Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

it looked like what it was: a secure place to store bodies. The thick stone walls were blackened and discolored here and there by fire, but the walls stood firm, and the locks and seals held, allowing the many generations of Campbell dead to rest undisturbed. Now Finlay would rest there too, at least in spirit. Robert hadn't seen much point in a ceremony without an actual body to inter, but he could see it meant a lot to Evangeline, so he kept his peace and went along with it. Funerals were for the living, not the dead. Everyone knew that.
    The vicar droned on, and the rain fell a little more heavily from the gray sky, pattering loudly on the closed lid of the coffin. Evangeline stared straight ahead, her mouth firm, her eyes dry. Adrienne stood beside her, veil lifted so she could sniffle quietly into a handkerchief. Her children stood wide-eyed on her other side, not really understanding, but for the moment overawed by the solemnity of the occasion. Robert pulled his cloak a little more tightly about him, and watched raindrops fall from the wide brim of his hat. He'd never liked Finlay, and made no secret of the fact, but when all was said and done, the foppish killer had been Family, so Robert had a duty to be there.
    The common word was that Finlay had finally gone crazy, and died taking out his old enemy Gregor Shreck. No one knew what had fueled the open hatred between the two men, but there was no shortage of rumors, each one wilder than the last. The only thing they all agreed on was that no one at all missed Gregor Shreck. In
    fact, his death was greeted in all circles with the same concern as the sudden demise of a rabid dog. The social and political scene in the Parade of the Endless would be much quieter and safer for all concerned with two such dangerous players gone.
    Evangeline looked down at the empty coffin, and didn't cry. The vicar's quiet words washed over her, bringing no comfort. She'd always known Finlay would die in combat, had already lived his death a hundred times when he was late back from a hundred impossible missions for the underground. She'd cried her tears then, and had none left now. It didn't help that their last meeting had ended in a quarrel. With raised voices saying terrible, unforgivable things. Or that Finlay had gone to kill Gregor entirely because of what the Shreck had done to her. So that in a sense, she had sent him to his death. Part of her had died with Finlay, and sometimes she thought it was the best part. His was the only love she'd ever known, the only light in her short, dark life, and she didn't know what she would do with her life now. All she felt was an almost overpowering urge to take off the coffin lid, climb inside, and let them inter her in the Campbell mausoleum. The best and brightest part of her life was over.
    The vicar finally ran down, made a hurried sign of the cross over the empty box, closed his Bible with a snap, and stepped back. His part in the service was over. Robert Campbell entered the secret identifying codes into the Family crest on the mausoleum door, and it swung slowly open, revealing only darkness within.
    He looked to Evangeline, who laid her flowers tenderly on the coffin lid, and then stepped back. The preprogrammed anti-grav sled under the coffin carried it slowly forward into the shadowy depths of the Campbell Family crypt, and then the door closed firmly behind it, and that was that. Service over, goodbyes said, time to get on with your lives.
    Whatever was left of them.
    Adrienne wiped her eyes, blew her nose thoroughly, and patted Evangeline on the arm. "I always cry at funerals. And weddings. Even when I can't stand the people involved. The ceremonies appeal to my dramatic side. I always meant to dance and cheer at Finlay's funeral. Once even told him to his face I'd piss on his coffin. He just laughed. But now he's gone… and I miss him. No one else ever stood up to me the way he did. Looking back, most of my life seems to have been a reaction to what he did and didn't do. Who am I going to find to fight with now? Who else is strong enough for me to sharpen my claws on? Oh, Evie; I never realized how important he was to me, until he wasn't there anymore."
    "It was good of you to come," said Evangeline. "He always admired your strength and your courage."
    "Don't, dear. You'll start me off again. You know you're welcome to come and stay with us for a while, if you want."
    "No, thank you. I'm not really in the mood for any