Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain (2 page)

“Sherinias, it
is all right. I will not harm you.”

She shook her
head, gulping.

“This is what
we were hiding from you, and this is why. Whatever you do, do not
Move. Go back inside now.” Realising that what he had said did not
make much sense, he added, “When I say Move, I mean translocate. If
you Move out here, you will not go where you wish. You will become
lost in the God Realm. Do you understand?”

Her eyes
remained riveted to his, like a rabbit mesmerised by a snake, and
her gasps had grown louder. Bane cursed under his breath. She was a
child of the light confronted by a dark god, and she was frozen
with terror. If she knew that her only hope of escaping him was to
Move, and did so out of sheer panic despite his warning, it would
be disastrous.

Again he toyed
with the idea of walking away, but it might be his presence that
prevented her from Moving. He was not sure if she was able to
listen to him, or if she was too terrified even to do that. Perhaps
the solution would be to capture her, thereby preventing her from
Moving, or at least from doing so alone. He wondered how much power
such a young light goddess possessed. The answer came from the dark
power, which told him that she was defenceless, unable even to use
the white fire to slay him as adult light gods could. If he
captured her, however, he would only frighten her more, and she
looked ready to faint from terror already. Did light goddesses
faint?

“Sherinias, I
am your brother. I would never harm you. Do you think Kayos would
trust me if I would?”

She blinked.
“You are -”

“A dark god,
yes, I know, believe it or not. But I am tar’merin. Do you know
what that is?”

Her head jerked
from side to side, and he cursed again, racking his brains. “It
means I am not evil. Close your eyes and look at my soul.”

She hardly
dared to blink, he thought angrily. She was not going to close her
eyes when faced with a dark god, a liar.

“Of course, you
do not believe me,” he muttered. “But I am telling you the truth.
Just go back into the domain, find Kayos and ask him about me. I
will not follow you or stop you.”

A movement
beyond her caught his eye, and Bane glanced past her. A grey-clad
man flew towards them in a familiar upright posture, his legs
slightly bent. A spurt of relief went through Bane as he recognised
Kayos. “Here is Father. Stay where you are.”

Kayos landed
beside her and raked Bane with hard eyes.

Sherinias
turned and flung her arms around him. “Father! Do not let him hurt
me!”

“Hush child, it
is all right.” He patted her shoulder, letting her cling to his
shimmering jacket.

Bane swung
away, running a hand through his hair.

“Bane, stay,”
Kayos said.

He turned back.
“Why? She is terrified of me.”

“This is not as
I planned it, but now that it has happened, we must deal with it.”
Kayos looked down at the girl, then back at Bane. “This is very bad
for you, I know.”

“Bad for me?
Yes, it is. First she was impertinent, and the darkness wanted her
dead, now she treats me like a monster, like so many others. Do not
make it worse.”

“I will try not
to, but she must learn to trust you now, or the damage will be
irreparable. How did she get here?”

“You think I
brought her?”

Kayos shook his
head. “No, of course not. It is my fault. I was not watching
her.”

“So how do you
intend to solve this?”

The Grey God
looked down at Sherinias again and released her, prised her arms
from his chest and clasped her hands. She cast Bane a
terror-stricken glance, and Kayos cupped her chin, forcing her to
look at him. “Sherinias, Bane is tar’merin. He will not harm
you.”

“I already
tried that,” Bane said.

Kayos glanced
at him. “But you are -”

“A liar, of
course.” Bane flung up his hands.

“Yes, you
are.”

“You are right,
I am.”

“You are making
this harder.”

Bane folded his
arms. “Carry on then.”

Kayos addressed
Sherinias. “Listen to me, child, and listen well. Bane, your
brother, is not like other dark gods. He fights for the light; for
us. He will not harm you.”

She shivered.
“He is the darkness.”

Bane snorted.
“She cannot seem to get past that.”

Kayos ignored
him. “No...” He frowned. “Yes, he is, yet he is not. Look at his
soul.”

Sherinias
closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she appeared
confused, but no less afraid. “It-it must be a trick, Father. Let
us flee, seek shelter in the domain and close the gate.”

