Demon Lord IV - Lord of Shadows

by T C Southwell

  Shevra smiled, warmth invading her heart. "That's the answer I was hoping for."

  "Why is that?"

  "Many would die for the honour of being your friend, but it's hard to be friends with a god."

  Bane sipped his wine, raising his brows. "You want to be my friend?"

  "That, and more." She put down her glass. "But I become too bold for my own good, I suspect."

  "It is quite refreshing, and certainly unexpected, Shevra."

  "You know my name?" She shook her head. "Of course you do. Forgive my foolishness, My Lord."

  "Not knowing the extent of my powers does not make you foolish, even I do not know that. As it happens, I only know it because Kayos told me."

  She smiled, then tilted her head. "Shall I begin?"

  "As you wish."

  Shevra turned and walked away a few paces, aware of his eyes upon her, which sent shivers down her spine. Swinging to face him, she raised her arms in a graceful, beckoning motion, and the flames in the sconces leapt. Streaks of fire flew across the room to settle about her fingers, swirling with the languid gestures of her hands. Raising her head and meeting his eyes, she began the fluid movements of the true fire dance.

  The fire split into several flames, which swirled around her as she swayed and spun, her hair flaring in glossy wings. Her hands described graceful motions, and the fire following them, encompassing her in a bright web. She flung back her head and guided her fiery accompaniment with sweeps of her arms, her hands flowing around her, playing with the flames. The tempo of the dance quickened, and she leapt high, the dress swirling like the flames that now sheathed her twisting, graceful form.

  Bane glanced up as he sensed Kayos' Eye upon him, and smiled. He sipped his wine and watched the young fire dancer, who had become a living torch. The flames caressed her, sliding over her skin in bright tongues, mingling with her hair and clothes. Her dance impressed him with its fascinating skill and power, as well as allure. She moved closer, growing bold as the dance's passion empowered her, her eyes shining with it when they rested upon him. He wondered at the unmistakable and surprising seductive nature of it. The fire's heat caressed his skin as she raised her hands to stroke the air around his face, her lips parting as her breath quickened. He smiled and put down his cup, then spread his hands.

  The flames around her blazed, and her eyes widened. She smiled with fierce joy. Bane gestured, and the room filled with fire. It licked at the walls, consuming the filthy hangings and dusty furniture in flares of white-hot brilliance and crackling roars. The room became an inferno, and Shevra glanced around with a glimmer of fear in her eyes, but continued to dance, her skin sheened with sweat. She leapt and spun, her dress flaring to reveal slender legs, her bare feet seeming to hardly touch the ground.

  Bane smiled as she moved closer and brushed his hands with her fingers, her skin hot. She trailed them up his arms in a feather light caress, watching him closely, he suspected, for any sign that she was going too far. She caressed the air around him with flowing gestures that guided flares of fire, swaying to the rhythm of imaginary music. Tendrils of damp hair stuck to her brow as perspiration ran down her face and dripped off her chin, caused by exertion, not heat.

  Clearly she was doing her utmost to impress him, and he wondered if she would stop before she dropped from exhaustion. Deciding to aid her decision, he lowered his hands, and the fire that filled the room died, leaving only the flames that sheathed her. He clasped his hands, and her dance slowed, allowing the fire to dwindle to the flames that she had started with. She swayed, guiding the fire with flowing gestures. Finally she lowered her arms and the flames rose, shrinking until they vanished just under the blackened ceiling. She sank to one knee and bowed her head.

  Bane picked up his glass of wine. "That was beautiful."

  She looked up at him, then stood, panting. "Thank you, My Lord."

  He held out her glass, and she came closer to take it, sipping the wine. Bane tilted his head and regarded her with a slight smile. "I find myself to be sufficiently thanked."

  Shevra lowered her eyes to her glass, a flush creeping into her pale cheeks. "Do you also find me beautiful, My Lord?

  Bane studied her. "Why would you wish me to?"

