“You’re welcome to stay here, if you wish,” said Carrion to the Investigator. “The song is strong in you. I could teach you the ways of the Ashrai, open your mind to wonders you’ve never dreamed of. There are treasures of the soul here, just waiting for you to discover them.”
“No thanks,” said Frost. “Aliens are for killing. It’s time to go, Captain.”
“Yes,” said Silence. “I think it is.”
Diana came over to see what they were talking about, and looked confusedly from one silent face to another. “Captain … before we go back to the pinnace, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, esper. What is it?”
“Why do you call the AI Odin?”
“Because he has only one eye,” said Silence. Carrion was the only one who smiled. Diana and Frost just looked at each other blankly.
“Don’t they teach mythology in the Empire anymore?” said Carrion.
“Not much,” said Silence. “A lot of it’s been censored, or adjusted. Our superiors thought it might give people ideas. Dangerous things, ideas.”
“Then perhaps it’s time we made some new myths,” said Carrion. “We’ve started one here, today. A hundred years from now, who we are and what we did will be part of the history books. And how much of us, the real us, will they remember? Or be allowed to remember. But truth lives on, through myths and legends, and our four ghosts will haunt the Empire long after we’ve gone.”
He nodded once to each of them, and strode off into the thickening mists, disappearing finally into the glowing metallic forest of Unseeli.
Table of Contents
Cover
Other Book by this Author
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter One: Something in the Storm
Chapter Two: Ghosts
Chapter Three: Looking for Answers
Chapter Four: Carrion
Chapter Five: Ghost in the Machine
Chapter Six: Inside Base Thirteen
Chapter Seven: Guardians
Chapter Eight: Down in the Darkness
Chapter Nine: Unexpected Complications
Chapter Ten: Friendships and Loyalties
Chapter Eleven: All the Ghosts Come Home To Roost
Ghostworld (Deathstalker Prelude) Page 19
