When Angels Fall (Demon Lord) (7 page)

BOOK: When Angels Fall (Demon Lord)
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The archangel shuddered, but grasped Bane’s hand.

The Demon Lord looked vague for a moment, then frowned. “Well, that is odd.”

“What? Nothing happened.”

“I noticed that too. That is what is odd. Apparently there are more wards in this trap than I thought, and one of them prevents Moving. Perhaps it was intended to hold a god.”

Majelin freed his hand and scowled. “Then why are there no other gods here?”

“That is a good question. Perhaps no others fell in, or maybe they perished.”

“How could they die? Could this kill you?”

“No, but then, I am a dark god. Perhaps a light god would be in more trouble than me.”

“How much trouble are you in?” Majelin asked, dreading the answer.

“I am uncertain. It depends on whether
or not there is a way to escape this cavern. If not, I am in quite a lot of trouble, as are you.”

“Will you die of hunger?”

Bane snorted. “Certainly not, unless…” He gestured, and a golden cup appeared in his hand. “Ah. Good. Not that I am planning to spend that much time in here.” He sipped from it, looking thoughtful. “So, we just need to find a way out.”

“I saw no tunnels.”

“How hard did you look?”

“We should probably look again.”

Bane dismissed the cup, and the shield lowered to reveal the glowing cavern once more. Majelin searched the oozing walls, which appeared to be solid, as did the roof. How had they got in here, then? Presumably whatever power had brought them here did not need an entrance, and he shuddered at the thought that they had passed through solid rock, glad he did not recall it.

Bane surveyed the swirling sea. “Quite possibly our only way out is down the drain.”

“Down the… You jest!”

“I wish I did. Do you see another way?”

Majelin shook his head. “But we do not know where it goes, or even if it goes anywhere.”

“It must go somewhere. Let us just hope it does not pass through the domain’s boundary.”

“Why?”

“Because then we will be fried to a crisp.” Bane rose to his feet, and the shield vanished.

“What are you doing?”

“Having a better look around.”

“And?”

“You are right. There is no way out of this thing. It is down the drain for us.”

Majelin stared at the swirling magma. “What if it solidifies?”

“It cannot until it reaches somewhere it can spread out. Otherwise it would not continue to flow. And even if it does solidify, that is not too disastrous. I can walk through rock for a while.”

“How long?”

“That depends on how much power I have to begin with. Perhaps half an hour or so; but the chances of us having to do that are non-existent, I am sure.”

“Us? I cannot walk through rock.”

Bane looked
back at him. “You will, with me, of course.”

“Perhaps the cavern is filling up because the drain is becoming blocked.”

“No, I think the flow into it has increased.”

“You do not know that. You have nothing to compare the current flow to.”

Bane shrugged. “Well, if it is becoming blocked, the sooner we get down it the better.”

“Are you sure you can shield both of us in that?”

“Would you rather stay here?”

“I suppose I am dead either way.”

“An excellent supposition.” The tar’merin crouched, and the shields rose around them once more. As the dark sphere closed overhead, Bane asked, “Are you ready?”

The archangel nodded, fighting a strong urge to demand egress as the walls seemed to press in on him. Being in such a confined space with a dark god made his stomach clench and his heart thud, even if Bane was tar’merin. Bane clenched his hands as if he took hold of the air and pulled it, and the sphere slid downwards, then bobbed sluggishly. Majelin wanted to climb up the walls at the thought of the magma beneath him. Bane motioned towards the floor, and the sphere sank, bumping against rocky walls. Majelin sensed their speed increase as they were sucked into the magma river, grinding and lurching along an apparently winding course. Bane sat down and spread his hands on the floor, his eyes unfocussed. To Majelin, it seemed insane to be going down when they needed to go up. What if this route led somewhere even worse than the cavern?

The sphere bumped and veered for some time, while Majelin’s nerves frayed, then he floated into the air with a yelp.

Bane tensed and muttered, “Uh-oh.”

“What is happening?”

“We are falling.”

“How far?”

The tar’merin’s eyes grew distant again, and he shook his head. “Too far. Come here.”

“Why?”

Bane lunged at him and seized his arms in a steely grip. “Because otherwise you will die.”

The black sphere vanished, and Majelin’s breath caught. They plummeted towards a green expanse that looked like forest, and, at the speed they were falling, they would surely be splattered when they landed. He wished he still had his wings as he cringed and closed his eyes. Bane’s grip on his wrists grew painful, and, realising that he hung from the dark god’s hands, Majelin opened his eyes. A column of black fire slowed their descent towards the forest far below, almost singeing his toes. He tucked up his feet to remove them from harm’s way, while Bane held him at arms’ length. Several moments later, they passed between branches whose leaves the black fire crisped and landed on soft humus. Majelin’s knees almost buckled as Bane released him, and he reeled a little.

A forest of
broad-leafed trees, some festooned with vines, surrounded them, and the archangel wondered where they were now. Certainly it was not the mid realm. They had been travelling in the wrong direction, unless down had become up in the trap. There were also no Channels, which disquieted him and confirmed that they were in a strange place indeed, more akin to an underworld than a mid realm. A pale orange sky with a hazy yellow glow at its centre was visible through the canopy.

Bane surveyed the surroundings. “Where the hell are we now?”

“You do not know?”

“No idea. How would I know something like that?”

The angel shook his head. “I do not know. You are a god?”

