Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

their guns in the crush of bodies, slicing and hacking at him with their swords. Lewis spun back and forth, his blade a blur, constantly spinning to put his force shield between him and his enemies, but in the end he was only one man, and they were so many. Swords came at him from every direction, and he cried out as they cut into him. His blood jumped and ran, and spattered the walls and floor, but still Lewis stood his ground, refusing to be beaten, refusing to die. Fighting till the last, so that at least his family would know he died an honorable death.
    And that was when Samuel Chevron came charging out of nowhere, and hit the guards from the other side. He was swinging the biggest, longest sword Lewis had ever seen, and the heavy blade cut through the guards' armor like it wasn't even there. Chevron cut down half a dozen guards before they knew what was happening, and then he was right in the thick of the fighting, killing men with cold, brutal, efficient skill. Suddenly Jesamine was there too, with a gun in each hand, and she shot down two of the guards nearest to Lewis. His heart leaped at the sight of her, and new strength filled his arms.
    The guards wavered, caught between two implacable foes, both fighting like demons, and in a moment it was all suddenly too much for them, and the survivors broke and ran. Lewis slowly lowered his sword, breathing hard. End to end, the corridor was littered with dead bodies. He looked at Chevron, and the man wasn't even breathing hard. And then Jesamine ran forward and took Lewis in her arms in a fierce hug, and he cried out despite himself as she hurt him. She let go immediately, stepped back and looked at him, and her eyes widened in horror as she took in the extent of his injuries.
    "Oh Jesus, Lewis; what have they done to you?"
    "Not enough to keep me from you," Lewis said, or thought he said. He leaned back against a blood-spattered wall, suddenly weak and giddy. There was blood running thickly down his swordarm, and he had to look down to make sure he was still holding his sword, because his fingers couldn't feel it.
    "We have to get you to a regen tank," said Jesamine.
    "I've got one outside," said Samuel Chevron. "Think you can hold together long enough for us to get you to it, Lewis?"
    "Oh sure," he said, with a confidence he didn't feel. "You're a real man of surprises tonight, Samuel.
    Even more than when you turned up at Court in that really ratty Father Christmas suit. What's a retired trader like you doing here anyway?"
    "I came here to rescue Jesamine," said Chevron. "And to answer your next question; I got in here first because no one sees me unless I want them to. And because I had a little help."
    "Much help from mighty but unappreciated sorcerer!" said a familiar voice, and a small figure dressed in gray darted out from behind Chevron. "I is back!" said Vaughn. "Ex-leper, hero of old, and powerful beyond the dreams of people with really imaginative dreams! Save princess from evil tower, and chew gum at same time! Bow down ye mighty and despair."
    "You're supposed to be dead," said Lewis, too tired and too hurt to be diplomatic.
    Vaughn shrugged easily. "I got over it. Being dead is boring. Knew you'd be here, told Chevron, here we are. You'll get my bill later. Don't forget gratuity, or I'll give you boils on your ding dong."
    Lewis turned his head painfully slowly to look at Chevron. "Why? Why should a pillar of the community like you get involved in this mess, to help two traitors?"
    "I'm here because I'm needed. I thought all that was behind me, but evil forces are on the move again, and it seems the past won't leave me alone." He glared at Vaughn. "Time we were moving, Deathstalker.
    The whole place is crawling with guards. They knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming here; and someone wanted to make really sure you'd never get out of here alive."
    "Of course," said Vaughn. "Lewis is Deathstalker, and damned important." He made a long gurgling sound, and spat something juicy onto the floor. "Lewis save Empire, maybe Humanity too. Seen it in stars, and entrails too. Poor goat. Lewis is Deathstalker, like ancestor. I liked Owen. You'll like him too, Lewis; when you get to meet him."
    "Doesn't seem likely," said Lewis. He winced as Jesamine tightened a tourniquet near the top of his left arm, to stop the flow of blood. "The AIs told me . . . that Owen was dead, long ago."
    "Oh he was. Saw him die, in Mistport. Very sad. But that was in past. In