Sherinias strolled into the mess hall, approached Bane and bowed. “My Lord, Father has agreed to allow me to go down to the mid realm.”
He smiled. “So, you nagged him half to death, hmmm?”
“I want to walk amongst my people, and Father says you may take me.”
Bane raised his brows. “Surely Drevarin would be a better choice?”
“No, Father says it must be you.”
“I thought it was not safe for you to walk amongst the people.”
“That is why Father says you must go with me.” She tilted her head and smiled. “I want to know my people better. I wish to speak to them, to learn about them, and experience what they have to offer. I have seen many wondrous things I want to try.”
“Such as?”
“Shopping.”
Mirra giggled, and Bane cast her a puzzled glance, then said to Sherinias, “You can order the Oracle to provide whatever you require.”
“That is not the same, My Lord. I want to go shopping, as humans do.” She tilted her head, her eyes pleading.
“You have no coin.”
“I am their goddess.”
“And if you go around telling people that, someone will doubtless wish to put you over their knee, probably me.”
“Please, My Lord?”
“I think not.”
Sherinias turned to Mirra. “Why does your husband refuse such a small request?”
“He does not know the importance of shopping for clothes and baubles to a young girl.”
“She can have as many clothes and baubles as she desires with a flick of her fingers,” Bane said.
“But she wants to experience shopping, as people do. Is it not her right?” Mirra placed a hand on his arm. “A short jaunt in the city cannot be dangerous, and I would like to see it, too. I have never been in a city before, and I also need clothes. I have been wearing just three dresses since we left Myrthran, and they are almost rags.”
“Of course you must have new clothes,” Sherinias said. “We shall choose them together. It will be so much fun! Please, My Lord?”
Mirra kissed his cheek. “It would make me happy.”
Bane rolled his eyes and raised his hands. “Fine! But I only do it because otherwise the two of you will nag me to death.”
“Thank you.” She kissed him again.
Sherinias asked, “Can we go now?”
Bane rose to his feet and drew Mirra up beside him. “You will stay close to me, understand? You do not stray from my sight for even a moment.”
She smiled. “Can Sarrin and Ethra come too?”
“No!”
“But they would also enjoy it.”
“Yes!” Sherinias cried. “That is a wonderful idea! We will make a merry outing of it, with tea and cakes, and they will buy new clothes too.”
Bane frowned at the young goddess. “No. I am not taking a whole crowd of womenfolk. Next you will want Mithran and Grem to join us.”
“I doubt they will find shopping for clothes interesting,” Mirra said. “But if you take me and Sherinias, what difference will two more make? I would like them to come.”
“Mirra…”
“Please?” She copied Sherinias’ pout. “Must I stamp my foot?”
“You… Ugh. Fine. But I am not guarding them, too.”
“You worry for nothing, Bane. No one will know who we are. You and Sherinias will don illusions, and we will be just another group of friends out shopping.”
He turned to the goddess. “Can you don an illusion?”
“Yes, My Lord. The Oracle will provide whatever I require.” She raised her arms and twirled, and her diamond dress transformed into a simple white gown with long sleeves and a V-neck edged with lace and seed pearls, with just a hint of mother-of-pearl in the sleek material. A pair of silver sandals shod her feet, and a strand of pearls encircled her throat. Her face changed subtly, becoming less striking, but still pretty.
“I shall fetch Sarrin and Ethra,” she said, and ran off.
Bane eyed Mirra’s well-worn white gown. “Are you going to wear pretty dresses now?”
“Not exactly, but a healer’s garb is meaningless in these alien worlds, and somewhat impractical for journeying. I think I shall get some good riding clothes, too, in case I have to ride again. It is awkward, in a dress.”
“You will have to ask Drevarin to transport us.”
She nodded and bowed her head.
Bane’s dislike for the jaunt was immense, but he could not refuse Mirra. He blamed himself for the many hardships she had endured. If not for what he was, they would have had a peaceful life in Myrthran.
