Demon Lord V - God Realm (13 page)

"You are
hurt!"

"My lord!"
Artan knelt beside him.

"I am all
right. It is just a scratch." Bane wiped his watering eyes,
smearing blood on his face as he squinted at the huge gap where the
cliff had been. Tumbled stones blocked most of the view, but an
area of darkness lay beyond, several strange orange glows lighting
it. Mirra laid her hand on his brow, and Ethra gasped as golden
light formed under her palm, making Bane's flesh glow. He closed
his eyes, and when she removed her hand, he opened them and smiled
at her. Sarrin arrived beside him and pulled a cloth from her bag,
using some of her precious water to dampen it, and then knelt.

"May I,
Lord?"

He glanced at
her and shrugged, blinking the grit from his eyes. "I was not
expecting that to happen. All I wanted was to make a slope that we
could climb up, but it seems the cliff was only a narrow strip of
rock."

"You could
have been killed." Sarrin wiped the blood and dust from his face,
finding no wound under it.

"Unlikely.
Just a few small stones that I could not avoid."

"I did not
know you could heal yourself."

Bane smiled.
"I cannot. Mirra is a healer."

Sarrin glanced
at Mirra and inclined her head. "Healer."

The girl
smiled in the serene manner that Ethra had come to know. "A small
thing, but I have not seen the sun for a long time now. Soon I will
be powerless."

"Bring the
litter!" Artan bellowed at his men, who trotted up and put it down
beside Bane.

"You will not
be able to carry me over that." Bane gestured to the mass of
tumbled stones that blocked their path.

"If we must,
we will."

Bane rose to
his feet, swaying a little as he shook the dust from his hair.
Mirra brushed at the dirt on his clothes as he climbed the slope,
the rest of the group following. When he reached the top, his
breath came in harsh gasps, sweat sheening his brow. One
disadvantage of his lack of power was the fact that dirt now stuck
to him, and without being able to bathe, he was becoming a bit
rank.

Bane sank down
on a boulder and stared at the vista that lay ahead, his expression
grim. The others joined him and gazed at it with bemused eyes. A
broad expanse of dark, stony ground stretched away into the
distance, swallowed up by the darkness. Numerous towering pillars
of flame dotted it, lighting a sprawling collection of ramshackle
houses and crumbling stone buildings. Beings moved amongst them,
gathering to gaze at the fallen cliff where he sat. Some resembled
people, but most were alien.

"What are
they?" Mirra whispered beside him.

Bane shook his
head. "I have no idea."

"Perhaps they
have food."

"Possibly. Or
they could be dangerous. In this place, we are as likely to become
food as we are to find it. If there was a choice I would avoid it,
but you need to eat."

Mirra nodded
and bit her lip, gazing at the strange little town. Bane bent and
picked up a few stones, tucking them into his tunic pocket. Then he
beckoned to Grem, who came to his side and took his hand when he
held it out. With his arm around Grem's shoulders, Bane made his
way down the slope of jumbled stones, stumbling a little. As soon
as he was away from the last boulders, the soldiers brought his
litter, and he climbed onto it, lay back and closed his eyes. Mirra
glanced back at the steeds, which no longer followed them, so
evidently Bane had ordered them to stay behind. The group shuffled
towards the eerie village, eyeing the denizens that had gathered to
meet them. When they reached the crowd, Artan stopped, and a tall
man clad in a cowled, dark crimson robe stepped forward.

"Who are you,
and what do you seek here?"

Artan drew
himself up. "We're travellers. We seek only food and shelter so we
may rest."

"Where are you
going?"

"We're looking
for a domain. Ours was destroyed."

The cowled man
nodded. "A tale we hear often. You're welcome to rest here, and we
have food, so long as you have coin."

The demand
surprised Artan, and he opened his mouth to deny that they had
money, but instead he heard himself say, "Yes, we have coin."

"Good." The
man paused, eyeing Bane. "What ails your friend?"

"He's
exhausted."

"Yet he looks
stronger than any of you."

