Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

He screamed, and a jet of flame shot out of his distended mouth. Diana backed farther away from the blazing butter-yellow flames, coughing and choking on the awful smell. Varnay staggered blindly after her, fire-wrapped arms reaching out to her for help she couldn't give. Horribly, he was still alive and aware as the flames devoured him inch by inch. His mind was screaming louder than his voice, and Diana had to use all her shields to keep him out.
    He was between Diana and the only exit, and there was nothing she could do to
    save him, so she did the only merciful thing she could, for both their sakes.
    Her powerful mind leapt out in a single vicious thrust, and snuffed out the single bright spark that was his mind. The empty body fell, still burning, to the floor. Diana ran to the door and pulled it open. Behind her she could hear the Mater Mundi screaming in frustrated rage. Diana's right sleeve burst into flames.
    She ran through the House of Joy, and the Mater Mundi pursued her, howling with the voice of a million sleepwalking espers. Diana flung out her own mind like a net, gathering up the raging thoughts and emotions and passions around her, and threw them at the Mater Mundi. All the dark murky waters of desire, of naked lust, of flesh on flesh, of fantasies fulfilled and denied, rose up into a thick boiling cloud, and the Mater Mundi couldn't see through it to find Diana. She snuffed out her burning sleeve, and ran on through the empty corridors of the House of Joy, and out into the street. She kept running. There was still hope.
    There was still New Hope.
    Once, the floating city of New Hope had been a symbol of reconciliation between man and esper and clone. The three strains of Humanity had lived together in peace and harmony, a living symbol, hoping to build together something far greater than the sum of its parts. But the Empress grew afraid, or jealous, or simply angry at the flouting of her authority, and sent Lord High Dram the Widowmaker and his death squads to destroy New Hope. The attack sleds came howling in out of the sun, unannounced and unexpected, hundreds of disrupter cannon firing in unison. The city's defenses were quickly swept aside, and the attack sleds landed in waves, discharging Dram's elite guards. They overran the outnumbered defenders and swept through the streets of New Hope, killing everything in their path. And when the attack was over, the shattered city hung
    smoking in the air like a giant blackened cinder, and nothing and no one lived there anymore, least of all hope.
    After the rebellion, the Esper Liberation Front rebuilt the city and made it their own. Officially, the Elves had given up terrorism now that the war was over, and the old order was thrown down, but they remained as suspicious and determined as ever. No one would ever take their freedom away again. To that end, they lived a quiet life on their floating city, behind extensive fortifications and more weapon systems than you'd find on an average starcruiser. They declared themselves a state within a state, separate and sovereign, and defied anyone to do anything about it. New Hope was a haven for the distressed and the needy, be they esper, clone, or human. They didn't take just anyone, and you didn't try to force your way in if you ever wanted to be seen again. Parliament had settled for ignoring them. It seemed safest.
    Diana Vertue ran for the city of New Hope with an invisible horde at her heels, and decided she'd worry about how to get in when she got there. If she ever got there. The moment she left the House of Joy, a psistorm of incredible power arose, and pursued her down the street. Every esper was her enemy now, though none knew why. Just the sight of Diana filled their hearts with rage, and they lashed out at her with all their many powers, their individual consciousnesses pushed aside for the moment by the greater massmind of the Mater Mundi.
    Telepathic assaults slammed against Diana Vertue's shields, and polters rained down hails of junk and refuse and anything else they could lift. A set of cast-iron railings came crashing down behind her like so many iron thunderbolts.
    Fires sprang up spontaneously all around her. Men and women threw themselves at her, but her shields kept them at bay. The air was full of screams. Innocent
    bystanders fell back to give Diana plenty of room as she ran on.
    She was running nowhere in particular now, just trying to shake off her pursuers. But there were so many of