Free Bec by Darren Shan Page B

me. I need to be at my most powerful if I’m to save all from the threat of the Demonata.”
    “Demonata?” Ronan frowns. He’s been keeping one hand on his bow, ready to swing it around and fire off an arrow if Drust makes any untoward moves. “Do you mean the Fomorii?”
    “They’re not Fomorii,” Drust snorts. “The Fomorii were brutish humans with just a hint of the demonic about them. The Demonata come directly from what you call the Other-world. Their powers are pure. They cannot be fought and defeated by human means. Only by magic.”
    “I think many of the demons we’ve killed would disagree with that.” Connla smirks.
    “Familiars,” Drust retorts. “Weak, mindless creatures. They’ve come ahead of their masters, like rats ahead of a mighty plague. When the true Demonata arrive, your weapons will be useless.”
    Our features tighten. We’d guessed that more intelligent, stronger demons were coming, but not that we wouldn’t be able to kill them. If this is true, it means the end of all we’ve ever known and cared about.
    Drust cocks an eyebrow, inviting further questions, making it clear that such queries are a waste of his time. Goll pushes on anyway. “So you stood by and let these Demonata kill the MacRoth. We’ll return to that, but first tell us —”
    “We won’t,” Drust interrupts. “The MacRoth meant nothing to me, just as you mean nothing to me. My aim is to save this land. If sixteen — or sixty, or six hundred — have to die, so be it. The MacRoth would have perished whether I was here or not. Since their living or dying had no impact on my quest, I kept out of their affairs, just as I’ll keep out of yours if I decide you are of no use to me either.”
    Goll’s face whitens with anger but he controls his temper, and instead of shouting, he hisses a question. “Tell us how we can be
of use.
If you’re so powerful, what are we here for? We came to help people in distress, not a damn druid who has no need of us.”
    “But I do have need of you,” Drust says evenly. “I have traveled far to stem the tide of demons at its source. Such travels are perilous, even for one with my powers. I cannot complete my quest alone. When I set out, months ago, it was with several companions, all of whom fell in the course of our journey. I need new warriors to replace them.”
    “Us?”
Connla laughs. “You think
we’ll
fight and die for you?”
    “If you have any sense,” Drust says. “The Demonata are
your
problem. They cannot cross the sea to my land. You and your people are the ones who will suffer if I fail.”
    “We can fight the demons ourselves,” Lorcan says stiffly. “We don’t need help from the likes of you.”
    Drust laughs. His laughter offends us all, but before we can react, he speaks quickly. “You haven’t fought the masters yet, only their minions. The demons you’ve faced — along with the pitiful undead — are merely the first wave. A tunnel has opened between this land and the Otherworld. It will allow demons to enter our realm freely. It’s a small tunnel but it’s growing. As it grows, larger, smarter, stronger demons will cross. They can roam the land by day as well as night. And, as I’ve already told you, they can only be killed by magic.”
    He stops. Our faces are ashen. Nobody can speak, not even the hotheaded Connla. When Drust has measured the impact of his words, he continues. “The druids won’t come to your aid. This island had already passed beyond our control — the Christians drove us out. The view of most druids is that it makes no difference whether Christians or demons rule here. In fact, many would prefer the Demonata — they hate Christians even more than demons.”
    “But they’ll slaughter us all!” I cry.
    Drust’s expression is unreadable. “Aye.” A pause. “Unless I stop them.”
    “By yourself?” Connla sneers.
    “There’s just one tunnel, and at the moment it’s vulnerable,” Drust says. “If the gap