Demon Lord VI - Son of Chaos (12 page)

“
You would not want to be that.”

“
Indeed. I would rather have a tar’merin as a
friend.”

Bane opened
his eyes. “You consider me a friend?”

“
Of course. Do you not?”

“
I had not pondered it, but I suppose so.”

“
Good.” Drevarin smiled and lay back, moving his couch
alongside Bane’s. When the last dregs of dark power had left him,
Bane stretched out with a sigh.

***

Nikira stared
at the main screen with a sinking heart, dismayed by the density of
the dark region ahead. The demon hound had vanished into it a
moment before, and she touched a key to open a comlink to the
observation room.

“
Montar, do you still have that thing on scanners?”

“
Just barely,” his tinny voice replied.

“
Can you track it and guide us?”

“
I’ll do my best.”

Nikira left
the connection open and turned to the pilot. “It’s been moving in a
straight line, so let’s assume that it will continue to do so for
now.”

He nodded.
“Shouldn’t we inform the dra - tar’merin?”

“
Only if we have to.”

Nikira looked
up at the main screen as Retribution’s bow entered the darkness,
and the image became black.

The pilot’s
hands danced over his board. “If there are obstacles in here, we
can’t see them.”

“
Then we’ll have to hope the thing that’s leading us will avoid
them.”

“
We should slow down, Commander. If we hit something at this
speed...”

“
I know. I’ll ask Drevarin to put up his shield again. Carry
on.” Nikira entered the lift and selected deck five, wondering why
the prospect of seeing Bane always filled her with a strange
mixture of dread and joy. His presence was electrifying, and
meeting his intense eyes was like sticking a finger in a power
socket. By contrast, Drevarin’s presence was calming and warming,
making her long to bask in his glory always. It stood to reason
that a dark god would inspire fear, but why did he also make her
feel so alive? Perhaps, she thought with a shudder, because he was
so dangerous.

Nikira entered
the dining room and stopped in surprise. The two men lay side by
side on their couches, their eyes closed, and ropes of white light
linked them. Mirra sat with Mithran and Grem at a table, engrossed
in a hushed conversation. Ethra and Sarrin sat at another table,
playing a simple game. Sarrin looked up with a smile, and Ethra
frowned at Nikira.

“
You can’t disturb them now,” she stated.

“
We need Drevarin’s help.”

“
Come back later.”

Nikira walked
closer. “That’s not for you to say.”

“
Bane will punish you.”

Sarrin clicked
her tongue. “Enough, Ethra. Bane would not hurt anyone, and you
know it.”

Nikira stopped
beside the old priestess, raising her brows in surprise. “He
wouldn’t?”

Ethra shot
Sarrin a glare. “He’ll be angry with you.”

“
I am not afraid of him.”

Nikira sat
down at their table. “How well do you know him?”

“
Well enough to know that he would not harm anyone unless they
tried to harm him first. Like Frendar, and he was upset about
that.”

“
Who’s Frendar?”

“
A child god who tried to imprison and torment us. When we
left, he tried to kill Bane, and he thinks he might have slain him
by accident. Anyone stupid enough to attack Bane should know they
could be slain by his defences.”

“
So you don’t think his threat to kill me is real?”

Sarrin
snorted. “If he threatened that, he was playing with you, probably
to punish you.”

“
Which you richly deserve,” Ethra added, then glared at Sarrin
again. “If she tells him, he’ll be angry with you.”

The priestess
shrugged. “Not for long.”

“
He stopped me from breathing,” Nikira said.

“
Then you must have angered him, and he was trying to frighten
you.”

“
It worked.”

“
Of course it did, foolish girl,” Sarrin scoffed. “That is why
you must treat him with the utmost respect. Ethra is far too brash
with him. I think one day he will put her over his knee and spank
her like the silly child she is.”

“
He wouldn’t!” Ethra exclaimed.

“
Of course he would.”

“
No he wouldn’t!”

Sarrin turned
to Nikira. “You have nothing to fear from Bane. He will try to
frighten you, that is all.”

