Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

not going to do things like that anymore. I never did approve of Blue Block. Two-faced, underhanded…
    they take all the fun out of killing. I've been doing a lot of thinking recently. About what David said and did on Virimonde. I don't think he'd approve of my working for cold-blooded creatures like you. And Robert… reminds me a lot of David. My lovely Deathstalker. So; Blue Block either agrees to leave Robert and Constance alone, or I'll declare war on the whole damned organization.
    Starting with you two. Right here, right now."
    There was a short, charged silence. Brendan swallowed audibly. "Chantelle; I think he means it."
    "You can't defy Blue Block," Chantelle said numbly to the SummerIsle. "We're everywhere."
    Kid Death smiled his killer's smile, and Chantelle had to look away. Brendan's face had gone white, and he clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking.
    "Game, set, and match to me, I think," said Robert, relief rushing through him like an incoming wave, washing away his tension. He laughed shortly, feeling almost light-headed. "Lord SummerIsle, I hereby invest you as Warrior Prime to the Empire, and my official Champion. Your duty will be to identify and eliminate all threats to the Empire. Very definitely including Blue Block."
    "Official killer," said the SummerIsle. "I like it."
    "You can't make a psychopath like him Warrior Prime!" protested Brendan, honestly shocked.
    "He may be a psychopath, but he'll be my psychopath," said Robert. "Cardinal,
    Chantelle; I don't think we have anything else to discuss. You played your hand, and I have trumped it with Kid Death. Cardinal, I need you to perform the ceremony, so you get to stick around. With Kid Death at your side to keep you in order, of course. After the wedding… I'll have the Elves take you somewhere private, and you can tell them everything you know about Blue Block. Chantelle, your services here today are no longer required. You may leave now. Arresting you here and now would be a scandal momentous enough to mean putting off the wedding for another day, and I'm damned if I'm going through all this again. So I'll give you a head start. If I were you, I'd start running right now."
    Chantelle was breathing hard, her eyes fixed on his. "It's not that easy," she said viciously. "You're still Blue Block. And that means I own you, body and soul. Hey, Robert. We all come home."
    The long-implanted control words smashed through Robert's head like thunder, and he cried out in anguish as once again all self-control and will were swept away on the overpowering tide of his conditioning. His back snapped straight, his head came up, and his face was utterly blank. He looked at Chantelle with empty eyes, and his mouth spoke someone else's words. "Activation code acknowledged.
    Request status confirmation."
    "Hundred Hands confirmed!" Chantelle snapped, her face almost crimson with rage.
    "Kill the SummerIsle! Do it now!"
    Robert drew his ceremonial sword. It was a bright and shiny thing with a jeweled hilt, designed almost entirely for show, but it had a point and an edge, and it would serve. Robert looked at Kid Death, who'd already drawn his sword. Robert started unhurriedly toward his designated target, and Chantelle laughed unpleasantly, a harsh and ugly sound.
    "What will you do now, Kid Death? If you don't defend yourself, Robert will kill
    you. But if you kill him, the whole Empire will come together to hunt you down.
    What will you do now, SummerIsle?"
    Kid Death smiled his killer's smile and lunged forward, impossibly quickly. He ducked under Robert's automatically extended sword, the blade cutting away a chunk of his hair, and then his shoulder slammed into Robert's exposed gut. The impact of the collision threw them both to the floor, and while Robert lay curled around his hurt, trying to force air back into his lungs, the SummerIsle turned his fall into a forward roll and was quickly back on his feet, facing Chantelle. She drew a hidden dagger from her sleeve. Kid Death slapped it out of her hand, pushed her back against the wall hard enough to make her eyes roll up for a moment, and then put the edge of his sword against her throat. She froze in place, glaring at him over the threatening blade. Brendan started to move forward, but the SummerIsle stopped him with a look.
    "Now," said Kit SummerIsle, entirely unruffled and not even breathing fast,
    "release Robert from the control words, Chantelle, or I'll kill you."
    "You wouldn't