Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

Owen. You have made your Family name honorable again. I would be proud to be a Deathstalker.” She stopped talking and looked at him expectantly, and for once in his life Owen didn’t have the faintest idea what to say. He thought hard. “I knew Jacob Wolfe,” he said finally. “My father had… dealings with him. As I recall, he didn’t think much of me.”
    Constance smiled. “Jacob didn’t think much of anyone. He was a hard man. He had to be. But I knew another Jacob, the side of him he never dared show anyone else, not even his children. Perhaps especially not them. He was strong and steadfast, and he stood up for what he believed in. A lot like you, Owen.” “Hold on,” said Owen, raising both hands defensively. “If there’s one thing we should both be certain of, it’s that I am not in any way like Jacob Wolfe. I never wanted to be a warrior. I was a quiet scholar, and perfectly happy to be so, until Lionstone outlawed me. I was dragged into the rebellion, kicking and screaming all the way.”
    “Then the more honor to you that you achieved so much with such disadvantages,” said Constance demurely. “But now the rebellion is over, what are you going to do with your life? You can’t go back to being a simple scholar, not after all you’ve seen and done. The butterfly cannot become a caterpillar again. And while bounty hunting no doubt fills a present need in you, it’s not a profession to build a life on. Like it or not, you have become a symbol to many people, and they’re looking to you to provide leadership. Which means you’re going to have to enter politics. Otherwise, you could win the battle but lose the war. Surely you didn’t go through all you did just to see Lionstone replaced by something even worse?”
    “No,” said Owen. “No, I didn’t. But I’m not interested in power for myself.
    Never have been.”
    “The best kind of politician,” said Constance. “It’s the ones who want power you have to watch out for.
    This is a matter of duty, Owen, not desire. The Empire needs you.”
    “I’ve heard that so many times,” said Owen. “From so many people. But they all had very different ideas as to what I should do once I came to power. I always thought I’d be free of all that, once the rebellion was over and I’d made it clear I had no interest in the crown or the Throne. I thought I’d be free to turn my back on all the blood and death and run my own life again. I should have known better. Duty will ride on my shoulders till the day I die, like the Old Man of the Sea, who once picked up can never be put down.” “Or the red shoes,” said Constance, nodding. “They’ll make you a great dancer, but once you
    put them on, you can never take them off, and you can’t stop dancing. When I first heard that story, I decided that if that ever happened to me, I’d just have to dance as beautifully as I could. So that I’d be remembered for what I did rather than the curse that drove me. Be a politician, Owen. Be a statesman.
    Make something new and marvelous of yourself. I can advise you, guide you, introduce you to the right people. We’d make a good partnership.” “There’s more to this than your admiration for me, or your need to be free of Clan Wolfe,” said Owen suddenly. “You’re afraid of something. Something specific.
    What?”
    “Very good, Owen. You’re as sharp as everyone says. Blue Block has become the real power that the Clans answer to. They talk, and everyone listens. They make suggestions, and everyone rushes to follow them. But I don’t trust Blue Block. I don’t trust their motives. I want to be free of them. I want the Families to be free of them. But thanks to you they’re frightened and divided. The Clans need a hero to gather behind. And even after everything you’ve done, they’d accept you. They understand your argument was always with Lionstone rather than the Clans. They respect vendetta. And they’ve always understood ambition. After all, you were born and raised an aristocrat, just like them.” “No!” said Owen sharply. “I’m nothing like them. I fought to bring down not just Lionstone, but also the order that supported her. I saw the horrors and evils the Families were responsible for. I saw the awful lives the many lived so the few could sprawl in luxury.”
    “You changed. So can they. Help them. Remake them into what they could be, should be—a guiding force to run the Empire fairly, and make it strong and