Ethra ran in, Sherinias and Sarrin following at a more sedate pace. Ethra hopped with excitement while they waited for Drevarin, who arrived moments later.
He grinned at Bane. “Where are we going?”
The Demon Lord shrugged. “On a shopping spree, apparently.”
“Ah.” Drevarin’s eyes sparkled. “A quiet district on the outskirts of Darjahan, then?”
Bane inclined his head, and the young light god held out his hands. Mirra took one and Ethra the other, and Bane, Sarrin and Sherinias completed the circle.
Towering buildings, some built almost entirely from smoky glass, winked into being all around them, and the paved roads thronged with well-dressed people. Drevarin released the girls’ hands, chuckled and vanished. A bright blue sky arched overhead and a breeze stirred warm air laden with the mingled scents of perfumes and spicy food. Bane donned an illusion of a white shirt, dark blue jacket and trousers, made his hair short and brown and his eyebrows level, darkened his eyes and gave himself a tan. Mirra, Sarrin and Ethra looked out of place in their white dresses and shabby brown shirt and trousers.
Flying traffic passed overhead, a mixture of small brightly-coloured vehicles and larger grey, white and black ones. The hurrying pedestrians ignored the sudden appearance of the oddly-dressed strangers in their midst.
Sherinias pointed across the road. “Over there!”
The goddess trotted towards a brightly-lighted shop window that displayed plastic figures wearing smart attire, Sarrin and Ethra hot on her heels. Mirra took Bane’s hand and tugged him after them. The girls oohed and pointed at the bright clothes, then Sherinias darted into the shop and the rest followed, Mirra towing Bane. Inside, he flopped onto a chair while the girls hunted amongst racks of clothes before vanishing into curtained cubicles to emerge wearing new outfits. Several shop assistants came to help, and Bane watched the giggling, chatting women parade in and out of the dressing rooms.
They all expected him to admire their new outfits, but the only one whose choices he took any real interest in was Mirra. She selected three simple dresses in pale colours, a pair of tough brown trousers, a thigh-length fawn tunic and soft boots. Ethra emerged in some truly ghastly frocks with frills and puffed sleeves in shades of puke green and putrid brown, which the others vetoed, to Bane’s relief. A shop assistant brought him a cup of hot brown beverage that he found quite tasty. Finally, everyone had several new outfits, except Sarrin, who chose only one long white dress.
Bane settled down to wait again on another chair closer to the artificial jewellery while the girls stocked up on shiny stuff. Mirra decked Ethra and Sherinias with necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings. The shop girls helped too, and the giggling group discussed female things beyond his ken. The Demon Lord yawned and shifted, stretched and sighed, and had slid far down on the chair by the time Mirra emerged from the girl group and came over to sit on his lap. Several of the shop girls shot her dismayed looks.
Bane lowered the hand he had been using to prop up his head and smiled at her.
She kissed him. “Are you so very bored, My Lord?”
“It is not exactly a spectator sport.”
“Perhaps you will have more fun if you join in.”
“I do not think any of those frocks or fripperies will suit me.”
She giggled, kissed his cheek and jumped up
to hurry back to the group. All girls seemed to like pretty things, and he sometimes wished she would wear pretty gowns and jewels.
At last, the clothes shopping seemed to be over, the garments were packed into paper bags and the girls went to a counter where one of the shop girls tapped buttons on a boxy device. Bane rose, stretched and strolled over to lean on the counter. The shop assistant cast him a flirtatious smile and named a vast sum in a strange currency.
Bane cupped his hands and dropped several rubies on the counter. “What about these?”
The woman stared at them, but shook her head. “We only accept money, sir.”
“Gold?”
“Currency, sir.”
“Show me some.”
She opened a tinkling drawer and took out a piece of paper with pictures, numbers and writing on it, and Bane examined it. “Pieces of paper?”
“Money, sir.”
“Huh. Intriguing.” He envisioned what he required and summoned it. Several wads of the strange paper appeared under his palms, and he pushed them across the counter.
