Mistworld (Deathstalker Prelude) (15 page)

Footsteps crunched clearly on the gravel path, growing louder as they approached. Starlight stoppered his flask and slipped it back in his pocket. About time Cyder’s thief finally showed his face. Starlight stepped away from the monument and carefully adjusted his cloak to let his hand rest hidden on the energy gun at his side. A tall blond woman wearing a patched grey cloak came steadily out of the mists towards him. Her sense of purpose and calm, unwavering stare disturbed Starlight, and he moved back into the shadows to let her pass. She drew steadily closer, neither hurrying or dawdling, and then stopped directly before him. Her head turned slowly from side to side, as though she were listening for something only she could hear, and then she looked right at Starlight in his shadows, and smiled. He stepped reluctantly back into the moonlight, his hand still resting on his gun.

“Captain Starlight,” said the blonde happily. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Starlight nodded stiffly. “I thought Cyder said the thief would be a man.”

The woman ignored him, her eyes searching his face with a naked hunger that chilled Starlight more than the night ever could. Her eyes seemed very large in her pale face. She was still smiling. When she finally spoke again, her voice was harsh and urgent.

“I want my sapphire, Captain. What have you done with it?”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded slowly. “So. You’re one of the refugees I brought in, aren’t you?”

“My sapphire, Captain Starlight. I want it.”

Starlight eased his gun in its holster. “I’ve nothing for you, lady. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That really is a pity, Captain.” She giggled suddenly, and two bright spots of colour appeared in her gaunt cheeks. “Look at me, Captain Starlight. Look at me.”

Their eyes met.

Cat crouched low on top of the slippery stone wall as the gusting wind swayed a tree’s thorny branches against him. He glanced quickly around, and then dropped silently to the damp grass below. All was quiet in Gallowtree Gate cemetery. The shadows lay undisturbed, and no one walked the single gravelled path.

Cat stared about him suspiciously. There were supposed to be guards to discourage grave robbers from the body banks, but the rusty iron gates gaped wide, unmanned. Cat shrugged. More budget cuts, he supposed. He glanced up at the night sky and shook his head disgustedly. If he hadn’t fallen asleep on the barge, he could have been here ages ago. As it was, he was almost an hour late. It wouldn’t surprise him if Starlight had got tired of waiting and decided to fence his loot somewhere else. And Cyder wouldn’t like that at all.

Cat shivered, not entirely from the night’s cold, and moved off into the cemetery, padding down the wide gravel path like a stealthy ghost. Moonlight shimmered on his white thermal suit. He would have preferred to stick to the shadows of the walls, but the graveyard was littered with overgrown and unmarked graves, and Cat was superstitious.

He found Captain Starlight sitting with his back propped against a tall stone cross, breathing harshly, staring at nothing. Cat knelt beside him and waved a hand before the staring eyes, but they didn’t react. Cat scowled, the hackles rising on the back of his neck. Brainburned, just like the ones he’d found at the Blackthorn. He swallowed dryly, and fought down an almost overwhelming impulse to turn and run. It was like being caught in a nightmare that followed him wherever he went. He quickly brought himself back under control, and searched Starlight’s clothes with emotionless proficiency. All he found were a few silver coins and a small, polished ruby. He studied the stone with a practiced eye. Good stuff, but with Starlight gone there was no way to get at the rest of it. Cyder definitely wasn’t going to be pleased.

He kicked the stone cross in disgust, and then froze as he caught a sudden movement at the corner of his eye. All his warning instincts suddenly kicked in, and he darted out of the light and into the shadows of the nearest wall, disregarding any graves he might be treading on. Whoever or whatever mindwiped the Captain might still be around, and the same white suit that hid him in the fog and the snow worked against him in the dark cemetery. More and more, Cat was coming to the conclusion that he should stick to the roofs where he belonged. He looked cautiously around him. A dim movement not far away caught his eye, and after a moment he moved stealthily forward into the mists to investigate.

Two men lay trembling on the ground beside a freshly dug grave, their heels drumming against the wet earth. One stared up at the night skies with unseeing eyes. The other had torn his eyes out. Brainburned. Cat edged closer, and peered down into the open grave. His hackles rose as he made out a still form lying on the uneven earth at the bottom of the grave, its neck twisted at an impossible angle.

Well
, thought Cat crazily,
he’s in the right place
.

He shuddered suddenly, and decided enough was enough. He faded back into the shadows, clambered over the high stone wall, and fled back to the more understandable evils of Thieves Quarter. He didn’t know that the dead man had been an esper, and was already dying when he fell into the open grave.

