Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

out. And don't worry about anything. Finn and I are on top of it all."
    "You and Finn," said Douglas. "Better friends than I ever realized. What would I do without you?"
    Anne waited a while, but he had nothing more to say. He sat slumped in his chair, staring at nothing, or perhaps too much. Anne got up and left the chamber, glad to be leaving a silence so heavy it was almost unbearable. She nodded to the armed guards outside, and they snapped to attention again behind her.
    Some way down the corridor, Finn Durandal was waiting. He and Anne nodded respectfully to each other, like two old adversaries who had unexpectedly ended up on the same side. Finn looked back at the King's chambers.
    "So; how is he?"
    "Pretty much how we expected. Tired, mostly, I think."
    "Should I go in to him?"
    "I don't think that's necessary. He still has a lot of thinking to do."
    "And right now ... he might decide to blame the messenger for the message?"
    "He made you Champion, Finn. Settle for that, for now." She considered the Durandal thoughtfully. "The Champion's black leather armor certainly suits you a lot better than it ever did Lewis."
    Finn smiled briefly. "Lewis never did have any style. And I always thought I'd look good in black. Is there . . . somewhere private nearby, where we could talk, Anne? I think we need to talk, you and I."
    "Of course." She led him down the corridor and into a private reception room, where she locked the door securely behind them. She had a feeling it was going to be that kind of conversation. They sat down
    facing each other, and Anne fixed Finn with a cold, penetrating stare. "What exactly do you think we need to talk about, Finn? We've never been friends, or even allies. What do we have in common, apart from the fact that we've both betrayed people who were supposed to be our friends?"
    Finn smiled easily at her, apparently completely relaxed. "Yes, Anne; why did you do that, exactly? Why did you come to me, and present me with the evidence that would damn and destroy Lewis and Jesamine?"
    "Because . . . they let me down. All three of them. I would have made them heroes. Legends. The greatest King and Queen and Champion this Empire had ever known. I could have done it. And then it all fell apart, just because Lewis and Jes couldn't keep their hands off each other. I gave them every chance, every warning. I gave up all the things I wanted, all the things I needed; to create that legend, that dream ... all for them! But they weren't prepared to do the same. They threw it all away, threw away all the things they could have been and achieved ... all my hard work . . . because they'd rather be weak.
    Just to satisfy their own desires. That was when I realized I was wasting my time. Wasting my life, on people who weren't worthy of me. So I came to you, Finn Durandal. You have ambition, and you're not distracted by small things. Work with me, and I'll make you great. I've already made you Champion. I could make you King, if you want."
    "They didn't care about you, did they?" said Finn. "Not really. All the things you did for them, and they didn't love you."
    "They never appreciated me," said Anne. "I made them what they were . . . and they never really gave a damn about me!'
    "I will see that you get everything you ever wanted," Finn said gently. "I can do that. I know people . . .
    You can be everything you ever wanted to be. I'm not your friend, like they were, but I always pay my debts."
    "Yes," said Anne. "We understand each other. We'll make a great partnership. Achieve great things ...
    When did you first realize that you didn't have to be what other people wanted you to be? When did you first realize that you couldn't rely on other people to make you happy? That you had to do it all yourself?"
    Finn considered the matter. "It took a long time to sink in. I was happy enough, being a Paragon. And then, eventually, I began to realize that people were letting me getting away with things, things I shouldn't have been allowed to get away with, because I was . . . who I was. And I began to wonder what else I could get away with . . . Even so, I might have gone on as I was, playing the hero, if Douglas had only given me what I deserved. What I'd earned. I should have been the Champion. The role was mine by right."
    "And now you've got it," said Anne.
    "Oh, I don't want it now. It's too late, now. I want much more than this, and I'm going to have it. I'm going to prove myself the very best there is, in the