“There’s got to be another way,” said Owen immediately.
“Maybe. But you don’t have much time to find it, Owen. Soon the Recreated will overcome their fear, and then they’ll come dropping down out of the dark, carve their way down through the frozen outer layers of this world, and find you. They’ll make your death last for eons, stretch your suffering across Time till your dying screams are all that remains of Humanity. Make your decision, Owen. The Recreated will be here soon, and nothing in the physical realm can stop them now.”
“Go, Owen,” said Hazel. “The Maze saved us once; maybe it’ll save us again. We’ll guard your back here.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple,” said the Wolfing, and they all looked at him, startled by something new in his voice. “First, you have to get past me.”
He was crouching a little now, as though ready to spring, but his great furry head still towered above theirs. Long sharp claws extended from his fingers. The wide grin had become a snarl, the sharp teeth like a steel trap in his mouth. The frowning yellow eyes were full of hatred. Just standing there, the Wolfing had suddenly become extremely dangerous. Silence and Hazel let their hands drop to the guns at their hips. Carrion stood a little straighter, his hand tightening around the power lance he held before him. Owen stood very still.
“Why?” he said finally. “We have always been allies, if never friends. And even if the Recreated don’t destroy you along with the rest of us, you wouldn’t want to live in the universe they’ll make.”
“Giles,” said Wulf, and his voice was a low, threatening growl. “He was my friend, my old friend, who only wanted to put things right again. And you killed him. I never gave a damn about your rebellion. Humanity destroyed my whole species. Giles was the only one I ever cared about, and he’s gone now. So let Humanity die. As for my own life... I should have died long ago, with the last of my kind, with my mate and cubs, but the Maze kept me alive, against my will. I never asked or wanted to be its guardian. I’ve been forced to be part of a great ongoing scheme, whose details and end have always been withheld from me. This may be my only chance to rebel, to destroy that scheme, and have my revenge on the Maze, and on you. For everything you took from me.”
The Wolfing launched himself, moving impossibly quickly, his extended, curving claws reaching for Owen’s throat. Owen boosted, and threw himself to one side. In a moment his sword was in his hand, and he turned and pirouetted on one foot, bringing his sword around in a swift double-handed arc. The blade whistled through the air as the Wolfing ducked under it. Silence and Hazel opened fire with their disrupters, and Carrion’s power lance crackled with spiraling energies. The Wolfing avoided both energy blasts with fluid ease, moving faster than the human eye could follow, and he lashed out with one long arm, slapping the power lance out of Carrion’s hands. In a moment he was concentrated on Owen again, and the Deathstalker had to move at the top of his boosted speed just to keep up with the Wolfing’s attacks. His sword cut into the Wolfing’s furry hide again and again, Wulf ignoring pain and injury in his determination to get to Owen, his slashing claws coming ever nearer, the great teeth flashing in a wide grin.
Silence and Hazel drew their swords as Carrion ran to reclaim his power lance. Owen shouted for them to stay back. He’d already worked out that he couldn’t hope to win this fight on a purely physical level. The Wolfing was immortal, a survivor of centuries, kept alive by the power of the Maze. Owen had already stuck him with thrusts that would have killed a normal living being, and the Wolfing just shrugged them off and kept coming. Which meant ... the answer had to be with the Maze. Owen scowled. He needed to think, but there just wasn’t time. The Wolfing was pressing him too close. So; when in doubt, go for broke. Owen deliberately left himself open for a moment, and the Wolfing surged forward. Savage claws ripped into Owen’s side and out again, spraying blood on the forest air, but Owen had already swung his blade in a long, double-handed arc with all his strength behind it. The keen edge of the blade sheared clean through the Wolfing’s narrow neck, and the long lupine head went flying from the broad shoulders.
Owen and the Wolfing both fell to their knees. Owen clutched tightly at his side, gasping with pain, blood pulsing thickly between his fingers. He thought he could feel broken ribs. The headless body of the Wolfing knelt beside him, blood spouting up from the severed neck, its arms reaching blindly out in search of the separated head. It lay some distance away. The eyes still moved, fixed on the hands as they edged closer. Hazel stepped quickly forward and kicked the head out of reach. The jaws snapped at her boot and the eyes rolled furiously.
