When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) (20 page)

“No. It lost. I lost. My people perished in defence of me, and my domain was brought to the brink of destruction. Those are not creatures of the light anymore, if, indeed, they ever were. Have you a name?”

“He is Bane, the Demon Lord,” Majelin supplied.

Carthius nodded. “I am honoured by your presence here, tar’merin.”

“You brought me here, did you not?” Bane asked.

“Yes. At least, I hoped you would seek me out. I have not the power to summon a god anymore. I thought it likely you would come, since you are trapped here, like the rest of us.”

“What happened here?”

“That is a sad tale. Will you sit, have some wine?”

“You have wine?”

Carthius shrugged. “No, but it is polite to offer. Ambrosia will have to suffice, for you. For me, nothing is required, sadly.”

Bane looked around for somewhere to sit, then caused a stone seat to rise and settled upon it. “I am not thirsty at the moment.”

Chapter Ten

Void Gate

“Then I shall begin.” Carthius paused, gazing into the distance. “Just after the Times of Reckoning, an angel fell in love with a human, and they wed. We – the Grey Gods and a few of their offspring – did not know what the products of such a union would be, if, indeed, there would be any. When the first changeling was born, Ordur created this domain, in which the changeling and his parents could dwell, until we knew what would become of him, and what he would become. It was a time of much uncertainty. I volunteered to watch over them. We soon realised how dangerous changelings would be, and Ordur created the white Fetch, the only one of its kind, to ensure no changelings were born into other worlds. More and more angels and their spouses were brought here, and they had many offspring. I think you know, from your travels through my dreams, what happened. The changelings became a new race, and raised children of their own. They were not a race any light god would ever have created, however. My people suffered for aeons, but I was powerless to intervene. I wept for them.”

Carthius bowed his head. “Even then, we did not know what the
changelings would ultimately become, until they changed again.” He looked up and motioned to the statues. “Thus, another new race came into being; an accursed race, with the abilities of angels and the souls of humans, who turned to the darkness and became what you see here today. They are the ultimate perversion of the light, the most dangerous of all the dark creatures… dark angels. Here they stand, trapped forever, because of my sacrifice.

“They decimated my people and slaughtered their own parents. Their souls were black. Still are. I did the only thing I could, before they escaped to annihilate other worlds. I
spoke a Forbidding.”

Majelin drew a sharp breath, and Bane cast him a puzzled glance.

Carthius smiled. “You are young, tar’merin, if you do not know what a Forbidding is.”

“You sealed the domain.”

“I did. The Forbidding also banished all the Channels within my domain. That made life a lot more difficult for the dark angels, whom I named tra’mith: the accursed. But I was on my own after that, and they longed to quit this place. I raised up my people to fight them. I gave them weapons, knowledge, and abilities… Many of them were demigods.” Carthius sighed. “But it was all for nought. They could not prevail. The tra’mith retained their angelic immortality. They called upon the demons to aid them, perhaps even coerced them. The final battle was stupendous. I partook of it myself, and discovered that I alone could slay tra’mith. I slew seven thousand two hundred and eighty-nine dark angels. Only these survived. In the end, they turned on me; not unexpected, in hindsight. Many died, but they succeeded.”

He glanced at the still form on the throne. “There I sit, trapped forever by a curs
ed duron sword. My people continued to fight, until all were slain. Then, there was nothing more for the tra’mith to do. They tortured me, so I quit my body. I dreamt. Aeons have passed since then. Another domain was created so close to mine that it mingled with it, and I feared the breach in the boundary wards would allow the tra’mith egress, but they have not found it. They sleep.”

Carthius smiled. “Then a wondrous event happened. A god entered my doomed world and wandered in my
dream of bygone times. At first, I thought you a dark god, but I began to suspect you were something else when you did not harm my people, and slew changelings to protect an archangel. I sent an angel to speak to you, and learnt the truth. I am glad you turned away from the realm gate. It was not intended as a trap, but when a domain is sealed, a gate offers no egress, even if you had opened it with his soul.” He indicated Majelin with a flick of his fingers. “The Oracle spoke the truth, as it knows it, but when it spoke of the light, it did not mean the archangel. It meant me.”