“
That is not quite correct, Sarrin.” Bane opened his eyes and
sat up, the ropes of power fading as Drevarin sighed and
yawned.

Ethra shot her
a smug glance, and Sarrin bowed her head. “I am sorry, Lord.”

“
I have no intention of hurting anyone, but that does not mean
it is a good idea to annoy me.”

Nikira stood
up, a spurt of intense relief washing through her at the
possibility that he was not as bad as he seemed. “Your threats were
a bluff then?”

His eyes
impaled her. “Not quite. You deserve to be punished, and unless you
do as I say, I will see to it that you are. Do not doubt me.”

She lowered
her gaze to her boots. “Yes, Lord. I -”

The ship
lurched, and the soft hum of the engines rose to a whine as the
floor tilted, throwing Nikira across the table and scattering the
game counters onto the floor. She landed at Bane’s feet with a
grunt as he glanced around in alarm. Scrambling away from him, she
turned to Drevarin.

“
Please, shield the ship; we’re in a dark region!”

Drevarin
looked vague, and, when his eyes regained their focus, the ship
stabilised.

Nikira tried
to rise to her feet, then yelped and flung herself backwards as
something shot up through the floor next to her. It moved too
swiftly for her to get a good look at it, darting towards Bane, who
stepped aside, swatting at it, but his hand passed right through
it. Drevarin leapt up as it flew at him, flinging himself out of
the way in the nick of time.

“
Wraiths!”

Bane swayed
backwards as the wraith flew at his face, and it missed again. Two
more shot from the floor, their forms like ragged black lace,
translucent and featureless. Ethra screamed and ducked as one
swooped at her, and Bane spread his arms. The temperature dropped
several degrees, and Nikira gasped as darkness rose from the
shadows beneath the tables and under the curtains. It poured into
him like black smoke, and he pointed at the wraith that had just
missed Ethra. A filament of darkness spat from his finger and
struck the shadowy creature, which vanished in a puff of ash and
with a soft wail.

Mirra jumped
up and ran to kneel beside Bane, Mithran and Grem followed with
drawn swords. They stood over her and tried to spot the flitting
wraiths that darted towards them, ducking and slashing at them.
Bane had to leap back to avoid an ill-aimed slash of Grem’s weapon,
and glared at the warrior, who looked contrite.

“
Get down!” Bane shouted.

Grem crouched
beside Mirra and pulled Mithran down next to him. Bane spun and
sent a lash of black power at another wraith, which vanished like
the first. A dozen more shot up from the floor, several of which
attacked Nikira, the rest swooped at Ethra and Sarrin. Bane
continued to Gather, sending the dark power forth in swathes of
shadow that turned the creatures into clouds of black ash. Mithran
yelled and slashed at a wraith that swooped at him, but it struck
an invisible barrier and rebounded, fluttering away, and Bane burnt
it to ash with a lash of power.

Drevarin
formed a shining shield and batted at the wraiths that flew at him,
sending them tumbling away. Ethra and Sarrin clung to each other,
their faces stiff with terror, and Nikira crawled towards them. A
wraith landed on her leg, and she screamed as cold enveloped her.
She tried to smack it away, but her hands passed through it and its
chill bit into her fingers like needles of ice. Even though her
hands grew numb with each blow, she pounded at the little monster
in a futile, hysterical bid to rid herself of it, its frigid touch
sucking the warmth from her flesh.

A bolt of dark
power burnt the creature and sent a wave of nausea through her.
Despite the sickening effect, she was grateful for Bane’s help. He
destroyed the wraiths with negligent flicks of his hands, each
streak of shadow striking its target with unerring accuracy. Nikira
reached Sarrin and crouched beside her, examining the ugly red welt
on her leg, which burnt with frost bite. Within a few minutes all
the creatures were destroyed, leaving behind a settling cloud of
ash.

“
My crew!” Nikira said.

“
Stay close to me,” Bane ordered.