“Is that enough?”
The shop assistant nodded, looking stunned. “Too much.”
He turned away. “Keep it. I have not the patience to wait while you count it.”
Bane took Mirra’s shopping bags and made for the door, one eye on Sherinias. They continued down the street, and the girls stopped often to admire the garments on display in other shops, but Bane refused to sit through another clothes’ parade. Instead, he led them into an eatery, where a servant brought printed lists of the food and beverages on offer. While they waited for the tea and cakes they had ordered, Mirra leant closer to him.
“Where did that money come from?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. Wherever they keep such stuff, I expect.”
“Is that not stealing?”
“They can just make more. It has no real value, like gold or jewels.”
“So when you summon something, it comes from somewhere? You do not create it?”
“That depends. When I have power and summon a sword, the shadows make it from steel and gold, but I have no power now, so I merely took some of that stuff from the nearest repository.”
“That is stealing, Bane.”
He smiled. “Would you like me to get a job, so I may earn it?”
“Do not be ridiculous.”
“Well then, what?”
“I do not know.” She sighed. “I suppose you had no choice.”
“I could have just made the woman think I had paid her, but then the shop would have been out of pocket and she would probably have been blamed.”
“That would have been worse.”
“If it is any consolation, I think there was a lot of that paper where I got it from. Piles of it.”
“How do you know that?” she enquired.
“I just sensed it, when I summoned it. Just as I do when I take rock from a mountain or ice from a glacier during a battle; I know where it comes from, more or less.”
“So you could have just summoned these clothes.”
He inclined his head. “Yes, but that would definitely have been stealing, and besides, the point of the exercise was for Sherinias to experience the joys of shopping.”
“She enjoyed it.”
“So it would seem.”
“Thank you for being so patient.”
Bane sipped the fruity tea, wishing it was wine or ale. Sherinias and Ethra started a conversation with some young people at a neighbouring table, and Sarrin watched them with a smile. He surmised that the young goddess was forming quick acquaintances in order to learn as much as she could about her people in the short time available to her, and admired the girl’s boldness. The tinkle of the bell at the door drew his attention to a well-dressed man with glittering black eyes who entered the eatery, and he watched the demon approach. Since Bane had no power, the demon only sensed him when he was a couple of yards away. The man stopped dead, staring at Bane, then stepped back, spun on his heel and strode out. The reaction was a natural one for any demon when confronted by a dark god. Bane wondered if the demon had a master, and if so, who he might be.
After Sherinias and Ethra consumed several plates of buttered scones and sweet cakes, washed down with cups of aromatic tea, Bane summoned more of the local money to pay for it and they left the eatery. While the shopping bags were not heavy, he soon became weary of carrying them and called Eslason. The earth demon stepped out of a wall in man-form, and none of the pedestrians appeared to notice his emergence. Bane tossed him the bags as he strolled past, ignoring Eslason’s bow. The girls handed all their shopping to the demon, which Sherinias studied with undisguised fascination mixed with a healthy dose of dread. She fell into step beside Bane, glancing back often at the demon.
“You control him utterly, My Lord?” she enquired.
“Yes.”
“So he will do whatever you say?”
“Yes.” He shot her a slight smile. “Do not be alarmed. When you keep the company of a dark god, you should expect to find demons in his employ.”
“And yet you claim not to be a dark god, and berate those who call you one.”
He shrugged. “It is a moot point. To him, I am a dark god; to you, I am tar’merin. When I have no power at all, I am little more than a human, and when I use the blue, I am a neutral god. I wear many hats, it seems. But if I call myself a dark god, I do not consider it an insult.”
Mirra giggled, and Sherinias managed a tentative smile, casting another glance over her shoulder.
“He makes me shiver,” she said.
“And I do not?”
“Not anymore.”
Bane turned his head to smile at Mirra. “Did I ever make you shiver?”
She nodded. “You still do.”
