Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

it. He knew she was right. "Even supposing we can track down whatever survivors remain from the age of heroes, who's to say they'll be in any shape to help us, after all this time?"
    "They might hold the key to finding Owen," said Jesamine. "Or maybe even the missing Hazel d'Ark.
    They have to help us. We need them now more than ever, to stop the coming Terror as well as Finn bloody Durandal!"
    Lewis said nothing, remembering the dry gray words he'd heard on the Dust Plains of Memory. Owen was dead. He died long ago, in a dirty back alley on Mistworld. Except… he had been seen alive, in the future. Lewis still wasn't sure whether he believed that or not.
    "So," he said, to avoid having to say anything else, "where are we going first? What planet do we choose as our destination? We're going to have to drop into hyper soon; the longer we stay in normal space, the better the odds are some pursuit ship will bump into us by accident."
    "There's not many places we can go," said Brett, "in this depressingly honest Empire."
    "There's always your homeworld, Virimonde," Jesamine said tentatively to Lewis. "I mean, surely they wouldn't believe the lies Finn's been spreading about you?"
    "My family won't," said Lewis. "But Virimonde is a poor world, and poorly defended. Even if my Clan could persuade the planetary council to harbor us, they couldn't hope to hold out against an Imperial punitive strike force. And you can bet there are elements there who would betray our presence to the Empire—for money or patronage, or just because they believed it was the right thing to do."
    "He's right," said Brett. "There are scumbags everywhere these days."
    "I say we go straight to Haden," said Saturday. "To the Madness Maze. You are a Deathstalker, Lewis.
    Your fate is inevitably linked to the Maze. Even on Shard we know the story of the Owen, and his journey through the Madness Maze. How it made him so much more than human. If we were to all go through the Maze, what mighty beings might we become? We could take on the whole Empire, and bring it to its knees in a sea of blood and offal!"
    "I like him," said Rose.
    "I wonder if I overlooked anything in the medicine cabinet…" said Brett.
    "Excuse me!" Jesamine said loudly. "Hello! Sanity calling! This is really not a good idea, people. There's a reason why it's called the Madness Maze, and an even better reason why no one's been allowed into it for so long. Do I really have to remind everyone here that the last ten thousand people to enter the Maze lost their minds and their lives? Every single one of them died screaming. I wouldn't go into the Maze if I was completely desperate. Hell, I am completely desperate, and I'm still not going anywhere near it! No, people, the Maze is what we do when we've tried everything else, including prayer and closing our eyes and hoping it's all been a nasty dream. Next."
    "Can I put in a bid for Mistworld?" said Brett. "Always a good bet when you're on the lam. Still fairly independant from the rest of the Empire, and proud of it. A whole planet of rogues, individual thinkers, and complete head cases. Even Finn would think twice about trying to take Mistworld by force. And the
    stack of alien porn we're carrying will sell for major credits in Mistport. More than enough to buy us a proper ship, with room to move around in and a decent weapons system. Probably with enough left over to hire a reasonably sized corps of mercenaries. Mistworld has the best connections in the Empire—assuming Emma Steel didn't shut them all down before she left."
    Not a bad plan," said Jesamine. "And tempting. But I have played on Mistworld, and I am here to tell you it is the arse end of the Empire. No civilized comforts, colder than a witch's tit, and more bounty hunters per square mile than any other planet in the Empire. You saw the broadcast; we're wanted dead or alive, with a hell of a price on our heads. They'd be queuing up to take a crack at us on Mistworld."
    "Exactly," said Lewis. "I'd rank it just ahead of Haden, but only just."
    Brett sulked. He'd already worked out a really clever plan for selling the alien porn in Mistport and then disappearing with all the money the moment the others turned their backs. He had his own ideas about the future, and they very definitely didn't include being a hero. Or Rose Constantine. A thought struck him. He might have been voted down, but he still had a secret ace up his sleeve. When Finn made Brett drink the esper drug, he