Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

done my best," Dram said cautiously. "But I'm sure you can trust Beckett to do his best, too."
    "Very good," said Valentine. "Polite but supportive, without actually meaning anything. If we survive this, you may have a bright future as a courtier."
    "I don't like leaving you here undefended," said Dram, ostentatiously ignoring
    the Wolfe.
    "Investigator Razor and Lord SummerIsle are already waiting in my antechamber,"
    said the Empress. "And there are… others on their way, too. Now get out of my sight, both of you. And don't fail me."
    "I wouldn't dare," murmured Dram, and he and Valentine Wolfe bowed low and departed. They passed Razor and Kid Death coming in, but kept their eyes carefully averted. In her present state, Lionstone might well take a warning glance as evidence of treason. Dram and the Wolfe passed through the Court's great double doors, and out of Hell, walking as fast as they thought they could get away with.
    Investigator Razor and Lord Kit SummerIsle approached the Iron Throne at a somewhat slower pace, stopped a safe distance from the maids-in-waiting, and bowed respectfully to the Empress. When they raised their heads, they were disturbed to find Lionstone smiling at them. It was truly said that the Empress was at her most dangerous when she was smiling. Her sense of humor was… not like other people's, and tended toward the vindictive. Razor and the SummerIsle stood their ground, faces carefully blank, and kept their hands well away from the weapons they'd been ordered to wear in her presence.
    "Well, well," said Lionstone lightly. "My two favorite killers. How nice. Razor, I should be angry with you. I sent you to conquer Mistworld in my name, and you failed. But it wasn't really your fault. So many people failed me on that mission, but you stayed true. And Kid Death, my smiling assassin. You brought me the young Deathstalker's head, the only good thing to come out of that debacle.
    You always brought me the nicest presents, SummerIsle. I've got it here on a spike, somewhere.
    "It is good to have you both back here with me. Good to have people around me I
    can depend on. Your duties here are simple, to protect me from any and all dangers. The odds against any of the rebels getting this far are vanishingly small, especially since I had the extra esp-blockers installed, but it seems I can no longer depend on all my people to do their duty. There are many layers of defense between my Palace and the surface, not all of them human, and I am not entirely helpless myself… but I'll feel better with you two watching over me.
    Any comments? Bearing in mind that they'd better be extremely constructive and to the point if you like your heads where they are."
    "An honor to serve Your Majesty, as always," Razor said smoothly. "I take great pride in the confidence that you have invested in me. But I feel I should point out that with my sword to guard you, I really don't see the need for the SummerIsle's presence. I am a professional fighting man of long standing. The young Lord is, at best, a gifted amateur."
    "An enthusiastic amateur with an exceptional track record has to be a better bet than a tired old man who's already been retired once," said Kit calmly. "Send this ancient obsolete away, Your Majesty. You don't need him while you've got me, and I don't want to be distracted trying to keep him alive as well as you, Your Highness."
    "You don't have to like each other," said Lionstone. "Just do your job. And don't get too close to the maids. I haven't fed them recently." She smiled fondly at her two defenders. "Don't worry, my most loyal subjects. Once this nonsense is over, and order has been restored, as it will be, I promise you both all the killing you can handle. The executions will last all day and all night, and blood will flow in the streets like tides."
    She turned away from them, ignoring their deep bows, and switched the floating
    viewscreens to the main news channels. The rebels were still shutting down military and Security comm channels as fast as new ones were set up, but they left the news channels alone. They wanted the people to see what was going on.
    All the floating screens showed a different news report, from all over Golgotha, but mainly from the Parade of the Endless, where the real fighting was. Urgent voices spilled out into the Court—loud, overlapping, almost hysterical. News of the rebellion was coming in from a hundred worlds at once, and the news stations were going