Sitting under the tall stone cross, Captain Starlight stared unseeingly at the open cemetery gates through which Typhoid Mary had left. Guttering lanterns scowled at each other in reproach. Although Cat couldn’t hear it, Starlight was whimpering.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Blood and Terror

THE Hadenman called Taylor was drinking wormwood brandy in the Green Man tavern when Blackjack found him. The Green Man stood on the boundary between Thieves Quarter and Tech Quarter, where the lowest of the low mixed openly with the rich and powerful. It was a place where deals were made and plans were finalized. Secrets were sold and traded, or openly discussed, and the devil take the hindmost. Deaths could be arranged, reputations made or destroyed. At any time of the day or night somebody would be making a deal, to somebody else’s disadvantage.

Nothing cheap or nasty, of course. The Green Man boasted luxurious surroundings, first-class cuisine, and an excellent wine cellar. Rare and precious tapestries decorated the walls, and an oil-fired generator in the basement provided electricity for lighting and heat. There was a subtle perfume on the air, and no one was ever ill-mannered enough to raise their voices above a murmur. There were standards to be observed. The Green Man took a straight percentage from all deals made on the premises, and had never failed to make an extremely healthy profit at the end of each year.

Blackjack stood just inside the door, looking about him. It was early in the morning, with the sun barely up, but still some fifty or so patrons sat drinking at the exquisitely carved and polished tables. The Green Man never closed. Blackjack looked thoughtfully at Taylor, sitting alone in an alcove, with his back to the wall. The bottle of brandy before him was almost half empty. He looked up as Blackjack made his way through the tables to join him, and nodded politely. The mercenary pulled up a chair and sat down opposite the Hadenman. Taylor shifted his chair slightly so that Blackjack didn’t block his view of the door. The two men looked at each other for a while in silence, each waiting for the other to speak first.

“Have you heard about Sterling?” asked Taylor finally. His harsh, buzzing voice grated unpleasantly on Blackjack’s ears.

“I saw it happen,” said Blackjack. “She broke his back with her bare hands.”

“Fifteen hundred in gold,” said Taylor flatly. “I want it by tonight.”

“What’s the rush?”

“Sterling gave Topaz my name. It’s only a matter of time before she finds me. Assuming the city Watch don’t find me first. It seems there’s a price on my head. Even my friends don’t want to know me anymore. They’re scared of the Investigator. I’d known Sterling for almost nine years. He was one of the finest gladiators ever to survive the Golgotha Arenas, and that woman made him look like an amateur. I always knew she was dangerous. You should have told us, mercenary.… Investigators are no more human than I am. Anyway, I don’t plan to be around when she comes looking for me. I don’t know what fool killed her husband, but I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of convincing her of that. I’ve booked passage offworld on a smuggler’s ship, leaving at first light tomorrow.”

“Such berths tend to be expensive,” observed Blackjack.

“Fifteen hundred in gold,” said Taylor. “If I didn’t need him to fly the ship, I’d break him into little pieces and dance on the remains. Now, mercenary, I can get the money from you in return for my silence, or I can get it from Port Director Steel, as a reward for turning you in. I really don’t give a damn which.”

Blackjack looked at the Hadenman thoughtfully. The rasping, inhuman voice held few shadings of emotion and never rose in volume, but deep in the golden eyes Blackjack saw something that might just be fear.

“What’s so special about this Investigator?” he asked slowly. “All right, I’ve seen her fight. She’s good, very good. But you’re an augmented man. You should be able to take care of yourself.”

Taylor shook his head, and drained the last of his brandy. He stared down into the empty glass, his face grim, his eyes brooding. “You’ve never heard of Investigator Topaz? I thought everyone on Mistworld knew her story. She’s a legend in the Empire. Mothers frighten their children with her name. She’s a Siren, mercenary. When she sings, she can rip your mind apart. The Empire trained her to destroy whole alien civilisations. By all accounts she was very good at her job. And then one day she turned against the Empire, or it turned against her, and she went on the run. Sirens are rare, and the Empire wanted her back, under its control. I think even then she frightened people. The Empire sent a whole company of the Guard after her, five hundred fully trained warriors. They caught up with her on a little backwater planet called Virimonde. She killed them all with a single song; the most powerful esper there’s ever been. Add to that an Investigator’s training in gun and sword, and you’ve a warrior I’ve no wish to meet in combat. Nor would you, if you’ve got any sense. Now, how soon can you get me my money?”

“Forget it,” said Blackjack.

