Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor by Simon R. Green Page A

stumbling footsteps. Owen’s nose wrinkled as a smell came to him, dark and organic, quite out of place in the spotless high-tech security center. It was a smell of preservatives, and underneath that the sickly sweet stench of rot and decay. A cold prickling ran down Owen’s spine, a premonition. And then the dead woman stepped into the room and stood trembling beside Valentine Wolfe. She was quite naked, but held a sword in her hand. She’d been in the ground for some time. The primitive undertakers of Virimonde had done their best, but the pale purple and gray skin had cracked apart all over the body, revealing implanted computers and servomechanisms. The big Y of an autopsy scar ran from her sunken breasts down to her groin, the stitches stretched and broken.
    A single death wound still showed clearly against the ribs. The face was taut and drawn, sunken down to the bone in places. The dead lips had torn free of their stitches and drawn back from the perfect teeth in an unwavering smile that had no humor in it. The eyes were deeply sunk in their sockets, and yellow as urine. The flat blond hair had grown longer in the grave. But Owen still recognized her, and horror closed around his heart like a fist.
    “Cathy…”
    “Got it in one, Deathstalker,” said Valentine Wolfe. “Your old mistress, Cathy DeVries, from the days when you were young and carefree. Actually, she was really an Imperial spy, set to keep an eye on you, and you had to kill her in self-defense. Your first love, who died in your arms. Such a touching scene, I’m sure. And here she is again, my little present to you. “You see, I’ve done my homework on you, Owen. I know what moves you, and what holds you back. I had dear Cathy dug up when I first came here, and had my people implant Ghost Warrior technology inside her. Just in case you tracked me here to trouble me again. Now, I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone together. I’m sure you’ve got lots to talk about.
    And, Owen… just in case you can bring yourself to kill her again before she kills you, I’ve arranged another little surprise for you. No, don’t bother to thank me. What are brothers for?” He gestured at the dead woman, and she lurched forward, sword at the ready. Owen backed away, and the corpse of what had once been his mistress came after him. He tried to speak to her, but his mouth was too dry. This wasn’t Cathy. Cathy was dead, and the computers currently inhabiting her body cared only for the orders programmed into them. Owen knew this, but he couldn’t fight her. Not her. Killing Cathy had been the hardest thing he’d ever had to do then, and he didn’t think he could do it again. And so he allowed her to back him away from the open door, and Valentine Wolfe slipped easily past them, chuckling happily. He darted away down the corridor, still laughing, leaving Owen and what was left of his old mistress to sort out their differences together. And in the computers of the security center, a program was slowly counting down to zero—Valentine’s last gift to the Deathstalker. Back in the main hall, Hazel d’Ark was bored. She sat in a chair with its back to the wall, so no one could sneak up on her, and watched the Romanov and the Kartakis sit quietly together. Hazel could have contacted Owen through his comm implant, to see how he was getting on, but she knew how snappish he could get if you interrupted him while he was in the middle of something. Hazel crossed her legs, just for something to do, and wished Owen would get on with killing the Wolfe. There was always the chance he’d go all soft-hearted again at the last minute, and insist on dragging the Wolfe back alive to stand trial, but she didn’t think so. Not this time. Hazel crossed her legs again and sighed heavily. Boring, boring, boring.
    She glared across at the two silent aristocrats, and only then realized that the Romanov had disappeared.
    His exoskeleton was still sitting where it had been,