Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

threatened by an insane will, but this time there was no rebel alliance, no armies or starcruisers; just two men, two women, and a reptiloid. Their only hope of becoming powerful enough to take down Finn
    Durandal and his forces lay in drinking from the poisoned chalice that was the Madness Maze. It wasn't long till Haden now, and so the small group gathered together on the Hereward's bridge to wait out the last few minutes until they could drop out of hyper and back into standard space, and finally approach the world whose very name had become a synonym for Hell.
    None of them had much to say. Lewis Deathstalker and Jesamine Flowers sat side by side before the control panels, holding hands, finding comfort in each other's presence. Brett Random and Rose Constantine were slouching against the steel bulkheads on opposite sides of the bridge, ostentatiously not talking to each other. And the reptiloid Saturday was sulking at the back, for reasons best known to herself. They all watched the constantly changing readings on the main viewscreen, on and off, feeling the tension slowly mount. For good or bad, for all their travels and encounters and adventures, their journey was finally coming to an end. Whatever happened down on Haden, whatever they found in the Madness Maze—or whatever found them—they all knew that what came next would change everything. Their lives would never be the same again. If they survived at all.
    There was a barely perceptible lurch as the Hereward dropped out of hyperspace, and the universe was back. The planet Haden appeared on the viewscreen: a dull, gray, colorless world, its details hidden behind constantly shifting atmospheric conditions. It was the only planet in its system, orbiting an artificial star. Lewis looked at Haden, and could feel it looking back at him. His skin crawled. Moving into orbit around Haden felt like sneaking up to knock on the door of a haunted house. The main difference being that Haden's ghosts were restless, alien, and horribly dangerous. There were good reasons why Haden was the most severely quarantined planet in the Empire.
    Ten thousand good reasons, to be exact. The number of men and women who'd died horribly trying to penetrate the mysteries of the Madness Maze.
    "Look," Brett said abruptly, "can I just point out that it's still not too late for us all to have a collective rush of sanity to the head, and go somewhere else? Anywhere else. Going to Haden voluntarily is like kicking a lion in the balls and then sticking your head in its mouth. While wearing a very tasty barbecue sauce."
    "Brett has a good point," said Rose. "It's unusual, I'll admit, but he does have a point."
    "Don't think you can get around me with flattery," said Brett. "I'm still not talking to you. And stay out of my head!"
    "Trust me," said Rose. "I wouldn't go in there on a bet."
    "I can't believe we're actually here," said Jesamine, squeezing Lewis's hand painfully hard as she stared at the viewscreen. "I mean, Haden! This is where nightmares go when they feel in need of a good shock to the system. I've got a really bad feeling about this. Nothing good comes from Haden anymore. And certainly nothing good can come of trying to enter the Madness Maze."
    "You don't have to go in," said Lewis. "I'm the only one who has to go in."
    "None of us have to do anything," Jesamine said sharply. "We still have options. Not very good ones, admittedly, but… I don't like this, Lewis. Haden is the place where everyone's luck runs out."
    "I've been saying that all along," said Brett. "But of course no one ever listens to me."
    "Shut up, Brett," said Lewis. See?
    "Do we have a plan?" said Rose. "Just as a matter of general interest. I love plans."
    "We'll try sneaking past the defenses, and if that doesn't work, we fight," said Lewis. "No doubt followed by lots of running and shooting and screaming, and a whole lot of off-the-cuff improvisation.
    Generally, feel free to shoot anything that isn't us."
    "Ah," said Rose. "The usual."
    Brett scowled heavily, and leaned back against the steel bulkhead with his arms folded tightly across his chest, sulking as loudly as his body language could manage. Everything was going wrong. At best, the Madness Maze would turn out to be a trap baited by Finn Durandal, bad cess to the man, at worst…
    Brett didn't even want to think about how appallingly bad things could get. On top of that, most of the food and drink they'd picked up on Lachrymae Christi was gone, and