Taylor looked at him steadily. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear, mercenary; you don’t have any choice.”

“There are always other choices.”

“Do you think I’m bluffing?”

“No,” said Blackjack. “I don’t think that at all.”

Taylor threw himself sideways out of his chair, and the blazing stream of energy from Blackjack’s gun missed him by inches. The Hadenman was quickly back on his feet, smiling grimly. Blackjack pushed back his chair and rose to his feet, sword in hand. Taylor started towards him, and the mercenary backed warily away, holding his sword out before him. There were frantic scrambling sounds all around as the Green Man’s patrons hurried to get out of the way and under cover. At the rear of the tavern a table burned fiercely, having absorbed the disrupter’s energy beam. Blackjack holstered his gun, and switched his sword to his right hand. By the time the crystal had recharged, the fight would probably be over, one way or another. He slapped his left wrist against his hip, and a glowing force shield sprang into being on his left arm.

Taylor slowly circled the mercenary, his golden eyes unwavering and unblinking. His movements were calm and deliberate, with a disturbing fluid grace. He didn’t wear a sword or a gun. He didn’t need to. Blackjack hefted his sword in his hand. He’d never fought a Hadenman before, but he had faith in his abilities. He circled slowly to keep facing Taylor, careful to keep the gently humming force shield between them. For a while the only sound in the tavern was their regular, controlled breathing and the quiet slap and scuffling of their feet on the floor. Blackjack feinted with his sword and then cut viciously at Taylor’s exposed neck. The Hadenman ducked easily under the swinging blade and threw himself at Blackjack’s throat. Blackjack got his shield up just in time, and Taylor slammed into it. Fat sparks spat and sputtered on the still air, and Taylor fell back, shaking his head. Blackjack staggered back from the impact, only just keeping his balance. He’d been lucky, and he knew it. He’d never seen anyone move so damned
fast
.

Taylor picked up a nearby table and tore it in two, the heavy wood groaning as it ripped apart. The Hadenman pulled at one of the legs and it came away in his hand, a yard-long club of iron wood. You couldn’t cut iron wood with steel; it had to be trimmed and shaped with a laser. And Taylor had just demolished an ironwood table with his bare hands.
If he’s trying to impress me
, thought Blackjack,
he’s succeeding
.

Taylor moved forward, and swung the massive club at Blackjack’s head. He brought up his shield, and Taylor changed the direction of the blow at the last instant. The club twisted in his hands and slipped under the glowing shield to hammer into Blackjack’s side, throwing him back. He felt his ribs break under the impact, and had to fight to stay on his feet. He coughed painfully, and there was blood in his mouth. Taylor came at him again and he backed quickly away, holding his shield low to cover his injured side. Taylor swung his club with blinding speed, and only a lucky stumble saved Blackjack from a crushed skull. He felt a brief wind caress his face as the club swept past his head, and then, in the split second that Taylor was still off balance from the force of the blow, Blackjack brought his shield hard across against the club. The shield’s glowing edge sliced clean through the ironwood, and Taylor was left with a short stub of wood in his hand. Blackjack stepped quickly back, and crouched behind his shield again. Taylor looked at the wooden stump in his hand, and then tossed it casually aside. He looked at Blackjack and smiled.

Blackjack circled slowly to his left, pushing chairs and tables out of his way. He needed room to manoeuvre. His broken ribs were a solid blaze of pain, but he ignored them. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. Taylor lifted his left arm and pointed at Blackjack. For a moment the Hadenman held the pose, and then he lifted his hand in a curious gesture and Blackjack’s heart missed a beat as he saw a stubby steel nozzle emerge from a slit in the underside of Taylor’s wrist. He started to back away, and then brought his shield across to cover his chest just as a searing blast of energy spat from the Hadenman’s disrupter implant. The energy beam ricochetted off the force shield and shot away to demolish a nearby overturned table. Taylor lowered his arm.

Blackjack swallowed dryly. He had to get in close and finish this while he still had a chance. There was no telling how many other surprises the Hadenman had built into his body. Blackjack moved carefully forward, and Taylor came to meet him. He cut at Taylor’s unprotected ribs, and the Hadenman’s right hand shot out to grab the sword. The wide, blocky hand clamped firmly onto the steel blade and held it tight, despite the razor-sharp edges. Blackjack could see the flesh part as he jerked the sword back and forth in the Hadenman’s hand, and caught a glimpse of implanted steelmesh beneath the skin. He tried to pull the sword free, and couldn’t. Taylor raised his other hand and reached unhurriedly for Blackjack’s throat. The mercenary brought his force shield across to strike at Taylor’s arm, and the Hadenman quickly released the sword and jumped back out of range.