“You can free me?” Bane asked.

“Yes.”

“Will you?”

Carthius shook his head. “I cannot while they exist, for then I would free them too. Given access to the Channels outside, they would wreak havoc in numberless worlds, and perhaps even travel to Airedene, there to slay angels and gods alike.”

“I can free you.”

The light god nodded. “I know. But I have languished here for too many aeons. Drawing the sword now will kill me. I am at death’s door, as is my world. The moment I perish, the Forbidding will be undone. The tra’mith will be free and this world destroyed. You will not survive.”

“As soon as the Forbidding is undone, I will be able to Move.”

“Indeed, but they will still be freed. I have not sacrificed my world and myself to trap them just to free them so you may also be freed, tar’merin, noble though that deed would be. If you draw the sword, my death will kill you, but not all of them.”

“So, you need me to slay them first.” Bane
nodded at the angels.

“If only you could. Certainly, you have the power to
do so, but they also have the ability to slay you. You are mortal, and there are sixteen of them.”

“They sleep.”

Carthius chuckled. “Think you they will remain so, should you start killing them? They awaken, even now. Your entry ignited the wards within this keep.”

“Why did you lead me here, then?”

The spirit god shrugged. “Perhaps hope, that some other solution may be found. If you fight them, you will die. If you free me, you will die, but you have the ability to return, as a spirit god. The tra’mith who survive will escape, however, and that, I cannot allow.”

“I will not sacrifice my mortality.”

“Then you are as trapped as they are.”

“Surely you had some other plan to defeat them? Did you rely solely on your own ability and that of your people?”

“We almost succeeded,” Carthius pointed out.

“Almost is not good enough.”

“No. It was not, in the end, but in the beginning, there was hope that we would succeed, and no alternative.”

“Why have no
changelings been born outside since then?”

“Have there not?” Carthius
appeared thoughtful. “Then Ordur, or another Grey God, must have made it impossible for more to be born. I know nothing of what has transpired outside my domain since I sealed myself in here with these monsters.”

“I will not remain trapped in here.”

“You are arrogant, a curse of the dark power. Who is your spirit father?”

“Kayos.”

“Ah. Why does that not surprise me? Does he know about you?”

“He watches over me, even now.”

Carthius looked up. “Of course, I thought I sensed an Eye, but as a spirit, my powers are negligible.”

“If you know nothing of the outside world, and you have been trapped here since just after the
Times of Reckoning
, how do you know about tar’merin?”

“I do not. It is what you are. Are there others?”

Bane shook his head. “Not anymore. Four have come and gone before me.”

“How wonderful. Not that they are dead, but that they existed. You are a true wonder.”

“And I cannot remain trapped here. Kayos has need of me.”

“I wish I could help you.”

Bane looked at the nearest angel. “Why do they sleep? Why did they not continue to multiply?”

“There is no longer any food for them here.”

“I am surprised they did not think to capture people for that purpose.”

“They tried. My people were staunch in their faith, and their sacrifice was complete.”

“And when you allowed the world to die, they had no choice.”

Carthius nodded. “Did I have a choice?”

Bane summoned a cup of ambrosia and sipped it. “I suspect there is more to your tale than you have told me, Carthius. You had another plan to defeat the dark angels.”

“It failed, too.”

“What was it?”

“A void gate.”

“A what?”

Carthius smiled again, sadly. “A void gate is a portal into the firmament. The great void that surrounds the God Realm is infinite, empty, and deadly. Few ever create one, since it serves no purpose, usually. It cannot destroy gods, for they can Move, but dark angels cannot. If they had stepped through the gate, they would have perished. Alas, I was not able to lure them into it.”