“Wonderful
idea,” Bane muttered.

Kayos sighed.
“All right, we will have to do this the hard way. Sherinias.” He
took hold of her shoulders and gave her a little shake, jerking her
attention from Bane. “You are my daughter. I would not put you in
danger, would I?”

“No,
Father.”

“You have sworn
to obey me, have you not?”

“Yes,
Father.”

Kayos nodded.
“Now I hold you to that oath. In this, you will obey me without
question or hesitation.”

“Fly back to
the domain?”

“No.” Kayos
released her and glanced at Bane, who paced up and down. “Bane,
stand still.”

The Demon Lord
stopped and sighed, gazing into the distance.

Kayos said to
the child goddess, “You will do as I say. You will go to Bane and
take his hand.”

Bane’s head
jerked around. “That is asking a bit much.”

“It is the best
way.”

“That is like
telling her to put her hand into a basket of snakes.”

“Yes,” Kayos
said, “and when she finds that they do not bite, her fear goes
away.”

“Your method of
teaching children leaves a lot to be desired.”

“I have raised
twenty-seven children, and she is a goddess.”

“She is a
child,” Bane said. “She is only one day old.”

“Will you stop
interfering?”

“Fine. You can
clean up the mess.”

Kayos faced
Sherinias again. “Obey me.”

“Am I to be his
slave, Father?” she asked in a trembling voice. “Is that why he
does not harm you? Have you given me to him in return for your
freedom?”

“Do you really
think I would do such a thing, Sherinias?”

She looked
stricken, shaking her head. “But I would understand it, and I would
be honoured to sacrifice myself for you.”

“I have told
you that he will not harm you.”

“The darkness
lies, Father. He has deceived you.”

“I understand
your fear, so do it because I tell you to, and for no other
reason.”

Sherinias
stared at Bane with flinching, horror-filled eyes, and Kayos gave
her a push towards him. She took a step and halted, frozen
again.

Bane flung
Kayos an angry look. “If you want to frighten her to death, do not
use me.”

“Do I have a
choice?”

“Yes, leave me
alone.” Bane strode away.

“Bane!”

The Demon Lord
walked on for several strides, then slowed, raising his fists with
a growl of frustration as he stopped and swung to face the Grey
God, who glared at him. Bane marched back, flicking the edges of
his cloak over his shoulders. “I do not enjoy frightening little
girls.”

“I understand.
This is hard for you.”

“It is a lot
worse for her.”

“Do you want
her to be afraid of you?”

“No.”

“Then do as I
say,” Kayos advised. “I know what I am doing. Do you remember how
your power reacted to her insolence?”

“Yes.”

“Then harden
your heart. You are too soft.”

“Tell her
that,” Bane said.

“At this
juncture, words will not convince her. Have you heard that actions
speak louder?”

“Of course.
Then come with her.”

The Grey God
shook his head. “Then she will fear you when I am absent.”

“I do not want
to do this.”

“You must.”
Kayos looked at Sherinias once more. “Go and take your brother’s
hand.”

“Why did you
call him back when he was leaving?” she asked. “I do not
understand.”

“I did it
because you must do as I say. He will not harm you.”

Sherinias cast
Bane a despairing glance and walked towards him with stiff, jerky
steps. He looked away, unable to meet her desperate, pleading gaze,
which begged for his mercy.

Once he had
revelled in the terror he inspired in others, and the darkness
sought to twist his self-loathing into contempt. The dark power
mocked his weakness and sought to overcome his hatred of its
depraved teachings by offering a font of pleasure from her fear,
and he fought against it.

Kayos watched
his dark son with deep concern, noting the expressions that chased
each other across Bane’s face. His human side warred with the
darkness within him, and this would test his ability to overcome
its influence. Once he had been its slave, and it had made him
kill, torture and humiliate many innocents. Kayos was sure Bane had
not forgiven himself for that, even if Mirra had.

