Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

hands of the machine now, and all he could do was wait and see. Finlay sat down on a nearby chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and Evangeline stood before him, her back straight, her mouth a cold flat line. She didn't need to say anything.
    Finlay took a deep breath. "Adrienne and I are the only survivors of the first rank of the Campbells. Everyone else is dead. The Wolfes wiped us out. They declared full vendetta and ambushed us in our own tower. They're after me too, but I shook them off. I shouldn't have come here, but I didn't know where else to go."
    "Of course you should have come here," said Evangeline. "No one can hurt you now you're with me. I'm just glad you escaped. Oh, Finlay; your whole Family?"
    "Yes. Only the minor branches and the distant cousins remain now, and the Wolfes are out in the streets, hunting them down. Clan Campbell is finished."
    "And Adrienne, what happened to her? Why did you bring her here?"
    "Kid Death stuck her when she tried to save my brother. I'll kill him for that someday. Her only hope was the regeneration machine I left here with you."

    "But why bring her here at all?" said Evangeline flatly. "Why not let her die?
    She's always come between us, and you said you never loved her. This is our chance, Finlay. All we have to do is switch off the machine and wait. Don't look at me like that. You don't know how hard it's been for me, alone, without you.
    You don't know."
    "I can't just let her die," said Finlay. "She doesn't deserve that. She fought so bravely. And as for you and me, there's a price on my head now that Clan Campbell's been all but destroyed. We can never be together in society, like we'd hoped, because I'm not a part of society anymore. The minute I show my face in public, I'm a dead man. Robert will be the Campbell now, and all he can do is try and salvage as much of the Family as he can. He can't help me. He daren't.
    He might be able to save Adrienne, if she survives. He's on his way here with help. My only chance now is to become an outlaw, go underground. You always said you wanted to be with me, no matter what. Do you still feel that way? Are you willing to throw everything away, give up wealth and station to be an outlaw with me? Will you come down into the underground with me?"
    She sat down beside him and held him as tightly as she could. "Of course I will, Finlay. You're all I ever wanted."
    They sat together for a while in silence, holding each other, and then the regeneration machine made a series of imperative noises. Finlay and Evangeline got up reluctantly and went over to look at the readouts. Finlay nodded slowly, and Evangeline kept her face carefully blank.
    "She's in bad shape, but the device has stabilized her," said Finlay. "It's going to be some time before the machine's finished with her, and we can't wait that long."

    "You said Robert was coming here?"
    "With a few friends from the military. They'll look after her and keep her safe."
    "Tower security won't let him in. Daddy's been even more paranoid than usual just recently, after the… incident at the wedding. His guards have orders to shoot anyone who tries to get to me that isn't a Shreck. You said you had a device…"
    "It's an implant. Nothing I can pass on to Robert. Someone has to stay with her, Evie. I can't just abandon her. She deserves better than that."
    "All right! Let me think." Evangeline wrapped her arms tightly around herself and paced up and down. "There's… more going on here than you know, Finlay. There are things I never told you. Things about me."
    Finlay smiled. "I know all I need to know."
    "Shut up, Finlay. You don't understand. I had to keep this secret, even from you. I'm a clone, and a member of the underground." She saw the look that came over his face, and wouldn't let herself look away. "The original Evangeline died in an accident. Daddy couldn't bear to live without her, so he had me cloned.
    Secretly. Don't look at me like that, Finlay. Please. I'm still the same person I've always been."
    "Are you?" said Finlay. "I don't know anymore. I don't know anything anymore.
    How long ago did all this happen? Is the woman I originally loved dead? Have I been loving a copy ever since?"
    "No! It happened long before we ever fell in love. There's only ever been you and me."
    "How can I be sure of that?"
    "You can't. You have to trust me."

    "How can I, after this? I told you everything about me, even about the Masked Gladiator. And you kept this from