"He saved us
from a grave danger."

"I see. He
must be a great warrior, yet he carries no sword. He looks like a
black mage."

"No, he's a
nobleman, and a warrior." Artan frowned, for that was not what he
had intended to say.

Ethra shot him
a puzzled glance. "He's a..." She stopped, looking blank.

The cowled man
turned his head towards her. "A what?"

"A lord from
our domain." Ethra shook her head in a confused manner.

Artan shot
Bane a suspicious look, but he appeared to be asleep. He turned
back to the stranger. "Have you somewhere that we can rest?"

"Indeed." The
man turned and gestured towards a tall stone building, and the
crowd parted to let them through.

Ethra glanced
at the beings as they approached the building, most of whom looked
like a mixture of races or species, some that made her shudder.
Their silence struck her as odd, as did the words she had uttered
so unwillingly to the cowled man. The doors of the building swung
open ahead of them, and they shuffled into a warm room that many
bright torches lighted.

It looked like
an inn's common room, with rough-hewn tables and chairs scattered
about the rush-strewn floor. One long table bore a feast of roasted
meat and vegetables, and ten places were set at it. Ethra's mouth
watered at the savoury aroma that arose from the platters, yet she
wondered how the food could have been prepared for them so swiftly.
Artan also looked puzzled as they approached the table and laid
Bane's litter down close to it. The cowled man indicated the feast
with a sweep of his hand.

"Your food."
He turned to Artan and held out his hand. "My payment."

Artan frowned.
"Ah, yes, well..."

Bane opened
his eyes and sat up, his gaze sweeping the group and coming to rest
upon the feast. He rose to his feet, swaying a little. "How much do
you require?"

"Five gold
pieces."

Bane reached
into his tunic, and when he drew forth his hand and held it out,
five gleaming gold coins rested in his palm. The cowled man took
them with thin white fingers and retreated, waving the crowd who
had followed them inside back. Most of them left, save for some of
the more human-like ones, who retreated to lurk by the walls. Bane
surveyed the feast again, and then turned to the cowled man, who
stood just within the doors, which had closed, apparently of their
own accord.

"Bring us
wine, water and milk, a platter of steamed vegetables, and arrange
baths in our rooms."

"That will
cost another five gold pieces."

Bane reached
into his tunic again and paid the man, who nodded to some of the
people who waited by the walls, and they left. Bane sat at the
table and served himself from the platters of meat, and the rest of
the group followed his example. Ethra leant closer to him and tried
to ask where the gold coins had come from, but nothing came out of
her mouth, and she gasped in astonishment.

Bane shot her
an amused glance and raised his finger to his lips. She scowled at
him and settled down to eat instead, helping herself to a cup of
milk when the servants brought out the refreshments he had ordered.
The meal was delicious, and the group gorged themselves, except for
Bane, who ate sparingly. The cowled man stood just within the door
the entire time, watching them, and listening, Ethra suspected, but
apart from complimenting the food, nothing was said at the
table.

When they
could eat no more, the cowled man led them up the stairs at that
back of the room to a hall above, where he showed them to ten
separate rooms, each equipped with a steaming bath. Ethra's room
was spacious but furnished only with the bare necessities, two
large windows allowing the fire pillars' light to pour in. Thick
black velvet curtains framed them, clearly intended to block out
the endless light and give a semblance of night so the occupant
could sleep.

Ethra enjoyed
the hot bath, but being separated from her companions made her
nervous. As soon as she had dried herself and dressed in her spare
clothes, she crept down the hall to Bane's room and let herself in.
When she turned from quietly latching the door, she found him
reclining in the tub, watching her, and averted her eyes with a
gasp, her cheeks growing hot.

"I'm
sorry."

"Come
here."

Keeping her
eyes on the floor, she approached the tub, and he chuckled. "You
may look at me, Ethra."

Timidly she
raised her eyes, a quick glance showing her that the water in the
tub was opaque with soap. "How -"

Once again the
words would not come, and Bane raised a finger to his lips, then
made some casual movements with his other hand and muttered a word.
"Now you may speak."

