Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

blood-soaked floor, dropping his sword to try and push his guts back into the wide hole in his belly they were spilling out from. Douglas stamped on his head to shut him up. The other devils looked at Lewis and Douglas and dropped their swords, surrendering.
    Douglas glared at them, breathing harshly, gripping his sword so hard his knuckles showed white. He was ready to kill them. Everyone could see it in his face. He took a step forward, and the devils flinched back. Lewis watched Douglas carefully but did nothing, said nothing. And in the end, Douglas lowered his sword. The two Paragons put the devils in restraints, and the three prisoners were careful to do nothing to antagonize them. Lewis called a medic for the unconscious devil bleeding on the floor, and then he and Douglas bustled the others up the main aisle towards the door. And then one of the devils saw the news camera floating on the air before them, getting it all, and he laughed.
    "Hail and salutations, viewing millions! Did you enjoy the show? We did it all for you!"
    "Shut the hell up," said Douglas, pushing the devil forward so hard he stumbled and almost fell.
    "You needn't think this means anything," said the devil, snarling back at Douglas as he regained his balance. "Nothing that happens now matters worth a damn. You can't undo what we did here! You can try us and imprison us and hate us, but everyone here will still be dead, and we'll still be right, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
    "Wrong," said Lewis Deathstalker. "We can make an example of you."
    Something in his voice interrupted the devil's composure, but only for a moment. He lurched to a halt and glared at Lewis, refusing to move.
    "Why not kill us now, Paragon?" he said, grinning widely. "Why wait for the courts to judge us? Why not do it yourself? You know you want to!"
    "Because we're better than you," said the Deathstalker. "Because we have to be."
    The image froze on Lewis's face, stern and resolute, and then the holoscreen shut down. The Court slowly began talking again. Brett felt like applauding. A better piece of stage management he hadn't seen in a long time. The whole devils piece had been carefully chosen, a setup; a direct answer to Finn's
    actions in the Arena. Someone wanted to send a very specific message about what kind of a King Douglas was going to be. And what Paragons were supposed to be.
    Brett would have liked to have been a Paragon; worshipped and adored and always right. But he was a Random, bastard son of a long line of bastards, outlaws, and thieves; so he became a con man. And, it had to be said; he was very good at it. He stole a politician's wallet in passing, just because he could, and carried on passing out long cool flutes of champagne to anyone who looked like they could use a drink after what they'd just seen.
    And then suddenly the whole Court seemed to be cheering at once. The Paragons Lewis Deathstalker and Finn Durandal had just arrived. People shouted and applauded, and stamped their feet. They surged forward to shake Lewis and Finn by the hand, and clap them on the back. And perhaps only Brett noticed the Members of Parliament hanging back, watching carefully to see how many in the crowd went to Lewis, and how many to Finn. Lewis was very popular, but it was Finn Durandal the crowd surged around. Because we're letter than that might be inspiring, but it was still revenge that warmed the cockles of most people's hearts.
    Douglas came striding through the packed crowd, and it opened up before him, bowing and curtseying.
    He embraced Lewis, and then Finn. The crowd applauded, and then drew back a little and turned away at Douglas's gesture, so that the three men could talk in private. Finn looked at Douglas, and cocked an eyebrow.
    "Come to rap my knuckles, have you, Douglas?"
    "You're supposed to be a Paragon, Finn; not an executioner."
    "Do you doubt the ELFs' guilt?"
    "Not in the least. I shed no tears at their passing. But we're supposed to be the law."
    "Really? I thought we were supposed to be the King's Justice."
    "Yes," said Lewis. "The King's. Not our own."
    Finn looked at him, and his thin smile was almost openly contemptuous. "You never did have much taste for vengeance, did you, Lewis? Or the stomach for it."
    "I prefer law," said Lewis, entirely unmoved. "No individual should have the right to decide who lives and who dies. Isn't that why my revered ancestor overthrew Lionstone, all those years ago? We're supposed to be the