Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

cell, but very little of it had been about his present circumstances.Douglas was making plans for the future. Plans for blood and slaughter and Finn's head on a stake.
    Several locks opened, and the door to his cell swung slowly open.Douglas turned his head, about the only part of him he could move, and there were Finn and Anne in the doorway, looking in at him.
    "Hello,Douglas ," said Finn. "No, please, don't get up. It's only me. And Anne, of course. You know,
    you really do look a mess, Douglas. Those clothes must smell pretty ripe by now, what with all the bloodstains from you and James and your father. We'll have to get you some nice new clothes, when it's time for your trial."
    "Why bother with a trial?" saidDouglas . "You know you'll have to kill me, to stop me."
    "Oh, there has to be a trial! The forms must be observed. Everyone's looking forward to it. The people need to see justice being done. So, you'll have your day in court, and then you'll be executed. No point in hanging about, is there?"
    "I'm going to kill you, Finn."Douglas 's voice was flat and cold and utterly sure. "I will beat you to death with my bare hands, for my father's death, for the desecration of my brother's grave, and for what you've done to the Empire."
    Finn shrugged. "I never liked William. He never liked me. I could tell. And digging up an old body is the least of the many sins I've committed. Would it interest you to know how and why I brought about your destruction, and the corruption of your Empire? It's really very instructive. What surprised me was how easy it was. There were people lining up to piss all over your precious Golden Age. All they needed was a focus, and I've always found it easy to be everything to everyone. But it all started with you, Douglas.
    In a way, you could say that everything that's happened is really all your fault.
    "You should have made me Champion at your Coronation. I deserved it. I earned it. If I'd been Champion, I would have served you faithfully all my days, protected you from every harm until my dying breath. I would have made you a legend. But no; you had to choose that weakling Lewis, because of his bloody name. And because you always liked him better than me. Well, guess what, Douglas? You wouldn't give me what was mine by right, so I've taken everything you had and made it mine. Who's the better man now, eh,Douglas ?"
    Douglaslooked at Anne. "What happened to you, Anne? I could understand Finn going to the bad, but you? Your betrayal makes no sense at all to me."
    "You never knew me," said Anne. "You never really cared about me. Any of you. I was just boring reliable old Anne, there to be used. I've made you all pay for that."
    Finn smiled, and slipped his arm through hers. "We were made for each other." He paused then, frowning in concentration as a message came through over his comm implant. "I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, Douglas. I would have preferred to spend more time rubbing your nose in how stupid you've been, but duty calls. You know how it is."
    "I do," saidDouglas . "I'm surprised that you do."
    Finn bowed once, mockingly, and reached for the cell door. "Sleep tight,Douglas . Don't let the bed bugs bite too much."
    "Tell me one thing," said Douglas, and Finn paused at the door. "Tell me this, Finn: were we ever really friends? Are all my memories a lie?"
    "I don't know," said Finn. "It all seems such a long time ago now. Does it really matter?"
    "No," said Douglas.
    Finn dropped Anne off at the House, ignoring her demands for explanations, and then made his way very quickly to the main starport. He trusted Anne with most things, but this was different. A starship had just come in from the planet Haden, apparently carrying every human scientist who'd been sent there to study the Madness Maze. It seemed Shub had used its robots to throw them all offplanet. This had come as news to Finn. There hadn't been any advance warning. Not even a hint of trouble between Shub and the human scientists. And now the Hunter had landed, and the port master was going crazy. He'd quarantined the ship on the landing pad, and wouldn't let anyone else near it. Finn kept pressing the port master for details, but the man refused to even discuss the matter over an open channel. You have to see this for yourself, he kept saying.
    Finn found the ship easily enough. The Hunter was standing alone on a pad, as far away from the other ships as possible. Armed guards were spread around the perimeter of