'Right,' said Bonnie. 'The Iron Bitch and her Fleet made us pay heavy for our victory.'
'You see, Owen,' said Hazel gently. 'You did do the right thing, after all.'
'Only if we can put a stop to whatever they're doing now,' said Owen. He wasn't ready to forgive himself yet, but he did take some small comfort from the thought of how badly things might have gone without his Hadenmen allies. He pointed out the four manual controls on the metal seal, and the four of them slowly cranked the massive weight open. Once the heavy bolts had withdrawn, the seal swung open remarkably easily. They left it standing open, just in case they had to make a sudden retreat in a hurry, and then Owen led the way into the narrow brick tunnel beyond. Within a few minutes they came to a simple steel grill set into the tunnel ceiling, through which light from above shone down in rigid shafts, cutting cleanly through the green haze of the sewer. The four of them clustered beneath the grill, but could see nothing beyond.
'We must be right under the street,' said Hazel. 'Somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Want to pop up and take a look?'
Owen thought about it. 'How far are we from where you entered the system the last time?'
'Miles,' said Hazel. 'Well within the city proper.'
'We go up,' said Owen. 'Less chance of Hadenmen this far out. Stand back while I do the honors.'
The metal grill gave easily under Owen's hand, and Hazel gave him a boost up through the opening. He pulled himself up and out into the street, and looked quickly about him, eyes squeezed up against the light. The street was empty, and utterly quiet. Owen gave the all-clear, and took a closer look around as the others clambered up into the street to join him. They made a lot of noise, but there was no one there to hear it. No one at all.
The green-tinted haze drifted up out of the opening, slowly dispersing. Hazel kicked the grill back into place. All four of them took deep, satisfying breaths of the clear, slightly chilly city air as they looked around them, getting the vile stench of the sewers out of their mouth and nose. Owen and Hazel hadn't actually gotten around to telling Midnight and Bonnie that the green air was poisonous, and since they were still alive and well, there didn't seem much point now. They stamped their boots on the ground, trying to shake off the worst of the thick black gunk they'd been treading through, but were only partially successful. And yet despite all the noise they'd made, still no one came to investigate. Owen gave up trying to hush the others, and went back to looking about him.
They'd emerged right on the edge of Brahmin City, in an area apparently as yet untouched by the Hadenmen modifications. The buildings were just buildings, and there was no trace anywhere of the shimmering Hadenmen tech. The street was deserted, empty, with not a sound anywhere, nothing to show that people had ever been there. And despite the gathering evening, none of the street lamps had come on.
'Damn, this is spooky,' said Hazel. 'There ought to be someone about. Somebody working. I mean, cities don't run themselves.'
'Human cities don't,' said Owen. 'There isn't even anyone looking out the windows. Even the most oppressed and subservient captives ought to have enough gumption left to peek out their windows to see what's going on.'
'Want me to kick in a few doors?' said Bonnie.
'Not for the moment, thank you,' said Owen. 'We're here to rescue people, not terrorize them.'
'It must be getting dark inside those houses,' said Midnight. 'But no one's put on any lights yet.'
'Maybe it's forbidden,' said Hazel.
'Maybe there's no one home,' said Owen. 'Maybe they've all been… taken somewhere.'
'I'll tell you something else,' said Midnight, after they'd all thought about that one for a while. 'There's no transport running anywhere near here. We'd hear it if there was. Wherever we're going, we'll have to get there on foot.'
'We can do that,' said Hazel. 'It's not that big a city.'
'Hold everything,' said Owen. 'When I first suggested a spy run into Brahmin City, I had in mind something a little more surreptitious than just strolling around in broad daylight.'
'Owen,' said Hazel, 'there's no one here to see us. And I for one have no intention of going back into that sewer for anything short of incoming fire. And pretty damn heavy fire at that. As long as we keep our ears and eyes open, no one's going to be able to sneak up on us in this quiet.'
