Deathstalker Honor

got something like psychokinesis. But how the hell do you do what you do? What are these different versions of yourself that you're able to summon up during a fight?'

'Damned if I know,' said Hazel. 'I just call, and they come. None of them ever stuck around long enough afterward to answer questions. Giles thought they were other versions of me from different time tracks—people I might have become if things had gone differently.'

'Yeah, but time tracks are just a theory,' said Owen. 'No one's ever been able to prove the existence of different dimensions, let alone make contact with them. Maybe the other yous are just products of your imagination, made real by the power within you.'

'No way,' said Hazel firmly. 'I've seen some of these other mes. I don't have that good an imagination.'

'Yes, but…'

'Owen, I don't know! And this is not the time or the place to be having a discussion. Now, stop asking questions and get your ass in gear, or I'll get behind you and kick your butt all the way up.'

Owen considered this. 'You would, wouldn't you?'

'Damn right. Now, shift it.'

They climbed the rest of the way in silence, eventually coming to the great circular opening in the granite wall that led to the massive caves burrowed out under the Standing. Owen used to keep his personal flyers and other vehicles there when he was in residence. It made sense to assume that Valentine and his cronies had docked their ships in the caves too, which meant the opening would still be clear. And Owen knew of a secret passage that led directly from the main cave to the master bedroom.

'A secret passage?' Hazel had said.

'Oh, yes. I used it to escape from the castle when my people first turned on me.'

'And no one but you knows about it?'

'It's a Family secret. The only other person I ever told was David, and he's dead now.'

They moved silently up to the lip of the opening and clung to the cold stone, still as limpets, as they listened for any sign that their presence had been noted. After a while Owen gestured to Hazel that he was going to move up over the ledge and into the cave opening. She nodded, and he took a deep breath, steadying himself. Theoretically, there could be any number of armed guards present, looking after the parked ships, but it didn't seem likely. By any normal standards, the caves were unreachable. Unfortunately for Valentine, Owen and Hazel hadn't been in hailing distance of normal for some time now. Owen took a firm grip on the granite ledge, and hauled himself up and over and into the cave in one swift, fluid motion. He was up on his feet in a second, disrupter in hand, searching for a target, but all was quiet. Four luxurious yachts stood together, powered down, along with a handful of single-man flyers, but otherwise the place was deserted. Not a guard in sight. Owen padded stealthily forward, ears pricked for the slightest sound, but all he could hear was his own breathing. He lowered his gun and breathed a little more easily.

'All clear, Hazel.'

She was with him in a moment, hurrying across the ceramic floor to stand beside him, projectile gun in one hand, grenade in the other. She glared suspiciously about her. 'There ought to be someone here. It doesn't make sense to leave expensive ships like these just standing around unguarded.'

'Who's going to steal them?' said Owen reasonably. 'Valentine and his private army are the only people here.'

'What about security cameras?'

'Oz still has secret access codes for all the castle's security computers. Right now he's editing their signals so we don't appear. This was all covered in the planning sessions. Hazel. I do wish you'd attend the briefings.'

'What, and do you out of the fun of explaining everything to me? You'd never forgive me.' She turned slowly around in a circle, checking the corners and shadows. 'I still don't like this. It's too easy. If I was as guilty of as many nasty things as Valentine, I'd want all my exits and entrances thoroughly guarded.'

'He's probably relying on the security systems. I did install the very best. And those souped-up satellites of his would hold off any normal ship.'

'I've been thinking about that,' said Hazel. 'What if they reported opening fire on us?'

'What if they did? After the onslaught they handed out, they probably assumed we were so damaged we burned up during the descent.'

'You keep using that word probably. There's nothing very probable about Valentine Wolfe. He's paranoid as hell; he doesn't think the way the rest of us do.'

'Hazel, trust me. This is my place, I know what I'm doing. Now, please put away that gun and grenade before you have an unfortunate and very loud accident. I want to take a look around here.'

'What's there to see?' said Hazel. 'It's just a cave.'

'The first of several caves,' said Owen, carefully not watching as Hazel made the gun and grenade disappear about her person. 'When I was in charge here, we used the extra caves to store all the items there wasn't room for in the Standing proper. When a Family's been around for as long as mine, you'd be amazed how much junk you accumulate. And of course you don't dare throw any of it out for fear of future generations calling you a barbarian. Because you never know when some piece of centuries-old tatt might suddenly become fashionable again, or might come in handy to settle some ancient Family feud or argument. I used to display the best pieces in the castle itself and dump the rest in the caves down here. It's all carefully catalogued. Somewhere. David said he was going to have a good clear-out once he moved in, but I don't think he had time, in the end. Either way, I'll feel better once I've checked. I don't like surprises.'

He moved off toward the back of the cave. Hazel rolled up her eyes briefly at the polished ceiling, and went after him, giving the parked yachts plenty of room in case they were armed with proximity alarms. In the end, Owen didn't get far. He stood before the entrance to the next cave, which was now blocked off by a glowing force field. He was standing very still, and Hazel could tell by the tenseness in his stance that something was very wrong. She hurried over to join him, the gun back in her hand again. She moved in beside him and then stopped, and screwed up her face in disgust. Beyond the transparent energy field the cave was packed from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling with dead bodies. Not respectfully lying in state, on separate slabs or tables, but just crammed together, packed in as tightly as possible. A temperature gauge on the wall by the opening showed that a freezer unit was maintaining the bodies at near zero. Some of the faces looked out at Owen and Hazel, an almost lifelike gleam shining from the frost on their frozen eyeballs.

'Well,' Owen said finally. 'Now we know what they did with the bodies.'

'Owen…'

'Not now. I want to check the other caves.'

And so they went from cave to cave, from opening to opening, and they were all filled to capacity with the refrigerated dead of Virimonde. Owen tried to estimate how many bodies there were, but even guessing at the massive size of the caves, he couldn't grasp it. The numbers were just too big. He stopped before the opening to the last cave, and couldn't go any farther. All the strength just went out of him. Hazel stood beside him and put a comforting hand on his arm, but he hardly felt it.

'I feel like I ought to do something,' he said quietly. 'But I don't know what. They were my people. They're still my people. Even if they are dead. But I don't know what to do.'

His hands had clenched into helpless fists. Hazel moved in close beside him, trying to support and comfort him by her proximity.

'I don't suppose this means much to you,' said Owen. 'After all, you were a clonelegger.'

'I never saw the bodies,' said Hazel. 'But sometimes I had nightmares… Why do you suppose Valentine…?'

'Who knows why Valentine does anything anymore?'

Hazel hesitated, hearing the cold, bitter rage beneath his words, but pressed on. 'The Wolfe's crazy, but there's always a method to his madness. He must have had a reason. Or else why bother refrigerating them?'

'Knowing Valentine, it's probably a very disturbing reason.' Owen let his breath out in a long sigh, and his fists unclenched. 'I say we find the bastard and ask him. And if I don't like his answers, I'm going to bounce him off the castle walls till his ears bleed.'

'Sounds like a plan to me,' said Hazel.

Owen led the way to the back of the flyer cave, and opened a hidden door in the wall to reveal a narrow