Deathstalker Return (9 page)

“Nothing changes . . .” murmured Carrion.

“So we’re searching for any survivors of the age of heroes,” said Lewis. “Hoping to find clues on where to look for Owen and Hazel. It’s a sign of how desperate we are that we’ve started with you, Sir Carrion. No offense.”

“Legends,” said Carrion, almost kindly. “The patterns never change, though centuries pass. But I was only a part of history, not legend, so all I have to offer you is the painful truth. Owen Deathstalker is dead. He died long ago and far away, saving us all from the wrath of the Recreated.”

For a long moment, no one said anything. They were all hit hard, even Lewis and Jesamine, who’d been told this before. But it was one thing to hear it from Shub and the Dust Plains of Memory, machines who might or might not have their own agendas, and quite another to hear it from a contemporary of Owen—someone who’d been there when it happened. Brett saw something in Lewis and Jesamine’s faces.

“You knew, didn’t you? You already knew this, and you said nothing!”

“We have been given reason to believe that Owen will yet return to us,” Lewis said carefully. “And no, I don’t understand how. Sometimes . . . you just have to have a little faith.”

“What about Hazel d’Ark?” said Brett, almost glaring at Carrion. “Is she dead too?”

“I don’t know,” said Carrion. “She left Haden, after learning of Owen’s death. Perhaps John discovered what became of her. But he’s gone. Your only chance for answers is to go to Haden, and pass through the Madness Maze. There are many answers and many mysteries to be found in the Maze.”

“You’ve been through it,” said Jesamine. “What’s it like, really?”

“There is nothing else like it in all the Empire,” said Carrion. “It’s almost alive. It breathes and sweats and knows what moves you. It changes everyone differently. Or perhaps it helps us change ourselves. It is a thing of power and miracles, and it is very old. And there’s something else; some deeper secret, hidden in the very heart of the Maze. John and I were never allowed close enough to find out what. We weren’t considered worthy. Only Owen was ever allowed to penetrate the heart of the mystery.”

“Only Owen?” said Lewis, frowning. “What about Hazel d’Ark?”

“Only the Deathstalker,” said Carrion. “There is some unknown connection between the Deathstalkers and the Madness Maze.” He broke off abruptly, looking up at the opaque shimmering sky above them. “Well, this seems to be Unseeli’s day for unwanted visitors. Five Imperial starcruisers have just dropped out of hyperspace and are moving into orbit around this world. Just like old times . . .”

They were all looking at him. None of them doubted what he was saying. There was something about Carrion . . .

“How do you know this?” said Brett, almost whispering.

“The Maze,” said Carrion. “I know many things now, whether I want to or not. Someone’s trying to communicate with the Ashrai. I suppose I might as well talk to them, while I’m human. We’ll need to use the comm systems in Base Thirteen. When we’re in there, stay close. The base has been dead for centuries, but it is still a dangerous place for the unwary.”

“He’s talking to you, Brett,” said Lewis. “Don’t touch
anything.
”

“I am hurt and wounded,” said Brett.

“You will be, if you don’t do as you’re told,” said Lewis. “Saturday, you’d better watch the door while we’re in there. Feel free to eat anyone who isn’t us or the Ashrai.”

“Dinnertime’s coming,” said the reptiloid cheerfully, staring up at the clouded sky. “Just as well. Some of you were beginning to look especially tasty.”

“Is he joking?” said Jesamine.

“Best not to ask,” said Lewis.

 

 

Carrion led the way into Base Thirteen. The great metal entrance doors hung limply from their supports. They moved jerkily apart under Carrion’s hands, all power gone. Inside, what they could see of the lobby was a mess. The light from the open doorway didn’t penetrate far into the centuries-old gloom. The place looked to have been thoroughly trashed, with shattered furniture, dents and cracks in the metal floor, and even some holes in the outer wall, through which some light reluctantly entered. There didn’t seem to be any power, no working lights or tech. On the very edge of the light, they could just make out an old-fashioned reception console.

