Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

He wasn't that stupid. He'd think about the odds, and make the sensible decision. He'd run, go offworld, lose himself in the Rim worlds; and Douglas would never have to see him again. So ... Lewis was exiled, disgraced, outlawed. Just like his ancestor, the blessed Owen. Lewis had been right after all. Deathstalker luck. Always bad.
    Douglas realized slowly that Jesamine was still standing beside his Throne. He gestured sharply to the two guards restraining her, and they let go immediately. Jesamine rubbed at her bruised arms, and looked at Douglas with bruised eyes. He met her gaze coldly.
    "Your lover's gone, Jes. Don't expect to see him again. He knows if he ever shows his face openly on this world again, he's a dead man. By running, he's proved his guilt."
    Jesamine tried to speak, and couldn't. Too many things jostled in her head at once. She swallowed hard, moistened her dry lips, and concentrated on saying the one thing that mattered. "Douglas; I never meant to hurt you . . ."
    "Then you screwed up, didn't you?" His voice was cold and merciless, because he knew that if he gave in to his emotions, even for a moment, he'd start to cry, right there in the House, in front of everyone.
    He'd just lost the only two people he ever really cared for. He gestured tiredly to the two waiting guards.
    "Take her away. I don't want to look at her anymore."
    "Wait!" Finn Durandal came limping forward, and everyone fell back to give him plenty of room. His face was calm, his voice steady, but his eyes were angry, vindictive. The House fell silent, waiting to see what further surprises he had in store. Finn lurched to a halt before the Throne, beads of sweat popping out on his forehead from the pain in his ribs. There was blood on his mouth and chin that he hadn't bothered to wipe away. Finn knew the value of a strong visual image. The sight of him standing before his King, beaten and bloodied but still unbowed, would be all over the media within the hour, and would go a long way to helping people forget he'd let the traitor Deathstalker escape. He managed a small bow to the Throne, and then glared at Jesamine. "She is just as guilty as her lover, your Majesty! Her treason is just as great. She must stand trial for her life too!"
    "You've done enough damage for one day, Finn," Douglas said quietly. He glared around at the watching MPs before they could start shouting again. "Yes; she is a traitor, but only to me, not the Empire. There's been enough talk of death here today. This isn't Lionstone's time. Lock Jesamine up, and let her be tried in open Court. The people must be shown the evidence, and be convinced of the truth, or they'll never believe it. Jesamine Flowers the diva still has a hell of a lot of fans, and the last thing we need is more riots in our cities." He looked at the waiting guards again. "She's a traitor, so take her to Traitor's Hall, in the Bloody Tower. A most suitable destination for the woman who would be Queen. See she's comfortable, but she is to have no special privileges, and absolutely no visitors, unless they have my personal consent. And my seal to prove it. And double the guard in and around the Tower, just in case."

"Yes," said Finn. "Traitor's Hall. An excellent choice, your Majesty. Let the traitorous bitch rot there till the courts can get around to her. And when the courts have proven her guilty, of conspiracy against you and the Throne and the Empire, and the people quite rightly demand her death; I, as your Champion and official executioner, shall cut her head off on the Traitor's Block at the Bloody Tower, and hold it up to show the crowds. I've always been a great believer in upholding the old traditions."
    "I always knew you were weird, Finn," said Jesamine, before they hustled her away.
    After a long chase, Lewis Deathstalker left the House unobserved, strode openly through the streets inside a borrowed cloak with the hood pulled well forward, and finally went to ground so thoroughly no one could find him. He was glad he'd been able to get out of the House without having to kill someone.
    They were just doing their job, mostly, just as he would have been, only the day before. But it seemed like every damned guard, security man and rent-a-sword had turned out to chase and harry him through the Parade of the Endless. He hadn't dared go near his gravity sled; it was bound to be watched. And even if he'd been able to take it by force, it would have only made him too obvious a target.
    So