'I hate it when you're right,' said Owen. 'Okay, let's take a little walk, see if we can find someone to answer a few pointed questions. Weapons at the ready, people, but don't open fire unless you have to. We're good, but I'm not sure even we could take out a whole army of Hadenmen. Personally, I'd still like to get in and out of this city without being spotted, but if we have to make contact with the Hadenmen, I still favor trying some kind of negotiation. Maybe we can make them see that even they can't take on the whole Empire, even if it is weakened at present.'
'Good luck,' said Hazel. 'You're going to need it.'
Owen sniffed, and set off down the street. Midnight moved quickly after him, and slipped her arm chummily through his so they could walk together. Owen looked a little embarrassed, but didn't try to pull away. Partly because he didn't want to be rude and upset her, and partly because he wasn't entirely sure Midnight would let him. She had a particularly muscular arm. Hazel and Bonnie strolled after them, both smiling at Owen's discomfiture.
'Is your Owen as much a stuffed shirt?' said Hazel.
'Some,' said Bonnie. 'But I've been working on him. He's loosened up a lot since we got married. What's your Owen like between the sheets?'
'We… haven't made that kind of commitment yet,' said Hazel.
'What's commitment got to do with it?' said Bonnie. 'I'm talking about sex, not love. Hell, I bedded my Owen less than twenty-four hours after I first met him. He was so cute… I couldn't keep my hands off his aristocratic ass. And men are always so much more reasonable when they're getting their ashes hauled regularly. Try it.'
'I'll bear it in mind,' said Hazel.
'So,' said Owen to Midnight. 'What was your Owen like?'
'A hero, though he never wanted to be,' said Midnight. 'Impulsive, hardheaded, and too damn brave for his own good. He never cared about the odds; as long as it was for the cause, he'd jump right in with both feet and cut down anything that moved. A warrior, like all his Family.'
'Doesn't sound a lot like me,' said Owen. 'I only fought when I had to, when there was no other way.'
'My Owen… faced a harder fight than you. Our war was long and hard, and brought out the beast in all who fought in it. My Owen was a man of blood and destiny, who stormed through the battlefield in search of slaughter, grinning like a wolf. He lived for combat, never happier than when snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. He liked the long odds. He said they helped to even out the advantages the Maze had given him. The Deathstalker was always an honorable man, in his way. We had whole planets to avenge, and we knew nothing of mercy anymore. War was hell, and so we made ourselves into demons. We were warriors then, and life was so simple. If only the rebellion had never ended. We could have been happy forever.'
They walked on in silence for a while. Midnight had said all she had to say, and Owen was damned if he knew what to say in reply. He knew what she meant, about the beast. He'd felt it stir within him, the blood-drenched rage that cared nothing for causes or honor, that lived only for the knife-edge adrenaline rush of the battlefield. But he'd always fought it down, because he was a scholar, not a warrior; a man, not a beast. He wondered if Midnight's Owen had been very different from him, if he wore the mark of the beast openly, with pride. Or if they could have looked upon each other and seen only their own face looking back. Owen shivered suddenly. He often wondered how much the rebellion had changed him, whether it had turned him despite his wishes into the vicious warrior his Family had always wanted. But now it seemed he could have gone much further down that road than he had. Just as Midnight Blue was the perfect fighting machine Hazel might have become if things had been different.
'You don't approve, do you?' said Midnight suddenly. 'I can tell.'
'Our lives… have followed very different paths,' said Owen. 'God knows I've done enough shameful things in my time. I don't judge anyone anymore. I don't have the right.'
Midnight withdrew her arm from his. 'You're not my Owen. He always judged, sorting the guilty from the innocent. And he was always right. There's no room for indecision in a warrior, no place for shades of gray on a battlefield. No room for weaknesses in a love like ours.'
She increased her pace and walked on alone. After a while Bonnie Bedlam strode past Owen to join her fellow alternate, pausing only to drop Owen a wink as she passed. Owen managed a small smile. Hazel moved up alongside him.