Bane frowned
into the distance, but every so often he glanced at Sherinias and
his lip curled in contempt. Then his face became a mask as he
regained a little control, and he averted his gaze. Kayos longed to
go to him and embrace him, give him the love and trust he needed
and deserved. Sherinias had to trust Bane, and this was the only
way. For Bane, being a dark god was a burden he longed to shed, but
could not while his powers were needed.

Drevarin’s
friendship was good for Bane, bolstering his self-image, but
Sherinias’ fear did grave harm to his self-esteem. Kayos feared
that Bane would do something rash and self-destructive to counter
it.

Bane glanced at
Sherinias, who met his eyes with a beseeching gaze, her breath
coming in jerky gasps.

Kayos said,
“She was born with an inherent fear of the darkness. Only
irrefutable proof of your friendship will allay her terror.”

“If she does
not drop dead of it before she gets here.”

“She will not.
Do not approach her. She must come to you.”

Bane flung him
a scathing look. “I am not a fool. She is defenceless, not so?”

“At this age,
utterly.”

“That makes it
even worse.”

Sherinias
approached Bane like an automaton, and he doubted that she heard a
word they said, her mind numb with fright. He wondered if he should
smile, but that would probably be as threatening as a frown to her.
Stones made her stagger, and he fought the urge to help her. The
darkness within him revelled in her fear and tried to fill him with
smug gloating, but he thrust it aside. Her faltering steps brought
her to within two strides of him, and her eyes flicked down to his
hand, which hung at his side, hidden by his cloak.

“Hold out your
hand,” Kayos instructed.

Bane stretched
out his left hand, which was the one she looked at. He wondered if
the reason for her choice was that the left hand was usually the
weaker one. Sherinias hesitated, gathering her courage, he
suspected, before she took the last few steps and looked up at him,
her expression one of extreme trepidation. He met her gaze, then
looked away, hardly able to stomach it. Her hand touched his, and
her fingers closed around it. He glanced down to find her gazing
back at Kayos, silently begging for her ordeal to be over.

Kayos shook his
head. “Stay there, Sherinias. Bane, talk to her.”

“Sherinias.”
Bane tried to make his voice soft and reassuring.

The young
goddess looked up at him, her expression despairing. He took hold
of her hand, drew her closer and stroked her cheek. Blue fire
sparkled where his fingers brushed her skin, and she flinched,
closing her eyes. Bane frowned as a pang of intense pity shot
through him, mingled with deep self-loathing. In an attempt to ease
her fears somewhat, he sank down on one knee.

“Sherinias,
look at me.”

Her eyes opened
and roamed over his face. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Nothing; I am
your brother.”

“You are a dark
god. You lie.”

He inclined his
head. “Sometimes, but I am not lying now.”

“Prove it.”

“How?”

“Let me
go.”

“No,” Kayos
said.

Bane ignored
him. “I will let you go if you promise not to run away.”

She appeared
uncertain, then nodded, and he released her hand. “You do not have
to touch me to hurt me, do you?” she asked.

“No.”

“Then fleeing
would do me no good. When I asked to be released, I did not mean
merely my hand. I asked for my freedom. This is not something you
would grant, is it?”

“I have not
enslaved you,” Bane said. “You came to me because Kayos told you
to.”

“Father fears
you too.”

“No, he does
not. I have been with you since you were born. I was there at your
birth, and I have not harmed you, have I?”

“You had no
power.”

He nodded. “I
cast it out so you would not be afraid of me, and we would have
told you when you were older. I do not want you to fear me. You may
do whatever you wish to assure yourself that I will not harm
you.”

“Kill you?”

He smiled. “You
are courageous. This is hard for you, and you do not have the power
to kill me, but if you did, would you be less afraid of me?”

“Yes.”

Bane gestured,
and a silver dagger appeared in his hand. Sherinias gasped, gazing
at it with wonder and hope. He held it out, hilt towards her. “Now
we are equals, for you have the means to kill me.”

She took the
weapon and clutched it to her chest. Her expression changed to
anxious curiosity. “You could kill me first.”

“Maybe; maybe
not. I would wager that you are faster than me, for I am only a
mortal.”