"Simon R. Green - Deathstalker - 5 - Deathstalker Destiny" - читать интересную книгу автора (Green Simon R)

Simon R. Green - Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

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Deathstalker Destiny by Simon
R. Green
Owen Deathstalker: "I've always known I've been living on borrowed time."
Hazel d'Ark: "I never said I loved you, Owen."
Jack Randon: "Politicians. They're all dirty. Hang them all."
Ruby Journey: "Peace was just a dream."
Prophecy of a young esper: "I see you, Deathstalker. Destiny has you in its clutches, struggle how you
may. You will tumble an Empire, see the end of everything you ever believed in, and you'll do it all for a
love you'll never know. And when it's over, you'll die alone, far from friends and succour."
This is the end of the story. And it starts now.



CHAPTER ONE
Blood Debt
It was still raining on Lachrymae Christi. The tears of God. Owen Deathstalker hadn't shed a single tear
since the Blood Runners abducted Hazel d'Ark. To cry would be to give in to his fear and desperation,
and he couldn't afford to be weak. He had to be strong, ready to seize any chance that might get him off
this damned planet and onto Hazel's trail. He had to be strong, for her. So he put a lid on his despair, and
clamped it down hard with never-ending work, and never once allowed himself to entertain the possibility
that Hazel d'Ark might already be dead.
It had been two weeks since Hazel was taken, and Owen had hardly slept since. He sat exhausted on the
bare ground of the Mission compound, head hanging forward, sweat dripping off his face. He'd been
working hard since first light, distracting himself with the simple everyday problems of rebuilding the
devastated Mission, but he was only human, these days, and his body would only take so much
punishment before forcing him to rest. And then he would sit, and brood, and squeeze his eyes shut
against the visions his mind conjured up of what the Blood Runners might be doing to Hazel, until he
couldn't stand it anymore, and would dive back into the distraction of work, whether he was ready or not.

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A leper approached him hesitantly, anonymous in the usual gray cloak and pulled-forward hood. He
offered Owen a cup of wine, in a gray gloved hand that only shook a little. Owen accepted it with a nod,
and the leper backed quickly away, bowing respectfully. The Mission's surviving lepers had seen Owen
blow away an army of attacking Grendels, like leaves in a scorching breeze, all by the power of his mind.
They had seen him stand against overwhelming forces, and refuse to retreat. He was their savior, and they
were all very much in awe of him.
They didn't know he was only human now. They didn't know he'd burned out all his Maze-given powers,