“But perhaps I could.”

“Why would they follow you?”

“I will tell them it is the way out.”

Carthius’ brows rose. “You think they would believe you?”

“To them, I am a dark god. They cannot see my soul, and they will not know what I am if they do not touch me.”

“That is a fair plan, but with one fatal
flaw. You cannot open the gate.”

“But you can.”

“Not as a spirit.”

Bane cursed, frowning. The hopelessness of his situation was maddening.
Majelin stood watching them, his mien expressionless. Bane looked at Carthius again. “You feared the tra’mith would escape through the breach in the wards formed by Pretarin’s domain mingling with yours, so why can I not also escape through that?”

“The mingling has allowed Channels to reach the border of this world, albeit weak ones, due to the
juncture being in a dark realm, but they exist, nonetheless. You cannot use them, but he can.” Carthius indicated Majelin. “If he does so after the tra’mith awaken, however, he will lead them out.”

“I must leave this place. If I do not, Kayos’ daughter will be enslaved and his granddaughter will continue to
suffer.”

Carthius’ smile faded. “I fear that fate cannot be avoid
ed. When the tra’mith awake, they will kill you, dark god or not. To them, you are a source of life force.”

Bane
dismissed his cup and rose to his feet. “Show me the void gate.”

“For what purpose?”

“I wish to see it.”

“It is yonder.” Carthius gestu
red to the right of the throne.

Bane
headed in that direction, and the light god walked beside him, Majelin following.

“You have little time,” Carthius said. “Soon the tra’mith will become aware. Then you must be careful what you say, lest you reveal your true nature.”

“They will find out when they try to suck the life out of me, anyway.”

“
No. Unlike their changeling ancestors, they do not need to touch you to do that.”

A
huge black rectangle came into view through the forest of pillars that upheld the vaulted roof, so dark that only the blue glow beyond it made it visible. It appeared to be made of obsidian, or perhaps black crystal, and tiny lights shimmered in it, like a night sky. It stood alone, a frame containing a door, apparently leading nowhere. Bane walked around it, discovering that its back was ink black. As he passed the frame, he touched it, and a molten glow spread from his fingertips, fading when he removed his hand. Facing the front of it again, he studied it. The smooth, seamless stone offered no clue as to how it could be opened.

“Even an archangel’s soul will not open this gate,” Carthius commented.

“What about yours?”

Carthius chuckled. “If you could capture it, yes, but you cannot. My soul will return to the light the moment I die.”

“If you returned to your body, and I freed you from the throne, could you open it?”

“That is an intriguing idea, but I will die the
instant you remove the sword from my heart.”

“But I can draw it from the throne.”

“You would cause me unimaginable pain.”

“Who put the shackles on you, and impaled you with the sword?”

“They did, of course.” Carthius motioned to the dark angels.

“They control duron?”

“No, they mined it and forged it, with help from earth demons, probably.”

“
So why did they not do as I have just suggested?” Bane asked.

“Why would they? They do not know what this is.”

“What do they think it is? It is a great gate. Why would they not think it offered them egress?”

“You suspect me of trickery, tar’merin?” Carthius enquired.

“There are a lot of mysteries in this world.”

“For you, I suppose so. This is one of the oldest domains in existence, since it has been sealed for millennia, so no dark god could destroy it.”

“Instead, dark angels did.”

“More or less,” the light god allowed.

“You did not answer my question.”

Carthius glanced at the angels. “In truth, I do not know.
Perhaps they suspected that it was a trap. They asked me about the gate many times, while they tortured me, but I told them nothing.”

“How did you plan to lure
them through this gate?”

“I was going to flee through it. If you do that, however, and Move, you will be lost in the God Realm. Moving in the void is even worse than Moving in the God Realm. I did not care, of course. My domain was doomed and I wished only to escape, while killing the tra’mith at the same time. If you wish to return to Kayos, however, you cannot use this option.”