Taking Mirra’s
hand, he pulled her to her feet and strode to the door, his cloak
flaring. Mithran and Grem followed, sheathing their useless swords.
Ethra and Sarrin scrambled up and ran after him. Nikira glanced
around for more of the horrible creatures as she trotted to catch
up, Drevarin bringing up the rear. Bane marched to the lift and
they crowded into it, Drevarin sprinting in as the doors closed.
Bane bent to murmur to Mirra, who nodded.

As Bane
stepped onto the bridge, he sent a swathe of dark power across it
with a wave of his hand, and four wraiths turned to ash with soft
wails. Most of the bridge crew huddled beside their consoles, but
two officers lay on the floor, their faces pale, and the pilot
bellowed into the intercom for guards. Bane re-entered the lift,
thrusting Nikira back when she tried to get past him.

“
Stay with me, or die.” He pushed the down button.

“
But my crew!”

“
You can do nothing for them.”

Nikira huddled
at the back of the lift and rubbed her arm where he had gripped it.
When the doors opened, Bane led them into another bright corridor,
stepping over a dead crewman. He headed for the observation room,
his long strides forcing the women to trot. Drevarin kept pace, his
shield dangling from one fist.

In the
observation room, alarms beeped and brayed in a raucous cacophony.
Montar and another man cringed against the far wall, staring at a
wraith that enveloped the third member of the observation crew. He
thrashed on the floor, making horrible choking sounds. Bane pointed
at it, and the filament of power that spat from his finger turned
the foul creature to ash. The man sagged with a groan, and Nikira
ran to crouch beside him.

“
He will live,” Bane said. “Come, there are more who will not
if we do not hurry.”

Nikira jumped
up and hurried after him as he turned and headed for the door.
Drevarin fell into step beside him in the corridor outside.

“
These things seem to feed on life force,” he
muttered.

Bane glanced
at him. “You have seen them before?”

“
On my travels through the God Realm, I encountered a flock in
a dark region. They attacked, but my shields kept them at
bay.”

“
That would explain why so many attacked us. We have the
strongest life force here.”

Drevarin
nodded. “They will be attracted to crowds.”

“
The hold.” Bane cursed and quickened his pace, entered the
lift at the end of the corridor and hit the button. “I could move
faster without these encumbrances.”

“
I can protect them.”

“
Good.”

Bane strode
out as the doors opened, and Drevarin grabbed Mirra when she tried
to dart past in pursuit.

“
You stay with me.”

She looked up
with a mutinous expression, then lowered her eyes in reluctant
capitulation when she met his stern gaze. “Yes, Lord.”

Nikira turned
to Drevarin. “We should go to the main security station, where we
can see all the rooms on the ship.”

“
Take us there.”

They followed
her back into the lift, which rose several floors before the doors
opened to reveal yet another featureless corridor identical to the
one they had just left. The ship’s grey and black décor was
functional and aesthetically pleasing, but monotonous. Nikira ran
down the passage to a room filled with banks of vidscreens, where
four security operators shouted instructions into various
intercoms, warning people of wraiths. Silencing them with a curt
command, she glanced around at the screens.

“
Report.”

“
They’re in number two dining room, the recreation room on deck
four, the guards’ barracks on deck eight, and the hold,” the senior
security officer said.

Nikira found
the screen that showed the hold and studied it, waiting for Bane to
appear. The refugees ran about in a blind panic, seven wraiths
pursuing them, two more crouched over writhing victims. Dozens of
people hammered on the doors, begging to be let out. The guards
outside followed the standard security protocol, which stated that
if a catastrophe befell one area of the ship, it should not be
allowed to spread. They would have no idea what the situation was
inside, and clearly had no wish to find out by opening the door and
possibly releasing whatever was causing the ruckus. To them, it
must have sounded like a riot.

Drevarin
turned to Mirra. “My Lady, kindly tell Bane where they are.”

The girl bowed
her head and clasped her hands, and Nikira gasped as Bane strode
into the hold through the wall. Some of the refugees spotted him
and surged towards him, shouting his name.