scan.” He keyed a com-unit, contacting the pilot. “Turn the ship, we’ve lost the dra’voren.”

  “Sir…” The obstech glanced up. “What if he’s sensed us?”

  “Impossible.”

  “He’s been aboard one of our ships. He knows how they work.”

  “He still can’t see us.”

  “There he is!” The obstech pointed at a black figure on the edge of his screen. “He’s closer, almost under us.”

  “How the hell did he get there?” Sarjan contacted the bridge again. “Pilot, take us back a hundred and fifty yards.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Sarjan gazed at the figure on the scanner screen, waiting for it to enter the crosshairs that showed the target area of the translocation generators. As the crosshairs neared it, the figure vanished again, and Sarjan swore.

  “He knows we’re here,” the obstech said.

  “Let’s not jump to any conclusions.” Sarjan keyed the com-link once more. “Pilot, continue to reverse until I tell you to stop.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “There he is!” the obstech cried. “He moved closer again.”

  Sarjan’s heart sank. If the dra’voren could sense the ship, they were in grave danger. All the reports he had read in preparation for this mission had spo
ken of this dra’voren’s strangeness, and clearly he possessed still more oddities they did not know about.

  Kayos rematerialised outside Sherinias’ birthing chamber and put the girl down. She gazed at him with deep trepidation, biting her lip, and he patted her shoulder.

  “Be brave, Daughter. Go inside and wait for me. Do not emerge, no matter what. If you need me, call me. I must go back and help Bane.”

  “Is he in danger, Father?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Why would the mortals send an invisible ship to harm us?”

  “Not us; Bane. He is the only one they can see with their magic. They think he is evil.”

  She frowned. “That must happen to him a lot.”

  “Yes. Go inside now. You will be safe there.”

  Sherinias went to the door, and the wards flickered as she approached them. As soon as she vanished inside, Kayos Moved again.

  Commander Arboran sat on his ergonomic black contoured chair on the bridge of the battleship Valiant and gazed at the Great Gate on the main screen. The ancient gate dwarfed the warship with its majestic grandeur. Archaeologists had marvelled at it for centuries, as had anyone who had seen it, or a picture of it. Sarlan City’s blue glow illuminated the inside of it, now facing outwards as it stood open, the pale light of Cloud World gilding the dusty ground in front of it. Arboran had seen the images of its closing, when beams of white fire had struck the ground not far from it, destroying the Dorilan Dome. The fleet of warships he commanded was well out of range, however, and the weapons seemed to be designed to protect the gate only when it was closed, since they were inactive while it was open.

  The gate defied all the laws of physics and logic, too massive to be supported by any form of hinge and too heavy to close, making those who had studied it wonder why it had been made. Yet it did close, and that was the reason he had been ordered to destroy it. His battleship was one of five that hovered in front of the giant gate, along with seven destroyers stationed at various altitudes around them.

  Twenty years of military service had earned Arboran the gold braid on the sleeves and collar of his cobalt uniform, but this was the first time he had been ordered to attack a gate. He was pretty sure it would not fight back. The atmosphere in the sleek, console-lined bridge was one of hushed industry tinged with tension. Officers monitored the scrolling data on the displays or gazed out through the main screen. Valiant was one of the newest battleships in the fleet, commissioned just two years ago. The pilot sat at a central console, holding the ship steady.

  “The stealth ship is inside, sir,” the coms officer informed Arboran.

  “Prepare the first volley,” Arboran ordered. “Signal the other ships to commence firing upon my order. Arm the missiles.”

  “Yes sir.” The weapon systems officer ran his hands over his console. “Missiles armed.”

  Arboran hated what he was about to do. The Great Gate predated civilisation, and should be preserved for prosperity. It saddened him that his children and grandchildren would only see images of it. After the missiles from five battleships and seven destroyers had pulverised it, only rubble would remain.

  Arboran said, “Fire.”

  The weapon systems officer touched his control panel, and a dull thud sent a shiver through the floor as four missiles fired in unison. A moment later the projectiles came into view on the main screen, tongues of hot blue fire propelling them, each leaving a trail of white smoke. Others joined them from all around, fired by the other warships, and drew together as they homed in on their target.

  The weapon systems officer intoned, “Range to target, seven hundred yards, five hundred, three hundred, one hundred…”

  The multiple flashes of yellow brilliance as forty-eight missiles struck the gate in quick succession forced Arboran to look away. A moment later, the shockwave hit the ship, along with the explosions’ massive, thunderous rumble. Valiant reared like a mettlesome steed, and alarms beeped as the pilot’s hands flew over his console, adjusting stabilisers and generators to counter the shockwave.

