When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) (30 page)

Bane gathered his focus and solidified his grip on matter. Every particle was known to him and under his command. The concentration required was fierce, and, if Nikira had turned one of her clever scanners on him at that point,
he knew his brain would have shone like a white-hot beacon. His head even grew a little warm. Sensing that he had everything under his control, he commanded the restoration and opened his eyes.

The air thrummed with a deep, resonating hum,
raised the hairs on his head and arms and made his gut quiver. Bricks, glass and cement dust rushed back into buildings and reformed walls and windows. Fires died, burst water pipes stopped gushing, and twisted wrecks turned back into air cars with soft crunches. Craters filled in, papers flew back into offices and returned to drawers; shredded curtains became whole and reframed windows. In the distance, fallen towers began to rise. Dust and rubble rushed to remake them; glass flew back in sparkling streams. The towers tottered upright, a deep rumble accompanying their settling back into their foundations. It reminded him of restoring the seventh ward in the Overworld, so long ago, only now he no longer needed to use the shadows.

The people on the streets shouted and
ran around as all manner of material whizzed past them on its journey back to its former place. Flattened lamp posts rose, crushed trees lifted from leafy graves and broken branches became whole. Bane closed his eyes again and tilted back his head, revelling in the sweet coursing of his own special power, which uplifted him. His heart seemed to swell, even as it thudded, and his fingertips tingled. A floating sensation invaded him, as if the expansion of his mind made the world forget him. He drifted in a state of bliss as he sensed glass towers glinting in the sunlight again. For the time the restoration took, it was as if the city, and, indeed, the world, had become a part of him.

The Demon Lord
lifted his head and opened his eyes. He drifted above the Great Hall, whose roof was once more whole. The rune scars under his wrist guards itched, as did the ones on his nape, but euphoria filled him still, and the buoyancy in his heart held him aloft. Perhaps it had been the increase of his gifts, or his mental encompassment of so much of this world, but somehow, he had triggered his natural ability to fly. He smiled, allowing the ethers to caress and carry him, as they had always been meant to do. For the first time, he truly felt like a god.

Mirra gasped, and Drevarin gave a crow of delight, slapping his knee. Sherinias shot him an uncertain look.

“He has done it!” the light god said. “He flies!”

Kayos appeared several paces away, his brows knotted. “What have you done?”

Drevarin’s grin vanished. “What do you mean?”

“He is free of the
frathess
runes.”

“Was he not supposed to free himself? Why would you want him bound?”

“I do not, but now…” Kayos ran a hand over his hair. “He may not be ready.”

“For what?”

“His full powers!”

Drevarin eyed the Grey God. “This has unleashed others?”

“Of course. Do you think Arkonen bound him just to prevent him from flying?”

“I do not know. What harm can it do?”

“That depends on what the powers are, does it not? No one can predict what powers a god will attain, least of all a greater mortal god. He is so young…” Kayos sank onto a spare couch. “I just hope he is ready.”

“Perhaps he will need them to free Ashynaria.”

“Perhaps.” The Grey God looked glum.

“It is almost as if the universe, or fate, has rewarded him for his deeds. We tried, a while ago, to release his natural abilities, and failed, but now…
they just… came to him.”

“Who asked him to restore Darjahan?”

“I did,” Mirra said.

“And me,” Sherinias added.

“Me too,” Drevarin chimed in.

Kayos eyed them. “You are all insane.”

“Only he could do it, Father,” Sherinias protested. “My people suffered!”

“Sherinias… if they do not love you, you cannot
claim them! Your people are safe on holy ground where no demons could harm them.”

“Not all. Some were in their homes when the attack happened. Several have died.”

“That is regrettable, but now they are safe in the White City.”

“But -”

“Enough.” Kayos raised a hand. “I know why you asked him. You do not have to explain it to me.”

“We did not know this would free him,” Drevarin said.

“I know.”

Bane floated down and landed on the rooftop, lower
ed his arms and scanned the city. A little quake damage remained on the outskirts, which had been beyond his reach, but the rest was restored. A deep sense of accomplishment warmed his heart. This victory was his alone; it owed nothing to the darkness. The itching under his wrist guards increased to a dull burning, becoming painful. Frowning, he unlaced the left one and pulled it off. The runes glowed deep red, and the fire was spreading into his blood. He could sense it coursing through him, heating his flesh. He rubbed the sigils, and his skin peeled off to reveal raw flesh. Blood welled out and dripped onto the roof in scarlet drops that sizzled and steamed.

Bane
fought the urge to tear at his skin as the burning increased, his lungs filling with fire. He breathed steam, and his vision clouded, then darkness slammed down.

Drevarin gaped at the image in his
Eye. Bane’s knees buckled, and he sprawled on the rooftop, starting to slide down the slope. The light god jumped up.

“He is in trouble!”

Drevarin Moved, rematerialised just below Bane and caught him. Kayos appeared beside him, swept Bane up and vanished. Drevarin followed, reappearing in the light realm. The Grey God placed his son on the diamond sand and knelt beside him, his hands on Bane’s chest.

“What is it?” Drevarin asked.

“I do not know yet.”

Drevarin
squatted and examined Bane’s left wrist. “The scars have gone.”

“Impossible.” Kayos frowned at the unmarked skin. “Rune scars cannot… Damn!”

“What?”

“It is a curse.”

