Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

of the iceberg where the ELFs are concerned. They live to hate and kill. That's all they have, and all they are." "I could . . . give you the location of the Spider Harps," Brett said slowly.
    "We know where they are," said Crow Jane. "We've always known." Brett gaped at her. "Then why don't you do something about them?" Crow Jane smiled coldly. "What punishment could we offer, that could be worse than the hell they've made for themselves?" "But . . . they're killing people! Killing and eating them . . ." "What do you care? I thought you were a rogue, who walked alone?" Brett met her gaze steadily. "I'm a rogue, not a monster. I know the difference between crime and sin. I know evil when I see it. I'd kill them in a moment, if I thought I could get away with it."
    "And we would kill them in a moment, if we thought we could," said Crow Jane. "But the Mater Mundi made them too well. Even the oversoul has its limitations. Their time will come. Stay away from the ELFs, Brett. They're all monsters, inside."
    Brett snorted loudly, trying to project an assurance he didn't actually feel. "What part of rogue didn't you understand? I'm not interested in joining anyone's party."
    "It's a bad time to be standing alone, Brett." It was his turn to sigh. "Tell me about it."
    And then she was gone, air rushing in to fill the space where she'd been. Brett leaned back in his pew, and wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The oversoul was possibly the only thing that frightened him more than Finn Durandal. And Finn at least was content to let Brett be himself . . .
    even if Brett wasn't sure he liked that person very much anymore ... He decided he'd think about that later. Right now, he had his orders. Find Rose bloody Constantine. He'd already tried her chamber under the Arena, and she wasn't there. And if she wasn't there, she could be anywhere. He was a bit lost as to where to start looking first. It wasn't as if she had any friends to go to, or even any outside interests ... He could start by monitoring the peacekeeper comm channels; listen out for reports of mass carnage or excessive property destruction. Rose wasn't the kind to hide her appalling light under a bushel for long.
    Brett sighed loudly, and got to his feet. He looked wistfully around him, savoring the peace and calm, and then he turned and walked steadily away from it.
    Lewis Deathstalker stood outside the door to Anne Barclays office, trying to work up the courage to announce himself. He wasn't comfortable being back in the House that had pretty much disowned him, but he didn't know where else to go. And now that he was here, he still didn't know what to do. He looked at the implacably closed door before him, and it scared him. Anne was his oldest friend. He'd always been able to turn to her, for advice and help and comfort, but... he wasn't sure he was welcome here anymore. So much had changed between them, in so short a time; almost against his will, they had both become different people. 1 know where you've been, she had said. I can smell her on you. Lewis looked up at the surveillance camera, set just above the doorframe. The little red light was on, so he knew it was watching him. Knew she was watching him.
    "I need to talk to you, Anne," he said steadily. "There are ... decisions I have to make. I can't do it on my own. Can I come in?"
    There was no response. He tried the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. She'd locked him out. Turned her back on him.
    "Anne; phase. We have to talk. This is important. I don't.. . know what to do. You've spent most of your life telling me what I should be doing. Don't let me down now."
    He tried a smile, right into the camera lens, but it didn't feel very successful. He called her name again, but there was only the locked door and the watching eye of the camera. People passing by in the narrow corridor looked at him oddly. He ignored them. A slow hot anger began to build in his heart. He hit the door with his fist, and kicked it, and the door shuddered in its frame, but still it didn't open. So Lewis drew his disrupter and shot the lock out. The energy beam vaporized the lock and blew the whole door inwards, tearing the door right off its hinges. The door hit the floor of the office and skidded on, the solid metal crumpled and steaming. Even at its lowest setting, the energy beam had still plunged on across the office to blow up one of the security monitors on the far wall. It had burst into flames, and thick