Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

burned in his black shirt, there was only pale, unmarked flesh.
    Ruby blinked a few times.
    "Impressive," she said finally. "You've learned a new trick, Wolfe. Dammit; doesn't anyone stay dead when you shoot them anymore?"
    "It does seem that way sometimes, doesn't it?" said Valentine easily. "Finlay Campbell thought he could kill me that way too. He's going to be so surprised when I show up to tear the heart out of his chest."
    "Finlay Campbell's dead."
    "No. Merely resting. Some days the Empire seems to be positively crawling with people who should be dead. Superhumans and heroes and monsters, of one kind or another. Bad time to be just a man, as other men. My own invulnerability comes from nanotech. Shub introduced the busy little things into my system, and now nothing can damage me for long. Age will not wither me, nor time destroy me. I shall live ages, and do terrible things to keep myself amused. If the Devil didn't exist before, he does now."
    "You always were full of yourself, Wolfe," said Ruby Journey, unmoved. "Shub might have promised you these things, but you can't trust Shub. Better first to put faith in fairness from life, or mercy from the tiger. Or from me."
    "There's really no point in fighting," said Valentine. "You can't hurt me, but I can hurt you. The AIs would prefer a living captive to experiment on, but
    they'll settle for a body to dissect, if need be. It's really up to you. Your choice."
    "I choose neither," said Ruby. She put away her gun and drew her sword. "Let's see how immortal you are after I've cut you into a dozen pieces."
    She sprang forward, swinging her sword with both hands, and the Wolfe's blade was immediately in just the right place to block it. Ruby immediately disengaged and attacked again, boosting her strength and speed to their limits. The two of them dueled back and forth across the concrete floor, thrusting and parrying and slicing in the confined space of the lockup. Sparks flew as their blades slammed together again and again. Valentine was strong and fast, but Ruby was the better fighter. She cut him again and again, and even ran him through twice, but no blood flowed, and his scarlet smile never once wavered. She wasn't hurting him, and both of them knew it. He was just letting her tire herself out. And when her strength and stamina finally reached their end, he would hurt her just enough to weaken her, and then bind her securely. A gift-wrapped present for his new masters.
    Ruby could feel herself slowing fractionally already, as they stamped back and forth in the lockup, kicking boxes and provisions out of their way. Her mind raced furiously, coming up with one plan after another, discarding them more and more desperately, until one final possibility suggested itself. For Ruby, to think was to act, and she put all her boosted strength into one parry, slamming the Wolfe's sword aside. And while he stood momentarily unbalanced and undefended, Ruby gripped her sword with both hands and brought it flashing round in a great, unstoppable arc. The heavy steel blade sheared right through Valentine's neck. The head fell backward, still holding its last startled
    expression, and blood fountained up out of the severed neck, splashing against the low ceiling overhead.
    Ruby lowered her sword and leaned on it, panting for breath, her chest heaving.
    It had been a long time since she'd been pressed that hard in a fight. Sweat ran down her face and stung in her eyes. Valentine's head rolled slowly across the floor, until it bumped up against a crate of grenades. And it was only then that Ruby realized the headless body showed no signs of falling. It stood squarely on its own two feet, still facing her, still holding its sword in its hand. The chest was still working, and she could hear its breath bubbling in the open throat. The hackles on the back of her neck were standing up so stiffly it was almost painful, and gooseflesh covered her arms, as the body turned unhurriedly, bent over, and picked up its head. The arm held the severed head out on a level with her face, so she could see it smiling, the eyes bright and aware and knowing, and then the body replaced its head on its neck. The blood flow cut off in a second, and the wound vanished. Valentine Wolfe was whole again, and very much alive.
    "Good to be back," he said easily. "Did you miss me?"
    Ruby didn't wait to see any more. She called up her fire, blasted the nearest crate of explosives, and threw herself out the open