Bane snorted and
looked up. Majelin followed his gaze. High above, almost lost in the haze, a river of lava plummeted from a cliff face, becoming semi-solid as it cooled. He wondered what happened to it after that, but had more pressing issues on his mind.

“Can you Move to the light realm now?” he asked.

The dark god held out a hand, and Majelin grasped it. Bane’s expression became vague, and then he shook his head. “No.”

Majelin freed his hand.
“Surely this whole place cannot be warded?”

“Apparently it is.”

“So, what now?”

Bane’s eyes lingered on a dark horizon shot with lightning. “We explore; maybe find a way out, or, at least, somewhere I can Move. Perhaps there are people here who can tell us where we are and how to get out.”

“If there are people here, they must be trapped, too.”

“Maybe not; it seems like a pleasant enough place.”

“Would you want to stay here?”

“No, but then, I have a wife and family outside.”

“You have children?” Majelin asked.

“Not yet. You?”

“A daughter.”

“I want a daughter.”

The archangel thought how odd it was to be swapping pleasantries with a dark god. One who had just saved his life several times, he reminded himself. “This could be some sort of overflow from the mid realm, formed when the domain was created. A flaw, if you will. Like a miniature world within the domain’s boundary.”

“Not too deep in the boundary, I hope.”

“More likely its bedrock,” Majelin amended.

“There are white wards there too, are there not?”

“Yes.”

“Then that does not comfort me. I just hope if there are any I will be able to see them. Can you sense them?”

Majelin nodded. “Yes.”

“Good, then you will lead the way.”

“What if there is something dangerous...?”

“I will be right behind you.”

Majelin snorted. “I do not find that comforting, either.”

“Let us agree that we do not find each other comforting, and leave it at that.”

“Perhaps you should use an Eye to see what is here and where we should go?”

Bane created an Eye, which showed a variety of forested scenes and silver lakes. Often, there was a towering cliff face in the background, as if they were in tiny domain, no more than a few hundred thousand leagues in extent.

Finally, the Eye showed a ramshackle village next to a rocky outcrop. Bane ran his fingers along the edge of the Eye, magnifying the image to show more details of the shabby thatched huts and the people who wandered amongst them. They had refined features and large eyes, but wore coarse garments made from homespun cloth. Majelin stifled an oath.

Bane frowned. “Angels?”

Majelin nodded. “They are fallen.”

“They have turned to the darkness?”

“Not exactly; they have lost their abilities, their light and their wings.”

Bane shot him a startled look. “How does that happen?”

“They have been tortured and abused for a thousand years, or...”

“What?”

“Something else.”

“But how the hell did they get in here?”

Majelin shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“Well, there must be a way, because they certainly did not come in the same way we did, and if they can come in, we can get out. Let us go and ask them.” Bane dismissed the Eye and set off through the forest, then paused when Majelin remained behind. “What?”

“You are a dark god.”

“I am not.”

“They will not know that. They cannot even see your aura now.”

“So you can tell them. Come on.”

“Bane…”

The tar’merin looked impatient. “What now?”

“They… You will terrify them.”

“All right, you go and talk to them first.”

“They will think I am your slave.”

Bane sighed. “What, then?”

“Can you cast out your power?”

“How do you think I got into that chamber where you were imprisoned?”

“I do not know.”

“Well, that is how, but this is a strange place with unknown threats.”

“But we need their help,” Majelin said. “If they run away, we will be stuck here.”

“They cannot run away forever. I will capture one.”

“No.”

“No?”

“You will frighten him half to death.”

Bane shrugged. “All right; I will become invisible.”

“How will you talk to them, then?”

“You talk to them.”

“They will want to know how I got here, and I cannot tell them the truth. I could not have done it alone.”

“You could have come through the same portal as they did,” Bane said.

“For all we know, they have been here for millennia, in which case a strange angel arriving out of the blue would be most suspicious.”

“And a strange angel with a human companion will not?”

“Perhaps less so, since some humans have powers,” Majelin said.

“Mages, you mean.”

The archangel nodded. “Yes.”

“A black mage is only a little less unpleasant for mortals than a dark god, you know.”

“But without your power, you could be a blue mage.”

Bane muttered under his breath. “And if there is a bloody beast god here or demon hound, we will be dead. Or you will. Maybe.”

“They would not be alive if such a monster dwelt here.”

The Demon Lord threw up his hands. “Fine! You had be
tter hope you are right, though.”

“They cannot harm us. They would not.”

“It is not them I am worried about. It is whatever we do not know about yet.”

“How long does it take you to Gather your power?” Majelin asked.

“Only a few moments, these days, unless there is another damned enchantment in here that prevents me from doing that, too.”

“Is that possible?”

“I do not know. I did not know it was possible to block a Move.”

“Try now, then.”

Bane extended a hand towards the shadows between the trees, and filaments of darkness oozed towards him like black strings. “It seems to work.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, so do it.”

“You are becoming as bossy as Kayos.” Bane motioned to the archangel’s manacles. “Would you like me to remove those chains first?”

Majelin
glanced down at them. “Yes.”

The Demon Lord
stepped closer and touched the shackle on the archangel’s right wrist, and it parted and fell off with a clank. Majelin sighed and rubbed his callused skin. He had almost forgotten how good it was to be free. Bane touched the left shackle, and it joined the first on the ground, then he bent and freed Majelin’s ankles. When he straightened, the archangel nodded, avoiding his eyes. Somehow, he could not bring himself to thank the dark god. Not yet, anyway.

BOOK: When Angels Fall (Demon Lord)
5.76Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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