Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

Saturday. "They have no soul. My people sculpt in living tissues, torn from the bodies of fallen enemies. Why are you looking at me like that?"
    "Sometimes I wonder about you," said Lewis. "And sometimes I'm sure."
    They set off again, leaving the clearing behind. Soon it was lost behind the ranks of glowing trees. They all dreamed about the statues for weeks afterwards.
    "How could the old Empire never have realized that this was an artificially created world?" Lewis said finally. "I mean, you only have to look at it. No ecostructure, no living systems; just the trees and the Ashrai."
    "This is an inhuman place," said Brett. "Alien in every sense of the word. Nothing here to keep a man sane. How is it that Carrion survived here, alone, for more than two centuries?"
    "He wanted to be an Ashrai," said Lewis. "Who knows how the Madness Maze changed him, or what he did with those changes?" Do we have any idea what an Ashrai looks like?" said Rose. All the official records were wiped long ago, on Robert andConstance 's orders," said Lewis. "Only hints remain.
    Massive, deadly creatures, with fangs and claws and gargoyle faces."
    No," Jesamine said immediately. "If these are the dragons that Owen called to fight alongside him, they were wise and wonderful and very beautiful. I used to dream about them, when I was a child. Flying through open space with them, like Owen."
    "According to the Dust Plains…"
    "I know what they said, Lewis. They said it was Carrion. We'll see.
    And still they trudged on, the heavier gravity pulling at their bodies like weights. The heat never wavered, and there was never even a breath of a cool breeze. The trees seemed bigger, and wider and taller, the longer they walked through them, and they shone brightly in the diffused light. It was like walking through the vaults of some endless catacombs, and a growing sense of awe and stifling oppression fell over the group so that they spoke only in hushed whispers. The forest was just too big, too vast, for merely human feelings. Even the reptiloid Saturday seemed somewhat subdued.
    Brett, on the other hand, was silent because he was becoming increasingly preoccupied with thoughts of how much the metal of the trees was worth. Metal from Unseeli was very rare, and therefore very valuable. And if he couldn't take away even one of the statues, surely even that misery-guts Deathstalker wouldn't begrudge him a small branch. Or three. Should be easy enough. A sudden stumble, a carefully aimed fall, and it should be child's play to break off some of the smaller branches with his weight. And then, well, they might as well take the branches with them as leave them just lying around… right?
    Brett let himself drift just a little away and behind the others, taking his time so no one would notice.
    He'd actually got within a few feet of the nearest branch when he lurched to a sudden halt, all his instincts shrieking at him. His esp kicked in big-time, as the sheer living presence of the tree hit him right between the eyes like a hammer. It knew he was there. It knew what he was planning. It growled at him. Brett whimpered loudly, did his best to mentally project sorry sorry sorry and hurried back to join the others.
    To his disgust, none of them had even noticed he'd been gone.
    The projected thirty minute walk had already become more than an hour, and Lewis didn't believe it was just down to the heavier gravity. Unseeli was a different place, with different rules. There was still no sign of the Ashrai, and Lewis had to wonder if perhaps they were determined to have nothing to do with humans. And if this man Carrion considered himself an Ashrai now, maybe even the legendary Deathstalker name wouldn't be enough to win his cooperation. Even though he hadn't admitted it out loud, even to himself, Lewis had been secretly hoping he'd be able to convince Carrion to leave Unseeli and come with them on their quest to find Owen. With a Maze survivor on their side, even Finn would think twice about getting in their way. Lewis scowled as he trudged along, mentally rehearsing various possible arguments.
    Jesamine strode along beside Lewis in silence, looking straight ahead and ostentatiously not talking to him, though she wasn't sure if he'd noticed. He could be very obtuse about some things. She had no one else to talk to. Brett was sulking again, and Rose was a mystery, as always. Of them all, the hard trek through the forest had affected Rose the least. The lanky cow