Deathstalker 01 - Deathstalker

me."
    "I had to! I knew you'd react like this."
    "What else have you been keeping from me?"
    "Nothing! There's nothing else, Finlay. Nothing at all."
    They stood for a long moment, just staring at each other. When Evangeline finally spoke again, her voice was as calm and steady as she could make it.
    "We can't stay here. I can take you down into the underground. They'll accept you if I vouch for you. The Wolfes can't follow you there. You'll be safe.
    Valentine Wolfe is a member of the underground, too."
    "So he could still come after me there. I'd be walking into a trap!"
    "No. The underground wouldn't permit it. We have very strict rules about inner conflicts. We have to, or we'd never get anything done. When you come to the underground, you leave your other life behind. We could start again, Finlay.
    Start afresh."
    "All right," said Finlay. "All right. I can't think about all this now. We'll talk some more later, assuming we have a later. What are we going to do about Robert? He's going to be here soon, with a small army of his military friends, to look after Adrienne. Your father's guards will try to stop him, and I don't think he'll be in any mood to take no for an answer. He'll fight, and there's been enough killing already. How can we get him in here? Can you override your father's commands? Will his people take orders from you?"
    "No. Daddy doesn't trust me with important decisions."
    "Then you'll have to talk to him. Call him and ask for help."
    Evangeline looked at him steadily. "You don't know what you're asking, Finlay."

    "I'm asking the woman who said she loved me for help. I know you and your father don't get on, but… look, this isn't for Adrienne. It's for me."
    "All right," said Evangeline. "I'll do it for you."
    She hugged herself tightly, so she wouldn't fly apart, and then made herself let go. Like so many times before, she had to be strong. She moved back to her dressing table and sat down, automatically adjusting her nightgown so that it fell appealingly about her. She had to look her best for Daddy. She activated her comm unit and called her father's private number. Her dressing table mirror shimmered, then cleared to form a viewscreen. Evangeline adjusted the focus so that only her head and shoulders would be seen. The screen blinked, and there was her father, sitting at his ease. He was dressed in a long flowing gown that did nothing to hide his bulk. He frowned slightly as he saw who was calling him, and his deepset eyes almost disappeared into the bulging fat of his face.
    "Evangeline, my dear, I told you I'd be with you soon. Feeling impatient, are we?"
    His voice was as fat and loathsome as he was, but she kept her face clear and serene. "I need your help, Daddy. Adrienne Campbell has turned up at my apartment, begging for help. She's the only survivor of a Wolfe attack on her Family. She's injured, and quite desperate. I allowed her to call one of her minor cousins for help, and he's on his way here with a few friends to protect her. I need you to tell the tower guards to let them in."
    The Shreck raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you and Adrienne Campbell were friends."
    "We're not close. She's a Campbell, after all. But I don't think she had anywhere else to go. Besides, I never liked the Wolfes. They've always been very rude to you."

    "Yes, they have, haven't they? But I don't know, darling. You're asking a great deal. Nothing good will come of interfering in a vendetta, and the Wolfes do seem to be winning. With the Campbells destroyed, the Wolfes will be in a very powerful position, and only a fool makes enemies he doesn't have to."
    "I'm asking you this as a special favor, Daddy."
    "Really, my dear?" The Shreck leaned forward in his chair. "And just how grateful is that?"
    "I'll wear that special outfit you like, and we can do all the things together that you like to do. I'll be your loving, obedient daughter."
    Gregor Shreck smiled. "Of course you will, my dear. Very well, I'll give orders to let the Campbell pup in. But you're going to have to be very nice to me for this, Evangeline."
    "Yes, Daddy. I know."
    She cut off the commlink and her father disappeared, replaced by her own face in the mirror's reflection. Evangeline looked at the cold determined face for a long moment and didn't recognize that person at all. That wasn't her, not the real her. But then, she'd had to do so many things that weren't really her. She turned away from the mirror and looked at Finlay