Owen closed his eyes, ignoring the pain in his side to concentrate. He reached out to the Madness Maze with his thoughts, and felt it acknowledge him, like a slumbering giant slowly waking at the sound of a familiar voice. Owen concentrated his mind on a single thought.
For God’s sake; let the poor bastard die.
The headless body fell forward onto the green and red grass, and slowly stilled, the hands twitching, as though still searching for an enemy to crush. The severed head’s jaws gaped wide in one last soundless cry of rage or pain or perhaps just relief, and then it too was still, its eyes mercifully empty. The blood finally stopped pulsing from the body’s severed neck, and the Wolfing was finally dead.
Silence and Hazel helped Owen to his feet, as Carrion came running back, power lance in hand, looking just a little embarrassed. Owen put his sword away as Hazel checked the wound in his side, and pressed a folded cloth against it.
“Nasty, but not immediately life-threatening. You’ll heal, Owen.”
“Of course,” said Owen, just a little breathlessly. “I always do.”
“He wanted to die,” said Silence. “To join the last of his kind.”
“Oh sure,” said Owen. “But he would have taken me with him, if he could. Luckily, I convinced the Maze to let him go. I don’t think the Maze needs a guardian anymore. Presumably its long scheme is nearly over, and we’re approaching the endgame.”
Hazel shuddered suddenly. “Scary thought. If the Wolfing was telling the truth, it could be all our lives have been led and manipulated, just to bring us here. To this place, at this time. To carry out its endgame.”
Carrion shook his head uneasily. “Nothing’s that powerful.”
“With the Maze, who knows what’s possible,” said Owen, straightening up cautiously, ignoring the pain in his side. “It doesn’t have human limitations.”
“Right,” said Hazel. “It could do anything to you, once it had you inside it, again. I don’t think you should do this after all, Owen.”
“I doubt it’ll kill me, after all we’ve been through to get here.”
“Maybe not. But it could change you again. Make you more... alien. Like itself. We’ve already come a hell of a long way from the rest of Humanity, Owen. If you go in again, there’s no telling what might walk out the other end. We’ve come so far together, Owen; I don’t want to lose you now.”
“As with so many times before, I don’t really have a choice,” said. Owen. “Not just because of the Recreated, but because of the baby at the heart of the Maze. Wulf said he was waking up. I have to reach him before that happens. God alone knows what he might do, if he wakes alone and scared. Or angry. Someone has to be there, to supply comfort and guidance. And who else would he accept, but another Deathstalker?”
“It could just kill you with a thought,” said Silence.
“Yes, I suppose he could. But I don’t believe the Maze brought me all this way, just to let the baby kill me at the last step. I have to believe there’s some purpose to my being here.”
“You don’t have to do this, Owen,” said Hazel.
The Deathstalker smiled. “Yes, I do. I’ve always known my duty, Hazel.”
“If you’re going in, I’m going in too,” Silence said suddenly. “If ... something were to go wrong, in the Maze, and you don’t make it out, the Empire’s still going to need someone to save the day.
”
“You just want to get your hands on the Device,” said Hazel sharply. “You still think you could use it as a weapon against the Recreated. You’re an idiot, Silence. Haven’t you listened to anything we’ve told you? You’d destroy Humanity while trying to save it.”
“I listened,” said Silence. “The Maze could give me the power to control the baby. Or destroy it, as necessary. Either way, the Recreated would be destroyed.”
Hazel started angrily toward the Captain. Owen caught her by the arm. “It doesn’t matter, Hazel. Let him enter the Maze again, if he wishes. He’ll learn better, once in there.”
“I need to do this,” Silence said to Hazel, almost apologetically. “I never went all the way through, before. I turned back, to save Frost. Maybe if I go all the way through, this time ... I’ll find the certainty that you and Owen have. I’ve spent so long trying to do the right thing, while never being entirely sure what the right thing was.”
“Then I’ll go in too,” said Carrion. “Just to keep you company. Who knows; maybe I’ll find some answers and certainty for myself. It’s been a long time since I had any purpose or direction in my life.”
