Deathstalker 06 - Deathstalker Legacy

political."
    "Oh yes, you devils are really philosophical," snapped the Neuman. "Getting your kicks by breaking into Churches and playing with yourselves in front of the altar. Thinking you're so daring and evil because you can recite the Lord's Prayer backwards. Get a tape recorder! You don't have an agenda. You don't even have a manifesto. Probably couldn't even spell dialectic. No real aims, except to outrage mummy and daddy. I put it all down to late potty training, myself . . ."
    "You take that back!" shouted the devil, training his gun on the Neuman. And that was when the ELF
    teleported in, a tall gangling girl dressed in tattered silks with wild tribal tattoos on her face, appearing
    right next to the group in an impressive cloud of sulfurous smoke. She'd just started to shout something about avenging her fallen brethren from the Arenas when the other three immediately turned and shouted her down.
    Lewis walked away, and left them to argue with each other. None of them noticed. Lewis had almost reached the end of the street before they started shooting at each other. He didn't look back.
    Back at Parliament House, Lewis searched out King Douglas and discovered he'd come back just in time to stand around and do nothing. Essentially, he got to follow Douglas as he strode rapidly through the endless warren of narrow corridors, plunging into one anonymous back room after another, where the King chaired meetings, oversaw important discussions, brought disparate sides together and generally struggled to establish his own political base by storing up favors for the future. Lewis was pointedly barred from these meetings, on the grounds that no one cared what he had to say, and besides, political deal making went best with the absolute minimum of witnesses. So Lewis did a lot of standing around outside closed and locked doors, looking hopefully about him for more assassins to show up to relieve the monotony.
    To his credit he lasted almost two hours before his patience snapped, and he threw a major wobbly. He kicked in the door he'd been guarding, stormed into the chamber with drawn sword and gun, ignoring the startled cries of the politicians, and demanded that Douglas provide him with something useful to do before he went out of his mind with the tedium, and started using the politicians as target practice. The King studied his Champion's flushed face, and decided Lewis might just mean it. He excused himself to the top-ranked civil servants he'd been negotiating with, most of whom were now hiding under the conference table and making clear noises of distress, and hustled Lewis back outside into the corridor.
    "All right," he said calmly. "You want something useful to do, I'll oblige you. Jes has just sent word that she has some important shopping to take care of in town. I think we'll all feel a lot happier if she had someone guarding her who could be depended on. House Security promised they'd provide someone, but after that Neuman bomber yesterday, I wouldn't trust them to guard an empty room. You watch over her, Lewis. I'll be fine here."
    Lewis glared at Douglas, and when he finally spoke his voice was very calm and very cold and extremely dangerous. "Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to take Jesamine shopping?"
    "Yes," said Douglas. "Try and get her back in time for tea."
    "Douglas . . ."
    "Lewis; I am your King. This is not a request."
    "Really? I thought you were my friend."
    "I am, Lewis. Really. But I have other responsibilities now. Look after Jesamine. There are still a lot of death threats coming in, aimed specifically at her. I need to know she's safe. Who else can I depend on like you?"
    "It's going to be one of those days," said Lewis sadly. "I can just tell. But, Douglas; when I get back, we're going to have a serious talk."
    "Looking forward to it immensely, Lewis."
    "You never could lie to me worth a damn, Douglas."
    Lewis turned his back on his King and stalked off down the corridor. He could feel Douglas's gaze on his back. Truth be told, once Lewis had had time to think about it, he wasn't actually all that upset by his new assignment. Spending the afternoon in Jesamine Flowers's company had to be more fun than standing around in corridors. And Anne had already told him about the continuing death threats.
    Apparently most of them came from Jesamine's more extreme fans, outraged that she was giving up her career and turning her back on her admirers to marry the King. If they couldn't