Demon Lord VI - Son of Chaos by T C Southwell Read Free Book Online Page B

thunderous scowl, her arms reddened where she had scuffled
with the man, who had been unable to explain the situation while
they were away from Bane. When she spotted the scene in the
shredder room, she jerked free of her captor and ran to the window,
elbowing aside contechs and scientists with no regard for their
rank.
    “ Who is he?” she asked when Nikira reached her side.
    “ His name’s Drevarin. An angel summoned him.”
    “ Angels don’t summon gods.”
    “ Well, asked for his help then.”
    Ethra shot her
a worried glance. “Is Bane going to be all right?”
    “ Drevarin’s healing him.”
    “ He looks better, so why is he still asleep?”
    Nikira shook
her head. “I don’t know.”
    “ I want to go in there.”
    “ Drevarin won’t let anyone in.”
    Ethra gazed
through the window for several minutes, her eyes bright with tears.
“I must tell the others.”
    Nikira ordered
the contech to take Ethra down to the hold and reunite her with her
group, then settled down to resume her vigil. Moments later, she
jumped up with a gasp that was echoed by everyone in the room as
three angels stepped from the air beside Drevarin and bowed to him.
One of the newcomers was a man with curly chestnut hair and slanted
hazel eyes, the other a willowy woman with red locks and green
eyes, and the third was the one who had left earlier. They all
possessed the same ethereal grace and wore the same tattered silken
garb.
    “ Good grief,” Drontar muttered. “Are they having a
convention?”
     
     
    A qualm passed
through Drevarin now that his task was at hand, and he waved away
his cup of ambrosia. The newcomers appeared to be older than Tryne,
but with angels it was hard to tell.
    Tryne said,
“These are Lyris and Pryad, Lord.”
    “ You have explained the task?”
    “ Yes, Lord.”
    “ Good, let us begin.”
    Drevarin lay
down on his couch, and the angels came to stand beside him, each
laying a hand upon his chest. Closing his eyes, he permitted
himself to sink back into the semi-sleep that allowed him to guide
the white power deep within Bane. When he had achieved the required
state and schooled himself to serenity, he reformed the conduits of
light between them.
    Once more he
sent the light into the Demon Lord, seeking the place where the
damage lay, his every instinct warning him away. He had considered
sending Tryne to seek a Grey God, but the odds of finding one
within a decade were slim, even for an angel, or a dozen angels,
for that matter. He had also considered allowing Bane to recover so
he could find Kayos, but if he was embattled he would not be able
to help. This was the only option, yet he longed to shy away from
it. Steeling himself for the backlash, he sent a filament of power
into the shimmering greyness that was the damaged area. Bane’s soul
flared, its power washing through Drevarin in a wave of white-hot
energy, and he writhed.
     
     
    Nikira bit her
lip as Drevarin appeared to have a mild seizure. For an instant he
became a figure formed of light, then it faded and the conduits
between him and Bane pulsed. A moment later the tar’merin’s back
arched, and his lips drew back in a grimace of pain.
    Enyo swore.
“What the hell are they doing?”
    “ I wish I knew,” Nikira mourned.
    Drevarin
writhed again, his hands clenching, then Bane did the same. Blue
fire sparkled at his fingertips, making several people gasp. When
the seizure passed, he lay gasping, a faint film of sweat sheening
his brow. The creator showed no signs of physical distress, but a
deep frown furrowed his brow.
    “ This is supposed to be healing him?” Drontal muttered. “Looks
more like he’s trying to kill him.”
     
     
    Drevarin sent
the filament of light questing a final time, forcing it to touch
the last fragment of shimmering greyness. The wave of soul energy
made him bite his lip in agony, then it passed, and he relaxed,
sensing Bane’s physical reaction to the intrusion a moment later.
The strain had taxed