Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

reach the Deathstalker. She was frowning just a little, as though considering some straightforward but distasteful problem. She moved in behind Lewis to guard his back, and he didn't even notice she was there.
    He strode through the crowd, cutting down anyone stupid enough to get in his way, glaring about him with cold predator's eyes as he tried to spot the people still whipping up the mob's passions with just the right inflammatory words. When he could get a clear line, he shot them cleanly with his disrupter, but most of them saw him coming and hurried to hide themselves in the body of the crowd. And then, when there was no clear shot, Lewis would shoot through other people to be sure of hitting his target. He wasn't a Paragon or even a Champion now; he was a Deathstalker, avenging his fallen friends and comrades; and he would consider all the terrible things he had done later, when he could allow himself to feel again.
    And yet all the time he was fighting and killing, one part of him was still thinking fiercely, racking his brains for some other alternative; searching desperately for some other way to stop the violence, the madness. Some way to bring the mob under control without having to kill so many of them.
    But there was no other way. No tanglefields here, no sleepgas. Nothing but blood and slaughter. And his duty. His duty as a Paragon, as a Champion, as a Deathstalker; to defend Parliament. To try and keep the mob occupied, until the army could arrive. Even if it meant his life.
    And then a voice called out his name, urgent and wracked with pain, somehow cutting through the din of the riot. Lewis looked around sharply, and there on the edge of the crowd, a man had fallen on his knees, one hand extended pleadingly. He called out again, begging for help, and Lewis went to him. Because for Lewis rescuing the victims had always been more important than punishing the guilty. The crowd seemed to scatter before him, and no one blocked his way as he left the riot behind him. Emma Steel tried to follow him, but the crowd closed between her and Lewis, and would not part for her, and soon she was fighting for her life against attacks that came from every direction. Lewis never knew, intent on reaching
    the man before him. He holstered his gun and put out a hand to the kneeling man, hauling him to his feet.
    Up close, he didn't seem to be injured.
    "Who are you?" Lewis said harshly.
    "I'm Brett," said Brett Random. "And you need to get me away from here. I got caught up in the riot and couldn't get away. You need to get me to safety."
    "Yes," said Lewis. "I need to get you out of here."
    Brett gritted his teeth against the headache that was all but blinding him, as he concentrated his limited esp on influencing the Deathstalker. It was hard, keeping a grip on the Champion's mind. It threatened constantly to pull out of his grasp, fighting fiercely against something it didn't even know was there. Brett persevered, knowing what Finn Durandal would do to him if he failed. He took Lewis by the arm, and guided him away down the side street, leaving the riot behind. The Deathstalker went, scowling as he tried to figure out why, and neither he nor Brett noticed the single camera that floated curiously after them.
    Brett stumbled as his headache increased, and almost fell. He could feel the Deathstalker pulling free of his control. And then Rose Constantine stepped smiling out of the shadows with her sword in her hand, and Brett groaned with relief and relaxed his mental hold. Lewis shook his head and looked quickly about him, suddenly himself again. He ignored the man collapsed at his side, bleeding freely from his nostrils. He knew Rose Constantine. And he knew now why he'd been brought here. To face the one assassin who might actually give him a run for his money.
    "So," he said lightly, "the Wild Rose of the Arenas. Can't say I'm a fan. I supposed I should be flattered that they thought they needed someone like you to stop me. But to be honest, I don't have the time right now. I have more important things I need to be doing. So let's get this over with, so I can get back to work."
    "You're not going anywhere, Deathstalker." Rose's voice was sweet and breathy, an almost sexual excitement gleaming in her eyes. "I'm here to kill you. You're my special treat. I was promised a chance at you, for being such a good girl. Come to me, my Deathstalker. I'm going to cut your heart out and eat it."
    "I always said you were crazy,"