This isn't our universe, Owen."
Owen and Hazel staggered onto the bridge, and collapsed into chairs, both gasping for breath. And from somewhere outside, they heard a Voice. Afterward they could never quite remember what it said or what it sounded like, only that it meant the end of all things. The Voice at the end of the universe, when all that is must come to dust, and less than dust.
"Start the stardrive!" yelled Owen, reaching desperately out to the door he'd opened to bring the Sunstrider III into the Blood Runners' world. The engines roared and the ship trembled as the door reappeared in his mind, perfect in every detail. Owen held it in place and drove the ship through it. The Voice cried out, and the world of stone disappeared forever.
The Sunstrider III sailed serenely through normal space, surrounded by stars.
Owen and Hazel remained slumped in their seats, gradually getting their breath back as their hearts slowed to something more like normal. They were back where they belonged, safe and sound, and it felt so good they were almost afraid to move or speak in case they shattered the mood. Their powers were back too, jumpstarted by the Summerstone. Not as powerful as they had once been, perhaps, but they were both confident a little time and rest would see to that. They were on a journey, to becoming something else, and they knew the changes weren't finished with them yet.
"Sorry to interrupt your collapse," Oz murmured in Owen's ear. "But you have a call coming in. And given who this is, I think you're really going to want to talk to him."
"All right," said Owen. "I'll bite. Who is it?"
"The Wolfling."
That made Owen sit up straight, despite his tiredness. No one had heard from the Wolfling in ages. "Put him on the bridge screen."
The Wolfling's head and shoulders appeared on the viewscreen, and Hazel sat up straight too. The Wolfling, last of his slaughtered kind. Older than old, possibly immortal, guardian of the Madness Maze. He had a broad, shaggy, lupine head, set on wide furry shoulders above a barrel chest. Long pointed ears stood stiffly up over rich, honey-colored fur, and he stared out of the screen with disturbingly intelligent eyes. You could see the wolf and the man in his eyes, and something less and more than both. He smiled briefly, revealing large pointed teeth.
"You must return to the Wolfling World," he said flatly, in his growling voice.
"You are needed here."
"The whole damned Empire needs us right now," said Owen. "What could be so important on your world?"
"The Madness Maze has returned. And the baby is waking up."
"Oh shit," said Hazel.
"We'll come right away," said Owen. "Try and keep a lid on things till we get there."
The Wolfling nodded, and broke contact. The viewscreen went blank, and Owen shut it down. Owen and Hazel looked at each other.
"The last time the baby awoke, it destroyed a thousand suns in a moment," said Owen. "Billions of people died as their worlds froze. If it wakes up again…"
"But what can we do about it?" said Hazel. "Sing it lullabies? Your ancestor Giles was the only one who really understood anything about the baby, and he's
dead."
"We have to try!" said Owen. "That baby is potentially a bigger threat to the Empire than Shub and all the others put together. And the Maze is back too."
"Yeah," said Hazel. "Apparently being utterly destroyed by point-blank disrupter cannon was only a temporary setback."
"Must be something to do with the Summerstone being freed from the Blood Runners' world. We have to go there, Hazel. If the Madness Maze has returned, it can't be just a coincidence that the baby's started to wake up. It means something…"
"Like what?"
"Damned if I know. But with the Maze back, maybe we can finally get some answers about just what it did to us. What we're becoming."
"I'm sorry," said the AI Ozymandius, in a voice both Owen and Hazel could hear,
"but I can't allow that."
"Oz?" said Owen, after a moment. "This is no time for
Owen and Hazel staggered onto the bridge, and collapsed into chairs, both gasping for breath. And from somewhere outside, they heard a Voice. Afterward they could never quite remember what it said or what it sounded like, only that it meant the end of all things. The Voice at the end of the universe, when all that is must come to dust, and less than dust.
"Start the stardrive!" yelled Owen, reaching desperately out to the door he'd opened to bring the Sunstrider III into the Blood Runners' world. The engines roared and the ship trembled as the door reappeared in his mind, perfect in every detail. Owen held it in place and drove the ship through it. The Voice cried out, and the world of stone disappeared forever.
The Sunstrider III sailed serenely through normal space, surrounded by stars.
Owen and Hazel remained slumped in their seats, gradually getting their breath back as their hearts slowed to something more like normal. They were back where they belonged, safe and sound, and it felt so good they were almost afraid to move or speak in case they shattered the mood. Their powers were back too, jumpstarted by the Summerstone. Not as powerful as they had once been, perhaps, but they were both confident a little time and rest would see to that. They were on a journey, to becoming something else, and they knew the changes weren't finished with them yet.
"Sorry to interrupt your collapse," Oz murmured in Owen's ear. "But you have a call coming in. And given who this is, I think you're really going to want to talk to him."
"All right," said Owen. "I'll bite. Who is it?"
"The Wolfling."
That made Owen sit up straight, despite his tiredness. No one had heard from the Wolfling in ages. "Put him on the bridge screen."
The Wolfling's head and shoulders appeared on the viewscreen, and Hazel sat up straight too. The Wolfling, last of his slaughtered kind. Older than old, possibly immortal, guardian of the Madness Maze. He had a broad, shaggy, lupine head, set on wide furry shoulders above a barrel chest. Long pointed ears stood stiffly up over rich, honey-colored fur, and he stared out of the screen with disturbingly intelligent eyes. You could see the wolf and the man in his eyes, and something less and more than both. He smiled briefly, revealing large pointed teeth.
"You must return to the Wolfling World," he said flatly, in his growling voice.
"You are needed here."
"The whole damned Empire needs us right now," said Owen. "What could be so important on your world?"
"The Madness Maze has returned. And the baby is waking up."
"Oh shit," said Hazel.
"We'll come right away," said Owen. "Try and keep a lid on things till we get there."
The Wolfling nodded, and broke contact. The viewscreen went blank, and Owen shut it down. Owen and Hazel looked at each other.
"The last time the baby awoke, it destroyed a thousand suns in a moment," said Owen. "Billions of people died as their worlds froze. If it wakes up again…"
"But what can we do about it?" said Hazel. "Sing it lullabies? Your ancestor Giles was the only one who really understood anything about the baby, and he's
dead."
"We have to try!" said Owen. "That baby is potentially a bigger threat to the Empire than Shub and all the others put together. And the Maze is back too."
"Yeah," said Hazel. "Apparently being utterly destroyed by point-blank disrupter cannon was only a temporary setback."
"Must be something to do with the Summerstone being freed from the Blood Runners' world. We have to go there, Hazel. If the Madness Maze has returned, it can't be just a coincidence that the baby's started to wake up. It means something…"
"Like what?"
"Damned if I know. But with the Maze back, maybe we can finally get some answers about just what it did to us. What we're becoming."
"I'm sorry," said the AI Ozymandius, in a voice both Owen and Hazel could hear,
"but I can't allow that."
"Oz?" said Owen, after a moment. "This is no time for
Similar Books