“How do you know that?”

“The scars have gone
,” Kayos said. “They are inside him. Arkonen ensured that if he ever freed himself, he would pay the price.”

“What price?”

“I do not know.”

“What can we do?”

The Grey God shook his head. “Only a dark god can remove another dark god’s curse, and obviously it cannot be the one who is cursed.”

“The demon gods!”

“No. They are not even true dark gods, and they will not help. They will revel in Bane’s downfall.”

“They swore an oath to him.”

Kayos snorted. “Do you really imagine a demon god will honour an oath?”

“
We must help him!”

“We will. I must think.”
He gazed across the gardens.

Drevarin jumped up and paced around, casting anxious glances at Bane. “If only we had not asked him to restore the city.”

“Shush.”

“We need someone who knows how the dark power works.”

“We need someone who can command it. Do you know one such?”

Drevarin gestured to Bane, then swung away with a smothered curse. “The only others are locked away in the dark realm.”

“Asking them for help would be even more futile than asking the demon gods.”

“Perhaps if we offered them their freedom?”

“How will you do that? The underworld is sealed off.”

“There must be a way!”

Kayos nodded. “There is always a way. We just have to find it.”

“Maybe we should wake him up. He might know.”

“He cannot be roused. That is part of the curse, I think.”

“That is a stupid curse!”

The Grey God looked up. “All curses are… evil. We need something… that fights evil.” He unfastened Bane’s shirt and pulled it open. The seventh rune scar glowed bright red. “
Chargon!”

“What?”

“The runes... This is rune magic. The curse has activated Chargon. It is trying to protect him. I think that is why he is unconscious. I know little about dark rune magic, but I think Chargon wards off evil.”

“How does that help?”

“Fetch Mirra,” Kayos said.

Drevarin stared at him for a moment, then Moved. The girl jumped up when he appeared in the mess hall
and hurried towards him.

“
Where is -?”

“Bane needs you.” Drevarin took her arm and Moved back to Bane’s side.

Mirra gave a horrified cry and knelt beside her husband, reaching for him. Kayos gripped her wrists and held her away.

“Mirra, listen to me,”
he said. “I need you to tell me where you got your pendant.”

She
stared at Bane. “What has happened? What -?”

He
gave her a little shake. “I need you to answer me. We may not have much time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Where did you get your Chargon pendant?”

“I… Bane gave it to me.”

“Did he make it?”

“Yes! What is wrong with -?”

“Breaking the
frathess
runes unleashed a curse. We need your pendant. Is it hot?”

She sat
back and clasped the golden medallion. “It is warm, but it is always warm.”

“Take it off. He needs it.”

“I-I cannot.”

“He sealed it to you?”

“Yes.”

“Damn!” Kayos raked a hand through his hair. “What did he say, when he gave it to you?”

“He… He said it would protect me.”

“Is that all?”

“No… He said it protects itself. It only protects me because I wear it.”

“Good. There is hope.” Kayos pointed
at the glowing rune on Bane’s chest. “That is trying to protect him, but it cannot, because it is a part of him.”

“So my medallion can help?”

“I hope so.”

“What must I do?” she asked.

“He needs to wear it too. Move closer and lean down.”

Mirra
obeyed, and Kayos picked up Bane’s left hand and pressed it to her neck, easing it under the fine golden chain. The medallion grew hot and emitted a soft blue glow, turning it green. Kayos pushed Bane’s hand further under the chain, until it was around his wrist. The medallion grew so hot his skin reddened where the chain touched it. It burnt Mirra too, but her healing power protected her.

The medallion softened, then melted, dripping molten globs onto the
sparkling sand, and the chain parted and fell off. Mirra drew back, clasped her neck and shot Kayos an anxious look. The sigils reappeared on Bane’s wrist, and he drew in a deep breath and opened his eyes.

“Bane!”
Mirra grinned and embraced him.

Kayos rose and approached Drevarin, his
mien relieved, but dour. “That was close.”

Drevarin met his gaze.
“He is all right now?”

Kayos nodded, glancing back at Bane. “He will be. Thank the light he gave a little of his power to Mirra, in the form of that pendant.”

“It was destroyed.”

“Indeed. A testament to the power of Arkonen
’s curse, but it served its purpose.”

“So
, a dark god can remove a curse from himself
through a proxy.
”

“
Yes,” Kayos said. “I was not sure it would work, but… I hope that is the last harm Arkonen will do to him.”

“What would have happened?”

“I think he would have died. When the curse activated the Chargon rune on his chest, it set up a conflict within him. Chargon put him into a coma to protect him, but without the medallion, he would have remained thus.”

Drevarin gazed at his friend. “
Who is Arkonen?”

“The dark god who raised Bane.”

“Ah. I will assume he was not a good father.”

“He was a monster, as all true dark gods are. This is not his first attempt to kill Bane, but I hope it is his last.”

Bane sat up and examined his arm, amazed to find it unblemished. Mirra hugged him again, then held him away to inspect him.

“How do you feel?”

“A little weak. What happened?”

When she explained, he glanced at Kayos and Drevarin,
who stood talking not far away, then returned his attention to her and raised a hand to run his fingertips along her throat. He scooped up a handful of sand and held it tight for a moment, and when he opened his hand, a golden rune pendant lay on his palm. He clipped it around her neck and twisted the clasp.