The Demonata 6-10. Darren Shan
our best hope.”
Shark snorts. “Hope? What’s that? I heard about it once, in a fairy tale.”
“Be quiet,” Beranabus says softly and the larger man obeys, though he eyes Beranabus accusingly, as though he blames the magician for our dire predicament. “Any more to join us?” Beranabus asks, addressing the question to the room in general.
“Two, maybe three,” a small, dark-skinned woman answers.
“Then I’ll start.” Beranabus looks around, meeting eveybody’s gaze in turn. “I won’t offer false hope. We’re in deep trouble and I doubt we’ll be able to wade out. But the war isn’t lost yet. If we can destroy the tunnel linking the two universes, the demons will be sucked back to their own realm.”
There are excited mutterings. “Are you sure?” Shark asks suspiciously. “You’re not just saying that to rally our spirits?”
“Have I ever lied to any of you?” Beranabus retorts sharply. He waits a moment. When nobody responds, he continues. “One of Lord Loss’s human allies killed a person in the cave, to prime the tunnel opening. The killer later joined with the rock where the mouth of the tunnel was originally situated — he or she has become a living part of the opening. If we dismantle the tunnel walls, the killer dies, the demons get sucked back to their own universe and all will be well with the world.”
“How do we close the tunnel?” Sharmila asks.
“There’s a lodestone set deep within the cave,” Beranabus says. “The demons are using its power. If I can reach it, I know the spells to disable it and rid us of our unwelcome guests. I’ll need somebody to help me inside the cave — Kernel or Grubbs. The rest of you only have to concern yourselves with getting us there.”
“You want us to clear the way for you, even if it costs us our lives,” Shark growls.
“Aye,” Beranabus says. “This is a suicide mission. We’re going to drop into a nest of demons. They’ll be waiting for us, expecting an attack. They’ll outnumber us and many are probably more powerful than we are. Our chances of making it to the lodestone are slim. Even if the boys and I get through, the rest of you are doomed — you’ll need to continue fighting while I cast the spells, to guard our backs. I doubt any of you will survive.”
“That’s a lot to ask,” Shark says icily.
“It’s no more than I ask of myself. Sacrifice opened this tunnel and only sacrifice can close it.” He glances at Kernel and me, hesitates, then pushes on. “For the spell to work, I must kill Kernel or Grubbs. If they both perish along the way, I’ll offer my own life. I think I can make that work. Whatever happens, it’s a death trip for me. I have to get deep inside the tunnel to work the spell. Once it’s finished, I won’t be able to fight my way out. I’m too old and weary.”
Beranabus looks straight at Shark and awaits his response. The big man shrugs thoughtfully and Beranabus addresses the room again. “I don’t think any of us will make it through this day. But if we succeed, humanity will go on.”
“Until another tunnel is opened,” Sharmila notes. “If we all perish, who will protect mankind the next time?”
“That’s not our problem,” Beranabus says. “I believe the universe will spit out more heroes to lead the good fight. But whatever happens, it’s out of our hands. This is what we must do to counter the present threat. Are you with me? If any of you aren’t, say so now and leave the rest of us to get on with it.”
Nobody backs down from the challenge. Most don’t look very happy – who the hell would! – but they accept the magician’s verdict. Seeing this, Beranabus smiles approvingly, then circulates, chatting with the Disciples individually, making sure they’re prepared for the fight, offering advice and strategic tips, raising morale.
Kernel and I are in the middle of the room, looking at each other uncertainly. Beranabus’s announcement that one of us must be sacrificed came out of the blue. Neither of us knows what to say. It’s one thing to go into a fight knowing you’ll probably lose. Quite another to be told that to win, you must offer up your throat to be slit.
Sharmila approaches, smiling thinly. “He did not tell you that you were to be killed?”
“He’s a busy man,” Kernel snaps. “He doesn’t have time to tell us everything.”
Sharmila sighs. “You are loyal. That is good. But are you loyal to the point of death? Will you allow yourself to be slaughtered?” She looks at me. “Will you?”
“We’ll do what we must,” Kernel says fiercely. “We’re not ignorant children. We know our duty. If we have to die, so be it. We’d rather not, but we’ll be killed by the demons anyway if we lose, and probably more painfully and slowly.”
Sharmila tilts her head towards us. “I apologise if I seemed critical. But I had to know the nature of the boys I am to fight and die for. Now I am confident that you will not fail if the opportunity presents itself. Thank you for reassuring me.”
She wanders off to talk with Beranabus. Kernel looks sideways at me. “I normally wouldn’t give another person’s word for them, especially when I’m not sure of it, but it seemed like the right thing to say.”
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I reply stiffly. “I won’t let us down.”
“I wish I could believe that.” He doesn’t say it to hurt me. Just speaking the truth as he sees it.
“I chickened out in the Demonata’s universe,” I whisper, blushing. “But this is different. I’ll fight. And I’ll die if I have to. I’m not afraid of dying, no more than anybody else in this room.”
“Really?” Kernel’s unconvinced. “If I fall, and you and Beranabus make it to the lodestone, you’ll let him drive a knife through your heart or chop off your head?”
“Without a moment’s hesitation. Not because I’m incredibly brave, but because I’m terribly afraid.” I give a sickly laugh. “If I don’t let him kill me, it would mean fighting to survive in a world overrun by demons. The thought of that scares me more than death.”
Kernel chuckles. “Know something crazy? I believe you.” He offers his hand and I take it. “Good luck, Grubbs.”
“Good luck.”
“May we both die honourably,” he says.
“And take every damn demon down with us,” I add with a twisted grin.
→ Tooling up. Everybody arms themselves with guns, knives, axes — pretty much anything we can carry. Demons can’t be killed by regular weapons, but we can invest the blades and bullets with magical powers.
“How many of the Disciples are capable of killing demons?” I ask Kernel, testing short swords for feel and weight.
“In this universe?” He pulls a face. “If it was a normal crossing… Sharmila, Shark, one or two others. But there’s more energy in the air because it’s a tunnel, not a window. Others should be able to tap into that and find the ability to kill. If we’re lucky.”
One more Disciple arrives while we’re readying ourselves. An ancient, tiny woman who walks with the aid of a cane. The sight of her picking up a mace and swinging it over her head makes me smile. A few of the others grin too. But then she mutters a quick spell and a crop of seven-centimetre long blades grow out of the mace head, which glows with magical energy. Nobody doubts her after that.
Then it’s to the helicopters which Shark has arranged through his contacts in various armies. We’re going to fly in and set down as close to the cave entrance as we can. Three helicopters, five of us to each. I’m with Beranabus, Kernel, Shark and Sharmila — the core of the force. The pilot’s an ordinary human, as are the other two. Soldiers on loan from the forces currently engaged in hopeless warfare with the Demonata. Shark has told a few commanders of our plan. They’ve handed