  "Why?" A perplexed look flitted across her face. "I hoped that you might find... that you would..." She raised her chin, and her eyes glinted. "Do you toy with me? Isn't it clear what I wish for?"

  "It is, although it is also utterly insane for you to try to seduce me."

  "Why is it insane, My Lord?"

  "Apart from the fact that I am a creature of the darkness? An Underworld monster who uses the dark power? If not for that, then it is because my heart belongs to my wife, and always will. Lovely though you are, you cannot tempt me. No one can."

  "Is your wife insane, My Lord?"

  He chuckled. "I have long thought so."

  "She is not. I find you... most attractive."

  "Do you?" He sipped his wine. "And I thought only Mirra was mad enough to want a monster like me."

  "You're not a monster."

  "You do not know me well enough to judge that. You have not seen what I have done, nor do I wish to regale you with the stories."

  "I don't care what you've done; it's what you are now that matters."

  He smiled. "You have no idea what I am. You only know what you think I am."

  "I've always been a good judge of people, and I say you're not a monster. You've saved my domain and my goddess. How can you call yourself a monster? You could have any woman you want. Why confine yourself to only one? Surely a man of your status should have many beautiful women?"

  "Most women would have more sense. You are blind, or very naive. But I do not wish it, in any case."

  She bowed her head. "You love her very much."

  "With all of my being."

  Shevra's heart filled with a black tide of misery, and her eyes stung. She looked up to find him regarding her with eyes that shone like blue flames, piercing her soul.

  "Then you're more god than man, My Lord."

  "Perhaps."

  She sipped her wine. "I couldn't have controlled so much fire."

  "No. I was."

  She hesitated, toying with her glass, then blurted, "I crave your company, My Lord, if that's not too much to ask."

  "I do not think it would be a good idea."

  "Why?"

  He shook his head, lowering his gaze to his glass. "You should forget about me, Shevra."

  "How can I? You saved my life three times, and my heart belongs to you."

  "You mistake gratitude for love."

  "No."

  His eyes flicked up to her face. "You are very young to claim so much wisdom."

  "It's not wisdom. I only know what I feel, but I do know what it is."

  He put down his glass and turned away.

  "Wait!"

  Bane swung around, a slight frown furrowing his brow. Shevra hesitated, her courage flagging under his cold gaze, and gulped. "Would grant me the honour of serving you, My Lord?"

  "No."

  "I ask for nothing more than to do your bidding. How can that be so difficult to grant?"

  His eyes flitted over her. "Why would you want to do that?"

  "To please you. To be near you."

  "More to be near me than to serve me, I suspect."

  Her face grew hot. "To be near you will be my reward for my service. It's all I ask."

  "What makes you think that you can please me at all?"

  "How do you know that I can't, unless you let me try? My dance pleased you. I would entertain you whenever you wished it."

  Bane strolled closer. "You seek status. You think if you can get close to me, you will gain prestige in this domain. How much do you think you will get? More than the Queen perhaps? What higher status can a mortal aspire to, after all, than to be the mistress of a god? Except of course, his wife, but that position is already filled." His mouth twisted with bitterness. "Not so, She
vra?"

  "No, I long only to be with you, and please you, nothing more. If I can bring you even the slightest happiness, a brief respite from your trails, I'll be content."

  "You think me a fool?" He paused, studying her. "Even if what you say is true, your presence would offend my wife, and that, I will not do. Nor will I allow you to cause her any distress. Is that clear?"

  Shevra bowed her head, biting her lip. "Forgive me, Lord."

  "You show a deplorable lack of consideration for others, and I am not known for my forgiveness."

  Shevra fell to her knees. "I have no home, no one to care for me. All those whom I loved are dead. Please, I beg of you, let me stay with you and serve you in whatever way you choose. I'll do nothing to offend your wife, I swear it."

  "You would have had more success if you had approached her."

  "Please don't send me away. I have no one to look after me now. I will dance for you whenever you wish, do anything you ask."

  Bane frowned down at her. "Get up."