“It’s called the Madness Maze for a reason,” Owen said carefully. “It kills a lot of those who enter, and drives even more insane.”
“I know,” said Silence. “I saw my men die, trying to solve the Maze. But someone has to be left to carry on the good fight, if you and Hazel don’t make it, for whatever reason. You said yourself the Maze has plans for you. Maybe an alien device has alien plans, that have nothing to do with saving Humanity. The Empire must be protected.”
“For once, we agree,” said Carrion. “The Recreated would destroy every living thing in the Empire, and bring it all down to darkness. They must be stopped. It’s taken a while, but I finally found an enemy I hate more than Humanity.”
“All right,” said Hazel. “If you’re all going in, then I guess I am as well. I don’t trust the Maze worth a damn, but it’s the only card we’ve got left to play against the Recreated. You can let go of my arm now, Owen.”
Owen released her arm, took her by the hand, and brought her around to face him, his eyes fixed on hers. “No, Hazel. You can’t go in. You have to go back up to the Sunstrider, and keep the Recreated busy while we’re in the Maze. There’s no knowing how long we’ll be in there, and we can’t let the Recreated get anywhere near the Maze. They might destroy it, just to stop me reaching the baby.”
“You have got to be kidding!” said Hazel. “The Sunstrider III doesn’t even have any guns!”
“But it is very fast,” said Owen. “And besides, I have a feeling ... that the Maze has made changes in our little ship. I seem to sense it ... I think you’ll find the new Sunstrider has everything you’ll need to defend us.”
“The Maze?” said Hazel. “Since when has the Maze been able to do things like that?”
Owen smiled suddenly. “The baby isn’t the only thing that’s waking up. I think the Maze is rousing itself from an even deeper slumber.”
“Great,” said Hazel. “Just what we need. More complications. So; you want me to be a bloody decoy, is that it? A target for all the Recreated, while you all go and commune with whatever the Maze really is. Wonderful. Why don’t I paint a bull‘s-eye on my chest while I’m at it?”
“I think we’ve gone past the point where what we want matters anymore,” said Owen. “I have to do this, Hazel. The Maze is calling me. Can’t you feel it?”
“You’ll be killed without me,” said Hazel numbly. “I know it. You never did know how to stay out of trouble.”
“If I’d stayed out of trouble, I’d never have met you,” said Owen.
Silence and Carrion exchanged a look, and moved away so Owen and Hazel could have a little privacy. Hazel remembered her dream of standing alone on the Sunstrider’s bridge, fighting off impossible odds, but she said nothing. She could feel destiny closing in around her, taking her life in a remorseless iron grip, and a brief burst of fear and panic ran through her. She wanted to run or scream or knock Owen down, so he wouldn’t leave her. She fought the feelings down with all her old self-control. She didn’t want to upset Owen. He was looking at the Madness Maze, his head slightly cocked, as though listening to some tune only he could hear. When he finally turned to look at her, his smile was so sad it nearly broke her heart.
“We’ve come a long way together,” said Owen. “Walked in wondrous places, seen marvels almost beyond belief, and fought the good fight with all our might. We even walked into Hell a few times, and brought light into darkness. Maybe it would be greedy to ask for more, for ourselves.”
“I never wanted to be a hero,” said Hazel. “I just wanted you, and some time together.”
“Heroes and legends,” said Owen. “A long way from the ex-scholar and the ex-clonelegger. We’ve achieved more in our short time than most people do in a lifetime. Be proud of that.”
“You’re trying to say good-bye, aren’t you, Deathstalker?” said Hazel, holding his eyes with hers. “One way or another, we’re never going to meet again, are we?”
“Who knows?” said Owen. “We started this journey with our eyes wide open, and we knew what we were getting into. Everyone knows most heroes and legends don’t have happy endings. I wish... we could have had the things that everyone else has, and takes for granted; home and family and children. Some time to ourselves, untouched by need or politics or destiny. But we were never meant for that kind of life, you and I. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Hazel d‘Ark. I wouldn’t trade a moment of it, for all the years I might have had, as a spoiled, self-satisfied minor scholar.”