They stood staring at each other for a moment, and then Taylor suddenly crouched and leapt into the air with a single graceful movement. His augmented muscles carried him clear over the startled mercenary, and absorbed the landing impact with hardly a jar. Before Blackjack could even start to turn, Taylor’s leg shot out in a vicious karate kick, slamming into the mercenary’s back. Blackjack’s face contorted at the horrid pain and he fell heavily to the floor, dropping his sword and nearly cutting himself badly on the edges of his own shield. He rolled awkwardly over onto his back, fighting off the pain, and pulled a throwing knife from the top of his boot. Taylor stood watching him, smiling. Blackjack threw the knife straight for Taylor’s heart, putting all his strength into it. The Hadenman snatched the knife in midair, snapped the steel blade in two, and threw the pieces aside. Blackjack’s shield flickered and went out.

Taylor moved slowly forward, savouring the open desperation in the mercenary’s face as he scrambled backwards across the thick carpeting. The Hadenman flexed his hands eagerly. Blackjack slammed up against the far wall, and knew there was nowhere left to retreat. He fumbled at the steel band on his wrist, to no effect. The glowing force shield did not return.

“You should have checked your energy level,” said Taylor. “It’ll be at least an hour now before the crystal recharges. A lot can happen in an hour.”

He leant forward, grabbed the front of Blackjack’s furs, and lifted him easily off the floor with one hand. Blackjack hit him in the gut. Taylor didn’t even seem to feel it. Blackjack clawed at the hand so easily supporting his weight, and then reached out with both hands to take Taylor’s throat in a stranglehold. Beneath the rough, scarred skin the mercenary could feel a thick layer of steelmesh. Taylor struck Blackjack casually across the face, and blood flew from his crushed lips. Taylor hit him again, and Blackjack felt his cheekbone crack and break under the impact.

And then the force shield sprang into being again on Blackjack’s arm, and Taylor screamed briefly as the shield’s upper edge shot up to slice deep into his throat. He dropped Blackjack and fell backwards, blood gushing from the wide cut that had nearly decapitated him. He rolled back and forth on the floor, grasping his throat with both hands, as though trying to hold the wound together by brute force. Finally the flow of blood lessened, and Taylor’s hands fell limply away. Blackjack rose painfully to his feet, and turned off his force shield.

“A timing device,” he said hoarsely to the unmoving Hadenman. “An old mercenary’s trick. I was beginning to think I’d set it for too long an interval.”

He moved cautiously forward and checked the Hadenman’s pulse and breathing, to be sure he was dead. He took his time about it, but finally straightened up, satisfied, and looked around for something to drink. He felt very strongly that he’d earned a drink. He headed for the bar, walking slowly and carefully. He had at least one broken rib, probably more, and his back was giving him hell, along with his battered face. The Green Man’s patrons slowly emerged from their hiding places, talking quietly but animatedly among themselves. There was even a smattering of applause. Blackjack wondered if he should take a bow. He’d just reached the bar, when the talk died suddenly away into silence.

“You did well against the Hadenman,” said a cold voice behind him. “I’m impressed.”

Blackjack turned painfully round to find a striking medium-height woman with close-cropped dark hair regarding him calmly from just inside the door. She wore an Investigator’s cloak of navy blue. Blackjack knew without looking that there was a hole burned through the back of the cloak.

“Topaz,” said Blackjack hoarsely. His eyes went to his sword, lying on the floor too far away, while his hand hovered over his holstered gun.

“You’ve heard of me,” said Topaz, stepping elegantly forward. “Nothing good, I hope.”

“You’re taking a chance coming here,” said Blackjack. “No one here has any love for the Watch.”

Even as he spoke, he could see the fifty or so patrons moving forward. It was an unwritten law, enforced by the richer and more powerful patrons, that the Watch left the Green Man strictly alone. It was a small price to pay to avoid open war. It was also understood that any Watchman who entered the Green Man did so entirely at his own risk. No one there liked the Watch, and most had old scores to settle. There was a general rasping of steel on leather as swords were drawn from scabbards. Someone took a bottle by the neck and smashed it against a table. Light gleamed brightly on the jagged ends of the broken glass. The Green Man’s patrons moved slowly forward in a pack, united by an eager, vicious anger. Topaz stood unmoving in the middle of the tavern, looking coldly about her. And then she opened her mouth, and sang.