  She looked up, her eyes shimmering with tears, and rose. Bane stepped back when she moved closer, foiling her attempt to lay a hand on his chest. His eyes roved over her face, and Shevra held her breath.

  "So you have no one to care for you now?"

  "No, My Lord."

  "Then I shall instruct the Queen to see to it that you are cared for."

  Her heart sank, but, much as she longed to continue her plea, she sensed that it would be futile, and nodded. "Thank you Lord, but I don't wish to add to the Queen's troubles. I'll manage."

  "Yes, I suspect you will."

  Shevra bowed her head, and he swung away. The surge of dark power that accompanied his disappearance made her stomach heave, then the gloomy room shouted its emptiness from every sooty cranny. Her knees buckled, and she sank down in a swirl of skirts. Covering her face, she let her tears flow. His rejection had washed away her last vestige of hope, and the prospect that she might never see him again filled her heart with intense despair.

  Bane gazed down at Mirra's peaceful face, aware of Grem quietly leaving the room. Sitting on the bed beside her, he brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. His encounter with Shevra had filled him with an urgent need to be with her, and her presence brought the familiar warm feeling in his chest that even the dark power could not cool with its crouching malevolence. He pulled her into his arms and held her close, pressing his lips to the soft fragrance of her hair. She woke with a gasp and slid her arms around his neck.

  "What is wrong?" she whispered.

  "Nothing."

  "Are you all right?"

  He nodded. "Just tired."

  "Did you go somewhere?"

  "To free Drayshina." He sighed and laid his cheek against her hair. "I have missed you."

  Her arms tightened. "You have been in another fight?"

  "Just demons."

  "Only you could say that. Were you hurt?"

  "A little. Kayos took care of it."

  She loosened her hold to lean back and study his face. "You look exhausted."

  "Where is my father?"

  "He was hurt while you were unconscious, but Kayos healed him. He is resting now, as you should be."

  Mirra unclipped his cloak and pulled its heavy folds from his shoulders, then loosened his tunic and pushed him down on the bed before removing his boots. He closed his eyes, and by the time she curled up beside him, he was asleep.

  Kayos smiled at Bane. "So, how does it feel to be the object of unwanted desire?"

  "I am sure you know."

  "Flattering, but uncomfortable."

  Bane stood at the foot of Drayshina's bed, gazing down at the sleeping goddess. Mirra had gone to the kitchens with Grem to find food, and he had found Kayos. "Pretty much. You knew what was going to happen, did you not?"

  "I suspected.

  "And still you let me go?"

  "I thought it would do you good.

  Bane created a black cloud couch with a gesture and sank down on it. "I do not think it did. She only wanted status."

  Kayos chuckled. "You think so? I disagree, Bane. She wanted you."

  Bane snorted. "You really think that a woman could be mad enough to desire a dark god?"

  "Mirra does."

  "She is different."

  "Yes, she is, but in that way, she is not. But you will discover this for yourself, given time, and more contact with humanity. When you secluded yourself in your forest retreat, you denied yourself a great deal of interesting experiences with your people, something I hope you will have now. I think you will find it interesting."

  Bane grunted. "Or annoying. All such women see is an opportunity to gain power and status, to bask in reflected glory, even if it is tainted by the darkness, which says little for their morality."

  "Perhaps in small part, but I challenge you to test that theory one day. Go amongst the people as a peasant, but with your own likeness, and see how many maidens desire you then. Would that convince you?"

  Bane frowned. "I suppose so."

  "Good. Do it."

  "I doubt Mirra would like it."

  "She would understand."

  Bane looked up as his wife came in with a tray of assorted vegetarian delicacies and a pitcher of milk. Grem followed, carrying two bowls of meaty stew and a jug of wine. Mirra set down the tray and bowed to Kayos, then took a bowl from Grem and handed it to Bane. Grem settled in the corner to eat, Mirra sat beside Bane and nibbled her pastries, gazing at the sleeping goddess.

