Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

it splashing on the ground below. Silence jerked his sword free, and David cried out again, blood spraying from his mouth along with the sound. He tried to force himself back onto his feet, and couldn't. The boost was holding him together, but all his strength was gone. The Captain drew back his sword for the killing blow.
    Kit saw David go down, and wasted no time with a cry of rage. He caught Frost's sword in a close parry, kicked her hard in the kneecap, and, while she was off-balance, he whipped off his cloak and wrapped it around her head. He would have liked to kill her then, while she was helpless, but he didn't have the time. He ran over to Silence, calling out to the Captain to distract him from David. Silence turned swiftly, and Kit ducked under the extended blade and rammed the Captain in the stomach with his shoulder. The Captain fell backwards, his breath driven right out of him, and Kit ran over to David and hauled him back onto his feet. It only took a glance to see how bad the wound was, but Kit couldn't let himself think about that. There'd be help waiting at the Standing.
    There had to be. He got David moving, and then heard footsteps behind him. He looked back, and incredibly the Captain was back on his feet and charging after
    them. Kit reached for the gun at his side, and only then realized David was leaning against it. The Captain was almost upon them. And then there was the sound of a disrupter firing, and Silence fell to his knees, shot from behind.
    Kit looked back, and there was the Security Officer with his gun in his hand, eyes wide with horror at his mistake. Kit threw him a quick salute, pulled David to him more firmly, and led him off into the trees.
    Frost had pulled herself free from the enveloping cloak just in time to see Silence fall. She ignored the fleeing rebels, and the shocked, stammering Stelmach, and hurried over to kneel beside Silence. The energy beam had torn away most of his left rib cage. He'd wrapped his arms around himself, as though he could hold his body together through sheer strength. Frost gently pulled his arms away so she could see the extent of the wound. Blackened stubs of ribs showed clearly in the steaming wound, half-cauterized by the energy beam. Behind them, Stelmach was babbling about its being a mistake, and he was sorry, so sorry, but neither of them was listening. Silence's face was utterly white, and he was breathing in quick, shallow gasps. Anyone else would have been dead by now, from the shock alone. Frost grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard.
    "Captain, listen to me! You're not going to die. There's a power in you, in us.
    Use it! John, dammit, you can heal yourself!"
    She concentrated, focusing on the power deep within her, forcing it to the surface and on into Silence. He gasped once, and then his hand clamped down hard on hers, and he straightened up, his eyes wide and startled. They both looked down at the great wound in his side, and watched speechlessly as the flesh and bone and skin knitted themselves seamlessly together until there was no trace of the wound left. Silence took a deep, experimental breath, bracing himself for pain that never came, and then he grinned suddenly at Frost. She grinned back,
    and together they got to their feet again. Stelmach was standing over them with his mouth hanging open.
    "I didn't know you could do that," he said finally.
    "Neither did I," said Silence. "Learn something new every day."
    "I'm sorry, Captain, I'm really sorry…"
    Silence raised a hand to stop him. "Apologies accepted. But from now on, Stelmach, if we get in a fight again, don't help me." He turned to Frost. Her smile was gone, and she was a calm, collected Investigator again.
    "Welcome back, Captain. Always knew you were too mean to die."
    "Glad to be back, Investigator. Which way did the rebels go?"
    "Deeper into the woods, Captain. Should be an easy trail to follow. The Deathstalker's leaking a lot of blood. Do you feel up to chasing them?"
    "I think so. But there's no hurry. There's only one place they can go now, and that's the Deathstalker Standing. And once he's there, we've got him."
    Kit SummerIsle eased the wounded Deathstalker down onto his bed and looked around the luxuriously appointed bedchamber. There was only the one door and the one window, which made it easier to defend the room against attackers. For the moment, the Standing was under the control of people loyal to David, but unfortunately the Steward had made his