“And you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Owen Deathstalker.” Hazel struggled to keep her voice even. “Before you came into my life and ruined everything, I had to struggle to find a reason to get out of bed in the morning. You showed me what duty and honor were, and gave purpose to my life, even if you did have to drag me into it kicking and screaming all the way. Because of you, I became someone who mattered, instead of just another minor criminal.”
“This isn’t necessarily the end,” Owen said desperately. “I could come out of the Maze with all the power I need to destroy the Recreated. The new Sunstrider could have all the firepower you need to hold them off and keep you safe. Maybe we’ll save Humanity one last time, and then walk off into the sunset together. Stranger things have happened.”
“Yes,” said Hazel. “Maybe.” And neither of them believed it.
They moved abruptly together and hugged each other close, heads pressed together, warm cheek pressed against warm cheek; at least partly so they wouldn’t have to look into each other’s eyes anymore. Their breathing sounded loud and strained in each other’s ears, and they could feel each other’s heart beating. They held on to each other as if they might be pulled apart at any moment, trying to make one moment last forever. In the end, it was Owen who let go first, and slowly pushed Hazel away from him. He’d always been the one who understood duty and honor; the one with a core of unbreakable iron in his heart. The one to do what needed doing, whatever the cost. A Deathstalker.
They looked into each other’s eyes and neither of them cried, for fear of upsetting the other.
“I love you,” said Owen. “And I always will. I’ll never forget you as long as I live.”
“I’ll never forget you,” said Hazel. “Not even if I live forever.”
Owen waited a moment, but Hazel had nothing more to say. Owen understood. He smiled one last time, kissed her gently on the lips, and moved quickly away. He looked over at the Madness Maze.
“I’m ready.”
He heard a puff of disturbed air behind him, as Hazel was teleported up to the new Sunstrider, and the air rushed in to fill the vacuum where she’d been. He never expected to see her again. But of course, he did.
Hazel materialized on the bridge of the Sunstrider, and looked quickly around her. Her heart missed a beat as she saw tha
t the bridge was now exactly what she’d seen in her dream; the old familiar setting from Sunstrider II. She moved quickly forward to check out the expanded control panels, and found the transformed ship now boasted more weapons and fire control systems than an E class starcruiser. And one hell of a set of defensive shields. Presumably the Maze felt she’d need them.
She activated the main viewscreen. They were still there. The Recreated, clustering around the Wolfing World like rats round a dying man. She could almost feel waves of hate and rage coming from them. Hazel snarled at the screen. She stood between them and the Deathstalker, guarding his back as always, and that was all that mattered. She’d faced impossible odds before, and somehow survived. Perhaps that had all been training, for her to be at this place, at this time, and not be intimidated.
To stand at the mouth of the pass, denying the Enemy entrance; to be the guard at the gate for all Humanity.
She just wished she didn’t have to do it alone.
And then she noticed a flash of light at the edge of the screen, and knew immediately what it was. The Dauntless. Silence’s legendary ship, that had never lost a battle. She wasn’t alone after all. Hazel laughed aloud, and turned her attention to the weapons console. Everything was linked through a single fire control panel, so she could operate it all herself. Outside, in the endless night of the Darkvoid, she could feel more and more of the Recreated becoming aware of her, slowly realizing that she stood between them and their prey. Huge eyes turned in her direction. Mile-long tentacles reached across space. Vast ships orientated on the Sunstrider. Hazel whooped once with savage joy, meshed her mind with the fire controls, and opened up with everything she had.
Owen walked back into the Madness Maze, and it felt like coming home. He strode quickly between the shining, shimmering walls, guided by instinct as much as memory. He didn’t normally remember much about his first trip through the Maze, and now he knew why. It was simply too intense, too overwhelming an experience for the mind to tolerate for long. It had to be forgotten, for the mind to be able to cope with everyday things. He slowed his pace, not hurrying anymore, for Time moved differently in the Maze. A second and a year were the same thing, here. He glanced back, once, and wasn’t surprised to find Silence and Carrion weren’t with him anymore, though they’d all entered the Maze together. They had their own ways to go, their own destinations, their own destinies to follow.