Demon Lord VI - Son of Chaos (22 page)

Chapter Nine

Unbelievers

Bane wandered
into the dining room, seeking Drevarin’s company and some more
rest. Kayos had gone there when Bane had left the hospital in
search of Nikira, but remained invisible. Drevarin lounged on his
couch, his eyes blank, which meant he was listening to the prayers
from his domain. He glanced at Bane and smiled.

Artan and his
group sat at one of the tables, engaged in a soft conversation, and
they fell to their knees when they spotted him. They had been
waiting outside his room when he had left the hospital, but he had
waved them away as he strode past, intent on confronting Nikira. He
had only paused long enough to hug Mirra. He approached the second
couch, where she waited for him, and flopped down on it, summoning
a cup of ambrosia.

Sarrin came to
kneel before him, and the rest of the group followed suit behind
her. “Lord, may we speak to you?”

He waved the
cup. “Of course.”

“
The dark god you destroyed yesterday was the same monster who
killed our beloved Armorgan.” She clasped her hands. “We beg your
permission to become your worshippers.”

Bane’s brows
drew together. “No. I am not comfortable with people worshipping
me. It does not seem right, and prayers... bother me. You are all
going to live in Drevarin’s domain, so you should worship him.”

“
Why does it not seem right, Lord?”

“
It just does. Perhaps because I am only flesh and blood like
you, not a celestial being like Drevarin.”

The light god
gave a soft snort, and then gazed into space when Bane glanced at
him.

Sarrin shook
her head. “You are no less worthy, Lord. Perhaps, begging Lord
Drevarin’s forgiveness, even more so, since you have the power to
do so much good, and to protect us.”

“
I will not be here to protect you. I must continue my journey
through the God Realm, and you will stay in Drevarin’s
domain.”

“
I want to come with you!” Ethra cried, her eyes
bright.

“
No.” Bane wagged a finger at her. “Do not argue with
me.”

Sarrin put a
hand on the girl’s arm. “If we are your worshippers, we must do as
you say, Lord.”

“
Really? No. That is blackmail, and it will not work. You
cannot follow me without my permission.”

“
We can!” Ethra said, scowling.

“
You will die.”

“
You won’t let us!”

Bane snorted.
“I will leave you in Drevarin’s domain, and you will not be able to
try.”

“
We won’t go in!”

“
I shall carry you in if I must.”

“
I won’t let you!”

Bane swung his
legs off the couch and glared at her. “You will do as I say.”

“
No!” Ethra jumped up and launched herself at him, flinging her
arms around his neck. “Don’t leave us!”

Bane recoiled
in surprise, releasing the cup of ambrosia, which drifted away and
was fielded by Drevarin. Ethra squirmed onto his lap and buried her
face in his hair. Bane tried to pry her arms from his neck, but she
hung on, and he realised that he would have to hurt her to free
himself.

“
Let go, Ethra.”

“
No!”

Bane sighed,
and glanced at Mirra when she giggled. She grinned, her eyes alight
with amusement. “If you let go, I will consider allowing you to
come with me,” he told Ethra.

“
Promise that we can.”

“
Do not try my patience.”

Ethra pulled a
face, then kissed his cheek and released him, leaving his lap to
settle at his feet. Bane fought the smile that tugged at his lips,
and Drevarin chuckled.

“
An endearing child.”

Bane caught
the cup Drevarin sent drifting back and sipped from it, then
dismissed it. “But not a particularly obedient one.”

Ethra pouted.
“I’m not a child.”

“
And I will not argue with you about it.” Bane glanced up as
Artan rose to his feet.

“
I must pay homage to the one who destroyed Torvaran, Lord. I
swore a blood oath to seek revenge for Armorgan’s death, or to
pledge my sword to whoever destroyed his murderer. If I am not
worthy to be your worshipper, then let me be your liege
man.”

“
I did not say that you are unworthy, Artan.” Bane rubbed his
face. “I am too tired to argue with you too. Be whatever you
want.”

“
Thank you, Lord.”

Bane lay down
on the couch and closed his eyes. “Now let me rest.”

Mirra
stretched out beside him and kissed his cheek, snuggled into the
crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder.

***

Nikira turned
away from the dining room door and went back to the lift, pushing
the button for the lab. There, Drontar and his fellow scientists
huddled over their instruments. He glanced up when she entered,
raising an enquiring brow.

“
What happened to the sword?”

“
He melted it.”

“
He melted it?”

“
Is there an echo in here, Drontar?”

The scientist
shook his head. “But we tried...”

“
He used the dark power.”

“
Of course. What a shame.”

Nikira eyed
the other scientists. “What are you working on now?”

“
His blood. His DNA is quite unique, and extremely interesting.
I believe that if his genes were introduced into a person suffering
from a genetic disease or defect, it would cure them. I’ve also
decided that we should clone him, so we can harvest all the genetic
material we need.”

“
No. You’re going to stop the experiments and destroy all the
samples we took from him.”

Drontar stared
at her as if she had lost her mind. “You can’t do that, Commander.
This material is too valuable.”

“
I’m the commander of this ship, and I’ve given you a direct
order.”

“
I think you’re no longer fit to command.” Drontar’s eyes raked
her dress. “You haven’t been yourself for some time now. I think
that man, whatever he is, did something to you.”

“
No, he didn’t. What you’re proposing is immoral, and I won’t
allow it.”

“
It’s not immoral. We do it all the time.”

“
Not with the blood of a god.”

The scientist
snorted. “He’s not a god. He has an amazing ability to use the dark
power, I’ll grant you that. We all saw him kill a dra’voren, but
he’s still just a human being with strange DNA. If we can isolate
what allows him to use the dark power, we could all become like
him.”