Lewis and his companions hesitated just inside the door, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the gloom. None of them liked the feel of the place. They could sense all those piled-up years from the bad old days of Empire, just waiting to ambush them. Base Thirteen smelled of death. Carrion walked forwards into the dark, his face entirely calm. He stopped by the reception console and passed one hand slowly over it. Deep within the base, old systems sluggishly awakened, and lights reluctantly flickered on, one by one, until the reception area was full of a kind of twilight glow that, if anything, made the place seem even spookier. Brett started to edge backwards, until Rose took him firmly by the arm. Comm panels on the reception desk hummed suddenly with static, and a single viewscreen glowed into life on the opposite wall, putting itself on standby. From all around came the sounds of machines waking up, as system after system came back on line.

“I don’t get it,” Jesamine said quietly. “If the base was shut down two hundred years ago, where’s all this power coming from?”

“From me,” said Carrion. He shouldn’t have been able to hear her from such a distance, but no one was really surprised that he could. His hands moved slowly over the comm controls, as though reluctantly remembering skills long since abandoned when he became Ashrai. The viewscreen on the wall cleared to show a fleet captain standing at strict attention on the bridge of his ship. His uniform had been pressed and cleaned to within an inch of its life, and helped to distract from his young face.
Probably one of Finn’s creatures,
thought Lewis.
Newly promoted just for this mission.
An experienced fleet officer would have had more sense than to come to Unseeli. The captain looked startled for a moment at the unexpected face before him, but then he thrust out his jaw and glared truculently from the viewscreen.

“This is Captain Kamal, of the Imperial starcruiser
Hector,
on official business. Identify yourself!”

“I am Carrion, of the Ashrai.” Carrion’s voice was harsh, flat, subtly inhuman. His eyes were very dark. “Why have you come to Unseeli, Captain? You must know we do not welcome visitors.”

“You have given sanctuary to those most notable traitors Lewis Deathstalker and Jesamine Flowers, and their associates. All are guilty of crimes against Humanity. I have orders to bring them back to Logres, dead or alive. I require you to assist me in this matter. And with regard to your veiled threat, five starcruisers now orbit your world. The Empire goes where it will, to do its will. You will cooperate, in the name of King and Parliament, or face the consequences.”

“He’s not my king,” said Carrion. “And your parliament has no authority here. This is Unseeli, home to the Ashrai. This is not a human place, and you should not have come here. Leave, while you still can.”

Captain Kamal looked like he was going to explode. “Who the hell do you think you are, to speak to me that way! I represent the Empire! I speak in Humanity’s name!”

“And I am Carrion. Investigator. Traitor. Ashrai. I bring bad luck. I am the destroyer of nations, and of worlds. With Owen Deathstalker and Captain John Silence, I walked the breathing corridors of the Madness Maze. I speak for Unseeli. Leave or die. You have no other choices.”

“Lies, defiance, and open threats,” said Captain Kamal, smiling tightly. “You will come to regret this insolence, before I have you executed. My pinnaces are already landing—carrying enough war machines, gravity barges, and armed troops to ensure that if the aliens do interfere, they will be made to regret it. I will have the traitors, one way or another. I don’t know who you really are, Sir Carrion, but no doubt my interrogators will drag it out of you later, at their leisure.”

He had more to say, but Carrion shut down the comm panels, and the viewscreen went blank. Carrion stared thoughtfully into space as Lewis and the others came slowly forwards to join him at the reception console. Lewis cleared his throat uncertainly. Carrion’s eyes seemed very far away.

“Sorry to have dragged you into our mess, Sir Carrion. I didn’t think they’d track us down this quickly. Lead us back to our ship, and we’ll get the hell out of here. They’ll never catch us once we’re off the ground. The
Hereward
’s got speed and stealth capabilities you wouldn’t believe, though I’d rather you didn’t ask why. I think the sooner we’re gone, the better; we don’t want to start a war between the Empire and the Ashrai.”

“Too late,” said Carrion, watching something only he could see. “Hundreds of pinnaces are falling towards Unseeli. The starcruisers are firing their disrupter cannon from orbit, to blast clearings big enough for the pinnaces to land in. I can hear the trees screaming, dying. The Ashrai are gathering. Let the Empire forces come. None of them shall leave here alive.” He turned suddenly to look at Lewis, who almost flinched at the dark, alien, impersonal power in that gaze. “But you must understand this, Deathstalker. Our audience is over. What we do now, we do for ourselves. We will not fight on your behalf. Your fate, your mission, are nothing to us. Return to your ship and leave, if you can. Find Owen, if you can. We want nothing to do with Humanity, or the Empire. We preserve ourselves, to face the Terror when it comes.” He smiled suddenly. “Good-bye, Deathstalker. Good luck. And if you do find Owen . . . remember me to him.”

