Dark God Read Online Free PDF Page B

one."
    "I have no power. There is no
sun."
    "Sun's only been gone a few
days."
    "I have had many to heal. It
used up my power."
    His grin revealed crooked,
stained teeth. "I don't believe you."
    "Please!"
    The man who held her clamped a
filthy hand over her mouth, and the leader looked around at his
men. "Let's have some fun, boys!"
    Bane sat up, brushing ash from
his tunic, his cold eyes fixed on Mirra. She was sure there was
hatred in them, and, as the men pulled at her clothes, he cocked a
brow in mocking enquiry. She tried to shake her head, but her
captor held her too firmly. Bane rose to his feet, but the bandits
ignored him. Clearly they had dismissed him as a threat, since he
was unarmed and only a youth. Mirra struggled harder as he raised a
hand and traced one of the runes on his chest.
    "Leave her," he commanded.
    The men stopped tugging at her
robe and turned to look at him in surprise. His expression was
contemptuous, and his pale eyes raked them with an icy glance.
Mirra jerked free of the hand over her mouth.
    "Bane, no!"
    He ignored her. "Let her go, and
I may let you live."
    The one-eyed man laughed. "Hark
at him! Shut yer gob, boy!"
    Bane's eyes frosted, and Mirra
cringed. The Black Lord had called him 'boy', and that he did not
appreciate it was obvious. Dread squeezed her heart, for he seemed
in imminent danger of using his power. Why else had he traced a
rune scar?
    Desperate to stop him, she
cried, "Do not do it, Bane. You will die!"
    The one-eyed man guffawed. "Too
right he will, girl. With my sword in his guts."
    Drawing a rusty cutlass, he
walked towards the Demon Lord. Bane watched him, his expression
confident. As the bandit leader neared him, Bane pulled open his
tunic to reveal the rune scars, one of which glowed dull red. The
outlaw stopped, his mouth dropping open, and the hands that held
Mirra relaxed. She crawled away from the stupefied men, who gaped
at the Demon Lord. Bane's eyes locked with the bandit captain's,
and the man gulped.
    "What are you, a black
mage?"
    "No. Something far worse than
that, human filth. Would you like a demonstration?"
    The man stepped back. "No."
    "Unfortunate." He rubbed the red
mark that blossomed on his ribs. "You have to pay for this."
    Bane turned
his head, and Orriss stepped from the trees in response to his
silent command. The demon
steed stood revealed in all its otherworldly glory, from its
smouldering flanks to the leaping flames of its mane and tail. It
snorted fire, and its silver eyes glowed. The brigands cowered,
whimpering, and some crept away into the forest. The captain threw
down his weapon and scuttled away from Bane, as Mirra had seen so
many men do in the past, then fell to his knees and prostrated
himself.
    "Demon Lord!"
    Bane glared at him. "You dared
to strike me. You abused my property."
    The man yammered, "I - I didn't
know, Lord, I swear!"
    "Indeed. You
would have to be a monumental fool to attack me, would you not?"
His smile widened, becoming colder than Mirra would have believed
possible. He was enjoying this, she realised. The demon steed pawed the ground, and
the outlaws gibbered.
    Bane's smile
vanished. "My demon steed is
hungry."
    The bandit captain grovelled.
"Please, Lord, I beg for mercy! We'll do anything you say, just
spare us!"
    A pang of anxiety went through
Mirra as she realised that Bane had no intention of letting these
men go. They had offended him, struck him, and he was not
accustomed to allowing such an insult to go unpunished. Too many
demons had hurt him in the Underworld, and he had learnt that the
only way to prevent such abuse was to strike back with deadly
force. She walked over to him, and his eyes flicked to her, filled
with fury.
    "Let them go, Bane."
    "Why? They would have raped you,
and probably killed me if they could."
    "It does not matter."
    "I do not have to use the power,
Orriss can do it."
    She shook her head. "It is not
that. They have been punished, let them live."
    Bane's hands
clenched as if he