Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

linked delicate minarets, and flying elves waved merrily to Diana as they flowed past her in multicolored displays. And from all around came a joined chorus of mental voices crying welcome, welcome, like a great communal embrace, like finally coming home. An almost overwhelming, seductive sense of belonging.
    She landed her gravity sled on the edge of a crowded landing pad near the center of the floating city, and bent tiredly over the controls. It had been a long, hard day, and the odds were it wasn't going to get any easier anytime soon. Her new, hard-won knowledge weighed heavily on her, a burden even more oppressive because she knew she couldn't share it with anyone; not even the Elves. Let the true nature of the Mater Mundi become widely known, and all espers would become targets, feared and hated, hunted down and destroyed because of the monster they unknowingly held within them. It had to remain secret until Diana could figure out what to do about it. Assuming she lived that long.
    She wearily raised her head to find a small group of Elves waiting to welcome her. They all wore the traditional leather-and-chains outfit, with bright
    ribbons in their hair and colors on their faces. Their muscles were sharply denned, and they all wore swords and guns on their hips. Diana wasn't impressed.
    She'd been expecting that. What did impress the hell out of her was the huge statue of herself carved from pale marble, standing tall and proud at the boundary of the landing pad. Diana looked up at her own giant face until she got a crick in her neck, and then turned an ominous stare on the Elven welcoming committee. One of them stepped forward, grinning widely, a tall, strapping brunette with a bandolier of throwing stars crossing her impressive bosom.
    "Thought you'd like it," she said easily. "That's why we had you land here.
    Welcome to New Hope, Jenny Psycho. I'm Crow Jane. Highest number of recorded kills in the great rebellion. I speak for the elf gestalt. What I hear, everyone hears."
    "How convenient," said Diana, stepping down off her sled to join Crow Jane. "So it's true then; the elves have achieved a conscious massmind?"
    "We are a small, faltering thing as yet, but we grow stronger with every day that passes. We have lost nothing in the union and gained much. We took our inspiration from you, Jenny Psycho, and the Maze people. Together we are strong, and we have sworn never to be weak again."
    "I prefer to be called Diana Vertue these days."
    Crow Jane looked at her dispassionately. "Names are important. They define us.
    You can't turn time back, undo what you have made of yourself, simply by retreating to an earlier name."
    "Jenny Psycho was only ever a part of Diana Vertue. I found Jenny too limiting, once the war was over."
    "The war is never over."
    "Why the statue of me?" said Diana, tactfully changing the subject.
    "Jenny Psycho has many admirers here," said Crow Jane, smiling again. "They call themselves the Psycho Sluts. Warriors, troublemakers, free thinkers. We're very proud of them. The cutting edge of elf philosophy. Your name has become a battle cry. They would die for you."
    "I'd much rather they lived for me," said Diana dryly. "I might need their support. I've come here looking for sanctuary. The Mater Mundi wants my head on a stick. Where would the elves stand, if they had to make a choice?"
    "We bend our knees to no one," said Crow Jane. "Not even the so-called Mother Of All Souls. The elves follow their own destiny. We are aware of the psychic upheaval that disrupted the Parade of the Endless recently. Apparently they're still trying to get frogs out of the guttering. But we are all battle espers here, in memory of the fallen Stevie Blues, and we defend our own. Stay here as long as you wish."
    She led Diana off the landing pad, and everyone relaxed a little now the formalities were over. The other Elves introduced themselves, and Diana pushed aside her bone-deep tiredness to be as gracious and charming as she could manage. The city of New Hope spread out before her, bright and colorful as a city of Christmas trees. And near and far and all around, Diana could hear in her mind the joined chorus of the Elven minds, like a great sustained chord, a harmony of souls.
    "So," said Diana to Crow Jane, making herself focus on the moment. "What else goes on here, apart from training as warriors and yelling my name when you hit things?"
    "We have much to keep us busy. We lead the field in removing the