  The ship surged backwards, the soft hum of its engines becoming a deep growl as it fought to maintain its position. Arboran gripped the arms of his chair, staring at the main screen as the flare died away. His mouth fell open when the Great Gate emerged from the flames, its pale, carved inner surface pitted and blackened, but intact. The bridge officers gaped at it too, and some flung him astonished glances. That number of missiles should have utterly destroyed a stone structure, even one as massive as the Great Gate.

  Arboran said, “Prepare a second volley.”

  “Yes sir.” The weapon systems officer tapped keys on this console.

  “Signal the fleet,” Arboran ordered the coms-op.

  “Yes sir.”

  The pilot pointed at the screen. “Look!”

  Arboran blinked, hardly able to believe his eyes. Some of the ancient symbols carved into the stone around the gate were filling with soft white light, brightening and dimming in a sequence that ran around its frame from left to right. Sometimes only one lighted, while others brightened in clusters, as if forming words in a sentence. Archaeologists had studied the odd carvings extensively, but had been unable to decipher the strange language, if indeed it was a language at all. They had also been unable even to formulate a theory about them, so mysterious were they, and what was happening now was impossible. Stone did not give off light.

  “It’s closing!” an officer shouted.

  The gate moved with regal torpor, light glinting on it as it swung towards the doorway.

  “Arm the missiles,” Arboran ordered.

  “Missiles armed.”

  “Fire!”

  A battery of dull booms heralded a second volley of missiles that came into view ahead of the ship a moment later, streaking towards its target. Other projectiles joined Valiant’s salvo from the rest of the fleet, drawing together as they neared the gate. The sequence of lighted symbols around the portal ended, and flashes of white light appeared on either side of the gate, no more than sparkles of fire.

  “It’s the weapons,” another officer stated. “They’re activating again.”

  “We’re out of range,” Arboran said.

  A second series of brilliant yellow flashes filled the main screen, and Arboran closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the flares had turned orange. The ship reared once more as the second shockwave hit it, and the explosion’s mighty rumble made it shudder. The pilot struggled to keep the vessel on an even keel as it yawed and heeled. Arboran stared at the screen, waiting for the fire and smoke to clear.

  When it did, cold dread clutched his heart. A few chunks had been blown out of the edge of the gate, but the damage was negligible. The gate was half closed, and the sparkles of white fire around it became pulses of light that shot towards them in a rising trajectory. No longer merely webbing the gate with lines of fire, they struck out towards the ships. Untargeted, yet deadly, they strafed the entire area in front of the gate with bolts of white power.

  “Pilot, get us out of here!” Arboran ordered.

  Valiant listed as it swung away. Some of the other warships came into view on the screen, most performing a similar manoeuvre. They were too late, Arboran knew deep in his gut. The white pulses had no maximum range; there was no way to escape them.

  “Take us down! Emergency dive!”

  “Sir -”

  “Do it!”

  The ship’s bow dropped as it plummeted towards the ground, and the rising lances of light. It seemed like suicide, but there was a slight chance it would pass through the deadly barrage without being hit. It was their only hope. Arboran keyed a selector on his console, finding a live feed image of the city. Vast explosions blossomed from it in lines of destruction that matched the trajectory of the pulses of fire.

  “What have we done?” he whispered.

  White light blinded him as a massive explosion tore through the ship. Searing heat engulfed him, and the screams of dying
men reached him just before blackness slammed down.

  Bane glanced around as thunderous explosions came from the gate hall, and black smoke billowed out of it. He scowled. “Infernal idiots.”

  A moment later, the realm gate’s distant chiming reached him, its tones faster than normal, indicating warning and urgency.

  Kayos appeared beside him and frowned at the gate hall. “They are attacking the realm gate?”

  “It would appear so.”

  “They will pay for that.”

  “You want me to -?”

  “No, do not concern yourself,” Kayos said. “The domain’s defences have been triggered. The gate will close, and everything outside it will be destroyed.”

  “Everything?”

  “Well, certainly whatever is attacking it, and large portions of that city.”

  “The refugees?”

  Kayos shook his head. “They are beyond the mountain. They will be fine. Where is this invisible ship of yours?”

  Bane raised his eyebrows. “It is not mine.”

  “Well, you are the one chasing it.”

  “I have not caught it yet, but it is somewhere over there.” He gestured. “Moving away. They are trying to get me into their trap.”

  A second battery of explosions and cloud of smoke came from the gate hall, and Kayos gazed at it again. “What makes these mortals imagine they can attack a realm gate and live to tell the tale?”

  “Stupidity?”

  “Indeed.” Kayos chuckled. “This must be the first time mortals have attacked a realm gate. I have not heard of it before.”

  “Is this why you told me that I could not breach one?”

  “Partly, although the retaliation would have been far worse if the gate had been closed when they attacked it. The weapons were dormant, so their reaction was slow.”

  “We must Move,” Bane said, pointing ahead. “Over there.” When they rematerialised, he looked up. “I think it must be right above us now. I have been tracking it by its hum, and it is loudest here.”