  Chapter Ten

  Darkness Falls

  Bane rested for two days, waking only to sup ambrosia or consume the bowls of stew Mirra brought from the kitchens and stretch his legs before resuming his slumber. Mithran joined them, and sat with Grem on his bedroll in the corner, learning all that had happened while he had been ill. Kayos watched over Drayshina, sleeping while Bane was awake in case Jishka sent a mortal assassin.

  When Kayos created another Eye and cast it upon the seventh ward, he found that Jishka and her minions had left, and turned it upon Vorkon's temple in Draynon. The Eye filled with swirling sparkles, which informed him that Jishka had sought refuge there, or had gone there seeking Drayshina and stayed. Certainly it was the most suitable place for her to reside, with its Source and its population of worshippers. It was also the first place that Bane would look for her, and her presence there made Kayos wonder how clever she was.

  On the third day, Bane Moved beyond the city to cleanse the dark power from the Lightworld. Kayos accompanied him, ignoring his irritated look. The Demon Lord inscribed a line of runes in the air with the shadows that trickled from his fingers and spoke their guttural names. The runes sank down, becoming wisps of shadow that vanished into the ground. The dark power began to fall. Bane repeated the string of runes, and the shadows drifted from the clouds, settling like a black fog upon the ash. Distant thunder rumbled, promising rain. Kayos wondered if Jishka would dare to defy Bane and summon the evil from below again, but doubted it.

  Kayos marvelled afresh at the tremendous power that the young god wielded. The commands that Bane spoke shivered the air, and the dark power's fall quickened as he described a third, then fourth set of runes. Two of the scars on his chest lighted as he used their power, his brow furrowed as he bent the shadows to his will. By the time he had completed the sixth set of runes, the clouds' forbidding darkness had lightened to grey, and the faint blue nimbus around Kayos had vanished. As Bane wrote the seventh and final set of runes in the air, then spoke their names, the last dregs of shadow seeped away into the ground. The Demon Lord stretched his hands towards the leaden sky, then moved them slowly apart, and the clouds began to drift away.

  Bane lowered his arms and turned to Kayos, who gazed up at the clouds, a smile curling his lips.

  "Drayshina will be pleased." His eyes flicked down to Bane. "But there is still Jishka."

  Bane nodded. "She will not confront me, so I must hunt her."

  "Difficult, while she blocks your Eye
. She is in Draynon, but that does not help much."

  Bane turned to gaze across the land. "There is only one way to get close to her, and that is in the guise of an ordinary mortal."

  "An illusion cannot hide your dark aura from her."

  "I know."

  "You mean..." Kayos' brows shot up, then lowered. "That is madness. You would be too vulnerable. Enter her city while invisible and she will not sense you."

  "If she has any sense, she will have set warning wards around herself. Besides, there will be crowds of demons, droges and worshippers around her, if I bump into one of them, it is over."

  "Then do not bump into anyone."

  Bane snorted. "Easier said than done. It is too risky. At the moment, she is not certain of my intentions, but she is probably expecting me to do exactly what you have just suggested. She will not expect me to go there without power, and that is the only way to get close to her now."

  "There is no guarantee of that. Even as a blue mage, you would be vulnerable. Any demon or even a droge with a knife could kill you."

  "And without my power, you could heal me like that." Bane snapped his fingers. "But more importantly, she will not know who I am. The demons and droges will not dare to kill such a prize as a blue mage. They will take me to her, and she will gloat over me, perhaps even try to torture me. The moment she touches me..."

  He paused, considering. "I know how a dark god thinks, Kayos, I am one. At the moment, she is afraid, but also angry and vengeful. The dark power will urge vengeance, but she fears me. An injured blue mage would be too good a source of amusement to resist. The dark power would demand my sacrifice, and she, I do not doubt, is its slave."

  Kayos shook his head. "How would I know if you were injured?"

  "Syrin."

  The Elder God groaned, swinging away. "I am already in her debt."

  "I shall ask her."

  "You will pay dearly for it."

  Bane shrugged. "I think not so dearly. Only as much as I care to."

  Kayos faced him again. "You do not think like a dark god, you are tar'merin."