“
And I suppose you think Drevarin is just a strange looking man
too, who can use the white power.”

“
He could be. If we could get a sample of his blood, we could
prove it. Our legends say that a creator is a being of light, and
Drevarin isn’t.”

“
What if our legends are wrong? What if Drevarin could become a
being of light if he chose? He changed when he was healing Bane,
you saw him.”

Drontar
nodded. “We saw something strange, but that doesn’t mean he’s a
creator. I think you’ve been under a lot of stress, Commander, and
it’s affected you. You should go to the hospital and ask Jovan for
a tranquiliser.”

“
You’ll destroy the samples, and that’s an order.”

“
If you persist with this stupidity, I’ll have you removed from
command. Clearly you’re not well.”

Nikira went
over to the nearest comscreen and activated it, intending to call a
squad of soldiers. Drontar pushed her aside and deactivated it.
Turning to his fellow scientists, who gaped at them, he said, “Call
the second in command. What’s his name?”

“
Donavan.”

“
Tell him Commander Nikira has taken ill, and he’s in command
now.”

A scientist
activated another comscreen and spoke into it. Drontar looked
smug.

“
You can’t do this,” Nikira said.

“
I just did. Only a mad person would order such valuable
material destroyed, and you’re starting to sound like a religious
fanatic. Like one of those doomsday nuts who hang around outside my
office at base.”

“
Donavan knows I’m perfectly sane.”

“
He won’t when he hears your latest order, and especially your
reason for it.”

Nikira scowled
at him. “You’re going to regret this. You may be able to con
Donavan, but how do you think Bane’s going to react when he finds
out that you’re planning to clone him? I’d say he’s going to be a
little angry.”

Drontar’s eyes
narrowed. “Which is why you’re not going to tell him.”

“
You can’t stop me.”

“
Oh, I think I can.” Drontar swung around as a tall, spare man
with a receding hairline and a gaunt face entered the lab, looking
tired and irritable.

Donavan
approached her, nodding at Drontar. “Sir. Commander. What seems to
be the problem?”

Nikira folded
her arms and jerked her chin at Drontar. “Our eminent scientist
here would like me removed from command.”

Donavan looked
puzzled. “On what grounds?”

“
He’ll tell you that I’m insane.”

“
That’s preposterous.”

Drontar
smiled. “But Commander Nikira has just ordered me to destroy the
samples we took from the strange man you captured. She believes
he’s a god.”

Donavan
hesitated, frowning. “Well...”

“
Can you prove that he isn’t?” Nikira demanded.

“
Can you prove that he is?”

“
Donavan, escort Drontar to the brig.”

Donavan’s
brows rose. “What’s the charge, Commander?”

“
Disobeying a direct order.”

“
Perhaps we should let base command decide.”

“
No,” Nikira said. “They won’t -”

“
They’ll agree with me,” Drontar interrupted. “We can learn a
lot from that blood, cure diseases and birth defects. Only a mad
person would order it destroyed. Commander Nikira should be taken
to hospital and tranquilised. Clearly she’s been under a lot of
strain. Look at how she’s dressed.”

Donavan
glanced at Nikira. “Commander, why would you want to destroy those
samples?”

“
They were taken without his permission, and he doesn’t even
know we have them. That’s illegal.”

“
He’s not a citizen of Bayona, or any other country in our
world,” Drontar scoffed.

“
That doesn’t mean we can steal his genes.”

“
Actually it does, since he’s technically our prisoner, or he
was until you released him.”

Nikira asked,
“Do you really think we could confine him?”

“
You did before his friend arrived and disabled the stunner,
which says a lot about his vulnerability too. I doubt you could
now, which is all the more reason to study him. His kind could be a
threat to our world. We need to know everything about
him.”

“
He has a point,” Donavan murmured.

“
No, he doesn’t,” Nikira argued. “Bane’s not a threat. He’s the
only one of his kind.”

“
How do you know that? He could be lying,” Drontar pointed
out.

“
Drevarin told me that, not Bane. You can’t steal from a
god.”

“
He’s not a bloody god! If he was, he’d know what we’ve done,
but he doesn’t, does he?” Drontar turned to Donavan. “You see?
She’s been under too much stress, and sadly, she’s now delusional.
She should be in hospital.”

Donavan
nodded. “He’s right, Commander. We’ll let base command decide what
to do with the samples. You really don’t have the authority to
destroy them.”

“
This is my ship, and I give the orders,” Nikira said.
“Insurrection is a serious offense.”

“
You’re not yourself. You need a rest. When you feel better,
you’ll see that we’re right.”

“
But you’re not, and when Bane hears about this, he’s not going
to like it.”

Drontar
glanced at Donavan. “I think you should take her to the brig and
confine her there.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Donavan took
Nikira’s arm, but she jerked it from his grip. “Let’s test my
theory then.” Bowing her head, she clasped her hands and murmured,
“Lord Bane, please help me.”

“
You’re praying to him now?” Drontar chuckled. “That’s
pathetic.”

“
You won’t think so when he comes.”

“
He won’t come, because you’re not a telepath.” He scowled at
Donavan. “Get her out of here, we have work to do.”

Donavan took
her arm again, but she yanked it free once more. “If you want me in
the brig, you’ll have to drag me there with a squad of
soldiers.”

“
Let’s not make this any worse than it already is.”

Nikira clasped
her hands and repeated her prayer, wondering how long it would take
Bane to arrive, or was he asleep? Donavan reached for her again,
but she walked away, and he followed, frowning.

“
Commander...”

“
I’ll have you up on charges for this. Disobeying a direct
order, attempted insurrection and assaulting a superior officer.
They’ll throw the book at you.”

Drontar
snorted. “You won’t be filing charges from the loony bin.”