Deathstalker

Hadenman city and began to discover just how much they had been changed. They all felt stronger, fitter, their thoughts unusually clear and lucid. Even the Hadenman was moved to say how well his various systems were functioning. They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to put into words what they were feeling, all of them strangely reluctant to break the mood of the moment in case it might fade away if questioned. Finally Owen shook his head slowly.

'After everything we've been through, I should be out on my feet, but I feel like I could take on an army.'

'Right,' said Hazel. 'A large army. I feel… completely revitalized. Everything seems so—'

'Sharp,' said Ruby. 'Distinct. As though the world's suddenly come into focus for the first time. And the Maze; I understand—'

'Its function. Yes,' said Random. 'I only have to look at it, and I know what its purpose is. Evolution. Transcendence. Perfection. If we were to stay in it long enough, who knows what we might become. Have you noticed we're all ending each other's sentences?'

'Yes,' said Giles. 'There's a bond. I can feel it. Like esp, but deeper, more fundamental. We've changed. We're—'

'Different,' said Moon. 'Very different. You are now more than human, and I have become more than a Hadenman. Interesting. I wonder if the rest of my people also passed through the Maze, before entering their Tomb.'

'God, I hope not,' said Owen. 'That's all Humanity needs: an army of super-evolved Hadenmen.'

'Whatever happens,' Moon said calmly, 'I think I can guarantee that in the coming rebellion, my people will not be fighting on the same side as the Empire.'

'I'm not so sure I want you on our side, either,' said Owen.

'Damn right,' said Hazel. 'You guys made yourselves really unpopular the last time around. That's what comes of having a battlecry of 'Death to Humanity.''

'Imperial propaganda,' said Moon. 'All we ever wanted was our freedom.'

'He's telling the truth,' said Random. 'I can feel it in him.'

'So can I,' said Ruby. 'It's like… seeing colors for the first time. Weird. Are we espers now, or what?'

'Definitely what,' said Owen. 'And while I believe Moon, he's been away from his people for a long time. People change. Giles, you're being very quiet. Something wrong?'

'The universe itself has changed since I last remember it,' said Giles. 'And now it seems I am undergoing fundamental changes, too. Pardon me if I find this all rather disorienting.'

'We can talk about this later,' said Hazel. 'In the meantime, how about getting the hell out of here? The Imperial forces can't be that far behind us.'

And then she stopped and looked back at the Madness Maze. They all did, their new senses triggered by & sharp premonition of danger. They heard the roar of an approaching pinnace, and then the thunder of disrupter cannon. Owen started to shout a warning, and then the whole Maze exploded in a blinding flare of sleeting energies. The rebels moved together, instinctively, and a force shield formed around them, drawn from within themselves. And not even the bartering storm of released energies could penetrate it. The force of the explosion died away, and the air slowly cleared. The Maze was gone, swept away in a moment. Where it had been, an Imperial pinnace hovered. The force field dropped, and the rebels looked around with equal parts of surprise and shock. All around them, the Hadenman city had been shattered and torn apart like a child's building blocks scattered by a storm. Buildings had toppled or collapsed or been torn apart, and there was ruin and devastation for as far as they could see. A city that had stood for so long, torn down by an uncaring hand.

'And they call my people monsters,' said Moon.

'That could have been us,' said Owen. 'By all rights, we ought to be dead.'

'Our own personal force shield,' said Hazel. 'Now that is going to come in handy.'

'Not necessarily,' said Moon, his composure restored. 'We had to draw on our own collective energy to power it. We couldn't do it separately.'

'In other words,' said Random, 'we only have the shield for as long as we stick together. You think the Maze was trying to tell us something?'

'Considering that we are currently staring down the gun barrels of an Imperial ship, I am quite prepared to listen,' said Ruby.

'Those cannon are useless until the energy crystals recharge,' said Giles. 'So their next step will be to send men out to check the ruins. And then we can show them just how powerful we have become.'

'Right,' said Hazel, her eyes lighting up at the thought. 'They don't know the kind of weapons we've got, either. This is going to be fun.'

'Hold everything,' Owen said suddenly. 'What happened to the Wolfling?'

They all stopped and looked at each other, and then around them, but there was no sign of him.

'Did anyone see him come out of the Maze?' said Random. 'I kind of lost track of things for a while.'

'Maybe… he didn't get out,' said Ruby.

'No,' said Giles immediately. 'He would have made it through. Perhaps he came out ahead of us and moved on into the city.'

They all looked at the ruins around them. Owen shook his head. 'Either way, it doesn't look too good for him, does it?

And then they were all distracted by the sound of the pinnace landing and turning off its engines. They all turned to look, hefting their weapons. A side door opened in the pinnace, a ramp lowered and men came hurrying out. There didn't seem to be too many of them, but Owen's eyes narrowed in recognition.

'Wampyr,' he said quietly.

'And that man leading them is the Lord High Dram,' said Ruby. 'Warrior Prime, and current favorite of the Iron Bitch.'

'No,' said Giles. 'That's not his name. Not his real name. I suppose it was inevitable that if I returned here, so would he.'

'What are you talking about?' said Owen. 'I recognize him. Everyone in the Empire knows who Dram is.'

'But I know who he used to be,' said Giles, and his mouth hardened into a thin, flat line. They all looked at him, but he had nothing more to say.

Wonderful, thought Owen. More secrets. And then Stelmach and his alien appeared, and Owen forgot about everything else. His mouth went dry as he looked at the creature, age-old instincts stirring the hairs on the back of his neck. It wasn't just that the alien was huge and armored, with far too many teeth and claws; Owen could feel how dangerous it was, even at such a distance. His new senses hammered in his head like an alarm. It was like seeing Death itself, walking cold and unhurried in the light of the pinnace, waiting only to be unleashed. Owen scowled. He'd never seen anything like it before, and could have done without seeing it now, but on the other hand, it had never come across anything like him, either. He was more than he was, and part of him itched for a chance to prove it in battle against a worthy opponent. He glanced at the others, who seemed equally fascinated by the alien.

'Anyone any idea what that thing is?' said Owen, trying hard to sound casual.

'Ugly,' said Hazel. 'Definitely ugly.'

'Right,' said Ruby. 'Let's kill it now, before things get hectic.'

'No,' said Owen immediately. 'We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Not yet. Let them come a little closer, in range of our guns.'

'Sound thinking,' said Random. 'I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like I could shoot the eye out of a fly's head.'

'He's right,' said Hazel. 'Look how far they are from us now, but I can see every one of them as clearly as if they were just across the room. I think if I concentrated, I could probably hear them talking.'

'The Wampyr are in for a shock,' said Ruby. 'They think they're just up against humans. They may be adjusted men, but we're the new improved version.'

'Don't start getting cocky,' said Giles. 'We're still vastly outnumbered and outgunned. An energy beam doesn't care how superior you are.'

'You're forgetting the force shield,' said Hazel. 'No, I'm not. That only works as long as we're together. What