Deathstalker by Simon R. Green Read Free Book Online

mouth.
    “Damn,” she said thickly. “You’ve killed me, Owen.”
    “Yes, I think I have. Why, Cathy? Why did you do it?”
    “You’ve been outlawed. The news came through while Iwas getting your drink. All your titles, lands, properties, and monies have been seized. It’s death to shelter or aid you. Anyone who brings your head, preferably unattached to the body, to the Imperial Court on Golgotha will be rewarded with the Lordship of Virimonde and half your monies. Somebody really wants you dead, Owen.”
    She cleared her throat and spat, and there was more blood. Owen held her tightly.
Outlawed?
He tried to make sense of it and couldn’t. In the space of a few moments, his whole world had gone mad. Cathy coughed painfully and gritted her teeth against the blood. Her hands tightened on his arms, and he held her until the spasm passed. He didn’t know what else to do.
    “Something else you should know, Owen.” Her voice was low and blurred now, and he had to concentrate to make it out. “I’m a spy. From the Imperial Court. They planted me on you, all those years ago. I’ve been feeding them information ever since.”
    “Hush, love. Don’t tire yourself. I know. I’ve always known. It doesn’t matter.”
    Cathy looked at him. “You knew? And you never said anything?”
    “What was there to say? My AI broke your cover right after you moved in with me. He’s good at things like that. I never did anything about it because it was easier to have a spy I knew about, and could keep an eye on, than have to identify and deal with whoever replaced you. And besides, I was fond of you.”
    “I was fond of you,” said Cathy quietly. “I never did have a head for business.”
    She leaned forward till her head was resting on his shoulder, shuddered slightly, and stopped breathing. Owen held her in his arms as the life went out of her, and then sat quietly with her, rocking her gently like a sleeping child. After a while he let go and laid her out on the floor. She seemed somehow smaller and more fragile now. He looked down at himself and grimaced at her blood and his on his skin. He picked up his shift from the floor and mopped at himself with it. He started to put it on, and then let it drop to the floor again. Nothing seemed to matter much now. The crackling of the flames from his burning bed caught his attention, and he thought vaguely that he should call someone to dosomething about it. He activated his comm implant, removed the Do Not Disturb and accessed his home’s AI.
    “Ozymandius …”
    “Shut up and listen,” said his AI. “You’re in a lot of trouble, Owen. You’ve been outlawed, and there’s a hell of a price on your head.”
    “I know.”
    “So does your head of security. He’s on his way to you right now, with as many guards as he could muster, with the explicit intention of separating your head from your shoulders. You never did pay him enough. You’ve got to get out of there, now.”
    “Cathy just tried to murder me. I had to kill her.”
    “I’m sorry, Owen, but we don’t have time for this. Everyone in the Standing is probably heading for you with murder on their mind. You don’t have any friends here anymore. Use the hidden exit, make your way through the secret passages and get to your private flyer. By the time you’ve done that, I should have a clearer picture of what’s going on, and just possibly I’ll have worked out what you should do next.”
    Owen padded over to the bedroom door, opened it slightly and peered out into the corridor. There was no one there, but he thought he could hear someone in the distance, drawing closer. He shut the door and locked it, and then walked back to pick up his clothes. He dressed quickly, ignoring the blood on his shirt and skin. Whatever happened, he was damned if he was going to face it naked.
    “Oz, why have I been outlawed? It doesn’t make sense. I left the court and came here precisely because I wanted to avoid getting involved