“That’s
it
?” Jesamine said angrily. “We came all this way, just for that? What’s the matter with you? The whole of Humanity is under threat of extinction!”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Carrion. “Humanity is currently invading my world. Again. You always were a selfish, brutal race. Perhaps something better will arise to replace you.”

“You don’t really think you can stop the Terror on your own, do you?” said Rose in her deep, cold voice.

“We stopped the Recreated.”

“With Owen’s help,” said Lewis. “You owe us, Sir Carrion. You owe me, through my ancestor’s name. Give us safe escort and protection back to our ship, at least. It’s a long way back to the
Hereward,
and you can bet Kamal will have located it by now and sent troops to block our way. Dammit, at least show us what we’ll be facing!”

Carrion didn’t move, but the viewscreen on the wall flared into life again. Whole sections of the metallic forest were exploding, the huge trees shattered by the energy beams stabbing down from orbit. The scene changed, to show countless pinnaces punching through the cloud layer; transport ships carrying everything the Empire needed to make war on Unseeli. The scene changed again, showing war machines lumbering out of the cargo bays of landed pinnaces—great hulking monstrosities of gleaming steel, studded with guns. Gravity barges rose slowly into the air, shimmering with force shields as they plowed their way through the tightly packed metal trees. Troops disembarked in strict order, imperial marines who wore the scarlet cross of the Church Militant on their battle armor. They moved out, fanning through the forest, relentless as army ants.

“I should have known,” Lewis said grimly. “Finn’s packed the troops with his own people. One will get you ten they’re Neumen as well. Pure Humanity, Sir Carrion; a new creed since your day. Lionstone’s illegitimate children, who believe the only good alien is a dead alien. And the scarlet cross means they’re religious fanatics. I think we can safely assume they’re more interested in bringing us back dead rather than alive.”

“Talk about overkill,” Brett said bitterly. “A whole army, just for us? It’s not fair. My stomach hurts.”

“About time I got some healthy exercise,” said Rose. She was smiling, and her eyes were shining. “The odds just make it more of a challenge.”

“Yes,” said Saturday, his great head poking through the doorway. “It will be good to be killing again. I’m really quite peckish.”

Lewis looked at Carrion defensively. “Hey, I didn’t get to choose my companions.”

“Neither did Owen,” said Carrion. “And he didn’t do too badly. And after meeting Ruby Journey, there’s not much that shocks me.” He looked at the screen again. “Two hundred years since the overthrow of the Iron Bitch, and nothing’s really changed. Poor John. He would have been so disappointed.”

“Can you reopen communications with the
Hector
?” said Lewis. “Maybe I can negotiate a truce . . . or something.”

The viewscreen flickered, and Captain Kamal was back again. Lewis stepped forwards to stand before the screen, automatically adopting his old stance of Paragon authority. “This is Lewis Deathstalker. You came here for me, not the Ashrai. My companions aren’t important either. You want me. Call off your war, and let my companions go, and I will surrender myself to you.”

“No!” Jesamine said immediately. “Lewis, you can’t! They’ll kill you!”

“No,” Lewis said quietly. “If I surrender, Finn wouldn’t be able to resist the thought of a show trial. I’m the one he really wants. He needs to see me broken, brought down—to prove in front of everyone that I should never have been made Champion instead of him. The rest of you don’t matter to him. And you have to be free. You have a mission, remember?” Lewis looked back at Kamal. “What do you say, Captain? Just this once, can’t we do this the sane and responsible way, so no one has to get hurt?”

“You’ve gone soft, Deathstalker.” Captain Kamal almost spat out the words. “The Church Militant has no mercy for traitors. You—and the jezebel, and the scum you’ve attracted—are all going back to Logres, dead or alive. Your word is worthless. You have disgraced your name and your position. You are a vileness in the face of God. No deals, Deathstalker. Only blood can atone for your sins.”

Lewis nodded slowly. “Nice of you to confirm that you’re religious lunatics first, and soldiers second. Looney tunes are always so much easier to outthink than trained professionals. While I’ve got you here, Kamal, just what are your orders concerning the Ashrai?”