"You've been
stopping us from saying things, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He sighed.
"Because you would have said the wrong things. This is a strange
place, and I am suspicious of it."

Ethra sank
down on the solitary chair, studying him. His wet hair was sleek
against his narrow skull, accentuating the deep widow's peak and
robbing him of some of his daunting demonic looks.

He added, "I
have cast a spell of silence on this room. If they are listening,
they will hear nothing now."

"You don't
know if they are?"

"Unfortunately
my powers are limited now."

"How did you
make the gold coins?"

He shrugged,
swirling the water with his hands. "I collected a few small stones
on the way here, and changed them."

"You can
change stone into gold?"

"Yes."

"Show me!"

Bane smiled
and held out his hand. Ethra stared at it in confusion for a
moment, then realisation dawned and she jumped up, hunting around
for something to give him. Finding a pottery jug on the table, she
brought it to him and placed it in his hand. It shimmered, its
substance appearing to swirl in shifting patterns, then it turned
to gold. She gasped, taking it from him to gaze at it in awe.

"Turn away,"
he ordered, and she studied the jug while he got out of the tub and
dried himself before donning his trousers. When she looked up, he
lay on the bed, looking tired.

"What else can
you turn into gold?"

"I can turn
anything into almost anything."

"Flesh?"

"Of course,
but I cannot change anything into living flesh."

Ethra gazed at
him, puzzled. "Why not?"

"Only a light
god can do that."

"Why?"

"Because that
requires the white power, which I cannot use."

"Have you ever
tried?"

He smiled and
closed his eyes. "Once, a long time ago, a light goddess channelled
it through me. It burnt me."

"But that must
have been a lot, if you only used a little..."

"I cannot
summon it. And yes, I have tried."

"Are you
reading my mind?"

Bane chuckled.
"No. If I was, you would feel it."

"So you
could?"

"Yes."

She looked
down at the gleaming jug. "I suppose, being a god, there's not much
you can't do."

"Not
much."

"Why are you
so suspicious of this place?"

"It is
unnatural. There are forces at work here that can only be achieved
by a god. Fortunately, I think it is a light god, but that does not
mean it is not a dangerous place."

"But how -"
Ethra jumped as a knock came from the door.

Bane opened
his eyes and called, "Enter."

Artan slipped
in, looking nervous, and approached the bed to bow. The Demon Lord
gestured to the chair Ethra occupied, and she vacated it, moved to
the bed and perched next to Bane's feet when he indicated that she
should do so. Artan sat down and cast Ethra a hard glance.

"I hope she's
not bothering you, My Lord."

"Not really.
How may I help you?"

Artan leant
forward. "I dislike this place. I think we should leave as soon as
possible."

"I agree."

"Bane thinks
that there's a light god here, controlling this place," Ethra said,
and Artan scowled at her.

"Who gave you
permission to use his name?"

"You were
doing it -"

"That was
before -"

Bane held up a
hand. "Enough. I do not care who calls me what."

Ethra glowered
at Artan, who turned to Bane again. "If this is the realm of a
light god, why does it seem so unwholesome?"

"I do not
know. There are many kinds of light gods, but the food we ate was
created by one, and I think he or she provides for these
people."

"Then why do
they demand payment?"

"I do not
know."

Artan glanced
around. "That's why you don't want them to know what you are?"

"Yes, that is
why I changed what you said."

"So we will
leave tomorrow?"

Bane sighed
and shook his head. "No. I need to rest, and a litter is not a
restful place. If we encounter danger it will weaken me, and I must
regain my strength. This place is safer than the unknown that lies
beyond it, and there is food here for you. We will leave as soon as
I have recovered sufficiently to travel."

"Yes, My
Lord."

A heavy
silence fell as Artan digested the summary veto of his plans, then
his eyes fell on the jug Ethra clutched and widened. "Where did you
get that?"

She looked
smug. "Bane gave it to me."