Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

like that. They nearly always turn out to be cranks, anyway."
    "She's quite right, darling," said Jesamine. "You should see some of the mail I get. There's a lot of weird people out there, with a fixation on public figures and far too much time on their hands. And don't even get me started on stalkers. One man even had a complete body change to look just like me, turned up early at a rehearsal and tried to take over my role. It all fell apart when he started to sing, of course.
    Personally, I didn't think he looked a bit like me. Had no style at all."
    "Be that as it may," said Anne. "Parliament's security has a lot of experience in dealing with threats. We haven't even had a decent bomb scare in fifty years."
    "You see!" said Lewis. "What am I needed for?"
    "Because even the best security people can have a bad day," said Anne. "They have to be lucky all the time; a terrorist only has to get lucky once."
    "Why would anyone want to kill me?" said Douglas, plaintively. "I've made it clear I want to be a good King, for all my people. Justice for all, just like when I was a Paragon. Who could object to that?"
    "I can have the computers print out a list, if you're really interested," said Anne. "Mostly the same people whose arses you used to kick as Paragon, plus all the people on all sides of the political spectrum with vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Then there's the ELFs, the Hellfire Club, the Shadow Court. . ."
    "All right, all right," said Douglas, holding up his hands in defeat. "I get the point."
    "Good," said Anne. "Now forget about all that, and concentrate on the more immediate problem of winning over and/or intimidating the MPs. And bear in mind there's going to be an absolutely huge media presence in the House today. Most of them just gagging for a chance to make you look bad, in revenge for your father denying them access to your Coronation. 'King does reasonably well on first day' isn't going to make the headlines. 'King screws up royally!' That's news. So don't give them ammunition to use against you."
    Douglas grimaced. "Wonderful. More complications. I'll be glad when we've got all this media stuff out of the way, and I can get down to some real work."
    Jesamine and Anne looked at each other again, and as always Anne bit the bullet. "Douglas; this media stuff is the real work. You can reach more people, persuade more people, through the media than you can any other way. The MPs will respond more to public interest, and public pressure, than they will to any amount of reasoned debate. Get the people by their hearts, or their balls, and their minds will follow.
    Get the people behind you, and you'll have the power to do what needs doing."
    "It always comes down to the audience, darling, bless their black little hearts," said Jesamine. "Wave and smile, wave and smile, and never let them catch you sweating."
    High above the Parade of the Endless, soaring the mild winter skies on his gravity sled, the Paragon Finn Durandal looked down on the people he was supposed to serve and protect, and didn't give a damn. He felt nothing for them; but then, he never had. He'd never actually admitted that to himself before, but now that he had, it didn't come as any surprise to him. He didn't fight the bad guys on their behalf; he did it for himself. For the thrill of testing himself against the best opponents. He'd taken pride in his achievements as Paragon, in the legend he'd made of himself. And then Douglas took it all away, by denying him his rightful place as Champion. So he must be made to pay.
    Everyone must pay, for allowing this unforgivable insult to happen.
    Ostensibly, Finn was out on patrol. He'd told Dispatching that he'd be going offline for a while. That he'd be out of touch while he talked to some of his sources, following up a lead on what the ELFs were planning next. All nonsense, of course. His patrolling days were over. There was no point in being a Paragon anymore. He was something else now. Though he hadn't actually decided what, yet. A traitor, perhaps. He liked the sound of that. To go against everything he'd been taught, everything he was supposed to believe in, tear it all down and laugh in their shocked faces; all in the name of pride, and revenge. Yes . . . that felt right. From the Empire's greatest hero to its greatest villain, just because he chose to ... Finn laughed aloud. He'd never felt happier.
    Still; if he was going to tear down the whole Empire, he was going to need