Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

starting to believe."
    "But it was only a few weeks ago that they tried to murder the King with a transmutation bomb!"
    "The Church and the Neumen have disowned him. A lone nut, apparently. Poor bastard died for nothing. The cause has a new spokesman now; the Angel of Madraguda."
    "I never liked him," Jesamine said immediately. "Met him once, at a charity do. He had sweaty hands and piggy little eyes, and kept looking at my breasts while he was talking to me. Talked a lot, but never really said much. I've met his sort before. Out for what he can get, that one. But I never knew him to have any political ambitions, or connections . . ."
    "Well he has now," said Lewis. "In fact, he's bigger than ever now. You can't turn on the vid without him being there, saying awful, hateful things in that calm and reasonable voice of his. The trouble is, he's saying what a lot of people want to hear; that they're better than the aliens. And that they have a right to change things, by force if necessary ... The only thing more dangerous than an angry mob is an angry mob with an agenda. That isn't just a demonstration out there; they're headed somewhere. Somewhere specific. I think I'd better call in . . ."
    Jesamine shuddered. "I hope there aren't any aliens out on the streets just now ... if things do get out of hand . . ."
    They stood together, shoulder to shoulder before the steelglass window, watching the demonstration
    pass by. There seemed no end to it, hundreds and hundreds of cold-faced men and women, chanting their horrid doctrines in harsh, angry voices. Jesamine shuddered again, and I Lewis put his arm around her shoulders. And then he turned slowly to look at Jesamine, almost despite himself, and she turned to look at him. Their faces were very close now, and drawing closer every moment, until they could feel each other's breath on their lips and in their mouths. They looked into each other's eyes and could not look away, as the angry passions outside somehow fed the simple shared passion inside. Their breathing quickened, becoming deeper, heavier. Their eyes locked, saying everything they hadn't said while sitting at their table. In the end, it didn't matter who moved first. They pressed urgently against each other, holding each other fiercely, as though someone might tear them apart, and they kissed with a lifetime's passion.
    When they finally broke apart, they were panting for breath. Lewis tried to say something, and couldn't.
    He turned his head aside, and Jesamine tightened her grip on him. Lewis looked back at her, and their eyes locked again. They were both trembling.
    "We can't do this," said Lewis. "We can't. It's wrong. Douglas is my friend!"
    "Hell," said Jesamine. "He's my fiance. I'm going to marry him."
    "Do you love him?"
    "Yes. No. I don't know! It's complicated."
    "Not for me," said Lewis.
    In the end, because she'd always been the practical one, Jesamine found the strength to let go first. She put her hands on Lewis's armored chest and pushed him back, and he stumbled a little, as though she'd hit him. But she couldn't have moved him unless he'd let her, and they both knew it. They were still staring into each other's eyes. They were still breathing hard. Their hands trembled at their sides, as though desperate to reach out again.
    "I don't know what to do," Lewis said finally. "I've never felt like this before."
    "Never?" said Jesamine. "Haven't you ever been in love before?"
    "No," said Lewis. "There's only ever been me. And Douglas."
    "Hush," said Jesamine, and raised a hand to touch his mouth with her fingertips.
    Lewis turned his head away. He looked out across the tea room, and that was when he saw Anne Barclay, standing there, watching him with Jesamine. And Lewis just knew, from the expression on her face, that she'd been watching for some time.
    "Anne?" he said, though his voice didn't sound like his at all. "What are you doing here?"
    Jesamine looked around sharply and saw Anne, but apart from a slight widening of her eyes, her face betrayed nothing at all.
    "What am I doing here?" said Anne, advancing on the two of them with the inevitability of destiny. "More to the point, what the hell are you two doing here? No; don't say it, Lewis. Whatever you were about to say, it would only have been a lie, and you never were any good at that. And I really don't have the time
    or the patience to stand here and listen to you stutter. I came here looking for you. You're needed back at Parliament, both of