Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

vagrant. Which made it even more surprising when a strange mental voice broke through her shields effortlessly, and told her that if she wanted to know the truth about the Mater Mundi, she should go to a particular House of Joy, on a certain day at a certain time, and all would be revealed to her.
    Who are you? Diana had asked.
    Another former manifest of the Mater Mundi, the voice had replied.
    Which had been very interesting, because according to all Diana's research, every previous manifest of Our Mother of All Souls had died, burned up by the power that blazed so very brightly within them. But the voice had found her, and pierced her shields, both of which Diana would have sworn were impossible. So she weighed her options as logically as she could, and decided to go. The odds heavily favored it being some kind of a trap, but Diana was desperate for knowledge she could use against the Mater Mundi. Something to even the odds.
    And now here she was, standing outside the front door to the House of Joy, and she found herself hesitating, almost embarrassed. The House of Joy was the single largest chain of brothels in the Empire, officially licensed and endorsed, owner of the proud motto and boast "No customer leaves unsatisfied."
    You could find anything your heart or other organs desired in a House of Joy.
    Anything at all. But there hadn't been much room for sex or love in Diana's young life. She went straight from the rigidly ruled esper academy to serve as ship's esper on the late starcruiser Darkwind. After her traumatic time on the ghostworld Unseeli, she deserted from the Fleet and gave her life to the esper underground and the rebellion. That led to her time in the esper prison Wormboy Hell, where she underwent horrors and was made over into Jenny Psycho, and first
    manifested the power and the glory of the Mater Mundi. And after that, she was more alone than ever. Not many found themselves attracted to a living saint, and a crazy one at that. And those that did were even crazier than she was.
    After the rebellion was finally over, Diana Vertue took control of her life again, only to find there wasn't much of it left. No lovers, no friends, only a few comrades of the rebellion, who all looked at her with doubtful eyes. If she were honest with herself, something she quite sensibly avoided as often as possible, Diana had to admit she had started her quest for the Mater Mundi's origins just for something to do, something to fill up the empty hours of her life. Only now she couldn't let go of the tiger's tail.
    There had been no love or lovers in Diana Vertue's life. And most of the time she preferred it that way. Loneliness wasn't so bad, once you got used to it.
    And anyway, her life was complicated enough as it was.
    She glared at the quiet, ostentatiously normal door before her, with its discreet sign. Her mouth was dry, her hands were sweating, and butterflies were playing demolition derby in her stomach. She felt almost wistful for the loss of her Jenny Psycho persona. Jenny hadn't been scared of anything. On the other hand, Jenny had been several guppies short of an aquarium, so… Diana realized she was just putting off the moment, and brought her thoughts under control. She could do this. She could. After all, she was only here for… information. She dropped her psionic cloak, and reappeared in public. She glanced casually about her, but no one seemed to be paying her any attention. Yet. She opened the door before her, and did her best to stride in like she owned the place.
    She wasn't quite sure what she'd been expecting, but the quiet, tastefully appointed lobby before her could have belonged to any successful corporate body in the city. The walls were bare, the furniture and fittings stylish but still
    pleasant to the eye, and the young woman sitting behind the main reception desk was only conventionally attractive. There was no one else in the lobby, for which Diana was quietly thankful. She strode over to the reception desk, and the young woman smiled widely at her, displaying perfect teeth.
    "Welcome to the House of Joy. Is this your first visit here?"
    "Yes," said Diana shortly.
    "Please don't be nervous. We are here only to make you happy. We guarantee complete anonymity for all our clients, and one hundred percent satisfaction or your money back. Your pleasure is our business. Now; how can we help you?"
    "I'm… looking for someone," said Diana. It occurred to her that she had no name or