Ahead of them, an approaching demon crossed the road to avoid Bane, and another veered into a shop. They crossed the city to a fairground, where Sarrin and Ethra vanished into the crowd to find amusement stalls. Bane collared the young goddess when she tried to dart off too.
“Uh-uh, you stay close to me,” he told her.
She pouted. “Surely there is no danger here, My Lord, with all these people around?”
“Some of them are demons and droges, so yes, there is.”
She glanced at Eslason. “Can you not send him away now that our shopping is finished?”
“No. He cannot transport it to the light realm.”
“Then will you tell him to wait for us somewhere, so he no longer follows us? He is spoiling my enjoyment of the day.”
Bane ordered the demon to wait for them at the fairground’s gates, and Sherinias smiled as Eslason marched off.
“How did you summon him without power?”
“I did not. He was already in my employ. I merely called him.”
The goddess slipped her arm through his. “I am proud to have you as my brother, Bane. I am ashamed that I was frightened of you at first. Now I love and respect you as I should. Thanks to you, my domain is safe from dark gods, and in time those clever ships will defeat the demons above the wards. I shall miss you very much when you leave.”
Chapter Sixteen
Black Priests
Bane strolled along a corridor towards the lift that accessed the bridge. Two days had passed since the shopping expedition, and the time of departure had arrived at last. He was eager to leave this accursed domain before something else cropped up that required his intervention. Soon, he would have to summon the dark power again, in order to fetch Nomard and Dramon as soon as the realm gate was open and the light realm’s wards deactivated.
Tryne stepped out of the air ahead, and Bane swore under his breath and sidestepped the angel, who bowed and fell into step.
“Lord…”
“Whatever it is, the answer is no. We are leaving today.”
“I wish to redeem another of my favours.”
“Of course you do. That does not mean I have to grant it.”
“T
his will take but a few moments, Lord.”
Bane stopped and faced him, noticing two crewmen staring at him from the end of the corridor, from which he deduced that Tryne was invisible to them. “I no longer require the aid of angels, Tryne.”
He nodded. “I am aware of that, Lord. Nevertheless, to deny favours already owed will anger my kind, and we will make our displeasure known to Majelin and Sarmalin. I could also gain a powerful favour if I whispered about you to Ordur.”
“Threats, now?” Bane frowned. “That would incur my anger, and you do not want that.”
The angel tilted his head. “What will you do, Lord?”
“Perhaps I will not help the next angel who requires my aid.”
“That would be unfortunate… for him, or her.”
“Indeed.”
“Allow me to tell you of my favour, Lord. It is small.”
Bane sighed. “Fine, although I do not know why you bother to ask for small favours. Why not wait until you have a big one?”
“It is big, to the one I wish to help.”
“So what is it?”
“An innocent girl has been captured by a cabal of black priests in a town called Darfall, in Lonisia. They intend to sacrifice her, Lord. Freeing her would only take you a moment.”
Bane considered. The task was a simple one for him, but impossible for anyone else, except perhaps the light gods, but then, they did not owe Tryne favours. It was no surprise to find black priests in a dark domain, and they were even more dangerous than demons in many ways. They would spread their worship, and they lusted for foul entertainment just as demons did. Doubtless the priests worshipped one of the dark gods he had cast down, and were now free to do as they pleased. Then again, they might not even realise their master had been imprisoned. Ironically, Tolrar, Jeriss and Scryon had kept a modicum of order, preferring to be the orchestrators of all the evil and disliking trespass upon their rule. In time, the priests would learn of their defeat, and the situation in the mid realm would worsen as a result.
The presence of warlocks was to be expected, too, after centuries of dark rule. He had always despised them. Hunting them down would take too long, but he could order some demons to kill any they found, thereby reducing the population of evil worshippers. Without gods to protect them, the priests would soon renounce their evil ways or die. Getting rid of them would certainly help Sherinias’ people, and she would not have to watch their depravities. He had not considered how easily his power could be used to stamp out dark worship before, but now that he had, it was definitely worthwhile.
When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) Page 27
