Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain Read Online Free PDF Page A

they were in grave
danger. All the reports he had read in preparation for this mission
had spoken of this dra’voren’s strangeness, and clearly he
possessed still more oddities they did not know about.
     
     
    Kayos
rematerialised outside Sherinias’ birthing chamber and put the girl
down. She gazed at him with deep trepidation, biting her lip, and
he patted her shoulder.
    “Be brave,
Daughter. Go inside and wait for me. Do not emerge, no matter what.
If you need me, call me. I must go back and help Bane.”
    “Is he in
danger, Father?”
    “No, of course
not.”
    “Why would the
mortals send an invisible ship to harm us?”
    “Not us; Bane.
He is the only one they can see with their magic. They think he is
evil.”
    She frowned.
“That must happen to him a lot.”
    “Yes. Go inside
now. You will be safe there.”
    Sherinias went
to the door, and the wards flickered as she approached them. As
soon as she vanished inside, Kayos Moved again.
     
     
    Commander
Arboran sat on his ergonomic black contoured chair on the bridge of
the battleship Valiant and gazed at the Great Gate on the main
screen. The ancient gate dwarfed the warship with its majestic
grandeur. Archaeologists had marvelled at it for centuries, as had
anyone who had seen it, or a picture of it. Sarlan City’s blue glow
illuminated the inside of it, now facing outwards as it stood open,
the pale light of Cloud World gilding the dusty ground in front of
it. Arboran had seen the images of its closing, when beams of white
fire had struck the ground not far from it, destroying the Dorilan
Dome. The fleet of warships he commanded was well out of range,
however, and the weapons seemed to be designed to protect the gate
only when it was closed, since they were inactive while it was
open.
    The gate defied
all the laws of physics and logic, too massive to be supported by
any form of hinge and too heavy to close, making those who had
studied it wonder why it had been made. Yet it did close, and that
was the reason he had been ordered to destroy it. His battleship
was one of five that hovered in front of the giant gate, along with
seven destroyers stationed at various altitudes around them.
    Twenty years of
military service had earned Arboran the gold braid on the sleeves
and collar of his cobalt uniform, but this was the first time he
had been ordered to attack a gate. He was pretty sure it would not
fight back. The atmosphere in the sleek, console-lined bridge was
one of hushed industry tinged with tension. Officers monitored the
scrolling data on the displays or gazed out through the main
screen. Valiant was one of the newest battleships in the fleet,
commissioned just two years ago. The pilot sat at a central
console, holding the ship steady.
    “The stealth
ship is inside, sir,” the coms officer informed Arboran.
    “Prepare the
first volley,” Arboran ordered. “Signal the other ships to commence
firing upon my order. Arm the missiles.”
    “Yes sir.” The
weapon systems officer ran his hands over his console. “Missiles
armed.”
    Arboran hated
what he was about to do. The Great Gate predated civilisation, and
should be preserved for prosperity. It saddened him that his
children and grandchildren would only see images of it. After the
missiles from five battleships and seven destroyers had pulverised
it, only rubble would remain.
    Arboran said,
“Fire.”
    The weapon
systems officer touched his control panel, and a dull thud sent a
shiver through the floor as four missiles fired in unison. A moment
later the projectiles came into view on the main screen, tongues of
hot blue fire propelling them, each leaving a trail of white smoke.
Others joined them from all around, fired by the other warships,
and drew together as they homed in on their target.
    The weapon
systems officer intoned, “Range to target, seven hundred yards,
five hundred, three hundred, one hundred…”
    The multiple
flashes of yellow brilliance as forty-eight missiles struck