Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

free of
    secrets and responsibilities. I see the toys here, and I don't know what to do with them, how to talk to them. But something in me wants to hold them, or be held by them, or just to run and chase and laugh in the sunlight, as though it's something I've always wanted, and never knew it." She stopped abruptly, unshed tears thickening her voice. Finlay put his arm round her.
    "We're here for you," said Bruin Bear. "We'll always be here for you."
    "Hell," said Toby. "Didn't anyone here have a normal childhood? Surely we didn't all come from a disfunctional Family?"
    "I had a great childhood," said Julian unexpectedly. He stopped and looked suspiciously at Flynn. "That camera is off, isn't it?"
    "Trust me," said Flynn. "I, of all people, understand the need for privacy on occasion. Speak freely."
    Julian sniffed, only half-convinced, but carried on, glancing occasionally at the camera to make sure its crimson eye wasn't glowing. His voice became clearer and warmer as he walked in memories of happier times.
    "My elder brother Auric and I were always very close, which is unusual in most Families. Normally brothers only see each other as competitors for the inheritance and control of the Clan. There can only be one inheritor. Everyone else gets the shitty end of the stick. But Auric and I hit it off, right from the beginning. He raised me, much more than any nanny or tutor. In fact, most of the time it was us against them. We had a great childhood. Did everything together. Shared our toys. Don't think we ever had a quarrel that lasted more than a few minutes.
    "As we grew older, became teenagers, our parents tried to separate us. Auric was groomed to take over the Family on our father's death. I was supposed to go into the military, to be discarded and forgotten, unless the unthinkable happened,
    and Auric died, and I had to be recalled to take his place. But we refused to be separated. We were still each other's best friend, chosen companion, brothers by choice as well as blood. Even when I discovered I was an esper.
    "Which came as something of a shock. Families guard their genetic histories very carefully, but somewhere along the line, someone slept with someone they shouldn't have, and the esper inheritance went skinny-dipping in our gene pool.
    And emerged in me. I knew I couldn't tell my parents. They'd have had me killed in a carefully arranged accident, rather than suffer the disgrace of an esper child. Espers are subhuman. Property. Always. But I knew I could tell Auric. He covered up for me, kept me alive when my shame made me feel like killing myself, and never once saw me as anything less than the brother I'd always been. When it became clear I needed training in how to use and hide my esp, he even tracked down the contacts that led me into the clone and esper underground.
    "The only time we ever argued for real was when he fell in love with BB Chojiro.
    I knew there was something wrong with her even then, but I couldn't put it into words. I thought I was just jealous of her closeness to Auric, so I put it aside and tried to be happy that she made him so happy. But in the end, we were only a small and minor House, and she was Clan Chojiro. To impress her Family, and prove his love for her. Auric went into the Arena to face the Masked Gladiator, and that bloody bastard killed him. He didn't have to. He could have just given Auric an honorable wound, and let him walk away. But instead, he stuck his sword through Auric's eye, just to show off his skill. And that was the end of my childhood."
    Evangeline squeezed Finlay's hand. Julian didn't know, must never know, that his friend and hero Finlay Campbell had been that Masked Gladiator.

    "How do you feel about the toys here?" said Evangeline, just to be saying something.
    "I can see the attractions of a place like this," said Julian. "But it's not for me. I put childhood things behind me after Auric died. I turned my back on my Family, and made the rebellion my life. I didn't have time for distractions anymore. I made a good rebel. No mission was too dangerous, too impossible for me. And then I fell in love with BB Chojiro, and my life came to an end for a second time.
    "I was so happy as a child. As though deep within me I knew it was the only happiness I would ever have."
    "That's sad," said Giles, unexpectedly. "And unnecessary. Nothing is ever really lost. The memories of good friends and good times are always there, never more than a thought away. In a